Constantine Rousouli on Playing 'Gay as Hell' in 'Big Gay Jamboree'

EDGE: How did "Big Gay Jamboree" come about?

Constantine Rousouli: Marla had been working on it with her writing partners from college, Jonathan Parks-Ramage and Philip Drennen. They sold it to Lucky Chap, Margot Robbie's production company. They wanted Margot to star in it, but then she got so big they shelved it for a little bit. Eight years later, Marla and I are doing "Titanique" on stage and who is in the fourth row with this gorgeous smile and beautiful blonde hair? It is fucking Barbie. Marla was having this little mental breakdown, saying, "I don't want to know she's here. I can't, I can't perform."

Of course, she did, and a few months later she got this email from Margot asking if she could get on Zoom. When they did, Margot said she was so deep in press for "Barbie" when she saw "Titanique" that she couldn't talk. She asked what Marla was doing, and she told her she was turning the film she'd sold her into a little stage musical. Margot immediately got involved. All these readings started happening, and within a year "Big Gay Jamboree" was born. And Barbie and me are tight as hell. Well, we're going to be best friends. I feel it.

EDGE: But you do know her. Is she perfect?

Constantine Rousouli: She is perfect. She is the most beautiful human I've ever seen, and I have said that since the first time I saw her. And, let me tell you, the beauty is a 20 out of 10. Her personality and her soul and her character are a 50 out of 10. She is unbelievable, so supportive, so respectful, just the best. She was in rehearsals with us for a week or so, just sitting behind the table wanting to be there, bringing us food, bringing us cupcakes, chocolate. She really is a hands-on producer.

The whole Lucky Chap team is unbelievable. They've been the best producers I think I've ever worked with. I'm just lucky to be in in the same world with them. I have to call out John and Sue Wagner, the other executive producers, they're big Broadway producers. They've built this world where we are so taken care of and so supported. It's very hard in this business, especially in theater, where actors are replaceable. They care about us, constantly doing things to make sure we're okay, that our mental health and physical health are okay. I'm very fortunate to be working with them.

EDGE: What's the difference between working on Broadway and off-Broadway?

Constantine Rousouli: Honestly, just the pay. On and off-Broadway are just the number of seats in the house. We have about 400 seats in "Big Gay Jamboree." I think the minimum seats for a Broadway house is 500. The production value and the talent are still grade A. And, let me tell you, off-Broadway is really kicking ass right now. And I just want to say "Titanique" might have started it.

EDGE: Nice way to slip in a little plug for that Off-Broadway smash hit.

Constantine Rousouli: This whole movement is interesting to see. We started "Titanique," and look at it now: "Oh Mary!" and "Big Gay Jamboree," all these fun, cool downtown shows. In an Off-Broadway setting you're able to not go fully commercial in order to sell tickets. People are willing to take a chance, and it's really fun to have all this fresh work.

EDGE: And it's cheaper.

Constantine Rousouli: It's a lot cheaper and, let's face it, these weird, niche, fun, crazy shows would never see the light of day if you had to have a huge studio behind them. Broadway is expensive. It's millions and millions of dollars, and some of these shows are lasting two or three months, then your $50 million goes down the drain. We've got to come together and figure this out.

EDGE: Who is you audience?

Constantine Rousouli: When you have a brand-new show you have to find your audience. It's starting to develop. Of course, this is the gayest show ever, so we have our LGBTQ+ family. And it's the same brand of humor as "Titanique," with which we've had success. As gay as the show is, it definitely translates all over the place to different generations. Even though we've got the word gay in the title, we do a really good job of inviting everybody into this world. Of course, our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters are spearheading this, it's where our audience stems from, and from where it blossoms and grows.

We spread joy and love and humor. We make people laugh. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this. Theater doesn't always have to teach you a lesson. This isn't going to be the next Shakespeare of its time. All you need to do is come to the theater, have a drink, and laugh, because laughter heals.

EDGE: Let's get back to the show.

Constantine Rousouli: Have you seen it?

EDGE: Of course. And I loved it!

Constantine Rousouli: It's gay as hell, and I'm playing gay as hell. It's so much fun. I'm having the best time.

EDGE: Your dance number is phenomenal. Are you a trained dancer?

