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Q & A with Gregory Jbara: “I’ve never seen you laugh so hard.”
i finished editing the interview...heres a draft.
any suggestions?

Q & A with Gregory Jbara: “I’ve never seen you laugh so hard.”

Detroit native and funny-man Gregory Jbara’s career has been on full throttle since graduation from Julliard. He’s worked with theater legends such as Julie Andrews and Jerry Lewis, gallivanted between sitcoms and movies, and has done more voiceovers than you can imagine. He lives a comfortable life in L.A. with wife Julie and two sons, enjoys home-renovations, and is now spending time on the East Coast acting as the droll yet romantic French policeman and rogue Andre Thibault in the smash-hit Broadway comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. With all these unbelievable credits under his belt, including that of being an all-star Dad, Greg spills all between numbers backstage, including how and why he got there, and some advice for you.


What inspired you to become an actor?
When I was growing up in a suburb of Detroit, the wealthier people made it possible to do plays in school. At Wayne Memorial High School, the arts were encouraged: we had 70 guys alone in the male chorus, a third of which were on the football team. The concept of going into acting professionally was not realistic. I went to University of Michigan as a communications major with a minor in physics, but I spent all my free time performing in student-run productions. At the end of my third year, the theater was where I excelled. I was encouraged by teachers to audition for The Julliard School which led to an amazing four years of my life.
What do you think was your first "major break"?
Getting accepted into Juilliard. Over 1,200 people auditioned for over twenty-six
spots in my class. There was a Live from Lincoln Center segment on PBS that showcased Julliard students I was to be featured. There was a lot of positive support. I knew I was
on the right path.
You have worked with a plethora of incredible entertainers such as Julie Andrews,
Joanna Gleason, Jonathan Lithgow, Jerry Lewis, Jonathan Pryce, and
Norbert Leo Butz. What have you learned from them?
There was a time when I was doing Damn Yankees at night with Jerry Lewis and
Victor Victoria rehearsals by day with Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards. When I was watching Mary Poppins at age two in my pajamas, if you said “when you’re thirty two, you’ll be working with her on Broadway,” I would have laughed. I learned a lot about how to treat other people in the business from them, and had the opportunity to make many important contacts in the industry.
Have you ever performed with a French accent before Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?
I do a lot of voiceover work, so dialects come really easily. In college we
did Of Thee I Sing and I played the French ambassador, so the accent isn’t foreign to me now. What was really hard was toning it down. The accent is no longer totally accurate because the jokes weren’t landing right with the authentic French accent. It took too long for the audience to process. For example, with the accent, I pronounce a “th” sound as a “z.” I had to reinstitute the “th” for the punch lines to penetrate.
How does the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels experience compare to that of
Chicago?
Chicago was the first time I’ve replaced somebody-I would never want to
do that again. The luxury of originating a role is that you get to create
the character. In preparation for Chicago, I had two weeks of rehearsal with
stage manager, dance captain, and piano player. I had two weeks to get
friendly with the company. It took me a good month before I was proud of the work I
was doing in the show. It was very difficult to me to feel that I had really
the Greg Jbara aspect to Billy Flynn.
What’s it like backstage at Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? Are you a tightly-knit
cast? Is it hard for replacements to adjust?
This musical originated in San Diego. We have a unique fraternity because we bonded when we started out of town. Once we got to New York City, we all had our own lives so work became a 9-5 job that we left. In San Diego, we lived in dorm rooms and looked to each other for our social lives
and work. We’ll have a new cast member who has joined the show. We’re a welcoming group but perhaps they don’t share our history because we did hard
work on the road, hoping it would be successful.
I see you play across someone new; how are you adjusting?
Yes, Lucy Arnaz replaced Joanna Gleason as Muriel Eubanks. By the time we met, she
was already off book. I only did one day of rehearsal with her for 45 minutes
before her first performance. The scenes are so much fun and well written
that the adjustment was naturally easy. In the first performance it was
already great. It’s very different from Joanna’s portrayal; Lucy brings a
totally different, zany energy. She’s such a terrific person and a great actress
so it was not a problem at all.
What inspiration did you take from the film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?
I actually auditioned for the movie in 1988 for the part of a sailor. I didn’t
see the film until well after we opened because I didn’t want my performance
to be influenced.
I see you’ve had quite a lot of experience acting off the stage too. How was the transition from stage to screen?
As an actor who started in theater, the emotional and psychological rewards
of a large audience were missing. TV and film are still thrilling because they’re still sort of new venues for me. Everyone’s inspired to do their first movie, musical, and sitcom. Having done all of the above, I still find theater the most gratifying although it’s not the most financially rewarding. Interaction between audience and actor makes theater so great. There’s a part of me that likes to be told I’m doing a great job.
What was your first screen acting experience?
My first movie role was as an office boy in The House on Carroll Street. It was fun
being a part of that film; I went to the rap party at the end where I met Tom Cruise! I’m going, “Wow! He saw me on film.” That was a huge first experience. My first
TV job was on the Newhart show in 1987. My parents were in the audience and got to come back and meet Bob Newhart.
How does Broadway acting compare with screen acting?
In stage acting you’re completely responsible to show the audience what to
focus on, to help the audience figure out what they need to look at and listen
to, to tell the story. When you work on screen, the editor is in charge of
controlling when you look at whom and how. The 50/50 interaction between audience and performer is something that doesn’t exist on screen. Also, the camera is on your face in film. The same thing you can do with your eyes in a movie, you have to do with your body on stage to elicit a reaction.
What was your favorite theatrical experience?
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has been the most fun I’ve had. I’ve been lucky
that every job I did truly was more rewarding than the previous one. That’s
