Backstage Babble

I’m so happy to announce the release of my episode with theater writer Douglas J. Cohen, whose book How to Survive a Killer Musical just came out, and can be purchased at this link:

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A studio recording of his musical The Big Time, starring Jackie Hoffman and Santino Fontana, is also out now. Tune in today to hear him tell the stories of his life and career, including his friendship with Frank Gilroy, adapting No Way to Treat a Lady for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the directors he’d like to collaborate with, receiving advice from Charles Strouse and Jule Styne, adapting the story of Rudolph Valentino into a musical, how No Way to Treat a Lady almost reached Broadway, his experiences teaching and mentoring, and more. You won’t want to miss this fascinating book and conversation.

Today, I’m thriilled to announce my episode with one of Broadway’s best directors, Kenny Leon, who’s producttion of Purlie Victorious began previews this week. Tune in today to hear him discuss his process and career, including his collaboration with Adrienne Kennedy in Ohio State Murders, his upcoming projects Our Town and The Help, the project he feels should’ve transferred to Broadway, what he learned about visual storytelling during Children of a Lesser God, why he felt it was important to join the producing team of Some Like it Hot, his process when he first receives a play, his conversations with August Wilson, and so much more. You won’t want to miss this masterclass in directing.

Today, I’m so happy to announce my interview with Tony nominee Josie De Guzman, whose solo show Back Where I Started will be playing at The Green Room 42 on September 8th and 10th. Tickets are available here:

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Tune in today to hear the stories of her legendary career, including getting shot out of a cannon into Guys and Dolls, the show that Elizabeth Swados wrote for her, her experiences at The Alley Theater, rehearsing with Leonard Bernstein, working with Arthur Laurents on Nick & Nora, returning to singing after many years, and much more.

Today, I’m so honored to announce the release of my interview with the brilliant author and playwright Paul Rudnick, writer of the newly released novel Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style. Tune in today to hear some of the stories of his career, including what it was like experiencing a seance with Celeste Holm, working with Bette Midler on Sister Act, the advice he got from William Finn, turning Coastal Elites from a play into a TV special, taking risks with Rude Entertainment, his thoughts on the royal family, collaborating with Christopher Ashley on Jeffrey, and so much more! You won’t want to miss this hilarious conversation.

Today, I’m so excited to announce the release of my episode with Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz. Tune in to hear fascinating stories from his life and career, including how he came to make his Broadway debut with Butterflies are Free, drawing inspiration from politics in writing Wicked, the songwriter he wishes had been included in Working, the genesis of his new show The Queen of Versailles, facing resentment for the amount of success he had early on, the challenge of writing for Doug Henning, the rhyming dictionary he and Stephen Sondheim both use, the show that taught him the craft of writing lyrics, the challenge of collaborating with Bob Fosse, what he learned from Leonard Bernstein, and so much more. You won’t want to miss this in-depth interview, which was recorded in April 2022.

Today, I’m so excited to announce the release of an exclusive, in-depth career interview with two-time Tony nominee Leland Palmer. Tune in today to hear the fascinating stories of Leland’s career, including why Bob Fosse dubbed her his “Yellow Towel Lady,” participating in the recent Pippin concert at 54 Below, the gift she got from Lauren Bacall, two hilarious onstage mishaps, her unique audition for Bajour, the actress she emulated in All That Jazz, the challenge of playing Minnie Fay, the difficulty of working with Donald Driver, how she feels about fictional portrayals of Bob Fosse, why A Chorus Line led her to take a break from theater, her decision to live away from New York, the importance of living in the present, and so much more. You won’t want to miss this fascinating talk with a theatrical legend.

Today, I’m so excited to announce my episode with distinguished playwright and libretttist David Henry Hwang. Tune in to hear some of the stories of his legendary career, including being discovered by Joseph Papp, training with Sam Shepard, reading M. Butterfly with John Dexter, collaborating with Philip Glass, revising the book for Aida, why Face Value couldn’t achieve success on Broadway, the advice he got on what makes a Broadway play, and so much more. You won’t want to miss this in-depth conversation with one of the greatest minds in theater.

Today, I’m so honored to announce the release of my interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, winner of two Tonys for his book and lyrics for Kimberly Akimbo. He joins me to talk all about Kimberly Akimbo, including the changes that were made between Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as telling other stories including why Marylouise Burke is his muse, the process of getting Fuddy Meers produced, challenging himself with Rabbit Hole, working with Dreamworks on Shrek, the play of his that he felt never quite came together, and so much more. You won’t want to miss this conversation with one of theater’s best playwrights.

On the opening night of The Cottage, I’m excited to announce the release of my episode with its playwright Sandy Rustin. Tune in today to hear about the play’s long path to Broadway, and other stories of her career including rewriting I Married an Angel for Encores!, her extensive research process, her useful advice for young writers, being directed by James Lapine, where her sense of humor comes from, her extensive work on audiobooks and ADR, the real-life basis for her show Comedy Is Out, working with Donna Murphy on rewriting Dear World, and so much more.

Today, I’m so honored to announce my episode with Broadway actress D’Jamin Bartlett, who will be performing “The Miller’s Son” at Backstage Babble Live on July 17. Tune in today to this interview from July 2022 to hear some of the stories of her legendary career, including coming in out of town on A Little Night Music, auditioning for Stephen Sondheim, raising children as an actress, being upstaged by Liza Minelli, how she settled on her stage name, the role she regrets turning down, almost appearing in Billy Elliot, and so much more.