Michael James Scott has performed on stages around the world, from Broadway to London to Australia and so many cities and towns in between.
He has performed in some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful shows ever, originating the roles of the Minstrel in “Something Rotten!” and Dr. Gotswana, aka “The Maggots Guy,” in “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway.
However, more than any of his other role, Scott is known the world over as the wish-granting, fast-talking, larger-than-life Genie from “Disney’s Aladdin.”
Scott first came to the behemoth of a role as the standby in the original Broadway show but soon got the spotlight to himself as the originator of the role in the Australian production, winning the 2017 Helpmann Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical — the Australian equivalent of the Tony Awards for Broadway theatre. He would then take the role on the road for the North American tour, then in London and finally back to the Broadway stage where he currently plays the Genie.
The Orlando native, who attended Dr. Phillips High School, will return home to Central Florida to help lead The Most Colorful Parade as one of Come Out With Pride’s Grand Marshals Oct. 15. Scott will also bring that homegrown magic to Come Out With Pride’s festival where he will headline the event’s finale.
Scott spoke with Watermark ahead of the Come Out With Pride festivities about Broadway, Pride and why Orlando is the place for him.
WATERMARK: It has been one year since “Aladdin” opened back on Broadway and you were able to get back out on that stage after everything shutdown due to COVID. How have the audiences been since you have been back?
MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT: It has been a big mission for Broadway to get back and figure out our new normal — what that looks like and what coming back after a pandemic really meant for Broadway. What has been so exciting and so beautiful are the audiences. The audiences and their energy have been like nothing I have ever seen. I’ve been very blessed to be able to open a good amount of Broadway shows and the opening night audiences are always just insane and amazing, like a rock concert, and it has felt like that every night since we’ve been back. It’s unlike anything we could have thought. Just the energy is so electric.
I have gotten the chance to go see other shows as well and it’s the same energy. You feel it walking around Midtown too, they have been dying to come back and they’ve been there. My hat goes off to all our industry leaders to be able to figure out how to get our audiences back and make them feel safe inside a full theatre. We have been very blessed with full houses, which is amazing, and it has been quite a success.
Obviously there have been a lot of hurdles for all of us, figuring out casts and crews, ushers and musicians, testing people and knowing what to do if someone tested positive for COVID, what it means when we have to shut down; so figuring all of that out has been crazy. But people are resilient and they wanted to do everything they can to make it work. Things now are a little more calmed down and we are having a great time.
What did you miss the most about being on that Broadway stage?
I’ve said this before but I felt like a part of my soul was missing. It was 17 months; I mean that’s insane. Almost two years of no lights up on a Broadway stage, so it just felt like a part of my soul was missing. I had an amazing opportunity to be a part of a documentary called “Reopening[: The Broadway Revival]” for “Great Performances” on PBS, and they followed me for three months, the crew, as we opened back up and what it was like going back into rehearsals and everything, and it really felt like part of my soul was coming back. It was emotional, it was challenging, it was all the ups and downs but it has felt like Michael is fully back.
With that long of a hiatus, was it difficult to get back into the swing of things or was it just like riding a bike?
Oh God, it took a little bit. We had a month of rehearsals before we got back into it. Most shows did the same thing, we all had like a month to get back into it. What happens to your body when you are not doing a show for that long is quite interesting. There were things I thought I would remember and that was not the case. My mental state when I was not doing the show was let it go, I literally just let it go. So I had to train again to physically get back, I felt like I was preparing for war. Like OhMyGod, what is happening?! You’re preparing for what feels like the Super Bowl, but you haven’t been training for two years. I kept busy during the pandemic, which was lovely, and I actually got to do quite a bit performing, different concerts and some voice-over work, which was all great and fun but for me, I am a theatre nerd, I was a theatre kid; so getting back into shape for a live Broadway show is unlike anything else.
You are coming home to Orlando to perform at Come Out with Pride and to lead the Pride parade as one of its Grand Marshals. Have you Grand Marshaled a parade before?
