Rob Colletti Talks About Role In Broadway’s ‘Almost Famous’ And Upcoming Cast Album

A rising Broadway icon!

Theatre fans unite: Rob Colletti is here! He currently plays the dynamic role of ‘Lester Bangs’ in Almost Famous on Broadway. The entertaining show is based on the iconic 2000 film with the same name.

We had the amazing honor of talking with Rob about his first experience performing on a Broadway stage, his current favorite Broadway shows that he hasn’t been apart of, and more!

What first sparked your interest in musical theatre?

R: “When I was a freshman in high school, my mom sort of forced me to go see the school production of West Side Story with her and I was a total brat and didn’t want to go. But she didn’t give me a choice and sure enough I ended up loving it, and even wondered what it might be like to do something like that.”

When did you first find out that you had officially gotten the role of Lester Bangs in ‘Almost Famous’?

R: “I was sitting in my apartment preparing for another audition when my phone rang and a number I didn’t recognize was buzzing. I normally don’t answer numbers I don’t recognize, but something in my gut told me to answer. It was Cameron Crowe. He told me I carried the spirit of Lester Bangs in my soul and asked if I wanted to “get on the bus.” I obviously said yes and thanked him and we chatted for a few more minutes about the next steps and planned a little meeting to discuss the project in person, and
then when we finally hung up I sobbed happy tears into my puppy’s fur for the next 15 minutes.”

Have you seen the original movie? What did you think of it?

R: “Of course. It’s a brilliant film, truly a masterpiece and always has been one of my favorite films. Philip Seymour Hoffman has been one of my heroes for a very long time and this was one of the first things I ever saw him do, but the soundtrack was one of my favorite film albums of all time. I used to listen to the CD in my car in high school.”

Do you think you have anything in common with your character Lester?

R: “Oh yeah! Lots! He’s a bit more nihilistic and cynical than I am, but I very much empathize with his tenacity and desire to challenge himself and the systems around him to be the best versions of himself and themselves they can be. I also definitely think I’m at least a little uncool, so I relate deeply to the ways in which he’s found self acceptance and celebrates the parts of himself that most might assume he judges. Lester has a lot of quirks and idiosyncrasies, and I’d even go as far as to say he’s likely neurodivergent, and I certainly can find a lot to relate to there as well.”

Walk us through that first night performing on a Broadway stage. What was that experience like and how does having a sole performance location differ from your experience of traveling to multiple stages?

R: “My first night performing on a Broadway stage was June 24, 2014. I had been a standby for Elder Cunningham on Broadway for months at that point and had never gotten to go on, but the week before I got a call from my agent saying they wanted me to do some performances as Elder Cunningham at the end of the month. When I finally got to go on stage and put on the costume with the Broadway company—a cast that had many of my personal heroes in it—and play the leading role on the boards at the Eugene O’Neill, I was trembling with excitement backstage. But I had played Cunningham dozens of times in Chicago and the tour at that point, so I was able to channel my nerves into excitement. To this day, it’s still one of the greatest moments of my life. Getting to do Hello/Two By Two with some of the original Mormon boys, Hasa Diga Ebowai with John Eric Parker and Maia Wilson, and then get to sing Man Up to a sold out crowd in New York was absolutely unforgettable. At the end of the show, when Elder Cunningham comes back out with The Book of Arnold and he sings the big “Hello!” amidst his new congregation of Ugandan missionaries, the audience started clapping along with the music and cheering like I’d never heard. I’ve seen Book of Mormon over 1,000 times over a 4 year period and I’d never felt such magic from a crowd as I did in that moment. I’ll be thinking of that moment of the absolute joy I felt on that night until my dying day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjxCu9PCMuw

