Broadway's David Josefsberg as Doc Brown in "Back To The Future!"
I would like to start out by just saying it was SO MUCH FUN video chatting with David Josefsberg! He is just inherently hilarious and I was lol'ing the entire first 5 mins of our chat where he was mostly talking about whether his camera was on or not, could I hear him in his cavernous setting, and about his rockstar wife Liz (who called him at that exact moment). He asked if he could pick up (good husband) and of course I said yes. Then it was about his son Benji who is a senior in high school and just starred in his school's production of The Prom, "riffing like his daddy" (per David) and on and on. I have no doubt that being a fly on the wall in David's world would never get boring. Now before we get into our chat, here's David's Bio:
DAVID JOSEFSBERG (Doc Brown): Back To The Future, Spamalot, Beetlejuice, The Prom, Waitress, An Act of God, Honeymoon in Vegas, Motown, Wedding Singer, Les Misérables, Grease. Other favorites: Altar Boyz (Original Cast); TV: The Mork and Mindy Story (The Fonz); Love to Lizzie (wife), Cooper (son), Ben (son), Mom & Dad. Instagram/Tiktok @Davidsjosefsberg
Kip: David, I know that you were in Back to the Future on Broadway. How did this all come about that you're now playing Doc out on the road. You're usually like Mr. Broadway, staying in town, not on tour right?
David: Right! Actually, I have not toured since I guess when I met my
wife in 1998 I think.
We did a little tour together of The Who's Tommy.
Kip Driver: Oh, nice, that's one of my favorites!
David: So, John Rando is an old friend of mine and is the director of BTTF. He had directed me in a couple of shows beforehand and so when I heard that the guy who's playing Strickland (the Principal of Hill Valley High School) was leaving, I called John and I was like, "Hey, Spamalot (the Broadway revival) is closing, how about me for Strickland?" So he took me in and that was that. And I understudied Doc Brown too. I got to go on for Doc like twice a week pretty much which was great.
Kip Driver: Nice. And Doc is such a perfect role for you.
David: Thanks. This was Roger Bart's sixth year playing Doc (starting in London). So he's like, "You know what? I'd like to start taking some shows off." That worked out well for me.
Kip Driver: Yes it did! And so what made you decide to play Doc again, but this time on the road?
David: John Stevenson, who was playing Doc on tour, is an old
friend of mine, and he told me he was leaving. He's directed me in four shows. And so I was like,
"Hi, John...."
Kip Driver: Haha! So what I'm hearing is if people enjoy working with you, those connections can really make a difference in your career. And why did you want to go out on tour this time?
David: It was good timing. You know, it was summertime
and my son's school has a lot of breaks and we figured we could make it fun and they'd
all come out and visit a lot (which they have done). And so that's how it
came to be.
Kip Driver: Sounds perfect. I saw your BTTF Tour just did this incredible fan expo in Toronto. Tell me about that because that looked amazingly insane.
David: Yeah, it was so great that they got this to come together. The person who was the writer & creator of Back to the Future the movie, Bob Gale, was also in charge of the BTTF adaptation from screen to stage. In fact, oh shoot, this is my wife calling again.
Kip Driver: Haha. It's all right, answer it!
David: Hey babe, what's up? I'm still in the interview." (short conversation here...)
Sorry about that, where was I? So, Bob Gale and his team made this happen. It was on, then it was off, whether or not Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd would be there and we could have a Marty & Doc (from the Broadway Tour) with the Marty & Doc (the OG's from the movie). Then we heard it's all happening. It was back on! We're going to get to meet them.
Kip Driver: Wow, that's a really big deal!
David: Right??!! And I mean, I'm 55 years old. So, in 1985 I was 15 watching this movie. So, this was an incredible experience for us. They were kind, they were funny, the panel was amazing. It was just the best experience.
Kip Driver: That's awesome. Yeah, I'm 56, so I get you. I mean, that movie was made for us. I loved looking at
the pictures from the Fan Expo, and I thought that must really rank up there as one of your top experiences in your actor's life.
