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T II B 4. II a
Out Broadway hunk· Christopher Sieber is
enjoying his biggest hit yet By Michael Giltz
Christopher Sieber has been in
hit musicals like Thoroughly
Modern Millie and Beauty and
the Beast (where he had a blast
playing the manly Gaston and
met his partner of five years, actor
Kevin Burrows). He's also had the joy
of a nightly showstopper, like his hilari
ous number "Agony" in the critically ac
claimed revival of Into the Woods. He
even sang the occasional tune in his
role as one of TV's first gay dads on
ABC's sitcom It's AU Relative.
But nothing compares to the head
spirullng (and limb-chopping) experi
ence of being in the megasmash
Monty Python's Spamalot, which is
packing them in with the lure of
Python routines and a top-notch cast
that also includes Tim Curry, David
Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, and rising
star Sara Ramirez. Sieber talked with
The Advocate about what it's like to
go from being an "ugly kid with no
neck" to playing a dashing knight in
the biggest hit in town.
Let's cut to the chase. Can you get
me tickets?
[Laughs) This is my sweet revenge.
Growing up in the Midwest as a gay
kid, you're picked 011. This girl was in
my seventh-grad e French class, and
she would poke her pencils in the
back of my neck and then put her lip
stick in my hair, and then she'd spray
me with perfume. Last weekend, who
do I hear from but Amy from the
seventh grade. And she asked for tick
ets. I e-mailed her back, "Amy, there is
no possible way I would get you tickets after
the way you
treated me."
She hasn't re
sponded yet.
You really
work your
butt off in
the show.
My partner,
Kevin, goes on
line and people
write, "Christo
pher is wasted
in this show
because he's
in the first act
and then you
don't see him
until the fi
nale." They don't read the Playbill! I
play Sir Galahad. And in the second
act I play the Black Knight, who has
all his limbs chopped off. It's the most
uncomfortable costume because of
the special effects. For the first cou
ple of weeks, I had bruises all over
my body. But anything for a laugh.
And then I play Prince Herbert's fa
ther. He doesn't really have a name;
I'll call him Josh. He's a big, disgust
ing man, so that's about 45 pounds of
costume.
Everyone mentions your Andrew
Lloyd Webber parody duet, '4Jhe
Song That Goes Like This," with
Sara Ramirez.
It's very rare that you get to work with
someone and see them become one of
THE ADVOCATE 16G I MAY 10, 2005 the biggest stars on Broadway. Sara's
on the verge of becoming something
bigger than she can imagine.
You've been in acclaimed musicals
and performed great numbers that
brought down the house. Is Spam
alof really different?
The day after we opened, coming to
work and seeing the line go down the
block-I've never been in a hit like this.
People talk about the roar of the
crowd, and I thought I knew what they
meant, but I'd never heard it. At the
curtain call, they're simply roaring. It's
like a rock concert .•
Giltz is a regular contributor to
several periodicals, including the
New York Post.
T II B 4. II a
Out Broadway hunk· Christopher Sieber is
enjoying his biggest hit yet By Michael Giltz
Christopher Sieber has been in
hit musicals like Thoroughly
Modern Millie and Beauty and
the Beast (where he had a blast
playing the manly Gaston and
met his partner of five years, actor
Kevin Burrows). He's also had the joy
of a nightly showstopper, like his hilari
ous number "Agony" in the critically ac
claimed revival of Into the Woods. He
even sang the occasional tune in his
role as one of TV's first gay dads on
ABC's sitcom It's AU Relative.
But nothing compares to the head
spirullng (and limb-chopping) experi
ence of being in the megasmash
Monty Python's Spamalot, which is
packing them in with the lure of
Python routines and a top-notch cast
that also includes Tim Curry, David
Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria, and rising
star Sara Ramirez. Sieber talked with
The Advocate about what it's like to
go from being an "ugly kid with no
neck" to playing a dashing knight in
the biggest hit in town.
Let's cut to the chase. Can you get
me tickets?
[Laughs) This is my sweet revenge.
Growing up in the Midwest as a gay
kid, you're picked 011. This girl was in
my seventh-grad e French class, and
she would poke her pencils in the
back of my neck and then put her lip
stick in my hair, and then she'd spray
me with perfume. Last weekend, who
do I hear from but Amy from the
seventh grade. And she asked for tick
ets. I e-mailed her back, "Amy, there is
no possible way I would get you tickets after
the way you
treated me."
She hasn't re
sponded yet.
You really
work your
butt off in
the show.
My partner,
Kevin, goes on
line and people
write, "Christo
pher is wasted
in this show
because he's
in the first act
and then you
don't see him
until the fi
nale." They don't read the Playbill! I
play Sir Galahad. And in the second
act I play the Black Knight, who has
all his limbs chopped off. It's the most
uncomfortable costume because of
the special effects. For the first cou
ple of weeks, I had bruises all over
my body. But anything for a laugh.
And then I play Prince Herbert's fa
ther. He doesn't really have a name;
I'll call him Josh. He's a big, disgust
ing man, so that's about 45 pounds of
costume.
Everyone mentions your Andrew
Lloyd Webber parody duet, '4Jhe
Song That Goes Like This," with
Sara Ramirez.
It's very rare that you get to work with
someone and see them become one of
THE ADVOCATE 16G I MAY 10, 2005 the biggest stars on Broadway. Sara's
on the verge of becoming something
bigger than she can imagine.
You've been in acclaimed musicals
and performed great numbers that
brought down the house. Is Spam
alof really different?
The day after we opened, coming to
work and seeing the line go down the
block-I've never been in a hit like this.
People talk about the roar of the
crowd, and I thought I knew what they
meant, but I'd never heard it. At the
curtain call, they're simply roaring. It's
like a rock concert .•
Giltz is a regular contributor to
several periodicals, including the
New York Post.