Interview: Corey Mach Talks About His Latest Broadway Triumph in & Juliet

For the past 20 years, Corey Mach has been delighting audiences, both on Broadway and in regional theater, in an enormous assortment of musicals including Rent, Wicked, Waitress, Kinky Boots, and Merrily We Roll Along.

In 2024, Mach added the role of William Shakespeare in the hit musical & Juliet to his résumé, playing the part on the national tour and then joining the Broadway company earlier this year.

Mach recently told TheaterMania what he likes about the role, what he took away from his experience on Merrily We Roll Along, and why he created the popular series Broadway Sings.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How did you develop this love for musical theater?

I think growing up in Cleveland, which has the second-largest conglomerate of theaters per square foot [Playhouse Square], had a lot to do with it. And I started acting early; I think I had done 100 shows by the time I was in high school. Bill Rauch even hired me to do Peter Pan at the Great Lakes Theater when I was in the fourth grade. Somehow, back then, I realized at some point I could do this for a living. Then I got my Equity card while I was in college, and I booked the first national tour of Wicked [as the understudy for Fiyero] right after I graduated college—which allowed me to pay off my student loans. So, the die was cast.

What excited you most about playing William Shakespeare in & Juliet?

In college, my professor saw I was a clown at heart. But even though I excelled at comedy, when I moved to New York City, I was lumped in with the Disney Prince/Fiyero crowd because of my looks. When I first saw & Juliet, before I was hired, I was excited to know I could do a role like this but still look the way I do. It has so many hilarious moments, but he can be vulnerable and heartfelt.

Were you excited by the chance to perform this pop-music score?

Yes, it was exciting to do this show right after Merrily, which is as musical theater standard as it gets. To go from that show to a pop-oriented show like & Juliet, I was able to flex two versions of my musical muscles.

While you were on tour with the show, before Broadway, did anything happen that you didn’t expect?

Knowing where our world is, and how this musical holds so close the idea of being gender non-confirming, I thought there might be more blowback and negative energy about these topics, either at the stage door or even during the show. However, I was really surprised how our audiences respected the journey of the most sensitive characters. It was so nice to see straight men in the third row with their entire family, just taking in the show as a whole.

You mentioned your most recent Broadway show before this was the revival of Merrily. What did you take away from that experience—in which you played Tyler and understudied Jonathan Groff—that most resonates.

In the opening number, I sang the line “dreams take time,” and that reflects my entire experience with that show. I had been in a lot of long-running shows where I came in later in the run; but here, I got to originate a role where I got to do everything, from off-Broadway to Broadway, appearing on the Tonys, being part of the original cast recording. I was 35 when all this happened, and I realized you have to wait your turn for your big dream to come true. I even got a tattoo that said “Dreams Take Time” on my bicep.

You also got to keep part of your costume, right?

I kept one necklace that Tyler wears throughout the show with a coke spoon on it! I even made it myself. We had extensive character development sessions before we started, thanks to our brilliant director Maria Friedman, and we all figured Tyler was not only bringing the drugs to the parties, he was also buying them. We all saw him as the Elon Musk of the time from inventing the answering machine, which was a really big deal back then. I treasure that necklace, but I know I shouldn’t wear it in public unless I can explain this story.

In 2012, you created the concert series Broadway Sings, which is still going strong. What was the impetus for the series, and are you happy with how it’s progressed?

When I came home from Wicked and joined the Broadway cast of Godspell, I started going to a lot of concerts and I saw a lot of shows that were haphazardly put together, with too much talking. I felt I could do a better job. So, I put together Broadway Sings Adele, and then we just kept going. Now, we’re doing 100 shows a year, as well as corporate events. And we’ve realized we don’t have to fuss with the original musical arrangements; sometimes, the audience really wants to hear a song the way they remember it. Honestly, it’s been Incredible to have something to work on that isn’t me just acting. I have to admit, as a Virgo, I love to be in charge.