I have not grand marshaled a parade before. I have been a part of Pride parades in other places before, but I have actually never been able to be at Orlando Pride, this is my first Orlando Pride, so I am floored that I get to come back to my hometown and be a part of Orlando’s Pride. Obviously I am beyond proud and prideful to be from Orlando, so to be able to come back and do this, it is just an honor. I was beyond honored when they asked me.
Do you remember your first Pride parade or festival?
I will say, I remember going out when I was in Orlando to Southern Nights and things like that, and I remember there being some things going on. Obviously at that time it was nowhere near as big as it is now, but I remember when I was growing up there was a couple of smaller events. But my real first Pride was here in New York City, and it was incredible and shocking on so many levels. There was just so many people and so much support. Then when I was in London doing the revival of “Hair,” that was one of the first Prides where I actually got to be a part of it. We were a big part of Pride there because of the show and it being about love and pride, and that was pretty epic. New York City was my first Pride festival though, and since then I have gotten the chance to be a part of Prides all over the world. And now I get to come to Orlando!
Pride’s theme this year is “A Place For Us,” taken from “West Side Story,” which had its remake released last year. If you were given free rein to be a part in any big screen adaptation, which Broadway musical would you like to see given the Hollywood treatment?
It would something like “Pippin” and I would love to play Leading Player. Something that is just this big epic movie, or maybe it would be something ridiculous like an old school “Jelly’s Last Jam,” something that feels good with dance numbers with hundreds of dancers, something that only Hollywood can do. One of those, either something epic and dramatic like “Pippin” or something crazy like “Jelly’s Last Jam.”
Orlando holds its Pride celebration in October to celebrate LGBTQ history month and national coming out day. What was your coming out like?
What’s kind of funny is my coming out was a little anti-climactic in the sense that I when I told my parents that I think I am gay, they were literally like “Are you happy?” and I said “yeah,” and they were like “OK.” It was really unbelievable and I know that is not always the case, so my heart always goes out to these people who it was such a different experience for. I have been very, very, very lucky and very blessed that my coming out was like that.
Also, a lot of that was because of my community. Growing up in Orlando, I was at Dr. Phillips High School and there was a community of people that were very open about supporting LGBTQ youth. So in our program I had other gay friends and that was something that was normal in my surroundings. So that laid the groundwork to it being normal in my life.
Now I will say it took me more time to be comfortable with who I am and feeling like I was proud to be the person I am in my own skin and that it was OK. That was the biggest hurdle for me to overcome. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church so my relationship with God, or Allah or Buddha, whoever you believe in, was tricky and it took me a while to come to terms with the relationship that I have with my God and that is what gave me the empowerment to be who I am.
What advice do you have for LGBTQ youth who might be struggling with coming out to their family and friends?
I feel like now, knowing what we have available for LGBTQ youth, if you aren’t getting that support at home, seek it out in your community. You may not even know what’s available to you right at your fingertips. Find support groups, other people like you who may be literally right around the corner from you. When I was growing up we didn’t have near the resources we have today in terms of the internet, all the social media. If they’re not finding it at home, reach out. There are so many places you can go. One of the biggest things, at least for me, was finding my tribe of people. My friends I had around me in school. Even if it is just one person, find your tribe. Find the person or people who can embrace you and build your own community from there.
After leading the parade, you are headlining the festival finale. What can you tell us about the performance?
Think anthem. For me I wanted it to be a moment not just about being fierce and fabulous and loud, but also there is strength in quieter moments. There is strength in a moment that is about softness and unity. I am such a loud, pretty flamboyant, boisterous kind of person so I am interested in seeing a moment where we can just be still. So that is something to look forward to, something I can say about the show without giving too much away.
Michael James Scott will headline Come Out With Pride’s big festival finale at the Walt Disney Amphitheater at Lake Eola Park in Orlando Oct. 15. For more information on all of Pride’s events, go to ComeOutWithPride.org or check out the official Come Out With Pride guide here.
