RGA: Let’s discuss the stories you tell on stage…
ICP: It’s hard to say what being on Broadway is like. There are so many facets to the experience. If I was to sum it up, it’s thrilling. I would liken it to being a professional athlete – it’s incredibly demanding, vocally, physically, emotionally. I’ve never worked this hard in my life.

RGA: What does it take?
ICP: It requires a lot of energy and a lot of breath. While I’m having so much fun and it is what I’m passionate about doing, it’s still a job – a really difficult job. It makes it easier because it’s what I love, and it’s a really wonderful tight-knit community to be part of. Everybody knows each other, everybody works within the same ten-block radius.

RGA: I think stage actors are extremely underrated. It feels like most prestige is placed on film, but stage actors have one take and cannot mess up – you have to operate like infallible machines, and that must be really difficult.
ICP: Many film actors cut their teeth on the stage and it certainly feels like a training ground for other mediums. On a film or TV set, there are many more hands supporting you. In theatre, it’s a grittier experience – there’s more of a grind to it, and that makes it really exciting. I think it gives you a strong foundation that you don’t take for granted as much because you know hard work. You have to be able to recreate those emotions eight times a week and you can’t get tired of it. The audience is right there. You have to perform like it’s your first time and you have to make it magic because that’s what people expect. To me, it’s like an exercise – every time I perform it feels like a workout where I’m getting better at telling the story and I’m getting better at performing because I get to practice every single day.

RGA: How does it feel to play an iconic character?
ICP: I don’t think Tony is an iconic character – he’s part of an iconic story. In the audition process, the director [Ivo Van Hove] said, “We’re not doing this like it’s ever been done before. So just go ahead and forget everything you know about this character and about this story.” It was liberating for me to be able to break out of this idea and just bring my voice. It’s been really fun for me to be able to view my character through a contemporary lens and through my own personal experience, to almost filter Tony through me.

RGA: What drew you to West Side Story?
ICP: Honestly, I just needed a job. Then when I found out that they were doing this special production, it wasn’t necessarily the story that drew me in, but the new interpretation of it.

RGA: Have you ever struggled to keep the same energy and passion every night?
ICP: There’s so much excitement at first, and then day-to-day it’s hard to maintain. Having that same level of passion and excitement that you did when you started is like a muscle that you have to continually use. For the first six months, it was the coolest thing ever. My friends were coming and we were excited about the show. Then once everything was sort of dying down and word-of-mouth around the show was winding down, it became a job. That’s when it became difficult to work every day maintaining that same passion.

RGA: How do you cope?
ICP: It’s really difficult and something I’m figuring out. This is only my second Broadway show. I reignite the flame by remembering that there’s a full audience out there. I think about kids that might be in the audience who are like me, who saved up every nickel and dime they had to go to a Broadway show. This might be that performance. If the audience shows up, not feeling up to it isn’t an option. I want to give them the full experience. I remember how lucky and grateful I am to have this opportunity.

RGA: What stimulates you?
ICP: Curiosity. You have to go about acting with a sense of openness, because if you go ahead and close yourself off to whatever experience might happen – especially in theatre – you’ll miss incredible little surprises, and that’s what keeps it exciting and fresh. For me, it’s just that little spark in the back of your head.

Fabergé Nephrite Egg with Imperial Crown (c1910s) $60,120

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