Bruce L. Hart is an actor, writer, and film and theater producer living in the Los Angeles area. He is best known for his work in independent LGBTQ+ feature film and TV projects such as Reveal, Homewrecker, Old Dogs and New Tricks, Where the Bears Are, and many others. Bruce has worked with some very famous people, especially in the LGBTQ+ arena, including Greg Louganis (four-time Olympic gold-medal winner), Rutanya Alda (Mommie Dearest, Deer Hunter), Tom Sizemore (Natural Born Killers), Ian Roberts (Openly gay Australian rugby player and actor) and more.
He has been dubbed an “Internet Phenomenon” because of the number of projects he’s appeared in that are available on streaming services. And now he’s just wrapped a turn on the Los Angeles stage in a reboot of a show he did twenty years ago.
The last time we chatted you had posted a picture of yourself online along with the caption “Seeking Employment”. Did that lead to any acting jobs?
That was really intended to be a joke and an homage to a publicity stunt the late Bette Davis pulled when she was seeking work in the 1960s. And yes, I did get some acting jobs as a result. Last year I appeared in a crime drama series I Met My Murderer Online for CBS, playing a rapist of all things, and then I appeared in a new Prime horror film, House of Karma, playing a creepy priest in a nightmare sequence, which was a lot of fun! And most recently, of course, I appeared in the stage show It Started with a Lie at the Long Beach Playhouse in Long Beach, California.
What was it like doing stage acting as opposed to film? And you did this show a long time ago as well didn’t you?
I’ll answer the second question first. We first produced It Started With a Lie back in 1999 and it ran off and on through 2001. Three years!! It was a huge hit in Hollywood at the Hudson Theatre Complex. It finally closed as the audiences inevitably waned but it was a lot of fun doing a long-running show. And to answer your first question, stage acting is MUCH harder than film acting. The amount of energy required for a stage show is tremendous. And then you have to rehearse it for several weeks and then perform it several nights a week. I was joking to my producing partner Paul Vander Roest that with the amount of time we invested bringing this show to the stage again we could have made a film! But of course, we had tremendous fun with this production!
What is It Started With a Lie about? It sounds naughty!
It is naughty! Lots of cute guys and fun sexy situations. It is really a farce. An in-your-face, door slamming gay bedroom comedy about gay couples in the suburbs and a non-FDA approved liquid herbal Viagra that accidentally gets swapped for a popular sports drink. Of course, you can imagine the fun that ensues—lots of bedroom gymnastics and other naughty fun. When we did the show “way back when” technology such as texting and of course iPhones did not exist. Come to think of it, Marriage Equality hadn’t happened either. So, we gave the show a serious face lift and managed to work in some fun riffs on things like Siri and voice texting that gets messed up. The audiences must have loved it based on the robust ticket sales. We sold out the theatre on Superbowl Sunday! Imagine that!
Did you learn anything from doing this revival of your show?
Personally, I fell back in love with my character Vince McCormick whom I played in the original production. I was too young for the role back then and now I’m exactly the right age. It was fun to play a comically conflicted couples therapist who couldn’t even commit to a relationship in his own life. And my producing partner and co-author Paul Vander Roest decided to play the role of Sam the witty and acerbic office manager in a law firm. I think we both relearned how to play to a live audience and how to get laughs. And of course, we worked with a bunch of very talented performers so we had the chance to learn a great deal from them as well. It was really a fun romp.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Yes, I want to spotlight the talented cast of this production of Lie. Noah Wagner played Nikoli, a very conservative CEO from the fictional country of Zoldavia, and his razor sharp comedic timing when he appeared in the second act just raised the stakes for all of us in the ensemble. We were fortunate to snag Noah because he’s a very popular LA stage actor. Robert Anaya who played Bobby, my character’s young boyfriend, nailed the comedy and innocence. I don’t want to hurt the feelings of the other actors who played this role in the past but Robert found a very endearing take on the role and won the audience’s hearts. Peter Szeliga, whom we’ve worked with in other stage productions and films (including Homewrecker) played the character also named Peter and really captured the audience with his genuine mid-life crisis pathos. Lawrence Ingalls played Elliott, his beleaguered spouse, and turned in a whimsical effortless job with his fun deadpan delivery. And Mark Piller (who has an impressive resume of stage and TV credits) played Dirk the sexy handyman. He found numerous ways to be both sexy and funny, which really added a punch to the production—especially when he whipped off his tank top like a porn star.
And of course our director Cat Elrod, who found amazing ways to enhance the fun! Paul (Vander Roest) and I were blown away by the energy and commitment each cast member brought to the production under Cat’s direction.
So you did a limited run of the show in Long Beach. What’s next for Lie?
Yes, we were very fortunate and performed the show at the Long Beach Playhouse—an absolute jewel of a theatre—it even has parking! We’re mulling over an opportunity to take the show to Palm Springs where I think it would be well received. But honestly I would rather turn the show into a film. When we first did this play in 1999 it was supposed to become a film but the funding fell through. Then one of our other popular stage shows, Naked Deception, received funding and became the film Homewrecker, which has had a huge streaming success. It was actually deemed one of the most streamed LGBTQ+ films during the pandemic. I would like to see Lie become a film as well. I think it would do very well in the LGBTQ+ streaming market. And honestly, I’m not sure I’m up to the rigors of another stage show!
When would you begin filming?
Not until 2024. We need time to take the stage script and turn it into something that can be filmed. Homewrecker was a farce onstage and we had to change a lot of it so that it would play in front of a camera. Lie will require the same thought process. However, my production company is going to film something later this year. We have two projects in development that are both holiday themed—one for Christmas and one for Halloween. Depending on logistics and budget we’ll make some decisions and go into production this summer with one of them. And I am very excited to get started!
Where can we get updates on your career and your upcoming projects?
The usual places on social media. I’m on Facebook as Bruce Hart. Instagram as Bruce384 and Twitter as @BruceLHart. My production company VanderHart Productions also uses wire services for production updates so we’ll be releasing more information soon. 2023 is really shaping up to be a great year!!
Not the Usual LICK Publicist! 27 yrs in the biz ~Worldwide! Actual Peer of the Realm~Unitarian Universalist Pragmatic Buddhist~ PROUD GAY Liberal
