The Motivation Show

Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, & a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism & steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Six decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, & heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century.

The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards & her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won "Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold- and platinum-selling albums. Recently, contemporary & classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins.

Judy began her impressive music career at 13 as a piano prodigy dazzling audiences performing Mozart's “Concerto for Two Pianos,” but the hard luck tales & rugged sensitivity of folk revival music by artists such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger seduced her away from a life as a concert pianist. Her path pointed to a lifelong love affair with the guitar & pursuit of emotional truth in lyrics. The focus and regimented practice of classical music, however, would be a source of strength to her inner core as she navigated the highs and lows of the music business.

Jessica Vosk is one of Broadway's HOTTEST, surging STARS who played Elphaba in WICKED for 2 years & also appeared in Fiddler on the Roof as well as in Finding Neverland & The Bridges of Madison County.

This celebrated singer & actress performs all over the US including at The Broadway Concert Series at Broward Center’s Parker Playhouse in Ft. Laud. FL on Jan. 21, 2024 at 7pm which even I don’t want to miss as I plan to attend. After this interview, I know you will want to join me. Here's what Jessica discusses:

-What was it like growing up? Did she always want to be a singer & actress and what gave her the inspiration to be a performer?

-Who inspired her and continues to inspire her?

-How she get such a plum role like Elphaba and how may people did she compete with for the part?

-What does performing do for her? What brings her the most joy in performing?

-Do she ever experience fear or jitters and if so, how does she handle and overcome it?

-What would be her dream performing role or scenario?

-Her sold out Carnegie Hall debut in Nov. 2021 and her second sold-out show Get Happy: A Judy Garland Centennial Celebration in Dec 2022.

Jessica takes center stage at The Parker on Sun, Jan. 21 at 7 pm accompanied by Grammy- and Emmy Award-winner John McDaniel, who was seen leading the band on the Rosie O'Donnell show for its entire six year run. I am already sold & I am super excited but what is the rest of the potential audience in store for? What should we expect?

Buy tickets online at ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; and in person at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

Hang in on the interview til the end when Jessica gifts us with an a cappella verse of one of her favorite songs!!!

Neale Donald Walsch is the author of the international best seller Conversations With God, published in 1995, which became a global publishing phenomenon, staying on the New York Times Best Sellers List for 137 weeks.

He is the author now of Godtalk: Experiences of Humanity's Connections with a Higher Power

In this epic interview, we discuss:

-Why Neale feels Conversations With God resonated with so many people

-Did he always believe in God and why he is 100% convinced there is a God

-Can anyone talk with God

-How 2 way communication with this very real God can change your life

-How one can be sure the communication is not just one way

-What inspired him to write Godtalk and what makes it different from Conversations With God and his other books

-Why divine intervention has led you as a listener to choose to listen to this specific interview among the trillions of choices available to you. Why the necessary steps were divinely set up for you so you decide to listen right now when you need to most. Neale says "Don't Look Now, but God is talking to you."

-How God is engaging with everyone who actively seeks a conversation & how God is also communicating with us all the time even when we are not actively seeking conversation.

Sean Young was one of Hollywood’s leading actresses. She starred in iconic movies like Blade Runner, No Way Out, Wall Street, Fatal Instinct & showed her comedic chops in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. She is now starring in a one woman play off-Broadway in New York City called Ode to the Wasp Woman. In this exclusive interview we discuss:

When did you decide you wanted to become an actress?

Why did think you could make it in a profession where most people don’t? Self-confidence or something else?

What motivates and drives you to continue to do what you?

What challenges did you face in your life, what have you overcome and what have you learned from these setbacks?

Any regrets, things you would have liked to have done differently?

Tell us about Ode to the Wasp Woman. What intrigued you and sold you on doing this Play?

What do you want audiences to feel during and after the Play?

What’s next in Sean Young’s fascinating life journey?

John Catsimatidis went from rags to riches to become the CEO of the Red Apple Group where he began his meteoric rise to billionaire status as the founder of the Gristedes supermarket chain in New York City. He started as a child immigrant from very modest beginnings were he had to learn English and where he took one small grocery store and turned it into a sprawling empire. He has gone on to be wildly successful in other industries including real estate, energy, sports and media as the owner of WABC Radio in NYC. His book is How Far Do You Want To Go: Lessons from a Common-Sense Billionaire. If you ever dreamed of hitting the Lotto, dream on...or learn the blueprint from this book on how to get to the top...the very top.

Topics we cover in this interview include:

Bill Boggs is an Emmy-Award winning TV Talk Show host, producer & author who began his career in comedy. His TV credits include the long running Midday Live out of New York City. He was the executive producer of the groundbreaking The Morton Downey Show and was the co-creator & host of the syndicated Series Comedy Tonite. He has interviewed some of the most notable personalities of all-time, including a rare talk show interview with Frank Sinatra. John Belushi, Martha Stewart, Brooke Shields, Elliot Gould, Carly Simon, Sammy Davis Jr., Yul Brynner, Jerry Lewis, Howard Stern are among the hundreds of bold faced names he has interviewed in his storied on-air career.

Bill is the author of the 2023 book Spike Unleashed: The Wonder Dog Returns (sequel to The Adventures of Spike the Wonder Dog).

