Alex Gaumond on His Big Jump from London's Legally Blonde to We Will Rock You

Alex Gaumond was adorable (and sang up a storm) as Emmett in Legally Blonde, garnering an Olivier Award nomination, and the Montreal native has since gone all rock-starry and cool (while still singing up a storm) as Galileo in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, which will mark a decade at the West End’s Dominion Theatre next spring. Broadway.com caught up with the charming 33-year-old a week into his London engagement in a show he has already performed on tour around the UK. The conversation ranged from making a career in music to what a geek like Emmett would think of the rebel that is Galileo.

Your first performance as Galileo in We Will Rock You was the same night as the London riots in early August. What was that like?
I was so fully engrossed in the show that I didn’t find out what was happening until the interval [intermission], and then we were, like, “the show must go on,” as it does. The next night, the tube [subway] station by the theater was closed, so we just thought, OK, we’re going to have to find another way home. But it was still, for me at least, a glorious evening on stage, and as for London, it’s always the same: People rise up and stick together. Society has to carry on.

It’s quite a contrast from the preppy Ivy League world of Legally Blonde to life on Planet Mall in the futuristic landscape of We Will Rock You.
I know, and especially because I left the tour of We Will Rock You in order to go and do Legally Blonde [laughs]. But I always said that I would love eventually to do Rock You in London because it’s the mother ship production, as it were; it’s the original, the one that has been running almost 10 years. So when Ricardo Afonso left to do [a tour of] Top Hat, it was an opportunity to go from one big West End leading role, Emmett, to another West End leading role, Galileo.

And an entirely different set of clothes!
Emmett is all comfort: he’s, like, “let’s be practical,” so it’s brown leather shoes and chino trousers and a relaxed blue shirt and brown khaki jacket and satchel bag. Galileo only has one costume for the entire show: black jeans and catboots and a black leather jacket that he takes off at the top of act two, leaving just a white T-shirt underneath. It’s a very James Dean kind of look.

What do you think Emmett would make of Galileo—not to mention of the show surrounding him?
I think Emmett might have been into Queen because these guys are extremely intelligent and highly educated. [Queen guitarist and songwriter] Brian May has a Ph.D. for Christ’s sake [laughs]. At the end of the day, Emmett is a little bit of a geek but he thinks he’s quite cool and he would probably check that show out. But I think Elle would also want to take him to other shows, too.

I’ve always thought there’s a bit of the rebel in Emmett waiting to cut loose.
I have a feeling he’s done the old air guitar thing in his bedroom a few times when he needed a break from his studies! [Laughs.]

Is there anything of the rebel to Alex?
Well, I played piano, so maybe the air guitar was less of a natural thing to do, though I do play a bit of drums and percussion. But as a normal person in my normal life, I’m very much an Emmett: There’s no rebel in me at all, which is why it’s been such a thrill to play Galileo again. On the other hand, my interpretation of Galileo is that he is a bit of a geek; it’s only when he realizes his whole rock ‘n’ roll potential—the rock god persona—that he really blossoms.

You seem to be blossoming, as well, with your first solo album on tap.
The album is more than a dream of mine, it’s an ambition, definitely a goal. I’m trying to use the existing fan base from the shows and build on that and, especially with We Will Rock You, bring as many people to the show as possible and see if there’s any interest from the big labels. I also write music.

You did some of your own stuff at a London concert last spring, didn’t you?
I performed two songs of mine. One, “Lovestruck Insomniac,” has a bit of a reggae feel and the other, “A Song About Nothing at All,” is a kind of ballad. The more I write, the more I feel as if I am determining a style. I love Jason Mraz and would say “Lovestruck Insomniac” is very much inspired by him—he’s such a wordsmith. And I really love John Mayer and that whole rock-pop kind of thing. I got into musical theater in my late teens; before that, I was much more into the music side of things.

How do you keep your voice up for such a demanding show?
Between doing Emmett and the concert in May, I haven’t stopped singing, really; it’s a matter of re-finding the muscle memory that I used on tour before and getting back into it, which is a bit of a lifestyle adjustment. Then again, I’ve never been a big party animal and I don’t drink that much, so I’ve gone teetotal again. The thing I always used to say about the tour is that in order the portray the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, you have to do the opposite and live like a monk. You create the illusion that it’s all reckless but in order to sustain it, it’s just the opposite.

Does that wreak havoc with your social life?
My girlfriend [Jane McMurtrie, the dance captain on Legally Blonde] knew it was coming, and that was part of the decision; we talked about it before I took on We Will Rock You again. At the moment, I’m signed for six months, and what’s six months in a relationship? It’s a little sacrifice.

It’s interesting that you’re from Montreal and yet have made such a mark here in London and not New York, which is a lot closer to home.
You know what? I’ve never even been to New York, which is a travesty because it’s only a five-hour drive away [from Montreal]. I’ve always said that I’d love to work on Broadway at some point and go to L.A. at some point, but that’s all part of the bigger plan; there’s no rush.