TONYS 2009 Q and A: Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Nominee - Christopher Sieber

Christopher Sieber is currently starring as "Lord Farquaad" in Shrek The Musical. Sieber steals scene after scene after scene as the diminutive and deliciously dastardly "Farquaad", a role he has helped shape since the very first Shrek workshop. His comedic masterwork has paid off as he has earned a 2009 Tony Nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for the role. 

Sieber also received nominations this season from the Outer Critics Circle for "Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical," the Drama League for "Distinguished Performance," and the Drama Desk for "Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical." Sieber also received a Tony Award nomination for his work in Broadway's  Spamalot. He later opened the show to great success in London. 

BroadwayWorld spoke to Christopher about how he first learned of his Tony nomination, his long creative history with Shrek The Musical, and the joy of being nominated among so many friends within the industry.

BWW: You had a crazy morning the day of the Tony Award announcements, did you?

Christopher Sieber: I was driving from my house in NJ on my way to the city. So, my agent called me at 8:40 AM and said you've been nominated for a Tony. And it's raining, it's cats and dogs so I had to pull over, because I needed to take a break, a couple deep breaths and then I pulled back into traffic, because that was all I needed was for the news report to be, you know the headline, Christopher Sieber Nominated for Tony, Dies in Firey Car Crash! I had to get in early, so I had no choice but to drive in! My car has bluetooth, it's hands free, but everytime someone would call, it would hang up on the person that I was talking to all morning. The phone was burning up and hanging up! Did I hang up on you? I'm sorry if I did! Hah, but it was a beautiful morning, just beautiful.

BWW: Having been a part of this project for so long, it must of been wonderful to hear the news.

CS: Oh for sure, so wonderful! I'm just so happy that I'm sharing it with everyone, I love it. I'm happy that we are nominated for best musical, Sutton and I have been with it from the very start, when it was a just a little act one, ya know. So to have helped create this thing, and to see it be nominated for best musical means a lot.

BWW: You were there from the very first reading weren't you?

CS: Yeah, from the very beginning, that's the nice part of this nomination for me is that I've been with and have helped create it and Lord Farquad is part of me. There's a lot of me in that and it's particualy nice because I'm noticed for work that I actually did, certainly choices and lines. Which is what you love as an actor to create, to bring ideas to the table. David Lindsay-Abaire gave me some freedom to try things within paramters to see what worked and what didn't. Always very collaborative, which is what it's been like in the entire process with Shrek, very, very collaborative.

BWW: What a journey from that first reading to now! 

CS: Three and a half years ago was the first workshop, which was half an act and 5 songs and I think only "I Know It's Today" has survived. There's a stack of scenes probably three feet high of book scenes and lyrics and music that's been cut. Even from Seattle when we took it there to try it out, we did all the songs which are cut too. We did retooling after Seattle that cut more songs and 3 days prior to opening, we were still rehearsing.

BWW: That part of the process is a thrill, to see how a project grows, changes.

CS: It is, the collaboration, it is just a joy.

BWW: And here you are, Tony nominee!

CS: Here I am and now the show is done. The hard work has been noticed and that's what's great. It's an overwhelming feeling to get the respect of your peers this way. It is really a honor. Being a nominee this year it's an overwhelming feeling and it is very nice to be in the same category as three of my friends as well!

Christopher Sieber's other Broadway credits include: Chicago, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into The Woods, Beauty & the Beast, Triumph of Love, and A Christmas Carol. Also, New York City Opera production of Cinderella. Off-Broadway: Avow, The Boys in the Band, and Pal Joey. Regional: Randy Newman's Faust, Paper Moon at Paper Mill, Company, and The Boys From Syracuse at Reprise!. TV: "Pushing Daisies," "Johnny and the Sprites," "It's All Relative," "Two of a Kind," "Sex & The City," "Ed," "Guiding Light," "All My Children," and "Another World." Mr. Sieber has not appeared on "Law & Order."

Shrek The Musical features a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize® winner, David Lindsay-Abaire, music by Olivier Award-winnerJeanine Tesori, and is directed by Tony Award® nominee Jason Moore. The new show opened at the Broadway Theatre on Sunday, December 14.

Shrek The Musical stars Tony Award® nominee Brian d'Arcy James as Shrek, Tony Award® winner Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, Tony Award® nominee Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad, Tony Award® nominee Daniel Breaker as Donkey and Tony Award® nominee John Tartaglia as Pinocchio.

Shrek The Musical is an entirely new musical based on the story and characters from William Steig's book Shrek!, as well as theDreamworks Animation film Shrek, the first chapter of the Shrek movie series.

Shrek The Musical tells the story of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess and learns that real friendship and true love aren't only found in fairy tales.

Tickets for Shrek The Musical are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at Telecharge.com, or in person at The Broadway Theatre box office (1681 Broadway @ 53rd St). Group sales are available by contacting Telecharge Group Sales at 212-239-6262, or 800-432-7780.

Tickets on Tuesdays through Thursdays range in price from $41.50 to $121.50, and tickets on Fridays through Sundays range in price from $51.50 to $126.50. All tickets include a $1.50 facility fee.

Nominations in 27 competitive categories for the American Theatre Wing's 63rd Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony"® Awards were announced on Tuesday, May 5th by Tony Award Winners Cynthia Nixon and Lin-Manuel Miranda from the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. 

The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards are bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement. The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television.

The American Theatre Wing's 63rd Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony"® Awards will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 7, 2009 (8-11pm, live EST, PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network. For more information visit tonyawards.com.

Click Here to View the Full List of 2009 Tony Nominees!

Photo Credits: Peter James Zielinski and Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.