NR: What's the most memorable role you've played so far?

JG: Most memorable? Well, they're all memorable in their own way. Each part is unique. Two of my favorites to play are Don Quixote in Man of LaMancha, which I've done a couple of times, and Tevye from Fiddler On The Roof. Those are roles that you can play over and over again for a lifetime and in each performance try and find your way deeper into the material. Those are two roles in musical theater that I'd like to play again.

NR: Do you have any dream roles that you haven't played yet?

JG: I'd like to play Mayer Rothschild in The Rothschilds. I've played his eldest son Amshel twice, but I've never played Mayer and that's a great role in a great show.

NR: I heard that last Sunday you were sort of Coupeau and Mercier at the same time. Can you tell me about that?

JG: One actor was on vacation, T. Doyle Leverett was injured, (we wish him a speedy recovery.) Timothy Eric Hart was sick, and the swings were playing several different things, so the easiest way to track the show was if I played both roles in one scene. It was amusing and I was glad to help out.

NR: I heard you took a lot more abuse from Chauvelin.

JG: Well, the two of us usually get beat up, so I got beat up twice.

NR: What was the funniest thing that's happened to you in this show so far?

JG: The thing that made me laugh was the night when Christine Andreas was supposed to throw her sword over the head of Percy Blakeney and into the ocean, and she didn't quite throw it hard enough. It landed tip down and stuck in the seascape with the handle up right behind him. Of course, he wasn't supposed to be able to grab the sword and there it was in reach. We all sort of looked at each other and shoulders started to heave because it was just a miracle. Of course I had a friend in the audience who asked me, "How do you get the sword to land so perfectly straight up and down in the seascape?" as if we'd rehearsed it a million times that way and it was some kind of special effect. I think that was the funniest thing.

NR: Is there anything you miss from the old show?

JG: I actually miss Douglas (Sills) riffing with the audience. We had a lot of holes in the old show covered up by camp. But the entertainment value of the campiness was very strong. People laughed so hard when they came back from intermission that it was worth the $75 admission price just for those ten minutes. I think a lot of people would say that was the funniest night they ever had in the theater and they laughed so hard their sides split. But, in the new version of the show, some of the holes in the storytelling were closed up and therefore the need for the amount of camp was diminished. I miss some of those campy moments that were really hysterically funny, but are now unnecessary.

NR: What do you think was the best change into the new version?

JG: The storytelling is much tighter. I think both versions have merit, but the problems were in the storytelling, and those problems were addressed. The story is told more efficiently now than before. It is important to remember though, say what I might, I have not seen the show. I did not see the first version and I have not seen the second version. I can only tell you how it feels, but as to how it plays, I have no idea.

NR: Do you have a favorite memory from the show?

JG: The best thing about this show is that it's been the happiest work environment I've ever experienced. It's been a happy dressing room. There's a bunch of zany, intelligent people in the dressing room. I really will come away from this one with new friends, and that's not often the case. Shows come and go and casts mingle and work together, but I think I'm going to keep a lot of the relationships. Peter Hunt set the tone for that originally. He cast people who fit together into an ensemble. That's the greatest challenge for any director, to create a unit, and we really have one. Everyone gets along. That's the most special thing. Also, these are spectacularly talented people and that's not always the case. I'm so glad that I have had the opportunity to work with Douglas and Rex (Smith) and Rachel (York) and all the understudies and all of the ensemble - top to bottom. There isn't anyone that I wouldn't recommend as having the highest degree of talent.

NR: What do you do backstage with all that time?

JG: Read the newspaper. But you always have to have an ear open. You don't want to get too heavily involved in things and miss a cue.

Interview conducted and photographs by Nancy Rosati.