By Denny Patterson

Matt Doyle is a Broadway treasure, and you would understand why if you’ve seen any of his performances. 

Working as a New York City theater actor for over 15 years, Doyle made his Broadway debut in the 2007 production of Spring Awakening. From there, he went on to land roles in Tony-winning musicals such as The Book of Mormon and War Horse, as well as the revival of the beloved musical comedy Bye Bye Birdie. In 2018, he starred in the world premiere of the Huey Lewis musical, The Heart of Rock & Roll, at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego.

However, Doyle will now forever be known for playing Jamie in the gender-swapped production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, a character that was originated by Jonathan Bailey in the West End. Thanks to his over-the-top antics and jaw dropping ability to belt out the patter song “(Not) Getting Married Today,” the role earned Doyle his first-ever Tony Award last year.

On January 29, 2023, Doyle will be coming to South Florida for a one-night only concert at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center. He took some time to talk more about his engagement, Compay, and more with OutClique. 

Denny Patterson: Thank you for taking some time to chat with me, Matt! What can we expect from your upcoming South Florida appearance?

Matt Doyle: I’m so excited to come through! I’ve been kind of touring the country with my co-writer and pianist, Will Van Dyke, who I’ve been working with for the past 15 years. He’s like my right hand man. With this show, I’m really focusing on songs that have attached themselves to me over the years. Not just songs that I love and inspire me, but songs that stick out in a  very poignant way in regards to a certain moment in time for me. The concert opens with “Being Alive,” because that was such an important piece in terms of getting us through and surviving the pandemic. The words to that song, holding onto the material that was in Company, and recognizing how important it would be to come out on the other side of this pandemic was so profound. That song became something much more grander. So, I wanted the whole setlist to kind of reflect that. There are a lot of songs from my childhood that I’ve never sung in concert before, because I didn’t necessarily think they were appropriate or the right fit, but now I get to do them and celebrate them as being milestones for me. So, I’m very excited about this show. It’s been really special. We get to do songs from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory like “Pure Imagination,” Disney songs written by Alan Menken, and a lot of musical theater numbers.

Denny Patterson: Will this be your first time performing in South Florida?

Matt Doyle: Yes, and I’m so excited. Of course, I’ve been to South Florida, but this is my first time doing a solo show there.

Denny Patterson: Please tell me “(Not) Getting Married Today” is on your setlist!

Matt Doyle: (Laughs) Yes, it is. I won’t let people down. We usually like to have it be the final reveal, but yes, it’s in there.

Denny Patterson: I saw your performance in Company when I visited New York last year, and it was beyond phenomenal. How challenging is it to keep up with the physicality of that song?

Matt Doyle: The physicality was the real challenge because the staging of that song was absolutely absurd. I was throwing myself all over the stage. There was a point mid-pandemic when we knew we were coming back, we got the green light, people were finally getting vaccinated, and we had dates, and I remember running through the number in my apartment. I could do it, but then I was like, I should do a few jumping jacks and see if I could do it then. I was so out of shape from the pandemic, so I started running around 5k a day and really tried to get my cardiovascular system back in shape. The breadth in terms of that staging and how much they had me doing was rather absurd. 

Denny Patterson: Can you talk more about how “(Not) Getting Married Today” also has a personal connection to your own life and mental health?

Matt Doyle: Yeah, for sure. I’ve struggled with an anxiety disorder and a panic disorder since I was 13 years old, when I finally recognized it. Panic attacks are something that I am all too familiar with. How terrifying they are, how they move, and how one irrational thought can fuel the next irrational thought until you’ve literally crossed the line into what most people would call crazy. So, I admire how beautifully structured this song is. I think it’s the most perfectly written panic attack in theater that I’ve ever come across. The build is so subtle and so perfect, and it works so quickly. I think the humor of it is the fact that we can all relate to that on some level. Whether we’ve had a serious panic attack or not, we know what irrational thoughts can do to us, and I was extremely excited to be able to bring my own personal experience to it. Recognizing that feeling and the physicality behind it. Embracing, loving, and celebrating it onstage, because it is a very human thing. So many people suffer from it, and I think in order to find the comedy and humor in that song, you have to sort of appreciate it in a weird way.

Denny Patterson: What do you do to keep your mental health in check?

Matt Doyle: I have constants in my life, and I think that’s the biggest thing. I have a system of people that are there for me. I can communicate with these people on a very real level and talk to them about my darkest thoughts and the true feelings that are happening. Last month, we had a terrible tragedy in the entertainment industry by losing Stephen “tWitch” Boss, who was a phenomenal dancer and Ellen’s DJ for years. It was so shocking to so many people, because if you knew him, he was just this light. He’d walk into a room, and you would have thought to yourself, man, that is a wonderfully happy, glowing human being. I don’t know the situation at all, but I will say that witnessing the shock of people, it’s a reminder that we need to continue having conversations with one another. We need to have people in our lives that we can talk to, we need to let down our guard and facade, and it’s so silly that there’s still such a stigma around this. It’s something that millions and millions of Americans are facing and dealing with, especially coming out of the pandemic. If it’s that common, conversations need to be had so that people don’t feel alone.

Denny Patterson: Company will forever be a pinnacle moment of your career since it earned you your first Tony, and you won. How meaningful was that?

