Mark Thompson, a friend and former (and now current, again!) colleague of Laura's is the host of Make it Plain (Mornings at DNR Studios). Every weekday morning he moderates conversation with nationally-known leaders on political, social, economic, cultural & spiritual issues. A truly outspoken advocate for progress, and a fearless speaker who welcomes debate with those that don’t share his opinions, Mark is not just a leader but also a hero. The 104th Annual NAACP Convention got it right in July 2013, when they honored him for, quote, “25 years of crusading journalism and outstanding leadership in furthering the work of civil and human rights.”

Ryann Redmond is currently starring as Olaf in Disney's Frozen on Broadway. She is a veteran of Escape to Margaritaville, If/Then, and Bring It On: The Musical, in which she was cast as a Junior at NYU after being mentored by the Broadway Dreams Foundation. She is the first female actor to play Olaf and can be seen performing the role eight times a week at the St. James Theatre on Broadway! 

Arianna "Ari" Afsar is a composer, singer, actress, activist and entrepreneur. 

Ari wrote the music and lyrics for "Jeannette" -- a new musical about Jeannette Rankin, the first woman in Congress, which was recently workshopped at the Eugene O'Neill National Music Theatre Conference. 

Hamilton fans know Ari as the original Eliza in the Chicago production of the show. Before that she was on American Idol (at age 16!) and was crowned Miss California just a couple of years later. She has a degree in ethnomusicology with an emphasis on jazz vocals from UCLA. She went directly from college to writing music for TV and film. And she has been an activist her whole life, starting with founding an organization bringing teens to perform at senior centers, and more recently has done extensive work with the ACLU an other human rights causes, including working on The Women’s March and opening for Michelle Obama at the Shrine Auditorium. This is all in addition to her new EP, “Somewhere I thought I’d Be,” released this Spring, which is available on Apple Music, Spotify and everywhere else you buy or stream music.

Taylor Louderman, who plays Regina George; Grey Henson, who plays Damien, and Casey Nicholaw, director of the show, who sat down with me together; and Kate Rockwell, who steals the show as Karen Smith are the subjects of these conversations from the Laura Heywood Interviews archives!

Thanks to Verizon Media and Build Series NYC for permission to air these conversations originally aired on their platforms.

For video of these and over 100 other celebrity interviews, visit www.LauraHeywoodMedia.com !

Chase Brock brought "finger tutting" -- a style of digital choreography -- to Broadway as The Squip's signature language in the viral musical sensation "Be More Chill."

But Be More Chill is not Chase’s only accomplishment, by a long shot. He made his Broadway debut at age 16 after moving to New York alone as a teenager; he formed his own dance company, The Chase Brock Experience, at age 23; he worked on Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark as it was transitioning between creative teams, working carefully to honor his idol (and mine) Julie Taymor even as she exited the project; and he is currently choreographing Hercules: The Musical, a groundbreaking collaboration between Disney Theatrical and The Public Theatre’s Public Works Initative, which casts community members from all five New York City boroughs alongside equity actors to emphasize that theatre does in fact belong to the people.

Chase is one of the most colorful people I know, not just because of his trademark mis-matched-yet-somehow-perfectly-harmonically-patterned fashion choices but also because of his enthusiasm, joyfulness, open heart, creativity and willingness to let his true self shine through. In a world that often rewards convention, Chase has embraced and broadcast a commitment to invention instead, both on and off the stage.

John Behlmann is a standout in the Broadway comedy musical “Tootsie.” The character of Max Van Horn, reality show hunk, is central to the title’s emphasis on “comedy.” Max is a character original to this musical (he didn’t exist in the 1982 film that inspired this show), and John plays the role perfectly, by leaning into his “tall-dark-and-handsome type" while sending it up at the same time. 

Kevin Smith Kirkwood, who appeared in nearly 2,500 performances of Kinky Boots on Broadway, is bringing back his iconic cabaret show "Classic Whitney: Alive!" A lifelong devotee of Whitney Houston, KSK celebrates her life and legacy with a show that is 100% tribute. With plenty of loving humor, the show eschews any mocking or parody in favor of a return to the time when Whitney Houston ruled the pop, R&B and dance charts. Kevin Smith Kirkwood is a world-class actor who sits down with Laura to talk about Kinky Boots, his childhood, and retooling "Classic Whitney: Alive!" for World Pride.

Billy Porter and Sarah Brightman are stars of stage and screen who both deny convention and have skyrocketed into the pop culture milieu as a result.

Billy Porter, of Kinky Boots, Shuffle Along, FX's Pose and red carpets everywhere, joined Laura to promote his album "Billy Porter Presents The Soul of Richard Rodgers." This interview was recorded in front of a live studio audience at Build Series NYC in April of 2017.

Sarah Brightman, the original Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, celebrated her album "HYMN" with a special live interview at Build Series NYC in September of 2018.

For more from Laura Heywood Interviews archives, visit www.LauraHeywoodMedia.com!

Erich Bergen, best known for "Madam Secretary" and "Jersey Boys" (the film), is back on Broadway in WAITRESS: The Musical for a limited time! He joins Laura Heywood in the studio to talk about returning to the role of Dr. Jim Pomatter in Waitress opposite Shoshana Bean; what's in store for Season 6 of Madam Secretary on CBS; attending last week's Tony Awards; a new musical he is working on based on the life of the fashion designer HALSTON; and his support of VH1's Save The Music campaign!

In this special crossover episode, Laura is the interviewee on Beth Clayton's gorgeous podcast, "Fiercely Human." 

SUBSCRIBE TO "FIERCELY HUMAN" HERE: https://podcasts.apple.com/ao/podcast/fiercely-human/id1458152113

In this episode, we dive into: ● How Laura discovered her life-long quirks have actually been her superpowers in disguise. ● Laura’s synchronistic and “zig-zag” journey from radio host to a popular anonymous alter ego, to professional Broadway fandom. ● How writing our personal mission statement can set the stage for a dream job. ● Why primarily focusing on tangible results is deadly to our creativity, joy and even progress. ● Why it is CRUCIAL to start before you are ready (and without a ton of pressure) ● How satisfaction is directly correlated to the “muscle” we put into our dreams. ● What authenticity is REALLY about and how it has been branded incorrectly as a sales technique. ● How Laura has spread joy even in the midst of the lows of debilitating clinical depression. ● The two pieces of advice Laura would give to someone trying to create a career out of their joyful obsessions.

Resources & People Mentioned: Story Pirates Mindset by Carol Dweck Brene Brown

You can find Laura at: @BroadwayGirlNYC across social media platforms http://www.lauraheywoodmedia.com/ Laura Heywood Interviews Podcast Reward the Fan app

You can find Beth at: @bethclaytoncoach on Instagram www.soulbodylife.com Grab your free e-book, “The Secrets in Your Sabotage” at www.soulbodylife.com/free-stuff Beth’s TedX RIGHT HERE.