Jeremy Webb

Currently: Starring as Francesco Andreini, a real-life historical figure of theater's commedia dell'arte era, in Lincoln Center Theater's production of The Glorious Ones, the new musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Hometown: Ithaca, New York. The young spotlight-striver hit a career turning point earlier than most: At age 16, he recalls with a twinkle in his eye, "I marched into my parents' bedroom and told them that Ithaca was too small a town. At that point, I had already been 'the kid' in every show at Ithaca College, and I wanted more. So they found this great performing arts school in Albany and sent me off on my own. That's when it became real for me. I knew this was what I wanted to do."

Follow the Leader: "It's funny to think about now," Webb says, "but growing up on all of the mega-musicals of the '80s, my idol was [original Les Miserables star] Terrence Mann. My career has taken such a different path than his, but he went to the North Carolina School of the Arts, so that's what I did!" Upon graduation, Webb landed a gig as Dickon in the national tour of The Secret Garden as a replacement for a then-unknown Will Chase. "It was an incredible learning experience—one of those true one-night-only bus-and-truck gigs where we were in a new town every day," he says. That set him off on a busy career in off-Broadway and regional theater, with credits from California to Maine. Some of his favorite roles: a psychiatrist in Joe Penhall's play Blue/Orange, the title role in Don Juan last summer at DC's Shakespeare Theatre and various parts in The Laramie Project.

In Italia: Webb was appropriately on vacation in Florence when invited to audition for The Glorious Ones, the story of the first commedia dell'arte troupe in 17th-century Italy. The task at hand? Execute a street performer's monologue in the classic Italian lazzi tradition—a comedic skit rooted in the conflict between the two sides of a person the angel on one shoulder and devil on the other, if you will. "I was looking out the hotel window, seeing a 16th-century one-lane road leading to a palazzo and imagining myself right there on that corner, drumming up business," Webb recalls. "Commedia is an improvisational, non-script-based kind of theater, and because I'm a juggler, I knew I wanted to incorporate that. I decided to make one side really antagonistic and the other side like a noble lover; a boringly overwrought soul." Back in New York, he rented a rehearsal studio "I work more efficiently when I'm paying for the time!" and plotted out his audition. "I'd say that 90% of what I did is still in the show," Webb says proudly.

Grazie Graci: Appropriately enough for a movement-based musical, The Glorious Ones has been shepherded by director/choreographer Graciela Daniele, a collaborator with Ahrens and Flaherty for almost two decades. "We create this show every night with our bodies, our spirits and our souls," Webb says earnestly, "and that has everything to do with her. I like to call it 'vintage Graciela,' because I saw things she did like Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Once on this Island, and those shows seem to have the same quality. She really is the most supportive director I've ever worked with. I'm always coming up with dumb ideas, like, 'Well…maybe I'll enter from the catwalk…juggling as I walk down.' And she's like, 'Show it to me, Jeremy,'" he says, slipping fluidly into an Argentinean accent. "She never says no."

Making a Mark: "I've done a million and a half plays and only about a dozen musicals, and it's nice to get to flex all of my skills on a piece that's so beautiful," Webb says, ruminating on the message of The Glorious Ones. "It's really about mortality—about what exists after we're gone, and how we impact the world. It asks, 'Is our life only about the people we touch every day?'" It's a theme that's come up a lot recently for the versatile actor, who happily bounces from stage to small screen. In last year's season finale of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, for example, "I got to die for the first time!" he says with a laugh. "The last scene was so cool—it's me sitting amongst a bunch of Molotov cocktails with burn marks all over my face." From death scenes to dancing, Webb cares most about trying new things. "Without sounding like too much of a Pollyanna, I'm living the life I always hoped I would have," he says. "I just want to keep playing great parts. I must admit that I'm more interested in playing them in New York than in Peoria, but I'm pretty happy."