Rising Star Noah J. Ricketts Sizzles in 'Fellow Travelers'

Broadway sensation Noah J. Ricketts is on fire!

He's currently showcasing his tremendous talents in the Showtime original series, "Fellow Travelers," arguably the most sweeping gay limited series and one of the most significant queer shows in recent memory.

This monumental work, created by Oscar nominee Ron Nyswaner ("Philadelphia") and based on the novel by Thomas Mallon, follows a group of gay men (closeted and not) through two very incendiary time periods for LGBTQ+ people, the McCarthy-era lavender scare of the 1950s and into the AIDS pandemic of the 1980s. The show stars Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Allison Williams, Jelani Alladin, and Ricketts, in a star-making turn.

Out actor Ricketts plays Frankie, a young drag artist who goes on an incredible journey from a somewhat naive man challenging the norms of his time to an angry activist fighting for the lives of his fellow gays. It's a fierce performance.

This is his first significant role onscreen (big or small), although he has appeared in several TV shows, most notably "American Gods."

Ricketts got his start on stage and appeared in the original cast of "Frozen" on Broadway, ultimately taking over the role of Kristoff. Other Broadway credits include "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" and regionally, he performed in "Dreamgirls," "Hello, Dolly!" "Tarzan" and "La Cage aux Folles."

He just recently played the role of Nick Carraway in the brand-new musical version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," which world premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ this past October. Ricketts owned the stage when he was given the opportunity.

EDGE had a great chat with him about "Fellow Travelers" and his career to date.

EDGE: It must be nice to be able to talk projects again.

Noah J. Ricketts: It's so nice...The strike was so necessary, and we have to fight for what we deserve and what we need. But it is very nice to be able to talk about this project we worked so frickin' hard on.

EDGE: It's one of the most sweeping gay love stories. How does it feel to be a part of a show where the main focus is on queer stories?

Noah J. Ricketts: It feels really lovely, like, I was at Thanksgiving with a pair of older gays. And we're sitting there eating dinner, and one looks at me and goes, I'm watching your show. I feel like I'm watching my life. And in that moment my heart sank because I felt like, Oh, my God! We got it right. We were able to honor a perspective that wasn't our own. But we gave it a voice, we gave it a life, And we shined the light on a part of history that's so erased...It feels like an incredible honor. I love all of these stories. I think all of these characters are so nuanced. They're not perfect, but they're nuanced, and they're real. And I'm just so thrilled that audiences are getting to see this on their TV screens.

EDGE: It's nice to see the imperfections. Let's talk about Frankie. He's this drag artist with quite the journey. You grounded him in his respective time periods, but he also had a modern feel about him, but that was only because he had this desire to be accepted before his time.

Noah J. Ricketts: My God, thank you so much for saying that. That's so sweet. I've always wanted to play underrepresented characters. I feel like in my own life, I'm an underrepresented character, and as a kid I would search for myself on the screen in all of these epic series, epic movies, and I never saw myself, so to be able to bring a character like Frankie to life, a drag queen, and let him have an arc and a story... That is a wonderful gift and I appreciate what you said about grounding him in the time period, because we really worked hard to leave 2023 at the door, walk in and embrace the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s. How they really were at the time. And I actually think that's why the series is so effective. It goes deep. It's not trying to be anything new.

EDGE: How much did you know about both time periods? Did you do a lot of research? 'Cause you're, like, 12.

Noah J. Ricketts: I'm 12-and-a-half, Frank. (laughs) I did do a lot of research. I feel like a lot of queer people, our history begins for us at Stonewall, and then goes forward from there. And so, to go pre-Stonewall, I had to do a lot of digging, and Google was my best friend. And I love finding these niche documentaries that highlighted the trans experience and the drag experience and finding the random source material and the books...

It really forced me to realize how much we have gone through and how much drag artists have gone through. And how much trans women have gone through. And I'm so excited that in the series Frankie becomes revolutionary because it is the black and brown drag queens, trans women that are responsible for this gay liberation movement that we experience today. So, getting to put those heels away and fight the good fight was an awesome experience.

EDGE: I wanted to talk about the wonderful romantic moments in the film, because the series is filled with a lot of honest, intimate scenes between these characters. You have a few with Jelani. Were you happy with the way they turned out?

Noah J. Ricketts: I was. We really worked hard to make our relationship different from Hawk and Tim's relationship, and if you'll notice, a lot of the sex scenes come out of an experience that we have together. That's kind of an intellectual or performative experience where he reads me this poem, and I get so curious about him that it draws me closer to him that we just have to kiss. Or I do this drag performance of "Santa Baby," where I'm just trying to seduce him, although there's an audience full of people. And then we get into that room, and we just have to engage in sex. We really tried to work with our intimacy coordinator, step by step, bit by bit, to make sure that we were telling a story and not just having sex.

EDGE: Have you done drag before?

