As kids all over America head back to school, Broadway.com decided to ask our favorite Broadway stars to look back at their own years in the classroom, sharing memories of favorite subjects and activities and describing their younger selves. Now that he's playing the dapper Billy Crocker in Anything Goes, it sounds like current-day Colin Donnell could lend his school-age self a little fashion advice—not to mention some tips for charming the ladies.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my high school choir teacher Karen Flaschar. She has sadly passed on and never got to see me perform here but if she hadn't insisted on me singing Happy Birthday for her when all I wanted to do in Barnum was juggle, none of this would ever have happened. So thanks Flasch and thank you to all the teachers who are making a difference to kids every day.
What advice would you give to your school-age self?
Stop complaining and just do your homework already! Oh, and give up on the whole overall thing, it's never gonna be as cool as you want it to be.
What is your most embarrassing school moment?
There are too many to even pick one. I am sure there's several involving doing embarrassing things to try and impress a girl. Just awkward.
In which extracurricular activities did you participate?
For awhile I was all sports all the time, then as I started to get into theater they dropped away, but I hung on tight with a highly competitive Ultimate Frisbee team. It was probably less intense than I remember, but it was fun. I also had a band. I am gonna go on a limb and say we probably weren't that good.