Sing It Loud
GL’s Robert Newman (Josh) is pulling double duty these days. The actor is moonlighting as the lead role in the new off-Broadway musical Sessions through the end of August at the Algonquin Theater in New York City. Newman was thrilled about his new gig when Digest caught up with him a few days after his debut as Dr. Peterson.
Soap Opera Digest: Congrats on the show! How’s it been going?
Robert Newman: Opening night was actually my fourth performance. The week before that, I had to do a lot of rehearsing on my own, I had to work one-on-one with actors because they were already running the play. The week before the show’s opening, I was getting to this point where I felt like, “Okay, I need to get this on its feet and do something with the full cast,” so the director and I decided to go ahead and I would do the Friday matinee before opening week. I just stepped into the show and the actor who was playing the role, John Hickok, who I’ve met a couple of times, was gracious enough to say, “Yeah! Go ahead!” So I did it and it was like being shot out of a cannon and it’s like, “Well, whatever happens, happens!” For the other actors, they’ve been doing this for a couple of months, but to me, it’s almost like I’m still in previews right now. The director, Thomas Cote, and I just talk and talk between every performance to try to figure out what’s working and not. The cast has been really gracious.
Digest: What’s it like for you to be on stage again?
Newman: It’s going along really nice. I feel so at home and centered. There’s nothing like that live feedback you get from the audience. It’s very intimate and the first time I’ve ever stepped in to replace an actor. It’s been a wonderful, creative experience with a lot of really, really good people involved.
Digest: Tells us about your role, Dr. Peterson.
Newman: I’m really am trying to recreate this character in a very different way, which is what the producers asked of me. The play revolves around a therapist and his patients. The throughline story is his. His journey is informed by the problems that each of his patients are going through. They’ve got some terrific actors and characters in the show. There’s the older couple who’s struggling in their marriage, a young guy who’s having sort of an identity crisis and keeps trying to push himself off as being Bob Dylan, a guy who’s never moved out of his mother’s house, a battered woman … and then there’s this girl that he’s developed an infatuation for. All of these patients swirl around him and he begins to question his purpose. There’s some great comedy and some great tragedy, just like in life. It’s a very nice piece of theater and a very good fit for me. 
Digest: This is the first play you’ve done in New York in a while!
Newman: I love it when I’m walking the streets of Manhattan while I’m on my way to do my show. It’s cool.
Digest: Are you settling in okay with the insane schedule?
Newman: It’s a challenge. I really have to keep myself healthy and strong. Thanks to Beth Chamberlin‘s [Beth, GL] kettlebell workout [laughs] — a little plug there for Beth — which I’ve been doing since December, I feel very, very healthy. I need to protect my voice and things like that. If I run into a friend on the train back home at midnight, I’m not going to sit there and talk. I had two nights last week where I got home at 1 a.m. I live 50 miles north of Manhattan and had to get up at 5 a.m. one day to drive to Peapack [NJ, to film GL] and the other day to get to the studio [in Manhattan], but I’m trying to work some things out about where I might be able to stay.
Digest: How’s your family adjusting to that?
Newman: My wife and kids have adjusted. I almost never see them, but we try to make the time we are together as good as it can be. Life is good. I have no complaints!
Digest: With GL ending, the timing is certainly right for you.
Newman: Depending on how well the show’s going, I probably will stay with it and that will be part of my transition from GUIDING LIGHT and on to whatever’s next in life. So far, so good.
For schedule and ticket information for Sessions, visit www.sessionsthemusical.com.
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