Your cart is currently empty!
Tag: NSYNCs
*NSYNC’s Joey Fatone has always been a theatre kid
The boy band star, who appeared on Broadway twice in the early aughts, now returns for the first time in 20 years to play a limited run in the musical & Juliet.
Joey’s back, alright! Wait, wrong boy band. Nonetheless, it works: Despite famously being a member of *NSYNC, Joey Fatone sings multiple Backstreet Boys songs in & Juliet on Broadway, the pop musical in which he stars through March 16.
Thirty songs from Grammy-winning songwriter/music producer Max Martin, made famous by these bands and other pop stars, score the show that imagines what would happen if Shakespeare’s Juliet didn’t die after losing Romeo. Fatone plays Lance, Juliet’s friend’s imposing father who falls into an unexpected romance of his own.
Fatone joins a mini-boy band renaissance on the New York theatre scene; for one, New Kids on the Block’s Joey McIntyre just wrapped a run in Drag: The Musical off Broadway. The crossover is natural, according to Fatone.
Theatre is “where we started,” he said. “Joey Mac has always been a theatre kid. I’ve always been a theatre kid. Crazy enough, a lot of the people I went to high school with have come out to do shows.” The alum of Orlando, Florida’s Dr. Phillips High School attended within 10 years of Wayne Brady, Aladdin‘s Michael James Scott, and Tony Award nominee Tony Yazbeck, among others.
Fatone made his own Broadway debut in Little Shop of Horrors in 2002, going on to lead Rent for a limited run in 2004. & Juliet marks his first time back since then, and despite the challenges, he said he’s been having “a blast” getting to finally return to an art he loves.
“I wasn’t really nervous-nervous. It was just a matter of getting things out and making sure I tell the story,” Fatone said. “It’s [an] amazing adrenaline rush.”
Hear more from Fatone about taking up the codpiece in & Juliet and his hopes for the future of his Broadway career below.
Get & Juliet tickets now.
How does it feel to be back on Broadway?
Crazy, after so many years. I feel old and humbled.
No, it’s good. It’s exciting to be back. It’s been a long time coming for me, and finding the time to do it is always not that easy.
I did Rent many moons ago. And it’s a great show, but it’s very mentally draining [doing] scenes that are very dark sometimes. For & Juliet, it’s so light and so much fun. I’m having a blast, and if I mess up, it happens. It’s a live show. What are you going to do?
How did you get the opportunity to do & Juliet?
I knew the show since the birth. [Producers] Tim Headington and Theresa Page are very good friends of mine that got this show pretty much up and running [in London’s] West End […] and then brought it to Broadway.
I’ve seen the show, gosh, two or three times. Many years ago, we even said, “If there’s ever a part, let us know.” And they came to us and said, “Hey, here’s Lance. Obviously, this should be right up your alley.”
Maybe I should have been like, “Darn. I should have been in the original cast!” But nevertheless, it is what it is. I’m here.
What was your first impression of the show?
“Man, I can’t do a French accent.” I’ve tried. It’s awful, but I think that’s what’s fun about this show and about this character. It does poke fun of it a little bit.
I love this script, and you’ve got to love the music. It’s all Max Martin, it’s all Britney, *NSYNC, Backstreet, Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion. Hit after hit after hit after hit are in this show, and you know them, and you love them, and it’s amazing to see how they actually connected the script and the show to the songs. Sometimes that’s not very easy.
What was on your mind during your first performance?
When I walked on stage and I was like, “So, Francois,” people screamed. I was like, “Okay, are they gonna stop?” I’m standing there and people are still cheering. I’m like […] “Please stop applauding because I’m not going to remember the line if you keep doing that.”
Once I started talking, I don’t remember exactly what I said, but I said all the right words. And I walked off stage, and I went, “What the hell just happened?” That was the first scene. And then once you get into it, it’s just doing it.
Was it a challenge to adapt to the demands of Broadway after being away for 20 years?
