From TV hick to Tony nominee
If you want to know how to go from hillbilly beefcake to Broadway leading man, you should check in with Tom Wopat.
In 1979, the world got to know Wopat as Luke Duke, the brunet brother of blond Bo Duke, on the CBS cornpone hit “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Better known for its zippy red Dodge Charger (the “General Lee”) than for deep intellectual explorations of modern themes, “Dukes” ran until 1985, and Wopat could have been forever branded a vapid good ol’ boy.
But he opted for something completely different. He headed to Broadway, where he nabbed Tony Award nominations for a revival of “Annie Get Your Gun” opposite Bernadette Peters and for originating a role in “A Catered Affair” opposite Faith Prince. Last year, Wopat starred opposite Cicely Tyson in the play “The Trip to Bountiful.”
Along with his work on Broadway, Wopat has reinvented himself as a recording artist, moving steadily away from the country twang of his first albums and into a jazzier, big-band sound. Last year he released his eighth album, “I’ve Got Your Number,” combining standards with jazz takes on songs by James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Judy Collins.
Wopat will sing songs from “I’ve Got Your Number” when he appears at Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko. “We’ve evoked the spirit of the New York supper club era and the cool vibe of the ‘Mad Men’ days, that’s really what we’re doing,” Wopat has said of the album. “The music swings hard, and there’s a lot of really, really fine music.”