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November 6, 2006
From the Backstreet to the front lines: in his first interview since announcing his departure from the famous group last June, former Backstreet Boys member Kevin Richardson told the Star he'll head to Toronto as lead in the hit musical Chicago when it starts performances here at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Nov. 21.
But first, he'll appear in the gala celebration on Nov. 14 marking the 10th anniversary of the show on Broadway, sharing the spotlight with the likes of Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Melanie Griffiths, Ashlee Simpson and Brooke Shields.
"It's an honour just to be onstage with those people," said Richardson over the phone from his home just outside of Lexington, Ky. "I look at that lineup and say, `Kevin, what did you ever do to wind up rubbing elbows with stars like that?'"
His modesty is charming, especially when delivered in his low-key, hickory-smoked drawl, but it ignores the fact that for 13 years he was a member of a band whose six albums sold more than 75 million copies.
On June 23, he announced he was leaving the group, "in order to move on with the next chapter of my life."
He only issued a brief statement then kept quiet during the subsequent keening from his devoted followers.
So why did he do it?
There's a long pause at the end of the line, so long in fact, it almost seems the phone has gone dead. Then he answers.
"I was at a point in my life when I wanted to examine some of the other things that go into making up Kevin Richardson. You see, I'm not like a lot of other people in show business. I'm not what you'd call a multi-tasker. When I commit myself to something, I commit 100 per cent and that's what I did when I was a Backstreet Boy.
"But there were other aspects of my life, other dreams and desires that I was neglecting."
It's not hard to get him to expound on what they are. He's set up his own production company to help nurture young talent; his work for various environmental causes is well known and — on a more personal note — he and his wife of six years, Kristin Willits-Richardson, "want to start a family."
And right now, he's stepping back into the patent-leather shoes of the slickest of all shyster lawyers, Billy Flynn, in Chicago. It's a part he's played before (on Broadway in 2002 and in London the following year), but he feels he's only scratched the surface.
"Billy knows how to play the game," he says, discussing the character as though he were a slightly disreputable friend. "He's been through it long enough and he knows how to manipulate the system."
The way he does it is to "give them the old razzle dazzle," but Richardson worries about playing that card too often.
"I think we can get too much flash in our lives," he laments. "You find it everywhere nowadays; it's not just in show business, it's on Wall Street, it's in Washington. It can overshadow talent."
Richardson sounds as though he's speaking from experience and, in a way, he is.
He was born on Oct. 3, 1971 in Kentucky and grew up on a farm near the small town of Irvine. In fact, he literally lived in a log cabin until he left home at the age of 18.
When asked what he remembers most about his childhood, he speaks without any hesitation.
"Music. It was there for me from the start. It seems like I was singing all my life. My mother loved gospel, and my dad liked to listen to George Jones and Merle Haggard. The first time I ever really performed was a church musical when I was 5 years old. I was so scared, I wound up crying and running off the stage."
But that was the last time that would happen. When Richardson hit high school, he encountered a teacher he still refers to almost reverentially as "Miss Kathy Butler," who steered him into the drama program.
"I got bit by the theatre bug," he chuckles, "and I had a blast." In a prophetic bit of casting, his first role was Conrad Birdie, the rock 'n' roll heartthrob inspired by Elvis Presley who drives all the girls mad in Bye Bye Birdie.
"I didn't know that would really happen to me one day," insists Richardson. "I didn't think that it could. But I do know that if it ever happened, I was sure going to enjoy it."
After high school, he headed off to Orlando, Fla., "to pursue my dreams" and wound up working at Disney World, playing "Aladdin, Prince Eric and a Ninja Turtle, if you can believe it."
Even then, he was feeding his theatre habit, performing at night in a dinner theatre as the young romantic lead in Barefoot in the Park.
All of that changed, however, the day he auditioned for a new boy band that was being formed, which proved to be the Backstreet Boys. But it wasn't the money, the fame or the hysterical fans that Richardson now recalls with fondness.
"The funnest part for me was the climb, the struggle, the beginning. You're experiencing things for the very first time. It's you against the world. When you finally make it, it's kinda strange, but it's not as exciting as you thought it was going to be."
When all was said and done, Richardson had shared 13 years of ups and downs with The Backstreet Boys and one wonders if the rest of the group resent his departure.
"No way. They totally understand where I'm coming from," maintains Richardson. "There's no bad blood. It's all good. They're my little brothers and we have a lot of love for each other."
Chicago runs Nov. 21-Dec. 3 at the Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. W. Tickets at mirvish.com or 416-872-1212.
by RICHARD OUZOUNIAN
Source: thestar.com
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