New Face 1: Paul Nolan (Five to Watch in 2012)

First in a series of five posts.

AND another hundred people just got off o' the train.

The super-acclaimed incarnation of "Jesus Christ Superstar" that began at the Stratford Theater Festival in Canada is on its way to the Neil Simon Theater in New York. Paul Nolan (above), the man in the title role, is said to be no small part of the production's success.


AGE Early 30s.


BORN AND RAISED Rouleau (pronounced RO-lo), Saskatchewan, Canada. A farmer's son.


ALMA MATER Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts.


EARLIER CAREER AMBITION Forestry service firefighter in British Columbia.


EARLIER EMPLOYERS The Disney cruise line, Starbucks.


BROADWAY DEBUT This is it.


HIS OWN RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE The Santiago de Compostela pilgramage in Spain. "It's indescribable how it slows time down. It ... becomes a huge metaphor for every day of your life."


WHAT BEING AN ACTOR TAKES "As an artist, your biggest weapon is your imagination and your heart."



THOUGHTS ON SWITCHING FROM HOCKEY TO MUSICAL THEATER IN HIGH SCHOOL "I got a lot of grief from people I knew. I don't get it why the arts are effeminate and sports are masculine."


"Jesus Christ Superstar," by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, directed by Des McAnuff, Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street, (877) 250-2929, ticketmaster.com. Opening night: March 22, 2012.


WANT MORE THEATER GOSSIP? Scroll or search to read about shows and stars from the spring of 2010 to the future.