TCU alum ‘bleeds purple’ on some of Broadway’s biggest stages

There's no missing the Horned Frog memorabilia in the "star" dressing room of the Shubert Theatre. A “Go Frogs” sticker is fixed to the center of a mirror. Another sticker — a purple football helmet with white "TCU" letters — is in the top left corner. A purple and white gnome sporting a TCU hat hangs from the ceiling.

Ben Thompson was here.

Some of Broadway's greatest stars, including Liza Minnelli, Robert Guillaume and John Travolta, have walked the halls and graced the Shubert's stage. Thompson performed in 2013, as Miss Trunchbull in the musical "Matilda."

Ben Thompson as Miss Trunchbull in "Matilda" on Broadway holding his dog, Gus. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)
Ben Thompson as Miss Trunchbull in "Matilda" on Broadway holding his dog, Gus. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

Thompson, 41, is known for wearing a black ball cap emblazoned with purple TCU letters and throwing the "Go Frogs" hand sign when taking curtain calls.

“I bleed purple,” said the Oklahoma native, who graduated in the fall of 2003.

He grew up around the theater world. His older sisters performed in "Annie." His grandparents ran a small theater in Stillwater, Oklahoma. When Thompson performed as the leader of the Lollypop Guild in the "Wizard of Oz" for Theatre Tulsa, he was 8 years old.

Thompson (right) and his sister, Hallie (left), in The Wizard of Oz for Theatre Tulsa dressed as munchkins. Hallie also graduated from TCU. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)
Thompson (right) and his sister, Hallie (left), in The Wizard of Oz for Theatre Tulsa dressed as munchkins. Hallie also graduated from TCU. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

His love of theatre was sealed at TCU. He declared it his major after being cast in "Jesus Christ Superstar."

His TCU theatre professors never doubted his talent.

Thomas Walsh and Harry Parker both said they immediately recognized his natural talent when he first graced the Hays Theatre stage at TCU.

Walsh explained, “When you try to describe the ideal student and alum who represents the best of what TCU stands for, well, a simple but accurate answer would be: Ben Thompson."

Thompson also performed in "A Funny Thing Happened in the way to the Forum" (Pseudolus), "My Fair Lady" (Freddy Eynsford Hill) and "Red Hot and Blue" (multiple roles) at TCU.

A December graduate, he arrived in New York City in January of 2004 in the middle of a snowstorm. It took six years, odd jobs and plenty of dead-end auditions before Thompson made it to Broadway.

After weathering the pandemic by producing content from his basement to pay the bills, Thompson was among the first wave of actors to return Broadway. Although now with a young family and a home in New Jersey, his goals are shifting.

Ben Thompson takes a mirror selfie in the star dressing room at the Shubert Theatre before getting ready to play Miss Trunchbull in "Matilda." His room is decked out in TCU memorabilia. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)
Ben Thompson takes a mirror selfie in the star dressing room at the Shubert Theatre before getting ready to play Miss Trunchbull in "Matilda." His room is decked out in TCU memorabilia. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

Thompson is reprising the role of Earl in "Waitress" at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. He finished his first run in January of 2020, weeks before the coronavirus brought Broadway and the world to a screeching halt.

When Broadway reopened in June, "Waitress" was among several shows revived with the hope of pulling audiences back. Previews started on Sept. 2. Opening night was Oct. 19 with Jennifer Nettles starring as Jenna.

Thompson's Broadway credits include "American Idiot" (ensemble), "Matilda" (Trunchbull) and "Holler If Ya Hear Me" (Griffy).

“You never know that someone is going to make it because the odds are so astronomical, and there are so many things that are out of your hands,” Parker said. “What you can be is talented, trained, prepared and skilled. You can learn the ropes of the business and you can have a kind of certainty, but then you have to be lucky. After all of that, you have to be lucky.”

