Interview: Adrian Blake Enscoe is the November 2024 Debut of the Month

Adrian Blake Enscoe is currently making his Broadway debut as Little Brother in Swept Away on Broadway. Enscoe originated the role of Little Brother in the world premiere of Swept Away at Berkeley Rep. Off-Broadway he starred in Folk Wandering at ART/NY and Billy & the Killers at HERE. On screen he starred as Austin Dickinson in Apple TV’s 'Dickinson'. He is also known for being a member of the indie folk band Bandits on the Run, with whom he is currently in the process of developing the stage musical adaptation of the novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape along with Christopher Sears, and Academy Award Nominee Peter Hedges. 

Read the full interview and check out photography by BroadwayWorld's own Jennifer Broski below!

How does it feel to have made the journey to Broadway with Swept Away?

I’ve been with the project since 2019, I did the Berkeley run originally in 2022, so it feels like coming home after a really long journey. It lines up that the story is about these people lost at sea, and it feels like we kind of had an entire journey just to get here. We embarked years ago, we found ourselves doing the show in an unfamiliar place in the midst of Omicron, which was very hard because people were getting sick left and right, and it was hard to get people into the theatre to see the show, and we survived. I honestly think it brought all of us closer together. It’s the same four principal cast members, and a lot of the same ensemble members. So, it just feels triumphant, it feels like a homecoming, which is really beautiful.

And how does it feel to be working alongside your incredible cast members?

They’re the best, they’re amazing. They all are very different. I feel like the cast is very balanced. John Gallagher Jr. is a rockstar. It was a theatrical awakening for me when I was a kid, watching him in Spring Awakening. So, to get to do this alongside him is a total mind trip.

And Stark Sands I also had my eye on for years because I was going out for a lot of the same roles as him, roles that he had originated, like in Kinky Boots. And when we became brothers in this universe, it just felt like a natural fit. I was called back last minute, and so I walked into the room not knowing really exactly what to expect, and there was new material, and when we sang together we just locked in and it made sense.

And, of course, Wayne Duvall, I grew up watching O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and he’s such a lovely person for all of the salty old men that he plays. It feels like a family. Every time we come back to the show it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, these are my people.'

Swept Away is now officially open on Broadway. How were you feeling right before you stepped on stage for opening night, and how did you feel taking that Broadway bow?

I got a piece of advice that was, “There is going to be a lot of stuff going on, there is a lot of business around an opening, but, for you, you’re going to want to remember this.” My mantra for that day was just to soak it up, to keep my eyes open, and my heart open, and to try to remember everything. It didn’t feel unlike when I got married, which was about a year ago. I just wanted to try to be there and really take in the experience, because you never really get to do it again. I feel so blessed that I get to be with this project, a project that I deeply, deeply care about, that feels like it resonates with my soul and my entire career.

The thing about the Longacre Theatre too, is it’s three stories, there’s an orchestra, a second-floor mezzanine, and a third story balcony. It’s an incredible space for this play because everybody is kind of leaning in, it feels really intimate even though it’s 1000 seats, it really feels like no one is very far from you. I can feel energy going through the audience in the quiet moments, it’s amazing. That final bow on opening night, the whole field of vision was this warmth and love. It really felt like we’d all done it, everybody in the room had done it.

Do you have a favorite onstage moment in the show?

So many! I get to do a really fun jump early on in the show- I love to jump- I jump from the poop deck onto the regular deck on the ship. I look forward to that because it kind of feels like ‘Off to the races, we’re starting!’ I also get to sing this number at the very end in a little lifeboat that we find ourselves in, where the boat is rotating, and I’m kind of having an awakening. That feels like the ultimate Broadway moment for me, getting to sing about life’s loveliness and ugliness from this beautifully-lit boat.

I also just love singing ‘Murder in the City’ with Stark Sands because it’s a really beautiful song, and I feel like we’ve found an awesome story together in it, and these little moments. I really adore performing with Stark.

What do you want to tell audience members who are planning to come and see Swept Away?

Expect the unexpected. This show is going to hit you more than you expect a Broadway musical to. It is really fun, it’s an adventure, and it also takes you to the lowest depths that you can imagine. But, it doesn’t leave you feeling empty, it leaves you feeling hopeful and empowered. And I really think this show is excavating a part of the human psyche that not a lot of shows get to do, and it really offers a true catharsis. Come with an open heart, and I think you will be rewarded.

Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?

The music in this show is really what drew me to it originally. I’ve been following The Avett Brothers for a long time. And Bryan Usifer and Chris Miller’s treatment of it is amazing. They did this incredible pastiche in certain moments of many Avett songs, and if you listen really closely you’ll be like, “Oh my god, this is the theme from this but to the chords of that!” I don’t think there is another show that’s been on Broadway recently that is in the folk world so convincingly, that exists in this folk style. And for me, that’s one of the most exciting things about the show. Come expecting something that you have not seen before on a Broadway stage.