Only weeks ago, Nick Jonas stopped by the MTV Newsroom and shared that he wanted to return to the NBC hit musical drama, “Smash.” Well, it seems, his wish is now coming true.
Nick will tackle his bad boy character, Lyle West, once again when he appears on the May 14 season finale of the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He really stirred the pot when he first appeared last month, chewing scenery alongside screen legend Angelica Huston and now, it seems, he’ll get to flex his acting muscles one more time.
“He’s a fun character,” the Jonas Brother told MTV News in February about hoping to return to the show. “Lyle is very precocious and definitely a bit different than I am in reality. But there are a lot of similarities too: Lyle started off in musical theater [and so did I]. That’s how he knows all the people involved in ‘Marilyn’ [the musical at the center of the show]. … He’s a fun character; I hope he can come back again.”
“Smash” revolves around the drama of staging a splashy Broadway show. In real life, Nick currently stars in one, as the lead in “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.”

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It’s on! The Jonas Brothers promised they’d be hitting the studio very soon, and it seems they are men of their word. This week big bro Kevin tweeted out some footage of Joe and Nick in the studio whipping up some musical ear candy that will surely delight their fans.
While there’s no certainty that the teased track will make their next studio release, the song certainly does blend the guys’ love for mixing genres, touching on soul, rock and disco.
When Nick dropped by the MTV News offices recently, he said that when this next album drops, all bets are off as to what it will sound like.
“We have spoken about it, and the thing we’re doing which is different to any record we’ve made in the past is we’re saying, ‘Anything goes, let’s just vibe out, listen to a million songs, write a million songs and see what we’re feeling most.’ Our statement, as a band, for this record has to be really strong. We feel like we want to deliver the best record we can.”
Individually, the guys have been busy churning out albums, but there hasn’t been a proper JB album since 2009, when they dropped Lines, Vines and Trying Times. The guys are well aware that the music scene is vastly different three years later.
“We pay attention to it, definitely,” Nick said. “That’s part of your job as an artist, too, is to be aware of what other people are doing.
… We pay attention and have been paying attention just to see where we want to fall. But first we just want to write great songs, and as far as how it sounds, that’ll come second.”
There has yet to be a release date for the album, but the Jonas Brothers have teased that it may drop before the end of the year. The hashtag #JonasBrothers2012 attached to the studio video may be the best hint so far.
“We don’t know how long it’s going to take us to write this record,”
Nick warned. “It may take a couple weeks, it may take months, it could take years, but we’re ready to go on that journey. It’s been a while and there has been a lot of growth as individuals and musically as well. We’ve all gone on our journeys musically. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of that.”

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Nick Jonas will host the 2012 Kids’ Night on Broadway – a nationwide audience development event designed to introduce a new generation to the experience of live theatre. This year’s festivities will be held from February 5-9, and participants will include WICKED, HOW TO SUCCEED, and THE LION KING.

For more information, go to KidsNightonBroadway.com.

Nick Jonas is climbing the corporate ladder as Broadway’s current ‘J. Pierrepont Finch’ in the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical comedy HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING through Sunday, July 1, 2012.

Nick Jonas launched his professional career at age 8 as ‘Young Scrooge/Tiny Tim’ in A Christmas Carol and followed it up with roles in the Broadway productions of Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast and Annie Get Your Gun with Reba McEntire. In the last year, he’s returned to his roots on the live stage, taking on the role of ‘Marius’ in London’s West End production of Les Misérables as well as at the 25th Anniversary Concert at The O2 Arena. Most recently, he starred as ‘Link Larkin’ alongside Harvey Fierstein and Marissa Jaret Winokur in the Hollywood Bowl’s production of Hairspray.

After a song written by Nick and his father found its way to Columbia Records, Nick was signed as a solo artist. His brothers Kevin and Joe were brought on board and the Jonas Brothers story began. Though the project never took off and they were dropped from Columbia, the industry had noticed and the Jonas Brothers were signed by Hollywood Records. In August 2007, the band released their self-titled debut album, which was soon certified platinum.

In 2008, the Jonas Brothers launched two sold-out tours and released their second album, A Little Bit Longer, becoming the first artist ever to have three albums on the Billboard Top 10 at once (Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer, and the Camp Rock soundtrack) and receiving a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. In 2009, they released Lines, Vines and Trying Times, which became their second No. 1 album in one year. They also released the film Jonas Brothers: 3-D Concert Experience. In 2010, Nick launched a solo effort: Nick Jonas and the Administration and released the album Who I Am.

Tickets for HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING range from $52 – $132, and are available at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre box office and at Telecharge.com (212-239-6200). The playing schedule is as follows: Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm.

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Though Nick Jonas has been in the entertainment industry since he was eight years old, it is this latest project that seems to mark a turning point for him. Starting last week, Jonas took over the starring role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the Broadway version of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, a part previously played by Glee’s Darren Criss and, before that, Daniel Radcliffe. No longer relegated to being a “teen heartthrob,” Jonas’ new leading man status also coincides with another signifier: at 19, he is technically an adult. The former boy band-er, who currently lives alone in New York, appears to be deftly navigating a terrain that has mired many other young performers (including some of his famous exes). Perhaps it’s his well-publicized faith or his close-knit family that have allowed Jonas to steer clear of typical Hollywood pitfalls. Or perhaps it’s his intense focus and ambition. On a morning before his show, Jonas spoke to PAPERMAG about these ambitions, being nervous on opening night and whether he’s ever wanted to be a normal 19-year-old going to college.

How did your role in How to Succeed… come about?
I saw it and signed on board to do it. It was a fun show and the music was great and the dancing, the way each of the scenes play out was all brilliant to me and I was immediately on board.

How does preparing for How to Succeed… compare to preparing for concert tours?
It’s definitely a different kind of preparation for this show. Obviously the rehearsal process is way different to setting up a tour in the sense that I’m doing a lot of dancing in the show, playing out scenes and doing all that, which is not something we do when we’re on tour. But also I’ve noticed my diet’s changed a lot. There are things I’m not eating so my voice will be in top form.

Did you not have to alter your diet when you were playing shows with the Jonas Brothers?
It’s a different kind of singing, I’d say. It’s really a different kind of vocal stamina.

How so?
The placement of the voice for pop music and then for theater [is different]. I have a distinctly different sounding theater voice than I do for the kind of band-oriented stuff I do. It’s not that my voice is different by any means but it’s just a different placement in my diaphragm. [I need to] stay healthy for eight shows a week.

Have you–or will you–get into any regimens or routines during the show? Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Definitely. I learned a lot of good warm-ups and stuff when I was over in London doing Les Mis [Les Misérables]. There are a couple different melodies that I’ll sing to get my voice warmed up, all with “ah” and “ooh” sounds. My favorite one though is actually [sings] “And the way you look tonight.” Just singing that out.

So I was talking to your co-star, Michael Urie, and one of the things we were talking about was how a lot of Jonas Brothers fans seem to be coming to How to Succeed… Have you noticed a difference in the audience at all between this show and Jonas Brothers concerts? Are you reaching a broader or older fanbase?
I think that it’s definitely been pretty diverse. There’s sort of the classic theatergoer crowd along with new people that are interested in me and Michael’s takes on these roles and, yeah, there are the Jonas fans. They’re amazing. It’s been really encouraging to see too that there are so many new faces from all different age groups at the show as well.

Do you ever get nervous onstage?
I didn’t think I would and then on the first night–I start the show and I basically am sitting down on this lift, being pulled up 25-30 feet up in the air and that’s how I start the show as a window washer. I was getting set to start the show and just in that moment I got a bit nervous and I hadn’t been nervous all day so it’s kind of a shock. Once I got in the show and past the first couple minutes, it was fine.

Do you plan to continue acting after How to Succeed… wraps up or will you go back to recording music?
I think that I like an even balance of both. I started my journey doing both–singing and acting. And dancing as a kid. And to come back and do that now is great. I’ve had some acting opportunities the last year, which were so much fun in Last Man Standing and Smash. There’s been more and more acting opportunities and if there are roles that feel right and that I can take on and tackle, then I’d love to get more into it.

Would you want to do some more TV or film or theater?
I think that it all depends. My opinion is that it’s just gotta be the right role [whether] it’s a theater role or television or film. I’m very passionate about music and I’m sure when I wrap up this run on Broadway, I’ll want to jump back in to music but if the right role comes up and I feel like it’s something that I’m really passionate about then I’ll definitely consider it.

Do you have any dream roles?
There are a few. What’s been really interesting is I’ve sort of had to adjust my list now because one of them was Marius and I was able to play Marius last year [in Les Misérables] and one of them was Finch and now I’ve been able to do that. As far as the rest go, I think that a revival of Miss Saigon would be great [and me] playing Chris.

Do you think that you and your brothers will record again?
We’ve already started thinking about the next step for the brothers. The great thing about the theater schedule is I’ve got the days free for the most part when I’m not doing press. I’ve got the days free to create and I’ve set up a home studio in my apartment here, which is fun. I get a fair amount of work done in here without having to travel. You may even see some new Jonas material out sooner than you think.

What kind of music do you have on your iPod?
I’ve been listening to The Beatles. The White Album has kind of been my main deal. I think it’s maybe because it’s within the period of the show we’re doing and also just because it’s amazing music. And then the way I have my dressing room set up, I kind of have a nice, homey vibe. It kind of reminds me of Texas, which is where I was born and where we have a family farm. I’ve been listening to Braid Paisley.

Are you a country fan?
Yeah, to a degree. I love a lot of country songs and I think that Brad Paisley is one of the best overall musicians and performers I’ve seen. I think his song writing is incredible. So I listen to that and it gets me hyped up as well.

So another thing I wanted to talk about is the fact that you’re 19 and while many people your age are studying and partying in college, you’re starring on Broadway. Have you ever wanted a more typical young adulthood and did you ever want to go to college?
I’ve been really fortunate to be able to do what I love without an education and I definitely did consider–and even went as far as visit–a couple colleges and think about whether or not that was what I wanted to do. This was probably about two years ago. I finished school a little early–I finished when I was 16 so I had two years to consider [college]. I would’ve wanted to go to college to study English as well as Journalism actually. It didn’t really turn out–that’s not the way things went for me. Things were kind of different because that was in the heat of things for my brothers and I and it’s been an amazing life since then so I’m really grateful. It’s always in the back of my mind that maybe one day I will go [to college] but for now I’m content where I am. There’s no regrets. Life’s too short.

Do you live alone in New York or with friends or family?
I’m completely alone, [it's just] me and my dog, Elvis, just hanging out.

What kind of dog is Elvis?
He’s a Golden Retriever.

Will you be watching the Super Bowl this weekend?
I’m a big Giants fan. I think I’m the most excited person in the entire world. We have a matinee that day so we’ll all be able to watch. I think I’m sort of having a bit of a get-together here in my apartment with my castmates.

What are you most excited about when it comes to the future?
Following the show, I [want to] continue to record and release music. [My brothers and I] want to experiment with different things and take that journey that we never really did take, which is trying a million different things and seeing what sticks and going with that. I think that we’ve all sort of grown so much as people in these last two and a half years that we haven’t really been doing much together. Our musical taste has changed so much. When the time does come for us to get back together, it’ll be the first record we’ve made where we’re all men and we can really dig in and have fun with it.

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Super Bowl XLVI is fast approaching, and all the minutia that comes with it — the Madonna halftime performance, the bank-breaking commercials, the thousands of gatherings across the country, and, oh yeah, the Giants-Patriots game — will be soaked in by millions of viewers across the globe. Before the Super Bowl festivities begin on Sunday, 10 musical artists weighed in on everything happening on Sunday, from their favorite Madonna songs to the team they expect to emerge victorious when the dust settles.

Nick Jonas

“We have a matinee show [of 'How To Succeed...'] that finishes early enough for us to get back to my apartment. I think I’m hosting a single get-together with some people in the cast. Everyone from the cast comes from different parts of the country, so I think they’ve all got loyalty to their teams. But obviously being here in New York definitely opens up the discussion to being Giants fans for the day — so I can try to convert them.”

“I think the Patriots are an amazing team and Tom Brady is an absolutely incredible quarterback. The things that’s been interesting about the Giants’ season into the playoffs is that they started off okay, then they had a little bit of a struggle, but then they really started to pick their game up in the last four games and have been playing like a team that wants to win the Super Bowl. My opinion is that it’ll be an incredible game — back and forth, lots of points scored, because both quarterbacks are really talented and know how to run their offense. My prediction is the Giants walk away with the title once again.”

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Broadway’s “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” has a new leading man — Nick Jonas.
The 19-year-old, who rose to fame along with his brothers, Kevin and Joe, as part of the Jonas Brothers group, has taken over Daniel Radcliffe’s role in the popular show. However, it’s not the first time Jonas has hit the Great White Way; he began performing on stage when he was just seven years old, and has appeared in shows including “Annie Get Your Gun” and “Les Misérables”
The entertainer, who has sold 20 million albums worldwide as part of the Jonas Brothers, talked to The Huffington Post about his new theater gig and his feelings about moving past his boy band fame.
You just started your tenure as J. Pierrepont Finch in “How To Succeed.” How’s it going so far?
I just finished my first week and I’m feeling more and more confident each night I do the show. I’m just excited to grow in this role.
Was starring in a Broadway show a big dream of yours?
I actually started off in theater as a kid. I did four Broadway shows in New York, so it’s been a dream to come back to Broadway now and to be playing this role, one of the few leading roles for a young man.
You’re going to be in the show until July. Are you going to play in the Broadway softball league?
I love baseball. We definitely want to get our team together, and I think there’s already been talk of me being the team captain.
Would you rather win a Tony or the softball league trophy?
I think a Tony would definitely be first. I love softball, but it’s not nearly as important to me as maybe a Tony would be.
Is it nice to be out of the Jonas Brothers spotlight, at least for a little while?
I’d say that it’s been a really interesting journey, the past five or six years, coming now to this place where we can take on different projects, things that we’re passionate about, and focus on those things. Then one day we’ll come back together as a group and continue to record, that will be great. But it has been nice to sort of step back and do some different things.
It must be great to be able to walk down the street without paparazzi following you.
It’s been a great season of sort of really finding some independence and doing my own thing. I can walk the street here in New York; I wear a hat, a scarf and a big jacket and I’m usually fine. There are moments when it becomes more interesting than others, and I should probably have somebody with me just to help. The fans who do approach me are so supportive and excited for me to be in this show.
Did you and your brothers ever get on each other’s nerves while working together?
We’re brothers, so there were moments here and there, but we actually are each other’s best friends. We have quite a close relationship. We’re very thankful and feel very blessed to have that.

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Daniel Radcliffe has revealed that he thinks Nick Jonas is doing a great job as J. Pierrepont Finch in ‘How To Success In Business Without Really Trying’!

Daniel played the role in the hit Broadway show in 2011, and after being replaced by Darren Criss for a three week sting the role has now gone to Jonas Brothers star Nick.

And Daniel was full of praise for the teen star, revealing that he had been to see Nick perform and really enjoyed it.

Speaking on U.S. morning show Live! With Kelly on Tuesday guest co-host Daniel revealed, “I saw How To Succeed the other day with Nick Jonas and he’s wonderful in it. He’s a wonderful person as well and it was a real treat to meet him and be able to watch the show.”

Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint aren’t friends?

And although Daniel loved every minute of the show, he’s not planning on hitting the stage again anytime soon.

He added, “I had an absolutely amazing time doing it, I miss it already. I’ve no idea what the next stage thing will be, but… I’m gonna give it a year before I go back to stage so I can just rest!”

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I caught a matinee of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying this week, and as I watched young Nick Jonas prancing about as J. Pierrepont Finch in the current Broadway revival of the Frank Loesser-Abe Burrows master work, I suddenly had a revelation about the recent and current Broadway scene.

I blush to tell you I didn’t know exactly who Nick Jonas is, as I’m not into the Jonas Brothers and the current crop of very “in” groups. Jonas has recently replaced Darren Criss in the role, and that’s another name with which I wasn’t familiar, though I’d seen him in an episode of the tv hit “Glee”. Criss in turn had replaced Daniel Racliffe in the role; Radcliffe I did know from the blockbuster “Harry Potter” film franchise. All three young men had first star billing above the title in How to Succeed, none of them had any stage credits (Radcliffe had played Equus on Broadway but that had been his first time out, so my theory applied to him as well as to the other two). And, though Jonas had appeared on stage before, the roles had not been central, and some were replacements.

I followed this trend of thought, and up came Christina Applegate in a revival of Sweet Charity, Reba McIntyre in Annie Get Your Gun, Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz, Daniel Craig along with Jackman in A Steady Rain, Sean Hayes in Promises, Promises, Julia Roberts in Three Days of Rain, and on and on into the night. All playing iconic roles, all starring in huge letters above the title, all coming to Broadway directly from the large and small screens.

My point is that when I was a lad, Broadway stardom in a leading role almost invariably came to those who had started out small on the stage – for example, Judy Holliday in Kiss Them For Me, Marlon Brando in I Remember Mama, Alfred Drake and Barbara Bel Geddes in Out of the Frying Pan, Celeste Holm in Papa Is All, Mary Martin in Leave It To Me, Nancy Walker in Best Foot Forward, etcetera , etcetera and so forth.

All of these early appearances in small roles, often in flop plays, brought us to attention with impressive performances and so, slowly, stardom was achieved. Now it all seems to have reversed itself. Major success in another medium seems to lead instantly to over the title name in lights, and the surprising part of this is — the youngsters come through and prove to be more than able to make what should be a giant leap. For delivering a brilliant stageworthy performance in a demanding leading role used to take the discipline, training, and most of all – the experience that are supplied by apprenticeships.

All of which is the long way round to say that, despite my longwinded theory, young Nick Jonas is absolutely delightful, in full command of himself, has all the star quality needed to carry How to Succeed for a sixty yard dash for a touchdown. Yes, he’s appeared on stage before, starting as a child, but he’s only become visible to us as the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers, smash hit recording and concert artists. To further support my thesis, he is joined by Michael Urie as “Bud Frump” and film star Beau Bridges as “J.B.Biggley”, both of whom are far better known for their early successes, respectively, in “Ugly Betty” on TV and in a dozen films on the big screen. And both of them are adroit and accomplished in playing the larger than life comic characters they’ve been handed.

How to Succeed, which I’ve now seen in at least 6 productions, is always a joy to revisit, for it’s full of delectable moments, most of them written into the Abe Burrows script and the highly original Loesser lyrics, some inserted by the various directors who’ve had a crack at the Pulitzer Prize winning material. Set in the post-Eisenhower free wheeling 1960s, most of its satirical material still holds up, stuff like the fierce ambition of some who come to New York to “make it”, the need for chemical support for the madness of office life on competitive Madison Avenue (the drug of choice was then caffeine), the ability to stay alive while swimming with sharks. The one major area of change in the 60 years of wisdom we are supposed to have picked up, is the role of women in the workplace. Yes somehow, when it’s all played correctly, as it is here, even the out-of-fashion lyrics to “Rosemary’s Philosophy” (“I’d Be Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm” and “Cinderella Darling”) seem to be accepted by today’ s audiences with a shrug and a kind of “weren’t we dumb, weren’t we quaint?” attitude.

When you put two companies together (that is, 3 new principals sliding into the 12 month run for the rest of the company) it’s not hard to tell who has a touch of ‘long-runitis’. Rose Hemingway, Tammy Blanchard, Mary Faber and Michael Park are all still very winning in major supporting roles, but they all can’t seem to help anticipating reactions, and knocking out those one-liners just a tad too glibly. But they remain bright as buttons and all in all the quality of the very attractive physical production has been polished to a bright shine.

The young ladies who came to scream at young Jonas’ every move only seemed to add to the ebullience out front, and a fine time was had by all. I’m certain Messrs. Loesser and Burrows as well as Bob Fosse (who choreographed the original production) would have been delighted with what’s going on today with their lovely show in the capable hands of their successors.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is playing at the Al Hirschfield Theatre, 302 W. 45th St, NYC.
Buy tickets.

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Nick Jonas, who is currently starring in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, has joined the Drama League’s Feb. 6 Benefit Gala, A Musical Celebration of Broadway Honoring Tony and Emmy Award Winner Kristin Chenoweth, which will be held at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.

Evan Pappas directs the tribute that has a book by Stephen Cole and musical direction by Steve Freeman. The evening promises selections from Wicked, “Glee,” You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Candide; Promises, Promises; Annie; The Music Man; Steel Pier; A New Brain; The Apple Tree and more.

Jonas will join the previously announced Joel Grey, Laura Benanti, Elaine Paige, Donna Murphy, Cheyenne Jackson, Debra Monk, Andrew Lippa, Marlo Thomas, Brent Barrett, Carole Shelley, Brad Oscar, David Elder, Marni Nixon, Jason Graae, Eden Espinosa, Josh Young, Kevin Clash from “Sesame Street,” plus original and current cast members from the Broadway musical Wicked.

Also joining the special guests will be Colin Bradbury, Grasan Kingsberry (On A Clear Day), announcer Bruce Barton, with a special performance by seven actors chosen from NYC’s youth acting programs and productions: Martine Bowman (Tada! YouthTheater), Sofie Fusco (Tada! Youth Theater), Analia Heredia (Rosie’s Theater Kids), Petra Jevremov (Rosie’s Theater Kids), Andie Mechanic (The People in the Picture), Rachel Resheff (Mary Poppins) and Carly Rose Sonenclar (Wonderland).

The Gala, which features a cocktail reception, a silent auction and a three-course meal, supports the educational initiatives of The Drama League Directors Project.

Since 1984, the Benefit Gala has honored “exceptional artists whose talent and passion have served as a benchmark for others,” according to the Drama League.

Chenoweth won the Tony Award in 1999 for her performance in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. She was nominated in 2004 for her performance in Wicked and has also been seen on Broadway in Steel Pier, Epic Proportions, The Apple Tree and Promises, Promises. The actress is also known for her film and television work and will soon be seen in the new ABC series “GCB.” Her new CD, “Some Lessons Learned,” arrived Sept. 13 on the Sony Masterworks label.

For tickets, which begin at $750, call (212) 244-9494, ext. 27.

For more information visit dramaleague.org.

The Drama League was founded in 1916 as an association of theatre professionals and patrons dedicated to encouraging the finest in professional theatre and has since then developed into the theatre’s premiere service organization.

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