Toronto based Film, TV, and Theatre actor, George Krissa is Baring It All with Call Me Adam. He most recently starred in Hallmark's The Holiday Sitter alongside Jonathan Bennett, making history as the network's first ever LGBTQ+ lead romcom.

Now George is coming to New York City to make his cabaret debut at Chelsea Table & Stage on September 23, 2023.

In this interview, George is baring it all about:

• Creating his upcoming cabaret show
• Singing showtunes with Jonathan Bennett
• His love for potato chips
• Country Music
• Life on the Prairie
• So much more

More on George Krissa:

George Krissa is a Toronto based film, TV, and theatre actor. Most recently starring as Jason Devito in Hallmarks The Holiday Sitter alongside Jonathan Bennett, making history as the network's first ever LGBTQ+ lead romcom.

​As a musician, theatre artist, and actor, George has had the pleasure of performing for audiences across Canada and in the United States. Notable credits also include starring as Rocky in The Stratford Festival's record breaking production of The Rocky Horror Show, Tommy Albright in The Shaw Festival's production of Brigadoon and was the recipient of The Musical Stage Co.'s Banks Prize award for theatre artists.

George has appeared on screen in Hallmark's Roadtrip Romance, Lifetime's Trapped with my Husband, CBC's Coroner and Murdoch Mysteries, and Breakthrough Ent.'s The Dwelling.

Special Thanks:

• Dan Fortune, Fortune Creative
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg

Connect with Me:

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Mentioned in this episode:

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Hey everybody.

It's Adam, live and in person for you.

Hey everybody.

It's Adam Wonder who he'll interview.

Call Me Adam dot com.

Hey everybody.

I'm so excited to be back in the closet where I record all of my

podcast and video interviews.

Today, I get to speak with Toronto film, TV, and theatre actor, George Krissa, who

most recently starred as Jason DeVito in Hallmark's The Holiday Sitter, alongside

Jonathan Bennett, making history as Hallmark's first ever LGBTQ lead romcom.

Now George is coming to New York City to make his cabaret debut at Chelsea

Table and Stage on September 23rd.

And for those of you who don't know me, my name is Adam Rothenberg and for

the past 14 years I have been going behind the curtain with celebrities

from Broadway, film, and television.

With over 1, 500 interviews under my belt, I get my guests to reveal the

secrets of their lives and careers.

So without further ado, welcome George Krissa.

Hi, George.

Hi, thank you.

Secrets?

I don't know if I have any (George & Adam laugh).

We'll soon find out.

But let's start with the whole reason that brought us here together

today, and that is your cabaret debut at Chelsea Table & Stage.

So, what made now the right time to make your cabaret debut in New York City?

Well, I have, like, musical theatre and, and theatre is something that

I've been doing for ever, professionally, for the last, um, well, since I was 20 or

so, um, and after doing this movie, I've been kind of introduced to a whole new

audience and I get a lot of messages from people in New York and, um, and so I just

thought that it would be a great time to kind of take advantage of that and, um,

and reach some, some new people and, and show, uh, kind of the other side of the

coin, because I, I love singing and, um, reaching people through song, you know.

Well, that actually leads perfectly into my next question,

which is what do you get from music that you don't get from acting?

Musical theatre and stuff like it is it is acting.

So like, I get the same, um, I love to tell stories.

So I get that, that same kind of, um, rush and satisfaction from that.

But, what's different about, um, being on stage versus, um, being on set is when

you're on stage, you get instant feedback, you know, if a joke lands, people laugh,

if, if they don't like it, they leave, or they boo, or you hear, or you hear them

starting to look through their programs, and you're like, oh, I'm starting to

lose people, so you, there's that, and there's that connection that you get,

just, you know, when you're singing, you can look into, into someone's eyes, and,

um, there's a, a real personal connection that, um, you, a personal connection with

the audience that you don't necessarily get, um, through TV and, and film.

Yeah, and what's, and what's funny about, TV is that it, um, you do it,

and it, and it's great, and you're happy with how it went, I, you think?

And then, you have to wait such a long time before you see the finished

product, and you have to wait even longer before you can, you know, see,

if its, if its had an impact on people.

So, um, yeah, I'm, I'm, I love being on stage, the best.

Oh, that's awesome.

Well, we are very excited that you are coming to New York City for this cabaret.

Now, out of all the cabaret venues in New York City, how did you choose

Chelsea Table & Stage to be the place to make your New York City Cabaret debut.

The one and only?

Well, I, um, I saw, so last year I saw, um, IT, the parody musical there.

And I was like, oh, this is kind of a cool space.

And then.

Um, uh, Steven Brinberg, who's a cabaret artist, invited me to sing a song with

him, um, this past, uh, May, while we were in town for the GLAAD Awards.

