Joey Taranto on Bringing His Gospel Roots to Broadway in Rock of Ages

Age: “Whatever age casting agents want me to be.”

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana

Currently: Shredding up the Sunset Strip as ambitious musician Drew in the Broadway musical hit Rock of Ages.

Growing Up Gospel: As a child with two pastor parents, Taranto grew up listening to music that was a far cry from the Rock of Ages cast album. (The gospel hymn "Rock of Ages" is definitely not being sung on Broadway!) “My parents didn’t let us listen to anything that wasn’t Christian music,” the actor says. “When I discovered rock music later in life, I grabbed on to it. It spoke to me in a way other music didn’t.” Though rock wasn’t allowed, Taranto’s parents fostered his love of performing through their church and at school, where he participated in various plays and concerts. Still, he pined for more: "Rent had just come out at that time, and I wanted to do fun and edgy, but they always said no.” While he may now be rocking the music of Twisted Sister and Whitesnake onstage, Taranto still has an affection for his roots. “My singing style is definitely rooted in church and AC/DC. They’re two opposite ends of the spectrum, but I have such a love for both.”

I Wanna Rock: With $300 in his pocket, Taranto moved to New York at 23 hoping to pursue a performing career. Things didn’t go quite as planned at first. “I had a lot of fun,” he says with a smirk, noting he focused more on partying than practicing. One night, while at karaoke with friends, a pal heard Taranto’s powerful voice and yelled at him for not taking his work seriously. “That was the kick in the butt I needed,” he recalls, and immediately immersed himself in acting lessons and auditions. However, he felt lost in the competitive New York acting scene. “Thank God I put my iPod on in auditions, because the things people say are very intimidating,” he says of fellow auditioners, who often spout off their entire resumes to one another. “I really had nothing.”

Here I Go Again: His resume got a little bigger when Taranto landed the role of Roger in a New Orleans production of Rent. “I idolized the show from the moment I heard that album. When you dream for something and actually obtain it, it just allows you to dream bigger.” Taranto returned to New York newly revived, and in early 2009 received a series of callbacks for Rock of Ages. He finally took the stage in March as a vacation swing for the show star Constantine Maroulis, then covered another weekend of shows in May. “I’d do a few shows and they’d just say ‘OK thank you,’ but I was like, ‘Well…now what?’ I felt like I was in Rock of Ages purgatory.” Taranto soon ascended to Rock heaven as Maroulis' full-time replacement when the star announced plans to headling the show's national tour. Maroulis even delivered the news to Taranto with the help of Broadway.com during a surprise video shoot. “I’m so gullible, I felt like an idiot,” Taranto recalls of the big news. “Even after the interview I was like, ‘Does this mean I don’t get to meet Kristin Chenoweth?'” he laughs, referencing that he'd been told the Tony winner would be present to film a segment with her understudy.

On the Job: As a Broadway star, Taranto now has the responsibility of eight shows a week, but it’s a commitment he welcomes. “So many people go through life hating their job," he notes, "and that filters into the rest of their life. I’m exhilarated in every aspect of my life because I get to do what I love.” Any nerves about being the new guy have calmed by several other recent cast changes. "I don’t feel alone,” Taranto says of being part of a show that's very much like an onstage party. "The energy everyone brings is so exciting. They all kill me! I really have to center myself and tell myself I’m an actor to make sure I don’t laugh.”

Proud Parents? So, how do his pastor parents feel about the show's dozens of strippers, booze-hungry characters and skimpy leather outfits? “They were in the fourth row and as soon as I came onstage I saw they were weeping,” Taranto recalls of their first vist. “They loved it, but when I talked to my mom afterwards I realized she hadn’t been paying attention to a fucking thing going on the whole show, she was only watching me! It didn’t fully hit them until they saw it again and realized there were dancing, nekked girls. Then my mom goes ‘Wow…there’s a lot going on in this show.’ My dad just said, ‘The girls are real pretty.’”