D.B. Bonds

Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina

Currently: Charming audiences with his heartfelt renditions of William Finn's quirky and humorous musical theater songs in the off-Broadway revue Make Me a Song.

From Sports to Spotlight: Bonds spent his early years as self-proclaimed "sports freak," trying everything from basketball and baseball to tennis and karate. The call of the stage came when a 6th grade teacher called Bonds' parents to share the news of their son's dedication to a class play. "She told my mom, 'He's taking this play very seriously and gets upset when the other kids don't know their lines. Have you ever asked him if he's interested in theater?' My mom said, 'He's definitely a ham and a showoff, but he's never said anything about that!' She asked me if I wanted to try some classes and community theater, and that was the beginning. I played less sports, did more theater and haven't stopped since."

Storming the Barricades: Bonds headed south to study musical theater at Florida State University, but it wasn't long before opportunity came knocking. "I was doing summer stock in Ogden, Utah, after my sophomore year," he says, "and I saw that Les Miserables was holding tour auditions in Salt Lake City. I thought, 'Well, that's an odd thing, but why not give it a try?'" Winning an ensemble role, he left college and spent several years touring, working his way to Broadway where he crossed between Les Miz and The Phantom of the Opera as a "swing" for a number of roles. "Whenever someone was on vacation or got injured, I'd come in. It's the greatest temp job you could possibly have," he says with a laugh.

No Ifs, Ands or Butz: It hasn't been all revolutions and masquerade balls for Bonds, who has seen his career shadow that of popular star Norbert Leo Butz. Bonds understudied him off-Broadway in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years and recently returned from playing Freddy Benson, the role that won Butz a Tony, in the national tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. "'People say, 'Are you following Norbert all over the place?' And I'm like, 'Hey, I'm not complaining. There are worse things to be doing!'" Like Butz, Bonds says he connects with the underdog: "A lot of my friends tell me, 'You're sort of a goofy guy trapped in a leading man's body,' and I feel that way sometimes. I'll never complain about work, but parts with a quirk or an edge are definitely more fun and interesting than the leading man who gets the girl."

Bonding with Bill: Having discovered the Falsettos cast album in college, Bonds has been a William Finn fan for years, which added an extra layer of excitement to his Make Me a Song audition. "After singing," Bonds recalls, "I told Bill, 'It was a pleasure to meet you,' and he said, 'Well, it was a pleasure to hear you.' And I was like, 'Bill Finn thought it was a pleasure to hear me. Whatever happens the rest of today is fine!'" His relationship with Finn grew during rehearsals, as the composer contributed closely to the creative process. "Sometimes we'd be singing, and he'd say, 'Stop, I don't like that; sing this instead,' and tell us a new lyric," Bonds says. "And I wanted to ask, 'Did you just think of that on the spot, or have you been planning it?' Because it was always a brilliant, perfect fit—and that shouldn't come out of someone's head on a whim!"

Fabulous Falsettos: Of his many Make Me a Song numbers, Bonds cites as his favorite the beautiful "Unlikely Lovers" from Falsettos, a quietly devastating quartet about couples finding solace at the darkest of times. "I don't know if musical theater writing gets much better than that," Bonds muses. He got an extra treat on opening night, meeting original Falsettos cast members Michael Rupert now in Legally Blonde and Chip Zien. "I wanted to say, 'Your voices are some of the reason why I do this.' Having them congratulate me was pretty surreal. One of my friends calls it a 'life camera moment'—you want to step outside yourself and go, 'Wow, this is happening to me!'"

Boys & Cruz: Bonds claims he hasn't read any of Make Me a Song's admiring reviews. "People say, 'Oh that's so brave,'" he notes, explaining with a laugh, "Bravery has nothing to do with it. It's self-preservation!" Still, he and his castmates hope to settle in for a long off-Broadway run as one of the eclectic offerings at New World Stages. As he points out, "It's the only place where you can turn around backstage and see Celia Cruz, Altar Boyz and Naked Boys passing by."