And, um, so I got to, to sing a song there, and it's just, it's

such a beautiful venue, and the people were really nice, and it was

just a really relaxed atmosphere.

And, um, you know, because it's a restaurant, the lights are low, but

you can still, still see people, and they're right at the edge of

the stage there, so you can...

Um, again, get that instant feedback and if they don't like it, they

can throw their dinner at me.

So it's kind of perfect.

Well, I hope you didn't get hit with any food.

No, they, luckily they didn't have very good

aim (George and Adam Laugh).

Or you had great reflexes.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

That one.

Yeah.

I did dodge that really fast.

Yeah.

Now, which, um, now according to press notes,

this show is, um, the title of this show is "Love Notes."

And it takes us on a whirlwind ride through the worlds of

Broadway, Pop and Country Music.

Now, what, um, what was the first song or the first story that

you knew had to be in this show?

Oh, what was the first one?

Well, I knew, so I wanted to incorporate, um, some, like a little

bit of the things that I've, I've done in the past, and I, I generally

play a lot of, um, romantic characters and the leading men type things.

And so I wanted to, uh.

For people who maybe haven't been in Canada, they get to

see, um, some of those things.

So I, I recently did, um, there's a couple of beautiful theatre festivals

in Canada called the Stratford Festival and, um, the Shaw Festival.

Uh, and so I recently did Brigadoon at the Shaw recently, 2019.

So I really wanted to incorporate, uh, or include, um, a song from

that, my favorite one from the show called "There But For You Go I."

And, um.

Yeah, I called it "Love Notes" because that's, I, that's kind of the theme

running through all of it is, uh, is love.

It's not, like, that sounds, I'm gonna be honest, that sounds really cheesy.

Heheheheheheh It's not, it's not cheesy, it's um, it's just a collection

of songs that I love and that I...

Um, that touched me and then I, I think will, um, other people will enjoy as well.

And I wanted, and so I'm also including a song, uh, from Moulin Rouge, the

musical, because um, Jonathan and I, Jonathan Bennett and I would

sing Moulin Rouge in the makeup trailer at the beginning of the day.

So I just, I thought I'd, um, bring something that, like that in.

So yeah, like different, uh, all my, some different projects throughout

my life I'm including a song from.

Oh my God, that's amazing.

Yeah.

And I love that you and Jonathan sang songs at the

beginning of the day in your trailer.

Oh yeah, no, he is a huge, probably a bigger

musical theater nerd than me.

He knows all the words to everything.

I mean, he dressed up as, um, Elphaba from Wicked for Halloween.

Yeah.

And, uh, and he knew the arm choreography.

Like he's, he's like, he's the, he's the real deal when it

comes to being a theatre fan.

So, yeah.

And actually he put the musical on.

He put musicals on.

Not, not even me, which is kind of crazy.

Oh my God.

Now, what do you hope, um, audiences, when they come to see you on September 23rd,

what do you hope they will learn about you from this show that they can't get,

maybe say if they went to look at your website or they went on your Instagram?

I hope that we, that we go on a little journey together.

I hope that they feel something and I hope that they, um, enjoy the music

because I, I truly, singing is a great passion and a great joy of mine.

I went to school for music.

That was kind of my gateway into the business was I wanted to sing, first of

all, and I was like, I'm not going to be a solo artist, I'm not going to be a pop

star, so the best way to do singing is to do musicals, because you get to sing.

And then, um, I realized how much I loved acting.

And, um, so, yeah, I hope that we get to go on a little journey together and

we get to share some beautiful music.

I love it.

And what did you discover about yourself in putting this show together?

Uh, what did I discover about myself?

Um, that picking songs is hard, like narrowing down songs is hard because, you

know, there's so many beautiful songs that I would love to do and, um, whittling it

down to, you know, your favorite 12 or 13, but then also thinking about the flow of

the show so that it's not, um, 12 ballads in a row that make everyone fall asleep.

Um, so yeah, I discovered that, uh, I don't know if I just, this is

something I already knew, but that it's picking rep is, it's hard.

Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

Now, one artist I just discovered that we both love is country

artist Deana, Deana Carter.

Yeah.

You did an amazing cover of Strawberry Wine.

Thank you.

Which you have a snippet on your Instagram.

Um, I mean, what is it, um, like, what is it about her and her

music that you resonate with?

Well, you know, I'm from a really small town in Canada

called Lashburn, Saskatchewan.

Uh huh.

Um, which, and, like, Saskatchewan is, is the prairies.

It's like the Texas, Canada.

And so, I grew up on country music.

And, um, I would take the school bus in the morning and "Strawberry Wine"

would be, it would be on all the time.

