Conrad Ricamora, Niceville’s Nicest Actor
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Conrad Ricamora plays Seymour on “Little Shop of Horrors” (Photo by Emilio Madrid)
Crime drama watchers know Ricamora as the cool IT guy, Oliver Hampton, on the ABC detective series, “How to Get Away with Murder,” which ran from 2014 to 2020. His answer to the question of whether he felt melancholy or relief when the show wrapped provides insight into this quintessential people person: “Definitely the sadness of separating from six-year friendships that you form with fellow actors and crew. You get to be so close with people when of work on projects, and this was definitely the longest that I ever worked on, so it was a big adjustment not doing it after six incredibly life-changing years.”
In January 2022, he donned the horn-rimmed glasses of Seymour Krelborn in “Little Shop of Horrors” at the Westside Theatre in New York City. Ricamora puts his stamp on a role that’s synonymous with Rick Moranis from Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. “My brother and I loved the movie version of ‘Little Shop’ in the 1980s. I have a lot of fond memories of us watching it and laughing.”
Ricamora’s hometown of Niceville, Florida gave him an innate modesty that shows in his speed in diverting the spotlight to his off-Broadway co-star, twice Tony award winner, Christian Borle. “I really wanted to work with Christian Borle. ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ was one of the first shows I saw when I moved to New York, and I remember Christian making me laugh so much. So, when the opportunity came along to work with him in ‘Little Shop’, I jumped at it.”
Comic Book Beginning
Ricamora was born in Santa Maria, California. He grew up in Niceville, a name that conjures up Clark Kent’s Smallville, Kansas, but is located in the Florida Panhandle. Tennis and a Zenith television were his abiding passions (more likely an RCA but I’m exercising authorial prerogative). It was his older brother, father and him against the world until Dad remarried. The youngest son was eight at the time.
Given the influence of a Cebuano father, it’s understandable that Ricamora longs to see the Philippines. “I’ve never visited the Philippines, but I really want to. My dad left when he was eleven and has never been back.”
A talent on clay and grass courts landed him a scholarship to Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina, where he did not major in drama. “My psychology degree has definitely helped me in my acting career. Psychology is all about learning what makes humans behave the way that they do. And when you’re approaching a character as an actor, you have to figure out what makes that character tick. Why they do what they do and how they do what they do.” His understanding of the "Little Shop" protagonist revolves around an insecurity, which he explains here: “I think with Seymour there was a lot of early trauma and poverty in his life that shaped the way he moves through the world and a lot of the decisions that he makes in the show.”
He ends his run with “Little Shop of Horrors” on May 15th. Coming to Hulu on June 3rd, Ricamora is part of a largely Asian cast disembarking at New York's Fire Island in this queer romantic comedy from Searchlight Pictures.
Conrad Ricamora (Photo by Emil Cohen, Source: Twitter)
The Visible Man
Ricamora has had the good fortune of playing Filipino and non-Filipino parts, but he’s aware that Asian actors haven’t arrived at parity with the usual complexions on stage and in film. On whether he will continue to consider non-Filipino Asian roles, he replied, “I think it definitely depends on the project and the creative team surrounding the project.”
He gives another diplomatic answer to the subject of musicals with Asian characters that were created by non-Asians. Immediately coming to mind are the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II masterpieces “South Pacific”, “Flower Drum Song”, and “The King and I.” The latter he performed in at Lincoln Center in 2015. Ricamora isn’t critical of Asian roles written by non-Asian playwrights per se. “It depends on the play. It’s more about being treated humanely and not being ridiculed,” he elaborated without mentioning “Miss Saigon” or “The Mikado.”
The ensuing debate pits the originalist’s obligation to abide by the playwright’s intended or implied ethnicities against a colorblind approach that rejects race as an overriding criterion. In a perfect world, successful playwrights would be inclined to explore diverse ethnicities and social backgrounds. In reality, the decree of colorblind casting must intervene when adhering to the text denies effective and deserving actors access.
Of casting calls for Asian-specific and colorblind roles, he confided, “I want to do both. Because there are definitely stories that Asian Americans experience specifically as Asian Americans, but there are also roles that are not centered around race that I would love to do, or I would love to see other Asian American actors get the opportunity to do. I don’t think we should limit ourselves to one or the other.”
Coping with the inequities of Hollywood and Broadway hasn’t reduced this busy actor to a dyspeptic hermit. “I think that there have been huge strides in the representation of Asian actors in film and TV,” says the gregarious trailblazer. “But I also think that we have a long way to go. Still, I’m extremely happy to see all the projects that have been getting made and all of the Asian-American actors that have been getting a lot of attention in Hollywood lately. It’s great!”
‘Here Lies Love’
“A charisma machine” is the term playwright David Henry Hwang coined for Ricamora in a recent New York Times profile. Three years ago, they worked together on Hwang’s painfully relevant musical, “Soft Power,” which made stops in Los Angeles and San Francisco before coming to New York’s Public Theater.
That arresting charisma sparkled under a disco ball in the pivotal role of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. in the original cast of the David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim collaboration, “Here Lies Love.” The Imelda Marcos origin story (could have been called “The Courtship of Bong Bong’s Mother”) opened in New York’s Public Theatre in 2014 and was reprised at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in 2017.
Hope springs eternal for Positively Filipino readers who missed either production. Asked whether he’s willing to play the role again, Ricamora answered, “Absolutely. ‘Here Lies Love’ has my entire heart. I love that cast and crew so much. The show is incredibly powerful and incredibly entertaining.”
“Coping with the inequities of Hollywood and Broadway hasn’t reduced this busy actor to a dyspeptic hermit.”
Start Making Sense
Ricamora’s journey as an actor, amassing roles, coincides with his journey as a Fil-Am searching for his identity. “I’m starting to explore my Filipino heritage more as an adult now. As a child of an immigrant, I think my dad wanted my brother and me to be very American to fit in,” he revealed. “I imagine it wasn’t easy for him to come over as an immigrant. I think that’s something that a lot of children who are first-generation in this country deal with. Our parents want us to assimilate but then as adults, we are tasked with diving into our heritage to make sense of who we are.”
As a part of the Filipino family in America, Conrad Ricamora is the name to drop for the rare Fil-Ams who don’t have at least one first cousin with perfect vocal tone. “I think singing in general is a very Filipino trait!” Only a Pinoy who knows the power of holding a microphone in his fist at family celebrations can plausibly proclaim, “Filipinos love karaoke and singing.”
Just don’t call this favorite cousin a thespian unless he’s brought into “Richard III” at Shakespeare in the Park. Hint-hint. New York’s Public Theatre puts on the annual series and has featured Ricamora in the previously referenced “Here Lies Love” and “Soft Power.”
Anthony Maddela covers Southern California and other regions with high concentrations of Fil-Ams. He lives with his family in Los Angeles.
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