J. Robert Spencer
His Jersey Boys castmates got most of the glory, but J. Robert Spencer won the audience’s heart with his still-waters-run-deep portrayal of Nick Massi, the Four Season who quit the group at the height of its fame. As a follow-up to that smash hit, Spencer has nabbed the juicy role of Dan, a husband and father coping with his wife’s bi-polar illness, in the highly anticipated Broadway production of Next to Normal. He played the psychiatrist in an early reading of the musical, and when Brian d’Arcy James bowed out as Dan to star in Shrek, Spencer picked up the phone to pitch himself as the lead in the show’s pre-Broadway run at Arena Stage in D.C.—and it worked. In conversation, the 40-year-old actor is warm, upbeat and obviously thankful both for his current career success and happily normal family life with his actress wife, Jenny-Lynn Suckling, and their kids, two-year-old Geddy and five-month-old Raine.
You seem very comfortable in the role of Next to Normal’s loyal husband and father.
Thank you. I truly feel that way because of where I am in my own life and also as an artist. It’s just too perfect.
You started out playing Alice Ripley’s psychiatrist in a reading of the show, right?
Yes. I was still doing Jersey Boys at the time. I hadn’t seen Alice in over 11 years, since we did Side Show together on Broadway. Several things crossed my mind during the read. One, that it was phenomenal show and [director] Michael Greif was the right man for the job; I was thinking, “Man, this is gonna go to Broadway.” But I was also thinking, “That’s my part—the husband. That’s who I should be playing.” As I turned out, I couldn’t do the [original off-Broadway production] at Second Stage because they weren’t going to let me out of my contract at Jersey Boys. But the whole time, I was like, “They don’t know me completely yet.” The Broadway community knew me as Nick Massi, but I knew I had so much more to offer, and all I needed was one pivotal role to accomplish that. And I knew it was the part of Dan.
And then Brian d’Arcy James decided to do Shrek.
When I heard that, I called [composer] Tom Kitt right away and said, “I understand you’re going to the Arena Stage with this thing and my gut’s telling me that it’s going to go to Broadway.” It’s the same feeling I had when I read Jersey Boys for the first time. I said, “I want that part of Dan.” Tom just said, “We’d love to have you come in! Call Michael Greif right now.” Michael was a gentleman and called me back immediately and said, “We’re only seeing a handful of guys, but call Bernie Telsey and get it set up.” I gave it all I had, and within an hour, they called me and said that the part was mine.
What do you love about this character?
His sense of purpose and his devotion and commitment to Diana [played by Ripley]. I’m a hopeless romantic myself and I love my wife tremendously, so I understand his desire to make his wife better. Most husbands, whether the issue is depression or an accident or illness, whatever the circumstance may be, want to be the knight in shining armor, to push a button and make it better. Dan is so adoring, and yet there’s something very naive about him. Because it’s not that easy. He has hidden in the shadows of denial for too long in his marriage and his life. And yet the thing that’s so beautiful about the show is that by the end, he has that moment of understanding and more importantly, acceptance.
What’s it like to play such an emotional piece?
Rewarding. And challenging. Just an absolute gift from God. When I got into this business, I really, really wanted to be involved with shows that were brand-spanking new, groundbreaking and uplifting and original. And I’ve been blessed to have that, just in the last five years to go from Jersey Boys to Next to Normal. It captures all the elements that made me want to do theater in the first place.
You get to show off the range of your voice much more than singing the base line in Jersey Boys.
That was the other reason I wanted to do this. I wanted people to know that I can do more than [booms his solo line in “Sherry”] “Why don’t you come on!” I can’t tell you how many Jersey Boys fans have said to me after seeing this show, “Oh my god, I had no idea you could sing like this.” To go from Nick Massi, who’s the Ringo [of the Four Seasons], to this show feels tremendous.
The songs aren’t listed in the Next to Normal program, but you have a lot of them.
I was going through the song list off the CD the other day, and I believe I sing in about 18 songs—a combination of solos, duets and group numbers. There are about 38 songs in the show. I guess my favorite moment is “I’ve Been,” a solo that they put back in for the Arena Stage production. It had been written for Dan years ago, and when Tom [Kitt] and [lyricist] Brian [Yorkey] played it for Michael [Greif], he said, “This is the song we need! Dan needs this moment to be able to tell his side.” [Click here for Broadway.com’s exclusive video of the Next to Normal recording session, which includes “I’ve Been.”] But in my opinion, every song in this show is an 11 o’clock number. Every character has a showstopper.
You mentioned that you’ve known Alice Ripley since Side Show. What’s it like to work with her?
