Kirk is so full of youthful enthusiasm and he just glows when he talks to you. He worked with Carolee Carmello in Parade and it's obvious when you see Marguerite and Armand together that they've built up a great working relationship.

NR: Tell me where you grew up.

KM: Orlando, Florida. I love it there.

NR: What inspired you to perform?

KM: I grew up in a boy choir. You know, with the red robes and the white collars. It's so funny, we just had tickets to see the Annie premiere the other day, and I was obsessed with Annie when I was six years old. It was easy in a way because there was never a choice. It was the only thing that I ever wanted to do. I grew up doing shows. Then I moved up here and I went to NYU when I was seventeen.

NR: Wow, that's a long way to go when you're seventeen.

KM: I was ready for it.

NR: How did your parents feel?

KM: They knew I was ready for it. I'm the only child. They just came up about a month ago to see the show.

NR: If you knew a teenager who wanted to be a performer, is there any advice you would give him?

KM: Just go for it. There's no halfway to do it. I don't know. It's one of those questions that people would ask me when I was on the road. With me, I think it's just luck, so it's hard for me to give advice. Training helps.

NR: Is there anything you wish you did differently?

KM: No, I just try to take things as they come. Going to NYU was a good choice because it got me here and it got me acclimated to the city before I had to be out doing it and making a living. As expensive as the school was, I think that probably the best thing the school gave me is sort of foundation in the city.

NR: Were there any surprises along the way?

KM: (laughing) That I'm working. That's a constant surprise to me. I just thank my lucky stars on a daily basis.

NR: This is your second Broadway show. That's pretty amazing for a young guy. A lot of people are here many, many years before they get one.

KM: I've been blessed that I've gotten to do some cool jobs.

NR: You and Carolee (Carmello) seem to work really well together. How do you compare the two experiences between Parade and Pimpernel?

KM: They're so different. I think the intentions of the shows are different. This is essentially fun, upbeat, light. My friend told me the other day that it's like a little confection, it's so sweet. Parade was serious and dramatic, so just in the subject matter and in the intention they're so drastically different. I don't know if people ever went to see Parade and said that they had a great time. It wasn't about that, whereas this is. It's just great that we ended up getting this together. Both of us had done all the workshops and readings of Parade. The first one was in May of `96, so I guess it's been about three and a half years that we've known each other.

NR: You seem to have great rapport. Did the fact that you worked together before help that?

KM: Yeah, we're so comfortable. It helps to know the person well. Sometimes in rehearsals it takes awhile to get comfortable with somebody.

NR: How did you prepare for your SP audition?

KM: We had to read the carriage scene. I don't know. I was so nervous because I hadn't auditioned in so long. I had been doing Rent for about seven or eight months, and then I was doing Parade. It had been a really long time since I had auditioned for anything so I was really, really, really, really nervous!

NR: What did you sing?

KM: I sang "Wick" from The Secret Garden. It was funny because I went in and Ron Melrose was there. I literally sang four bars and he said, "All right." I said, "You don't want to hear anything else?" and he said, "No."

NR: Did that make you think that you blew it?

KM: No, because they told me there that I was going to come back. So, that was easy. Then I went back in for Bobby (Longbottom). I did the carriage scene and then I sang the end of "Into the Fire" - you know, the upper part. Then in our final call back we were at the Minskoff. We were in microphones and we were on the stage. They set up a bench for Carolee and I and we did the carriage scene. It was more nerve wracking than I expected because it had been so long and I was nervous.

NR: Had you seen the show before?

KM: I had seen it the first week of previews in the original incarnation. My seats in the Minskoff could not have been further away. It seemed that I was forty football fields away. That theater is so huge! The balcony is so far away to begin with and I was almost in the back of the balcony. I wish I had a better seat because it was so hard for me to see.

NR: Is that the only time you saw it?

KM: Yeah.

NR: This version's totally different.

KM: It's hard for me to remember that because it was so long ago and I was so far away.

NR: How did you make Armand your own?

KM: It was nice because we had a rehearsal process. Sometimes when you go into a show that's already running, you sit out and you watch somebody else do it. Your job is really to do what they did in a way. You bring your own stuff to it but...the nice thing about this process was that we had those five weeks of rehearsal and it wasn't about something that somebody else did. We had the freedom. Another good thing about the tour was that it gave us the opportunity for the company to become a whole instead of the "old people" and the "new people." I'm really thankful for that whole process. We got to know everybody, to spend time with them and be out of town with them. That was nice.

