Q&A with Coby Getzug, who plays Moritz in upcoming performance of 'Spring Awakening' at Pantages Theatre

The Daily Bruin interviewed Coby Getzug, who is playing the role of Moritz in ‘Spring Awakening’ at the Pantages Theatre through Feb. 13.

Daily Bruin: How did you get started in this business?
Coby Getzug: I always loved to do theater when I was a kid, and when I got to high school, I applied and got into L.A. County High School for the Arts. So I went there for high school. I was a theater major and so, at that school, it was kind of like a college conservatory. So we had academic classes every morning and then every afternoon, we had our arts classes. So I had five theater classes that rotated throughout the week. So that was basically my start. I never really did this professionally until I was about a junior in high school and then I got cast in the Broadway revival of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” by Neil Simon. So my first semester of my senior year, I was actually in New York City. I went to high school there, and I understudied that show. Then I came back and finished my senior year at LACHSA. Over the summer, I did “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at Mark Taper Forum, and then I got cast in “Spring Awakening” and left in September to do that.

DB: So it’s only been a couple of years and you’re already in “Spring Awakening?”
CG: Yeah, it’s been really crazy. Actually, I was planning on going to UCLA this year and then I accepted and got cast in “Spring Awakening” two or three weeks later. So, that didn’t work out. But I was planning on attending UCLA this year.

DB: But I heard that you’re actually auditioning to apply within the next week?
CG: Yeah, they don’t have a deferment policy. So I reapplied and will be auditioning in a couple of weeks for the musical theater department. I’m auditioning for the Ray Bolger program and plan on majoring in musical theater.

DB: Do you have any other interests, major-wise, that you plan on exploring while at UCLA?
CG: Yeah. One of the reasons why I chose UCLA was that the theater program offered a B.A. instead of a B.F.A. I didn’t want to be in a program where you can only do arts classes and you can’t do other academics. And so that’s what attracted me to UCLA because you can do these theatrer classes, but you can also explore other interests. So I would love to take English, history, anthropology, those kinds of classes.

DB: Are you going to continue to act and sing as a profession while in school or take a break during your undergraduate years?
CG: I don’t know … I didn’t even know I was going to be doing this. My whole casting process was a week long ““ it happened really quickly. So, I mean, I’d love to do both, I don’t know how plausible that is. But, I mean, we’ll see, I want to go to school, but if something comes along, we’ll see what happens.

DB: So just going back to the show, I know your show is playing at the Pantages Theatre. But are you only performing there or “¦?
CG: It’s at the Pantages from Tuesday until Sunday. It’s a national tour. So, we started rehearsals in September, and we’re going all over the country basically. We started rehearsals in New York, in September, and then we did kind of a Midwestern leg, and we traveled around the Midwest until November. Then we had a month off, and then we left again in January and we started in Salt Lake City. Then we kept going around the West coast. We’re in Tuscan right now, and we’re coming to L.A. next week. Then after that, we’ll continue on to do Denver, Colorado, New Mexico, and we’ll ultimately end up in Canada in May. So the whole country, pretty much.

DB: Could you tell us a little bit about the story line and your character in particular?
CG: Sure. It is a coming-of-age rock musical. It takes place in Germany in the 1800s, and it’s a musical that’s adapted from a play that was written in the 1800s. So, most of the text is classical, but then it’s matched with a contemporary rock score. So it’s really interesting, it’s really energetic and funky. I play Moritz, and he’s kind of nervous, he’s all over the place. He’s a student, he’s 14 and going through all of these changes in his body and he has no one to ask questions, nowhere to turn, so he’s kind of desperately seeking answers as to what’s going on with his body. The whole play is about teenagers growing up, experiencing new feelings, desires, and kind of the way they’re able to get information and the way that their world changes, and how they go through these personal changes.

DB: Do you think of “Spring Awakening” as your “dream job?”
CG: I mean, I saw the original cast on Broadway, when Lea Michele was in it and the whole original cast, and I completely fell in love with it. But I was young ““ I was 15, I think ““ and I never in a million years thought that I would be a part of it. And I also saw the first national tour when it was at the Ahmanson Theatre, two years ago, and I loved it. But I never thought that I would be a part of it. So, to be a part of it now is unbelievable. I would love to be in TV and film, but right now, I’m loving being in the show and being a part of this cast and traveling around with it. So, I’m living the dream right now, I think.

DB: Any memorable encounters from the tour?
CG: Initially, I didn’t really know how the cast was going to be because, well, I’m one of the youngest, there’s another 18-year-old, and the oldest is 24. So when you have a bunch of theater kids together, you never know how it’s going to turn out when we’re all in such close quarters and with each other all the time. But luckily, we all love each other so much and support each other and excited to be here that it’s become this one, giant touring family. And so, in terms of cool people that I’ve met, I think my cast is pretty cool.

DB: Any advice to give to those who aspire to be in theater?
CG: It all happened for me so fast. I loved doing it from an early age. So I guess my advice would be to keep doing it if you love doing it because one day, you could be sitting there and get a phone call, and the next week you could be cast in “Spring Awakening.” You honestly never know what could happen.

DB: Any interesting facts about yourself that you want to share?
CG: I have a donkey-riding license. So, I’m licensed to drive a donkey in the country of Israel.