Interview: Debut of the Month - BANDSTAND's Joey Pero

I think so definitely. And I know by reading and doing some research over the last couple of years that there was a lot of pomp and circumstance when World War II veterans came home. The climate of the country was, 'We won the war!', and the media kind of hyped up the victory as well. So this does carry a lot of responsibility to be true to what was really going on behind the scenes and really pull back the drapes on what was going on with those veterans who returned home. I know that when my grandfather came back from World War II he was never the same, he didn't treat my grandmother very well, or his kids. He died before I was born, but I know the war had changed him immensely.

And of course, the subject of PTSD continues to be relevant today.

Well yes, and I think there's still a level of disconnect in people understanding the depth of the internal torture that veterans go through. If you're from a city or a town and then all of a sudden you're dumped into a place where you see incredibly graphic things and experience incredibly intense things, and then you return to society, your whole perception of the world is now changed. And so another reason I think this story is so important is because it allows people to get a glimpse into people's personal lives who are dealing with this.

I assume you meet many veterans after the show at the stage door.

Yes, after every show. And they're very appreciative. They're not looking for fame, or glory or someone to kowtow to them or anything like that. They're just normal people who deeply respect what we are doing and also respect the authenticity that we've developed over the last couple of years.

For most of your career you've been an acclaimed musician. How did you wind up on the acting trajectory?

Well I had done some acting before. I had done some movies and some commercials, just things that had randomly come my way. But Richard Oberacker (BANDSTAND's music, book, lyrics) and Rob Taylor (BANDSTAND's book, lyrics), both had seen me perform in Vegas on several occasions. There's an event called the Composer's Showcase in Las Vegas where a lot of people in the industry go and try out their original music. So I would perform there with my band and test out some songs in front of my peers, and they had seen me perform there. And I remember I was in Nashville when I got a call from Richard and he talked about the show and how the reading for it went very well and he told me they thought I would be a good person to audition for it. So that's really how it all started, and the rest as they say, is history.

You were in both the Lincoln Center workshop and the Paper Mill production of Bandstand. In what ways has the show evolved since those original incarnations?

Well the good thing is, at no time did we say, 'Well we've done it', you know. They were always striving to make it more intense and make it more conflict and resolution, and they developed our characters more. So Paper Mill was a great step towards really fine-tuning the show. The choreography is obviously amazing, the music is amazing, they did such a great job with the writing and bumping it up, so I was proud of our show at Paper Mill. Hundreds of people came to see me in it from all over the country and they told me, 'Wow I think you got a winner.' And now that we're running on Broadway, I think they're going to be even more pleased with the show.

Were there specific changes made to your character, Nick?

Yes. I think that with Paper Mill, I had a lot of opportunities to practice in front of a crowd, and really get my legs as the character and felt the character more. And I think the creatives saw that and came to love my character a little bit more and gave him more conflict and resolution with him.

Nick starts out as a very frustrated music teacher who doesn't seem to get much enjoyment out of his job. Yet in real life, I understand teaching music is something that brings you great joy.

Yes, I'm a very big advocate of education. A lot of music teachers come and see the show as well and I'm just so proud to talk with them and let them know what a difference they're making. I know if it weren't for the educators in my life, I probably wouldn't have followed the path of music and art. So my hat is off to teachers and throughout my music career I've done many concerts and clinics at both the collegiate and high school levels, and I plan to continue doing that as a big part of my career.

That being said, have you found ways that you can relate to your character?

Well, I think there have been one or two students in my life who would never practice and who I saw as very talented. So the frustration comes when you want to push them towards doing better on the trumpet, and when they don't practice it can be very discouraging. And other than that, it took a lot of digging into different places to pull out the anger for my character. I ended up basing a lot of it on a teacher that I had who was not quite as gruff as Nick, but was grumpy and outspoken.

Okay, well maybe we won't mention his or her name!

No we won't. [laughing] Another interesting thing about my character is that I worked very hard at achieving a kind of characterization of an authentic 1940's trumpet sound, which uses a faster vibrato. Typically when I play the trumpet, it's not with that fast vibrato and that style. So I did a lot of listening to records and recordings of Artie Shaw Radio on Pandora, and to The Andrew Sisters, and I just listened to the brass with an intent to copy that kind of sound. So that's also a fun thing for me to do as the character. While I'm using modern equipment, I'm trying to do a characterization of an authentic 40's sound.

