NR: This wasn't the first show you auditioned for, was it?

MH: No, definitely not. But this was the first show that I auditioned for through my agent.

NR: Did you know that they were trying to bring you in as the stunt double originally?

MH: No, I didn't from the very first phone call, but when I got to the audition they let us know what was going on and that they needed an ensemble member who could be also his (Percy's) body double. None of us really understood it because it was all new and it was sort of theoretical and it was hard to visualize it. So, really I didn't know what my lot was until I got to the first rehearsal and it was explained "Here's the guillotine and here's where you'll be getting your head chopped off."

NR: (laughing) Oh, no! But you were supposed to be in the ensemble too, right? You didn't get hired just to stand there for that 30 second bit, did you?

MH: No, exactly. So, that's kind of comforting. That was heartwarming.

NR: What did it feel like the first time you did that?

MH: It was scary. I was trying to just sort of trust and have faith in the thing, the mechanism, the gizmo, the magic trick. But you know, there were some particulars that you have to do, like you have to put your head down and you have to listen to the sound cue, so there are some "cause and effect" things.

NR: (laughing) Michael, don't give away any secrets.

MH: No, no secrets. Absolutely not. No, I haven't given anything away. If I did I would have to kill the machine (indicating my tape recorder). But, there were some logistics to it that took away a little bit from it. I had a lot of things I had to think about, so it took me awhile to sort of get into the groove. I finally did and around that time they cut me out. They cut the part.

NR: I think you did two shows?

MH: I think I did two shows.

NR: So, your entire stunt career - gone in the blink of an eye!

MH: (laughing) My stunt career, yes. Actually I have some funny signs here that my mom made. One of them reads - she sent me a head, this skull, around Halloween. It's just a head that you light up and it says, "Here Michael, at least you're keeping the more important parts. Break a leg." Here's another one, "Lay your body down, long and lean, and put your head in the guillotine."

NR: So, I guess that answers my next question. You haven't done stunt work before, have you?

MH: No, I haven't.

NR: You just said, "You want me to do what?"

MH: Yeah, I was like, "Broadway show? OK."

NR: I guess you felt, "It's my Broadway debut. Sure, I'll do anything. No problem."

MH: Exactly. Oh, yeah. I would have swept the stage floor.

NR: How did you prepare for your audition?

MH: Hmmm, how did I prepare for my audition? I got my head ready, screwed it on tight... I prepared my music. I didn't have very long, I think I had three days. I think I quickly got some music ready that I had just done in a voice lesson earlier in the week. I had just gotten back from a Connecticut show that I did, The Robber Bridegroom. That's how I got this agent. It's all very synchronous, "cause and effect" type stuff. It was very shortly after that. This was just like jumping into the fire. I just went in and did it and sang the songs that I had prepared. Once I heard about what they wanted I tried to look, I don't know, tall - sort of "Doug Sills-ish."

NR: (laughing) I think the proper term is "Sillsian."

MH: Exactly. That's going to be entered in the vernacular I'm sure.

NR: Probably. Is being on Broadway what you expected it to be?

MH: Yes... and no. I think probably mostly no, because all of the backstage stuff is such a surprise. For instance, all the dressers and all the layers of everything that's required before you actually get on stage. All of the in-depth work of costuming and where you change and what you change into and all that kind of stuff until you get on the stage. So there's all of this backstage world that it seems like the performing is actually the tip of the iceberg and the rest of it is everything that's submerged. So, it's all that that I didn't really know about and that's very neat to be able to learn about. But as far as the thrill and actually getting to perform, that was pretty amazing. I think it's probably way more than I had ever expected because it's so hard to anticipate an opening night on Broadway because it's just so great. It's such a monumental experience, at least if this is what you want to do. If you're a painter who wants to live in solitary in Holland, that's your "being most alive." But definitely, being in front of thousands of people and taking a curtain call and singing "Into the Fire" was pretty amazing.

Interview conducted and photographs by Nancy Rosati.