Spotlight On: Cole Urso

Connecticut Theatre Company’s “Spotlight On…” series continues with a look into our talented cast and crew of Guys and Dolls. Get to know Cole Urso!

Introduce Yourself to Our Audience:

How you doing? My name is Cole Urso.

What character do you play?

I’ll be playing Benny Southstreet.

What makes you most excited about returning to the stage after the pandemic?

What makes me the most excited about returning to the stage since the pandemic has to be that this is going to be my first time on stage in about two years. Since then I’ve done a lot more on-camera work as well as a cruise contract that was cut way too short due to Covid. And as someone who loves musical theatre and the thrill of being on stage, this was a long time coming.

Who is your favorite character in Guys and Dolls?

My favorite character in Guys and Dolls has to be Nathan Detroit. I’ve always found his character to be very charming and funny. The writing of his scenes are witty and he has so many little side moments to himself or with Adelaide that can be very relatable and just make you laugh. His mix of physical and timing comedy make him a very fun and funny character to watch up on stage. Our Nathan, Noah, has a great grasp of this character and brings him to life beautifully.

What are you most excited for our audience to experience while watching our first production in over a year?

What shouldn’t the audience be excited about when coming to see this show? It’s live theatre for the first time in over a year! And aside from that, Guys and Dolls is a classic that many people love. According to the production team, this show has some of the most dancing this theater has done in a while. So with that, the audience should definitely be excited to see some beautiful dancers as well as actors that can sing and act their faces off.

Who inspired your love of the theater? And why?

My love for theatre started off self induced. I was a very enthusiastic and passionate kid who loved making home videos in front of a green screen or as time progressed, for every school project I did. But, I definitely have to give my sister some credit for getting me to come out and audition for my high school musical sophomore year; for none other than Guys and Dolls. I had done a few shows prior but I wasn’t extremely invested in doing them all the time. Considering I didn’t audition for the shows my freshman year. After that, I continued to do all the shows while still managing to participate in athletics. The more shows I did, the more I fell in love with it. I ended up getting my BFA in musical theatre after that. I’ve never taken my foot off the gas pedal since then, and I don’t plan to stop any time soon.

With music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, Guys and Dolls opens June 11th and runs through June 27th at Connecticut Theatre Company. Tickets on sale now!