Interview: Robert Creighton Taps Into CAGNEY's Beat

Robert Creighton, currently tapping and singing his heart out as the Hollywood hoofer James Cagney in Cagney, the musical that bears his name, always dreamed big.

Creighton, from the rural town of Walkerton, Ontario, wanted to be a goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He wanted to dance like Fred Astaire and act on Broadway. He was skating by the age of 4 and singing and dancing likewise.

He fell in love with Cagney after a New York acting teacher said he reminded him of the venerable performer. He still loved Astaire's elegance and style, but Cagney's pugnacious attitude and formidable talent grabbed Creighton by the lapels.

Creighton, who's been in Broadway's THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, ANYTHING GOES and THE LITTLE MERMAID, had long been a huge fan of the tough guy. Something clicked.

"I started watching VHS tapes and became obsessed with his movies," Creighton said over an iced coffee in Starbucks. While goaltending is no longer a career goal, he's still passionate about the Leafs.

CAGNEY, which recently celebrated its 100th performance Off Broadway at the Westside Theatre, is directed by Bill Castellino and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse. It's won Drama Desk and Outer Critics awards, and Creighton nailed the Astaire Award for outstanding male dancer.

Before its April opening, Cagney played a critically acclaimed run at the York Theatre Company in 2015.

Creighton slides into an uncanny interpretation of Hollywood's tap-dancing tough guy, breathing life into the timeless cultural icon. Cagney, famed for playing both the twisted bad guy and romantic lead in scores of Warner Brothers' productions in the 1930s and '40s, was a laid-back tapper whose style defied pigeon-holing.

The musical traces Cagney's life from his early days performing in drag and culminates with a Lifetime Achievement Award from SAG in 1977, introduced by Jack Warner. Cagney was president of SAG from 1942 to 1944.

Warner's union beliefs ran counter to Cagney's. To say they had an acrimonious relationship would be a gross understatement. But Warner set in motion a career that continues to touch every generation.

"Every character he played was unique in his own way," Creighton said, noting the assembly-line production of classic and not-so-classic flicks while under Warner's contract. Black-and-white stills from some of those movies cover the back wall of the theater's stage, "Boy Meets Girl," "The Roaring Twenties," "Blonde Crazy," "The Strawberry Blonde," "Footlight Parade," "Angels With Dirty Faces" among them.

An earlier attempt to create a Cagney-based play that Creighton was involved in failed to get traction. "That lit the fire under me," Creighton said. He started dreaming up what was to become Cagney.

He met Peter Colley, who wrote the play's book, and they bonded over their mutual affection for the man. It didn't hurt that Colley, like Creighton, was from Canada. Creighton read every book he could get his hands on and watched all of Cagney's movies to prepare him for this project.

An early version of the show used period music. That evolved into songs that advanced Cagney's bio. Creighton co-wrote the original music and lyrics with Christopher McGovern. Arrangements are by McGovern, costume design is by Martha Bromelmeir, scenic design by James Morgan, sound design by Janie Bullard and lighting design by Michael Gilliam.

Creighton's favorite Cagney movies include "Man of a Thousand Faces" and "Love Me or Leave Me," featuring Doris Day. "I'd love to do a musical about that movie someday," he said.

Creighton is enamored not only of Cagney's prodigious talent, but also of his humanitarian outreach at a time when such a thing wasn't fashionable.

"He fearlessly supported the underdog," Creighton said.

Cagney, the scrappy Irish kid from the Lower East Side, grew up learning how to defend himself on the streets. He was fluent in Yiddish. His mother, with whom he maintained a loving and generous relationship, told him he could box as a hobby but not as a profession. "You have to lick me first," says his mother in the play, played by Danette Holden and Kristie Kerwin.

A fight scene in the first act, directed by the father-and-son team ChristIan Kelly-Sordelet and Rick Sordelet, showcases the evolution of Cagney the fighter, who later went on to earn a black belt in judo.

"He was a gangster/dancer," Creighton said. "His moves were always grounded and he moved with a fluidity, his chest forward." Creighton seamlessly incorporates Cagney's familiar mannerisms in the role, from his head wobble to his hand gestures. "He always wanted to be a song and dance man, and the way he danced looked like he was going to punch you or kiss you," Creighton said with a laugh.

Creighton, who is now a gym regular, was not always in top shape. A lunch with Joel Grey turned that around. "Joel saw me in a production of Encores!' PAINT YOUR WAGON and said, 'You have to get in better shape,' " recalled Creighton. "It was lovingly said-he was very supportive." And so he did.

Creighton, who tap dances enthusiastically throughout Cagney, started tapping at a mature 20 years old. Most tap students start in their teens or earlier. "Josh [Bergasse] makes me look great," he said of Cagney's choreographer.

When Creighton dances with Jeremy Benton, who plays Bob Hope, he's ecstatic. "I'm in bliss in that scene," Creighton said. Cagney always thought of himself as a song-and-dance man.

And Creighton?

"I'm an actor whose first love is to sing and dance."

Cagney is playing at the Westside Theatre (upstairs), 407 West 43rd Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues.