Joshua Colley Is 'Coming Home' to Broadway—This Time as Hadestown's Leading Man

Joshua Colley was just 10 years old when he served as an alternate for Gavroche on the 25th anniversary tour of Les Misérables. His Broadway debut came at age 11, as an alternate for Les in Newsies, and he returned to Les Miz on Broadway in 2014. He moved from Florida with his parents and twin brother, Cameron—a voiceover artist and music producer who's working with Colley on upcoming original music. Now, the family is back together in New York City as Colley joins Hadestown on Broadway in the lead role of Orpheus. "We're always a unit," he says. "It's really cool to be kind of reliving my childhood with them. Going to all the places we used to go to when I was younger, it really feels full circle and honestly just like I remembered."

Amid rehearsals ahead of his first performance on March 3, the 24-year-old Disney star spoke to Broadway.com about coming back home to Broadway, finding his Orpheus and always trusting the process.

What was it like beginning your Broadway career so young?
I was 11 when I did my first Broadway role, and that was insane. I'd never lived in New York, so my whole family got to come with me. My twin brother also came, and that led to him being in Kinky Boots on Broadway. We were living on the same street that both of our theaters were on, and it was the most unreal experience. I got to experience so much of the theater world at such a young age. It was a masterclass every day, getting to watch all of these other performers doing their thing and me just bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, so excited to see them in their element, learning as much as I could and soaking it all up.

What makes now the right time to return to the stage?
Hadestown has always been a dream role of mine. I was in callbacks when I was 18 for Dear Evan Hansen, and I remember seeing all the guys going in to do their Hadestown auditions. I wanted to play that part so bad, but it didn't feel like something I could do at the time. I didn't play guitar and I didn't really see myself as that character. I grew up a little more and got a lot more experience under my belt. I moved on to the TV and film side. I did Descendants, which was the perfect blend of both worlds. Right before this, I did the "Descendants/Zombies: Worlds Collide Tour," and I feel like that prepared me to be back on the stage again. But it was always something that I had my eyes on. I always knew I was going to come back to Broadway. I was just waiting for the right part that really excited me, and nothing excited me more than Orpheus. It's such a layered role and it gets to show off a lot of different facets of what an actor can do. Even as a kid, I had my eyes on it and I'm so lucky that they've given me the opportunity to fill his shoes—to wear his apron.

You also make original music. When did you decide to learn instruments and add that to your repertoire?
It's a learning process. I'm still trying to get good at the guitar. I knew my way around it enough to write songs with, but I sometimes feel like the limitations of what I know on the guitar leads to a more interesting result. There's a structure with some of the chords, so I have to be creative and it makes me write things in a way that I wouldn't if I knew every single chord. Every day I'm learning more and more and Hadestown is the perfect way to practice, on stage every night. It's so complicated at times—it seems pretty simple, but for a beginner guitar player, it's definitely a challenge—but it's an exciting challenge and I feel really proud of how far I've come.

Talk to me about the process of getting this role.
I had auditioned for things and been in the running here and there, but none of them were the right role. When this one came in my inbox, I was like, "I'm so excited to do this." I kind of made a name for myself both outside of and in the Broadway space, so it felt like the perfect time for me to lead a show, which is something that I've never done before. This is a very ensemble cast, but it's the leading man. The audition process was actually very easy. They were checking my interest in the role, and I was like, "Of course I'm interested." And they were like, "Amazing, can you send us a video of you singing 'Epic III' and playing the guitar?" You better believe I figured that out on the guitar real quick, and sent that as soon as I could. I also sent a video of me singing "Wedding Song." Like, "I know this one too, just in case you want it," because I was such a fan. They were very receptive to my videos, but it took a long time figuring out the scheduling. I'm so happy that it worked out when it did, and that now is the time that I'm doing it. I feel like even months ago, I would've been a different Orpheus than I am now. I believe everything happens for a reason, and the universe makes your path what it needs to be. I'm just so excited that everything aligned to bring me here at this very moment.

Has it felt like an adjustment rehearsing for Broadway after so many years in film and TV?
It has to an extent. I knew theater, I took a step away and did the TV and film space and got to learn that, so now it just feels like I'm coming back. But there's a lot more thought behind what I'm doing. As a kid, I used to be able to sing and scream all day, but now I have to be more selective with where I'm choosing to give it my all or save vocal strength. It's a pretty long and taxing show, and I'm on stage almost the whole time. It's been an exciting challenge to navigate how to make it sustainable and still sound how it should.

Is there anything that you feel like Descendants helped with as far as the live theater aspect?
The tour definitely helped me a lot, especially with my stamina. As an adult, it's a completely different beast in navigating your voice. The tour made me disciplined. It was a show every day, we were in a different state every single day. It was so intense, so insane, but so rewarding. It's exercising. Your voice is a muscle, and your body. Performing back in my body before I came here I think was so vital.

How have rehearsals been?
It's been such a fun, exciting room to be a part of. The people that are teaching us the show are so knowledgeable. We spend so much time talking about the text that Anaïs [Mitchell] has written. I was such a huge fan of Hadestown going into the show. I felt like I knew everything about it, but once I got into the rehearsal room, it was only the tip of the iceberg. There's so many layers and so much nuance in every single word, and it's so poetic and beautiful and it's really moved me, honestly. I wouldn't say that I cry a lot in life, but I find myself literally bursting into tears when I'm talking about this show, because it seriously has moved me. It's just such a powerful show, and watching it is one thing—I felt it move me when I was 18 years old and saw it front row with Eva [Noblezada] and Reeve [Carney], you could feel the heat of the lamps going over your head—but it's a completely different thing being a part of it.

