5 questions with 'Moulin Rouge! The Musical' star Jordan Fisher

Fisher discusses how he's juggled a busy year in theatre, having also recently played lead roles in Hadestown and Urinetown, with his role as a parent.

Jordan Fisher has gone by many names on and off Broadway in the past year: Orpheus (in Hadestown), Bobby Strong (in Urinetown), now Christian (in Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Not to mention Doody (from Grease Live, which propelled him toward theatre stardom after getting his start on Disney Channel), John Laurens/Philip Hamilton (the dual role from Hamilton that marked his Broadway debut in 2016), and, he hopes someday, Aaron Burr (also Hamilton), among many others. But the names Fisher prefers above all are "dad" and "husband."

"I just want to go to a good place of work and work with people that enjoy doing what I enjoy doing. I get to do that as a dad, and to me, that's the peak of the mountain," Fisher said. "So I'm just working to maintain that as long as I possibly can."

This Thursday afternoon interview, for one, was scheduled shortly before his Moulin Rouge! call time so he could spend as much of the day as possible with his wife, Ellie, and three-year-old son, Riley. He expressed gratitude that once he does arrive to work, he's similarly surrounded by good company. In fact, Moulin Rouge! marks a quick reunion with friend and co-star Solea Pfeiffer as Satine; they appeared together in Hadestown mere months ago.

Considering his busy track record, no doubt Fisher will be back on Broadway soon enough once he departs Moulin Rouge! on July 20; rumors are already swirling that Urinetown, which played an 11-day run at New York City Center in February, is hoping to transfer. Fisher shared more with New York Theatre Guide about how he handles it all and the theatre experiences that shaped him — and that he hopes to one day share with his child.

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Both Moulin Rouge! and Hadestown are inspired by the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. Were you and Solea conscious of that?

It's an inevitable thing that has to be discussed, right? How many doomed lovers could we play opposite each other? So far we are two for two, and there aren't many people in the Broadway canon that have gotten the opportunity to do that, to star opposite a friend in multiple shows and be each other's counterpart.

She FaceTimed me in my last couple months at Hadestown and was like, "I have an idea." And here we are now, right? We're thinking about our duet cabaret show that we're going to do one day called "Doomed Lovers."

How do you juggle your recent string of Broadway gigs with fatherhood?

My time goes to my family. I make time for work. That's what it is.

I don't like leaving my house, so when I have to, I hope it's something fun I'm going to go and do. I hope it's something stimulating. I hope it's something that fills my cup and brings me joy so I can go home and be a better version of myself for my family.

I couldn't do what I do for work without my partner, without Ellie. I couldn't finish a lot of things if it weren't for Riley because I have to, because he's here, and he needs me to. One thing does fuel the other, but my filling up comes from my relationships, my family, and my friendships.

You’ve put your own stamp on beloved roles both classic and contemporary. Do you hope to originate a new Broadway role someday?

Without question. I had such a beautiful time helping build and create MJ. The three and a half years spent in the weeds, that only fueled my yearning to create something from scratch with a bunch of really great creatives and take it all the way to Broadway.

It's very hard for for any actor to not love that process. I love being in a rehearsal studio and not knowing what it is yet. That's so fun! [...] I very much look forward to doing that a lot moving forward.

Have you ever had a theatre experience as an audience member that really moved you?

I spent my childhood in Birmingham, Alabama, and was really fortunate to be a part of a theatre conservatory down there called Red Mountain Theatre Company. They had this year-round program that allowed a certain amount of kids to train and to grow in our field and basically be pros before we graduate high school. I made some of my best friends I've ever had in my life, that I still have in my life. I met my wife there.

When I was like, 11 or 12, they did a production of Once on This Island, and I saw it eight times, and it became my favorite musical of all time. It was the first time I was allowed to go into a theatre by myself and [...] buy my own ticket.

It was seeing that musical as a kid where I was like, "Oh, okay, this is it. This is what I want to do." So when [director] Michael Arden did it here, I also saw it, like, eight times. Phillip Boykin knew me very well before we did Hadestown, not because we worked together, but because I went to Once on This Island as much as I could.

What's the first show you'd want to take your son to when he's old enough?

I saw Kristin Chenoweth's final performance of Wicked on a bootleg. She doesn't know this.

I cried. Sobbed. I was like, "Why is theatre doing this to me?" It just ripped me to shreds.

I've gotten to introduce a few people to musicals for the first time and taken them to Wicked: a couple of friends' kids, my mom, couple of friends, a couple of my bandmates when I was touring, [who had] never seen a musical. Wicked is such a beautiful first time. It's so larger than life. The music's amazing. Stephen Schwartz gives you something you can chew on, and it stays with you.

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This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Top image credit: Jordan Fisher. (Photo by Andrew Rose)
In-article image credit: Jordan Fisher in Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway. (Photos by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)