Constantine Rousouli: My sister was a professional dancer growing up, so it was very much "A Chorus Line," where my mother would leave me at the dance studio with my sister while she was working. I'd sit there do my homework, watch her, and think, "Hell, these girls suck. Let me go up there and do that." I started dancing there with hip hop. So, I'm sort of trained, and, as the years progressed, I definitely took more classes.

EDGE: It's one of my favorite moments in the show. How many shows are actually skewered in the show?

Constantine Rousouli: There's "A Chorus Line," "Les Miserables," definitely "Oklahoma!" We pull from the classics to nowadays. Every time those beds come down I think of "Hairspray," and there's definitely some "Producers" in there as well.

EDGE: It's nearly impossible to talk about it without giving things away. The writing is brilliant.

Constantine Rousouli: Marla and Jonathan are monsters. Their comedy is so smart.

EDGE: How did you even get the rights for the curtain call song?

Constantine Rousouli: We're mischievous people who like to get what we want. [Laughs] I'm sure Margo had something to do with it. Wasn't it the best ending for that show?

EDGE: It was really fun. I left the theater singing that song, and continued to do so for about a week.

Constantine Rousouli: Our director, Connie [Gallagher], wanted it to be like those '90s movies where they did crazy dance numbers at the end, and people would pop up everywhere in a flash mob-type situation as the credits rolled. He said he wanted that feeling, and I think he nailed it. Everyone's thinking, "What the hell is going on?" It's extraordinary.

EDGE: Let's talk about your character, Bert.

Constantine Rousouli: It's so freeing as a gay actor, because I grew up in this business at a time when my agents would tell me I couldn't play gay, I had to play straight. Have you seen me? Gay as hell, babe. Straight to the gay bar. To have this character when I am able to be open and totally fine is a gift.

EDGE: Are there parallels between you and Bert?

Constantine Rousouli: It's so funny to see all my friends and family come to see this and they say things like, "Holy shit, that's you in your bedroom as a kid." There's something so beautiful about that, because it was me dressing up in my mother's clothes, having her stockings on my head, blasting the music on that CD boom box we all had in our room. It was just me living my life in front of a mirror. To be able to do "Music and the Mirror" in front of a mirror dressed in a crazy costume, living Bert's full truth and authentic life, is me as a kid. I would do that every five minutes.

It's so lovely to have other, older gays come up to me and say I made them tear up because they all did that, too. We were all in front of the mirror. We all wanted to have that Cassie number, or be Cassie and have that moment. Here I am going balls to the wall in front of a mirror, being my fully authentic gay self. Everybody is seeing it, loving it, and eating it up. It's a weird, wonderful parallel of life.

EDGE: How old were you when you came out?

Constantine Rousouli: I was 18ish on tour, then 21 with my sister, and then 25 with everybody else. It just sort of crept up because I was gone for so long. I grew up on the road. I started "Hairspray" being straight. Everybody was saying, "He'll be gay by May," and I said, "Shut up. I'm straight. I love girls." Within about a second I was dating everybody in the cast. Growing up in a Greek Orthodox family is very challenging, but everybody was pretty good. My father, God rest his soul, we didn't really talk about it until he was on his deathbed. He said, "I know everything. I just want you to live your life and be the best human that you are, and I love you." It was the best blessing I ever got. I felt so free after that.

We would butt heads all the time. He was this macho guy who grew up in Queens. He's Greek, but everybody asked if my dad was in the mob. I'd say, "Probably, but he was the most supportive father ever."

EDGE: Do you feel like you are honoring his request?

Constantine Rousouli: I am. He was the hardest person on me, and I'm happy because it built this backbone of, "I'm not going to take no for an answer." He would say, "You want to do this? Fucking do it. Put every egg in the basket, and do it. If you're not going to put every egg in the basket, get your ass to school and be something else." It was that tough love that kept me going. I was going to prove Charlie wrong, that little bitch. Meanwhile, he was at every production, turning to people left and right of him, saying, "That kid up there is my son." I miss him all the time, but he's with me. I'm literally turning into this man.

"The Big Gay Jamboree continues through December 15 at the Orpheum Theatre, 126 2nd Ave, New York City, NY. For more information, visit the show's website.