And so it just, it, uh, it just, it just reminds me of, of my, my prairie

days of, of simpler times when.

Yeah, you could just ride the school bus and then, and then you'd meet your

dog at the end of the driveway and then you'd go watch some cartoons.

Like, wasn't that fun?

Yes.

Yeah, and there's just something so beautiful about

that, that song in particular too.

Um, the melody, since I was little, has always, has always struck me

as, as really, really beautiful.

Now with the cabaret show, is this maybe, is this

potentially like a springboard into...

Something more with music, like maybe recording an album?

Um, oh, uh, maybe.

This kind of button in the back of my mind is something that I've always kind

of wanted to do, but, um, you know, it's time and finding the right people to work

with, and like, I do write my own songs, but I, I don't share them very often.

I feel like so much of this business is putting yourself out there, um, to be...

commented on or to be, you know, reviewed.

And I love writing songs, but that's, that's just, uh, so far, that's just

for me because no one can tell me that they're not good if they can't hear it.

So...

That is true.

That is true.

But, people also can't tell you how amazing they are if they can't hear it.

That's also true.

So, yeah, so at this point, like maybe I would, um, I would record a couple

of songs just for, just for, just for, I've, I've always really wanted

to do some, some Christmas stuff, like to put out some Christmas songs.

So maybe, maybe that'll happen.

Well, put it on like your vision board and...

It'll come,

Yeah, I'll manifest it, I'll manifest it into being.

Exactly, exactly.

And do you have any pre show rituals when performing live?

No, I warm up and, uh, and then that's it.

And then I go and I sing.

There's, I feel like there's so many ways to, um, overcomplicate or overthink

things that we do in this crazy business.

Um, and my voice teacher, uh, did a show with Maggie Smith once, and, um,

he always says that she would always say, "Start before you're ready."

So, um, that's what I do.

Just start, just go, something's gonna happen.

That is, I've never heard that before, but I love that.

Isn't that great?

Yeah.

Start before you're ready.

Because then you're like, then you have time to overthink it and

then time to plan and things are always best when you don't plan.

So, um, yeah, start before you're ready.

How do you celebrate after a performance is over?

Oh, chips.

Always, always chips.

Like chips are for when you're happy and celebrating.

Chips are for when you're sad.

Chips are for when you're bored.

Chips are for when you're watching TV or in a car.

Any specific kind of chips?

Uh, I love a kettle cooked.

Um, I love a chips and dip.

I love a popcorn.

I love a Dorito.

Um, And then like, the flavors bear in.

De Depending on what we're celebrating or how sad we are (Adam & George Laugh).

I love that.

I love that.

And somehow yet you manage to stay so physically fit.

I work out as much as I do exclusively so that I can eat garbage.

And I'm like, I wish I was kidding.

No, I, I Workout so that I can eat bad food.

I love it.

I love garbage food.

That is best answer.

So I do I do have to ask you a few questions about "The Holiday Sitter"

because I'm sure anybody watching if I did not ask some specific questions

about it I would get a lot of angry people commenting, so to avoid that.

Yeah

What was your biggest mishap to happen while filming?

Like, was there a missed line, a wardrobe malfunction?

Oh, God.

Awkward.

Missed lines?

Missed lines, probably?

Not that I can remember.

Um, wardrobe malfunctions?

No.

It, but we were also shooting in Vancouver in August and I was in, I would

have, I would have my long pants, a t shirt, a cardigan, a jacket and scarf.

And it was like, I don't know what this is in Fahrenheit, but

it was like 35 degrees Celsius.

So it was hot, hot, hot.

And um, I'd be like, you know, sweating through everything.

So wardrobe wise, that was a bit of a malfunction and

there's no way to stay cool.

You just gotta, this is just how it is.

You're just, you're just too hot now.

Um, and, uh, malfunction wise, Jonathan is the best kind of nuts.

Uh huh.

Yeah, and, um, so just watching him, like, goof around and, and

play and try stuff and, uh, make bits and see if they landed and...

Okay, so the last thing I heard was Jonathan is crazy in a good way.

And he's always trying to do bits and stuff, and then that's where it ends.

Yeah, so, um, so, we would, uh, like, so, watching him,

like, try bits and see what lands and see what people laugh at and

stuff, that was, that was, that was, uh, the best kind of chaos, I guess.

Was there a particular, did he play any jokes on you?

Was there anything, like, a really, like, juicy behind the scenes thing

that he did that, that you remember?

Well, I remember, like, watching from, uh, the monitors, like, I

think it made it into the movie, but he was, like, trying stuff with them, uh,

after we meet, after we, we meet each other the first time, uh, he's, like,

in the living room, and he's, like, playing with stuff, and he, like, flips

over some, some Christmas balls, um, and, uh, everyone behind the camera went

and, um, yeah, that was pretty funny.

