WASHINGTON — Round House Theatre hopes that after this weekend, “You’ll be back.”
The venue is hosting its annual “Broadway in Bethesda” gala on Saturday, featuring Tony-nominee Euan Morton, who starred in the title role of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” last year at the Kennedy Center and currently plays King George III in the Broadway smash “Hamilton.”
“I finished ‘Hedwig’ on July 4 and I was in ‘Hamilton’ by July 28, so it was a pretty quick turnaround,” Morton told WTOP. “I sort of jumped into this thing. I knew it was popular, I knew it was huge, I knew it was a behemoth, but I had never seen it (and) never heard it.”
So, Morton made sure to see it on Broadway and study his predecessor Brian D’Arcy James.
“Brian D’Arcy James was so good,” Morton said. “I was really nervous after seeing him. At first, I wasn’t that nervous. I thought, ‘Well, he’s in it for 9 1/2 minutes and it’s the same song three times, how can it be hard?’ It’s hard! … You have 30 minutes in between your songs and you have to maintain character and throughline in the story. … It’s much harder than it looks.”
The song, of course, is the catchy ditty “You’ll Be Back,” complete with “da da da” scatting.
“It’s maybe the closest (song) to musical theater,” Morton said. “When we first started rehearsing the role, they mentioned Brit-pop a few times. That sort of gave me an idea of where it comes from. … It’s one of the more traditional songs in the piece and the easiest to remember. … I don’t know why it’s so memorable — just ’cause the king’s awesome probably!”
As upbeat as the song is, Morton admits it’s a challenge to remember the three reprises.
“Singing the same song three times with different lyrics is confusing,” Morton said. “On my very first public performance, I walk on stage, all my friends are there, and I sang the opening lines to Part 2, rather than Part 1. As you can imagine, it was humiliating. … It’s not one of those things where you can make a mess and it’s only the fans who know. Everybody in the audience is a fan, so one mistake, one word, one line, one gesture and everybody knows.”
Before King George, Morton played Boy George in “Taboo” in both London and New York.
“I do seem to play George a lot,” Morton joked. “Even 15 years later … it’s still the most formative piece of work I’ve done. … Everything changed when I moved to this country. I’m not sure it was all for the better, but it was all for the experience, it was all to get me where I am today. … ‘Taboo’ just meant something more than just a successful piece of theater. It wasn’t about the prizes, the accolades; it was about who I was becoming as a person because of it.”
That evolution continued with the title role in “Hedwig” last year at the Kennedy Center.
“It was fantastic,” Morton said. “Playing Hedwig was honestly I think one of the best things I’ve ever done personally as an actor and as a performer. I learned so much about myself. It was a blast. I would have done it forever. If they had said, ‘Let’s do another 10 years,’ I would have done it forever — and probably at the Kennedy Center if they let us.”
Morton said Saturday’s gala concert will feature selections from his favorite stage shows.
“One of the songs I’m singing at Round House will be ‘Stranger in This World’ (from ‘Taboo’),” Morton said. “Not because the audience wants it anymore — ‘Taboo’ was so long ago that if you weren’t a fan, you don’t really know it — but because I still have such an affinity for that song. … I still owe that song a lot, so it still appears in my repertoire today. … I love to sing it.”
What else might we hear on the set list?
“I am going to sing some songs from musicals that I’ve done in my life,” Morton said. “I want to sing (a number) from the show ‘Parade’ I did in 2011 at Ford’s Theatre. … Then I started saying, ‘What else can I do?’ Can I sing from ‘Chess,’ which I did at Signature (Theatre)? Can I sing from ‘Sondheim on Sondheim?’ Can I sing from ‘Taboo?’ Will I sing from ‘Hedwig?’ And I realized, ‘My God, I’ve done a lot of musicals!’ There’s a whole gig worth of musicals in there!”
The event kicks off with a cocktail reception and sponsor dinner at 6 p.m., followed by the gala concert and live auction at 8 p.m. The opening act is singer-songwriter Catherine Backus, recent finalist of the Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Award, followed by Morton as the headliner.
General admission concert tickets are $70, including a live auction, dessert reception and open bar. If you’re looking to donate, sponorships for the pre-concert dinner start at $350.
“It’s another chance to support local theater,” Morton said. “The D.C. and surrounding tri-state era of theater supporters are always there. They’re some of the best in the country; I know because I’ve traveled this country. … There’s a support network and we hope that continues.. You should definitely come out. I’m there, for God’s sake! Who knows what I’ll say?”
Find more ticket info on the theater website. Listen to our full chat with Euan Morton below:
