In 1986 I was working in an out- of-print record shop between acting jobs (people were still collecting vinyl records then) when a shipment of the Original London Cast Album of The Phantom of the Opera arrived in the store. My bosses, who were the store owners, were eager to break one out and play it. They had pretty much worn out the Les Miserables cast album, they played it so much. I, along with hundreds of others, had auditioned for Les Miz when it was first being put together for Broadway, but was not fortunate enough to be cast.

That spring, I got a job at the Alhambra Dinner Theater in Jacksonville, Florida to play Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof. That is where I met an actress, Liz Cade, who would later become my wife (she is now a physical therapist). Subsequently, we were contracted to two more shows there together. Oklahoma!, in which she played Laurie and I played Curley, and 1776, in which she was Martha Jefferson and I was Edward Rutledge.

When we got back to New York in the winter of 1987, out of work again, I went back to the record shop and Liz went back to school for her new career. I kept auditioning and landed a job that summer doing stock in Maine at the Brunswick Music Theater (now the Maine State Theater). The first show was The Sound of Music, where I played a drunk at a party in the first act and a Nazi in the second act, running up the left aisle of the audience with a flashlight searching for the von Trapp family. During that production, I heard a rumor that the guy (who was a close friend of mine and would play my twin in the third production that summer, The Boys from Syracuse who was set to play Lancelot in Camelot, which was the next show, had another commitment and was therefore unavailable to perform the role. A TV Soap star was quickly hired to play the role. He, however, had a conflict and bowed out as well. I got my courage up and walked into the producer's office and said, “I hear you're having Lancelot problems.” She said, “Yes, Do you have anyone in mind?” I said, “Me!” She told me that the next day she was going to hold auditions and that I should come. I auditioned and got the job that afternoon. The last show that season was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in which I played a minor character in the ensemble. That's the way it is with summer stock sometimes. In one show you're a star, the next one you're in the chorus.

When I got back to New York this time, I made up my mind that I was either going to make it on Broadway or give up the business. I auditioned for every show there was to be auditioned for, but was just having no luck getting a Broadway show.

My first audition for Phantom was an EPA (Equity Principal Audition). For these auditions, a sign-up sheet is posted on a door at the Equity Audition Center a week before the audition. You sign up for an approximate time for your audition. At the audition, you have about 3 minutes to present yourself to a casting director. After I'd sung my song, the casting director said, “There's nothing for you in this show, but I have you in mind for something else. I'll call you.” He never did.

About a year later, I went to a chorus call audition for Phantom. At a chorus call, you show up as early as you can to get a number. The audition usually begins at 8am. Some people get there as early as 5am just to make sure they will be seen. You have only a few seconds to sing maybe 8 bars of music, it all depends on how many people show up and how long the audition is scheduled for. They also do this thing called “typing” where you're herded into a room 20 to 25 at a time. The casting director looks over the group. If you are picked, you get to audition. If not, you don‘t. Up to this point you haven't spoken a word, you haven't sung a note. They're just looking for a “type.” The very same casting director was conducting that audition. I went into the room with my picture and resume along with 19 other guys. When the casting director came to me, he looked at me and then at my picture/resume and then back at me and asked, “Haven't you sung for me before?” I said, “Yeah, about a year ago and you said that there was nothing for me in the show, but you were going to call me for something else, but you never did.” He asked, “Will you stay?” I said, ”Sure.” I got to sing my 8 bars. That was my second audition for Phantom.

There was some controversy at the time as to whether Phantom was ever coming to Broadway. Actors Equity Association has a reciprocal agreement with British Equity as to how many American “Stars” could appear in productions in the West End and how many English “Stars” could appear in productions on Broadway. At that time, Equity did not consider Sarah Brightman to have “Star” status and wanted an American cast in the role of Christine on Broadway. She, of course, was married at that time to Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber. In the end, Equity acquiesced and Ms. Brightman, and Phantom, made it to Broadway.

