If you don’t know Broadway Funny Girl Julie Halston, you are in for a treat. She’s one of the fiercest comediennes we have, currently playing and flambaying a Producer (!) on Broadway in Tootsie, but has been in everything from Gypsy (where we met) to You Can’t Take It With You to Hairspray to Anything Goes and more.

But she got her start on one of the smallest stages in New York City.

And the story of her rise as a Broadway star, a writer, a producer, and more is a real inspiration and education for us all. Listen to hear all about:

How Charles Busch forced her to write her first show in two weeks . . . and how she got the courage to do it.

Where she learned how to do dramatic readings of NY Times Wedding Announcements. (And yes, listen to her do a reading from the NY Times at the end of this podcast!)

Why she says “yes” to everything she can and why you should too.

Why, despite her big Broadway success, she still performs in her one-woman show (including a performance coming up on October 3rd at Birdland! Go!)

How she creates unique characters, like the stripper in Gypsy, that are so memorable and so freakin’ funny and so beyond what’s just in the script.

If you’re an actor or a fan, then you should listen to this podcast. If you’re a TheaterMaker of any other kind, then you MUST listen to this podcast.

And I apologize in advance for my laughter throughout the episode. You try and hold it in when talking to Julie Halston!

Enjoy and thank you for coming back to our new season!

This week’s #SongwriterOfTheWeek is Zack Zadek! If you enjoyed the outro music in this episode, go on over to www.ZackZadek.com for more tunes.

This episode is sponsored by Sunlight Studios. Use the code DAVENPORT by October 10 to save on renting studio space. Visit www.sunlightstudios.com for more information on their offerings!

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