And there was no question that since retiring from football he had put in the work honing his craft. With his effervescent smile, broad shoulders, muscular 6'3 frame and dark brown eyes George certainly looked the part of a Broadway star. This, he thought, was the man he'd been searching for.īut first he had to make sure George had enough skills to pull off the role. He had recently gotten wind that George, the former Heisman winner and All-pro running back, had been spending his time reciting monologues and tackling Shakespeare while donning white robes and crowns made out of olive branches. For years Weisler, a Broadway veteran, had been interested in hiring an athlete to play his male lead. All I care about is love."Īfter that it was time to bring out Barry Weisler, one of the show's top producers. Cashmere coats, diamond rings," George sang. George took a deep breath, gathered himself, and then spent the next 20 minutes performing every one of Billy Flynn's numbers. It's obvious you've had some singing lessons, just do your thing." "It's okay," Leslie Stifelman, the musical director said to Eddie George. Concerned that he was blowing his chance, both his body and voice began to tremble. It was taking longer than usual to nail the right key. Most of his experience had come in small productions - Julius Caesar, Othello - and while he had spent weeks, and even years, practicing some of Chicago's tunes, the show's soundtrack had always been his guide. He had never performed alongside a piano before. "Do you know the song?" the piano player asked him. He paced gingerly, his mind racing as he considered all the greats - names like James Naughton and Nathan Lane - that had performed under the very lights he was about to step into. Eventually he was told they were ready for him to come out on stage. 1 of the Ambassador Theater, one of Broadway's most prestigious halls. Now here he was, wearing a black suit, black tie and top hat, standing backstage in the remarkably plain-looking Room No. Dance lessons, singing lessons, trips to New York City to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman perform Death of a Salesman and to see what life Jude Law could breathe into Hamlet. He had spent nine years preparing for this very moment.
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