I like it.

There was, that was like one of like 15 things that he tried.

I'm sure that there was like specific jokes that he, he played,

but because there were so many, I don't think that I can remember it.

Do you know what I mean?

Yes.

Yes.

I completely understand.

Yeah.

Well, I just have a few last questions, um, before we wrap up.

So I have a few rapid fire questions for you.

Okay.

Oh my gosh.

These make my brain paralyzed.

Okay.

Okay.

I'm ready.

Hopefully they won't be too hard (George & Adam Laugh).

Uh, coffee or tea?

Coffee.

And how do you take it?

And how do you take it?

Uh, one cream, one sugar.

Perfect.

Or one milk, one sugar, or one oat milk and no sugar.

Those are my three.

See?

But see, I can't do rapid fire because I like options (George Laughs).

Um, boxers or briefs?

Boxer briefs.

Summer vacation or winter retreat?

Summer.

Winter is terrible.

Yeah.

I, like, no, I'm, I, like, it's winter, eight months

out of the year up here in Canada, and it's, it's a nightmare.

I hate it.

No, summer everything.

I live in the wrong place.

Yeah (George Laughs).

That's actually for the rapid fire questions.

That's it?

Just a few.

Wait, give me some more.

I want some more.

Okay, um, Superman or Wonder Woman?

Oh, Henry Cavill.

He's like my hero.

So, yeah, Henry Cavill as Superman.

Gotcha.

Um, Batman or Robin?

Oh, Batman.

You don't have to think of more.

That was just fun (George and Adam Laugh).

I could keep going.

Yes.

Um, but I do end, uh, I do end all of my

interviews with this question.

Okay.

So, my podcast is called Baring It All with Call Me Adam.

So, if you could bear it all and reveal something about yourself that you have

not talked about in a previous interview, what would you share with me today?

In another life, I would love to be, like, a professional merman.

I love that.

Yeah, no, I grew up, I was a competitive swimmer growing up,

and I love being in water, and um, I love swimming, and and, uh, and, like,

there's people that are actually, like, it's their job to be mermaids and, like,

swim around and, and, like, I don't know what they do, but they, like, swim

in the ocean and take videos of it.

I just think that would be so much fun.

To just, like, swim.

I don't know what to say.

That sounds so lame.

No, that sounds amazing.

Yeah, no, and the other thing, I'm not, I'm not at all, um, cool.

So, that's another thing that no one maybe knows.

I'm not at all cool or anything like that, so.

Oh my god, I would disagree.

This has been so much fun.

And I do have a confession of my own, speaking of Merman.

I mean, growing up, I loved swimming.

It was my favorite activity.

I used to, when I would swim, I used to pretend that I was

Aquaman swimming underwater.

And I would be like, you know, calling all my fish friends and everything.

I'd come like, swim with me and catch the bad guys.

I'm totally on board with the whole merman.

Well, yeah, cause like, I feel like when you're underwater

like that, that's, that's as close as any human will ever be to fly.

Like that's what flying would feel like, I think.

Because you're like, you're weightless, you can go wherever you want.

You can like, You're not stuck on, on, so yeah, I think that would be, I think

that would be really, really cool.

My favorite movie was Splash, do you remember with Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks?

Of course, yes.

Yeah, and um, there's a particular, particular scene where she's

like, she like sneaks into the bathtub in the middle of the night and she like puts

her feet in the water and she gets a tail.

Yes.

I would watch that over and over, I'd like rewind it and watch

it cause I was like, Oh, maybe if I put my feet in the water, but it has

to be salt water, but I don't know.

Alas, they just stayed legs.

Yes.

And Tom Hanks is banging on the door, Madison, what's going on?

Yeah, get out.

And then she's like, I just, yeah, just give me a second.

I'll be right out.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I used to pretend that I was Madison too, swimming underwater and...

Yeah, I think we all did.

I always look over if I'm on a boat or something

being like, is she there?

Should I jump in the water and see if she's there?

Love that.

She's never there.

Never.

Never.

Never there.

Oh my gosh.

Well, this has been so much fun talking to you.

Yeah, likewise.

Thank you, and everybody listening and watching, you have to come

see George Krissa in his cabaret debut at Chelsea Table and Stage on September 23rd.

I will have the ticket link on my website at Call Me Adam dot com, and we can't

wait to see you sing your heart out.

Yeah!

I'll see you there.

I'm so excited.

Me too.

Thank you again.

Yeah, thanks for having me.

Alright, have a good day everybody.

He'll get the dirt and the scoop and the story For he happens

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business of show Call Me Adam dot com