out & about / in the press / 2001 -2005

Before Christmas last year, Sean Mathias, who will direct COMPANY at the Kennedy Center's Sondheim Celebration, asked John Barrowman to audition for the role of Bobby. "I couldn't fit it into my schedule because I was going to Austria, snowboarding," Barrowman said. "When I got back, I spoke with Sean on the telephone. I've known Sean in London, and he knows my work. That was it, really. They offered it to me within forty-eight hours of talking to Sean." Of course, Barrowman was also known by Eric D. Schaeffer, the artistic director for the entire festival. Schaffer directed PUTTING IT TOGETHER, in which Barrowman played The Younger Man and go to sing such COMPANY songs as MARRY ME A LITTLE and BEING ALIVE. The show may be taped for PBS.* This did not happen, unfortunately.*

"The first time I ever saw COMPANY was in a community college production when I was starting high school," Barrowman said. "I don't think I understood the show at that time, but I loved the music. I saw the 1995 Broadway Roundabout revival. In fact, I was asked to go in for Boyd Gaines, who was having some vocal problems. But I couldn't do it. I had already agreed that, during my hiatus from the TV series CENTRAL PARK WEST, I'd play Joe Gillis in SUNSET BOULEVARD." The actor is pleased that MARRY ME A LITTLE will not be included in this production. (The Act Two scene between Peter and Bobby may also be cut.) The song, Barrowman said, "is Bobby's resolution and gives him a final decision as to what he wants. To me, the point of COMPANY is that Bobby doesn't really know. That's what BEING ALIVE is all about. He craves commitment so much, but really enjoys being by himself."

Born in Glasgow, Barrowman moved to the United States with his parents, brother and sister when he was 8. "We lived in Illinois - in Aurora and Joliet, which is where I spent my more formative years. "Since the age of 3, he has known that performing "was all I ever wanted to do. I picked up a hairbrush and started mimicking a song on the radio. My mom said she put me up on the kitchen counter and I started singing. "My mom ran a record store, which in those days were specialty shops. When visually impaired customers came in, I'd stand on the counter and sing the Top 10 songs. They'd chose the ones they wanted. Some people at college were doing what their parents wanted them to do. The funny thing is my parents always wanted me to do this."

He attended college in San Diego and went to London in 1989 for the last six months of earning his bachelor's degree. "I went ahead that summer, so I could visit with relatives in Glasgow. One night on the radio, they announced an open-call audition for the role of Billy Crocker in ANYTHING GOES. You had to be able to sing and do an American accent. "I'd seen the week before in London, with Howard McGillin playing Billy. His three-month contract was ending. My mother had turned to me (after the performance) and said, 'You could do that.' My reaction was, 'Don't be ridiculous. They're proffessionals. I'm still in college.' I auditioned and was offered the part. Elaine Paige (who was starring as Reno Sweeney) nurtured me, as did alot of other people. "I was thrown into the deep end of the pool. But my dad plays golf, and he always used to say, 'When you play with the pros, your game is much better,' The first night, Elaine said, 'Okay, kid, it's time to sink or swim.' I said, 'I'm gonna swim, honey.' That was it. That's how it all got started."

Barrowman's West End credits also include Chris in MISS SAIGON, Raoul in THE PHANTHOM OF THE OPERA, Claude in an Old Vic revival of HAIR and MATADOR with Stefanie Powers. His two favorite roles to date are Joe Gillis in SUNSET BOULEVARD, in which he played opposite Elaine Paige in London Betty Buckley ("a fantastic leading lady!") in London and Broadway, and Brandon in ROPE, a Patrick Hamilton play that was filmed by Alfred Hitcock in 1948. "People think that ROPE is based on the Leopold and Loeb case, but the play was written a year before that. Keith Baxter directed the play, and we brought out more of the homosexual relationship (between the protagonists) than could be done on the stage in the 1920s or in the Hitchcock movie. I love those roles because they're darker. There's nothing wrong with playing the good guy, but after nine months, they get a little boring. Darker roles give you a little more meat."

At the time of the interview, Barrowman was preparing for a cabaret engagement at Arci's Place. Would his act include some Sondheim? "Defintely BEING ALIVE and we're considering GOOD THING GOING and NO ONE IS ALONE." *John ended up including BEING ALIVE and MARRY ME A LITTLE*

Barrowman is aware of, but not concerned by, other interpretations of Bobby. "When I was going into SUNSET BOULEVARD, people said, 'That's William Holden's role' (because Holden played Gillis in the film version), but I thought, 'I'm just going to be me. That's also my approach to COMPANY. This is my gig!"