Andy Warhol’s proverbial “fifteen minutes of fame” don’t come close to the years of
renown and acclaim amassed by stage and screen star Erich Bergen. Best known for his
six-season run (2014-19) as Blake Moran on the CBS TV series Madam Secretary and
for his portrayal of Bob Gaudio in the 2014 Clint Eastwood film Jersey Boys – a role he
first performed on stage in 2006 in the First National Tour, and then in the Las Vegas
production at The Palazzo – Bergen’s many television credits include Bull, The Good
Fight, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Person of Interest, and Franklin & Bash,
along with appearances on The Tonight Show and America’s Got Talent. On stage, in
addition to Jersey Boys, he has been seen in regional productions of A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum (UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, 2010), The
Temperamentals (The Blank Theater, 2011), and Dial M For Murder (Bay Street Theater,
2023), played Billy Crocker in the First National Tour of Roundabout Theatre Company’s
revival of Anything Goes, and made his Broadway debut in June 2018, returning in 2019
and 2021, as Dr. Jim Pomatter in Waitress, and in 2022 and 2023, gave audiences the
“Razzle Dazzle” as criminal defense lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago.
Born, raised, and residing in New York, the young Bergen attended the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center in Loch Sheldrake – a theater camp in the Catskills for the next generation of stars – for seven years, before attending the prestigious University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In addition to acting, the accomplished multi-hyphenate has led many live, virtual, and televised events for NBC, CNN, Paramount+, President Barack Obama, Clive Davis, Glenn Close, Michael Kors, and John Legend, as both a producer and director.
Currently back on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre in the new smash hit BOOP! The Musical, inspired by the iconic 1930s cartoon character Betty Boop, Bergen turns in an award-worthy performance as the corrupt, exploitative, and egomaniacal mayoral candidate Raymond Demarest, bringing his outstanding comedic skills and stylings to the showstopping song-and-dance number “Take It to the Next Level.” During his busy eight-times-a-week schedule, Erich generously made time to answer our questions about the show, his background, and his personal favorites.
- What is it about Betty Boop?
Erich: We say it in the show – she means different things to different people, and she’s been doing so for almost 100 years. You look at her image and you feel something instantly. Even if you only know her from a sweatshirt or a keychain, everyone seems to have some kind of feeling towards her, and for a lot of people that feeling is empowerment.
- What – if anything! – do you find most relatable about your character Raymond?
Well, I hope not too much, because he’s pretty awful, but I agree with his choice of suits.
- What three emotions do you feel when you first step onto the Broadway stage?
I don’t know if these are really emotions, but as soon as I step on stage I feel freedom, confident, and energized.
- What’s the most fabulous thing about performing live?
Whatever happens in between the curtain going up and coming down is a shared one-time-only experience between the audience and the artists on stage, and it can never be replicated. It’s immediate, and gone in a flash, only to be recalled as a memory by those who were there.
- What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve ever gotten from an audience member?
When I was in Jersey Boys in Las Vegas, we’d get some audience members who were perhaps . . . over-served. That always caused a few moments of audience interaction that we weren’t planning for. One time a woman in the second row started yelling out song requests as if we were actually the real band we were portraying in the show. I’ll never forget hearing “SING RAG DOLL!” yelled at me in the middle of a quiet, very serious scene.
- Which came first for you, acting, singing, or dancing?
Singing and dancing, together. I was obsessed with MTV and wanted to be Michael Jackson. It wasn’t until I was ten years old and saw my first Broadway show that I realized that acting was a thing that was available for me to do. The show was Big The Musical, and because the show was filled with kids my age performing live in front of me, I saw a clear path forward for myself.
- Who’s been the biggest inspiration in your career?
My parents, and all of my arts teachers and mentors growing up who saw something in me and encouraged my pursuit, namely Michael Larsen at Stagedoor Manor. As far as fellow performers – my inspiration list varies from names like Jackie Wilson and James Brown, to Martin Short and Barry Manilow. I think that may be the only list in the world those four names exist on together.
- What’s your first creative memory?
Seeing the video for We Are The World on MTV and then impersonating all the singers for my parents’ friends at dinner parties. I think the first time I got a laugh was when I was three years old impersonating Bob Dylan.
- Do you have an all-time favorite character or show you’ve played on the stage or screen?
I’ve loved them all, I think, but I’m obsessed with my current role and show. Boop! has been a huge gift I didn’t see coming, and being back on stage making audiences laugh every night has been very emotional for me.
- Is there a dream role or show you’d like to play in the future?
Yes, but I don’t know what it is yet. I just know that I would like to create a show from the ground up with a group of people that I love collaborating with.
- What three things do you always have in your dressing room?
Mouthwash, deodorant, and cologne. I’m a bit over the top when it comes to hygiene – especially smell.
- What’s your favorite comfort food or beverage?
Anything my girlfriend, Alexa, makes is instantly comfort food. I don’t know how she does it but everything she makes is the best food I’ve ever had. As far as beverage – yes – Coke Zero is the cure for most ailments.
- What three words would you use to describe yourself?
Obsessive, tall, confident.
- What do you love most about NYC?
The chaos. It’s comforting to me.
- What’s the best thing about being famous?
I’m not famous. Some people know some of my work, that’s all, and it’s really nice when someone says they liked my work or my work affected them positively in some way.
Many thanks, Erich, for sharing a fabulous 15 minutes with us! Congratulations on your outstanding performance in Boop! It was a pleasure to get to see you in the show and to get to know you a little better here.
BOOP! The Musical plays an open-ended engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre, 235 West 44th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $58-256, including fees), call (212) 239-6200, or go online.