OCTOBER 7, 2009 HOME POLITICS MEDIA BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT LIVING STYLE GREEN WORLD COMEDY TECHNOLOGY BOOKS/NYR NEW YORK CHICAGO DENVER VIDEO BLOGGER INDEX ARCHIVE Michael Giltz Freelance writer and raconteur Posted May 1, 2009 | 07:11 PM (EST) BIO Become a Fan Get Email Alerts Bloggers' Index Theater: West Side Story 's Matt Cavenaugh Breaks Out Read More: Broadway , Matt Cavenaugh , Musical , Theater , West Side Story , Entertainment News When you're in a hit Broadway musical that both fans and critics are crazy about, there's nothing like it.</p><p> A movie can keep piling up huge grosses, but Broadway stars get to go out onstage nightafter night and actually feel the wave ofexcitement from fans.</p><p> For actor Matt Cavenaugh, who stars as Tony in West Side Story, it's also a moment he fully appreciates. "I started off my career in what Entertainment Weekly called the worst show of 2003," laughs the 30 year old from Jonesboro, Arkansas about his debut in the musical version of Urban Cowboy.</p><p> So he is savoring the moment of appearing on Broadway in the show that he saw as a kid and first got him excited about the theater.</p><p> Make HuffPost Your Home Most Popular on HuffingtonPost 1 of 2 Conservative Bible Project Cuts Out Liberal Passages 5,678 Comments SNL Vs.</p><p> Obama: Sketch Details All The President's Failures... 6,106 Comments Jessica Simpson Dons See-Through Jumpsuit, Muumuu (PHOTOS) 225 Comments Katla McGlynn Kevin Smith Talks Judd Apatow, Weed, And... 91 Comments Dr.</p><p> Maoshing Ni 5 Ways To Age Naturally 81 Comments Jack Canfield "How Am I Doing?" The One Question... 0 Comments Madonna & Lady Gaga's SNL Catfight (VIDEO) 328 Comments Fox News's Shepard Smith Goes After Sen.</p><p> John Barrasso...BIG NEWS: Jon & Kate Plus 8 | Celebrity Skin | Rihanna | American Idol | Sustainability | More...</p><p> LOG IN | SIGN UP Be the First to Submit This Story to Digg Get Breaking News Alerts Share Print Comments never spam "Tuesdays can be a drag sometimes in the theater," says Cavenaugh about the beginning of the week for a Broadway show after getting Monday off. "The cast needs to sort of wake up and the audience does too.</p><p> But not with this show.</p><p> From the first note, the audience is right there with us." And from the first preview, fans have been lining up to see this revival of one of the most iconic shows of all time.</p><p> The box office has been blistering -- West Side Story has been grossing more than $1 million a week, putting it alongside blockbusters like Wicked, Mamma Mia, Jersey Boys, and The Lion King.</p><p> Come Tuesday at 8:30 am, the excitement could grow even more with the Tony Awardnominations.</p><p> But will Tony show any love for Tony? The Tony in the original Broadway production didn't even get nominated.</p><p> And though the film won ten of eleven Oscar nominations, its Tony (Richard Beymer, in the role reluctantly turned down by Elvis ) and Maria (Natalie Wood) weren't even nominated.</p><p> That streak will hopefully end, thanks to Cavenaugh and the lovely Josefina Scaglione making her poised Broadway debut as Maria.</p><p> They're the center of a rock steady revival helmed by Arthur Laurents, who keeps the focus squarely on the story, just as he did with his revival of Gypsy .</p><p> The tale of two young people from rival gangs who fall instantly and madly and tragically in love can't help being passionately over-the-top, but the scenes of drama aren't merely an excuse to get to the next gorgeous number.</p><p> Cavenaugh's opener is a case in point.</p><p> Riff (a strong Cody Green) pushes Tony (who is cleaning the sign of the drug store where he works) into coming to the dance that night so they can parlay with the Sharks and set up a rumble.</p><p> Tony is on a ladder, wiping down the sign and talks over hisshoulder to Riff and eventually the audience about the changes coming just round the corner("Something's Coming").</p><p> It's a quiet, conversational moment, utterly natural and winning.</p><p> Cavenaugh doesn't belt out the number; he reveals it. "That evolved after the debut," says Cavenaugh, who naturally praises Laurents and his focus on the emotional subtext of every moment. "Originally, I came down off the ladder right away.</p><p> But Ifelt trapped at center stage.</p><p> I wanted to stay with what I was doing.</p><p> I had a job to do and so I stayed focused on cleaning the sign." The result is a smooth easing of the audience into the conventions of a musical.</p><p> Similar moments abound.</p><p> Cavenaugh says Stephen Sondheim referred to "One Hand, One Heart" as a cigarette song, a boring bit where Tony and Maria goof around in a dress shop with some mannequins.</p><p> But their faux marriage in that scene, along with their embarrassed reaction after it'sover is quite moving now. "Tony's a romantic but Maria is more of a realist," says Cavenaugh, who is getting married himself in August to Jenny Powers, who is starring in Susan Stroman's musical Happiness at Lincoln Center.