Interview: Legendary Barry Bostwick Discusses Career, DEVIL'S CARNIVAL, Broadway Return

Growing up, my father never swore much in front of me, however, if he stubbed a toe, or dropped a plate, occasionally I would hear him say "Damnit, Janet!" which always confused me a bit, mainly because my mom's name is Annie. It wasn't until I was in my late-teens that I realized that my dad, who never had any specific inclination towards musicals, was quoting THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. While I never immersed myself in the ROCKY HORROR sub-culture (probably because of my intense fear of audience participation), I grew to understand the transcendent cultural power that that movie must have had, especially if one of its signature lines of dialogue could infiltrate my non-theatre conscious father's vocabulary.

The man who spoke that iconic line on film is equally as legendary as the words themselves. Not only did Barry Bostwick play Brad Majors in the ROCKY HORROR film, but he also originated the role of Danny Zuko in GREASE on Broadway, won a Tony for THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM, and was nominated two other times. Since his beginnings on stage, he has become a nearly omnipresent face on screens both large and small for over four decades.

Bostwick's latest project is the sequel to another cult musical, director Darren Lynn Bousman's THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL. The follow-up film, ALLELUIA! THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL, is following in the footsteps of the original and last month launched a North American tour with screenings in dozens of cities. On Monday, September 7th, the carnival will play New York's Beekman Theatre.

Recently, I spoke with Bostwick while he was shooting in Vancouver about ALLELUIA!, his wildly eclectic career, and what it would take to get him back on a Broadway stage.

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TOUGH TO KEEP IT ALL STRAIGHT

B.B.: What are we doing this for again?

BWW: DEVIL'S CARNIVAL.

B.B.: Oh DEVIL'S CARNIVAL, perfect. I wasn't sure, because and I have done one, two, three things with Darren that are coming out this year. He produced one thing called SLAY BELLES that Spooky Dan directed, and then I did his TALES OF HALLOWEEN, a short, anthology horror film.

What is it about working with Darren that keeps you signing up to do more with him?

I'm a huge fan of his sense of humor. He's got the sort of ROCKY HORROR sensibilities in terms of color, flash, kitchy kind of set design; over-the-top performances. In fact, he's always the one that says, "No, you can go bigger with it," and I go, "Are you kidding me?"

So, it's fun to try to live in his world, which is so exaggerated, yet there has to be reality to it. It's almost like commedia dell'arte, it's almost like classical theatre.

It's a lot like improvisational theatre. You do it fast, you do it furious, going on instinct; I like that, I like that a lot. It keeps it fresh, it keeps me interested, and I will continue to do them if they end up in front me.

It's really fascinating working with him. Darren always has a very clear picture of what he wants his characters to look like, to sound like, act like, and it's always very relaxing, for me, to have a director who is so clear on his vision.

So tell me about your character in this one. The Watchword seems like a fun, kind of sleazy character.

The Watchword is sort of the Secret Service for God. He goes out and takes pictures of people who he thinks aren't behaving right, and he reports back to God. He's just a voyeur is what he is to be honest with you. He's just a slimy, sleazy kind of reptilian voyeur who has great energy. And I have one really fun song.

And I look totally different, you'd never even recognize me if you didn't know I was in it. I was probably in makeup longer than I was on set.

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A NEUROTIC NEED TO WORK

Since the beginning of 2014, Bostwick has had a recurring role on sitcom COUGAR TOWN, guest appearances on five other TV shows, he's shot six movies, one short, and multiple webseries; with at least five other projects currently in varying stages of development. His recent projects range from small, independent films to major network dramas to Disney Channel and Hallmark movies.

For someone with a resume like Barry's I asked him what kept him working after all of these years.

B.B: It's a neurotic need. I cannot just sit. I am a potter, a ceramicist by avocation, but we moved... and I haven't set up my studio yet, so I have to do something with my life. So, I'm doing all of these really interesting films, and thank God for Darren; I've become part of his little rep company.

I'm (also) doing 10 episodes of a new webseries called INSIDE THE EXTRA'S STUDIO, and I play the interviewer, and it's very funny.

So, I try to keep busy doing things that I don't normally do in my day job, which is like what I'm doing here in Vancouver; I'm doing GIRLFRIEND'S GUIDE TO DIVORCE, where I'm playing the father of Lisa Edelstein's character, and Lesley Ann Warren is playing her mother.

They're not the most demanding parts, but they make it possible for me to spend my time doing the weird, wacky, wonderful things that I really enjoy doing.

BWW: You are doing campy horror musicals, web comedies, TV dramas; is being a part of all of these different types of projects by design, or just a product of getting offered a bunch of different types of roles?

When I was being trained as an actor, it was the years in the '60s when it was stressed on us that you had to learn how to do everything; sing, dance, and act. So, it's worked out fine for me, because I've trained myself to do all those things, and it created opportunities for employment in all different genres. So, I continue to enjoy that freedom. And I don't back off of anything, except dancing. I'm not much of a dancer anymore.

