The 54 Below Podcast

Broadway and "Smash" triple threat Megan Hilty joins us and guest host Alan Seales in this special crossover episode with The Theatre Podcast for a heart to heart about her career and Bernadette Peters, the objectification of performers, and her upcoming solo debut at Feinstein's/54 Below's Diamond Series!

Already a fan favorite for her portrayal of Glinda in Wicked and Doralee Rhodes in Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5: The Musical, Tony® nominee Megan Hilty became known to theatre fans worldwide as triple threat Ivy Lynn in NBC’s musical drama “Smash.”

For more information about Megan's upcoming Diamond Series show, please visit 54below.com

Watch Megan Hilty sing “I Could Have Danced All Night” at https://youtu.be/UoLUQ4gAkac

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera and Kevin Ferguson, and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Nella on Twitter and Instagram at @spinstripes.

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Hollywood royalty Lorna Luft sits down for a fun and intimate chat with Assistant Programming Director Kevin Ferguson about growing up in Hollywood, having Judy Garland as a mother, and being considered a gay icon.

For more information about Lorna's upcoming show, visit 54Below.com

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera and Assistant Programming Director Kevin Ferguson, and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Allan Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Kevin Ferguson on Instagram at @K.Ferg_

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Broadway's power couple Kelli Barrett & Jarrod Spector dropped by to chat with Assistant Programming Director Kevin Ferguson about kings and queens of music, FX channel's Fosse/Verdon, and becoming characters based on real life people.

For information about Kelli & Jarrod's upcoming show, visit 54Below.com

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera and Kevin Ferguson, and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Allan Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Kevin Ferguson on Instagram at @K.Ferg_

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mexican-born musical multi-hyphenate Jaime Lozano sat down for a heart to heart with Feinstein’s/54 Below’s Director of Marketing, Nella Vera, ahead of his upcoming concert. The two discussed Jaime’s incredible journey to NYC, how he found a chosen “familia” in the theater, and how Hamilton’s Alex Lacaimore changed his life one afternoon at a performance of In The Heights.

Jaime Lozano is considered by Lin-Manuel Miranda as the “next big thing” on Broadway. His recent productions include The Yellow Brick Road (for with he wrote music and lyrics with Tommy Newman, book by Mando Alvarado), which premiered Off-Broadway in 2011 and was followed by a successful national tour and also Children of Salt; A New Latin Musical (book and lyrics by Lauren Epsenhart) which made its New York City debut in 2016 as part of the New York Musical Festival and won the "Best of Fest" Production Award. Recently, Jaime’s song cycle, A Never-Ending Line, a collaboration with 9 female lyricists, had its World Premiere in Paris, France as part of the concert series “Broadway au Carré” at the Comédie Nation Theatre. It had its Spanish language World Premiere in Mexico followed by an Off-Broadway run at The Players Theatre here in NYC. His others works include Con Amor…Isa Colibrí, Estocolmo, Savage, Present Perfect - A musical in broken English, among many other works.In 2015, Jaime and his wife, Mexican actress and singer Florencia Cuenca, created a jazz project called "The New Standards,” an album of contemporary musical theatre songs accompanied by jazz arrangements. Written by Jaime and Jesús Altamira, it has performed at prominent venues in New York City, Mexico, and across Latin America.

He is making his Feinstein’s/54 Below debut with a concert full of immigrant stories and songs written in collaboration with some of the most exciting Latinx musical theatre writers celebrating the Hispanic Heritage Month.

For information about Jaime’s upcoming show, visit 54Below.com/JaimeLozano

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera and Kevin Ferguson, and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Allan Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Nella on Twitter and Instagram at @spinstripes

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Triple threat Tony Award® nominee Tony Yazbeck joins the club’s Assistant Programming Director, Kevin Ferguson, for a chat about his upcoming Feinstein’s/54 Below show. Tony and Kevin talk about dancing with prima ballerina Megan Fairchild, life on and the future of Broadway, and why Tony’s solo show at 54 Below will make you smile.

