call and response podcast

In the wake of Charlottesville, we discuss how black Broadway performers are always maintaining self-care. Hear from Frozen’s Jelani Alladin, Kinky Boots’ Nick Rashad Burroughs, A Bronx Tale’s Janelle McDermoth, Sweeney Todd’s John-Michael Lyles, The Lion King’s Chondra Profit, and The Scottsboro Boys’ Clinton Roane.

We talk with Tony nominee Brenda Braxton about working alongside Michael Bennett as the original Dreamgirls dance captain, what the old school New York theatre scene was like, and her advice for the next generation.

We sit down with composer-lyricist Michael R. Jackson (2016-2017 Dramatist Guild Fellow, 2017 Jonathan Larson Grant Winner, 2017 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist, and a recently announced Lincoln Center Theater Writer in Residence!) to discuss how we define diversity in musical theatre, the purpose of revivals, and the empathy that comes with a night at the theatre.

We take a trip to Webster Avenue as we talk with A Bronx Tale’s Bradley Gibson about a black actor’s double consciousness, the esteemed Ragtime performance on Ellis Island, and his legendary Cerulean suit.

We sit down with Tony nominee Adrienne Warren to talk about why she felt deeply connected to her Shuffle Along characters, why blackness is more than just a trend, and why art as education is necessary.

In the inaugural interview for the Call and Response podcast, Christian Dante White stops by to talk about what it was like to work on The Scottsboro Boys with an all-white creative team, his love for the Shuffle Along cast, and why we all need to tend to the (creative) garden.

What can you expect from the Call and Response podcast?