Ben Thompson on Oct. 19 during his opening night of Waitress on Broadway. Thompson plays Earl and shows off his character's "Medieval" font tattoo. The show made its return after pausing on January 5, 2020. (Photo by Bruce Glikas, courtesy of Ben Thompson)
Ben Thompson on Oct. 19 during his opening night of Waitress on Broadway. Thompson plays Earl and shows off his character's "Medieval" font tattoo. The show made its return after pausing on January 5, 2020. (Photo by Bruce Glikas, courtesy of Ben Thompson)

“I bleed purple,” Thompson said. Even in the big city, he is a Horned Frog at heart.

It snowed a foot and a half the day Thompson unloaded his U-Haul at his apartment in the Upper East Side on 81st Street.

“I was so bright-eyed and green when I moved to New York and coming from Tulsa and Fort Worth and moving to one of the biggest cities in the world, it was a steep learning curve,” Thompson said.

Growing up in Oklahoma, Thompson spent weekends in Stillwater, the “boondocks,” with his cousin. They hung out in cow pastures and drove a pickup truck through empty fields at night.

In high school, Thompson was the captain of the football team and the lead in the school play. He had a passion for football, but there was nothing like the stage. His classmates voted him most likely to be caught singing in the halls.

_{Photo: The Manhattan skyline. (Haeven Gibbons/Staff Writer)}

The cast of "Waitress" on opening night 2021. (Photo by Bruce Glikas, courtesy of Ben Thompson)

Ben Thompson and his cousin in Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

The Ethel Barrymore Theatre. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

The road to Broadway

In 2008, four years after Thompson arrived in New York, he booked the workshop of "American Idiot." The musical — adapted from Green Day's 2004 concept album of the same name — is about young Americans trying to find meaning in a post-9/11 world.

It opened in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre before moving to Broadway on April 20, 2010 with Thompson in the ensemble.

The "American Idiot" cast at the St. James Theatre with Green Day in 2010. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)
The "American Idiot" cast at the St. James Theatre with Green Day in 2010. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

Cast members from "American Idiot" pose on the red carpet at opening night. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson.)
Cast members from "American Idiot" pose on the red carpet at opening night. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson.)

“It took me six years of grinding,” Thompson said. “I did some tours and regional shows, but those were for the experience. I was happy to be working, but it wasn't what I ultimately wanted.”

The experience was humbling. At TCU, Thompson had landed lead roles with ease.

“So, I moved to New York with talent, but no humility,” Thompson said. “This business can humble you really quick, and it did.”

Some days he would go to three or four auditions, but few called him back. During an unlucky streak in 2007, he went to 42 auditions and didn’t get one “yes.”

"Every audition was like playing the lottery," Thompson said. "You hope you get that big job that puts you on the map, but it has to be the right show, at the right time, with the right people willing to take a chance on you knowing you’ve never done a Broadway show before."

To make ends meet, Thompson took on odd jobs.

One of his side hustles was alphabetizing eight years’ worth of emails in the basement of a law firm.

“It was awful, but I did what I needed to do,” Thompson said. “I didn't want to give up on this dream that I had, and thankfully, I didn't.”

Thompson's perseverance eventually led to success.

“Ben listened to that voice inside of him that said, ‘Not only do I want to do this, but I think I can do this, and I believe I’ll be successful,’” Parker said.

A roll of show posters sits on the ground next to his makeshift studio in the basement of his suburban home. Thompson slides the rubber band off the poster: "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring John Sticatta."

Two signatures in black sharpie are scrawled in cursive, “Ben Thompson” and “Kat Nejat."

Thompson can't figure out what year they met on tour.

“Was it 2006 or ‘07?”

The poster isn't dated.

“But we were just platonic,” Thompson said. “We talked to each other like family. What was great about it was that neither of us was trying to impress each other."

The two were already in relationships, relationships that “fell apart” while they were on tour, Thompson said. When the tour ended, Thompson made what he thought was the obvious move and asked Nejat out.

She said no.

“Absolutely not. No. You're younger than me, and I don't want to date an actor,” Thompson said, mimicking Nejat’s response.

Nejat made her debut on Broadway in "West Side Story" in 2009. She is still the only woman to ever play both Anita and Maria on Broadway in the history of the show.

He said he told her, “Ok, look, you go date anyone you want. I'm not going to. I'm going to wait until you are ready for us to date, and you'll come around.”

Still a no.