the luxury of being able to get another gig. I never had to step backwards.
When I did Chicago it was the first time I’d been cast in a lead role on Broadway and that was a big milestone for me. Billy Flynn has one of the best entrances: to have eight women singing your name as they’re rolling on the floor and you’re in the spotlight on a chair is pretty neat.
Tell me about your experience in Midsummer Night’s Dream.
When I acted in the movie of Midsummer Night’s Dream, it was my third time
doing that play. I’d done Lysander at University of Michigan, Bottom at
Julliard, and I played Snug in the film. The diversity among the actors was incredible. It was amazing that we got to shoot the film in Italy, a country inhabited by men thousands of years ago. Plus, nobody got rich doing that movie: we worked on that
for the minimum equity requirement payment. To compensate, they flew all of our families out to visit when we were shooting.
Why did you decided to move to New York from L.A.?
I lived in NYC from 1982-1997 when my wife and I moved to L.A. That’s where
we make our home. We’re going back there at the end of the summer. Coming
back to New York was a gift from my wife and kids because they knew how much I
enjoy theater. My intention is to stay in LA so they can go to school and
we’re not constantly pulling them out. They love it here, especially the
trains. You can go anywhere in the world on the rail. Once, we took the subway
then Penn Station, then took Amtrak to Washington D.C. and took the subway to
our hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a really great time.
What were your expectations for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?
When I was reading the script in my office in L.A., my wife came out of the
bedroom and said “I’ve never heard you laugh so loud reading anything,” and I’ve read hundreds of movie and sitcom scripts. She said, “You’re going to
take this job, aren’t you?” I could not believe that people were going to be
doing these insane things on the stage and I had to be a part of it, something
I definitely knew would catch fire. We had a great time in rehearsal just
trying to do the scenes. It took Joanna and me two weeks to do the balcony
scene because we were laughing to the point of tears.
When we started rehearsing, the song Like Zis Like Zat wasn’t even written. It said in the script “at this point in show Andre and Muriel find they have romantic connection through song.”David Yazbek, the composer, didn’t know what that was going to be until three weeks into rehearsal when he wrote that song, and in an hour and a half, the number was fully staged. It was a great little romantic duet that was perfect and pristine and spoke to everybody involved.
Describe your feelings on opening night.
Opening night is a serious thing. The first time, you expect it to be this
wildly exuberant incredibly energized experience. To my chagrin, the audience
was filled with investors who were obligated to attend. Opening night ends up being a lot more about sort of marketing of launching a show. Personally it’s not that exciting but its fun to put together everybody’s opening night gift. The backstage energy is great but
the audience’s energy is sort of lackluster because they’re biting their
nails hoping the show is good.
What was your most embarrassing on-stage incident?
Although I can’t recall anything embarrassing, there have definitely been
unplanned moments. When something goes wrong the audience can usually tell and
they rally behind you because there’s empathy for your situation. The audience
considers you a hero when you can rise above. A month ago, I got my finger
crushed in the hotel lobby door before Like Zis Like Zat. The steel frame crushed my finger, and the impact ripped flesh out above the fingernail. It took forty-five seconds to start bleeding, but when it did it was profound. I tried to continue on but I realized I was going make a huge mess. I stepped out of character and said, “I have to go backstage and stop the bleeding.” At first the audience didn’t realize I was serious. I walked off the stage and the understudy playing Muriel was left alone. She did a grand ballerina diva
curtsy, got up and said “I always wanted to do that.” When I came back on, she
was on the floor in the middle of her second bow. I mouthed to the audience, “Didn’t mean to interrupt.” When I came back on, Jonathan Pryce ran on saying, “Don’t worry, I’m a doctor.” He gets woozy at the sight of blood. When he got to my hand he murmured, “oh boy,” he helped me and ultimately we stopped the
bleeding. The audience, glad that I had recovered, considered me a hero.
How do you feel the attention you receive from the media? Any
complaints?
I’ve learned that anything you say to a reporter that interesting may end up
on the page. I’ve learned to be discreet and careful about what I share.
There is no such thing as “off the record.” I have had no bad feelings about my
own treatment by the press. Critics have been supporters and Howard
Kissel-from my first job up to now-has always been an amazing champion of my work. He’s one of my heroes. I also respect the way he takes his responsibility as a
critic and a reviewer of the fine arts.
What is next for you?
All I plan on doing is return to our home in Marvista and spend the
money I made here on renovations. We blocked and gutted and turned a modest
bungalow into a 1400 square foot home with a guesthouse. We want to turn
living room, dining room, and kitchen into one great. That’s literally all I have planned. I’m auditioning for TV but I have no commitments as of yet. My sons are in my sister-in-law’s wedding party as ring-barer and flower-boy.
Who will replace you as Andre?
Richard Kind who played a lead role in The Producers will replace me. I do
know him; he’s a very different personality than I am so it’ll be a very
different thing. The character will change significantly but it’ll be a good
thing.
Greg’s message to you:
As for words of inspiration for an aspiring actor, all I can really
share is what I personally know to be true: You can be from a small town in
Michigan with no family members having ever made a living in the
entertainment industry and still make a great living as an actor and have a family at the
same time. Ever since I made the decision in my third year of college at the
University of Michigan to pursue a career as an actor, never once did I
doubt that there was a place for me in this business. Never. Even when my only
source of income was from catering or building loft beds. So if by the time
you have finished your training and are beating the pavement trying to get a
job as an actor... if deep down in your heart you are doubting whether you can
make it in this business, I suggest you find another career. The business of
"show business" is tough enough without you questioning your worthiness to be
a part of it. My slogan is, " If you doubt, get out". Because there are
thousands of well-trained folks who believe in themselves and know how to market
themselves that you will be competing with for jobs everyday. And it's the
people who know how to "sell" their talents that get the jobs... not always
the folks with the most talent.