What is it like working with the other new principal cast members?
Jordan [Tyson] is so incredible, who is playing Eurydice with me. It feels like we really are on this journey together, and it makes the chemistry on stage shine even more because there's a level of reality to it, for sure. We are all in it together, and it's so nice that everyone's starting in the same place, so we always can look to each other. We're all just building the world of these characters, and a lot of what I am doing and my choices comes from my interactions with the other cast members and what they're doing. It's been really exciting to see people bringing themselves to the characters. I think that's what's so exciting about Hadestown, is every Orpheus is different, every Hermes is different, every Eurydice is different. And it's so exciting to see everyone else's interpretation of the roles and how it fits into the world of my Orpheus.

How are you approaching your Orpheus?
It's been so exciting to explore the truth of Orpheus, which I think is really what I've learned being in rehearsal. So much of who Orpheus is comes from the text and from how he's a poet and a vessel for a lot of these melodies and words that are coming to him. It's so beautiful and exciting to play, but it's really been me kind of desensitizing myself to everything and not being nervous on stage. I think the best performance comes when you're fully immersed and you fully are the character, reacting to what's happening in front of you in that moment. What's so wonderful about live theater is I don't need to decide my choices beforehand. I can just live and breathe in the real moment. What you see is the rawest version of the character. I love Orpheus. He's like a little cinnamon roll at times, then at other times he's brave and determined to get Eurydice back. A lot of it stems from his love for Eurydice, and it's so beautiful to get to play it with Jordan, who's excellent. It's such a pleasure to have it be with her.

It sounds like you don't really get nervous. Is that something that you had to learn?
It comes and goes. It surprises me at times. It sneaks up on you, but I feel like reframing nerves as excitement is how I usually get over them. I think nerves mean that there's something exciting happening to me, so I sort of cherish those moments when I do feel excited about what's going on. I've learned to channel them and put them into the character, because that's a lot of who Orpheus is, doubting himself or being nervous or scared in the world. They're real human emotions that, if I'm feeling in the moment, are so easy to channel through Orpheus and use as something that's going to propel the performance.

Have you spoken to any of the previous Orpheus actors about the role?
I'm friends with Jordan [Fisher], so when I found out, I was immediately like, "Jordan, guess what? I'm doing it." He's just the sweetest and offered all the advice, and Jack [Wolfe] is simply the greatest in the whole world. I think his Orpheus is impeccable. He's so kind and ready to offer as much advice as he can. We have this thing, the Orpheus notebook, it's tradition at this point. We write messages to each other, so he'll read my message when he's on stage at the show, and then I'll read his message when I'm on stage for my rehearsals. We've been sending little messages back and forth and drawing pictures and sharing advice, and we just got drinks recently and talked all things Hadestown. I feel so lucky that he's the one passing the torch to me. All those little things just make the whole experience feel so enjoyable.

Was there any one piece of advice that stuck out?
It's just sort of a combination of supportiveness. We have very different portrayals of the character, so him encouraging me to make it my own is the main thing that I've taken with me, really finding what my Orpheus is. And honestly taking notes from what he's doing. His performance is so incredible and I'm just so honored that I'm continuing the legacy.

You and Morgan Dudley both starred in Descendants: the Rise of Red. We’ve seen Joshua Bassett, Meg Donnelly, Milo Mannheim and more on stage as of late. What are your thoughts on the Disney musical to Broadway lead pipeline?
We're all talking to each other. We can't believe it. Morgan and I used to sing the songs together when we were in Descendants. She used to do Eurydice, and I used to do Orpheus. So when we were both in the running for this show at similar times, it was really exciting to share that experience with her. Meg is on Broadway right now [as Satine in Moulin Rouge!], so we've been texting back and forth. It really feels like old times. It seriously for me is like coming back home. I just feel so grateful that I get to share it with my fellow Disney stars. Everyone should be on Broadway if they have the opportunity, because it really is like nothing else.

Do you have a favorite song or moment in the show?
Going in, "Promises" was my favorite to listen to. But performing, I've got to say "Wait for Me." There's really nothing like it. There's so much going on through Act One, and that is such a release, such a moment and so iconic that the adrenaline that I feel in my body can't be recreated. It's such an insane feeling, my hand over the audience, the flower literally over top looking down at all these people looking up at me. And the cast, the vocals with it, everything is so iconic. That has been the most exciting to perform, especially with the turntables. I used to love stage design and I'd always wanted to ride on a turntable. There used to be a turntable in Les Miz before our production, but I never had a turntable and I always mourn that. So it's like my redemption, finally I'm on the turntable, and it's everything I could have dreamed of. I could just stand there and do nothing and I'd still look cinematic, and that is such a gift.

You're just starting in Hadestown and that's likely where your focus is, but down the line, are there other dream roles? What does the future look like?
I'm ready for everything, anything and everything. I'm ready to do movies. I'll do more Broadway. I'm just excited to see what's next. What I've loved is my career has felt so unpredictable at this point, and there's so many parts that come my way that I'm like, "I would've never even thought of that, but this is my new dream role." So I'm just excited to see what the universe has in store for me next. I'm working on music, so I'm really excited to start putting my music out into the world. I released one song, "I'm Gonna Remember This" from the tour, which was so wonderful and such an incredible stage to present my original music on for the first time. I'm so excited to share my more personal music that I'm going to be releasing soon. I'm excited for people to see an inside look at what's going on in my brain. [Starring in Hadestown], I just feel so lucky to be here, and I'm so, so excited for this adventure. I'm so grateful for everyone who's been so supportive during this whole experience and has welcomed me with open arms into this role.

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