Susan's City Scene

NR: I went to high school at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, so not too far. Almost all of my family was born and raised in the South Bay Area and all still live there, except me!

DJ: Did you get started in theater while you were in school here?

NR: I started doing theater when I was 8. I did over 25 shows at Peninsula Youth Theatre in Mountain View from age 8 to 18. They are the reason I am where I am today. They gave me a safe space to grow and experiment as a young actor. They gave me a family of friends I’m still in touch with today and made me feel like I truly belonged.

DJ: “Hello, Dolly!” is certainly at the top of any list of beloved and well-known musicals. Do you recall the first time you saw “Hello, Dolly!” on stage or screen?

NR: I had seen the movie once before, but I saw the most recent revival of the show six times on Broadway. Twice with Bette Midler and four times with Bernadette Peters. I fell instantly in love with this production. Visually, it is one of the most stunning pieces I’ve seen in a long time. The show also has so much heart. And it’s funny!!

DJ: Your character, Cornelius Hackl, is a young man in a small New York town in 1885 who would like some excitement in his life but whose boss, Horace Vandergelder, is a curmudgeon who won’t give him a night off. How does Cornelius deal with that?

NR: Cornelius is Vandergelder’s chief clerk. At the top of the show, we see him at his wit’s end. He works non-stop without any time off and wants nothing more than to escape to New York City and have an adventure. So that’s what he decides he is going to do. If he were alive today, I think he’d be a pretty incredible tour guide — he’s got such an infectious sense of optimism and a great desire for adventure!

DJ: You starred in “The Book of Mormon” as Elder Price. And now you are front and center in “Hello, Dolly!” Great parts, great experiences. Looking ahead, what’s your dream role?

NR: One day I’ll play King George in Hamilton. Can you help me out with that? Also, I got to play Homer in “Floyd Collins” by Adam Guettel in college and I’m dying to get another stab at a professional production of that show.

DJ: What would you say to young people thinking of seeing “Hello, Dolly!” for the first time?

NR: “Hello, Dolly” is a traditional and classic Broadway American musical. Educationally, I think it’s important to come and see the classics, to see the trajectory the American musical has taken and how we have gotten to where we are today in regards to more contemporary musicals. But more than that, I think “Hello, Dolly!” is a shockingly progressive musical for its time. Dolly has a monologue about money at the end of Act 2 that is surprisingly relevant to today’s economic climate. You’d think Thornton Wilder and Michael Stewart had written it today. Cornelius also makes reference to gender equality in a way that I think is quite beautiful. It’s a passing comment in theory, but one I take with great gravity.

AND A BIT MORE: Nic Rouleau recently finished a record 2,500 performances in “The Book of Mormon.” He has performed in “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway, in Chicago (original cast), on the national tour, and on the West End. Television credits include Daddy’s Boy in Tina Fey’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix) and the 2012 Tony Awards (CBS). Other credits include Legally Blonde (U.S. national tour) and “Toy Story: The Musical” (Disney). B.M. New York University — Steinhardt.

Susan Cohn is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com.