David: YES, it's my Number One! But meeting Charles Barkley (through my
wife) and getting to gamble with him was a close second.
Kip Driver: Well done Liz!! Ok, you are playing opposite Lucas Hallauer as Marty McFly. And Lucas was here two years ago in the ensemble of Mean Girls, and he taught a student workshop to our high school theatre kids. We're so excited to see him as your Marty!
David: He's really great. I love working with him. He is this young kid that really gets it. We play off each other really well. Lucas started with BTTF in the ensemble and understudying Marty. And as you know the business we're in doesn't always like to move people up into playing the role when it becomes available. But his voice and energy is just perfect and they gave him the part when they moved the tour Marty to the London company.
Kip Driver: I'm so happy for him! So, Alabama has never had a seat at the table for the Jimmy Awards. But we are starting our own regional awards program called The Tallulah Awards. My mind is always thinking about our theatre kids here, I guess a lot of that is because I used to be one of them. What advice do you have for the ones that want to be up there one day doing what you are doing?
David: The biggest piece of advice is to be kind. Always be kind to everyone.
Kip Driver: Yes! That is one that always bears repeating.
David: Be fun to work with and be joyful. And ask yourself, "Do I love it?" If you don't love it, it's
not going to work out. This business is not for everyone, regardless of your talent. And you might need to change your thought process about auditioning because we only get to do shows every once in a while but we get to audition a lot! So you must find some joy in auditioning. That's when my career changed, when I stopped worrying about being perfect and what they wanted me to be, in my auditions.
Go to that next audition and make that the time you get excited to do the thing that you do. You get to perform! Never be afraid to make mistakes. I make a mistake in every single audition.
Kip Driver: Yes!! I changed my mindset at some
point as well during my career, where I started realizing that the amount of time we are actually doing a
show is very finite compared to the journey of being an actor (including all of the auditioning). I started
realizing that you have to enjoy auditioning or why are you doing
this? It was a game-changer.
David: Yeah, and I would say find a little side thing to do at the same time. Some people say you must go full force into your acting career (and you can't do anything else) to succeed. If I could go back I would incorporate adding a side thing. I tell my younger son, Benji, to find something else that he loves to do at the same time he's doing the whole acting thing. During the pandemic when all of the acting gigs just went away, I started studying breathwork, a deep breathing technique to reduce stress and inflammation and increase energy and emotional purging.
Kip Driver: Yes, I remember watching you on social media with the breathwork.
David: I couldn't do theater for about two years, so I studied and then taught breathwork and it changed me. And it helped my career as an actor too.
Kip Driver: I love that! I'm sure you still use the breathwork now, and that it's made you a better person, a better actor.
David: Oh yeah. And I taught it to the kids out here on
tour. Like I'm their dad. I cook them food and I teach them breathwork.
Kip Driver: I love it! Let's talk a little bit about Beetlejuice. I think you played Adam both pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, right?
David: Yes. So Rob McClure played Adam in Beetlejuice in DC and then on Broadway for the first four months. Then he left to play the title role in Mrs. Doubtfire on Broadway (which was in his contract).
I was cast as Rob's understudy in Mrs. Doubtfire and I thought I'm gonna die if I try to do this job. So I called my agents and I was like I know Rob is leaving Beetlejuice how about getting me seen to take over for Adam there. Well, they did and I ended up booking it.
Kip Driver: That's cool. You're advocating for yourself. Tell me, do you have a favorite show you've done?
David: No, that's too hard to choose. I mean, well, of course Back to the
Future is number one!! haha. (I would say Beetlejuice was
one of my absolute favorites too).
Les Misérables of course too, because it gave me my wife, and so many of my lifelong best friends. And I'll always remember when I
was 16 years old, holding up that original cast recording (it was a gray album) and listening to it thinking I could be in this show. That was my dream. And it came true! My wife and I even got to play Marius & Cosette opposite of each other.
