Joey McIntyre will make his television-series debut this fall, and fittingly, he’s playing a new kid on the block.
Actually, the youngest of the New Kids is one of two new teachers on “Boston Public,” but very young ones at that. Jon Abrahams (the son in “Meet the Parents”) is the other.
“We’re the two squirts coming in,” McIntyre said Wednesday, phoning from his temporary residence, a Los Angeles hotel suite. “My character lets kids call him by his first name and tries to relate with them on the same level, and that may or may not work. The sh- kind of hits the fan in the third episode. We may want to be their friends, but we have to certify ourselves as teachers.”
McIntyre, who recently starred in the off-Broadway play “Tick, Tick… Boom!,” has been taking acting lessons since his days singing “You Got It (The Right Stuff).” He was planning to continue polishing his skills on the stage, but that changed when he flew to Los Angeles to be on “Hollywood Squares” and decided to do a few auditions while in town.
“I was getting ready to catch the red eye back to New York, when [my agent] said, ‘Can you stay to read for David Kelley?’ ”
He read for the famed creator of “Ally McBeal,” “The Practice” and “Boston Public” and after later realizing how perfect he was for the role, wrote Kelley a letter explaining his connection to the character. As a Boston native, he went through the school system and has a sister who teaches there.
McIntyre also shared a quality with several of the show’s stars – the ability to sing. On a series where talent shows seem to happen weekly, that was important.
“They already got me singing on the second episode,” McIntyre said, breaking his thick accent with laughter. “We’re doing karaoke of all things. We bring out Jeri Ryan and Sharon Leal and do some lemon drops and then I sing ‘To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before.’ ”
Music is still very much a part of McIntyre’s life, and not singing karaoke.
“I just finished a 20-city tour with my buddy Eman,” he said. “We call it a one-man show with two people. It’s acoustic and we just have fun, we tell stories and goof off. We play my stuff and some cover tunes, a couple New Kids songs.”
At the New York stop of the tour, at Joe’s Pub, McIntyre recorded the live album One Too Many, which is available through his Web site now and in stores on October 8.
McIntyre is also writing and recording his third solo album, the follow-up to 1999’s Stay the Same and 2001’s Meet Joe Mac.
“Music is always something I want to do,” he explained. “Maybe I’ll do a club thing here. I like the intimate setting. So much more can happen.”