Aaron Lazar Dishes on His Solo Show at Joe’s Pub and Starring in Encores! Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Aaron Lazar has wowed Broadway audiences in supporting roles in musicals ranging from A Little Night Music to The Light in the Piazza to Les Miserables. Now Lazar is set to take center stage in an April 16 solo show at Joe’s Pub titled Aaron Lazar: Look For Me in the Music. Directed by his Les Miz co-star Alex Gemignani, the show is a collection of songs and stories about Lazar’s family, fatherhood and embracing a life in the theater. Broadway.com spoke with the talented actor/singer about his busy career, including his upcoming role in Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and what's up with the Public Theater’s staging the new Michael John LaChiusa musical adaptation of Giant.

“I’ve always been excited at the idea of performing a solo show,” Lazar says. “There are some great places to do that, and Joe’s Pub is certainly one of them.” Lazar has been working on the piece for the last two years, with maiden voyages at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency and Le Poisson Rouge, but he feels the collaboration with Gemignani and musical director Jesse Kissell finally forms the perfect fit. “We have been able to take everything I’ve always wanted to do in previous incarnations of this show and finally do it.” The Joe’s Pub show will be the model for the actor's May 4 concert at the Kennedy Center.

“The tone of the evening is light and fun,” Lazar notes. “I think people will see a side of me that they don’t normally get to see. I am excited to sing some of my favorite songs and share some hilarious stories about my experiences. All that is definitely part of people getting to see really who I am as opposed to a lot of what I get cast as.”

Lazar's next stage role will be Henry Spofford III in the Encores! staging of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which will run May 9-13 at New York City Center. Spofford is the wealthy Philadelphian who vies for the affections of Lorelei Lee [Smash star Megan Hilty] and ends up the love interest of her friend Dorothy Shaw. “It’s one of those things you want to do in New York,” Lazar says of making his Encores! debut. “I have never got to meet Megan [Hilty] and I am a fan, so I am looking forward to doing a show with her.”

Asked about reprising his role as Jordan “Bick” Benedict in the forthcoming Public Theater production of Giant, Lazar replied simply, “I don’t know. I had an incredible experience working on Giant [at Dallas Theater Center, where Michael Greif's production premiered in January]. There are a couple of balls in the air.”

At Joe’s Pub, Lazar fans can expect to hear the Broadway veteran perform songs by Cole Porter, Jason Robert Brown and Barry Manilow, as well as new arrangements of the classic songs “Pretty Women” from Sweeney Todd, “If I Loved You” from Carousel and Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”