Pop Culturalist Chats with Michael Campayno

Michael Campayno is dancing and singing his way into many, many hearts in his Broadway debut as Fiyero in Wicked. This 26 year-old from Pittsburgh might look a little familiar even if you haven’t seen Wicked recently; that would be because Campayno was Rolf in The Sound of Music Live! back in 2013. His smooth vocals, endearing charm, and dancing skills will ensure that we’ll be seeing much more of him in the future—and we can’t wait!

We were able to chat with Michael about his stage and screen experiences, his upcoming 54 Below shows, and how much he loves Domino’s Pizza.

PC: First of all, Wicked is your Broadway debut. What did it feel like stepping onto the stage for the first time?
Michael: Wicked is indeed my Broadway debut. It was crazy. It was a lot of years of working really hard. You dream so much about it as a little kid, that you never know if it’s…it feels so out of reach, I guess. I actually don’t even remember my opening night until I took my final bow. I had thirty members of my family there. I’m the youngest of six. They’re all super supportive, and they love theater. I had a lot of my aunts and uncles there, and my grandparents were there. I actually didn’t regain consciousness until I was taking my bow! I saw everybody standing up. It was so overwhelming. It was a huge overwhelming moment of gratitude for all the people that have supported me. It was crazy. I think about it a lot.

PC: In Wicked, do you have a favorite moment, either that you’re a part of or in general with the show?
Michael: This isn’t specific to what’s going on in the actual show, but it’s all the artists I get to work with. It’s been a dream to work and learn from all those people. I just got to work with Peter Scolari who was the Wizard. He just won an Emmy for Girls. He was so supportive, and he would always check up on me when I was rehearsing. If I had any questions about the business, or about rehearsals—any problem I was going through—I would always go to his dressing room and talk to him. He was so open. That’s what I really love about the business. It’s just learning from the best and from people who’ve been there before. They help guide you along the way. That’s what has been my favorite part about Wicked.

PC: Have you received any advice from previous Fiyeros?
Michael: I got to spend some time with Jonah Platt, who is the man! I got to shadow him a couple of times. We just talked. What did he tell me? [pause] You know what’s fun about it? Fiyero and the characters in the show are very intense. Everybody’s arc is very large. You start at one place, and you end at a completely different place. It’s funny, it’s like the Fiyeros really ease the vibe backstage. I always like going to the girls’ dressing rooms to just talk and see how their day was. Sometimes, we just listen to music and dance. We’re all very silly with each other. It’s almost like I’m there to ease the tension a little bit. That’s what I noticed about Jonah. He was always so well loved and would just always do weird, crazy things. People would talk about how he would go into people’s dressing rooms randomly and sing on his guitar in another language. A specific piece of advice, though? People talk about the pants [Fiyero wears] a lot. [Jonah] left me a note in my dressing room that said something like, “I know the show will be in good legs because of you.”

PC: Now that you’ve been in show for a little bit, have you had any mishaps that stick out in your head where you’re like, “Oh, God. I wish I could go back and change that?”
Michael: Oh, my gosh. How do I choose just one? There have been many. You know what? I’ve been lifting more. They fit you for your costumes right when you go in. You kind of have to stay in the realm of those sizes. So, I’ve been lifting more because in the summer I got super-skinny for some reason. I was running a lot. I think it’s because when pilot season comes around, I just try to bulk up a little bit. Anyway, it was just the other night this one happened. I was doing “Dancing Through Life.” I don’t even know when or how, but I did something with my arms, and my bust was feeling kind of tight in my chest. My whole red vest is all buttons. It just ripped open! The funny thing is the white shirt we wear underneath it is a crop top—it’s not an actual full shirt. I was just sporting this red vest wide open, and my crop top was showing. It was a whole new Fiyero in “Dancing Through Life.” There’s also a rope swing that I do. During the Olympics, actually, it was one of my couple of first shows, and I swung in on this huge rope. It just kept spinning, though, so I ended up doing a 360. It just kept spinning in mid-air; somehow I landed in, like, a Simone Biles-esque dismount. I lifted my arms in the air. I think I was just so proud that I stuck that landing. I totally forgot I was even in the show. I looked at everybody on stage like, “That was cool, right?!” Then, I continued on with the scene.

