Sometimes, really hot musical theater actors decide to expand their horizons (or return to their roots) and drop the ‘musical’ part from the top of their resume. Today, we’re celebrating a handful of our favorites. The guys who left a musical for a straight play this season.
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Michael Esper When last we met Mr. Esper, he was starring as Will in American Idiot, a role which required him to do little more than schlump on a dirty old couch for 90 minutes. These days he’s stretching his dramatic muscles as Eli in Tony Kushner’s latest, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide…, down at the Public. And ladies (or gents) you’ll be very happy to know he’s stretching more than just his dramatic muscles on that stage. In one particularly intense scene, Esper can be seen wearing nothing more than a pair of black briefs, and what an undercover hottie-with-a-body Mr. Esper proves himself to be. In fact, he’s so hot it’s a struggle to pay attention to the very serious scene he’s enacting. I mean, not that we’re complaining. That’s a struggle we’ll endure again and again. |
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John Gallagher Jr. Another American Idiot ex-pat, Johnny Galls is currently plying his trade in the British play Jerusalem at the Music Box Theater (just one block north of his old home at the St. James). There he plays Lee, a dreamy teen with his heart set on travel, who sports shaggy hair and boxers poking out from the waistband of his skinny jeans—a look we love, despite being old enough to know better. Johnny may have taken a smaller, supporting role this time around, but we’re glad he’s still on the Broadway stage, so we have somewhere to go for our smart-sensitive-nerd-boy fix. |
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Adam Chanler-Berat When we first saw Adam Chanler-Berat as the sweet, devoted boyfriend Henry in Next to Normal, we were instantly in love. We wanted a Henry of our own. Or an Adam of our own, for that matter. He just seems so darling. And a little goofy. And really, really cute. This spring, Mr. Chanler-Berat kept himself busy playing Peter Pan in Peter and the Starcatcher at the New York Theater Workshop. We’re sad to say we missed his performance in Starcatcher, but we’re hoping to see him again on Broadway soon. That is, if we can’t cuddle with him on a sunny spring day in Central Park, first. |
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Raúl Esparza The classic. Mr. Esparza has been acting in plays for ever and ever, sliding in and out of his big-signing musical roles with ease. He was last seen in the new musical Leap of Faith in Los Angeles, but these days, Esparza is working it on stage at the Barrymore Theater in the Tony Nominated revival of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. As Valentine Coverly, Esparza is playing a swoony romantic who waxes poetic about math, and we like it. Now, we love Raúl in basically every single thing he does. But getting us all emotional about math? That takes real talent. And amazing hotness. Raúl has both in spades. |
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Matt Doyle Every single time we see Matt Doyle—late of Bye Bye Birdie—we’re bowled over by how awesomely talented he is. And how hot he is. And the fact that, even when everyone and everything around him is a disaster, he always appears calm, confident, talented, and aware of what is going on. In control. We envy him that. Well, that and his big, beautiful eyes. Mr. Doyle is now in the cast of War Horse at Lincoln Center, where things are probably remarkably less disastrous than they were at Bye Bye Birdie. As if we weren’t excited to see Doyle again anyway, now we get to see him in a show worthy of his talent. Double swoon. |
Photos: Joseph Marzullo, Gallagher Jr. & Chanler-Berat; Contactmusic.com, Esparza; Francis Hills, Esper.
{ 4 comments… add one }
Can i just say, I think the selected photo of Matt Doyle makes him look most unfortunately like Ellen Page/a lesbian
Aww. I love that pic of Matt! So adorable.
M
I’d actually argue that Esper is more of an actor who previously was in a musical than a singer in a play, but that’s just me being picky. 😉
I agree with you completely.
We just wanted to do a piece on some of our favorite actors who are currently(ish) in plays, and while making a list, noticed that their recent previous roles had been in musicals. We thought it was a fun angle.
M