Michael Park Burns Up The Stage
AS THE WORLD TURNS’s Michael Park (Jack) is currently pulling double duty on stage and screen, starring in the new musical, The Burnt Part Boys, at the Playwrights Horizons Theater in New York. I saw the show in its first preview and chatted with Park about the production.
Soap Opera Weekly: At press time, the show is still in the preview stage. How is it going?
Michael Park: A couple of ATWT viewers have come to see the show, and they’ve enjoyed it. Are we working out some kinks right now? Sure. But that’s normal in any production. Is it a lighthearted show? No. Are there parts that [elicit] uncomfortable laughs? Absolutely. And I think we kind of need to highlight those a bit more. This is the stuff we do, and is it a process? Absolutely. And is it the first process I’ve been through? No. Going way back to 1994 with Hello Again and then Violet [in 1997], these are shows that have gone through an amazing, grueling process of cutting and pasting and trying to figure out the right chemistry. Did everyone love Hello Again when they first saw it? Probably not. Violet was in better shape when it opened with previews. Did we make changes? Absolutely. Is this going to go through the same thing? Yes.
Weekly: It’s about young men whose fathers died in a terrible coal mining accident 10 years before the play starts. Do you think the subject matter will give people pause?
Park: Is it a depressing show? I wouldn’t say it’s depressing. It’s a story that’s definitely about a certain era in time. Does it happen now? Yes. We’re seeing mining collapses and mining-related stories [almost] every single day. So, does it have a story to tell? Yes. Are people relating to it? Yes, unbeknownst to them, they are relating to everything we’re doing. Where do people think the natural resources in this country come from? These people who are busting their tails and risking their lives every single day.
Weekly: A bright spot in the show is your singing. Was it hard to get back into that frame of mind again?
Park: You know, it’s interesting because I hadn’t sung since [doing] Applause, and that was two years ago. Each time you jump into something you’ve got to work up those muscles again. Vocal cords are a muscle! So, once you get into a certain space and a certain place in your singing life…you get into a place where your voice is strong enough that you can do anything with it. And, right now, I think I’m pretty much singing better than I’ve sung in a long time.
Weekly: Some of your higher register songs gave me chills.
Park: Well, I’m more confident with what I’m doing now than I was five years ago. And I had eight songs in the show!
Weekly: And you play several characters that interact with the lead character, Pete…sort of.
Park: It’s Pete’s fantasies of his father as these different characters from THE ALAMO, and it’s great to jump into them. It’s great to play this quasi-John Wayne character…
Weekly: …and I thought your John Wayne impersonation was brilliant, by the way.
Park: Oh. You said ‘brilliant!’ [laughs] Thank you very much for saying that! My favorite character in the piece is Jim Bowie. I love Jim, and since you saw the first preview, Jim Bowie has taken on a whole other life. I’ve really enjoyed it.
Weekly: Oh, that’s awesome, because he’s definitely a must-see character! However, despite the funny parts, it really is a serious, thought-provoking show, right?
Park: It’s a show about these two kids on a journey. It’s a journey, and if you’re willing to take the journey with us I guarantee you’ll be happy in the end. If you’re not, then you’re gonna be in for a long two hours [laughs]!
The Burnt Part Boys is running until June 13. Visit
www.playwrightshorizons.org for more information, and to order tickets.
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