Broadway and Touring are both really wonderful experiences for very different reason. There is definitely some much needed cohesion and structure to your daily life when you get to be in a show in New York. Having your apartment and your things to go home to every night is a luxury you can sometimes take for granted if you’ve never lived on the road. Touring actors usually sign 1 year contracts, so we are living out of hotels and AirBnb’s for 52 weeks a year. It’s a grind and it can be daunting, but it’s also incredibly exciting. National Tours of Broadway shows sell out their houses with much more regularity, and that’s especially true now that Covid has had such a big impact on the patronage of Broadway in New York City. You also get to play to much bigger theaters with many more people, so a show can feel like a rock concert as much as a play sometimes. The Fox in St. Louis, for example has 5,000 seats. The Pantages in LA has 3,500. Most have at least 2,000-2,500. The average Broadway house is barely over 1,000 seats. You also get the opportunity to travel and have someone pay for you to do it! You don’t get to pick where you go, but you basically get paid to see the country. And when you’re in a show schedule, you usually have plenty of time to explore during the days. This lets you go sightseeing, try local cuisine, spend time with the locals, etc. Sometimes you’re in a city for a week, sometimes you’re there for months. So you can pick your living situation to fit your length of stay and have a chance to be a temporary local yourself. And, of course, best of all… you get to bring a great story to cities where theater might not be as prevalent as it is in NYC, so every show you could be changing someone’s life that might not normally have access to theater and arts. There’s a wonderful sense of pride that comes with knowing that you are carrying the torch of the arts into communities around the country that are often starved of it.”

We can’t wait for the cast album in a few months! What is your favorite song from the musical?

R: “That’s literally impossible to answer; I simply cannot pick one. In an illustrious career, this might just be Tom Kitt’s best score, and Cameron Crowe’s rock influence has richly saturated every element of the music. Of the 30+ songs in the score, there are 4 songs that really stand out to me from the album. The Act 1 and Act 2 Openers and Closers are absolute smash hits. 1973, the show’s opening number, is so catchy and uplifting on its own, but set to the story of young William finding music and how it changes the course of his life makes it shimmer. Tiny Dancer at the end of Act 1 is a masterclass in emotion and vocals from the band and the band aids, and it’s some of the best arranging and orchestrating I’ve ever heard (Again, Tom Kitt is a genius). Stick Around, the incredible homage to 60’s folk rock that reintroduces us to the world of the play after intermission is so beautiful and joyous I find myself singing it alone at home all the time. And the final song of the show Everybody’s Coming Together (Reprise) is the most feel-good musical theater song I think I’ve ever heard. Honorable Mention: The big cast number in Act 1, Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On is a rockin’ good time and again beautifully arranged by Kitt.”

We know this might be challenging, but besides the works you have been a part of, what is your favorite musical?

R: “I’m really not a huge musical theatre fan, ironically enough. I love music and I love theatre, but I often times prefer them separate than together. I never really took to musicals the way I did to plays or the records of my favorite bands. But I have grown an appreciation for musical theatre over the past several years I didn’t anticipate having when I was younger. I also had never seen a Broadway show until I was cast in one—The Book of Mormon was the first show I saw on Broadway, and I didn’t see it until after I was cast. To this day, that’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in the theater. But if I have to pick a show I was never a part of, even in an ancillary way, I’d have to say either The Color Purple or Little Shop of Horrors. The former is possibly the greatest story ever set to music and the latter is some of the best music irrespective of its place in a theatrical story setting. Or The Lion King. I went back and saw it as the first show back in the world after theater returned post-pandemic and I sobbed the entire time. The Circle of Life is quite possibly the greatest moment on stage I’ve ever seen in a musical.”

Where can we keep up with your incredible journey?

R: “Well I’m not sure my journey is really quantifiable as incredible, but if you’re interested in my exploits and/or seeing what I have coming up around the bend, my Instagram handle is @rob.colletti and I’m not great at making social media content but I’m pretty good about staying up to date on there (Sometimes.)”

Photo Credit: Matt Murphy | Video Credit: Broadwaycom, The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon

Je’Kayla Crawford– Founder and Director– Je’Kayla has been a journalist for years and decided to start a publication of her own, New Scene. When not helping her team and working on the monthly issues, you can find her watching a movie on Netflix or baking using a viral Tasty recipe.