Courtesy of Herberger Theater Center
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If you’ve seen a touring production of “Les Miserables” in the past six years, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Nick Cartell perform.
Since 2017, the Valley native has played the role of Jean Valjean in the national tour of the blockbuster musical, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
Though he’s currently on tour, Cartell is taking an evening to perform for his hometown crowd. “An Evening With Nick Cartell & Friends” will take the stage at Herberger Theater Center on Friday, Oct. 24.
Cartell recently spoke with Phoenix New Times about his local theater roots, playing an iconic role and what to expect at the Herberger.
How did you get involved in theater?
We went to see a school field trip production of “Cinderella,” and I believe it was a Childsplay production where it was adults performing for kids. It was kind of the first time I had ever seen (people do) what I did for my parents and for my family, which was perform little shows and stuff like that. I was actually seeing it on stage in front of me and I was like, “Wait, that’s actually a job? I can do this?”
I was bitten by the bug, and the next year, I auditioned for Valley Youth Theatre. This is when Valley Youth Theatre didn’t have a home … and we would perform the shows in high school auditoriums on the weekends. And that was where I got hooked.
So I started performing at Valley Youth Theatre and then went into high school and performed shows at Chaparral. I went to college at Arizona State University, and I have my degree in theater performance at ASU. I performed at Greasepaint Youth Theater and like I said, Valley Youth and Phoenix Theatre, and then went off and performed in Tokyo for Tokyo Disney, and in New York and across the country in a couple different tours, in “Les Mis,” and now I’m coming back and it’s so exciting.
Tell me about some of your Broadway credits.
So I made my Broadway debut in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the revival of “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 2012, and then I went on to do “Scandalous,” which was written by Kathie Lee Gifford of the “Today” show and “Live With Regis & Kathie Lee” fame. And then I went into Cirque du Soleil’s “Paramore,” which was the first show that Paramore ever did (on Broadway). I did not do any of the acrobatics, I really just did singing and performing and acting, so I can officially say that I ran away to the circus with Cirque du Soleil.
And then, I’ve done the national tour of “The Phantom of the Opera” and of course, the national tour of “Les Miserables,” which I’m currently in as we speak.
Your role is so demanding and so emotional. What is it like to play Jean Valjean?
It’s the role of a lifetime. And it is a beast of a role, and it’s probably the most demanding role for a male-identifying character in musical theater. You’re on stage for probably two hours and 45 minutes of a three-hour musical. You’re singing most of the time. You’re in fight scenes. You’re having to lift people and carry people, and then on top of that, you’ve got the emotional burden that comes with all of that, too. But it also is so rewarding. And it is something that also for me doesn’t get old. I’ve been playing the role for almost six years. I’ve got over 1,500 performances under my belt. And I’m still learning things about this character and about this role, and I think that is one of the things I treasure so much about being able to perform a role like this is: Still, after all this time, it’s not stale, and I still learn things every time I step on that stage.
How do you not just break down in tears every single time you perform?
There are moments where the emotion does take over, especially at certain times of year. I truly came to this … my journey to “Les Mis” began in 2017. … I was coming to it from a place of grief. The day before my final callback for the role, I had lost my mom to her battle with ovarian cancer. She passed away the day before. And so I had to go in that room with her support and with my father’s support, knowing that they said, “You need to stay in New York. You need to see this through. This could be a life-changing moment for you,” and it has been. So I had to think about the sacrifices she would make for me. That was the only thing I could relate to in some instances where Jean Valjean was talking about his adopted daughter, Cosette.
Those are the moments that still kind of hit me sometimes, and now I can think about my own daughter and the sacrifices I would make for her. I remember in 2022, we were remounting the tour after COVID, and we were getting it ready to take back out on the road, and the line that I have to sing in the show, right at the end, when I sing, “She’s the best of my life” … it still gives me goosebumps and chokes me up some nights, because it immediately makes me think of my little girl. … I think that’s so exciting, that there are those days where this show can have that immediate response for somebody. And I think that’s the thing that keeps people coming back to a piece like this. There’s a reason that people come back to a show like “Les Miserables,” because not only is it the music – it’s the story, and what it does to them emotionally, because it connects them to something bigger than themselves.
What can people expect at the Oct. 24 show?
We’re calling it “An Evening with Nick Cartell and Friends,” and that’s what it’s going to be. It’s going to be a fun night where I’m sharing stories of time on the road, but I’m also bringing some of my favorite people that I’ve performed with in the Valley. Kristen Drathman, Rusty Ferracane, and Stephanie Likes are all people that I kind of grew up with doing theater in Arizona in the professional realm. They’re still people who perform in the theater there, so they have their own fan following, which I love. And it’s a time when I can get back together with these folks. We’re going to perform onstage together. They’re each going to have a moment to shine separately. It’s going to be a fun night. It’s going to be relaxed. And we’re just going to have a good time. There will be some laughter.
Of course, I’m going to be singing “Bring Him Home,” so nobody has to worry that that won’t be on the hit list. Of course it will. And I hope that everyone will walk away feeling good and that they’ve had a great night. Whenever I do a concert, I want you to feel like you’re in your living room, having a lovely night. I don’t want it to feel stuffy. I don’t want it to feel like you’re in a giant symphony hall. That’s not what this is about. It’s about me connecting with you. It’s about you connecting with the music. And all of us having this moment together in this time and place.
“An Evening of Nick Cartell & Friends”: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24. Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe St. Tickets start at $52.50. Visit herbergertheatercenter.org.
