Bobby is based on the life of Thommie Walsh, who played himon Broadway. Smaller lines were inspired by Michael Bennett and others.
Bobby is a flamboyant, funny, clever, and witty guy whosurvived an upperclass, but hard childhood. Details of this are included in his monologue, although it is somewhat fictionalized. For example, the part about being near Buffalo is from Michael Bennett's childhood. Thommie Walsh was also a stand-up comic, so that is the basis and background for his monologue's structure.
Bobby, although only 25, has been in New York for several years. He's good friends with Sheila and they are ideal foils for each other. A lot of their lines are said to each other. Part of the way they deal with the stress of the audition is by making comments and jokes to each other. One of the original cast members said of Thommie "I love this guy, but he could be a viper. He could very easily cut people down." It is interesting to compare Bobby's relationship with Sheila, his partner in crime, to Bebe. She is so eager to please that hewould probably overtly and subtlely make her feel ve-e-ery tiny. He is also good friends
with Mike and Greg, and would have worked with Diana, Judy, Connie, and know Cassie, Paul, and Al.
He has also worked with Zach before, and therefore is kinda a dick to Zach. His entire monologue, in fact, is somewhat insincere. This angers Zach and is the reason Zach curtly tells him to go "back in line." This is not to say that Zach (and the auditioners/audience) don't enjoy his jokes, but he is 'performing.' When Zach asks him 'is he doing a
monologue?',Bobby says no, but does just that. The only poignant moment is when he talks about his dad saying he has polio. But in typical Bobby fashion, he than cracks a joke so people will think his childhood didn't hurt. Bobby likes attention, something he didn't
get as a child. So the more he hogs the spotlight, the better. I have also seen Bobby's monologue done as focused and intense, and that's also worth exploring.
Bobby is one of the better male dancers, but doesn't need to be as strong a singer. Original Bobby wore a collared shirt, a lightweight brown patterened sweater, 3/4 dance pants with suspenders, and a red scarf. The scarf was to cover Thommie's long neck, but it is just the perfect touch to make an auditioner notice him, as well as making him look flamboyant. He
would take the sweater off for the Rehearsal One section of the show.
Although Bobby doesn't talk about it, he is also gay. Therefore he has a bond with Greg, Paul, and whoever else might be gay (Larry? Zach?) Of course, he's been out of the closet forever, but his monologue suggests that he still has issues with his parents about it.
Thommie Walsh has continued his career as a director and choreographer. He dir/chor the Ahrens/Flaherty musical "Luck Stiff" and later choreographed their musical "My Favorite Year." He co-wrote the book "On the Line: the creation of ACL with original Connie-Baayork Lee and a third author.
The key words for Bobby are funny, impeccible timing, impeccible taste and style, and a bitchy attitude. But in the end, he reveals his starry-eyed ideals as well in the Alternatives scene. He really just wants attention and care
