— A Leap Into the Unknown
When I first got the call to audition for The Light in the Piazza, I said no. I didn’t think I was right for it—I wasn’t Italian, I didn’t sing operatically, and I didn’t speak a word of Italian. It just felt… impossible. But my agent pushed me to go in, and thank God she did, because that show became everything I didn’t know I needed.
At the time, everyone still saw me as “the Hairspray guy.” During my final callback, director Bartlett Sher had me sing “La Passeggiata” while literally chasing Kelli O’Hara around the room. It was chaotic, passionate, and unforgettable—and my first taste of Bart’s genius. I booked the role, and it set me on one of the most demanding and rewarding journeys of my career.
Playing a young Italian man from 1950s Florence forced me to completely retrain my voice, learn the language, and embody a culture that wasn’t my own. It stretched every part of me as an artist. When the Tony nomination came, it felt like the cherry on top of a wild, beautiful ride—and the beginning of a lifelong love affair with Lincoln Center Theater, still my favorite place to work in all of New York.