A revealing interview with GUIDING LIGHT's Robert Newman (Josh).
Soap Opera Weekly: You are starring in The Full Monty at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera House from July 31 through Aug. 5. Why did you decide to take on that project?
Robert Newman: A good friend of mine, Barry Ivan, is directing it, and it's at the theater that I worked at two years ago [in A Little Night Music]. When I'm onstage, I like to be outside of the box, and this is way outside of the Josh box. I like to take risks, and this is an interesting piece. It's funny how people respond because people reduce it all to the stripping.
Weekly: You do realize that some GL viewers may want to see Joshua naked?
Newman: I'm told there are lighting effects so [the nudity] sort of doesn't happen.
Weekly: What else drew you to the role?
Newman: I love this character [Gerald in the movie]. This is a guy who's been lying to his wife for six months about the fact that he's not working. She's spending all of his money, and it's freaking him out. It's about these men who come together under these very difficult circumstances and bond together through this experience. That's what I'm focused on. The stripping is going to be a big challenge, but I like challenges.
Weekly: Do these side projects help you stay fresh for your day job at GL?
Newman: Absolutely. And Ellen [Wheeler, GL executive producer] understands better than any producer that I worked for. Other producers — I'm not going to name names — [believed], "You work here and that's it." But she really works hard [to accommodate actors]. I had two different projects that I wanted to do last year, and I couldn't do either one of them because of the cancer storyline. It was very difficult for me. But when this came up, Ellen jumped at it right away and said, "Sure!" I asked her about the nudity and all that, too: "Is it a problem for CBS? It is a problem for P&G?" She said, "I've seen the film, and I've seen the musical. It's a great story, and I think you should do it." It's nice to have that support. Because she was an actress for so long, she really understands that you need to get out, not only play a different character but be around different actors and in a different environment. Then you come back and you have a different sense of things. I work with these actors who have 20 different Broadway credits, and I'm a TV guy. It's wonderful. They're embracing me and they are supportive.
Weekly: Your co-star Mandy Bruno (Marina) is currently on Broadway in Les Misérables. Would you be interested in going that route, too?
Newman: Yes. I've met with my agents about that. For three months, six at most, I could do it. Six would be hard; three would be good. Maybe that would mean playing Javert in Les Miz or Billy Flynn in Chicago or something like that.
For more information on The Full Monty or to order tickets, go to the Pittsburgh CLO website at www.pclo.org.