Honestly, it’s with age. Seriously, no lie. You’re not as receptive and […] quick. For me, learning stuff is happening a little slower. But once I have that repetition, then it’s smooth sailing.
A lot of celebrities sometimes go into these shows not knowing the grind — the eight shows a week, the one night off. Thank goodness my character, honestly, is not a very demanding character, which is nice, but he’s got to be present. There’s a lot of connections with his son, Francois, that [are] going on within the show.
I only had […] about 11 days of rehearsals. When you’re doing these rehearsals, you’re not with the full cast; you’re with a stage manager and a dance captain and people that have done the show, but only, like, two or three.
And that’s really what a put-in [rehearsal] is for. They even said, “Don’t worry about the lines. It’s the matter of getting your feet in the position of what you’re doing.”
They’re like, “You need to be up forward.” And I’m like, “Why?” “Because a donut’s going to start moving and something’s going to hit you in the head if you do not go downstage.” And I was like, “Okay, lesson learned.”
Did you get any advice from Paulo Szot, who originated Lance on Broadway?
Paulo, I met a few times. Handing the codpiece over was a very cute, very funny service we did. He’s great, though his take is definitely different because he’s an opera singer, classically trained. That’s amazing within itself. He is a Tony Award-winning guy. I have no Tony Awards.
My take is a little more comical. His is funny, too; mine’s just a little more cartoonish, a little more over the top. His is very deliberate, very sweet, and very sincere. I took some of that, but the great thing about doing these shows is putting a different twist on it.
What is your favorite moment in & Juliet?
Of course, mine are the best, what are you talking about? I love the bedroom scene with Angelique, [played by] Jeanette [Bayardelle]. She’s awesome. And that scene I have with Francois [where we sing] “Shape of my Heart,” which is also a beautiful ballad by Backstreet. You can’t not get choked up when you hear that song.
There’s a couple other ones, [like the song] “One More Try.” I thought it was a song that was already written, but that’s actually original in the show that Max did, which is probably one of my favorite songs.
Do you hope to do more Broadway shows in the future?
It would be fun to do a brand-new show. Whatever that show is, or whatever musical. So, people, if you’re looking and if there’s a show out there and you think I’m fit for it, (makes phone gesture) ring-a-ding.
Get & Juliet tickets now.
This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.
Top image credit: Joey Fatone. (Photo by Amy and Gabe Mendoza at TwentyNine Northwest Studio)
In-article image credit: Joey Fatone in & Juliet on Broadway. (Photo by Rebecca J. Michelson)
Growing up, *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone may have been known for his impressive dance moves and vocal talents, but did you know he has always been a theatre kid at heart? From his early days performing in community theatre productions to his recent roles on Broadway, Joey has always had a passion for the stage.In fact, before joining *NSYNC, Joey was heavily involved in musical theatre, with roles in productions like “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Even after finding success in the music industry, he continued to pursue his love for theatre, starring in shows like “Rent” and “Sweeney Todd.”
Now, Joey is back on Broadway, currently starring in the hit musical “Waitress.” His love for theatre has never wavered, and fans are thrilled to see him back where he belongs – under the bright lights of the stage.
So next time you see Joey Fatone busting a move on stage, remember that he’s not just a pop star – he’s a true theatre kid at heart.
Tags:
*NSYNC, Joey Fatone, theatre, theatre kid, Broadway, musicals, boy band, singer, actor, performer, entertainment industry, career transition, passion for theatre
#NSYNCs #Joey #Fatone #theatre #kid*NSYNC’s Joey Fatone reacts to singing Backstreet Boys in ‘& Juliet’
When you see Joey Fatone rocking his body to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” in the hit Broadway musical “& Juliet,” you might think that you have been transported to an alternate boy band universe.
But yes, that is the *NSYNC crooner singing the signature bop by the Backstreet Boys in the reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” — where the heroine decides not to kill herself after finding her beloved beau dead.
