Exclusive Interview: Alex Brightman Talks The Wizard Of Friendship Cast Recording, His Love for Improvisation and Collaboration, and More

Alex Brightman needs no introduction. The writer and two-time Tony-nominated actor is known for his transformative performances in projects including School of Rock, Matilda, Wicked, and Blue Bloods.

This summer, he teams up with comedy-trio Lewberger for the cast recording of their laugh-out-loud musical, The Wizard Of Friendship.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Alex about his career in front of and behind the camera, playing Flim Flam the Sausage Man in The Wizard Of Friendship, and more!

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts and storytelling?
Alex: I was a flamboyant kid. I would dance on my fireplace listening to Gloria Estefan, Billy Ocean, or Aerosmith, and pretend to be them. That’s when I discovered performing. My passion for the arts and storytelling came on the heels of that when I saw my first Broadway show, Cats. I loved everything about the notion of theater. The feeling of live energy. The suspension of disbelief asked of an audience. It all just felt like something that might be in my future. During my career, I have fallen more and more in love with the storytelling of it all. And once I discovered my passion for writing, I really dug into what it meant to weave a narrative that people would enjoy, be compelled to listen to, and hopefully pay to see. Underneath all of that is just a kid having fun, dancing on his various fireplaces throughout the world.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Alex: Being inspired by others is the gasoline my art car requires. Good, premium, top-choice inspiration. That’s what influences me to do better and do more. I think a good life/work balance has also helped a lot. Being able to disconnect from the craziness that is theater, film, TV, and writing has allowed me to have more peace than ever. I try not to bring the work home with me, and that has made my actual work thrive.

PC: You’ve had so much success throughout your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out?
Alex: It’s madness to even hear a sentence like, “You’ve had so much success throughout your career.” So thank you for that ego boost. A moment that stands out is the morning of the Tony nominations for Beetlejuice. I was already so overwhelmed when I was nominated for School of Rock. I figured that was lightning in a bottle. And I was perfectly content with it striking once. But when I heard my name announced for Beetlejuice, I had a lot of feelings about it, but I remember that one of my oversweeping thoughts was, “I think now I will always be able to have a job in the career that I love.” That second nomination meant job security. Yes, I was excited. Yes, I was grateful. Yes, I was jumping around my apartment. But what that nomination meant for me and my career is what truly stands out. And I promised myself to use the moment as momentum.

PC: You’ve done it all throughout your career. How did you get involved with The Wizard Of Friendship? What was it about this particular project and playing Flim Flam the Sausage Man that attracted you to it?
Alex: I have been a fan of the Try Guys and Lewberger for longer than I think they even know. I mean, I live in the world… so I know who they are and how industrious and wonderfully irreverent they all are. So when I had the chance to collaborate with them when Keith [Habersberger] made his debut at Beetlejuice, it confirmed all of the thoughts I had about them. We loosely kept in touch after Keith’s debut, and they were kind enough to invite me to The Wizard of Friendship off-Broadway where I played Keith’s Dad for the evening (might have been a matinee). I loved the show. It’s my favorite kind of show—the kind of show that lets you know what it is from the start. It didn’t take itself seriously, but you could tell how much hard work went into it. I love when theater is a full-contact sport. That’s what they were all about. We kept keeping in touch. They reached out to see if I wanted to do the album, and it might have been the quickest “yes” I’ve ever given. To play Flim Flam the Sausage Man was a bucket list item I didn’t realize I had until I had it. I love comedy. I love absurdity. And to be honest…I love sausage.

PC: This is a show that’s near and dear to Keith, Alex [Lewis], and Hughie [Stone Fish]. What has it been like getting to collaborate with them on this project?
Alex: Working with the fellas has been a joy. They are hyper-collaborative and down to try almost anything. That speaks to me on a very deep improvisational comedy level. I love “yes, and…,” and so do they. It has been easy the whole time. I am also flattered and honored that they like me. As an actor, you always have the “like me” gene and you aren’t always sure how people see you in professional or personal settings. But we got along instantly. They were also very much into some input when we were recording the album. I love to try stuff and throw a ton of stuff at the wall, and they were down with it. We work well together. I hope we can continue to do that in the future. But if this is it, I am fulfilled for a lifetime.

PC: The music on this cast recording is catchy and memorable. Outside of your own songs on the album, which is your favorite and why?
Alex: This is an easy one. If you want to talk about my love of absurdity and insanity, here we go. I love “Giant Bird in a Man Suit.” When I saw it in the show, I almost fell out of my seat. The very audacity to even come up with that. Then to develop it and execute it the way they did…completely bananas. I can’t wait to have that song on repeat in my household. My neighbors will not be pleased. But I don’t care. It’s too good.

PC: In addition to acting, you’re also a writer. How has your work behind the scenes impacted the way that you approach your work on the stage/screen and vice versa?
Alex: Writing has been the best thing that has come into my life. I love storytelling. I love making people smile with my words. I love making people gasp with my words. I’ve been lucky enough to make people truly feel with my words. I’ve read enough scripts to know what I want to do and what I don’t want to do when it comes to my writing. I am so interested in the quirkier corners of stories—the things that aren’t so obvious about the identities of characters in certain situations. I love to pan the camera just left of the main action and focus on the thing you’d otherwise dismiss as unimportant or frivolous.

As an actor, I am much more keen on the idea that writers want to hear their words read first and foremost. Things can change, but they need to know what to change. And the only way to do that is to honor the text that’s there. As an improviser, that was a tough lesson to learn because I love to add my own flare to things. Writing taught me that there is a time and a place for latitude. It’s important to remember that these specific words in this specific order are incredibly important to the person that wrote them. And I think my acting career has helped me write characters more honestly. I know how I’d like to say things on stage. I know what it is to read something that doesn’t feel user-friendly. So I’m always thinking about the actor when I write. I’m thinking about what it might look like on stage. If that needs to change, I’m also very flexible and open to killing my darlings if it’s not servicing the piece. I think that the writing and acting feed each other.

To keep up with Alex, follow him on Instagram. The Wizard Of Friendship Cast Recording will be released on June 23rd.