Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Derek Klena

Tony-nominated actor Derek Klena is known for the iconic characters he’s brought to life on the stage. From making his Broadway debut as Fiyero in Wicked to originating the role of Eddie Birdlace in Dogfight, Derek has captivated audiences for close to a decade with his talent, charisma, and vulnerability.

But when Broadway went dark in March 2020, Derek had to explore other outlets for his creativity, which included the cast recording of My Marcello.

Set in a small Italian village where there is a scarcity of burial plots, shrinking by the month, particularly in light of a recent circus accident on the highwire. Marcello (Santino Fontana) makes it his personal mission to keep everyone in town alive for as long as possible. Why? His beloved wife, Roseanna (Laura Osnes), is gravely ill and wishes to be buried next to her daughter. For a tiny town cemetery running low on plots, this is a dubious possibility. Enter gangsters, falling church bells, evil landowners, bodies hidden amongst the frozen peas, a passionate couple – all creating the perfect recipe to discover the true meaning of love.

Pop Culturalist caught up with Derek to chat about My Marcello, how he’s been able to stay creatively fulfilled during these challenging times, and the importance of community.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Derek: Some of my cousins on my dad’s side are musically talented, but I think the love for the arts came from my mom; she has always loved the arts. She was a teacher. She exposed my siblings and me to theater and music at such a young age. The first show that I ever saw was Beauty and the Beast: The National Tour when I was two years old. The first theater experience that I remember seeing was Phantom of the Opera in Orange County—that was when I was six—and I remember loving it. We always had an ear for music for Disney musicals, so it stems from when we were younger.

But it wasn’t until high school going into college that I started envisioning this as a career. You always have these goals. My dreams growing up were to either be a professional baseball player, a sports broadcaster, or be on Broadway. But when I was in college, that’s when it started to become a reality—that’s when I could picture my life as a performer, as an actor being in a profession that I would really enjoy.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Derek: I would have to say the experiences working on Dogfight and Anastasia—those were the two most impactful in my self-discovery and in my career. When I worked on Dogfight, I was new to the city; I had only been in New York for about four months. I took a quarter off of school. I was a junior at UCLA at the time, and I came to New York to pursue the opportunity to perform in Carrie off-Broadway. Towards the end of that run, I got an audition for Dogfight and ultimately ended up booking it.

But I owe a lot of that experience to Lindsay Mendez, who I’m really good friends with to this day. She’s had a lot of Broadway experience. She was my co-star in the show. We had a great friendship, and she taught me a lot about being a professional in New York City.

Also, Joe Mantello, who directed Dogfight. I saw him in The Normal Heart before I auditioned for Dogfight. Even being in the same room with him, I was already intimidated from an acting standpoint, let alone working with him as a director. The fact that he took a chance on this young kid from California who didn’t know what he was doing and really pushed me to expect more of myself—I owe him so much. He really taught me how to be a professional actor in New York City as well as how to set high expectations for myself. He really pushed Lindsay and me. That experience was monumental in my growth as an actor and as an adult.

Then, Anastasia. I have always been such a big fan of Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Terrence McNally. Ragtime was always one of my favorite shows, if not my favorite show. To work with that creative team was incredible as well as getting to work Darko Tresnjak after his Tony Award for A Gentleman’s Guide. It was an embarrassment of riches, such a smart group of people. So once again, another creative group that I idolized took a chance on me and gave me such an amazing opportunity to be a part of history that I grew up with. I’m a ’90s baby. I grew up on that movie. To bring this character to the stage and give him a singing voice, because Dmitry didn’t have a whole lot of singing in the movie, to get to create that with such an iconic group was a special experience.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Derek: Getting nominated for a Tony Award was pretty cool. It’s up there in terms of pinch-me moments and moments that you always dreamed of that you never think you would have the opportunity to fulfill. What was even more incredible is that the show got recognized in such high regard after such a crazy, traumatic year. It was a hard year for the arts community as a whole.

It was pretty special to not only get recognized individually but to also be able to share that with the group of people that you spent the better part of three years building this thing with made the experience that much more special.

PC: How were you able to stay creatively fulfilled during these challenging times?
Derek: Community. The reason I love theater, and why I think it will always be my first love as I try to venture into more film and TV is the community involved, is the friendships that you make, and the team effort involved of building these shows. Once the show is up on its feet, it’s up to the cast of twenty or thirty to maintain that, day in and day out.

When I’m in the show run, I spend more time with my cast members than I do with my family or my wife. The people that I’m with and by whom I’m surrounded inspire me so much. They’re such a big part of who I am.

This past year, I got to spend time with my wife. She was working from home a lot of the time, so we were spending more time together this past year than we have since college.

Spending time with our New York family and their kids was amazing. Two of our best friends have a couple of three-year-olds, which brought us so much joy to be able to share in their lives and connect with them on a deeper level when we were all in some of the darkest moments of our lives. Having that support system, getting to spend time with my family—because I came out to New York out of college and this December will be ten years since I moved here—getting to spend chunks of time with them in California was also huge.

Another piece that really inspired me is that I got to do a lot of teaching this past year. Even when I was feeling down and out and felt, like many of us, a loss of direction, I would teach master classes and teach one-on-one with these amazing students who just brought so much hope, so much drive and excitement to something that I lost sight of. I lost sight of why I do what I do. I lost sight of what it is that makes me feel fulfilled and makes me happy.

Knowing that I could have an impact on these students and influence their love for the arts inspired me a lot and picked me up on days when I was feeling a little bit down. That was another huge gift this past year.

PC: You’ve got a new project out called My Marcello. What initially attracted you to it?
Derek: It was the team involved: Broadway Records, the writers, and the cast. It was another project that had so many brilliant minds involved, so that was the first draw when I got brought onto the project—I would love to work with these people.

I also thought the story was really unique and funny. It’s a different type of role that I’ve never gotten to work on before, so I was excited about that opportunity. It was a little bit more comedy than I’ve gotten to do in musical theater in the past, but then it’s also this super redeeming, beautiful love story at its core.

I loved all the aspects of the project and the fact that we recorded the entire time remotely. It was such a unique experience, and the fact that they were able to pull it together under the circumstances of the pandemic was pretty amazing.

PC: That’s actually my next question for you. This is the first time you’ve worked on a project remotely. What was that experience like? What did you learn about your craft that you can apply to future projects?
Derek: This isn’t going to answer the question directly, but it’s the creativity that people have. The creativity involved in creating these pieces during the pandemic in these remote conditions is amazing for the arts. It’s opened up a lot of people’s minds to what’s possible. I didn’t know that I could connect via Zoom and link up to their GarageBand in my own room, recording this album while they control things on the other end. There are so many remote platforms, applications, and ways of communicating. It’s going to open up so many possibilities down the road and has given people more resources as we try to create music and art.

It’s amazing for writers. It’s amazing for producers. It’s amazing for actors. It gives us more opportunities when we can’t be in a specific place to work, but still want to be a part of a project. Having these new resources and applications opens up a huge new spectrum of possibilities.

PC: What do you hope the audiences take away after they listen to the cast recording?
Derek: In such a polarizing time, it’s important to remember to be good to one another. The fact that the show finds humor in this very interesting, odd, extreme circumstance is what makes it super creative and impactful. We really drive that point home towards the end of the show. It has elements of a love story, comedy, and community.

To keep up with Derek, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Pick up or stream My Marcello today.

Photo Credit: Jenny Anderson