The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)

Panic! at the Disco Urie to star on Broadway

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Urie said he’s feeling a jumble of emotions as he gets closer to his May 26 debut at the Hirschfeld Theatre.

NEW YORK >> Don’t panic, music fans — Panic! at the Disco’s singer Brendon Urie is about to make his Broadway stage debut in “Kinky Boots.”

The singer-songwriter will play a factory honcho in the musical starting next month, lured by the show’s producers who were curious to see if he was interested in exploring some sort of musical theater role. Urie joked that he offered to build sets, but will settle on singing.

“It’s a familiar thing, I guess, but it’s such a different world. I’m so excited to jump in,” Urie said. “This is a step in an exciting direction for me because I’ve always dreamed of being a part of Broadway in some way.”

The Tony Award-winning “Kinky Boots,” which recently celebrated its fourth anniversar­y on Broadway, is based on a 2005 British film about a staid British shoe factory on the brink of ruin that retrofits itself into a maker of footwear for drag queens. It has songs by Cyndi Lauper, a story by Harvey Fierstein and some fierce-looking drag queens in 6-inch heels.

Urie, who helped build theater sets in high school, said he’s feeling a jumble of emotions as he gets closer to his May 26 debut at the Hirschfeld Theatre. “I’m terrified. I’m excited, anxious. I can’t wait to get started on it,” he said. “I’m mostly just curious, really.” He hopes to be in the show until the fall.

He’s preparing to adjust to an eight-shows-a-week schedule and is furiously listening to the cast album. “I’d seen a couple of other musicals and this one just made the most sense to me,” he said. “I said, ‘I want to be a part of this magic that I’m watching.’”

Panic! at the Disco formed in 2004 and its 2005 debut, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” went platinum thanks to the band’s smash hit single, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” Urie is the sole remaining and only full-time member of the original group.

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 ??  ?? Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco performs at the Clive Davis and The Recording Academy Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., in February.
Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco performs at the Clive Davis and The Recording Academy Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., in February.

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