I don't think anybody's career is done by design, I think you take what is offered to you, and you make the most of it, and you see what else comes up because of that.

I've not been a person who has held out, I just like to work, and I like to work in different things; and I like to do things that challenge me, and interest me, and amuse me. That's why I've done a lot of these tongue-in-cheek, spoofy movies these last couple of years.

I love these movies, because they are rude, they have a young audience, they engage my sarcastic, weirdo sense of humor, and that's not something I can use when I do an episode of SCANDAL for instance. It's just the flip side of my normal career.

BWW: You mentioned SCANDAL, which is obviously one of the biggest shows on TV, so if someone stops you on the street, what do they ask you about? Is it ROCKY HORROR or SCANDAL or even SPIN CITY?

Well, there's all different levels of fandom for me that go everywhere from 10 year olds, who maybe saw me in TEEN BEACH MOVIE; and they're usually the kids of the parents who know me from ROCKY HORROR.

Then I have SPIN CITY, there are still a lot of people from SPIN CITY, and interestingly enough, I still have quite a few people from GEORGE WASHINGTON, the miniseries. Guys come up to me and say, "I decided to be a history teacher because I saw the George Washington miniseries, and it brought history alive for me," that's the kind of thing that I love.

Then of course there's MEGAFORCE; every guy in his 40s or early 50s has this memory of going to the movie theater in 1983 or '84 with their father and watched MEGAFORCE, and went home and tried to figure out how to turn their Schwinn bike into a rocket-propelled motorcycle. It's just all over the map, and I don't regret any of them.

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MUSICAL THEATRE LEGACY

With as much success as Bostwick has had in his career, including the Tony and a Golden Globe, two of the musicals that he is most closely associated with have gone on to redefine the genre for generations. Earlier this year, FOX announced that they were going to do TV versions of both GREASE and ROCKY HORROR, so I asked Bostwick what it meant to have been such a major part of two musicals that became huge, cultural phenomena.

B.B.: I'm very proud it. It makes you as an actor feel like you've done something worthwhile with your life and your career, because you've tapped into a social consciousness. One of them, ROCKY HORROR, was very beneficial to the under-current society, who were looking for a place to be and a place to understand themselves.

There's a documentary coming out called ROCKY HORROR SAVED MY LIFE, and I've heard so many stories from people that felt that way; that if they hadn't found the community of the fandom of ROCKY HORROR, they don't know what they would have done. They would have either killed themselves, or they would have gone into a major depression, because they didn't feel like they belonged anywhere.

And then GREASE, we started Off-Broadway and didn't get such great reviews, but the audience, like the audience with ROCKY HORROR, embraced it. In a way, created it. It was the right show at the right time.

I know that you still do plays occasionally around the country, but it's been almost 24 years since you were on Broadway. Do you have any interest in coming back to New York to do a play or a musical? I'm sure you have had opportunities over the years.

The problem is that when you reach my age, you're not playing the lead, you're playing the second lead, the third lead; the mayor, the governor, the grandfather, and they don't usually have a lot of interesting things to do. So, it's hard for me to find something that has that "a little passed middle-ageish, leading man-ish" involvement, cause I just don't want to go sit through a whole first act and come in at the end and sing one song, and then sit out for another half an act. I'd rather do Darren Bousman movies.

I did a musical years ago called NICK & NORA on Broadway, and it was such a flop, but the road to it

becoming a flop was so long and so costly to me personally, that it's really soured me on that whole process on getting a new musical up and running, that I'm at the point where I go, "Well, try it out in six cities, and really work it until it's perfect, and then if you still want me, unless one of the guys who played that part in one of the six cities has connected himself to it, then I will get involved."

When we did NICK & NORA, we were changing the show every day, we were in previews for over two months on Broadway, while we did one version at night, and worked on another version during the day. It was exhausting, it was troubling. We were being lambasted by the people who followed the development of these musicals. In the culture of New York, we were a flop before we ever opened in the eyes of the community. Even though I thought in the final analysis, it was a fairly good show, I liked the music, but it was a dark musical, and it just never quite worked.

I think I spent six months between backers auditions and workshops and this and that, and it cost me a lot of money, because we were just making rehearsal fee, and then when we finally opened, when we were going to get the serious dough, we closed in 10 days. So, I was like, "Well shit, what's the point, you know?"

Well, whether it is on stage, or on TV, or in a webseries, I'm looking forward to seeing you wherever you pop up next.

Well, you'll be able to see all the shades of Bostwick from Hallmark, G-rated movies to HELEN KELLER VS. NIGHTWOLVES, where every other word is "F*ck" (laughs). It keeps me alive.

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When you think of Barry Bostwick, which role do you see him in? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter. Also, don't forget to follow @BWWMoviesWorld on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for all of the latest TV news, reviews, and recaps.