Taylor Frey's Page

Interview by Alina Gutierrez

After a lucky break as Link Larkin on the National Tour of Hairspray, Taylor Frey prepares to make his Broadway debut alongside Kate Baldwin and Cheyenne Jackson in Finian’s Rainbow. The show opens October 29 at the St. James Theatre. Previews begin October 8.

Full name: Taylor Frey
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV & Bountiful, UT
Current town: New York, NY
Current Gig: Finian’s Rainbow, ensemble & Woody understudy
Special skills: Tumbling & cooking. I love cooking desserts and good dinner… like salmon.
Pop culture guilty pleasure: Disney Channel pop artists like The Jonas Brothers. I also really love Kelly Clarkson. She is on my most played list. Her voice is amazing.
Broadway Idol: Matthew Morrison
Favorite Broadway show: Wicked which is kind of cliché, but I love it. In the Heights is great too.
Favorite showtune to sing: Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid
Part you’d like to play on Broadway: Fiyero in Wicked.


TS: How did you become interested in theater? How did you decide that you wanted to be on Broadway?
TF: It all started when I was playing little league football. I played for eight years and even into high school. I did my first little community theatre show in my city, and during rehearsals I was also playing football too, so I was balancing the two. But I remember going to practice and always thinking about what dance and music stuff I had learned that day instead of how to make a good play or tackle. It's true. Then when I played "Joseph" in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat when I was in ninth grade, I came out on the stage and had the spotlight on me and saw all the heads in the audience listening to me sing. I mean, it was pretty cool. I have craved that same feeling ever since.


TS: Where did you receive your training?
TF: I studied for a while at Brigham Young University. I also learned a lot form previous experiences with community and regional theater but most of my training, I did in the city. When I got here, I enrolled with every good teacher that I possibly could work with. It cost me a lot, but I had to think of it as an investment. It was kind of a huge leap of faith, but I knew I had to do it, so I am glad it worked out.


TS: What are some other shows you have worked in?
TF: I did Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Footloose (twice), West Side Story (twice), The Music Man, The Secret Garden, Les Miserables, High Shool Musical and Hairspray.


TS: Which part was your favorite to play?
TF: Link Larkin in Hairspray.


TS: So how did you get involved with Hairspray? What was the auditioning process like for you?
TF: I was a sophomore at BYU at the time and I was visiting my best friend Johnny for three days. I was just in town for the weekend; I had school Monday. Johnny had the “backstage” newspaper which included listings for auditions for non-equity people and he suggested I go, and I went. I waited in long lines, but they finally saw me. I got several call backs and then was asked to read for the role of Link. Then they asked me to come back and audition the following week. I told them that I had school, but they promised that if I stayed, they would make it worthwhile… So I extended my trip. That following week, I received a call to go on the national tour of Hairspray as Link Larkin.


TS: How was it being on the road as Link?
TF: It was good but hard. It was a whole new world to me. I came from the Utah bubble, so it was a little crazy but I learned a ton. It’s hard eating, breathing, sleeping with your cast and it is hard to live a balanced life. On other hand, I got to tour the best cities in the United States… I mean, we were in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, DC… It was amazing. It didn’t feel like a non-equity tour at all. And it was Hairspray! It is one of the best shows to be a part of if you ask me.


TS: What was your worst stage mishap on tour?
TF: I had just done a quick costume change and came on stage for “It takes Two” and I had left my zipper down. I was wearing a nude colored dance belt. Yeah, not good. The cast was busting out in laughter and then the audience was laughing too. And I couldn’t figure out why…. And then I realized the zipper was down…


TS: How long were you on the tour for?
TF: I stayed with the tour for six months. They asked me to re-sign but I wanted to progress in my career. I mean, I loved it, but I felt like I had grown as much as it was possible. It was a choice between doing what is comfortable and moving to the city and working to be on Broadway which was my dream.


TS: How was your auditioning process once you got to NYC?
TF: I auditioned for pretty much everything I could. It was motivating because I saw what I needed to do to be able to really compete. And it was hard but when you have a dream that wont stay quiet, you do what you have to do. I don’t think I would have been satisfied in life if I didn’t work hard for what I want. There are other things I want too, but I needed to do a few things for myself.

TS: You’re currently in rehearsals for Finian’s Rainbow. How is that going?
TF: It’s going really well. They put me in a dancer track as well as covering Cheyenne’s role (Woody). It’s challenging because I am working with really experienced dancers, but already, I have learned so much. We’re working hard. My body hurts always. My new best friends are tiger balm, ice and Epsom salt baths.


TS: This is your first time working in a show that is being built from the very start. Do the actors get to be a part of the creative process?
TF: Yes. It is cool because we get to be a part of building the show along with the creative team. It’s a very special experience. It is an amazing thing to be a part of. As we work to perfect the show, we have bonded as a cast too. The cast is awesome. They are one of the best parts of the rehearsal process. Learning from the director and choreographer, working with Warren Carlyle and Rob Berman (music director) is so rewarding. They are so creative and great.


TS: This is your Broadway debut. How does it feel?
TF: Amazing… This is such a dream come true… As cheesy as this is, sometimes, I wake up in the morning and I’m like “I made it to Broadway!”

TS: What is the most rewarding part of being an actor?
TF: That you get to walk to your theater at night and the audience will come in filled with worries or challanges that they are dealing with in everyday… but then they watch the show, and I take a part in lifting those worries off their shoulders through song and dance. It is one of the most effective ways to help people feel uplifted. There’s also the fact that I get to have a blast on stage every night and get paid for it.


TS: Advice for people who are out there auditioning?
TF: Go to open calls. I have friends who tell me they aren't working because their agency doesn't get them all the appointments they want or “I never heard about that audition.”, or that "people never cast from open calls." Well, I am making my Broadway debut off an open call that I could have slept through or gotten out of bed to go to, so I don’t really want to hear it. It does happen.


TS: If you had 5 words to describe or sum up your “Theatre Story”, what would they be?
TF: Go big or go home.