INTERVIEW: Michelle Pawk infuses vaudeville into Broadway’s ‘Just in Time’
Photo: Just in Time features, from left, Valeria Yamin, Michelle Pawk and Julia Grondin. Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
NEW YORK — The hit musical of the Broadway season is Just in Time, starring Jonathan Groff as crooner Bobby Darin. The show, which continues its smash run at Circle in the Square in Midtown Manhattan, utilizes the Darin songbook to tell the story of this iconic singer, including his many professional triumphs and personal setbacks.
Tony Award winner Michelle Pawk plays the pivotal character of Polly, mother to Groff’s Bobby. It’s an important role, and Pawk approaches her work on stage as if the musical were an example of vaudeville, which makes perfect sense because Polly, in real life, was a vaudeville performer herself.
“I’m a big American Songbook fan and all of the many men and women artists that came before, one of which being Bobby Darin,” Pawk said in a recent phone interview. “So the idea of reintroducing, for lack of a better word, his canon of music was really exciting to me, and then on top of that his actual life was kind of crazy. And so I thought they really, really beautifully weaved the two together and in a very different way than what people think of as a classic jukebox musical. I feel like it’s innovative and fresh, and because we’re in a club, feels authentic.”
Just in Time is the definition of immersive theater. Groff, Pawk and their fellow actors head out into the Circle in the Square as if it were a New York City nightclub. The band sits on stage, and everything feels “of the moment” as if one had pulled up a seat at the historic Copacabana.
“I knew nothing about his life, which is crazy, so, of course, when I signed on to the project I’m a big research person,” she said. “And so I read three biographies, one by his son, and there were two others that I sort of read and pieced together as much information as I could about his family and the history. I knew nothing. I don’t think most people do.”
Most people who attend Just in Time probably know Darin’s iconic songs, such as his rendition of “Mack the Knife,” or perhaps they’re fans of “Dream Lover,” “Splish Splash” and “Beyond the Sea.” Pawk’s character of Polly inspired him to reach for new heights as a singer, and that inspiration came from her vaudeville career.
“She really was a vaudeville performer in her youth before she got married and then had kids, and so I feel like what we represent in the show is really true,” Pawk said. “There was a lot of her love and passion for the art form of performing and, in particular, that vaudeville style, so that was super fun to research. And then I get to share that with Jonathan every night, and I think you can see it in a lot of Bobby Darin’s stuff. … You see where he picked up a lot of his timing, and that he was so funny and so present. You can hear it. Any time he’s performing live he’s incredible.”
Pawk added: “It’s more about inspiring someone and setting the bar very high, which Polly does for him. She says, ‘That’s not good enough. ‘Splish Splash,’ not really you, not good enough. Do better.’ I think that motivated him in a lot of ways. She really wanted him to sing at the Copa, which was all true, so when he finally achieves that dream, he does it out of love and out of honor and as a gift to her in a way. I feel like that’s primarily what Jonathan and I get to breathe into the play there, which is that deep, deep bond that a mother and son have.”
Pawk is something of an expert on vaudeville. She has always been a fan of the art form, which combines song, comedy, dance and theater in a fun, unique manner. The style dominated theaters in the early part of the 20th century.
“I’m a huge vaudeville fan, and when I taught at Wagner College, which I did for 14 years, I had a class, and we had an entire vaudeville module,” she said. “I learned so much about timing and the rhythm of things, and all of that is rooted in vaudeville. Then when I think about all of the sitcoms that came after. The Golden Girls, that’s all vaudeville with a contemporary spin, same as Friends. They make it personal in a way, but there’s so, so, so much to learn from that particular style. Also, it’s just so fun to do.”
Perhaps the most vaudevillian aspect of Just in Time is that breaking of the fourth wall. Most of the musical is played as a typical show, but then the actors descend into the crowd. There’s definitely an acknowledgment that this theatrical experience is different than most offerings on Broadway.
“We talked about this a lot in the rehearsal process because the audience is absolutely a part of our play,” said Pawk, who has appeared on Broadway in Wicked, Beautiful and Hairspray. “Jonathan breaks the fourth wall right at the beginning of the show, and when he says, ‘I’m Jonathan Groff. I’m going to be your Bobby Darin tonight,’ I think he gives the rest of us carte blanche to be ourselves inhabiting these people. Most of my stuff is grounded in book scenes and the truth of all that, but then I get the very end of the play when I’m immersed in the audience with him. And the audience is literally a character in the play. They’re part of it. We listen to them, they respond, and we use that every night. That part of the process has been just joyous, and we’ve made so many discoveries along the way.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Just in Time, featuring Michelle Pawk, continues at the Circle in the Square on Broadway. Click here for more information and tickets.
