Q&A With 'High Fidelity' Actor Will Chase - Fall Preview 2006 -- New York Magazine

But Is the Cast Album on Vinyl?

Making a Broadway musical from Nick Hornby’s lovely novel High Fidelity, about a lovelorn indie-record-store snob, sounds dubious. But with a script by David Lindsay-Abaire and a star turn from Will Chase—widely considered the only good thing about last year’s Lennon—there is cause for hope.

By Jada Yuan
Published Aug 27, 2006

Will Chase

(Photo: Ivan Kyncl/ Arenapal)

So, Lennon: What went wrong?
Jesus Christ. How long have you got? One, we didn’t know what story we were trying to tell, and, two, people hate Yoko Ono with a passion. Man, do people hate that woman.

What music do you like?
I’ve seen Rush, like, seven times.

No indie cred, then.
No indie cred. Correct.

Have you studied the clerks at Other Music?
You mean, what other music do I like?

No, I meant Other Music, the store.
Oh, other music stores?

Never mind. How will this be better than, say, All Shook Up?
I don’t want to whale on any shows, but this isn’t The Wedding Singer. Tom Kitt, who wrote it—he’s rock-influenced. He had a band. It’s all original music. It’s not razzle-dazzle.

Who’s your audience?
Nick Hornby fans, though I guarantee they’ll think, I’m going to hate this. And that’s cool. I’m just gonna do my shit and hope that I have work for a couple of years.

—High Fidelity, Imperial Theater; opens December 7