BWW Interviews: COME FLY AWAY's 'Sid', Cody Green

When Come Fly Away opens on August 2 at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, don't be surprised when you hear the voice of "Ol' Blue Eyes" himself -  for this acclaimed show, directed and choreographed by dance legend, Twyla Tharp uses actual master recordings of Frank Sinatra as it's musical score. Performing some of the amazing choreography of the show and dancing to Sinatra classics (and lesser known numbers) is Cody Green, who plays Sid, the cocky nightclub regular who falls in love on one fateful night.  I sat down with Cody and talked about his experience with Twyla Tharp, dance shows vs. traditional musicals and the wonderful music of Frank Sinatra.

BWW: Cody, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. I am excited to hear about the show and I know our readers will be too. We are really looking forward to Come Fly Away in Atlanta!

Cody Green: We are excited to be coming there! I wasn't with the Atlanta production when it first started [at the Alliance], but I was part of the Braodway production right after Atlanta, and I know they had a great time there!

Let's start by having you tell us a little bit about yourself and your career. Specifically, how did you get into the theatre business?

I grew up in Vancouver, B.C. Canada and I was fortunate enough to get into dance through my mom who was my dance teacher. I grew up dancing and doing sports. I left Vancouver and came to New York to attend The Julliard School and it was at Julliard where I got the bug for singing. There were a lot of voice majors at Julliard and a lot of fantastic actors too, and so that really got me started on the acting and singing side of things. After school, my first equity job was Mamma Mia, I did the first national tour. From there I heard about a new Twyla Tharp show, Movin Out, and when I saw the show I just knew I had to do it. It struck a chord with me, the choreography and the music and the blend of the two. I had an audition the next day and I was chosen for the tour and had a chance to work with Twyla for the first time. I went on to the Broadway production of the show and then on to London. After that, I came back to New York to do Grease. When the stagehands went on strike during Grease, I had the opportunity to do a TV show for Bravo called "Step it Up and Dance", and I was lucky enough to win that show. I then went from there to playing Riff in West Side Story, which was a wonderful experience, and then got the chance to work with Twyla again in Come Fly Away on Broadway!

Tell me more about your experience on "Step It Up and Dance."

The show was a competition show by the same people who did "Project Runway" and "Top Chef." There were challenges each week, with a winner for each challenge and someone eliminated each week as well. There were ten episodes and it was a pretty grueling process, shooting all day and into the night. It aired on Bravo for the whole season. In the end, I was part of the final five contestants and we performed our solos and I was picked as the winner. Growing up doing all different styles of dance prepared me well for the show because there was a different style of dance every week. One week might be Broadway, the next week more hip hop, then the next week more acrobatic, so that was a real challenge but it was great for me. 

Joseph Harrison has been involved with the theatre in some form or fashion all his life. He holds a Journalism degree from the University of Georgia, but his true love is the theatre which he has been involved in as a spectator as well as an actor for the last 20 years. He has performed in a variety of musicals over the years including PIPPIN, CITY OF ANGELS, 1776, WORKING and GODSPELL (Jesus) and JOSEPH?.DREAMCOAT (Joseph) just to name a few. He currently resides in Conyers, GA (Metro Atlanta) with his wife, Shannon and their two children.

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