With his background in musical theater, and a rigorous schedule over the last few years filming the Wicked movies in London and promoting them around the world, actor Ethan Slater is a pro at protecting his voice when traveling. “The main thing is sleeping and staying hydrated” on the plane, says the Tony nominee, who appears as Boq in Wicked: For Good, out now. Then comes the tricky part: Immediately after landing, Slater tries to get in some vocal warmups en route to whatever gig he has next. “The first vocal warmup is profusely apologizing to anyone who might be near me,” he cracks.
Next up Slater will star in the off-Broadway play that he also co-wrote, Marcel on the Train, opening in February, which is based on the true story of the famous French mime Marcel Marceau’s role helping Jewish families escape France in World War II. Ahead, Slater chats with Condé Nast Traveler about flying with Buster Keaton biographies, yearning to see Japan, and rewatching Crazy Rich Asians whenever possible.
How he spends his flight time:
I like to work on planes. I like to write and read; sometimes it’s for fun, but more often than not, I'm reading for work. I've been taking a lot of red eyes over the last year, so I have gotten pretty good at sleeping on planes. I swallowed the pride that once held me back from using a face mask and earplugs. I don't know what that pride was, but now I have a face mask and earplugs, and I close my eyes as soon as I can.
What’s in his carry-on bag:
I always have my computer and a book or two. I've had the same book that I haven't touched for a long time, and then usually one that I am reading. A notebook if I want to be writing by hand. My keys and a change of clothes. I often only travel with a carry-on, either a rolly bag or a backpack if it’s a one-day trip, and I always have a pair of clothes in there.
More about that book he hasn’t touched in a while:
I’ve read nine Buster Keaton biographies, and a friend got me a new one I’d never seen: David Robinson’s Cinema One Collection on Buster Keaton. It’s a really cool book that details his filming process, project to project, as opposed to [throughout] his life. I’ve read chapters at a time, but I haven’t gotten myself to fully read it.
How Wicked made him fall in love with London:
We filmed Wicked in London, and I love that city. I've gotten to go back a lot for press and various little things—when we did little pickups after the [writers’] strike, and reshoots—and every opportunity to go back to London, I really relish. It's a great city to live in, and it's also a wonderful city to visit. It's easy to get to from New York. There's so much to do on every level. I love London. I would go to London any day.
His favorite theaters in New York:
I've been lucky to perform in some amazing theaters. One is the Palace Theater on Broadway, which is where I made my debut in SpongeBob. It was once a vaudeville house, then became a movie theater, then a Broadway theater, in the heart of Times Square at 47th Street. It's just a really special place. While I was in SpongeBob, we got the notice that we were closing, because they were going to renovate the theater and lift it up to however many stories. Even though the show was doing well, we had no choice but to close, because the developers were moving in. One of the stagehands who had been there, Bobby, his father had worked there, and his grandfather. He got a little piece of the foundation—this little cylinder of concrete—and gave one to me and one each to [my costars] Danny [Skinner] and Lili Cooper, and told us, “You should have a piece of this theater because you're the last ones to play it the way it was meant to be played.” I’m really grateful for that theater.
The other one is Classic Stage Company, which is where I'm doing Marcel on the Train in February. It’s a play that I co-wrote with Marshall Pailet, and I'm going to be in, too. I love that theater. I did Assassins there. It is a beautiful old carriage house, and the second you walk in, you feel like you're somewhere special. It has a lot of character, and everything I've seen there and everything that I've done there has felt really special. I'm happy to be returning.
His travel pet peeve:
When people don't give grace to their fellow passengers, it drives me nuts. When I see somebody traveling with a young kid, and they're not only worried about their baby's experience of this flight and trying to make sure that it's a good memory for them, but also then having to worry about the adult the row over who is huffing and puffing and rolling their eyes? Have some grace! We're all trying to get to another destination, and we're trying to be good to each other. I do that lame, overstepping thing where I say to a parent, “Just so you know, you're doing awesome.”
The hotel amenity he cares a lot about:
It depends on who's paying for the hotel! If it's me, I just want a really nice bed. I’m there for the bed. If I'm traveling for work, then boy do I love great room service. I'm not getting a lot of stuff! But if there's just a good falafel? Yeah!
The funniest place he’s ever been recognized:
I was in the Syracuse airport and one of the TSA agents was looking at me kind of funny. She said, “I'm sorry, are you famous?” I said, “It depends on who you ask.” She looked at me one more time and said to her coworkers, “I was wrong. It’s not him.” That was my favorite.
What movies he watches in flight:
Anything that [Wicked director] Jon M. Chu has made. I've watched Crazy Rich Asians on so many flights. I listened to some podcast recently about how planes are a great place to watch a movie—the isolation, and the heightened emotions that come with it. So I love watching movies of all kinds on planes. I just watched Sorry, Baby, on a plane, and Fall Guy, too. I love a blockbuster with a lot of set pieces on a plane.
A place he’s never been that he wants to see next:
I'm dying to go to Japan. I went on a bit of a tear a decade ago reading a whole bunch of Haruki Murakami books back to back to back: 1Q84, A Wild Sheep Chase, Norwegian Wood. I got these vivid images of Tokyo and Kyoto and Osaka, and was like, Oh my God, I've got to see that. So many people in my life say it’s their favorite place in the world.