Nathan Lane

Pseudolous, Nathan Detroit, Max Bialystock, and now Gomez Addams: all characters portrayed by Nathan Lane. Nathan Lane is one of the most famous artists to ever hit Broadway. Funnily enough, his name is actually Joseph. When he went to register for Actor’s Equity, there was already a Joseph Lane registered, so he changed his name after playing Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls. With the kind of person I think he is, I am not surprised. He started out doing stand-up comedy in New York City. Then slowly he started getting involved with groups in New York that work shopped new shows. He starred in a lot of smaller Broadway shows. After appearing in a production of Merlin with Chita Rivera and plays by Neil Simon, he ended up starring in the revival of Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit. This role landed him his first Tony nomination and Drama Desk Award. His big break was playing Pseudolous in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. He won the Tony award for this performance. After that, his career really took off. He worked shopped on Assassins with Sondheim, The Man Who Came To Dinner, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream. He is most known for his work on The Producers of which he portrayed Max Bialystock. He won the Tony award for this performance. It is ironic because both his nomination and his award winning performance were both roles that were portrayed by Zero Mostel. He then went on to star along with Matthew Broderick again, in The Odd Couple. I remember trying to get tickets for this show because I wanted to see it so badly, but it was impossible. He then stared in David Mamet’s play, November and now he is working on The Addams Family as Gomez Addams opposite Bebe Neuwirth. Nathan Lane has always been an idol of mine. The first thing I ever saw him in was The Mousetrap. The Mousetrap used to be my favorite movie. It was one of the movies that I could watch, rewind, and watch again. When I found out that he was in The Producers, I wanted to go see it more than anything. Unfortunatly, I found out he was in it, after he was off the show. I did end up seeing it. I saw it with Roger Bart as Leo and Tony Danza as Max. This of course did not do Nathan Lane justice. I have always kind of considered him a role model. It is my dream to be just as famous as he is one day. I have read that he is one of the nicest celebrities that you could ever meet. I want people to say that about me one day. Nathan Lane has a way of captivating an audience. He has such stage presence and you can always tell that he is doing this for the audience and because it is what he loves to do. I have only ever seen clips of him on stage and I am blown away. Even when you see him in movies, you can tell that he is really enjoying himself. I myself have portrayed Pseudulous in my High Schools production of Forum and I saw bits and pieces of him in that role and I remembered thinking that I wanted to channel Nathan Lane. Of course, I wanted to put myself in the character, but I wanted that charisma in my performance. The funny thing is I don’t think he has that great of a singing voice, but it doesn’t matter. After learning about all of the different techniques and the “foundations” of theater so to speak, I can fully appreciate his talent for what it is. That is why it doesn’t matter that he isn’t the best singer. He has a character voice. He has an amazing character voice. People flock to his shows. The tickets cost a fortune to see a Nathan Lane show. I remember that we wanted to get my dad tickets to see The Odd Couple, but it just wasn’t in the cards. I think it’s great that the role of Nathan Detroit was one of the first roles that Nathan Lane performed and then it ended up being his break out role. In conclusion, I would like to take this time to honor the great Nathan Lane. He is one of the greatest actors of his generation and he is someone that I have always looked up to.