The Music Man's Benjamin Pajak on Making His Broadway Debut & Being Hypnotized by Idina Menzel

Hometown: Westfield, NJ

Age: 10

Credits: Benjamin Pajak is making his Broadway debut as Winthrop Paroo in The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. He is one of over 10 children who appear in the show. 

"I started loving theater when I first saw Phantom on Broadway. I was six years old. I put on the mask and the vest and the cape and I fell in love with it. I also still remember when I was two years old falling in love with Idina Menzel's voice in Wicked. That's all I would listen to to go to sleep. It just was hypnotizing me."

"My mom found out about the [Music Man] open call and was like, 'Benjamin, do you want to go to New York City on Saturday?' She looks up 'Gary Indiana' on Apple Music, and it wasn't even in the right tune. I show up at the audition, and I start singing in the wrong tune!"

"When I found out that there were going to be kids in [the show] I flipped out because I had people to actually talk to and who would understand things. I was just another thing I was really excited about. The Music Man got me into playing cornet. Even when this stops, I think I want to keep going on with that—and possibly learn trumpet as well."

"I want to be the kid in Love Never Dies. I also want to do Billy Elliot even though I'm not really a dancer, but you know how it is."

Watch the interview below, and head here to check your local listings for The Broadway Show. Hosted by Emmy-winning anchor Tamsen Fadal and powered by Broadway.com, it is the only nationally syndicated weekly theater news program.