Interview: John Battagliese

John Battagliese was in the first national tour of Cruel Intentions the musical as Greg McConnell (u/s Sebastian) and the Las Vegas production of BAZ: Star Cross Love as Romeo, and many other regional productions. He won one of the Seth Rudetskys concert series sing-off's and his tik-tok video for Bridgerton the musical was featured on NBC News.

It's great to catch up with John, thank you so much for your time!

How long have you been doing theatre? What inspired or motivated you to get involved?

I've been doing theater since around 2nd or 3rd grade. I saw a production of Grease that was touring through Philadelphia (where I grew up) and Frankie Avalon was playing the Teen Angel. Not only was he the Teen Angel in the film, but he was also a hometown hero. When he walked on stage he got a standing ovation and I turned to my parents and said "I wanna do THAT!".

What has been a favorite role you have played?

I think my favorite role I've played is Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys. It was the first time I felt my off stage persona match completely with the role on stage. I got to bring so much of myself to the part (and the songs are so much fun to sing).

What is a dream role that you have?

My dream is to originate a role, specifically a role written for a gay leading man.

What is your favorite musical?

Such a hard question!!! It changes all the time. My favorite musical from childhood was Into the Woods and my love for it continues as I get older, each year I feel like I find new meaning in it.

What is your favorite musical song to sing?

My favorite song to sing from a musical right now is Cry For Me, but if I'm in my car ...it's So Much Better from Legally Blonde.

Who are your musical influences?

Growing up I really tried to mimic Cheyenne Jackson and Gavin Creel in my singing - I idolize both of them. As far as listening to music, I listen to a lot of singer songwriters and country musicians. I think the quality of those singers from a story telling perspective can be really useful in working on musicals.

What was the first show you saw on Broadway?

Wicked!

How does it feel to have live theatre coming back?

It's amazing to have live theater coming back. When Broadway closed I really had a crisis of faith. My entire life up to that point had revolved around Musical Theater and suddenly it was gone. It forced me to look inside and find other outlets of creativity as well as experience new and exciting aspects of life that I had put to the side. I think now that theater is returning, I'm excited to meld the new facets of my life with my already existing career as a performer.

Did the pandemic/shut down change you as an artist/performer in any way?

1000 percent. I moved across the country, I started writing, I've gotten into producing new works, I've traveled more- it's really been eye opening. As terrible and stressful as the shut down was and has been, I'm grateful for the chance to pause and grow during it.

Besides theatre, what else do you enjoy doing? Hobbies?

I love spending time with my friends and family. The thing I realized during the shutdown was that without work I didn't quite know what else I liked to do. Going from doing 8 shows a week and auditioning all the time to being sedentary - I felt myself starting to feel a bit lost. So, I started playing tennis with my friends every week (we aren't very good) and got in to cycling and it's been awesome.

John! Thank you so much! We greatly appreciate it and look forward to seeing what all you do!

Photo courtesy of John Battagliese

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