Also, being in the original cast of Altar Boyz was definitely high up there for me. I loved that off-Broadway musical about a fictitious Christian boy band. I played Abraham, the lone Jew in a Christian boy band. Such great memories!
Kip Driver: YES! I saw you in that. I loved it! It's when I first met you I think. Back in 1998 or something like that.
David: No, no, because my son was born. It had to be 2005. But maybe I did meet you that far back? Sometimes you do shows for 10 years, like Honeymoon in Vegas, before they come to Broadway. So we probably started this in 2000. That's probably right.
Kip Driver: Do you have a dream role you haven't played yet?
David: Oh, I know I'm supposed to say there are, but I feel like I've gotten to play so many dream roles already. Like Ogie in Waitress, Marius in Les Miz of course. But I guess I'm the only Jewish person over the age
of 50 that's in theater who has never played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. So I'll say Tevye! Even my brother
who is not even in theater got to play Tevye in high school. Oy!
Kip Driver: That's funny! David, how many Broadway shows do you have under your belt?
David: Eleven. It could mean I'm just old. It could mean that my shows close faster than others so I get to do more. There's many reasons.
Kip Driver: Oh stop, you're ridiculous! haha. I love that you're still killing it in the business! There were so many of us that are of the same age and doing this professionally, but most of us have moved on to other careers now. Or at least working in a different capacity in the arts now. But you're like I'm still here! And booking these huge jobs like this one.
David: I always say this is my last one.
Kip Driver: Do you really? What would you do?
David: I think I would do something in the
wellness field like with the breathwork or working with my wife, with
her wellness company. I did that for a while and it was really fulfilling.
Actually I really like doing both. I love that my career has been what it's been so far. People think that I'm booked all the time, but there will be six months, eight months, 10 months sometimes when I'm not. Partially that's because I want to be there for my kids, their lives, for baseball games and all the little things. Now that right there is actually my dream role!
Kip Driver: I love that.
David: Actually the dream role for me is to play Doc when my son plays Marty in Back to the Future. So that would be the dream. Occasionally I think of him when I'm playing Doc up there and I start to get teary.
Kip Driver: That would be brilliant! And talk about great marketing opportunity for the show! That's got to happen.
David: Kid, you got to keep practicing and get those high notes. Come on!
Kip Driver: Yes, let's manifest this into reality!
Ok David, I could talk to you forever but I know you're a busy guy so last question: Why do you think Huntsville needs to buy their tickets NOW to see Back to the Future?
David: First of all, because this show is for everyone. It's not just for people like you and me of a certain age, but they're bringing their kids to experience it like we did back in the day. Or you know Lucas (Marty) always tells me that his father is the one that showed him this movie. Which is how he knew it before being cast in it. It really created a bond for them.
It's an interesting thing, you know... Bob Gale wrote this movie because he found his dad's yearbook and he thought I wonder what it would be like to have seen what my dad was like in high school. That's literally how it all started out back in the 1980's.
And BTTF is just really interesting. There's a flying car! You get that nostalgic music we all love. Those famous songs: "The Power of Love," "Johnny B. Goode," "Earth Angel," and "Back in Time."
The songs are great. The dancing is great. The ensemble is great. It's just a fun, joyful musical and I think that's something that we can all use right now!
Kip Driver: I could not agree more!!
David: And we have such a beautiful and positive work environment. Lucas and I are about to dress up as twins for spirit week at Back to the Future and we're going to wear a shirt with our pictures on it. So maybe I'll send you a picture of that for your blog.
Kip Driver: Yes please! I need to see this picture.
David: Will do. And when I get to Huntsville, let's go get a coffee or a drink or something.
Kip Driver: Yeah, that'd be awesome. I mean, the 1980's teenagers got to stick together. All right, cool. Thank you so much, David. I literally cannot wait to see your Doc Brown!
David: Thank you and see you soon Huntsville!
Tues, Wed, Thurs at 7pm
Friday at 7:30pm
Tues, Wed, Thurs at 7pm
Friday at 7:30pm
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