</p><p> At the end of the scene, they're both thrown off by the unspoken realization that just about the only place their love can survive is when the rest of the world is shut out. 5,750 Comments As Layoffs Persist, Good Jobs Go Unfilled 2,051 Comments Sotomayor Asks More Questions In An Hour Than Thomas... 2,603 Comments Don't Miss HuffPost Bloggers 1 of 2 Alec Baldwin Let the Philharmonic Play in Cuba John Zogby Decision Day For Democrats: Poll Shows Path to Healthcare Reform Get Breaking News Alerts Report Corrections Send A Tip Nicole Richie Gets Visit from Mom After Car Accident READ MORE Tom DeLay to Quit Dancing with the Stars READ MORE PHOTO: Kate Hudson Poses as a Blushing BrideHuffPost Social News connects you with friends and the news Huffington Post Apps and Feeds Actor Tony Roberts Had Seizure During Jessica Simpson Dons See-Through Tony Roberts Gets Sick Mid Play: ESPN's 'Body Issue' Of Naked Athletes:It's just one moment among many in a show filled with great dancing and solid performances from showcase roles like Karen Olivo as Anita down to the appealing Kyle Coffman as the pugnacious A- Rab and Ryan Steele as the overwhelmed Baby John.</p><p> For Cavenaugh, it's a triumph just to be taken seriously.</p><p> He burst onto the scene in Urban Cowbo y but the show was indeed a flop and the attention showered on Cavenaugh had more to do with his physique than his singing or acting. "The whole experience for me was strange," says Cavenaugh. "There was a billboard of me in Times Square." That billboard showed him open-shirted and riding a bull.</p><p> People bought the poster, but not the show.</p><p> And offers came his way. " Wilhelmina offered me a modeling contract," says Cavenaugh who turned it down.</p><p> Instead of pursuing TV and film and runway work, he jumped atthe chance to grab a supporting role in Grey Gardens, a stirring musical based on the famed documentary about a socialite mother and daughter living in glorious decrepitude.</p><p> Cavenaugh was very funny and good in a supporting role as two characters, including a stoned handyman of sorts.</p><p> An Off Broadway production of a show in which the focus was clearly going tobe on the women ( Christine Ebersole was brilliant and would ulitmately win the Tony) might seem a comedown for someone plastered on every billboard in sight, but Cavenaugh was smart. "I was so thankful to be in Grey Gardens, working with Tony winners and Pulitzer Prize winners," he says. "Whatever happened, I knew people would be talking about my acting instead of my six pack." That show enjoyed glorious reviews and a fanatical following among theater lovers, but never quite caught fire at the box office and closed after a decent run.</p><p> Cavenaugh folllowed that with A CateredAffair, another musical with a storied pedigree in which a woman -- in this case, Faith Prince -- would clearly again be taking center stage.</p><p> It didn't enjoy nearly as much critical support and closed quickly.</p><p> That meant Cavenaugh had been part of just about every Broadway experience except a hit: he'd been in a commercial venture aimed squarely at the masses, a critical success thatenjoyed a modest run, and a bold musical that perhaps never got a fair shake.</p><p> So an out and out smash won't be taken for granted. "It's great to be in a show that everyone loves and wants to see," says Cavenaugh.</p><p> And he knows he made the right choice pursuing theater even though it was tough from the start. "My first show was in high school and it was called Here's Love [the musical version of Miracle On 34th St ].</p><p> I played a street sweeper who is cleaning the street right in front of Macy's when Santa Claus walks by and I just happen to be whistling 'Here Comes Santa Claus.' And I actually happened to be a very good whistler.</p><p> But I was the first person to come on stage and when the curtain went up and I could hear the murmuring of the audience, I just froze.</p><p> Eventually I squeaked something out but it was rough there for a moment." And now, finally, for a moment, things are easy -- a hit show on Broadway with ten days off in August to get married to the girl you love.</p><p> The show's characters dream of a place where they canbe happy and free.</p><p> The actors on stage, like Cavenaugh, have already found it.</p><p> More in Entertainment...</p><p> READ MORE Afghanistan Economy Health Care Michelle Obama Video Iraq Housing Crisis Guantánamo Bay Small Business MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »More Celebrity News at People.com HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGESdigg it172 diggs CNN Fact Checks SNL Sketch Detailing Obama's Failures (VIDEO) digg it20 diggs Keith Olbermann To Deliver Hour- Long "Special Comment" On Health Care digg it90 diggs Fox News's Shepard Smith Goes After Sen.</p><p> John Barrasso On Public Option digg it16 diggs Dana Ullman: Epidemic Of Fever Phobia: The Facts On Why Fever Is Your Friend Comments 0 Pending Comments 0 Comments are closed for this entry View Comments: Newest First Expand All Broadway...</p><p> Jumpsuit, Muumuu (PHOTOS)Broadway...</p><p> Serena...</p><p> HuffPost Stories Surging On Digg Ads by Google Tap Dogs One Night Only Tickets On Sale Now As low as $25 www.ticketmaster.com Want to reply to a comment? 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