Tom Pecinka (‘Stereophonic’) talks audiences’ ‘very strong reactions to Peter’ and why ‘success is a very fragile thing’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“When you wear these boots, you’ve got to strut,” quips Tom Pecinka about the costumes he dons to transform into 1970s rock star Peter in the new Broadway play “Stereophonic.” Though he has never been an actor who “ascribes to this idea that once you put on the shoes, you’ll be fine,” the clothes really did help him step into a “power position” in the play. It also helped address “one of the biggest insecurities” he had when he took the role Off-Broadway, which he describes as having to answer questions such as, “How does this guy move? How does this guy enter a room? How does this guy leave a room? How does he take up space, because he’s a big character?” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Pecinka originated the role of Peter in the production at Playwrights Horizons, an experience for the ensemble of seven that he describes as “fake it ‘til you make it.” One of the complexities of “Stereophonic” is that five of the seven characters are musicians and the actors need to play their own instruments. “We’re a very real band. We are in rehearsal every day together, we play every day together,” clarifies the actor, singer, and guitarist about what these talented multi-hyphenates are actually doing when they go into the recording booth on stage at the Golden Theatre. The earlier run Off-Broadway that first brought this three-hour play to the stage was a “grueling” experience, he says, but one that brought the ensemble close together. He adds, “We know each other now. There’s that inherent trust built already.”
WATCH our exclusive video interview with Sarah Pidgeon, ‘Stereophonic’
At the heart of “Stereophonic” is Peter’s relationship with his bandmate and girlfriend Diana (Sarah Pidgeon), which hits some rocky terrain once the band increases in popularity and the pressure on them mounts. The play tells the audience that the couple has been together for nine years, and Pecinka thinks “they met each other very young, probably high school age, and he’s watched her grow and she’s watched him grow.” Those details are “key” for the actor because when “you’ve been in each other’s worlds, and so intimately, for almost a decade – and obviously more than a decade for them – you can hurt each other more, you can love each other more, you know each other’s buttons, and you have an investment in them.”
Peter’s relationship with Diana – and with his fellow bandmates, for that matter – begins to crack because “success is a very fragile thing” and “there’s fear in that success.” Pecinka believes that because of Peter’s lack of friends and dysfunctional relationship with his family, “This album and the success of this album is make or break for him” and “with that comes a lot of terror.” The actor himself once experienced terror while working on “Stereophonic,” namely, during the performance of the incredible original song “Masquerade” by Will Butler. The actor had never played a guitar riff until he received the callback for this play and learned how to do this song in the hopes of securing the role. In the show, the band starts and stops playing the piece a number of times while they tinker with the tempo. The actor remembers feeling that when he did the show Off-Broadway, “That is probably the moment I most dig into the character, because for the actor it’s the most terrifying moment,” but “now I have a lot of fun playing it, which is a very different experience.”
SEE Tony Awards odds updates: Plays ‘An Enemy of the People,’ ‘Stereophonic’ gaining momentum
Pecinka shares that audiences have had “very strong reactions to Peter,” especially because of the way he treats Diana, his bandmates, and his sound engineer Grover (Eli Gelb). Although he admits that it “can be very hard to act through those reactions,” he is nevertheless “so glad that he incites such a response because he is a perfectionist and he cares deeply about what he’s doing so much so that his masterpiece song is not good enough for him.” The actor is referring to the line late in the play in which the band announces that “Masquerade,” the song audiences fall in love with every night, has been cut from their forthcoming album. “That says so much about the creative process,” notes the performer, adding, “That’s what the show is about.” He reveals that the shocking moment was added to the script very late into Off-Broadway rehearsals by playwright David Adjmi.
One of Pecinka’s standout moments as Peter comes in late in the show after Diana has broken up with him and after he’s had a confrontation with drummer Simon (Chris Stack). As Peter sits alone outside the recording booth, his hands tremble from the current of emotions flowing through his body. As an actor who has done Chekhov, Ibsen and Shakespeare plays in the past, he says, “This play asks me to be as brave of an actor as I’ve ever been asked to be.” Though he does not feel like he wants to be liked by audiences, the performer shares that “when you’re confronted with hostility by an audience, I think it challenges you.” Even if audiences never grow to love Peter as the actor portraying him does, he hopes the audience will “see Peter” and see that “he’s a survivor, he’s someone who’s trying to do something great.”
PREDICT the 2024 Tony Awards nominations through April 30
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest prediction