Your journey to Broadway encountered a major roadblock when you were involved in an unfortunate accident which prevented you from making your Broadway debut as scheduled.

Yes, well let me preface it by saying my journey to Broadway has taken a couple of years. And because of this opportunity, I picked up everything and moved from Las Vegas to New York. I went to school here at Julliard from 1999 to 2001, and then I moved to Jersey City to try out working with my own band as a solo artist. So I had tried it a couple of times in New York City with some success, but I ended up finding a lot of success in Vegas. But then when this opportunity arose, I picked up everything and moved back to New York City. So with that lingering over my head, and then the accident happening, it was really just as much an emotional journey as a physical one.

Would you mind sharing what happened the night of the accident?

Of course. Well that night, Tommy Tune had hosted a 'Welcome to Broadway' kind of event for casts, and I was on my way home from that event. I was crossing the street, I had the walk sign, and someone who was making a lefthand turn didn't yield at all, or didn't see me, and I didn't even see him coming. And the next thing I knew I was on the ground and I knew something was really wrong with my leg because I tried to lift it up and it kind of just fell to the ground. I had fractured it in three or four spots. And so I thought to myself, maybe if they wrapped it up real tight I could be at rehearsal by Thursday. But in the hospital, the doctor came in and told me that my leg was not in good shape and he thought the best thing to do since I was in show business was to put titanium in my leg. He went on to explain that it was going to take three or four months for me to heal enough to be in the show. I would actually like to mention my doctor's name, Dr. Dean Lorich, because he was one of the best in the country and I was lucky that I went to that hospital, First Presbyterian on the East Side. He was really incredible with how precise he did my surgery and how detailed he was with what I needed to do with physical therapy in order to get back as quickly as possible.

So there were three surgeries involved including a skin graft, which was probably even harder than breaking the leg. And I took the doctor's recommendation to attend the physical therapy at the hospital, I had an incredible physical therapist named Jacquelyn, and she pushed me hard. And I did my exercises at home and kind of dealt with my emotional damage at the same time, and by all accounts, made a recovery which was faster than they anticipated. And I was lucky to have the support of my friends and family, that got me through the tough times, and I think even the doctor was impressed by how fast I recovered.

I'm so sorry you had to go through all that.

Well you know I put some of that determination and frustration into my character. I focused a lot of that energy into performing better and being more solid in my character's anger. So I was able to take some of that and focus it and funnel it through my determination to get back to the stage and also into my actual performance itself.

When I do my debut interviews, the last question is typically, 'What was it like to make your Broadway debut?' I would imagine for you, the experience was perhaps even more profound and special.

Yeah, well I thought that because of all this on my shoulders, I thought I'd be so nervous that night. But the guys around me were so supportive and I knew they had my back. So when I stepped out for the first time, I was struck by how comfortable I was on the stage, and for my first show, I hit it out of the park. I was very confident with my performance and have just continued to improve since then. So I guess if I had to sum up my Broadway debut in one word, it would be natural, it felt very natural. And I'm having a lot of fun up there, And I'm really very proud of this show, we all are. You know winning an award in my opinion, is a bonus on top of being really good, and I think that when you go to sleep at night and you think about what you're giving to people, and the story you're telling, we've all got so much to be proud of. And this cast is so wonderful, Corey [Cott] and Laura [Osnes] are incredible to work with, they're just top, top notch, and I think with all our talents combined we're telling one heck of a story that people can grab on to and one which will perhaps inspire people to think about things differently. So I just think it's all good, it's all good!

BroadwayWorld congratulates Joey Pero on his Broadway debut! He is a trumpet recording artist who has performed for audiences in 43 states and 7 countries. An alumnus of the Juilliard School and New England Conservatory, he toured with Jazz Legend Maynard Ferguson in 2005. Joey was a featured performer at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration and released his highly praised debut record Resonance that same year. He headlined the 2011 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Minneapolis, MN and has performed with Jersey Boys in Las Vegas, The Las Vegas Composers Showcase and upon moving back to New York City in 2016, An American in Paris, Cagney The Musical and the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. The Drum and Bugle Corps activity played a major role in Pero's development where he remains active teaching, arranging and performing.

For more on Joey Pero visit:

facebook.com/JoeyPeroMusic/

instagram.com/joeyperomusic/