\n<\/p>\n
Joe Locke was so moved when he saw \u201cNext to Normal\u201d at the Donmar Warehouse in London last fall that he called his agent with a request.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018I want to do a musical so bad,\u2019\u201d said Locke, 20, who for two seasons has played the sensitive teenager Charlie Spring<\/a> in Netflix\u2019s L.G.B.T.Q. coming-of-age drama \u201cHeartstopper<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon after, his agent said he\u2019d gotten an email from the casting team of Broadway\u2019s \u201cSweeney Todd,\u201d and the show was looking for a new Tobias Ragg, an urchin taken in by the scheming pie-maker, Mrs. Lovett.<\/p>\n \u201cThe easiest way to play him is that he\u2019s a bit simple \u2014 he\u2019s not a full egg, as the Irish would say,\u201d Locke said in a phone conversation in early January from his Manhattan apartment, before one of his first rehearsals. \u201cBut I think he\u2019s a very street-smart character who\u2019s survived in a world where people like him shouldn\u2019t survive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Locke made his professional stage debut in the Donmar Warehouse\u2019s production of Dawn King\u2019s climate crisis drama \u201cThe Trials<\/a>\u201d in 2022, and he has a big year coming up: In the fall, he\u2019s slated to appear alongside Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza and Patti LuPone in the new Marvel series \u201cAgatha: Darkhold Diaries<\/a>,\u201d based on the Marvel Comics character Agatha Harkness, on Disney+.<\/p>\n It being Marvel, \u201cI can say absolutely nothing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s going to be an amazing show. It shows a different side of Marvel. It pushes the boundary of what a superhero show is.\u201d<\/p>\n Locke, who will make his Broadway debut in \u201cSweeney\u201d on Jan. 31, shared 10 of his cultural essentials, including Cynthia Erivo, \u201cThe Goonies\u201d and walks on the Isle of Man, the island in the Irish Sea where he grew up. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n This time last year, one of my best friends sent me the song \u201cSo Far Away<\/a>,\u201d and I started listening to the whole album. It\u2019s just such a beautifully constructed piece of art. There\u2019s a real sense of vulnerability to her music. My favorite song is probably \u201cIt\u2019s Too Late,\u201d though it changes every time I listen.<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n I\u2019ve watched the video<\/a> like 45 times in the last week. She has the most incredible tone. I can\u2019t stop listening to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 3<\/p>\n I get coffee and do the Crossword, then Wordle, then the new one, Connections \u2014 those three are part of my morning routine. It makes me feel like an old man, but I kind of love it.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n When I go back for a visit with my family, it\u2019s like nothing\u2019s changed; I can just slip back into the fold. There\u2019s a spot called Glen Maye, which has a huge waterfall and then you down this glen to the beach. That\u2019s my favorite place.<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n In one of the songs<\/a> that my character in \u201cSweeney Todd\u201d sings, Sondheim rhymes the word \u201cbuy\u201d with three different spellings \u2014 buying something, saying goodbye and \u201cby,\u201d like b-y. It\u2019s in the same harmony, but [a bunch of] people singing different parts, using the same word but meaning different things. I don\u2019t think anyone else would ever think to do that.<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n It\u2019s the greenest city I\u2019ve ever been to. There are so many trees. On my days off when I was there shooting \u201cAgatha\u201d last year, I\u2019d get brunch at Bread & Butterfly<\/a> and then go walk the BeltLine<\/a> or meet friends for coffee. Atlanta has the most incredible food \u2014 Banshee<\/a> in the East Atlanta Village has this amazing mushroom toast. It\u2019s the best thing I\u2019ve ever eaten, and I don\u2019t even like mushrooms.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n There\u2019s a room with lots of old sculptures<\/a>, and you walk up a little stairway and look above them. I remember 10-year-old me thinking it was the coolest thing ever. They have amazing guest exhibitions as well; the \u201cDiva\u201d one they have at the moment<\/a> is so cool.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 8<\/p>\n It\u2019s my go-to order; I have two or three a day. That\u2019s one reason I feel very lucky to be in New York \u2014 you have amazing coffee shops! I feel very at home.<\/p>\n 9<\/p>\n It\u2019s the peak coming-of-age adventure film. Growing up in a small town, a lot of the caves they\u2019d go exploring in, that spoke a lot to me. But it also spoke to me as I got older and realized I wanted to go into filmmaking. I remember always thinking, \u201cThe feeling I get from \u2018The Goonies\u2019 is the kind of thing I want to make.\u201d<\/p>\n 10<\/p>\n London is my favorite city in the world. In the summer, it comes alive. I don\u2019t think people think of it as a warm place, but it gets quite hot. I spent pretty much my entire summer sitting in an outdoor bar with my friends drinking Aperol spritz, laughing and having a great time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nCarole King\u2019s \u2018Tapestry\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n
Cynthia Erivo Singing \u2018Alfie\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n
Games-Intensive Morning Routines<\/span><\/h3>\n
Beach Walks on the Isle of Man<\/span><\/h3>\n
Stephen Sondheim<\/span><\/h3>\n
Atlanta<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London<\/span><\/h3>\n
Oat-Milk Flat Whites<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018The Goonies\u2019<\/span><\/h3>\n
London in the Summer<\/span><\/h3>\n