NR: You said you're an only child. That surprised me because the scene between you and Carolee when you're leaving for Paris is the closest thing to a real brother and sister that I've seen. It's great.

KM: (laughs) Well, our relationship in real life is similar. I have a good friend of mine who just came to see the show last week. We grew up across the street from each other and she and I have known each other since we were three years old, so I've had relationships that were sort of "brother and sister like."

NR: I love the little fighting that you do because that is so true. The jail scene also looks realistic. Marc (Kudisch) looks like he's really hurting you.

KM: Does he?

NR: I'm sure he's not, but have you had any close calls with that?

KM: I think the last run-through we did in Purchase, I almost hit Marc right in the face, and I felt really bad about that, but I think that was the closest we've gotten.

NR: Do you have to work hard on that? It looks very realistic.

KM: Rick Sordelet, the fight captain, is really good at what he does. It was all his stuff. We just sort of did what he told us to do. It looks OK though?

NR: Oh, yeah. A couple of people wanted me to ask you if you were getting hurt.

KM: Oh, no. Not at all actually. He is big enough to do it though (big smile) - big, brawny Marc Kudisch.

NR: You did the tour of Rent. I know they have a lot of really dedicated fans.

KM: Oh, yeah.

NR: Did that prepare you for the League, or are they different?

KM: It's similar in a way and it's different in a way. The majority of the Rent groupies are really young, so they bring that kind of "young devotion" to it. You know, that intensity that you attach to things when you're young. I think the main difference is the age difference. The majority of the League is just, just...

NR: (laughing) My age.

KM: (laughing) No, not your age, but older. They approach things differently.

NR: Actually, the League is really made up of people from all age groups.

KM: Yeah, but I would say the average age is older than the Rent groupies. They just sort of approach things in a different manner.

NR: Had you heard about them before you got here?

KM: Yeah. Wasn't there an article in the Times? I remember reading something like that. Or maybe that was about the Jekkies.

NR: I think it was more the Jekkies. They're a completely different group.

KM: Is it really?

NR: It's a totally different show. The only thing they have in common is Frank Wildhorn's music. It's a very different story.

(At this point, Harvey Evans, who was due to be interviewed next, started sneaking up on us. Kirk laughed and said, "He's trying to distract me. He's my dressing room mate. I have to deal with this on a daily basis. No cheating, Harvey. You can't steal my answers.")

NR: Would you consider doing the tours?

KM: Yeah!

NR: Is that for Pimpernel or Parade?

KM: It's so funny because so many people ask both questions and no offers have gone out for either. But, sure. I just want to work.

NR: Just for the heck of it, if you were offered both, which would you rather do?

KM: The Parade one doesn't start until May or June so I could possibly do both. I don't like making choices. I like the choices being made for me.

NR: What other interests do you have, other than this?

KM: I read a lot. That's about it. I'm sort of a boring person.

NR: Where would you like your career to go in the future?

KM: Again, there are people who want to go into TV and film. Some of my friends want to be stars. To me, I just want to work - like Harvey. He's amazing. He's become one of my closest friends in the cast. I think that's his mentality to a certain degree. He'll say, "I don't care. I just want to work." I think that's one of the best mentalities to have.

NR: That's great. Oh, one totally "out of the blue" question for you. Somebody wanted me to ask you if you know when the sheet music for Parade is coming out.

KM: I don't. Somebody grabbed me at the Broadway Flea Market and told me it was coming out before the end of the year, but that's just hearsay from somebody else saying that.

NR: OK. Well, thanks a lot.

KM: You're welcome.

Not many people can say that very early in their theatrical career they did two Broadway shows back to back, but Kirk has done just that. He's so grateful to be given those opportunities, and I'm sure there will be many more in the future. I wish him the best of luck.

Questions suggested by:

Gillian Girvin, karen, Amy D. Shaw, Amy Taylor, Jimbo Diego, esther, Leona Hoegsberg, Courtney Beard, Emily Townsend, Joanna Bell, Kim Wallace, Lindsay Ribar, Stephanie C., Lois and Elizabeth Colpo, Amy Lovett, Laura Cutler, Vi Janaway, Cosette Pontmercy, Chris Miller, Stephanie Henkin, Anne Teitelbaum, CJL, Emily Friedman, Jan Combopiano