Why Girl From the North Country's Marc Kudisch Never Planned to Be on Broadway and More on Show People

Marc Kudisch, the perennial stage actor who’s appeared in 15 Broadway shows and earned three Tony nominations, thinks he’s an unlikely Broadway star. “I didn’t sing when I got to New York City,” said Kudisch, who's in Girl From the North Country on Broadway. “That wasn’t what I did. I was a classical actor, so Broadway was never, never the goal.”

Kudisch, who cut his teeth in the regional theaters of South Florida before moving to New York with friend Tony-winner Rachel Bay Jones, entered the national theater scene in 1991 in Bye Bye Birdie’s U.S. tour. Soon after, he joined the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1993) and earned his first Broadway credit when the production landed on the Great White Way. Since then, he’s earned Tony nominations for featured roles as Mr. Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002), Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (2005) and Franklin Hart Jr. in 9 to 5 (2009). This season, he returns to Broadway in Girl From the North Country, Bob Dylan and Conor McPherson’s musical set during the Great Depression, after starring in The Great Society on Broadway last fall. Kudisch currently plays Mr. Burke, who's lost his business to the economic downturn.

The longtime performer considers himself a character actor who’s landed a few good roles. “You've got to fight that linear vision that people have,” he said. “People would say, ‘Oh you're leading man.’ No, I’m not. Everything I've done is character, which is why I’ve had such variety.” Ever practical, what matters to Kudisch is the job at hand. “As a performer, I’ve realized over the years that I don’t care about applause. I don't care about applause. I don't care about laughter. I don't care if you like me, I really don't. I'm not being paid for you to like me."

Recently, Kudisch sat down with Paul Wontorek to talk about his long and varied career, joining Girl from the North Country and never playing the same character type twice. 

Here are some of the highlights. 

On starting out as a cheerleader: “I was a male cheerleader [in high school]. That was my way of becoming social. Trust me, I had no strength to be able to throw anybody. But the other guys that were cheerleaders were the football players who either had really bad grades or had injuries and couldn't play and be a part of it, and they still wanted to be a part of it. Through them and through the female cheerleaders, I had a group of friends for the first time. After one of our cheers one night, the theater director and teacher said, ‘You should audition for me for something.’ And that was the beginning of it.”

On the Great Depression: “In my opinion, the Great Depression is the thing that defined the United States as a country. I believe that we, as Americans, are at our best when things are at their worst. That’s when our defining features come out. The beauty of the Depression was that everyone was on the move, because you had to be. Because of that, culture, music, literature and ideology was spread out across the country. Our play [Girl From the North Country] takes place at a boarding house in the middle of Duluth, Minnesota in the 1934 winter. These people come together for two weeks. They become a makeshift family for that very brief moment of time, and I love it for that reason."

On defying expectations: "I'm going to be unexpected. I don't want you to know what I'm going to do. There are people that, when they walk on the stage, you know what you're going to get. And they're brilliant at it and everyone is fueled by something different. I happen to be an introvert, so I am not fueled by applause and laughter and appreciation. I don't like compliments, I have a real hard time with that. What I like is hearing an audience engage and I like the silence and I like the uncomfort."

Did you know Show People with Paul Wontorek is available as a podcast? Check it out on iTunes and Spotify.