He’s played Peter Parker in the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Dorian Gray in the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, and Orpheus in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. And now, Sept. 28–29, Reeve Carney is set to take to The Soraya’s Great Hall singing the role of the Devil in Randy Newman’s Faust. The story of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust has been adapted into numerous operas and plays, and Newman’s telling, first realized as a concept album in 1995, is a modern interpretation of the 19th-century drama.
That star-studded album featured performances by Newman — whose many honors include seven Grammys, three Emmys, and two Academy Awards — as well as by James Taylor, Don Henley, Linda Ronstadt, and others. A stage production was presented at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in 1995 and at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre the following year, with a concert version later produced as part of the Encores! series at New York City Center in 2014.
The 80-year-old Newman, who performed the role of Mephistopheles in New York, is not appearing in the concert version in Los Angeles, but Carney is more than excited to step into the part. His fellow cast members include Ryan McCartan as Faust, Javier Muñoz as the Lord, and Joanna Lynn-Jacobs as Margaret. As in Goethe’s tale, which Newman loosely adapted, this Faust centers on a wager between God and the Devil for the soul of one Henry Faust.
“I was somewhat familiar with the album,” explained Carney, 41, who lives in New York and grew up in a family of musicians and actors. “And I’m a huge Randy Newman fan, so I’m loving delving into it. The character, for better or worse, is [one] most humans are aware of,” he added of his role.
Asked how he’s preparing to play the Devil, Carney responded that his process “always starts with the text, [and] Randy’s text is the best entry point.”
Rounding out the cast at The Soraya are jazz vocalist Veronica Swift as Martha and comedian and television writer Jordan Temple as the Narrator. The musical accompaniment is a nine-piece band led by music director and pianist Michael Roth, with the L.A.-based Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Tonality performing as the Gospel Chorus.
Carney’s musical chops run deep. At 15, he was playing guitar professionally at B.B. King’s nightclub in Los Angeles, going on to major in studio/jazz guitar at the University of Southern California. He currently plays in a band, Carney, a foursome that includes his brother Zane as lead guitarist (the Broadway star is the rhythm guitarist, singer, and main songwriter).
Then there’s Carney’s passion for Newman’s music: “One of the things I love about Randy Newman is his combination of incredibly beautiful, dense harmonies — not necessarily in the vocal part but just harmony that’s mixed with an amazing New Orleans blues style of singing. I grew up playing in blues clubs, so that combination is something I’ve really been drawn to, and I was influenced by [Newman’s] music from a young age. He’s a huge part of the cultural fabric.”
In a statement to The Soraya, Newman said that he looks forward to seeing his Faust in this concert version, adding, “I never had more fun doing anything than I did working on Faust. I hope you all like it.”
With Newman’s typically mordant lyrics and music that veers from joyous and ironic to bluesy and even poignant, what’s not to love about the work? Asked why Goethe’s story continues to resonate two centuries later, Carney admitted, “That’s hard for me to say because I don’t necessarily identify with any one character in particular, even Faust. I wouldn’t say I would identify with him personally, but I think a lot of people do — the desire for a sense of belonging through power. That’s the way I’m interpreting it so far.”
With Carney having starred as Orpheus in Hadestown and now portraying the Faustian Devil, one can’t help but wonder if the actor and musician is fated to play characters having to do with, well, hell.
“I was the original Broadway Orpheus and also did it in Canada and in London. I left [the Broadway production] in November 2023. I’m very interested in the invisible realm, you might call it, [and] am honored to have people think of me for these sorts of jobs. I’m much more interested in playing these stories than everyday human stories.”
