Constantine Maroulis
Sprawled on a chaise at off-Broadway’s New World Stages, Constantine Maroulis is at a crossroads. Dressed in distressed skinny jeans and a worn-in graphic tee, loose curls falling over what the media calls his “bedroom eyes,” Maroulis looks every bit the meticulously styled rocker. And indeed, he’s at NWS for the new hair-band tribute musical Rock of Ages, starring as a sweet Detroit boy with dreams of stardom. But the 33-year-old season four American Idol alum—who achieved moderate success as front man for former band Pray for the Soul of Betty, as a solo artist and even on Broadway in The Wedding Singer—seems pulled between his rock-and-roll persona and his desire for meaty acting roles. A graduate of the prestigious Boston Conservatory, Maroulis has appeared in productions of Macbeth, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the national tour of Rent and, more recently, the 2006 off-Broadway revival of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, and hopes more shows like those are on the horizon. We talked to the rising star about his sexy new musical, the American Idol machine and how he survives occasionally acerbic media attacks.
You’re known as a rocker. Were you born to play this role?
That’s actually tough, because I don’t know anyone who knows what the perfect part is, especially when you’re hopefully growing as an actor. I do think this is a great show, and it’s a good vehicle for me as a vocalist and actor—it’s an opportunity to create a new role, so that’s definitely exciting. Drew, my character, is a sweet, talented guy, but also a little awkward and shy, and that is interesting to play. And to be a part of a great ensemble cast like this, with guys like Will Swenson, is pretty incredible.
The show had people singing along and cheering the dialogue during previews. It was like a circus!
It’s really exciting that everyone is participating in the action onstage, but we’re still sort of discovering [what that’s like]. I’ve never been part of a new show like this before, so it’s all a big experiment: You have to play with the audience’s reactions—where you’ll get laughs, where you place jokes. Sometimes you’ll get a huge reaction just from a costume. What’s interesting about Rock of Ages is it really is a musical with a good book and fun characters, not just a rock show, but we do celebrate that rock-and-roll element, obviously. It’s going to be cool to see what happens with the audiences in a month or two.
This is a rock musical with a traditional arc, but you can also drink beer in your seat. Who does the show appeal to?
Every show needs to find its audience. Ours might not necessarily be a theatergoing audience right now, but I’m hoping to eventually turn them on, too. It’s important to have them embrace the work. For us to have legs, we have to have the theater community behind us.
There are a lot of sexy elements in this show. Are you going to let your mom see it?
Oh yeah, on opening night! My mom’s pretty hip for an older gal. It’s important to celebrate the sexual energy of the show. In the 80s, videos sold the music—unlike today, where no one watches videos anymore—and they were sexy. So yeah, there’s some exploitation going on in the show, but it furthers the plot. That’s what bands like Motley Crue were singing about: Girls, girls, girls! Strippers! Most of these [rocker] guys dated and married [those kinds of girls] many times over. The chauvinistic elements of that life are something the show pokes fun at. And our girls are very comfortable up there!
It must be really awful getting onstage every night with all these beautiful women wearing practically nothing.
Yes, it’s probably been my greatest challenge as an actor yet [laughs]. But joking aside, the cast is incredibly professional. This is my second show where I’m taking on the 80s, and it’s a blast.
You’ve done Rent, Macbeth, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Is a more playful show like this a vacation from the heavier work?
I think it’s important to approach every role the same, really. Just because one show is less dark or funnier than another doesn’t mean you can approach the work any differently. I’m pretty much the “real” guy in this show—everyone else is a bit of a caricature. So whether it’s Jesus Christ Superstar or Rock of Ages, you’ve still got to do your homework. I just tried to develop something earnest and then go with it.
Do you have problems balancing the rocker personality with the part of you that is pursuing acting seriously?
As a person, I don’t. But sure, the media does. Anytime you’re involved in something as huge as American Idol, you’re going to be talked about and potentially attacked. I don’t mean in a violent way, but as someone that people tee-off on. I’m cool with that. But I’ve been in theater my whole life! I did the Rent national tour before Idol. I graduated from one of the greatest schools in the country [Boston Conservatory] for theater, but there’s this perception of “Oh, now he wants to be an actor?” A lot of people don’t know that I was an actor before American Idol and I was sort of playing a role on that show.
Does that bother you?
Look, lots of opportunities come your way after Idol. I may have had ups and downs, but I’ve been blessed to do lots of good work. Some of the first acting I did after Idol was on The Bold and the Beautiful, and that does open you up for a beating. But I know who I am, and the people in this community know what I do and how hard I work, and that’s all that matters to me. It is tough sometimes as far as casting. But when I go in and read for something, particularly in L.A. where they have a perception of who I am already [from Idol], they usually go, “Wow. He’s a pretty good actor. Cool.” Hopefully when people see Rock of Ages, they’ll come in thinking I play Stacee Jaxx [a sex-crazed rock star, played by Will Swenson] and see what I’m really doing.
The media has been a little rough on you, particularly one feature article in The Village Voice in 2006. How did you respond to that?
I think it wasn’t just me that was being teed-off on, especially with a paper like The Village Voice, it was also that American-Idol-indestructible-death-star in general. [Idol] is like this beast that keeps on growing and growing and getting bigger and bigger. It was their chance to poke at the whole thing. These downtown, elitist writers who were probably born somewhere in Indiana don’t realize I’m from New York. I was born in Brooklyn. I was raised in Jersey. I’m not [the enemy]. And a lot of times a writer leads you to believe a story is going to go one way and when it’s published it’s something completely different—I guess editors and other people get involved. In my experience, only one out of 20 people actually read that article. The bigger impact was me being on the cover of the Voice with a great picture. I think I was one of the first people ever to have an actual photograph, not just a caricature or cartoon, of themselves on the cover, so that alone was a huge honor. It is what it is. A lot worse shit has been written about me.