Great. She’s tremendous! You know, I can remember standing in the wings at Side Show—I was a very disciplined swing, I watched the show every night—and I learned so much from watching Alice. I had always thought musical theater was very grandiose and over the top, but she could do so much with absolute stillness. She just captivated me. Now that I’m with her on stage, I feel like I’m right in the zone with her because of the journey I’ve had artistically over the past 10 years, as well as where I am as a husband and a father. Alice pours her heart out every night, and I pour it out with her. It’s so rewarding to be alongside her, because you know, Alice Ripley is Broadway royalty.
What a nice way to put it.
She is, man! I get to be on stage with royalty eight times a week. We all do. I’ll tell you something: You’ll be on stage with her and you think you’re giving 100% , and the moment you look into Alice’s eyes, you realize you have to go even further to reach the heights of where she is. She exemplifies true discipline and greatness.
You met your wife, Jenny-Lynn Suckling, at Side Show, too, right?
I did. She’s wonderful, and we have two children now. Geddy is 27 months, and Raine is five months.
How did you decide on their names?
Geddy’s name comes from my favorite rock group, Rush; the bass player and lead singer is Geddy Lee. When my wife was pregnant, we knew we were having a boy, and we wanted a different name. I said, “What about Geddy?” And he really is a Geddy—he’s so much fun. With our second child, Jenny was going through names on the internet one night and saw Raine, which in French means “queen.” So we named her Raine Alice.
It must be nice to be able to spend time with the kids during the day.
It’s great. But I want to tell you something about my wife: Our daughter was born on October 29, and I had to leave for the Arena Stage in DC to do Next to Normal on November 10. She was a single mom for two and a half months, which felt like an eternity. I had two other job offers in the city after leaving Jersey Boys—I won’t mention what they were—and it was an incredibly difficult decision to leave my family. But my wife had complete faith that Next to Normal was going to come to Broadway. She said, “Bobby, you have to do this. We’re going to be fine. This is the role you have been waiting for.” So I have to give huge praise and love to my wife for making the sacrifice.
Do you keep up with any of the other three original Jersey Boys [John Lloyd Young, Christian Hoff and Daniel Reichard]?
I do. We’re all crazy with our own schedules and lives, but it’s an occasional e-mail here and there. Last I heard, Christian’s in California with his family; they recently had a baby. We got a letter from John a couple months back saying congratulations on our new baby. Daniel sends texts from time to time.
The chemistry the four of you had was something special.
Thank you. I hear that a lot from people, and it’s very gratifying. That’s why we’re the originals [laughs].
What was the highlight of the Jersey Boys experience?
Meeting all the actors who came to see the show, whose work I’ve admired for years. People like Joan Allen and James Gandolfini and Jeff Daniels and Steve Martin and Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. You’d walk down the stairs and they’d look at you and say, “Oh my god, you were amazing!” And you’re thinking, “What? You’re…YOU! And you’re talking to ME? Thank you so much!”
Your career has not been a cakewalk. What made you persevere?
Patience. Persistence. Prayer. Constant belief. Knowing that all of “the suits” were wrong, and all of the doors that were closed in my face, and all the phone calls that weren’t be returned, and all the letters that weren’t answered—I just knew it was only a matter of time. When I was in my 20s, I would go out for certain jobs and hear, “You’re too young for this older part” or “You’re too old for this young part.” I remember saying to my wife, “I’ll tell you something, Jenny-Lynn, when I’m 33, that’s when I’m going to start working nonstop.” And about the time I turned 34 is when I got the call for Jersey Boys. I turned 40 in February, and I’m finally the right age for the roles that are coming to me.
Was turning 40 traumatic for you?
Not at all, because I still feel like I’m 20-something. I look in the mirror and there’s a little more salt in my hair and a little more crow’s feet, but I swear to god man, I feel like a 20-year-old!
You’ve also kept busy producing, writing, directing and acting in low-budget films.
I love movies so much, but until recently I never had any representation. And I was like, “If no one is going to see me for their films, I’m going to do it myself.” That’s what John Cassavetes did. I came across an amazing book about him called Accidental Genius. Every page is an inspiration. It talks about him crashing auditions, and I’m like, “I’ve done that!” Making phone calls and yelling, “If you don’t want me in your movie, I’ll make my own.” I’ve done that! I want to live that spirit of independence as much as I can. We did our first feature, Farm Girl in New York for very little money and we put together a good, funny, slick film. Now we’re in the midst of editing Heterosexuals; once again, I just went out there and was able to raise the money through people who believe in me. We ended up getting Natasha Lyonne involved, and Tovah Feldshuh was nice enough to give us a cameo. We hired a talented television actress named Ashley Williams. I’m very proud of the work that everyone did in the film.
But you still love stage acting.
Oh, I love the theater. I always knew that I wanted to be an entertainer. I didn’t know if it was going to be acting, I didn’t know if it was going to be music. But did I know I was going to be on a stage performing in front of people? Absolutely. I went at both of them full force, and it all worked out the way it was supposed to.
See J. Robert Spencer in Next to Normal at the Booth Theatre.
