You may (or may not) remember Greg Hildreth from being dimly lit to the left of Benjamin Walker in the original cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, stepping out from behind the ropes and bamboo sticks upstage of Celia Keenan-Bolger and Christian Borle in the original cast of Peter and the Starcatcher, or mugging downstage left of Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes in the original cast of Cinderella; well now, Hildreth is going solo with his debut show at 54 Below Second Fiddle: an evening of songs and stories about performing immediately stage left or right of beautiful people on February 7. BroadwayBox caught up with Hildreth recently for a 10-question interview in which he had to respond to each question with a song from the set list.
1. Song that describes growing up in Boston:
Probably this Frank Loesser song called "I Get the Neck of the Chicken." I have three sisters and growing up, I was always the one with the last shower in the morning. I've taken a lot of cold showers.
2. Song that reminds me of love:
Cole Porter's "Who Said Gay Paree?"
3. Song that sums up my Cinderella experience:
"You're Nothing Without Me" which I'll be singing with Santino Fontana. Let's face it, that guy's nothing without me.
4. Song that describes the experience of Bloody Bloody downtown
"'Til Him."
5. Song that describes the experience of Bloody Bloody uptown:
Sondheim's "Everybody Says Don't" because it was my Broadway debut. WELL I SAY DO!
6. Song that really gets my sense of humor:
"Making Love Alone" —nuff said.
7. Song that reminds me of Brooklyn:
Sondheim's "What More Do I Need?"
8. Song I most want to sing on a Broadway stage:
Eli Bolin and Sam Forman's "Grimace's Lament" which is about the famed McDonald's character's identity crisis.
9. Song from the set-list that is the most personal:
George M. Cohan's "Life's a Very Funny Proposition After All.”
10. Song I’d use as the Greg Hildreth theme song:
The genius composer, Alan Schmuckler, has written me an original opening number that addresses my plight as a character actor. He's a super talent and everyone should know his work. I can't stop singing it.
See Greg Hildreth’s solo debut ‘Second Fiddle’ at 54 Below on February 7.