Why do you think you’re been portrayed as a guy who’s totally full of himself?
Again, I think it’s less about me personally than it is about what I represent and what Idol represents to people. You know, the more [emo] indie-rocker wearing the black-framed glasses and sweater [versus] the outlandish, rocker-caricature from television-land. It’s just natural journalistic instinct to write that [negative] stuff.
The story is in you being an jerk, not in showing you as a hard-working nice guy.
Exactly! That’s the hit, right there. Honestly, [the people who know me] and I get a big kick out of that stuff. It’s almost flattering to have something like The Village Voice, one of the most famous arts-driven papers in the country, have you on the cover and then rip you. That and when SNL spoofed me, which was pretty cool. I mean, hey, I’ll worry when they’re not talking about me.
Switching gears, what was the Jacques Brel experience like as a departure from what you were known for at that time?
Wonderful. I’ve known Gordon Greenberg, the director, a long time—he gave me my first Equity job doing Jesus Christ Superstar almost 10 years ago. Although I wasn’t familiar with Brel’s songs at the start, I came to really love the work. To share the stage with Robert Cuccioli and Gay Marshall was incredible. I had just come off a big Broadway show like The Wedding Singer, so to go to a small theater like the Zipper with that downtown vibe was a great experience. I’ve made a couple of bucks the last few years, so it really wasn’t about the money, it was about the work. I enjoyed the translations they used, the music, all of it. In my opinion, both Brel and The Wedding Singer should still be running today, based simply on their content.
Now that you’re building a resume to help move past the “just a rocker” label, are there any roles you’re dying to play?
There aren’t necessarily tons of shows out there that I’m aware of where I go, “Oh my God, I have to be in that.” I’m more interested in doing new work. I actually turned down Grease to do Rock of Ages. They offered me Kenickie when they hired [American Idol winner] Taylor Hicks to play Teen Angel six months ago. I was touring and had booked [Rock of Ages], and I just said, “You know what? No, I’m going to do this new show.” I’m really happy they hired Ace Young [another Idol grad] for Kenickie though. People have compared Ace and me a lot, so it’s interesting that they hired him. We laugh about it. We’re kind of laughing our way to the bank, you know?
Are you surprised by the number of American Idol contestants who have ended up on Broadway?
You know, at the end of the day, it’s another thing people want to go after us for: “Oh, another Idol on Broadway. It’s the last stop before the unemployment line.” You’ll see [negative headlines] on Perez Hilton—who I thoroughly enjoy, by the way. He really liked Rock of Ages in L.A., so hopefully he’ll come see us. But at the end of the day we’re all people who studied the performing arts. A lot of times when you’re younger the only chances you have to perform or dance or act are in musicals, so it’s a great way to learn. I think the casting on Broadway has been great: Diana DeGarmo in Hairspray was perfect. Fantasia Barrino’s role in The Color Purple was practically written for her. Taylor had the perfect cameo role in Grease, to make an impact in one big number [“Beauty School Dropout”] and come out for the end to take all the glory. Ace Young is a perfect Kenickie. Spamalot is right for Clay [Aiken]—he’s even got that sort of English look about him.
So, the skills needed on Idol translate easily to the stage.
Anyone who can sing from the heart can probably find their way [in the theater]. Acting is about being honest and believable, and most of the kids on the show are believable singers to begin with, so it’s sort of a natural progression to become actors. I hope to see more of it. And I hope that the [negative] perception begins to change. I’ve talked to some of them and they all say, “Wow, man, Broadway is no joke. Eight shows a week!” It’s intense. The best artists in the world are already here on Broadway, doing their work. I’d like to see some of these A-list movie stars do eight shows a week. A lot of them would never make it.
Looking back, how do you feel about your appearance on American Idol?
If I had approached Idol a little differently and shown them that I was a good singer earlier on, the result might have been different. I had never seen the show before I was involved. I sort of remembered Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard’s big showdown [for the title] and all that media involved, but I could have been a little more prepared. I do think that I opened the door for guys like Chris Daughtry and David Cook, these really prepared, great artists, to come in and use Idol like a two-dollar whore! [Laughs.] They both were basically like, “We know how to win this thing,” or at least make an impact. I’m a huge fan of both of theirs. But if I hadn’t done what I did [on the show] I don’t think I would have had the myriad of opportunities, from hosting [American Idol Extra] to acting to writing to touring, all those great things I’ve gotten to do. I might have just been in that Idol bubble of trying to make hit records. Which I still hope to do someday—I’ve been developing new material for a major release next year. But Idol was a great opportunity for me. As most people know, I wave a big Idol flag.
All in all, you’re happy with how the show affected your career?
I still work with Idol. I’m constantly at the show. Now, years into it, they have a better idea of what they want to do with certain artists further down the road. Overall, it’s about talent. Personally, I’ve had ups and downs, but it’s probably helped me a great amount, because people do know who I am now. I do sell tickets. I get media coverage. I bring those things to the table, and then I try to back it up with kicking some butt onstage.
See Constantine Maroulis in Rock of Ages at New World Stages.
