Jeremiah James: “’Soliloquy’ is one of the most amazing songs I have ever had the pleasure of performing”

He says that “musical theatre is one of the most beautiful art forms ever invented”. Jeremiah James lives his passion on the stage as an actor, and also as a member of the vocal group TEATRO, that perform some of timeless classics of musical theatre.

Since last December Jeremiah James is performing Billy Bigelow in the West End revival of CAROUSEL, in the Savoy Theatre. Jeremiah tells us more details about his work in this new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.

BILLY BIGELOW IS A VERY CONTROVERSIAL CHARACTER, HE DOESN´T WANT TO WORK, HE BEATS HIS WIFE... BUT AUDIENCES LOVE HIM NEVERTHELESS. AS AN ACTOR IS IT A CHALLENGE TO PERFORM SUCH AN INTERESTING ROLE?
Absolutely! In fact I was bit nervous taking on such a role for the very fact that he isn’t a pleasant person. As you said beats his wife etc. Then in the end, as an actor you have to find a way to try and make the audience simpathise with him. Not to mention when you are an easy going guy like myself. To play such over barring, and a times nasty character can be a bit of a challenge as well.

ORIGINALLY PREMIERED IN 1945, CAROUSEL WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MUSICAL SHOWS IN HAVING A TRAGICAL ARGUMENT. BUT, ALTHOUGH ITS DRAMATIC PLOT, IT HAS HOOKED AUDIENCES WITH EVERY PRODUCTION. WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE FEEL THIS ATTRACTION WITH THE MUSICAL?
So many reasons... Its such beautiful, and unconventional love story. Its also the story of redemption, second chances. Finding, and believing in the good in all people. By the end of the musical as an audience member you feel as if your faith in the world has been renewed for at least a little while.

IT´S BEEN 64 YEARS SINCE CAROUSEL OPENED IN BROADWAY FOR THE FIRST TIME. HAS LINDSAY POSNER, THE DIRECTOR OF THE CURRENT WEST END PRODUCTION OF THE SHOW, BRING IT TO OUR TIME IN ANY WAY?
Lindsey’s vision for this show was to bring focus to the love story. This show is so beautifully written that trying to update in anyway would take focus away from the heart of the piece. So Lindsey masterfully kept the core of the piece in tact, but at the same time updated the overall feel of the production by his use of Bill Duddlys sets and projections.

WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS WHEN YOU WERE OFFERED THIS ROLE?
I laughed out loud!!! I was so shocked honoured and taken back that I was offered the role, that all I could do was laugh. Then when that moment passed I again was nervous that I would be able to pull off such a challenging role.

“SOLILOQUY” IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT AND MESMERIZING SONGS OF THE SHOW. HOW DID YOU FACE THIS SONG FOR THE FIRST TIME?
Well I had thought long and hard about the piece. Listened to many recordings. Really studying what it was that Billy was talking about. IE being a father and what all that entailed.
Then I though about my own father. How he must have felt when he was told at 27 that he was going to be a father. So when it came time to actually begin rehearsing the song. I felt I had a great grasp of the idea. Then I sat down with Lindsey Posner and David Furman our music director and we went through the son note by note. Lyric by lyric. It one of the most amazing songs I have ever had the pleasure of performing.

THIS IS YOUR FIRST WEST END SHOW IN A LEADING ROLE. HOW ARE YOU LIVING THIS EXPERIENCE?
Living every moment of to be honest. I feel so lucky to be here a part of this production, and this cast that everyday I think to myself WOW I can’t believe it!
Being a lead on the West End is a blast! Having the pleasure of performing 8 shows a week. Knowing the amount of people you are making happy... It’s an honor… and I approach it as such. As cheesy as that may sound LOL

YOU ALSO STARRED IN ANOTHER RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN MUSICAL, OKLAHOMA!. HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE?
Another beautiful R & H show, and production. I had a wonderful time in that production for very different reasons then this show. In that show I played Curly the ultimate good guy!! Who was very funny and fun loving. Its hard to not have fun when you get a chance to sing songs like “Surry With a fringe on top”, “Poor Jud is dead” and of course the title song “OKLAHOMA!”. I did that show for a year and loved every minute of performing in it!

DO YOU THINK THESE TWO SHOWS (OKLAHOMA! AND CAROUSEL) HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON?
Absolutely. They both helped begin the era of what we now consider modern musical theatre.  They were both based on popular plays. They both had Choreography by Agnes de Mille and in both she put in dream ballets. So in those ways they similar.

YOU HAVE BEEN PERFORMING NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS, AND YOUR THEATRE CREDITS INCLUDE OVER 50 PRODUCTIONS.  DO YOU KEEP A SPECIALLY GOOD MEMORY OF ANY OF THE PRODUCTIONS YOU HAVE BEEN IN?
Oh yeah! I was in the LOS ANGLES CA premier of “Sideshow”. At the time I knew nothing about the show. Once we started to rehearse I realised what a beautiful show it was. Also I began to see that the people in this production were off the charts talented. (I was still very new to the business at the time at 20 years old)  It was the first show I was in that I would sit backstage to watch my fellow cast mates. The show was a huge hit. So the theatre had to extend our run. People couldn’t get tickets! It was crazy and fun! So that a show that holds a special place in my heart.

YOU´RE ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF VOCAL GROUP TEATRO. WHICH ARE THE PROJECTS OF THE BAND?
At the moment we are working on new material and also have a few concerts coming up this year. So we are keeping busy.

IS IT VERY DIFFICULT TO COMBINE YOUR CAREER IN MUSICAL THEATRE WITH TEATRO?
No it’s actually really great. The idea was for Teatro to come together record work on our album. Do our concert tours. Then branch off to shows. Then come back and do another album etc etc etc. So it works out great!