Tony Award® nominee Tony Yazbeck has starred in ten Broadway shows, including On The Town, Gypsy, and Prince of Broadway, among may others. Next up, Tony stars as Cary Grant in the highly anticipated new Broadway musical from James Lapine and Tom Kitt, Flying Over Sunset, opening this fall at Lincoln Center Theatre’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

For tickets to Tony’s show at Feinstein’s/54 Below, visit https://54below.com/events/tony-yazbeck-3/

Watch Tony’s sensational performance from On The Town to open the 2015 Tony Awards: https://youtu.be/ljo9h5f5Bl8

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera and Kevin Ferguson, and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Allan Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Drama Desk nominee Amy Spanger talks about the musical Chicago, her amazing career as Broadway's leading lady, and binging during lockdown.

For information about Amy's upcoming show, visit 54Below.com

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera and Kevin Ferguson, and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Allan Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dear Evan Hansen's Kristolyn Lloyd dropped by the podcast to talk with Assistant Programming Director Kevin Ferguson about turning journal entries into songs, her contemporary Christian influences, and her solo debut at Broadway's Supper Club!

For information about Kristolyn’s upcoming show, visit 54Below.com

Watch Kristolyn Lloyd sing "Only Girl In The World" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPmdSr_JI2E

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera, Kevin Ferguson, and Grace Benigni and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Nella on Twitter and Instagram at @spinstripes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning composer Adam Gwon chats with Assistant Programming Director Kevin Ferguson to discuss his high school origin story, the importance of mentorship in musical theatre, and the thrills of returning to the live stage.

For information about Adam's upcoming show, visit 54Below.com

To see Santino and Jessica Fontana's iconic performance of “Fine,” visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO4lKYgzoyk

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera, Kevin Ferguson, and Grace Benigni and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Nella on Twitter and Instagram at @spinstripes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theater legend André De Shields dropped into our podcast ahead of his Feinstein’s/54 Below show for a conversation about coming of age during the age of Aquarius, why he took on the monumental role of King Lear for the second time, and how destiny led him to his Tony-winning role in Hadestown. 

A showstopper at the age of 75, De Shields was the triple-crown winner of the 2019 award season, garnering Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Awards for his universally praised role as the messenger to the gods, Hermes, in Hadestown. In an illustrious career that has spanned more than half a century, he has distinguished himself as an actor, director, and educator. His notable theatrical appearances include roles in the original Broadway productions of The Full Monty (Tony Award® nomination), Play On! (Tony Award® nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and the title role in The Wiz.

In 2020, he received the 2020 Grammy Award for Musical Theater Album for Hadestown, an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the 2020 AUDELCO for Lifetime Achievement and the 2020 Red Bull Theater Matador Award for Excellence in Classical Theater. 2019 honors include The Actors’ Equity Foundation Richard Seff Award, which honors veteran stage actors’ best supporting performances of the year, the Project1Voice Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2019 SAGE Joyce Warshow Lifetime Achievement Award, and The York Theatre Company’s 2019 Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre, among others. He was also inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Among his other accolades are the 2009 National Black Theatre Festival’s Living Legend Award and the 2007 Village Voice Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance.

For tickets to André's show at Feinstein's/54 Below, visit: https://54below.com/events/andre-de-shields/.

Photo of Mr. De Shields by Lia Chang.

Credits

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera, Kevin Ferguson, and Grace Benigni and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Nella on Twitter and Instagram at @spinstripes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beloved musical theatre writer Bree Lowdermilk joins the podcast to discuss her star-studded new show at Feinstein's/54 Below. Bree sat down with our Senior Digital & Graphics Associate, Grace Benigni, to talk about the magic of performing to live audiences, her identity journey, and the importance of uplifting trans and non-binary artists and stories.

For information about Bree's upcoming shows, visit 54Below.com

To see Aaron Tveit's viral performance of "Run Away With Me," visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EL69OZSlY

The Feinstein’s/54 Below podcast is hosted by Nella Vera, Kevin Ferguson, and Grace Benigni and produced by Bailey Everett and Michael Galvez, with support from the Feinstein’s/54 Below marketing staff.

Original artwork design by Philip Romano.

Follow Nella on Twitter and Instagram at @spinstripes.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices