Seth Rudetsky

Sirius XM Radio host/performer/musician/ writer kibitzes about showbiz happenings

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer

He’s a host with Sirius XM’s On Broadway channel seven days a week. He’s played piano for more than a dozen Broadway shows including Wicked, Les Miz and Phantom. He was the vocal coach on MTV’s Legally Blonde reality show, writes a weekly column for Playbill.com, wrote and starred in his own off-Broadway show, has won Stand-Up NY’s Funniest Gay Male contest, and was nominated for three Emmys while part of the comedy writing team for the Rosie O’Donnell Show.

And for Seth Rudetsky, that’s just the tip of the showbiz iceberg.

“The people who have 9 to 5 jobs and have children and all, I don’t know how they do it,” he says. “All my jobs are like, an hour here, an hour there, it’s not anything that’s like a big deal. I have a fun, busy life, not a hard, busy life.”

Rudetsky will bring an hour or so of his fun, busy life to the area on Jan. 22 when Springfield Arts Council presents his one-man comedy show, Seth’s Big Fat Broadway.

The night before, he’ll accompany Broadway veteran Betty Buckley for her performance on Springfield’s arts series, a coincidence, he says.

He describes Big Fat Broadway as similar to America’s Funniest Home Videos, except that he dishes about Broadway.

“It’s an outgrowth of me having my friends over and saying, ‘Oh my God, listen to this,’ or ‘Oh my God, watch this.’ And it’s me doing it on stage instead of my living room. So it’s like being with a bunch of friends and having your friends show you hilarious videos and play you hilarious versions of songs.”

His website, www.sethrudetsky.com, includes clips of him deconstructing Broadway performers and performances, similar to what he’ll do in Springfield.

Born in Queens and raised on Long Island, Rudetsky cites his first starring role as the Cowardly Lion at a Jewish summer day camp when he was entering third grade.

“I knew I was going to be in the arts, pretty much,” he says, “because I was writing at a young age, I was playing piano at a young age, I was acting. Everything I do now, I was doing my whole life, so actually I’m not surprised. I remember in college, my Mom said to me, ‘You’re only happy when you’re super busy.’ So I know that I’ve always liked a lot of projects at once.”

Rudetsky graduated from Oberlin College in 1988, where he majored in piano performance. He was trained as a classical pianist, but gravitated toward conducting, playing, and performing for musicals.

“I loved it there,” he says, “but it was absolutely trouble to do musical theatre. There’s an incredible prejudice which happens all the time in the classical world.”

Almost every Thursday at 6 p.m., Rudetsky hosts Seth’s Broadway Chatterbox talk show at Don’t Tell Mama in New York. Proceeds of the show are donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids.

He also does a lot of fund-raisers for a gay/lesbian synagogue in New York, Beit Simchat Torah.

“It’s an important part of my life,” he says.

When asked why so many Jews gravitate toward the performing arts, he says, “I think the religion really celebrates the arts. And a lot of religions, I guess do, but there’s so much singing in shul. I just think there seems to be a lot of respect for artistry in Judaism.”

He recalls that when he and his father would pass lawns, his father would try to guess which ones had Jewish owners.

“I grew up thinking Jews are interested in beauty and art,” he says. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily true, but that’s what I grew up believing, that it’s an important part of the culture.”

Springfield Arts Council presents Seth’s Big Fat Broadway, Saturday, Jan. 22, 8 p.m. at Turner Studio Theatre, Clark State Performing Arts Center, 300 S. Fountain Ave., Springfield. $35. Call 937-328-3874 or go to www.springfieldartscouncil.org.