Why Jordan Fisher Doesn’t Feel Pressure Performing for Live Audiences Nightly on Broadway (Exclusive)

Jordan Fisher has millions of fans, and while he appreciates all of the support, he is not overwhelmed by pressure from audience expectations. 

From the titular role in Broadway's Dear Evan Hansen to starring in the original cast of the Josh Groban-led Sweeney Todd revival to now leading the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown, many have flocked to the theaters specifically to see the actor take on these respective roles. For Fisher, though, there isn't much of a balancing act between his performance and its reception. 

"I can't control how anyone feels about anything," the Hamilton alum exclusively told The Messenger. "The only thing that I can do is just say, 'Hey, come see the show. Like, come have an experience.' That's really it. I think the mark of being a professional is trusting in the work, doing your best work, going the extra mile and putting in the time and the sweat equity."

Fisher said he has a certain criteria when it comes to deciding whether he will take a particular job. He investigates if the work is worth his time and energy by discerning answers to questions so many artists ask to fuel their craft. 

"Why? Like, why this story? Why now? Is this something that's missing? Is anyone asking for this?" he ponders before accepting a job.

His lead role as Orpheus (he succeeded original cast member Reeve Carney) in Anaïs Mitchell's groundbreaking portrayal of love, despair and Greek mythology met and exceeded all of these standards. 

"It's not lost on me how special this show is, how special the material is," he said. "That very much is its own thing that I don't have to work to keep up. The show is so freaking good. All I have to do is just give an honest, truthful performance. And that required the work — and continues to require further work."

Beyond that, he said, if the product doesn't resonate with everyone in the audience, that doesn't negate the value of the artists' efforts. 

"I mean, I have the job, and I have the job for a reason," Fisher said. "Anyone that's on the stage, any cover [or understudy] that goes on for somebody that might be out, everyone that's up there has the job for a reason. They're good enough, obviously, to be here."

However, this is not all to say there was no anticipation involved in the process. On the contrary, the Rent: Live star said he has gravitated toward this role for quite some time. Fisher and Hadestown Tony-winning director Rachel Chavkin had been fans of one another's work for a few years, Fisher said, and often discussed the possibility of him playing Orpheus since it seemed to so aptly fit his range as an actor and vocalist.

The conversation had taken place even before Fisher began his run as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd, he revealed, and the timing eventually aligned for him to step into the role. He made his debut on Nov. 20 and has since embarked on what he described as an incomparable creative journey.

"It is such a complete storytelling experience," Fisher gushed about the production. "There's so many aspects of the show that I love, that get me excited. There's just nothing like it, honestly. It's something about the way that we all come into the building. It's so small and so intimate, everyone sees everybody, the culture of the space is just unlike anything that I have been able to experience.

"There's just a different kind of camaraderie here and support that's so, so loving and so caring. So I felt that, of course, coming into the building, and [being] given the space to be able to play and to really be able to explore my take that I've had on this guy for years now and the freedom to be able to do so by our creative team... Every aspect of it has been so beautiful."