2006 Article: Kevin Richardson reprises his role in hit musical

Nov. 23, 2006 Article

In the late 1990s, The Backstreet Boys were the undisputed kings of the pop music market.

They regularly performed to stadiums full of screaming fans at destinations around the world, produced record-smashing albums and were staples of Top 40 radio.

After a hiatus between 2002 and 2004, the group released their platinum-selling comeback album last year entitled Never Gone, a success that was generally warmly received by fans and critics.

But the eldest of the group Kevin Richardson, the black-haired former model and Disney World tour guide who sought a career in music before finally striking gold with the band, announced in June this year that he would be leaving BSB to embark on a new phase of his career.

One element of that new phase will be a return to the stage, a move that will soon see him reprise the role of Billy Flynn in the Toronto production of Chicago, a part he first played on Broadway and in London’s West End.

Having exposure to fame and performance on two very different stages puts Richardson in a unique position as an artist, but he says there are definite advantages to working in both arenas.

"Performing in front of a huge crowd can be intimidating, but at the same time it can be comforting because there are so many people there and so much is going on you feel like you can maybe hide," he says.

"When you’re performing in front of a small, intimate crowd you feel very naked, very exposed, because it’s so much more intimate."

Richardson says he’s addicted to the theatre and the Flynn part but for no other reason than the fact that he can actually hear himself sing in the theatre, a nearly impossible feat when performing in front of 50,000 screaming fans.

While he admits theatre performance can be intimidating in its own way, the 35-year-old native of Lexington, Ky., recalls a more arduous time in 2002, prior to the release of the film version of Chicago, when he was preparing to act in the production on Broadway.

"With all the renewed interest when the film came out, here I am doing it on Broadway and I hadn’t done musical theatre for 10 years. There were moments when I thought what have I done? I’m in over my head. Then there were days in rehearsal when I thought, ‘I’ve got this, I was totally in my element.’ "

The natural tenor decided to simply dive into the part, the result being a successful run in New York, later London, and eventually on to Toronto. "With theatre, it is a nice change," Richardson says. "It is a totally different type of gratification and satisfaction that I get with that."

Source: Metro