Jason Forbach is currently in the hit Broadway revival of Les Miserables playing the Imperial Theater after 3 years playing Enjolras with the 25th Anniversary Tour of Les Miserables across the US and Canada. He was also in The Phantom of the Opera (Las Vegas Co.).
Off Broadway he has appeared in The Music Teacher (New Group), As You Like It (McGinn/Cazalle) and A.W.O.L. (59e59).
Regionally he has played such houses as 5th Avenue, Paper Mill, North Shore Music Theater, Sacramento Music Circus, Kennedy Center and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Festival of Song.
Operatically, he has appeared with Central City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera and Fresno Grand Opera as well as symphonic appearances with Omaha Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic and Abilene Philharmonic.
Jason has 3 albums available with all online retailers, A New Leading Man, Remembering To Dream and Revolutionary.
If you want to take the Actor Hub Musical Theatre Challenge please get in touch
A song from the first musical you saw/heard.
I’m going to guess it was Singin’ In The Rain
It was the first movie musical I remember watching over and over again as a child. I was obsessed.
A song from your latest musical obsession
‘Pretty Funny’ from Dogfight
I love Pasek and Paul and I think this song is perfection.
A song demonstrating how underrated you think a musical is
The most recent show that comes to mind would be Bridges of Madison County and the song ‘One Second and a Million Miles’
These two voices were an iconic moment in Broadway history and it was gone way too soon.
A song which can make you cry
‘When The Earth Stopped Turning’ from Elegies
I had the honor of doing this beautiful, rarely done piece and it killed me every time.
A song which makes you laugh
‘Turn It Off’ from Book of Mormon
Pretty much every song from Book of Mormon.
There hasn’t been a massive musical comedy like this since The Producers
The musical you’d kill to be in
I’m meaning this without any irony due to the question but Assassins is definitely my answer.
A song sung by your favourite female character in a musical
‘Children Will Listen’ – sung by the Witch in Into the Woods
One of the most poignant songs ever written, by a character that gets to explore sides that are ugly and sexy and feisty and funny and everything in-between.
Is there a more perfect role for a woman?
A song sung by your favourite male character in a musical
‘Finishing The Hat’ from Sunday in the Park with George
A song from the musical you know all – or nearly all – the lines to
‘Bring Him Home’ – If I didn’t know all the words to this show I should be ashamed of myself.
Your guilty pleasure musical
I would say Phantom of the Opera
Some people have a negative reaction to the melodrama of this show but I think it is sumptuous, the orchestrations are incredible and the melodies have proven to be infectious and inspired decades of listeners.
The musical which made the most impact on you
Les Miserables. I have a vivid memory as a child watching the Act 1 Finale and watching in awe as all the collective story lines were linked musically and marching on toward the next act. I was floored!
A song you could listen to all day.
‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ – From Wizard of Oz
A song by your favourite musical composer
Sunday – Sondheim
Nothing is more epically beautiful and powerful than this
The character you’d kill to play
John Wilkes Booth – from Assassins
Yet again, no irony intended.
The character you’d kill to play – if you were the opposite sex
Sally Bowles in Cabaret
A song which inspires you
‘Fable’ from Light in the Piazza
Nothing reaches into my soul and stirs something within me more than this!
The musical you’ve seen over and over
I think I could say I’ve seen Les Mis and Phantom over 2,000 times.
Does that count?
The character in a musical you can most relate to
I would have to say The Phantom in Phantom of the Opera again.
Music is my true passion and I’ve spent a good portion of my life growing up feeling outside of the norm.
A song from your favourite musical
‘No One Is Alone’ from Into The Woods. This show affected me like no other.
When I saw this PBS broadcast of the Original Broadway company I felt my spirit be forever changed.
Your favourite song NOT from a musical
Too many to count! ‘Both Sides Now’, ‘But Beautiful’, ‘What a Wonderful World’, ‘My Funny Valentine’, ‘Harvest Moon’, ‘O Holy Night’….I could write a list for days.
Thanks to Jason for taking the Actor Hub Musical Theatre Challenge. Follow Jason on Twitter or download his albums A New Leading Man, Remembering To Dream and Revolutionary.
Jason singing two beautiful holiday songs
If you want to take the Actor Hub Musical Theatre Challenge please get in touch
