As Hamilton’s King George, Tony Nominee Jarrod Spector Has Transcended His ‘60s Pop Niche (Sort Of)
Over the years, Jarrod Spector has carved a highly specific niche: playing pivotal figures in ‘60s pop in Broadway biomusicals. In 2008, he took over the role of crystalline-voiced Four Seasons frontman Frankie Valli in Broadway’s Jersey Boys, going on to perform the role a record-breaking 1,500 times. After that, he originated the role of Brill Building songwriter Barry Mann in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, earning a Tony nomination for the performance, and Sonny Bono in The Cher Show.
For Spector, getting to sing familiar-to-everyone tunes like “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Who Put the Bomp” and “I Got You Babe” suited just fine. “I didn't grow up with musical theater,” he told Charlie Cooper on The Broadway Show. “I grew up with pop and rock music and swing, and that's all I sang. That's all I did. We didn't listen to Sondheim in my house.”
But then, in 2015, Spector saw Hamilton at the Public Theater. “I went just bananas for it. I mean, I listened to it obsessively and I was like, what limb do I have to cut off and donate to be a part of this show?”
In September 2023, Spector stepped into the part of King George III in Hamilton, limbs intact.
Of course, Spector hasn’t strayed too far from his main musical love: “You’ll Be Back,” King George's criminally infectious number, happens to be Lin-Manuel Miranda and musical director Alex Lacamoire’s tribute to sunny ‘60s pop, “Penny Lane” references and all.
In any case, Spector was excited to bring his own take to the ludicrous monarch. “There are just some choices that someone like Jonathan [Groff] or Andrew Rannells made that wouldn't fit the same on me,” he said. “I read the book trying to find what's my idea of madness? What does it look like as he descends a little bit into madness over the show? It's so fun that all the different King Georges have defined their version of that journey.”
Check out the full interview with Spector in the video below.
