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PLAYBILL.COM'S CUE & A: Hunter Bell
By Ernio Hernandez
09 Jul 2008
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Hunter Bell
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Hunter Bell — co-star and co-creator of the new Broadway musical [title of show] — fills out Playbill.com's questionnaire with random facts, backstage trivia and pop culture tidbits.
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Full given name:
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Hunter Houston Bell
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Hometown:
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grew up in Wilson, NC, until seventh grade, then Atlanta, GA
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Audition song/monologue:
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I used to rock "She Likes Basketball" (word to Hal David and Burt Bacharach) and "Never Swat a Fly" (word to DeSylva, Brown and Henderson)
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Special skills:
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I learned to spin a rope when I was doing Oklahoma! in summer stock, and I do a pretty good Gwen Verdon impersonation (which also means I can do Ann Reinking, and Lenora Nemetz too)
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First Broadway show ever saw:
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Dancin'...I was wee, but I loved every minute of it
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If you could go back in time and catch any Broadway show, what would it be?
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I think it would have been cool to see Streisand in Funny Girl and Ray Bolger in Where's Charley? and I often think about how crazy and exciting it must have been to see Oklahoma! without knowing anything about it, so my answer is original cast, Follies.
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Current show you have been recommending to friends:
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(If you have a time machine, Adam Bock's The Drunken City or) In the Heights
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Favorite show tune:
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How does one pick? Can I do tunes plural? "All the Things You Are," "How To," "As If We Never Said Goodbye," and I have a weird thing where I love vamps and any kind of underscore
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Most played song on your iPod:
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Whatever cool music my pal Barrett Foa sends me (he has awesome music taste), and I love listening to Jonathan Groff sing "Left Behind" over and over and over...that rocks me and makes me feel feelings.
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One CD you couldn't live without:
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Mix CD my brother Deaton made me (he also has awesome music taste), and I'm embarrassed but "The Bodyguard" soundtrack
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Last book you read:
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Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up"...a must read for any creative person
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Must-see TV show:
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I will watch anything and everything...no I'm serious anything. But probably "Project Runway" or "Survivorman"
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Last good movie you saw:
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I just Netflixed "The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters"...so good.
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Favorite board game:
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Apples to Apples and I love playing Puerto Rico with Jeff Bowen
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Performer you would drop everything to go see:
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Bernadette Peters
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Pop culture guilty pleasure:
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I've been trying to eliminate my guilt about my pop culture obsessions, so in no particular order, my proud pleasures are: "Sweet Sixteen," "Made," "Next Top Model" and any kind of Food Network Competition...I did feel guilty when I watched "The Search for the Next Elvira" on Fox Reality TV...that's just wrong for so many reasons.
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First stage kiss:
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Girl: Julie Beatty, George/Emily Our Town, boy: Deven May in a workshop of the musical The Story of My Life
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Favorite pre-/post-show meal:
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Jeff B and I rock a lot of Wondee Siam (1 and 2) in midtown. Vinyl Diner's up there too.
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How you got your Equity card:
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Total Peggy Sawyer deal. I was non-equity in the ensemble of The Boys from Syracuse at the Alliance Theatre. Jack Plotnick was one of the Dromios. He booked a pilot and left the show to go to LA. They asked me to take over. I learned the show in a day and snagged my card! So scary, so fun.
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Worst onstage mishap:
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Same production, I was now Dromio and (as I discuss in [tos]) I sweat a lot under my left pit. I thought it was a good idea to rubber band a sock under my armpit so my shirt would appear less sweaty. Don't ask. Well, during a big tap duet (with the amazing Adrian Bailey) that sock somehow worked its way out of my pit, down my pants and came out the bottom of my pants. It was just weird and awkward, and I'm pretty sure the audience thought I had stuffed a sock in my pants. Oh yeah, and my Stephano accidentally punched Bradley Dean's Caliban in the nose during The Tempest at the Dallas Shakespeare Festival. It was not good. I'm still sorry Bradley.
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Worst costume ever:
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One of those huge, hot, bulky, plushy, theme-park character costumes. I was a children's book character at this celebrity fashion show breakfast at Planet Hollywood here in the city. So boiling hot and I couldn't see squat. I had to dance around and walk down a "fashion" catwalk. I was about to pass out constantly, kept bumping into everyone, and a lot of kids kept hitting me and calling me "M&M guy." Nightmare, but I needed the money.
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Favorite cereal:
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Blueberry Morning (and in my head when I pour it, I sing "Blueberry Morning" to the tune of Ben and Sally's "Too Many Mornings"...yes I'm weird.)
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Who would play you in the movie?
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Well, I would immediately go to Josh Duhamel, but the industry would likely choose Timothy Busfield (time machine answer: Danny Kaye)
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Worst job you ever had:
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Tie: Painting parking lines on asphalt (in the summer), removing old insulation from ceilings, and then installing new insulation. Fiberglass bits=horrible.
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TV or commercial gig you most enjoyed:
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Just done tiny things here and there...does "the [title of show] show" count?
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