David Larsen
Currently: Playing Bobby, a boy who goes to the beach to have fun, and winds up learning a thing or two, in Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys musical at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
Hometown: Hillsboro, Oregon. Larsen began dancing before he hit the age of 10, but still remained committed to his first passion, sports. Think he was teased by his teammates for his other extracurricular activity? Don't be so sure. “I'd take dance class and then go to practice,” Larsen relays. “It was just what I always did. None of the guys ever really made fun of me. They were just like: ‘David is playing baseball with us, that is all that matters. Then, okay, fine, if he wants to go dance, whatever.'”
When I Grow Up To Be a Man: Larsen got bit by the acting bug in 8th grade, but didn't know he wanted to do it professionally until later on in high school. “I decided: ‘I am not going to be able to play sports because I'm not big enough, so I might as well go into acting,'” he jokes. He landed several jobs during his tenure at Carnegie Mellon University, including a summer tour of Casper with Chita Rivera where he served as the dance captain and “played a multitude of chorus roles as well as the butt end of a polka-doted horse.”
Good Vibrations: Larsen has been involved in Good Vibrations since the very first reading in April 2004. “What has been so amazing about this project is the short span of time that it has gone from basically nothing to this,” he says. “It has not been a marathon as much as a really long sprint. It's been exciting for me to be in from the ground floor—to see the different plot directions that this thing went in.”
In My Room: Good Vibrations has been undergoing a lot of changes during previews and Larsen compares the whole cast to “sponges,” soaking all the new material up. Except unlike inanimate objects, stars have to sleep, so Larsen has actually moved an air mattress into his dressing room. “This is my rustic home for the time being,” he explains. “We're basically here from noon to midnight and anytime beforehand. I'll sleep during dinner break or, in between shows, I try to cat nap.”
Surf City: Although Good Vibrations is in many ways about surf culture, don't expect to catch Larsen at a beach on a board. “When there are things in the water that are bigger than me, sometimes I'm just a little hesitant about getting out there,” he laughs. Of course he doesn't have to deal with real water in the show, just a big plastic wave on the back of the stage that a few ensemble members "surf" along. “When [people] see [the wave], they'll either think: ‘Oh, that is awesome.' Or ‘That is so stupid.' I think it looks pretty cool. Secretly I wish I could go down it. It's one of those perks about Broadway that a lot of other places can't offer—who would think you could actually surf down a wave in New York City?”
Fun, Fun, Fun: “I think people should just come to the show expecting to have a good time. Those who are looking to be deeply moved by an amazing dramatic story are coming in looking for something that this show is not even trying to be. It is just a group of people coming together to give it their all. It is exciting and new. Hopefully we can bring some people along for the ride.”