00:00Does anyone ever try to make you break or is that not this type of show?
00:03I'm normally trying to make other people break.
00:05Yeah, have you been successful?
00:06Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:07Like, tell me one thing.
00:08Well, Leah won't break.
00:10She'll just squint her eyes instead of, like, smiling or laughing.
00:13And then for the most part, our ensemble is sitting on benches all around the stage,
00:18and I know I can get them anytime.
00:21Yeah.
00:26Hey, I'm Scott Shilson.
00:27I'm on the go here with Nicholas Christopher from Broadway's Chess.
00:31Nicholas, thank you for being here today.
00:32Thanks for having me.
00:33Okay, so first off, I got to say congratulations because you got your first Tony nomination.
00:39Isn't that crazy?
00:39What is that like?
00:40It's surreal.
00:41You know, I've been working for 15 years under the radar, and now all of a sudden I'm Tony nominated.
00:45It's wild.
00:46Yeah, you're like an overnight success now, right?
00:48Yeah, exactly.
00:49What do you think the you from Juilliard would think about your nomination?
00:55I think it'd be like, wow, it took you that long?
01:01Yeah, no, I think I'd be very happy.
01:03I still feel like the same person.
01:05I have to admit, before any of these shoots, I get a little bit of that, like, anticipation kind of
01:10nerve.
01:10So I'm curious, I mean, you said you've been doing this 15 years, but what scares you the most, if
01:15anything, before you step out on stage?
01:17Oh my God, everything scares me.
01:18Am I going to be able to sing?
01:19Am I going to be able to speak?
01:20Am I going to trip and fall on my face?
01:22Every sort of possible outcome rolls to my head beforehand.
01:26There was a moment, I saw the show on Saturday, Excellence, there is a note that you hold for seemingly
01:3112 hours, which I was, like, blown away by, as was everyone.
01:36It's gone viral.
01:37God, how do you maintain your voice, but also your mental stamina during that time doing eight shows a week?
01:43Yeah, I mean, that part, I'm kind of blacked out at that part, to be honest.
01:48So I don't really know what happened, I don't think too much about it, but in terms of, like, my
01:55mental stamina, I got two little girls at home that need me and a wife that loves me.
02:00So I got to make sure that I snap out of whatever character that I'm in by the time I
02:04get home, so I can be there for them.
02:06And then in terms of vocal stamina, you just got to really warm up, warm up your body, warm up
02:11your voice every day so that you can do what you got to do.
02:14God, it is, you're an athlete.
02:16You're an athlete and an actor.
02:17What is one reality about Broadway that people not in the industry wouldn't understand?
02:23It's not as glamorous as it looks.
02:25Like, these old dressing rooms are, like, ceilings falling in, it's a little dusty, like, you know what I mean?
02:30It's real scrappy.
02:31Broadway is real scrappy.
02:33Like, everybody that does eight shows a week has to have a little edge on them in order to really
02:39make it through, because it's hard to get to Broadway, and then once you're there, it's really hard to maintain.
02:43So although it's, you know, glitter and jazz hands, these are some scrappy people.
02:48Because you do eight shows a week, what is one moment in chess that you look forward to each and
02:54every time?
02:54There's a great moment when I sing with Lea Michele called You and I, and it's really just, we just
02:59sit there and just sing the song together.
03:02And I love that connection at that moment in the show, that I always look forward to that, because that's
03:06the moment we can kind of breathe together.
03:08Yeah.
03:08Yeah, I remember that.
03:09It was really beautiful.
03:10Now, tell me, what is happening in the wings right before you enter for your first big scene?
03:16For my first big scene?
03:17Yeah.
03:18Normally, I'm jumping around with one of the crew guys, or I'm drinking water, or I'm talking to my dresser,
03:23Marissa, about some sort of drama happening, you know, in theaters across Broadway.
03:29So, I mean, I was going to ask, you know, backstage, are you talking to people, or are you kind
03:35of in character isolation?
03:37The reason I ask is because I follow a few just, you know, random people from Broadway, a lot of
03:42them swing, and it looks like backstage during the show is a blast.
03:47Yeah, normally it's like, you know, everybody's goofball, everybody's the class clown.
03:50So normally it's a lot of fun backstage, and then in act two, I sort of, that's when I start
03:57to isolate.
03:57I think the freeness of play in act one is really great, but then, you know, I really have to
04:04focus in for act two for what I have to do.
04:07Does anyone ever try to make you break, or is that not this type of show?
04:10I'm normally trying to make other people break.
04:12Yeah, have you been successful?
04:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
04:14Like, tell me one thing.
04:15Well, Leah won't break.
04:17She'll just squint her eyes instead of, like, smiling or laughing.
04:20And then for the most part, our ensemble is sitting on benches all around the stage, and I know I
04:26can get them anytime.
04:28Yeah.
04:28I love it.
04:29Well, speaking of Leah, what's it been like working with Aaron and Leah on this?
04:33And I'm really curious if there's any memory from rehearsals that sticks out to you.
04:38What's the most surprising thing is how good of a friend we became during this, and how much we all
04:44have in common.
04:45Whether it's the fact that we have kids, or what we like to eat, we all just, like, really get
04:50along.
04:51During rehearsal, we all went out to dinner with our, you know, significant others, our wives and our husbands.
04:57And we all just sat and just had a great time and toasted this crazy journey that we're on.
05:03I love that.
05:04Because Chess is a revival, what is one other Broadway show from the past that you would like to see
05:09revival?
05:10That's good.
05:11That's a good one.
05:12I mean, it could be Brigadoon.
05:13It could be 42nd Street.
05:15I feel like 42nd Street is overdue.
05:17Oh, yeah?
05:17Yeah, right?
05:18You got a time step in here?
05:20Let's see it.
05:20Let's see it.
05:21I don't.
05:21I don't even know what that is.
05:24Finally, my last question.
05:27Because the standing ovation was just instantaneous when we were all there.
05:31I mean, you could not get up on your feet.
05:33What's the feeling like of receiving a standing ovation?
05:37It's just overwhelming.
05:38Because not only do you hear the applause, but you feel the pulse of the vibration of it.
05:43So really what it is, it just reminds you, oh, shit, we're all in one room together, just
05:48experiencing one thing together.
05:50And the fact that people are so moved to stand up and yell, it's just like, it's an overwhelming
05:55thing for sure.
05:56I love it.
05:57Well, if you're in New York, go see Chess on Broadway.
06:00Nicholas, congratulations on your Tony.
06:02Thanks so much for being here.
06:03Thank you very much, brother.
06:04Yeah.
06:04Come see Chess.
06:05For On The Go with Deadline, I'm Scott Shulstown.
06:07And I'm Nicholas Christopher.
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