Noah J. Ricketts: Okay, so, I'm the most horrible drag queen ever. I'm famous for doing drag every Halloween. Once a year I will do drag... one year me and my friends were all being our favorite foods, and my favorite food is a Chipotle burrito with double chicken and guac. I decided to put my drag queen in a burrito. So, I wrap myself in tinfoil. I had red hair and lettuce coming out the top. And that's how I honored my drag experience while honoring Halloween...I'm not talented enough to do in real life. But, boy, I love to do it on TV.

EDGE: I'm curious about your process. Did you bring Frankie home, or did he stay on set?

Noah J. Ricketts: He has seeped into my real life. I think one of the greatest gifts that I take away from playing Frankie is that now I always show up authentically as me. And I didn't even realize that I was self-monitoring or adjusting until I played the role of Frankie, and he inspired me to be authentic, to be real, to show up and unapologetically be myself like him. If I'm feeling a little extra feminine that day, hey, you might find a painted nail. You might have the hair slicked back. Who knows? But I've taken some great parts of Frankie with me through my life, and I'll keep carrying them.

EDGE: Was the shoot long?

Noah J. Ricketts: Yeah. We did six months in Toronto. It was because a lot of time we spent prepping. You know, those costumes are vintage or made from scratch out of vintage material, and so just that alone, getting the wigs right, getting the costumes right... It took a lot of time, but we all knew that we were serving a higher purpose, that we were doing something greater than ourselves, and so that made the time fly by, and it made the time on set super great and super fun, that everyone on the team was on a mission.

EDGE: Was it an extensive casting process? Did you go through a lot of hoops?

Noah J. Ricketts: I think all of the hoops, for every person, was different. But I had a round of self-tape auditions, and I had a chemistry read with Jelani, my great friend who I knew of 8 years, so we had very incredible chemistry, because we had done a Broadway show together, "Frozen," from the ground up. So, it seemed like all of the stars aligned, and it was like boom, boom, boom, next thing I know I'm in heels on set.

EDGE: Speaking of theater, I was at opening night of "The Great Gatsby." You were a fantastic Nick.

Noah J. Ricketts: Oh, my God, thank you! So different from Frankie, right? Right?

EDGE: Exactly. I wanted to ask you what it was like to transform into Nick.

Noah J. Ricketts: It was a great experience. "The Great Gatsby" is one of those novels that's so iconic, and everyone grows up on it. I spent so much time digging into that book. I mean, talk about source material. My "Great Gatsby" has pages falling out, every line is highlighted. It was a wonderful experience to play an innocent character. To play another side of myself that's real. A shy character. This open-minded guy who unfortunately gets a little thrown off by the world he's forced to live in. It was a great joy, and I hope that production lives on. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

EDGE: You have quite the extensive theater resume. Is there one show or role that was most significant for you?

Noah J. Ricketts: I actually did "Tick,Tick... Boom! And I got to play Michael. He lives in the '90s, so he's a little closer to this decade. But he's also kind of like Frankie, an out and proud gay man with a deep secret... I love his incredible arc.

EDGE: Were you apprehensive about being out in the industry when you were first starting?

Noah J. Ricketts: Yeah, I definitely was – especially when I arrived on the scene in New York. Not only was there not a lot of gay representation in theater, which I still feel there's not enough. I think it's weird... But when I always felt there's a big "X" on my back... But, oddly enough, when the pandemic hit and I had to sit with myself and really figure out how I wanted to move forward in the world, I had to be authentic. I realized that my form of activism was just simply being myself and so moving in that direction everything that was meant for me really did come.

I think what I'd say to anyone younger coming out in this business is, be unapologetically yourself because that truly is the thing that makes you so special.

EDGE: I've spoken to quite a number of out actors who still feel the pressure. It's kind of sad that in this day and age, people are still trying to change us.

Noah J Ricketts: I agree. And I think we really need to examine – I'll say, from the theater perspective – our own self-hatred, why we're not telling enough of our own stories. Even in the TV and film world. I hope that this series opens up doors for other people. I think a lot of gay material is made in a way that it's digestible for straight audiences. And I I'm ready to move past that. I'm ready to see our full experience lived out on screen.

EDGE: What's up next for Noah?

Noah J. Ricketts: Oh, my God! Who knows? I don't know. I've had this desire to get creative myself... I think it's about time that I put some of the stuff that I've written on the page out into the world and in the musical realm and in the TV realm as well. And, so, I'd say, keep your eyes open for some of that stuff coming your way. Can't say anything yet, but that's what's next. Fingers crossed, okay?

EDGE: Absolutely. Go for it. Can't wait to see what you're gonna do next.

Noah J. Ricketts: And, if you see me on an opening night. You better find me next time!

"Fellow Travelers" can currently be streamed on Showtime or Paramount+.

Watch this clip of Noah J. Ricketts singing a medley of Broadway songs: