THEATRE SPOTLIGHT

from RAGE MONTHLY MAGAZINE APRIL 2022

TV SPOTLIGHT

JARED DAVID MICHAEL GRANT LANDING ON EVERY LEVEL

Review after review describes the charming funny man Jared David Michael Grant, his comedy chops and singing as a standout performance in the touring production of the comedy musical Tootsie. Grant plays the role of the roommate, Jeff Slater. Tootsie is based on the story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart, and the 1884 Columbia Pictures movie starring Dustin Hoffman. The stage musical includes updates that make it laugh-out-loud funny, thanks to the Tony-winning book by Robert Horn.

Lukas James Miller as Max Van Horn and Ashley Alexandra as Julie Nichols. Drew Becker as Michael Dorsey and Jared David Michael Grant as Jeff Slater.

The Rage Monthly caught up with Grant after the tour’s opening night in Tucson,

Arizona.

“It is really nice to be back on stage and to be doing a funny show, where a lot of the audiences’ reactions are very vocal. They are laughing for extended periods of time,” Grant said.

Tootsie is Grant’s first touring show.

“It was a hard adjustment. All my prior work was based in Chicago. I’d do a show for a couple months and then it was over. It is a big adjustment to do show, change towns and then open once again,” he said.

“I am not exactly a homebody, but I do like being in my own space. But I’ve adjusted. It was tough with the second COVID layoff situation. We started and then stopped, and started and stopped again. But now it is a new hotel, new city every few weeks. I like to explore the food scene and the history of the city.”

Due to the “lost year,” Grant’s Tootsie audition through Zoom was held way back in March 2020: “I felt the first audition went really well. But I didn’t know if anything would happen. I got the part, and I kept thinking, ‘I am part of a great show, if we ever get to do it.’ It was scary for everyone, for the industry I love. Is acting in front of audiences ever coming back? Vaccines and mask mandates have been helpful. I started to think ‘I have to choose a different career path.’ I don’t have a fall back. I love cooking, but restaurants were closed too. I don’t know. I probably could go into the tech world, but I am not that gifted.”

Thankfully for theatergoers, Grant is a gifted performer and back doing eight shows a week. To get into character, Grant said, “I like to walk to the theatre from the hotel. On the way, I listen to some music, get in the right headspace, get a coffee. I get there an hour in advance, set up my station and then chill. I do breathing exercises.”

Grant currently has Abigail Smith, professionally known as Yebba, at the top of his playlist. She the winner of the 2022 Pop Awards “Emerging Artist of the Year” award. “I am listening to her recent album that was released through Electric Lady Studios,” he said. “Her voice is amazing. I love her version of ‘Age of Worry,’ a cover of one of my favorite John Mayer songs.”

If given a genie’s lamp, the roles he would wish for include the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera and the lead, Michael, in A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson. “It tells the story of a young, queer, black playwright,” he said. “I didn’t know I would relate to it so much. It is great to hear theatre coming from our perspective. There are people like me. We need musicals about us.”

During the show’s down time, Grants said, “I am geek, I enjoy graphic novels, reading. I find a park in the area, or I go hiking. Lukas James Miller (who plays Max) and I try chicken wings in every city. We compare them. I am big walker, so I enjoy walks around every city.”

Thus far, Grant’s favorite city has been Tulsa, Oklahoma. “They had a couple of really cool coffee shops, a nice theatre. I liked the vibe,” he said. “Surprising, I have such a big city background, coming from Chicago. The smaller cities, I love them. I feel a closeness, a warmth I can’t explain. Like everyone is here to help.”

For aspiring actors, Grant offered this: “Don’t let the no’s get you down. In this industry, out of 100 no’s there is one yes. There’s always gonna be someone who says no. But the one yes, that will really make a difference. Stay encouraged.”

Grant’s hardest no? “Well, that’s kind of funny. I am obsessed with NCIS. I got my first TV audition, and it was an audition for NCIS. They didn’t hire me. Still, that’s fine, I still watch the show. That was the hardest one though. It would have been cool to work with those actors.”

Best yes? “Aside from Tootsie? I have been really lucky with the yeses. When it happens, I just say, it was meant to be.”

When considering how the stage musical is the same and different from the original film, Grant said: “The musical is based loosely on the movie, but we have made a lot of adjustments to be more open with the audience, so it doesn’t make them feel weird, or anything. I’d say, come with an openness, this is a more friendly version of the Tootsie movie. There is still some cursing, I get to do some cursing.”

When asked his favorite joke, Grant said: “Oh, I have a good one for you, one of the stage-right set crew members that travels with us, writes a joke for me on my prop plate every night. There is a scene in a restaurant where I clear a plate and walk off stage. When I get off stage, I read the joke. He might get in trouble for doing that, but it makes me laugh. Recently he wrote, ‘Why are elevators so good at telling jokes? Because they land on every level.’”

Find Grant on instagram.com/jdmg585: “You can follow my career, see what happens.”