Broadway big shots Matthew Morrison and Seth Rudestky chat and sing at Van Wezel

Mention Seth Rudetsky’s name to someone who follows Broadway, and you’re likely to get an enthusiastic reaction. Rudetsky’s a musician, actor and writer who’s a big deal in Broadway, known for his authoritative knowledge of musical theater. He hosts a couple of shows on Sirius/XM, one of which, “On Broadway” focuses on his knowledge of Broadway history and trivia.

He’s a big enough deal that he appeared a couple of times on the Broadway-based TV series “Smash” as himself, and even the characters in the show were impressed by his presence.

Outside of that world, though, he’s not to well-known, but he did garner some Emmy nominations for writing “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.”

He’s witty and charming, and he’ll be at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota on Thursday.

But as big a deal as he is, he’s taking a back seat to his guest, Matthew Morrison. Morrison’s also a Broadway big wig. He was nominated for a Tony Award for “The Light in the Piazza:” and he starred “Finding Neverland.” But he’s known to a wider audience for his six-season run on “Glee” as Will Scheuster.

Rudetsky and Morrison will have an unscripted onstage conversation, which has become kind of the thing in the past couple of years. (Lyle Lovett and Vince Gill toured with a similar concept, and Steve Martin and Martin Short will be doing the same kind of thing at Van Wezel in February.)

The focus will be on Morrison, with Rudetsky doing the interviewing. Besides some illuminating chat between two old friends, the show promises to feature Rudetsky playing piano and Morrision singing and dancing.

Details: 8 p.m. Jan. 12, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $21-$131. vanwezel.org.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Broadway big shots Matthew Morrison and Seth Rudestky chat and sing at Van Wezel."