Philadelphia native Sean Thompson returns in Love Never Dies

Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar


Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies will soon be at the Academy of Music as part of the season’s first presentation of Broadway Philadelphia. Sean Thompson, who plays Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, will be returning to his hometown. He was born, raised, and educated in Philadelphia. Sean recently took a few minutes out from his busy schedule to talk to me about Love Never Dies, his early life, education, career, and personal life.

 

Ralph Malachowski: Tell us about Love Never Dies, the musical and the tour.

 

Sean Thompson: Right now we are in Saint Louis playing at the Fabulous Fox Theater. Yes, fabulous is part of the name of the theater. It’s a beautiful theater with enthusiastic audiences who appear to really appreciate the show. You may have heard the story told by Sir Andrew about how the first draft of the musical was erased on his electric piano by his cat. It was first presented in London in 2010 to less-than-favorable reviews. It was later reworked by Simon Philips and received a warm welcome in Australia. We have been touring for over a year now with this production. Let me tell you something about some of our fans. Many of them travel from city to city to see the show several times. A few even create Phan Art. One woman has given me several Lego Raouls and one Batman Lego character. I love them.

 

RM: Does she expect a Batman musical to be written with you in the starring role?

 

ST: I hope so! That is something I would do in a heartbeat.

 

RM: Tell us something about growing up in Philadelphia and your early career. Was music a big part of your life at an early age?

 

ST: I remember one of my earliest experiences was singing for the ladies at the Scissor Happy Salon. I must have been in kindergarten. I easily overcame what little shyness I may have had. It was wonderful. I later sang in the choir. I went to …

 

(It was here that Sean exuberantly began to speak in shorthand about this school, that school, and had to be cautioned that not everyone reading this would know what he was talking about unless they were Philadelphia natives.)

 

ST: Oh, yes, right. I went to Archbishop Ryan High School. I lived in Mayfair.  My parents were a bit put off by the fact that I wanted a life in the theater. I owe my encouragement in music to my grandmom who was an usher at what is now the Merriam. She was into musicals. She encouraged my parents to buy me a piano. Her brother was a singer. I had a great voice teacher, Diana Borgia-Petro. Out of college, I took jobs anywhere and everywhere I could find them. I would travel to different cities and different states to work and to gain experience. My first Equity job was at the Wilma in Philadelphia, a life of Galileo. I gained major success when I was about age 30, with Broadway soon afterwards. 

 

RM: Raoul, the character you play, is a very different man in Love Never Dies. In The Phantom of the Opera, he was an icon of goodness. Here he is a drunkard and a gambler, and not very nice to his son. Do you like your character in this second work?

 

ST: Yes, I do like the progression of character in Raoul.  Raoul realizes that Christine will always love the Phantom, and this may have precipitated his gambling, drinking, and overall downfall over the ten years that they have been married. It is always more interesting to play a film noir type of character who may look innocent, but is really not. Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard is a great example. I enjoyed playing him onstage as well. Raoul is a great role. He is a human being like anyone else. He has a wonderful Act 2 solo in Love Never Dies.

 

RM: What roles would you like to play in the future? Would you like to be the Phantom?

 

ST: I would be the Phantom in a heartbeat. In a few years I would like to be Bobby in Company. He is supposed to be 35. Further along, I would like to be in The Bridges of Madison County in ten years. I see Robert Redford aging into roles, and that is appealing to me. I consider myself as an actor who sings, not as a singer who acts, so there are many possibilities.

 

RM: Who were some of the people you admired? Who do you think is great now?

 

ST: There were so many: Brian Stokes-Mitchell for one. I would love to play his son. Audra Macdonald is another. Growing up, I listened to all the 1980s musicals, Ragtime, Cabaret, whatever my 10-to-12-year-old self listened to then. For the youngsters now, I would say Jesse Mueller.

 

RM: What would be some advice that you would give to youngsters starting out now?

 

ST: I would say work hard, be dedicated to your work, never stop learning from others, be humble, yet be secure in who you are because you will receive a lot of criticism to be someone else or do what you aren’t. Be true to who you are.

 

RM: For the readers of Philly Gay Calendar, are you single, or spoken for?

 

ST: I’m single.

 

RM: Excellent! So you wouldn’t mind having dozens of male admirers every night at the stage door offering you their business cards with Franklins wrapped around them, U.S. Savings Bonds in large denominations handed to you, and keys to a new car?

 

ST: That would be wonderful! I do like red cars.

 

 

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