NEW YORK -- Andrew Keenan-Bolger isn't tapping into his vulnerable side for his next Broadway role. He's trying to be utterly fearless.
In the new musical "Tuck Everlasting," the actor plays a character who simply doesn't fear death. So Keenan-Bolger is honing his recklessness and rashness.
"Tuck Everlasting" is based on the popular 1975 children's book by Natalie Babbitt about a young girl in the 1880s who befriends a unique family that has gained eternal life. It starts previews on March 31.
Keenan-Bolger, last on Broadway in "Newsies," plays a 104 year-old man who is stuck at 17, an unjaded teen described in the book as "like water: thin, and quick."
Casey Nicholaw, who directs and choreographs the new musical, has known Keenan-Bolger since they were both in "Seussical" in 2000, and thinks the casting this time is spot-on.
The musical, which made its debut last year at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, has gone through phases of being too morose or too sweet. Nicholaw said it needed to twinkle. At one reading, he heard a lot of sniffles in the audience. "I turned around. It was all men in suits. I was like, 'Wow, that was not what I was expecting,'" he said. "It's taken us a while to find the right tone for it and I think we've finally found it."
Entertainment on 02/09/2016