All's Fair on the London Stage for Pop Icon David Essex

Not every pop star succeeds in the theater—and vice versa—but David Essex has triumphed in both, coupling chart-topping hits such as “Rock On,” “Hold Me Close” and “Silver Dream Machine” with West End and/or touring gigs in Evita (as the original Che), Godspell (playing Jesus) and She Stoops to Conquer (in a rare non-musical foray as Tony Lumpkin). Currently, he’s starring as silver-haired fairground boss Levi Lee in the new musical All the Fun of the Fair. Written by Jon Conway and featuring more than 20 of Essex’s own songs, the show tells the heartfelt story of a recently widowed dad dealing with his teenage son’s romance with a girl from outside the funfair community. Broadway.com caught up with the genial entertainer, soon to be 63, while he was touring U.K. arenas during a week off from All the Fun of the Fair, which runs through September 5 at the Garrick Theatre. Some would use the down time as vacation, but not David Essex.

Where are you calling from?
I’m in Nottingham on a tour that is continuing on to Sheffield, Cardiff and Wembley [in London]. It’s a bit surreal going from our little show at the Garrick [which seats about 600] to arenas with 20,000 people screaming. But for me, anyway, change is as good as a rest, and this was something I had committed to before we decided to bring All the Fun of the Fair into town after six months on the road. Change is a stimulus for me, which is why I suppose I’ve worked across various mediums with a certain degree of success.

You’re too modest. It’s been a quiet summer so far on the West End, with heat waves and Wimbledon and the run-up to the World Cup.
Someone said it’s the quietest it’s been in 37 years. But, you know, I don’t care if we’re playing to a full house or half a house or whatever it is: The reaction at every performance is so strong that there’s a reason to do it, there’s a reason to be there, there’s a reason that the show works. This is a very personal piece for me.

In what way?
Well, I did work on a funfair for a while, and my grandfather was an Irish gypsy, so I know that world. For both [writer and co-producer] Jon Conway and me, this is a world we had a little insight about and we thought it would be of interest to people. Jon came from a circus background and he knew that what looks fun on the surface can have an element of menace underneath. What’s fascinating, too, is that our story is one of relationships between fathers and sons, which seems to move men in the audience quite deeply.

You are a father with sons yourself.
I’ve got three sons, including twin boys who are now 22, so that’s a well-trodden path for me. And there’s always that time between, say, 12 and 23 where, at least as far as the fathers are concerned, the sons turn into grunts and then back into people again.

Are any of your sons still “grunts”?
The last one turned into a person about a year ago [laughs].

You’ve been active in the theater for more than 30 years now. What are your memories of creating the role of Che in Evita?
What I remember is working with Hal Prince, who never really directed me. I would wander around looking sarcastic and then wander off. I noticed that that was all written into the script when the show was done elsewhere, but it wasn’t when I did it [laughs]. Hal just used to say to me, “David, you’re marvelous when you’re angry.”

But you never played the part on Broadway.
No, I didn’t. There was talk of that happening, but it was one of those Equity things. I have lived in New York, though, and loved it. During the 80s I had a place on Broadway and Houston—620 Broadway—and had a great time. I’ve never worked when I’ve gone there, but just gone for myself. It’s the city of cities, New York. I saw West Side Story on Broadway over New Years [this past year] and it just seemed the perfect place to see that show.

What else have you seen on Broadway lately?
I saw Hair and kind of enjoyed that. I was offered the original Hair in London, but my agent said to me, “You don’t want to do that because you have to take your clothes off.” So I played Jesus in Godspell instead—no taking my clothes off there, except I did appear in a pair of shorts.

It’s worth noting that you never really oriented your career toward America.
No, I didn’t. “Rock On” went to number one there, and Columbia Records was desperate to get me over there to tour, but I had a little girl just being born so it was really my fault that not much else happened in America after that. It was a case of me neglecting America rather than America neglecting me. And, with respect, I couldn’t stand living in L.A.

What’s fascinating is that Broadway doesn’t have pop stars who keep returning to the theater the way you do in London.
What I’ve noticed is that every actor you see interviewed says that he would have preferred to be a rock star—that’s the first dream. The thing for me, without trying to sound over-earnest and arty, is that I’m interested in the broader canvas. The immediacy of rock concerts is great, but it’s not quite the same as the relationship between an actor and audience that you find doing eight shows a week in a musical.

How did you end up starring opposite Miriam Margolyes in an 18th-century comedy classic [She Stoops to Conquer in 1993 at the Queen’s Theatre]?
Sir Peter Hall [who directed the revival] came to me. Apparently, he was a big fan. I didn’t quite know what I was doing in it [laughs], but I was learning and enjoying. I’d never shut the door on anything, but that being said, I’m always more comfortable when there’s music around.

You co-wrote All the Fun of the Fair, as you have most of your theatrical work. Would you ever be an actor for hire in the theater again?
I’m always getting asked, but it has to be something that sparks me. I was in Footloose playing a grumpy vicar; I based him on George W. Bush [laughs]. I’ve been asked to play the Wizard in Wicked, and the Chicago people keep driving me nuts. But I have to feel that [what I do is] creative. I hate to come across as complacent, or as if I’m doing something for the wrong reason. Generally, I like breaking new ground. That’s what great about All the Fun of the Fair. How many actual new musicals are there on the West End?

Are any of your children following you into the profession?
One of my twins is showing some interest, though he uses my original surname, Cook. I’ve never wanted them to feel as if they were getting some sort of free ride off of Dad’s name.

How did you come to be “Essex”?
Because that was the part of East London that I was from. There was already a David Cook in Equity, and I didn’t want to be David A. Cook, or whatever. It was Derek’s [Essex’s manager Derek Bowman] idea.

So if you’d been from Sussex, your name would have been David Sussex?
Let’s just be glad I wasn’t from Middlesex!