Acting Career
In the fall of 2005, Maroulis was in negotiations to star in a television sitcom called Brooklyn that was to be loosely based on his upbringing as the youngest of three in a large Greek-American family of New York. Disney's ABC network bought rights to the show, courtesy of Grammnet (of Paramount, owned by Kelsey Grammer). However, later ABC passed on the project before it passed the script stage.
Maroulis joined the cast of the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer in the role of Sammy, in September 2006. Along with the other cast members, he contributed a recording of the Adam Sandler "Hanukkah Song" to the 8th Carols for a Cure CD to help raise funds for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS organization. That fall, Maroulis also appeared on various episodes of MTV's Little Talent Show as host.
Beginning on January 9, 2007, Maroulis took over the role of "Young Soldier" in the Off-Broadway musical revue, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris where he performed through the end of February. That spring, Maroulis joined the lineup at Fox's morning show Good Day New York, serving as the show's resident American Idol expert; while simultaneously taking on the same role as Idol commentator for Yahoo! Buzz. Later that year, Maroulis joined the cast of the CBS daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful for a limited run as Constantine Parros, a singer and record producer; a role created specially for him.
March 2008 saw Maroulis joining the cast of American Idol Extra as cohost, along with fellow Idol alum Gina Glocksen and J.D. Roberto. His next major role occurred that June, when Constantine starred as Judas Iscariot in the Premier Theatre Company's production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Constantine had previously played the role of Jesus in an earlier production when he was much younger.
Maroulis achieved particular success starring as Drew in the hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages, featuring the music of 1980s rock legends including Journey, Bon Jovi, and Twisted Sister. The production began running Off-Broadway at the New World Stages in October 2008, moving to Broadway to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 7, 2009. Rolling Stone stated that the "play has found a perfect lead in American Idol rocker Constantine Maroulis," while Associated Press added that Maroulis "gives a touching performance and sings powerfully as Drew, the young wannabe rock singer." Maroulis’ vocal performances were particularly praised, with the New York Times describing his voice as “soulful, pure, and intense,” and the Chicago Tribune singling out his “dazzling vocal pyrotechnics” as a standout in the production. On May 5, 2009, Maroulis received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. From Broadway, Maroulis headlined the national touring production, with the first show opening in Chicago on Sept 21, 2010, and his last performance on July 24, 2011 at the National Theatre in Washington, DC. Maroulis had a cameo as a record producer in the film version of Rock of Ages, released in June 2012.
Maroulis was cast in the lead role of Melvin Ferd the Third, in The Alley Theatre's production of The Toxic Avenger, which performed in Houston, TX, from January 13, 2012, through February 12, 2012. The Houston Chronicle praised the production as being "brilliant," adding that " casting is nothing short of miraculous" and "Mr. Maroulis’ voice is a gorgeous, crystal-clear, unwavering, bright tenor instrument that will blow you away."
In 2012, Maroulis became the host of a new series on Fuse.tv.com, Unofficial Idol Forum. Maroulis interviewed Idol contestants as well as interacted with American Idol fans via social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, soliciting questions and feedback about each week's Idol broadcast.
Beginning October 2, 2012, Maroulis took on the lead role in Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde, co-starring with Deborah Cox, and will be bringing it to Broadway after a 25 week national tour. Previews began at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in La Mirada, California, from September 7 to 30, 2012. The production is slated to open on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in April 2013.
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