On a recent afternoon in New York, Sydney James Harcourt was doing what he always does before a big Broadway moment: resting.
“I can’t go out,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve got to get up at dawn and go to the gym. And every bar is a super-spreader event, and I can’t be sick. It keeps my body the way I want it to be and it serves my voice.”
That voice, rich and capable of sliding from classical soprano lines to contemporary pop riffs, earned him a Grammy for Hamilton and cemented his reputation as one of Broadway’s most dynamic performers. Now, the actor, singer and dancer is stepping into the iconic role of Rum Tum Tugger, alongside Hadestown Tony winner Andre De Shields, in the reimagined Broadway production of Cats, produced by Michael Harrison and Mike Bosner, as well as Cynthia Erivo, Billy Porter, LaChanze, Jeremy Pope, and Lena Waithe.
And this isn’t your childhood Cats.
CATS: The Jellicle Ball folds voguing and house traditions into Lloyd Webber’s global phenomenon. For Harcourt, an LGBTQ+ advocate and member of the House of Oricci, the concept is personal.
From Detroit to Discipline
Harcourt’s journey to Broadway began in Detroit. Raised by a piano prodigy father, he was steeped in music early. “They thought I was going to have the same gift,” he recalls. “I liked it, but singing felt like magic.”
As a teenager, he received a full scholarship to study classical voice at Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan.
“I auditioned for The Nutcracker to be a party parent,” he says, grinning. “But a larger guy tore his rotator cuff, and they asked if I wanted to learn the partnering for the Arabian pas de deux. I grew up overweight and never went to a school dance. So, to be dancing on stage, it was intoxicating.”
Harcourt became Interlochen’s first double major in voice and dance, spending mornings in academics, afternoons in voice lessons and evenings in dance rehearsals. “That’s where the discipline began,” he says.
A Ballroom Calling
When Harcourt left school and moved to New York, he was pursuing stardom. But he was also discovering himself.
“I’m this gay kid who never experienced gay culture,” he says. “The first thing I did was explore club life.” In Michigan, there was no ballroom scene. In New York, he watched dancers take over club floors, executing “death-defying” moves.
So, when his agents called about Cats Harcourt felt seen, “In other rooms, I felt like I had to hide parts of myself. But there, they wanted all of me.”
A New Rum Tum Tugger
Tony buzz has started to build around Harcourt as Rum Tum Tugger, following rave reviews. The New York Times called Harcourt a “scene-stealer,” while The New York Post dubbed him “the show’s dynamo standout…with a sumptuous voice and rockstar’s command of the stage.”
Rum Tum Tugger has long been the show’s sexy showboat. Harcourt’s interpretation, however, leans into ballroom’s “pretty boy realness” category.
“There’s a sensuality and a confidence,” he explains.
His archetypes? “Prince, George Michael, Usher. They embody what drives everybody wild about male pop.”
The production team also encouraged him to infuse the role with himself. “That was scary. On Broadway, you worry about not doing enough. But sometimes when you do less, it’s magnetizing.”
Even Melissa McCarthy noticed. After attending an early performance, the actress asked to meet him backstage.
“She said, ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off of you, how subtle you were.’ For me, that’s what it’s about. Draw everyone in, keep it sexy, still keep it Rum Tum Tugger.”
Bigger Than Hamilton?
Harcourt, an original company member of Hamilton who stepped in as Aaron Burr after Leslie Odom Jr. in a career-changing triumph, doesn’t shy away from bold predictions about CATS.
“This is going to be so much bigger than Hamilton,” he says carefully. “To take a Broadway staple and give it an anthem for resistance, I think it will resonate in a way Hamilton couldn’t.”
Becoming the first Black Rum Tum Tugger on Broadway is not lost on him. “The talent, diversity and love on our team is unparalleled. Sometimes it’s bigger than I can really take in,” he admits.
World Domination ; Naturally
In between eight-show weeks, Harcourt is dreaming bigger, “In the words of Madonna, world domination.”
He has written an album and is building toward on-screen roles after appearing in Castlevania: Nocturne, Blue Bloods, Law & Order, Elementary and Doc.
He’s also developing a film about Bert Williams, one of America’s first Black mega-stars, whose legacy was complicated by performing in blackface. “His story speaks to me,” Harcourt says.
In Harcourt’s world, discipline is devotion, vulnerability is power and the ball is just beginning.
