The Skivvies, one of New York’s hottest musical acts, was founded by Fairfield Twp. native Nick Cearley, and his Broadway performing partner, Lauren Molina. At the Fitton Center, Cearley and Molina will perform alongside a host of special guests, including Drew Lachey, Ben Schneider (a talented local performer), Dylan Mulvaney (a musical theater student at CCM) as well as several cast members from Cincinnati Playhouse’s “Little Shop of Horrors.”
Upon returning home, Cearley will also star as Seymour in Cincinnati Playhouse’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” which will open on Saturday, Jan. 21, and continue through Sunday, Feb. 19.
In high school, Cearley was named as a Fitton Center Rising Young Artist in 1998. He graduated from Fairfield High School in 1999. Nick was also a Fairfield Choralier and actively involved in the local theater scene in Hamilton for many years.
We caught up with Cearley by phone in a Q&A to find out more about his upcoming performances.
Q: Tell us about The Skivvies.
A: "The Skivvies are a band. We're a duo, but we are backed by a band. Our thing is we take pop songs, actually songs from any genre of music, pop, rap, old or new as well as a few musical theater shout-outs, and we perform stripped-down versions of the songs. But, it's a theatrical concept, because we like to exploit the absurd lyrics to a lot of pop songs and we put a comic spin on them. We play all the instruments, and we try to strip down the songs, both musically and literally, since everyone is playing the songs in their underwear."
Q: Do you always have special guests and how did you connect with Drew Lachey?
A: "Typically, we do have special guests, but we have some shows without them. Our motto is 'The more the merrier, especially when we are out of town. We like to involve special guests from the local town that we're in, so that's why we have Ben Schneider, who is a local Hamilton theater favorite and Dylan Mulvaney, who is a student at CCM. I'm in 'Little Shop of Horrors' at Playhouse in the Park, so I'm bringing some cast members from the show to do a song with us. I've known Drew for a couple of years. We connected when I was home, performing with 'Buyer & Cellar,' a little over a year ago. Also, while I'm here, I'll be doing a master class at his school, School for Creative and Performing Arts. Drew, a Cincinnati native, is a teacher at the school as well. We're pals now."
Q: What will it be like to be home?
A: "We formed The Skivvies about four years ago, and we haven't performed in Hamilton yet. I'm from Hamilton, so it's exciting to see something that I've created, that's become quite successful, and that people know nationally, on stage at home. It's fun to bring it back to my hometown. When we did the show last year in Cincinnati, everyone from Hamilton came to see it. This is cooler than that, because I get to bring it to the hometown where I was raised. I was involved in theater in Hamilton growing up, and that's where my roots are."
Q: What prepared you for a career in performing arts and theater?
A: "All of my family is in Hamilton. I'm the only person who moved away. My family owned dance studios in the Hamilton-Ross area, Joy's Dance Studio, so I was put into dance classes when I was 2-years-old. Then, I was bitten by the theater bug. I was also put into voice lessons early-on, and taught by Bess-Arlene Camacho. It was a natural fit. I never wanted to do anything else."
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