But after a date with a doctor, he said she realized, ‘I have this person that knows me better than my family. Why don't I give him a shot?’

She called.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Thompson answered. “Want to come over, and I'll make you dinner?”

“Ok, I'll do it.”

“I'm going to warn you, though, I’m a really good cook. You’re gonna fall in love with me.”

She did.

The two married each other in 2010 and had a daughter together who was born in 2017.

Thompson's career has stretched beyond the stage.

His film credits include "Leverage: Redemption," "Single Drunk Female," "Chicago PD," "Little Voice," "Law & Order: SVU," "Daredevil," "Bull," "The Seagull" and "Freedom." Thompson has vocals in "The Greatest Showman," "Dear Evan Hansen," "tick, tick... Boom!," "In the Heights," "Vivo" and the "Sesame Street" podcast "Foley and Friends."

“He was obviously extremely talented,” Parker said. “Ben is full of energy, and he loves life. He is an upbeat guy. He is an optimist, and I think that has served him well because the profession is so hard.”

_{Photo: Ben Thompson holds up TCU's hand sign on stage. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)}

Without those six years of hard work to make it on Broadway and those unlucky streaks of constantly being told “no,” Thompson said he wouldn't have been able to handle the last year like he did.

“It taught me how to be resilient and got me ready for that wonder of, ‘What's next, what’s next, what’s next?’”

Broadway had its final curtain call in March of 2020, and the stage lights went dark for 19 months.

Acting from home

Thompson, Kat and their daughter live in West Orange, New Jersey, or "Broadway West."

Miguel Cervantes, Hamilton in "Hamilton"; Jenna Claire, Glinda the good witch in "Wicked"; and James Snyder, Harry Potter in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" all live within five minutes of Thompson.

Thompson's family made the move to the suburbs after "Waitress" had its final bow in January 2020. But within months COVID-19 threatened to shatter their security.

Thompson and Kat have always had side hustles to help meet expenses. Thompson was a cycling class instructor; Kat doubled as a makeup artist. But the pandemic stopped it all.

“Not only did our main jobs go away, our side hustles did too,” Thompson said.

He and Kat turned into sound engineers, lighting designers, camera operators, directors of photography and acting coaches.

“We had to do self-takes,” Thompson said.

After putting their daughter to sleep, they spent hours filming auditions. They had to set up the lights, the camera, the sound and make sure the file was the right size before sending it off with the hope of landing a job.

“I'm a father and husband first, and I had to find a way to take care of my family,” Thompson said.

But weeks into the shutdown, Thompson got an email from composer Alex Lacamoire.

“Hey Ben, what’s your home studio setup? I need to record some stuff, and we’re looking for people with home studios.”

Lacamoire is a three-time Tony and three-time Grammy winner for his work on the Broadway musicals "Hamilton," "Dear Evan Hansen" and "In The Heights."

There was only one answer: “Yeah, I totally have it set up.”

That wasn't true. Thompson’s 288-square-foot basement, soon-to-be studio, was filled with moving boxes waiting to be unpacked.

He called his best friend, Christopher Jackson, who was George Washington in the original "Hamilton" cast. The two acted in "Holler If Ya Hear Me" and Thompson has guest starred on "Bull" with Jackson, who plays Chunk Palmer in the main cast of the CBS television drama.

“What do I do?”

“Here's the deal, give me 10 minutes, call me back.”

Ten minutes later, Thompson called back.

Jackson told him to come to his house to pick up a mic, but when Thompson got there, Jackson gave him a computer, a keyboard, a guitar, a bass and a mic.

“What are you doing?” Thompson asked.

“I just put in my new studio, so I have all this stuff. Just take it.”

Thompson went home and set up the makeshift studio.

Ben Thompson's at-home studio, complete with a TCU coaster. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)
Ben Thompson's at-home studio, complete with a TCU coaster. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

“It was already a competitive market and then when nobody has work, it's even more competitive because people are less likely to pass on a job,” Thompson said. “And, I think, a lot of us went through almost an identity crisis.”

Thompson thought about going back to school to become a psychologist.

Jackson wouldn’t let him.

