Oklahoma! Standout Will Brill Talks Eating 'Four to Eight Pieces of Cornbread a Day' & Re-Watching Ali Stroker's Tony Win

Will Brill is busy playing the mischievous Ali Hakim in the Tony-winning revival of Oklahoma!, but he was able to stop by Broadway.com's #LiveAtFive this week to talk all about putting his own spin on the featured role in the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic. "I actually came into this thinking it was going to be a really dark and serious take on Ali Hakim," Brill told Broadway.com's Beth Stevens. "I got to come in with a lot of my own ideas and Daniel Fish lets me do whatever as long as it doesn't disrupt the vision of the show. It's very cool as an actor to let your freak flag fly."

Brill was the sole new actor to join Oklahoma!'s Broadway transfer after its critically acclaimed run at St. Ann's Warehouse, replacing Michael Nathanson. "I didn't have a history with this show when I came to see Daniel Fish's production," he said. "The thing that really moved me was that [Ali Hakim is] for sure an outsider and not part of the group that's onstage, but I don't think he's a foreigner in the way these people view him. He's happy to put on whatever role people put on him and use it to his advantage."

Fish's Oklahoma! has been heralded for its unique representation of the well-known story, but Brill sees things a little differently. "There's been a lot of talk about this Oklahoma! being something really far-field and totally reimagined," he said. "I think we honor it as much as we possibly can and go far enough to honor all the text that is sometimes glossed over. Ali Hakim is in two worlds on this; he's on this comedic track with Will Parker and Ado Annie but also involved with Jud and Laurey and Curly. There's something very freeing about playing someone who is kind of a villain. He's a loner and he is a weirdo and he really takes advantage of that."

Brill plays opposite Tony winner Ali Stroker's Ado Annie, and seeing her take home the trophy was one of his favorite moments of Tony night. "Immediately after we got back to the theater, Ali's award was announced," he said. "We were streaming it on a cell phone in the basement of the Circle in the Square. There was a lot of shouting and dancing and crying. I watched the video three more times with my wife at home. It was so fun and moving and special."

According to Brill, audience members aren't the only ones who get to treat themselves to the free chili and cornbread served at intermission. "This is not an exaggeration and I'm embarrassed to say it but I eat four to eight pieces of cornbread a day during this show," he said. "I know, it's horrifying. I eat tons of cornbread. Come on down, it's really delicious. The show is, too."

See Brill in Okahoma! at the Circle in the Square Theatre.

Watch the full #LiveAtFive video below!