We first brought Drew to you last year as the singing star of High School Musical 1 and most recently, the star of the sweet romantic comedy “Another Cinderella Story.” This time, Drew has brought his musical talents straight to Broadway in New York. He plays Prince Eric opposite Chelsea Morgan in “The Little Mermaid.” We caught up with Drew to find out what he thinks of New York, being on Broadway for the first time, and why Tim Horton’s should sponsor him.. definitely dive in and learn all about him.
Was your family musical growing up, sports oriented, all of the above, none of the above?
Yeah all of the above. My mom is a choreographer. My dad was a classical singer.
Did she teach you how to dance?
She got me into dance lessons very early. I took tap, ballet, jazz, the whole bit. I also played in little league, baseball.
What team are you a fan of?
Blue Jays since I live in Toronto. I was there in 92, 93, when they won the World Series. That was exciting. I thought I was going to be a baseball player. I was the shortstop.
How would you describe yourself in your teenage years compared to now? Have you changed?
Nope never change *laughs* I’m more of an introvert in general. I love performing. I love fans and interacting with people but when I have time, I like to spend it by myself writing.
So you’re the same as back then?
Pretty much. My style has switched up a little. I listen to more R&B, soul throughout college and jazz for a while.
Who was your major influence in getting you involved in music?
Mom and dad
Did you sing classical like your dad?
No no no *laughs* I sang in my church choir and in high school chorus. I also got my first guitar around then too, I was 13. I was into Nirvana. I started a band, so I prefered that kind of music at the time.
You’re originally from Canada and learned you moved to Florida, California, and now New York. Which one is the best?
They all have different things that I love about them. In Florida I was close to the beach at all times which was amazing throughout high school.
Did you surf?
I’ve never surfed in my life which is odd. I’ve never stepped on a surfboard.
What has been most surprising about living in New York?
I thought I’d miss my car but I don’t. You don’t want a car here. I really love the public transportation. It’s fun to get around and it’s so easy. It saves you a lot of money, it’s great. I love New York.
So you know all the routes?
Oh yes it’s engrained in the back of my head. They actually have a subway system in LA too but it doesn’t go anywhere. It goes to one place in the middle of nowhere. It’s kind of useless. It’s nice, it’s clean because there’s nobody down there. *Laughs*
Broadway can be very fast paced. You need a lot of stamina for it. What do you do to stay in shape?
I do the show to keep in shape. We do 8 performances a week. It’s an old theater. I come in from the ship at the top of ceiling and then have to run down to the basement and back up a bunch of times during the show. So it’s a two hour cardio workout. It happens sometimes twice a day just to do the show. Then walking everywhere in New York, you don’t need anything beyond that.
Have you been losing weight?
Yes, a lot. I need to eat something. It’s lunch time.
With the Little Mermaid, you have to memorize a lot of lines. Do you have any tricks for remembering them? And are you saying your lines in your sleep these days?
Yeah I do *laughs* I do actually. I’m a big sleep talker so I can imagine I say the whole script. I like to learn lines late at night before bed and then sleep on them and then go over them lightly in the morning. For some reason it just helps me absorb them easily. If I have an audition, I always like to learn them the night before.
Have your friends from High School Musical or Another Cinderella Story come to visit you at the Little Mermaid?
Corbin was here last night. He just moved out here to do The Beautiful Life. Selena has come to see the show too which was cool. She had a great time. I’m trying to talk the rest of them into coming, Monique and Ashley. My boy Lucas and I just shot a web series a couple months ago right before I started this. It’s coming out, it’s called “I Kissed a Vampire.” We both play vampires so you’ll have to check that out.
When can we see it?
Probably about a month from now online. I don’t know exactly where. As soon as I find out I’ll be tweeting about it. I’m easy to find.
Speaking of Twitter, you were looking for a Tim Horton’s earlier.
I found one! I bought a 40 pack of Timbits. Half of them fell out on the sidewalk.
What is a Timbit?
It’s a mini donut. I grew up with it. It’s a Canada thing.
So they made their way into New York!
I’m very happy to find that out. Tim Horton’s..I expect a sponsorship from this! I’ll be your official spokesperson.
FTV: Couldn’t find anyone better!
What is the toughest number for you in The Little Mermaid?
One Step Closer, only because I have to sing and dance the whole time. Other times I just have to dance or just have to sing so it takes more stamina.
How do you not get out of breath?
I do get out of breath *laughs* I have to constantly remember to breath while I’m dancing and while I’m lifting Chelsea who plays Ariel.
Well you have to be strong to lift a girl up.
Exactly! She’s tiny.
Have you had any interesting experiences with fans at the backstage door?
I’ve gotten some cool gifts like chocolates a lot from Max Brenner. I’m a sucker for sweets and coffee. There are always a lot of people at the stage door waiting for everybody. We all come out and sign autographs.
Everyone is so excited you’re in the play.
Great, I’m so excited I’m in it too. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had and what I mean by that is that it’s the most fulfilling. Every night you immediately get to see their reaction. In a movie, you find out later after you get the reviews. So I love that, can’t enough of it. It’s intoxicating.
What’s coming up for you?
Hmm, what can I talk about? The webisodes I was mentioning before, that’s coming out in September. It should be fun. There are a lot of songs that Lucas and I sing. I also shot a movie over the summer called The Shortcut. It’s a thriller. It’s coming out on DVD at the end of September.
Who do you play?
Derek.
What does he do?
I’m not telling you, you’ll have to go see it. I don’t want to give anything away but it’s a thriller.
Any live concerts coming up for you?
Yes, I have four concert dates as soon as this is over. All the dates are up on my myspace. I’ll be Washington state, Oregon, Iowa State Fair, and Syracuse. So check those out!
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