“He said, ‘Ben, this is what you do every time you don't have a job,’” Thompson recalled Jackson telling him. “You start thinking you’ll never work again and that you need to find something else, but you're an artist. Be an artist. Create something, write something, make some music tonight. Just figure out a way to do that, and it will cultivate something eventually.”

Ben Thompson and his best friend, Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington in "Hamilton," at the "Hamilton" opening night party. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)
Ben Thompson and his best friend, Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington in "Hamilton," at the "Hamilton" opening night party. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)

And it did.

Thompson got in touch with Bill Sherman, the musical supervisor of Sesame Street, and started singing songs for the podcast, “Foley and Friends.”

He recorded vocals for an Apple Plus movie, "In the Heights," "Vivo," "Dear Evan Hansen," "tick, tick... boom!," Rent’s 25-year anniversary and "American Idiot’s" 10-year anniversary.

He made over 20 audition tapes, and the self-filmed auditions landed him two TV shows.

“It’s been fascinating and also really special to see how cool it is when everyone does work together, how much you can get done,” Thompson said. “When people make the decision to care for one another and care for the final product and make a commitment to each other, things get done really well.”

Back on the train

It's October. Thompson runs down the stairs of Penn Station and swipes his metro card, just in time for the 11 p.m. express train back to Jersey.

“Broadway was the goal, and I made it and then becoming a principal actor, not just in the ensemble, became my next goal, and my goals are constantly shifting on to what's next and how can it not only help my career but help my family. My decisions now are no longer career-centric,” Thompson said.

One of Thompson’s anxieties about things reopening is that he will see his daughter less.

“I don't like the fact I’m only going to see her for about three hours a day,” Thompson said.

Their “daddy-daughter days” are going to happen less often.

“It’s daddy-daughter beach day! It's daddy-daughter beach day!” the two chanted in the car on the way to the beach in late September.

The skies were clear, the weather warm. The sun kissed their faces as they walked along the beach looking for seashells to take home to Kat.

“Spending time just the two of us is so rare,” Thompson said. “I love that kid and I would do anything for her, and I live for more moments like that. I hold onto them tightly.”

_{Photo: The Ethel Barrymore Theatre. (Photo courtesy of Ben Thompson)}

Rah, Rah, TCU!

Thompson said he will never forget what TCU and Casa Manana, a local Fort Worth theater that Thompson worked at throughout college, did to help him accomplish his dream.

When Thompson walked on to TCU’s campus in the fall of 2000, his major was undeclared. He was thinking about becoming a business or political science major.

Still, he auditioned for "Jesus Christ Superstar."

“I was here during that production of 'Jesus Christ Superstar,'” Walsh, one of his old professors, said. “Sometimes you get a student who comes in with a high acting IQ. That is, the student has a natural ability to know how to work in a rehearsal or a class or in performance and to find the truth and inner life of a character. Ben Thompson was one of those rare students.”

Thompson had a major.

“They were like, ‘You're not a theatre major? Who are you?’ ” Thompson said.

Parker, another one of Thompson's old professors, said one of the joys and pleasures of doing college theater is that it's a time when people are searching, experimenting and exploring what their interests might be.

After auditioning for and doing the show, Thompson realized he had found his people and his true passion.

“Ben knew instinctively how to command the stage,” Walsh said. “And our job was to get him into our program at TCU and teach him to understand the ethics and history of our profession, the expectations of a professional in our profession, and the fundamental skills and vocabulary of a ‘triple threat’ - actor, singer, dancer. He embraced our program and didn't look back.”

“Professors at TCU really cultivated my love for acting, and they played a big part in me feeling like I could do it,” Thompson said.

Thompson can't resist representing TCU on the big Broadway stages.

“I've seen Ben take several bows on Broadway and he’s usually flashing the frog horns at bows,” Parker said.

“I don't feel like I'm just representing myself up there," Thompson said. "I'm representing everywhere I've come from and, by far, the biggest impact I've had was while I was at TCU, and without TCU and without Casa Manana in Fort Worth, I never would have had the education, I never would have had the belief in myself, so I do it to raise awareness for TCU because the school deserves more credit than it gets."