As Lance Du Bois — a man-in-tights role he will be playing through March 16 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre — Fatone also performs another Backstreet fave, “Shape of My Heart.”
“It used to be the young characters,” said Fatone of his new role in “& Juliet.” “Now, I’m playing the dad parts.” Getty Images “It’s gonna be interesting for people that are fans of Backstreet and fans of *NSYNC to come see that,” he told The Post.
Fatone, 48, also sings Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and Ariana Grande’s “Break Free” in the musical set to the tunes of Swedish hitmaker Max Martin — from Britney Spears’ “… Baby One More Time” to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
Martin also lent his golden pen to *NSYNC classics such as “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Although the latter track is featured in “& Juliet,” it’s not one of Fatone’s numbers.
“The first song we ever actually did with Max was ‘I Want You Back,’” said Fatone of *NSYNC’s debut single. “He gets it, you know? And he has a great team of people that get … what makes a hit and what has the hook.”
After “I Want You Back” was released in the US in 1998, *NSYNC got an unwitting boost from the Backstreet Boys when, later that year, the “I Want It That Way” group turned down an offer to appear on the “Disney Channel in Concert” series.
Fatone takes a bow on opening night of his run in “& Juliet,” where he sings the tunes of hitmaker Max Martin. Rebecca J. Michelson “They were exhausted,” said Fatone. “All of a sudden, Johnny [Wright, who managed both boy bands] was like, ‘Well, these guys from *NSYNC, they’re brand new … you want to give them a shot to do the show?’ And they said, ‘Yes.’
“And guess what — we waltzed right in there and blew up. So thanks, Backstreet.”
But the two quintets were not as in sync as you might think.
Fatone (left) reunited with his *NSYNC bandmates at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Getty Images for MTV “They had a lot more ballads. It was a little bit more sophisticated,” said Fatone. “We’re known more for our uptempos. And I think we danced a lot more than they did.”
Although much was made of a rivalry between the two groups back in the day, there is no bad blood between them. In fact, Fatone and Backstreet’s AJ McLean teamed up for the A Legendary Night tour, in which they crooned to each other’s tunes.
Fatone (right) teamed up with Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean for the A Legendary Night tour, crooning each other’s tunes. Getty Images “This was kind of a thank you to our fans,” said Fatone of the tour, which he and McLean hope to resume with more shows later this year. “We put a couple of shows out for A Legendary Night, and it sold out fast.”
For now, though, the New York native is focused on his return to Broadway after 21 years in “& Juliet,” after previously appearing in “Rent” in 2002 and “Little Shop of Horrors” from 2003 to 2004.
“It used to be the young characters,” said Fatone. “Now, I’m playing the dad parts.”
Joey Fatone, former member of the iconic boy band NSYNC, recently made a surprising revelation during a performance of the musical ‘& Juliet’. The show features a mashup of popular songs from the 90s, including hits from both NSYNC and their rival boy band, the Backstreet Boys.
During a scene in the musical where the characters sing a medley of boy band classics, Fatone found himself belting out the lyrics to a Backstreet Boys song. The moment caught the attention of fans in the audience, who couldn’t believe their ears.
In a recent interview, Fatone shared his reaction to singing a Backstreet Boys song on stage. He admitted that it was a surreal experience, but ultimately he enjoyed the opportunity to perform a song from a group that he had once considered competition.
Fans of both *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys were thrilled to see Fatone embrace the moment and show his appreciation for his fellow boy band members. It just goes to show that even rival boy bands can come together for the love of music.
Tags:
*NSYNC, Joey Fatone, Backstreet Boys, & Juliet, musical, Broadway, crossover, boy bands, pop music, singing, performance, reaction, entertainment industry, nostalgia, celebrity, collaboration, theater, vocalists, music, stage production
#NSYNCs #Joey #Fatone #reacts #singing #Backstreet #Boys #Juliet
