For my first go-round, I chatted with two well-spoken guys who are no strangers to followers of this column and certainly no strangers to fans of musical theatre in general. Marc Kudisch, currently on Broadway in Roundabout's The Apple Tree revival at Studio 54, and Burke Moses, currently Off-Broadway (and yet on Broadway at the same time) as El Gallo in The Fantasticks at the cozy Snapple Theater on Broadway and 50th Street. Both actors have excelled in their careers with stage-commandeering style and are equally at home in leading or character parts. In fact, when pressed, Kudisch would love to do away with such terms altogether. "Let's simplify," he says. "We are actors playing roles. End of story." Sounds like a line from Burke's show, actually. The Fantasticks and The Apple Tree are currently two of the most simply presented shows currently running, and therein lies a great deal of their charm. In honor of such simplicity, let's get right to the interviews.

THE 'DISCH

Question: What drew you to The Apple Tree?
Marc Kudisch: I love that it is an intimate piece that does not involve a lot of scenery, so ultimately the scenery is the performer. The activity is the relationship between the performer — the eye is focused on the performer. You don't have a $2 million flying car, which is a great thing, but it is not the only thing, you know what I mean? It is nice to be reminded of the way we used to do music theatre.

Q: Do you tend to favor a project if it sounds like fun or if it sounds more like a challenge?
Kudisch: All of the above. I hope they are going to be both — fun and a challenge. Always. Just because something is light and fluffy, doesn't make it less of a challenge. No matter what you're doing, whether it be light or dark with an edge on it, it's all about getting to the truth, and that can ultimately be a challenge no matter what you are doing. I can tell you that I found Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to be a bigger challenge than doing something like [Michael John La Chiusa's] See What I Want to See. Because in Chitty, there are greater obstacles to getting to the truth than there are in See . . . .

Q: In The Apple Tree, how did you prepare for the physicality of your role as The Snake?
Kudisch: There was no way I was going to go out there and just sort of be there. I wanted to be as specific as possible. Everyone is going to have a specific interpretation of what The Snake is like, [and] this is my version. I look for how to communicate outside the lines. There's so much being said without words, and I've done quite a few characters like that. The proprietor in Assassins doesn't say much, but that does not mean that he's not saying anything. The physical presence, a look, a nod, a movement, a motion. . . . I try to find every way that I can communicate what this character is saying, given what his necessity is in the story. I am generally called on to play the crazy, wacky characters, whether that be comedic or serious. I think people have a misconception of things, with me at least. I say I'm not a leading man, [and] they say, "What are you talking about, what's Trevor Graydon [Thoroughly Modern Millie]?" I say, it's a character role; it's not a leading man. He's the foil. Chauvelin [The Scarlet Pimpernel] is the foil. The only leading man I've ever played on Broadway is Jeff Moss [Bells Are Ringing]. I find Jeff Moss to be a real character, actually, and I played him as such, and people had a real problem with that.

Q: You have the role of the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance coming up in March at New York City Opera. What's your excitement level?
Kudisch: Are you kidding? I am so excited. It's my prayer that we are not going to use body mics. Only myself and Mark Jacoby are from music theatre. Everyone else is in the opera, and so I am hoping that we do it the way they do it. I love the idea of allowing an audience to be actively involved. Let them work. They have jobs, too.

Q: Were you trained in operatic singing?
Kudisch: I didn't start singing till I was 25 years old. My first job in musical theatre was Bye Bye Birdie, the national tour of it, and I was losing my voice at the end of every week because I didn't know what I was doing. I mean, yes I could sing on pitch, but I didn't really know what I was doing. I had no skill, I had no discipline, I had no training, I had no craft at it. And craft is everything, so I began to learn. I never thought when I moved to this city I would do music theatre. Ever. I wasn't trained that way. My dream was to be Off-Broadway, and that's where I was for two-and-a-half years before I got Birdie. People say, "You need to do a play." Why? It's what I did when I got here! I love music theatre.

Q: The first I ever saw you was as a giant disembodied head on my TV screen in the late-nineties: "The Toyota Guy." What was it like to be an advertising icon for awhile?
Kudisch: I loved it. It was great work, lots of fun. I liked being somewhat unrecognizable. People would only recognize me if they listened to my voice because they stretched my face out on the screen, and it was a different form of performance. A 60- or 30-second spot, taking a bunch of numbers and creating a sense of something around them. Knowing that you are going to be on the radio during rush hour, how do you get people to buy your product when they get stuck in traffic? It's fascinating, and the people at Toyota were great. It was a very creative experience. And, the money is ridiculous!

Q: You played Inspector Kemp, (alongside Apple Tree co-stars Kristin Chenoweth and Brian d'Arcy James) in a recent reading of the Young Frankenstein musical. How did that go?
Kudisch: It was a fantastic experience, and certainly I hope they would like me to move forward with it. But if that's all it was, that was one hell of a good time.

Q: If you are more character actor than leading man—and we're not changing the name of this column, mind you—what is it about you that makes this so?
Kudisch: I love characters. I love that stuff. I love creating a character that is, I don't know, original, unique, quirky, specific, so it's yours; it's such a part of your mentality. I mean that's what makes what we do so much fun, putting forth our creative energy, putting forth our mindset. I mean, I don't know anyone else that thinks like me. The fact that people actually get my sense of humor half the time, that in itself makes me giggle. I think I have a very warped sense of humor, so it is sort of nice to know that perhaps I am not the only one enjoying it.

[The Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of The Apple Tree plays Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street; call (212) 719-1300 for tickets.]

* * * *  Continued...