With my savings depleted, I needed money badly. But I did not want to go back to the record shop. So, I did what many out of work actors do to make good money quickly. I became a waiter. More specifically, a cater waiter. When a catering company gets a gig, they job in as many waiters as they need. The work is not steady, but it is lucrative if you get a reputation for being dependable. I got a call from a catering company I had worked for on a Wednesday afternoon in January. They asked me if I could work the opening night party of The Phantom of the Opera the next night, Thursday, at the Beacon Theater. I knew that it was going to be a big deal. I had never been to a Broadway Opening before, so I was pretty excited. I had to be there at 5pm to set up and get my instructions for the evening. A huge movie screen was set up and was showing the silent Lon Chaney film as the show's music played in the back ground. Daaaaah… dah, dah, dah, dah, Daaaaah… By the time the guests arrived, that idea had been scrapped. I ladled out potatoes au gratin from a steam tray onto the plates of Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and the rest of the cast from the stage of the Beacon Theater. When dinner was done, I served wine from table to table. When everyone had gone, the catering team spent another hour cleaning up. I was back in my apartment by 3am. It was a special night.

The catering work, however, became more and more infrequent. I needed something to give me a steadier income. I also decided to pursue another career path. Luckily, I was able to do both. A friend of mine (a likewise unemployed actor) was working as the night doorman at the Broadway Theatre where Les Miz originally played before moving to the Imperial Theatre. He recommended me for the job as the night doorman at the Schubert Theatre where A Chorus Line was playing. I got that job and decided to enroll in a 9 month course in audio engineering during the day, my fall-back career. I completed the course and a short apprenticeship at a recording studio.

Then the phone calls started.

I got a call from the same casting director for another audition for Les Miz. At the audition, I sang the wrong song (a typically big musical comedy number), wore the wrong clothes (a polo shirt, chinos and penny loafers) and my hair was very short (because I was trying to be the young twentysomething for commercials). I was the wrong “type,” but they were interested enough in me to give me a ticket to see the show (I hadn't seen it) as research in preparation for a subsequent audition (which never materialized).

A few months later, they called again. They wanted to see me for a replacement for the Marksman/Raoul understudy for Phantom. The audition was on the stage of the Majestic Theatre. They had me sing “All I Ask of You” and read from the script. But I didn't get it. The young blond guy that auditioned right after me did.

But this same casting office kept calling me for every musical they were casting for on Broadway. I wasn't getting the jobs, but they kept calling me in to audition. I said to Liz, “They want me for something. They just don't know where to put me.”

Then I got a call from them on a Wednesday asking if I could audition again tomorrow for Phantom, at the Majestic Theatre. This time it was for a swing position with a Raoul understudy. I said, “Sure.” I sang “All I Ask of You” again for the casting director, the music supervisor, the production supervisor, the stage managers, the dance captain and some other people connect with the show. There was another guy there who was going to audition after me. They asked me if I could stay for a while. I said, “Sure.” The other guy had his audition and was dismissed. When I was called back to the stage, they had me go through “The Dressing Room Scene” (with one of the stage managers reading Christine's part). The dance captain taught me Raoul and Christine's entrance into “Masquerade” (I was to later learn that they had not asked any of the other guys to dance up to that point). And the music supervisor asked me to sing something else that I was comfortable with (I sang “If Ever I Would Leave You” because it has basically the same range as “All I Ask of You”). Then the production supervisor said, “We're going to go to the back of the theater and talk about you for a little while, okay?” I stood there on the stage for what seemed like hours. When they came back, the production supervisor asked, “You know that this is a swing position, right?” I said, “Yes.” He asked, “Do you want the job?” I fell to my knees and yelled, “ARE YOU KIDDING?”

So, I got the call on Wednesday, my audition was Thursday, I signed my contract on Friday, I saw the show for the first time at the Saturday matinee (as I watched, I said out loud, “I'm going to be in this!”) and started rehearsal on Monday. Over 2 years after my first audition!