Spider-Man's Robert Cuccioli on Concert-Going Nightmares, Chess and His New 54 Below Concert

Broadway mainstay Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde, Spider-Man, Les Miserables) is performing his new concert A Standard of Love at 54 Below for one night only on February 6. The Tony nominee will relate his own romantic adventures through classic American standards, many of them featured on his new solo CD The Look of Love. Below, Cuccioli discusses missing Elvis live, his concentrated workouts and the musical theater songs he has used for auditions.

What record/album was your favorite growing up?
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John.

What concert most influenced you as a performer?
Let me tell you about my concertgoing experience: The first concert I ever went to I was in high school, and I don't remember it because my girlfriend and I never got there. We got into a car accident on the way. The second concert was America and Pure Prairie League was the opening act. There was so much pot smoking going on around us that we had to leave before America came on because we got so sick. The third was E.L.O. Which was incredibly disappointing because we waited forever for the concert to start, and then they only played for 40 minutes. The fourth was to see Elvis at the Garden. It was on a Monday...and the Friday before...he died. How was I influenced? I don't go to concerts.

What is your go-to audition song?
I'm generally asked to sing something from the show I'm auditioning for. But I have used such songs as "The Impossible Dream" and "Anthem" in the past.

What song are you most excited to perform in your show?
I love every one of them. However, I have particular fondness for "Prisoner Of Love."

What musical theater track is the most played on your iPod?
The cast album of Chess. And my iPod's been broken for years.

If you could invite any performer onstage for a duet at 54 Below, who would it be?
Tony Bennett.

What musical theater performer from the past do you wish you could collaborate with?
Richard Kiley.

What’s your favorite love song?
“If I Loved You.”

What is your favorite workout track?
I don't listen to music when I work out. I like to concentrate on the routine.

What’s the best hidden gem in on your iPod?
You mean that same iPod that has been broken for years?

Favorite break-up song?
“Goodbye” by Gordon Jenkins.

When this song plays, I can’t help but dance:
“Blue Suede Shoes.”

Don’t miss Robert Cuccioli in A Standard of Love at 54 Below. Check him out below singing “This Is the Moment” from the original Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde