Fantastick's Star Nick Spangler & Secrets of The Amazing Race

By Leora Kanner, Broadway Magazine

On the new season of the hit reality show "The Amazing Race" a direct Broadway connection has been made thanks to the participation of Nick Spangler. Mr. Spangler is also currently starring in the longest-ever running off-Broadway show, The Fantasticks. Broadway.tv took some time backstage with Nick to talk exclusively about his hit shows, his Cowboy cheerleader sister , and his experience with "The Amazing Race."

Like his great journey in The Amazing Race, Nick's road to Broadway had humble beginnings. Nick Spangler is originally from Northern California and is no stranger to acting. He has been acting since he was 5 years old. His debut role was a far cry from his current one: he played a munchkin in a production of the Wizard of Oz. Now, Nick can be seen playing "Matt" the young male lover in The Fantasticks. His character is duped into falling in love. His father conspires along with "Louisa's" father to make the match. The show remains a hit with audiences including such great hits as "Try To Remember."

Mr. Spangler teamed up on "The Amazing Race" with his sister, who is named "Starr Spangler" (yes...that is her real name! Nick smiles). His sister really was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, a fact that Nick both laments and loves. He describes her career as a "double-edged sword:" he loves bragging about her but doesn't enjoy hearing what fans yell at the cheerleaders during games (he describes their language as "kind of disturbing.")

So how exactly did he and his sister end up on the Emmy winning reality TV show? According to Nick, his sister called him up while he was working on a show in Denver and asked him to make an audition tape with her. She actually flew to meet him and together they made an audition video in one night! Nick tells Broadway.tv in an exclusive interview that in the video they tried to "showcase our personalities and relationship with each other and our sense of humor."

Nick describes his reality TV experience and the audition process as "kind of surreal." After a callback, they went on the show, along with a number of other couples. Mr. Spangler really appreciated how these couples were very varied, from different backgrounds and lifestyles. One couple was a hippie couple living on a blueberry farm! Nick believes that he and his sister had a distinct advantage from these other couples; they were already best friends and the "family thing aided" them. They knew each other better than some of the other teams and could easily overcome difficulties that arose.

Nick sees some parallels between his "Amazing Race" experience and The Fantasticks. Both are highly acclaimed and successful; "The amazing Race has won the Emmy award for best reality TV show all 5 times the award was given out and The Fantasticks had an unprecedented run when it first opened." So, did he win "The Amazing Race"? Nick's lips are sealed. We'll just have to watch and see whether his success on the show will be as great as his success off-Broadway. Go Nick and Starr, we're rooting for you. Get more insight on The Fantaticks and The Amazing Race straight from Nick by watching the video feature on www.Broadway.tv.