Joe Pantoliano has starred in numerous films including Risky Business with a 21 yr old Tom Cruise, Midnight Run, The Matrix, Teddy and TV shows like The Sopranos.  He is now starring in the highly entertaining musical Rock & Roll Man in New York City.

In this exclusive interview we discuss:

-What it was like growing up dirt poor and how that inspired him to go into show business

-What it is like having roles in nearly 200 Films/TV shows/stage performances  

-How he get into the 1983 movie Risky Business and if he thought Tom Cruise would be the blockbuster star he is today

-What he is most proud of among those 200 some odd roles and why

-Why did he take his current dual roles in Rock & Roll Man and what intrigued him about the musical's central theme about rock pioneer Alan Freed and the challenges of integrating Rock & Roll for both black and white audiences

-What he hopes audiences feels, learns and takes away from the show ultimately

Eppie Lederer, better known as ANN LANDERS, was the most famous advice columnist in the world. Her columns were syndicated in newspapers all over North America. In this exclusive interview with her only child, Margo Howard, we learn:

-That her father, Jules Lederer, was equally accomplished as her mother was, as the founder of Budget Rent a Car

-Margo's infamous and controversial first article she wrote for the Chicago Tribune in the late 60's

-What is was like growing up with a famous mother and a hugely successful entrepreneur father

-How her mother landed the column as Ann Landers despite her lack of a degree and being told repeatedly she wasn't qualified

-What made Ann Landers a must read newspaper column for decades

-What life lessons Margo learned from her mother

-Which famous actor Margo was married to

-What she would change if she could

And more!

Constantine Maroulis hit it big & became a household name during the heyday of “American Idol.”   He is best known today for his iconic star turn in Broadway’s Rock of Ages for which he received a Best Actor Tony Award® nomination.  His stage acting work also includes Jekyll & Hyde, The Wedding Singer, RENT, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Toxic Avenger, and now he stars in the lead role of the off-Broadway blockbuster musical sensation…Rock & Roll Man. 

We discuss:

-What was it like growing up and did he always know he had singing & acting chops and did he always want to be a star?

-How did he get on American Idol and what was it like taking the country by storm with his breathtaking performances on the show and emerging out of anonymity to an instant star?

-How is it like getting on stage and performing in front of tens of millions on TV vs. a more intimate audience of a few hundred people on a stage. Does he get nervous on TV or stage?

-How was American Idol's Simon Cowell?

 -What made him excited about taking on the iconic, but challenging role of being the first person to ever portray trailblazing DJ Alan Freed (who actually is credited with coining the term Rock & Roll) in an entire show in the extraordinary new Musical Rock & Roll Man.

 -What does he hope audiences feel and what does he hope they learn and take away from the show?

- Rock & Roll Man features Rock & Roll Classics created by Legends such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, LaVern Baker, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley & The Killer Jerry Lee Lewis. However, Constantine sings all original songs which require a lot of heavy lifting. He tells us about the creative process in perfecting brand new songs no one ever did prior.

 -What it is like getting standing ovations and having people dance in the aisles every show?

-What are the secrets to his success and what he would advise other actors or other people in general that want to follow in your footsteps?

Bob Gaudio was inducted into the Songwriters, Rock and Roll, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame.  He was the principal writer & an original member of The Four Seasons, as in Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. He wrote and/or co-wrote “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and numerous others. He produced a number of songs for Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Roberta Flack & others. He co-produced the Frank Sinatra album Watertown His longtime association with Neil Diamond yielded seven albums.  

It seems like almost everything Bob was involved with was wildly successful. Born in da Bronx and moved to New Jersey, he created the music for the hit Tony Award winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys, in which he was also portrayed. He is now the co-Lead producer of the sensational Neil Diamond Broadway musical A Beautiful Noise. In this exclusive interview, Bob discusses:

-How his upbringing led him down his musical path

-How his immersion in music and confidence from an early age helped his meteoric level of success starting in his teens

-The main secret behind his success that is also the secret behind all success

-What about his career he is most proud of and why? 

 -How the original band The Four Lovers evolved into the Four Seasons in 1960

 -How the evolution occurred where he ended up becoming The Producer of The Four Seasons

 -Bob's favorite songs

-What inspired the song Cheri? 

-Was Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You inspired by anyone?

-How he feels about the streaming business today in a contemporary world

 -Of all of the acts he worked with outside of The Four Seasons, which one intrigued him most. 

 -How it was like producing the Neil Diamond / Barbra Streisand duet You Don’t Bring Me Flowers and the Neil Diamond Album of the same name

 -His role as co-lead producer of the Neil Diamond Broadway musical A Beautiful Noise.

-What Bob expects audiences to feel during the musical and how he wants audiences to feel after they leave the show

-What about the show he is most proud of?   

-What he thinks makes Neil Diamond & his music able to transcend the usual fading plateau of success & instead be as strong as ever in now a remarkable 7 decades of musical success where his classic songs like Sweet Caroline still resonates today & even where Gen Z can sing the lyrics of.

 -What would Bob Gaudio want to be most remembered for considering his breath of work and life has had so many highpoints?