Video: Teen Correspondent Liora Catches Up with Broadway 'Teen' JJ Niemann!
May 16, 2024
In this video, watch as BroadwayWorld's own Teen Critic Liora Shuf stops by the Winter Garden Theatre to chat with social media superstar JJ Niemann about his latest gig in Broadway's Back to the Future!
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0:00
Hi, I'm Leora and I'm a team critic with Broadway World
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And today, I'm here at the Winter Garden Theater to catch up with JJ Neiman
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who is currently in Back to the Future. I'm super excited. Let's go
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Thank you for meeting me here, JJ. I absolutely love Back to the Future and you did an amazing job in it
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as like all your roles. Thank you so much. It's so nice to meet you, Leora. Thanks for having me
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So I love your TikTok and I've been watching it a lot and I know a lot of my friends do too
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So do you ever get recognized in public for that? And what's it like just going viral for your stuff
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Oh, it's been really cool. I mean, yeah, I, especially in like the theater district
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you know, walking around the theaters and in this area, I definitely get stopped quite often
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And it's really, honestly, it's so cool. And like, one of my favorite things is like at the stage door
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constantly meeting people who like know about the show from me or like know me from TikTok and, you know
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we're excited to see me in the show. And so it's been really fun to like merge that like
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you know, during the pandemic that, that life at home and like the content I started creating
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and then get to like feel that in person now and with people and like get to meet all the people
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that like are my internet friends now. It's really cool. It's really special. Yeah, that sounds amazing. Yeah
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So you cover multiple tracks in Back to the Future. So what's that like
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Do you ever get like stressed about having to go on at the drop of the hat as a different role
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Yeah, I definitely am used to the swing nightmare. I used to swing and cover seven
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roles in Book of Mormon and so I definitely you know became used to having some
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stress dreams here and there but honestly like I in that show never got to
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cover lead roles and so you know I'm it's one thing to learn your own
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ensemble track and have ownership over your own track in the show and then to cover both Marty and George Mcfly are both huge roles and also very very vastly different Marty is much more me and my energy and George is definitely like a challenge of comedic you know genius to follow the steps of Hugh Coles
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So it's definitely been stressful, but also so fun. Like I've gotten to prove to myself so much in the process and learn stuff in real time
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You always think you'll, you know, study theater and graduate college or whatever or train
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And then like one day you'll just be ready to do it. But like, I'm learning so much in real time on Broadway every day and every rehearsal and every show I go on
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And it's been an immense blessing, honestly. It's been really cool. That's crazy
2:30
What is it like doing eight shows a week? I know it's really stressful. Yeah. Right
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What is it like? Yeah. Okay. So, I mean, again, I was a swing in Book of Mormon
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So I've had experience in shows, like long running shows and Broadway shows of not being on every day and not doing every show
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So now to be in a position where I'm doing my own role. every day, eight times a week, and then also might have to jump into the lead role at any
2:55
given time any day. It's a little stressful, you know. It's important to constantly, you know
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just kind of live your life responsibly and try to rest as much as you can. And it's made me
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learn how to make kind of sacrifices with my social life a little bit. And I'm just like, listen
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if I need to rest, like listen to your body, treat your body well, always hydrate, like
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you know, be fueling it with good things. And yeah, I mean, it's been a challenge
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but also doing eight shows a week of this show is the most fun I've ever had in a repetitive process
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because the building, the cast, the show is just so fun. And it truly, like, I've never had this kind of fun
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in a show before. So it's a joy and an honor to show up to work every day, honestly
3:40
And if you could be in any show on Broadway currently, besides Back to the Future what would you be in Okay so I don know if I have the best answer for this A show on Broadway currently I just always always wanted to be in Hamilton and dance that show so badly
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I love the choreography of that show. And so that is obviously like, it's just one of my favorite shows, but my real answer is that I'm manifesting
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So anyone out there, I'm manifesting that Ferris Bueller's Day Off gets created into a musical
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And I really want to play Ferris. I get told weekly that I look like Matthew Broderick when he was in that movie
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And I get that message on TikTok a lot. You know how people will like see you on their 4-you page
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And they're like, what is Ferris Bueller doing? I get that comment a lot. Really? Yeah
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So I'm like, that is what I'm manifesting next in terms of like a big show, you know
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Yeah. What is your worst or funniest or just like best in general on stage mishap
4:38
Well, I've had a few because I don't know if you, for those of you who haven't seen the show
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there's a lot of stuff that happens in this and the first time I went on for Marty I had three hours notice and had it rehearsed
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like 75% of the show on the stage so I was kind of just
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winging it a little bit and there was one time in that show that I truly
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jumped a little too far forward and I just boom into the scrim at the front of the stage
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where there are projections on because you can't see it was like
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pitch black on stage so I run into that and like rip the scrim a little
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And then the crew members later on told me that I actually like loki made like an imprint like a cartoon imprint of my face and hands on it that the audience couldn't see but they later on were able to see that
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So that's one the other one is that one time I fell off the skateboard on stage and it actually went into the audience
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So that was a journey And I did post that full story on my TikTok so it is it's out there it's out there what is your advice to aspiring Broadway actors
5:39
Oh wow Okay I advice to aspiring Broadway actors There a lot of stuff I can say I think the biggest thing is that the learning truly never stops
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And I say that as someone who like at one point or another thought I had figured everything out
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thought that I, you know, trained in college and I studied and did the thing
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And I was like, okay, like I'm good. I know what I'm doing now. You really never do
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And everybody on Broadway is faking it until they make it. There are people who are pros and veterans of Broadway who are still learning things at 60, 70 years old every show
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And I feel like being open and willing to challenge yourself to learn, that's a big one
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And then my other advice is honestly just to do the work and show up and be a nice person
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Because there's nothing more valuable than being someone that people want to work with, that people want to root for
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and showing up and doing the work and being prepared will take you so far
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And it honestly helps release and relieve a lot of anxiety that you might have about auditions
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rehearsals, performances. The more work that you do outside of it and like really go for it, the less anxious you'll feel
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You know? Yeah. All right. So thank you so much for meeting here and talking to me
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It was amazing. I know you've got to get back to the show to get ready. But before we go, do you want to be
7:05
do you want to tell them what your socials are so you can follow you oh yeah for sure well thank you
7:09
so much for having me leora and my name is j j neman the socials will be there and it's just at jrneemann on
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ticot and instagram and all that good stuff and um yeah why don't you come with me to the stage door
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you want to walk me there sure okay let's go well thanks for walking me to work bye bye hey are nice to meet you you too you too
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Ha ha ha
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