Shortly before filming the sixth season of the cult comedy, Pudi is giving musical theater a go with Found .
Danny Pudi translates a found note into song in Found at the Atlantic Theater Company.
Kevin Thomas Garcia / Atlantic Theater Company
In less than a month, Danny Pudi will be flying from New York to Los Angeles to begin work on Season 6 of Community, which was canceled, then resurrected by Yahoo earlier this year. He's excited for the opportunity to make another season of the series for which "six seasons and a movie" went from farfetched rallying cry to real possibility. (The movie is still up in the air, but Pudi says there's talk.)
But for now, he's focusing on Found, the off-Broadway musical that marks his theatrical debut.
Pudi considers himself a "very singular threat, and that's even debatable," but the show has forced him to improve on two passions he admits he's never excelled at. "The singing and the dancing I'm still scared of every night," Pudi told BuzzFeed News in an interview at Chelsea's Le Grainne Café, not far from the Atlantic Theater Company where Found is currently running. "Those are the two things that are still a challenge for me. I can see when we're doing rehearsals or making adjustments, it just takes me a little longer to figure out what they're talking about… This is my chance to do stuff I'm not capable of doing. I want people to know that."
Pudi is being humble: While not the star of the new play, inspired by Found magazine and the found notes it contains, he holds his own on stage. At the same time, it's an interesting choice for a TV star with cult appeal. "It is physically challenging but I love it because I never really thought I'd be able to do it, but who doesn't want to be singing and dancing with the cast of Les Mis on stage?" Pudi said. "When I read the script, I was like, This is a show that I'm scared of doing, but I can kind of have some fun moments here and feel like I'm not just gonna be just totally failing the whole time." He paused to reflect before adding, "I only feel like I'm failing 40% of the time."
Danny Pudi as Abed on Community, alongside former co-star Donald Glover.
NBC
Pudi's five-year stint on Community might have earned him a leading role in another show, but he purposely chose to be part of an ensemble. In fact, his decision to do Found rested heavily on the fact that he wasn't going to be the star. As Davy (Nick Blaemire) struggles to monetize his passion with friends Mikey D (Daniel Everidge) and Denise (Barrett Wilbert Weed), while also pursuing a relationship with Kate (Betsy Morgan), Pudi and Found's five other cast members speak and sing real found notes that reflect the unspoken thoughts and feelings of the main characters.
"This is very new to me," he said. "I wouldn't consider myself, in any way, a capable musical theater actor. The thought of doing something like this was terrifying. And it was my first time. Being part of an ensemble felt way more comfortable and safe."
Ensemble work is Pudi's forte: He got his start in sketch comedy at Chicago's Second City, working alongside other talented actors and improvisers. And as Abed on Community, he is part of the whole, an integral member of the study group, but not the star.
"I love ensemble work. It's my favorite thing about Community," Pudi said. "It's my favorite thing about most of the stuff I've been able to work on. I like being part of a group that's doing something. So you can kind of find your place within the group to support, to do something weird, and then find pairings — do some two-person work here, some three-person work there. That's fun for me."
The comparison between Found and Community is apt. Like the TV series, Found is a small but ambitious production with a group of supremely talented writers and performers working together to create something both hilarious and heartfelt.
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