Cory Jeacoma on the 'Huge Undertaking' of Being the Final Gerry Goffin in Beautiful and an Intro to His Adorable Pup

Cory Jeacoma can currently be seen playing Gerry Goffin in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which marks his Broadway debut. Jeacoma is the final actor to bring Goffin's life to the Sondheim Theatre stage before the long-running musical plays its final performance on October 27, and he was a guest on Broadway.com's #LiveatFive to talk all about it. "I've been in the show for about a month and I have a month left. I just wish it was longer," he said to Paul Wontorek. "Not only am I loving the company and the show so much, but I'm also really proud of this role. He's an interesting guy to get to dig into. It's all about honoring his story. He dealt with mental illness throughout his entire life so to get to shed a light on that, and bring some truth to that, is a huge undertaking. I'm proud to be able to do it."

Although this is hardly his first time on stage (Jeacoma previously appeared on #LiveatFive during his time in Jersey Boys), taking his opening night bow was something he'll always remember. "I had tons of friends and family there even though I told no one to come," he said. "I had this moment where I was looking out to the audience during bows and thought, 'You did it, Cory, you did it.' I'm proud, even if it's only for two months."

While there are tons of chart-topping tunes in Beautiful, Jeacoma has a standout scene he loves to do every night. "There's a moment in the show where the entire ensemble is upstage left and the four of us get to walk through this epic sound of the ensemble. They're just wailing the background vocals and it sends goosebumps down my spine. I love it so much."

It's well known that Jessie Mueller won her Tony for originating the role of Carole King on Broadway, so Jeacoma often gets asked if he named his six-month-old pup, who crashed his #LiveatFive interview, after the golden-voiced singer. "My girlfriend and I always wanted a dog, and we met Jessie and just absolutely fell in love," he said. "Then I found out about Beautiful and was like, 'This is how I'm going to reward myself.' I'm a huge Toy Story nerd, so if we got a boy dog we would have named him Woody. But we fell in love with this little one we named her Jessie. Everyone assumes it's after Jessie Mueller, though."

So, what's next for Jeacoma after October 27? "I've always said I just want to be a working actor," he said. "I would love to get into some TV and film, a little bit of everything. I just want to get my hands dirty."

Check out Jeacoma in Beautiful, playing through October 27!

Watch the full #LiveatFive episode below!