Jason Alexander revisits his musical-theater roots
We'll always know him as George Costanza, the slow-boiling sidekick on "Seinfeld." But before he stepped foot in Jerry's apartment, Jason Alexander already had a successful career on Broadway - in Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along," Kander & Ebb's "The Rink," Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" and "Jerome Robbins' Broadway," for which he won the 1989 Tony for best actor in a musical.
We spoke recently to Alexander, 55, who was in Florida directing a play and about to head to the Bahamas to play in a poker tournament, about his musical-theater past, life after George and his hopes for returning to television.
Q: You're on your way to a poker tournament. Is this something you do?
A: It is something I do. I guess I'm considered a semipro, because I have a company that sponsors me to play. Am I good? I know how to play. ... I don't think anybody says, "Oh, my God, Jason Alexander just sat down - we're in big trouble!" I have a reputation of being a good poker player, but I have yet to steal money from anybody in a major tournament.
Q: What do you do when you put together a performance with a Pops orchestra?
A: Well, it's an odd alchemy. I don't have a signature song, so it's not like the crowd is waiting to hear "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." So I decided to focus on the music that I'm most acquainted with, and that's theater music. ... It's a mixture: It's things that have been part of my career, it's things that have never been part of my career, it's some things the audience is probably not familiar with and others they will be. It's also a mix because it's me, and the expectation is that it's going to be at least a somewhat comedic evening.
Q: Your recent comedy tour plays mostly in theaters, not comedy clubs.
A: I'm not my partner, Mr. Seinfeld. He is a bona fide, came-up-through-the-ranks stand-up comic. I'm more of a comedic actor who has a really funny 90-minute monologue. It's a different atmosphere from the clubs ... (where) everybody's past the two-drink minimum and it can be a rough environment. I guess because of my theater background, when I walk onstage, I want the lights to dim and a reverent hush to come over the crowd before I begin. It seems to go far better that way.
Q: Does a day go by when someone fails to mention your role on "Seinfeld"?
A: Not yet.
Q: Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Have you found your peace with that?
A: Oh, long ago. ... The one thing that's always bothered me about my chosen profession is that comparatively, in the big scheme of things, it doesn't seem very important. But particularly with the "Seinfeld" show, the reaction to the show over the years, and now over the decades, has just been so strong. People come up to me or write to me and talk about what the show has meant to their lives. ... And any actor should be just so grateful for that. ... And I couldn't be more thrilled.
Bill Shatner is a friend of mine, and we've talked about it because he's got this iconic character in his life, too, with "Star Trek." And he for many years rejected the connection to it. That's all people wanted to talk about, and he wanted to move on and do other things, and he was not terribly gracious about it. And when we met, it was long past "Star Trek," and I was already doing "Seinfeld," and he counseled me. He said, "Never hate this thing. Most of us never get one in our lives."
Q: What other things are coming up for you?
A: At this point, I say no to a lot more than I say yes to. Because I'm only looking for very good experiences and material, and working with other people that I'm excited about. And right now there's not a lot of that stuff out there that I'm excited about. So you usually find me out there singing or doing comedy, or you might find me behind the scenes. But we're actively looking for something to come back to television for, because I think that's the place I'd probably be happiest and can do something that can be interesting and fun.
Q: I expect to see you in one of those NBC live musicals.
A: I haven't been enthralled by them yet. They're very successful, God bless them. And there's a lot of good people working on them. But they are a very, very tricky thing to do, because what you're doing is you're actually doing a theater performance for television cameras, and that's very hard to pull off and make everybody look good. And musicals complicate everything because you're adding more elements. ... I'd love to direct one of those things ... but in the meantime, they haven't called, so when they call, I'll discuss it.