Matt Doyle: I am so comfortable with Company being the most profound moment of my life. That’s fine. I love that. In terms of how meaningful it was, you can’t really top bringing Broadway to the other side of a global pandemic with Patti LuPone and honoring Sondheim days before he passes. What we lived through, what we created, what we were able to create as a company together by trusting one another, and believing we could bring it back – it’s absolutely absurd. 

There’s no better way in my mind that this could have happened. It’s the most magnificent moment of my life. I said during the pandemic, no matter what happens to Company, I just want to be here on the other side and make sure that I’m in the fight to bring theater back, and it still is quite a fight. We’re really, really pushing for audiences to come back, and that’s what that meant to me. That came out of something so much bigger than Jamie just being a great role.

Denny Patterson: Speaking of Sondheim, you got to work with him one-on-one. What were some of the notes that he gave you about your performance?

Matt Doyle: Specificity was very, very big for him. He writes like Shakespeare. Every single word and note matters, and if one of those things are off, if he’s not hearing something clearly, or if you’re not recognizing why he wrote something a certain way, he’ll focus on that with the artist or singer. He was also very much in love with the line “I’m the next bride,” which was my final line in the scene I had. Because he loved it so much as an exit line, he used to say it was the greatest exit line ever written and his favorite line by George Firth, the book writer, he said, now that it’s coming from the perspective of a gay man, it’s even more profound and special, and he wanted me to yell it. He wanted me to scream it to the rooftops, and I wasn’t doing the line justice if I didn’t. So, I hysterically screamed it every single night for him, and he actually got to see the first preview back on the other side. He said, that’s it, and it can never be less than that. 

Denny Patterson: How significant and timely would you say the revival of Company is?

Matt Doyle: Oh, I think it’s incredibly timely and important right now. Obviously, we were very well received, but it was shocking to see a couple comments that were very misogynistic. Comments you think you’re not going to see and read, but when you do, it’s unbelievable. This is the perspective of a woman and the importance of their journey, especially at the age of 35 when there are so many pressures on them personally and professionally. I don’t think it could be more timely. We need to celebrate, honor, respect, and listen to women. Also, there are a lot of gender swaps within the piece as well, where female lines were given to men. We’re giving more sensitivity to men and allowing them to have feminine feelings on stage. Allowing a role that was originally written for a woman to be played by a gay man, it felt very contemporary in that sense. We’re trying to break down a lot of notions that have been built into our society that have nothing to do with humanity. 

Denny Patterson: How would you say playing Jamie has made you a better actor?

Matt Doyle: Oh, gosh. I was recently talking about this with a friend, because they were asking what this season and role meant to me, and I said it was a breakthrough. Especially post-pandemic, I was able to trust myself more and the people around me. The more I tried to control things, the more I got caught up in the very, very silly aspects of our business, like critics, what the fans think, what the message boards are saying, and all the vile parts that we try to stay away from, but we’re human. We see it all. So, the more I trusted the work, the words, Sondheim, the people I was working with, why we were there, why I loved it, why I needed to say those words, the better work I did. It truly was a breakthrough for me. 

Denny Patterson: Have you always had a passion for acting and performing?

Matt Doyle: Yes. When I was 13 years old, I was badly bullied in middle school. I was very lost and in this dark place, but this woman came into my life, her name was Marilyn Izdebski, and she was my musical theater teacher growing up. She introduced me to people like myself, like minded individuals, and I felt seen and accepted. I think that was where my first love came from. Just having that sense of community, and because of that, I remember saying to myself, oh, I can’t do anything else, which is not true. I obviously expanded beyond just theater, but I at least had something to hang onto and love. Even on my darkest days, I can go up to the theater, be with my company and cast, and recognize that I am okay.

Denny Patterson: You are currently playing Seymour in the Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors. How is that going?

Matt Doyle: I love it so much! It’s one of my favorite roles and I’ve always wanted to play it, so I’m grateful that they had me do this. It’s just a moment for me to kind of live out a childhood dream and cross something off the bucket list. It’s such a remarkable production and I’m up there with Lena Hall, Brad Oscar, and so many friends of mine. I feel very blessed. 

Denny Patterson: Do you have any other Broadway works currently in development?

Matt Doyle: I am developing some new projects, but unfortunately, I can’t talk about them yet. 

Right now, it’s kind of about doing things that I really love and getting to explore a little bit more. Doing projects that make me happy until the next, quote unquote, big thing happens. 

Denny Patterson: What are some other future goals you hope to accomplish with your career?

Matt Doyle: It’s so funny, because this is such a crossroad for me. There’s a sense of me that’s like, I’m good. We can retire now (laughs). I keep telling myself that setting new goals is tough when you reached that kind of dizzying childhood fantasy. I think at this point, the goal is to continue to collaborate, continue to create, and make sure that theater continues to thrive, because it’s such a scary time for us right now. Our industry is struggling so much to bring tourists back into these houses and for these pieces that go beyond big commercial blockbusters to be seen and heard. So, I want to be a part of that, and I hope that I can be. I’m not the biggest fan of working in film and TV. I wish I was, but the bug never really bit me. I find so much comfort and home in the theater, and it’s served me so well. As long as I’m a part of it, I’m happy.