THERE’LL be no summer vacation this year for ‘Party of Five” cutie-pie Scott Wolf.
Instead of sailing around Catalina Island, loafing in the south of France or doing whatever it is that TV stars do during their summer hiatus, Wolf is braving the treacherous terrain of Broadway, jumping in to try and help save the acclaimed but struggling play, ‘Side Man.”
Its producers are hoping the one-two punch of tourist-friendly Wolf and a Tony nomination for Best Play will boost the show’s sagging box office and propel it through the summer.
That’s a heavy load for any actor to carry, as Wolf, charming, earnest and low-key in person, is the first to admit.
‘It certainly adds another layer to what I’m doing,” Wolf, 30, says. ‘It’s another obstacle to overcome. I know they’re hoping I’ll bring in people who might know me from television. I hope I will. But I can’t get too involved in the business aspect of the show. Somebody asked me the other day how is the box office doing and, truthfully, I don’t know.”
For Wolf, the chance to star in ‘Side Man” – even if it means facing New York’s notoriously tough drama critics – was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
‘It’s a great play and I needed a break from Hollywood,” he says. ‘I’m not one to bash Hollywood – it’s been good to me, certainly – but there is a part of me that can get too comfortable doing television. ‘Party of Five’ is a good show, well-written and contemporary. But let’s be honest, it’s not ‘Hamlet.’ ”
Flashing a grin that makes teen-age girls around the globe swoon, he adds: ‘So here I am, willing to subject myself to annihilation.”
In fact, Wolf seems to be doing just fine. Company members report that he is hard-working and professional, free of the baggage that some Hollywood stars bring to the theater.
Wolf, who grew up in West Orange, N.J., says he’s tried hard to resist all the temptations that can come from gaining fame and fortune at such a young age.
‘The extracurricular stuff that goes on in Hollywood can be dangerous,” he says. ‘But my family instilled in me a good work ethic. I focus on my work and don’t drift off into the stuff that can get you in trouble.”
In ‘Side Man,” Wolf plays Clifford, a young man trying to come to terms with his dysfunctional parents. His mother is an alcoholic and his father is a jazz musician who, once the big band era comes to end, is unable to find another line of work.
Robert Sella played the part originally, followed by Christian Slater.
‘What appealed to me about this play is that it deals with an entire way of life that is being rendered obsolete,” Wolf says.
The play also resonates personally with Wolf. Like Clifford, he is the son of divorced parents.
‘Without getting too far into this, I can say that there are a lot of parallels between Clifford’s family and mine,” he says. ‘I understand this character because I grew up in a similar environment where I was forced to be an adult at a young age.”
Wolf says both his parents are coming to see him in the play.
‘There are a few scenes that might be a little cathartic for us,” he says. ‘But I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to be too difficult for them to watch.”