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Much has been made of Barrett Foa's New York roots. Yes, he was born and raised in Manhattan, and attended the prestigious DaltonSchool on Manhattan's Upper East Side. However, the most salient feature of this young actor's career is his uncanny ability to reinvent roles that have been previously originated by other actors. It is often a thankless task, and one that can relegate a lesser actor to the permanent ranks of dependable understudy, but Barrett has clearly avoided that fate by giving consistently outstanding performances with characters as diverse as Princeton/Rod in "Avenue Q" to Leaf Coneybear in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee."
Along the way, this vibrant young actor has amassed credits in several notable Off-Broadway productions, and even essayed the role of Claudio in "Much Ado About Nothing" for Hartford Stage--an impressive resume for any actor let alone one with so many years of performing yet to come. Barrett sat down with me for a conversation on what was coincidentally, the fifth anniversary of the Broadway debut of "Mamma Mia!," his first Broadway production and his first original Broadway role.
Eddie Varley: Now that was your Broadway debut?
Barrett Foa: Yes…and that was exciting because we sort of knew we were going to be a hit. The show had already been successful in London, Toronto and a National Tour.
Eddie Varley: How did it feel in rehearsals?
Barrett Foa: We were the fifth company…and that kind of feeling of "We're opening on Broadway and it's gonna rock!" And so that was fun. I really don't have anything to compare it to, I guess…
E:You've been lucky to be a part of shows that have proven themselves, like "Avenue Q."
B:Right. Which is nice. I get to go in and recreate these wonderful characters.
E:You've made a name for yourself by doing that, which is tough in this business, and you've made it a name that people want to go and see.
B: Which is really nice and kind of surprising because I'm thinking "But I'm a replacement."
E:They don't see you that way.It's like you're the original actor who created the role.
B:Which is nice. And also I think these two shows, "Q" and "Spelling Bee", are kind of scrappy and they have this kind of cultish following. They are kind of intelligent, but also the masses will enjoy them.
E: The audience adores 'Spelling Bee;' the night I attended the energy was electric!
