Hello Beautiful People!
Mike Rosengarten is an accomplished musician and singer. His primary instrument is the guitar, be it electric, acoustic or classical. He is an expert on the five string and tenor banjo, as well as the mandolin and bass. He can also cover keys, and even a little cello, violin and accordion! Mike has always had a deep respect for theatre, and regularly plays in pits (and sometimes even on stage!) for musicals. He has performed in pits ranging from Broadway shows like “Wicked,” to Off-Broadway, to national and international tours and beyond. As a recording and live guitarist, Mike has performed with artists such as ALFIO, Joe Iconis and Family, Lauren Marcus, Ian Kagey and the Capabilities, Nick Moran, Marissa Mulder, Eli Zoller and the O, Pioneer Band, the hard rock band Mrs. Grundy and numerous others. Mike received his degree in Music and Theatre from SUNY Geneseo, where he studied Jazz with Trombonist David Gibson. He is humble, he is kind, and he’s one of the funniest people I have the privilege of knowing. 
Ladies and Gents, meet Mike Rosengarten…
MM: Did you always want to be a guitarist/musician/singer/actor?
MR: I wanted to be a Ghostbuster first – I was obsessed. Then there was a period of time when I wanted to be a surgeon. Then, in eighth grade, I started doing shows and playing guitar and that was that.
MM: Who gave you your first guitar?
MR: My first guitar belonged to my mom. It’s a 1969 Giannini classical guitar that my dad bought for her for their first anniversary from a tiny shop in the Bronx so she could sing and accompany herself. I still have it and use it on shows all the time. It still sounds beautiful, and is very special to me.
MM: Of all the gigs and shows you’ve played, and of all the roles you’ve portrayed, which ones are most memorable?
MR: My first Off-Broadway show was really a formative experience for me, because it was the first time that I really got to use my instrumental skills and act at the same time. I played several character roles, as well as the banjo and mandolin. The show was called Prospect Theatre’s “Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge.; it’s a great bluegrass musical and we even got to make a cast album. The lead sheets were all written, but coming up with specific parts was pretty much up to us, so everyone in the show really felt super connected to the material. It was our show. The cast was also a total love fest too. Some of my best friends were made in that production, and we all call each other for gigs all the time. We also get together about once a year with the entire cast to play through the show and drink some moonshine.
Another big one for me was when I got to sub on the Guitar 1 Book of Wicked. Working on that book really forced me to take my playing to the next level. Also, it was my first time working on anything on an actual Broadway stage, so that was exciting and a little bit terrifying. A lot terrifying, actually. It was a cool time in my life too, because I was acting in a straight play called The Dybbuk Off-Broadway with a company called Marvell Rep. There was actually a day when I got to act in a matinee of The Dybbuk and then play in the pit of “Wicked” for the evening performance.
MM: Talk to our readers about being part of Joe Iconis and Family. What’s it like being part of such a supportive group of artists?
MR: It’s one of my most treasured relationships in theatre. I can honestly say that I love everyone involved with The Family. And that’s really what it is, a family. There’s almost nothing that they couldn’t call me for and I wouldn’t drop what I was doing and show up to be a part of it. The whole process of every one of the shows is super laid back and fun, and the music is just amazing. They’re a scarily talented group of performers, but they’re also just really, really good people. I could go on forever.
MM: Just for fun, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?
MR: Believe it or not, someone just moved out of my apartment and took almost all of the books. I did manage to salvage a few, though America: The Book, my collected works of Shakespeare and Ibsen, and a bunch of other plays which I love. Martin Macdonough’s plays. They’re not going anywhere. I also love biographies and autobiographies of people who inspire me. Bill Clinton’s book, Tom Waits, Tina Fey. A bunch more.
MM: Just for fun, if you were stranded on a desert island, what movies and television shows would you want to have with you?
MR: Ghostbusters I and II, the Back to the Future trilogy, Anchorman, Little Shop of Horrors, Dumb and Dumber, Labyrinth, too many others!
Breaking Bad is a perfect series, the Sopranos, Family Guy, Game of Thrones and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
MM: Just for fun, what sound do you love, what sound do you hate?
MR: I love the sound of the cello. I hate the sound of audio feedback.
MM: If you had to offer one piece of advice to students in high school who wish to pursue a career in the theater world, what would you tell them?
MR: There are two things. Practice what you do more than you think you need to, then practice some more. But more importantly, be nice. Be a good person, and be someone who people want to work with. Theatre is a business and networking is everything. I get 80% of my work from friends calling me for stuff, and I always have someone else to recommend for other positions because I’ve met so many awesome, wonderful people who I want to work with again and again.
MM: In today’s economy, arts programs are being cut. What reasons would you give a politician for preserving the arts in schools?
MR: Music teaches so many important life skills. The discipline required to learn to play an instrument or get really good at any craft is something that will carry over to any individual’s professional life, even if it has nothing to do with music/art. Also, learning music is something that students can actually see tangible results with. I had a young student who expressed this perfectly. He said, “I worked for hours on this part of the song and now I can actually play it!” He saw his results. He couldn’t do something, he worked really hard on it, and then he could do it. He learned that when he puts work into something, he could make a change in his own life. That’s such a beautiful universal problem-solving concept.
Group music also teaches things similar to team sports. On a football team, the whole team is relying on individual players to support each other and work as a whole. If anyone is slacking, the whole team will suffer. Sports are not for everyone. Playing in a band or orchestra is exactly the same. If one member of the ensemble isn’t working hard enough on his or her part, the whole group will sound worse. It’s another universal team building exercise that can carry over to the business world.
These are very pragmatic answers that are obviously leaving out the soul enriching properties of being an artist, but those can be tough to convey to a politician.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
MR: My parents. They were both poor kids from the city who worked through huge obstacles to become wildly successful. I always was cognizant of their huge work ethic.
More traditionally, my first guitar teacher really connected with me and instilled the importance of learning to read music and understand theory. I’m extremely grateful for that, especially since I was very resistant to it at first, as many people are. It’s very difficult and there are some very easy ways around it, but his persistence in making me learn to do something I didn’t want to is something that I’ve applied countless times to other challenges in my life.
Thank you, Mike!
Live, Love, Learn,