Pop Culturalist Chats with Lauren Marcus

Actress, singer, and songwriter Lauren Marcus has had a very busy (and exciting) past year. Not only did she make her Broadway debut in the fan-favorite musical Be More Chill after years of off-Broadway and regional theater work, but she also was a part of the fantastic live performance and recording of The Jonathan Larson Project. 

We caught up with Lauren to discuss the two albums (The Jonathan Larson Project, available from Ghostlight Records and the Be More Chill 2-LP vinyl set, available exclusively at Barnes and Noble), how both projects were major moments in her career, and shares what we can look forward to from her in the future.

PC: How and when did you know that you wanted to have a career in musical theater?
Lauren: I’m one of those weirdos who has known since the age of five. I just couldn’t stop singing [and] loved performing at parties that my parents or grandparents had. I think, at first, I just loved the attention, but really I just would sit in my room for hours and listen to music and have whatever emotional reaction a five-year-old can have. [laughs] My parents were super supportive once they realized it could actually be a thing. I think they didn’t quite know until I was like eleven or twelve if it was a reality. I started doing shows in school and never really hugely considered anything else.

PC: How did you come to The Jonathan Larson Project and get involved with it?
Lauren: I got an email from Jennifer Ashley Tepper asking me to be a part of The Jonathan Larson Project, and I was honored because I had known she’d been taking trips for two or three years at that point, doing research on him. I knew how much the project meant to her. I also knew what a big part the research was of her life so when she asked me to be in it, I was really stunned and really honored.

PC: Obviously Jonathan Larson and his work are very close to many people, both in the theater industry and to theater fans. Was there a song on this particular project that has been influential for you personally?
Lauren: I can’t listen to one song without going and listening to the entire album! I think that, though, the song “The Truth Is a Lie” was insane to me because it was written 20 or more years ago. The fact that it’s still very relevant is scary and speaks to him as a writer. Also, it’s just such a good pop song. I think it’s just insane that he was able to marry those ideas: the political and the beautiful melody.

Also the song “Hosing the Furniture” is technically one of the harder songs I’ve ever learned or performed in my life. So that was insane.

PC: Were there songs that you didn’t know before beginning this project?
Lauren: I honestly didn’t know one of those songs! Really, I only knew Rent. The one that I can’t believe I didn’t know was “Valentine’s Day”. I feel like I’ve been hearing that my whole life. And, I think the song “Greene Street” has been a fun one for everyone.

Live performance of The Jonathan Larson Project from 54 Below. Photo Credit: Philip Romano

PC: If you did another project similar to this, what songwriter would you want to do it for?
Lauren: That’s such an interesting question because–off the top of my head–I can’t think of another writer exactly like [Jonathan Larson] with the talent [who was] so prolific and taken away so early. There are so many composers I love…if there were hidden songs I didn’t know about, though: Sondheim.

PC: Switching gears to another recent album: Be More Chill. Obviously, you had been a part of that show since the very beginning. When the show ended, was there an overarching lesson you took away for yourself for future roles?
Lauren: I feel like this is almost applicable to life and is almost cheesy to say because I am not this person, but, after everything that happened with the show, I came out of it with the belief that strange little miracles can happen. We thought that show was dead, dead, dead! [It was] just another one that we loved that got a bad review and had to be put to bed. But, what happened with it, I’ve never seen happen with another show; it was because of the internet and the youth fighting for something that they loved and believed in. I just never in a million years would have thought that the show would come back, that it would go to Broadway, that I could do a Broadway show with my husband [Be More Chill‘s music & lyricist, Joe Iconis] and very best friends, and it would be something that people would have such a profound reaction to. So, it really has turned a corner for me in the way I feel about making my way through the industry and about letting things go that I care so deeply about because you never know what the hell is around the corner. The things that are supposed to come back, do. And, there’s not any way you can control it.

PC: Speaking of the dedicated fan base for Be More Chill, is there a fan interaction you had that really stood out to you?
Lauren: There’s a few. About two years ago, out of nowhere, all my hair fell out. I have Alopecia. That happened right before we started rehearsing the show off-Broadway. It was a very difficult time in my life. It was really weird for me to go rehearse a show where the last time we had done it, this wasn’t something I was dealing with. There have been a couple of fans who reached out to me, and one girl in particular who I really loved. They had never seen anybody talk about it openly, but I just didn’t really know how else to deal with it. Having them be able to see, through this show, someone who is dealing with something so close to them…that meant a lot to me. I know if I had been a teenager going through that, it would have meant the world to me. It kind of made the whole situation a teensy bit better for me and made me realize how this could maybe be a good thing.

We’d also have fans at the stage door sometimes talk about how they felt like hurting themselves or taking their own lives, but this show had saved them. It’s hard to know what to say, but it is really moving to hear their stories and realize you’re in some way part of something that changed that for them.

PC: Going forward, what of your character, Brooke, will you take with you?
Lauren: [laughs] I love Brooke! She’s very different from me. I think she has fantastic optimism; I think she’s really good at letting things go (which I am not at all!), and she’s quick to love.

PC: For anyone who did not see the show or is not familiar with the music, what song would you tell them to start with?
Lauren: I mean, if you’re going to listen to one song, you have to listen to “Michael in the Bathroom”, but we all know that. If you’re starting somewhere outside of that I think “Loser Geek Whatever” is a great place to start because that song was written for off-Broadway, it wasn’t in the original. I think it’s the thesis of why [Jeremy] does what he does.

PC: What is coming up next for you?
Lauren: Coming up next is Joe’s next production Love in Hate Nation. I have also been a part of that from the beginning and been a bunch of the girls [in the show], but I am going to play the Warden now.

I’m a singer-songwriter, too, and have a band so I’m hoping to make an album this year.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Last TV Show You Binge-Watched
I’m in the middle of binge-watching Parks and Rec! I’m like twelve years behind everyone else.

Favorite Film
I love A League of Their Own.

First Show You Remember Being in 
Bye Bye Birdie

Favorite Childhood Book
I was obsessed with The Babysitter’s Club.

Artist/Musician You Could Listen to on Repeat
Margo Price

A Place You Most Want to Go To
Spain

Dream Dinner Guest
It’s a tie between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Obama.

Dream Role
Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors

Follow Lauren Marcus on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
For more information and to purchase the Be More Chill exclusive vinyl, click here.
To purchase The Jonathan Larson Project, click here. 

Headshot photo credit: Marques Walls