Doug Kreeger
Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii
Currently: Starring as an agoraphobic musician from Glasgow whose off- and onstage partner played by Leslie Kritzer, is determined to get him—and his talent—out into the world in the off-Broadway “rock romance” Rooms.
Aloha! As a native Hawaiian, Kreeger literally grew up in paradise. “It’s a culture unto itself—the food, animal life, mindset—everything about it is specific and can’t be found anywhere else,” he explains. Ironically, the actor was never much of a “beach person,” which is why he found himself gravitating toward the performing arts, especially after he and his mother, a devout theater fan, saw a memorable local production of Evita. “I kept leaning over to her during the show saying, ‘I want to do that!’ By curtain call I was shaking I was so excited. It wasn’t the first show I ever saw, but for some reason, that was it for me.” Inspired, the 10-year-old auditioned for a community production of A Christmas Carol, landing an ensemble role that sparked a lifelong love for performing.
Leaving the Nest: After graduating from Punahou School the alma mater of President Barack Obama, for the record, Kreeger headed to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. “I always knew I wanted to get as far away from Hawaii as possible, not because I didn’t like it but because I wanted to spread my wings,” he says now. The difference between Honolulu and the Big Apple was like night and day, which was exactly how Kreeger wanted it. “I had been in this environment where—and it sounds like a cliché—everything was very laid back and mellow. In New York everybody is so aggressively pursuing their goals, and I fed off that. It challenged me to step up.”
Road Warrior: After college, Kreeger hit the audition circuit, though not for long. “The first audition I had, I booked!” he says with a laugh. Cast as a Lost Boy in the national tour of Peter Pan, he embarked on a whirlwind trip that taught him about the craziness of life on the road. “One time the set caught on fire,” he recalls. “Luckily we were able to put it out before the Lost Boys’ tree house went up in smoke.” Next came Bay Street Theatre’s production of Hair “I remember getting naked and looking into the audience, and there was a little girl right in front of me. Her mom put the program over her eyes really quick!”, followed by a year in European tours of Hair and Grease. Kreeger finally made it back to New York in 2005, when he made his off-Broadway debut opposite Stephen Bogardus in the dark suspense musical Thrill Me as sociopath Richard Loeb. That same year, another career milestone was met when he was cast in the Broadway revival of Les Miserables. “I had this longstanding goal to get to Broadway before age 30, and I did it!”
Learning to Rock: Kreeger admits he almost didn’t audition for the role of Rooms’ emotionally cut-off Ian, an alcoholic musician with talent but no desire to share it. The hitch? The character needed to be real-life guitar player. But the show was so intriguing he auditioned anyway, getting a callback before the creative team threw him a curveball. “With no warning they said, ‘We’ve got a guitar here. Play something.’ All I could put together were four chords. I left figuring I didn’t get it.” Called back again, he was asked to prepare a full song—in just four days. Kreeger frantically searched youtube.com for video of Rooms’ initial NYMTF run, finding a clip of the song “I Love You For All Times” and begging a guitarist friend to teach it to him on short notice. The crash course worked. “[Composer] Paul Scott Goodman said that that decision—to learn a song from the show—got me the job. And they set me up with a guitar teacher. I can now say I’m a guitar player.”
Room for Two: Following a 2008 run in Washington, D.C. co-starring Natascia Diaz, Kreeger is amped to be presenting a revamped Rooms to off-Broadway audiences atNew World Stages. “It’s exhilarating and exhausting because now everyone I know is going to see it. I’m like, ‘I can’t fuck this up!’” Fortunately the actor has received positive reviews, and is settling into the musical’s rhythm and his character's Scottish accent with new co-star Leslie Kritzer. “She’s so funny and so heartbreaking in this part—she’s also the wackiest chick in real life. Luckily we’ve got great chemistry, which is important in a two-person show!” The actor is ultimately confident that audiences will embrace the intimate story of Ian and Monica, two polar opposites finding each other as they fight for rock stardom. “We’ve got a door, two chairs and a guitar on that stage. It’s reaffirming that you don’t need much to put on an amazing [show]. All you need is a great band, great actors and great music, and we can create a thousand rooms for people to enjoy.”