PC: You’ve also done a lot of regional theater. How does that compare to working on a Broadway stage?
Michael: I’ve only been out of school for about 2 1/2 or 3 years, but I got to work a lot regionally in college, which was great. There’s a lot of similarities. You rehearse a very short amount of time. You just have to really be on your game. I would say the nostalgia, I feel like, of Broadway is so lovely. It’s just truly a dream to walk down to work every night and pass all those marquees. I pass School of Rock, Chicago, Cats…just walking into that community and being a part of it is…I’m just so grateful. The feeling of nostalgia in the community is so supportive. That’s one thing you just can’t get anywhere else. I talk to people in Los Angeles and Chicago, and there’s just a special environment and community that’s been built for many years [on Broadway]. I feel like everybody just recognizes that and is very grateful to be in that community. That’s very different.

PC: For The Sound of Music Live!, what were the challenges of doing something like that as opposed to doing something on stage?
Michael: Sound of Music Live! was very challenging in that [it was live]—especially when we got to the sound stage. There’s no live audience so there’s no one to really feed off. There’s no energy coming back at you. There was just about 8 or 10 cameras. What was hard for that was, in theater and on stage, there’s so much communication you need to do with your voice and body; it’s all very connected. My greatest challenge for Sound of Music Live! was trying to find the balance between where the worlds were—what exactly was being shown for the camera. We weren’t really sure what we were giving off because the cameras were a good way away from us. They weren’t up in our faces. They were very far back from the hill that we were on and the sets. It was just hard to know how much communication to have within your body. You didn’t want to look like a big clown. Luckily, we all found that within ourselves when we were rehearsing; we all just found this world that we were living in. I feel like it translated really well [to screen].

PC: After a show, how do you typically unwind?
Michael: This is pretty secretive. I don’t do it often because I wouldn’t be able to “dance through life” as much, but I love Domino’s Pizza. I can order a large and eat it by myself and watch Netflix. I don’t know why, but that’s one of my favorite things to do after I’m very stressed out. I feel like Domino’s has taken over New York City. Back in Pittsburgh, there’s, like, no Domino’s. I came here, and that’s all I see.

PC: If there was a revival of any Broadway show, what were your dream revival be and your role in it?
Michael: That’s such a good question! I’d really love to do The Light in the Piazza. I would love to be Fabrizio. The music is so stunning. The music Adam Guettel writes is just so textured and atmospheric. I would love to be in that. In twenty years, I would love to be in Bridges [The Bridges of Madison County], but got to wait a little bit [for that revival].

PC: Is there someone you dream about working with someday?
Michael: That’s a great question, as well. Luckily, I’ve worked with a lot of great people already. It’s been a dream. Do you know what I think would be super fun? I went to school with Corey Cott. We’re actually the same age, but we were in different classes because I transferred into Carnegie so I started over. We did Pittsburgh CLO together. We’ve never ever actually worked together besides Pittsburgh CLO. It would actually be super fun to get back in touch with him. I love his little brother, Casey, too. We’re all good friends. I think it would be super fun to work with Corey, though; especially now that we’ve both been out of school and working professionally. It would be cool to come back together and just have a good time.

PC: For sure. You also have a couple of upcoming 54 Below shows. What is that like?
Michael: It’s challenging working on other projects even while you’re doing a long-running show. There’s just so much energy that just goes into the show at night. When you go on stage, your whole body is “on.” The last thing you want to do is gear up your brain to memorize some more stuff. It’s been super fun, though. I have these two concerts coming in that I’m going to participate in at 54. It’s really actually turning out to be a great thing because it makes the material—funnily enough—for Wicked more fresh. I feel like going away from it for a little bit and just doing some work on my daytime and other stuff that I notice when I come back to the Wicked, I’m listening a lot more [so it’s feeling] more fresh. It makes me appreciate it, too, a lot more. The shows are going to be fun. One is called “An American Victory,” which is very cool. It’s very Les Mis-esque, which is very much my style. I’m definitely a legit bari-tenor. That’s kind of what my voice sounds like and what the timbre of it is. I also get to work with people like Kyle Scatliffe who just came off The Color Purple. You just get to work with people in the community who you haven’t met yet; it’s very cool.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Guilty-pleasure TV show
Broad City on Comedy Central.

Guilty-pleasure movie
It has to be How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. I love chick flicks.

Favorite book
Siddhartha. I like to read it at least once a year. It’s so wise.

Favorite play or musical
Good question. This is a tough one. I like musicals, but plays really get me. I really like Shakespeare. I love old classics. Picking a favorite of Shakespeare is hard for me…I would have to say Hamlet is one of my favorite plays, definitely.

Hidden Talent
I can do the worm.

Go-to Karaoke song
Anything by N-Sync

Want more Michael? Be sure to follow him on Instagram and Twitter! Also, be sure to check him out at 54 Below on February 27 and March 26.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus