While many are familiar with Jason Alexander’s unforgettable, nine-season performance as George Costanza on the hit sitcom Seinfeld, musical theater aficionados know him as a Tony Award-winning man of the stage. Recently, I had the chance to ask Jason Alexander some questions about his career on Broadway in advance of his upcoming show with the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall.
Calvin Dotsey: What first attracted you to the performing arts?
Jason Alexander: No part of the performing arts world didn’t attract me. Plus, I thought it would be a good way to meet girls.
CD: How did you first get involved in the performing arts?
JA: At the behest of a girl. But that’s a story I tell in the show.
CD: Are there any actors or other performers who have particularly inspired you?
JA: Inspired is the wrong word. More like enticed. And the list is long and varied, filled with well-known names and some you’ve never heard of, too. Great performances are enticing. They make you believe you can get up and do it, too. They also make you believe you can’t do it.
CD: Most people know you for creating the character of George Costanza on Seinfeld, but you have also had a distinguished Broadway career, including a Tony Award-winning performance in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. How did you become involved in that show?
JA: I was invited to audition by my friend Emmanuel Azenberg, the lead producer of the show. I went in and auditioned for Mr. Robbins and he was very insistent that I join the show immediately thereafter.
CD: What was it like working with Jerome Robbins?
JA: Books have been written on this subject. Jerry was a very complicated and gifted man. There were times when you were working with a genius and times when you are working with a demon. You rarely knew which one would show up from day to day or moment to moment. However, in totality, it was an extraordinary experience and one that I am grateful to have had.
CD: What role did you play in the show?
JA: I played 14 different characters over the course of the evening. I guess it was flashy enough to win me that Tony award.
CD: Having worked in live theater, film, and television, do you have a preference?
JA: They each have their pros and cons. However, nothing beats playing for a live audience for an artist who cares about their work. It is the most challenging and the most rewarding kind of performing any artist can do.
CD: What are your current professional ambitions and dreams? What would you like to do that you haven’t yet done?
JA: We all want the same thing – to work with good material and with great people. Every time I get to do that, regardless of the medium, I am overjoyed. I also am making a concerted effort to have directing and teaching and writing become more of my professional life.
CD: Are you involved in any upcoming projects you can tell us about?
JA: I have two television projects in the works. I have a film making the festival circuit called Lucky Stiff. And I perform my one man shows across the country and around the world. Come see it if you can.
Don’t miss Jason Alexander with the Houston Symphony!
Jason Alexander: An Evening of Comedy and Song
September 5, 6, 7, 2014
Michael Krajewski, conductor
Jason Alexander, vocalist
Tony Award® winner and multi-talented star of the ground-breaking hit TV show Seinfeld, Jason Alexander joins the orchestra for his first-ever symphonic performance in Texas. Alexander engages you for an evening of music and laughs as he reminisces about his remarkable and versatile career on the stage and screen. Hear songs from Broadway’s Music Man, Pippin and Merrily We Roll Along.
