Alex Neol discusses ‘Joey’s Great Playlist’ and ‘Dreamgirls’ – Variety

Alex Newell has always had the role of two musical-theater dreams – and more recently, he has already performed one of them after the Tony-winning renaissance of “Once On This Island”. Next stop: “Dreamgirls”?

Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

“I think everyone wants to make me an Effie,” said Newell, referring to the role of “Dreamgirls” that Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar. Speaking of the latest episode of Stagecraft, Of Variety Theater podcast, he added, “And I don’t want to do Effie. I’d love to do ‘Dreamgirls’. I think this is my next one. There’s always Asak. [from ‘Once On This Island’] And it was always Effie.

Meanwhile, the “happy” actor is making a place for himself in the entertainment industry as a gender-non-conforming character like Mo, who starred in the NBC series “Joey’s Awesome Playlist.” The role, originally written as a bisexual black woman, is heavily influenced by Newell and her own personal story, especially in an episode that focuses on the tension between Mo’s gender expression and her beliefs.

“It’s a small gay and bisexual person and people who are usually different – I mean ‘different in general’, because we’re different, because that doesn’t mean we’re not normal -” cross over, “Md.” Will not get [on TV] Often. “

Neil further said that he has set foot in Hollywood by holding on to his strong Hollywood idea.

“I’ve been called fat in a room, I’ve been called very gay, I’ve been called very black, I’ve been called very bad,” he said. “I’ve been told everything in my mouth and none of it has ever let me down.”

Also in a new episode of Stagecraft, Neil talks about his work as a recording artist (including his recently released single), his friendship with Barbara Streisand and the lessons he learned from his Broadway run, which he said both dreams came true and a lot of hard work.

“You have to realize all the tools you have in your body to create this marathon,” he said.

New episodes of “Stagecraft” are available every Tuesday. Download and subscribe to Stagecraft, which has been distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and anywhere else. Find past episodes here and on Apple podcasts.