Theater People

It is such a pleasure to welcome three-time Tony winning Producer Kevin McCollum to our show! Kevin is well known in the industry for being the kind of producer that can spot something special miles--and years--away from being a fully formed product. This is the guys who, waaaaaaaaaay back in the early 90s saw a very early workshop of RENT and made a promise to Jonathan Larson--AT THE WORKSHOP'S INTERMISSION--that he would get the show to Broadway. In addition to a MILLION other shows, Kevin helped shepherd "In the Heights", "The Drowsy Chaperone", and "Something Rotten" to Broadway. He sat down with us to talk about his most recent productions--"Motown The Musical", which had a quick return to Broadway this summer--and "Something Rotten". And, yes, he indulged me in my "In The Heights" obsession and answered a few questions about 'discovering' Lin-Manuel Miranda.

We are SO excited to welcome Carmen Cusack back to the podcast! Since we last spoke with her, Carmen received her first Tony nomination for her work in the FABULOUS "Bright Star." For this episode, we talk about the wonderful craziness of the Tony Awards season, saying goodbye to "Bright Star" performing at the DNC, and her upcoming sold out solo shows at Feinstein's / 54 Below. We're obsessed with her! Enjoy!

Hello Theater People! So, the plan was for us to take two weeks off and have a little bit of a summer break. But then we did this great interview with this young actress named Allison Semmes. She was playing Dianna Ross in "Motown The Musical" on Broadway. The day before out interview, the show got it’s closing notice. It was limited engagement on Broadway anyway, but now the show was closing way earlier than expected. Mike and I had LOVED Allison in the show and we loved her even more in person, so we wanted to get this episode out while the show was still fresh on people’s minds. It’s a really short interview, which made for a really short episode, but I urge you to keep your eye on her, she clearly has a really bright future on Broadway. Just, to let you know why I sound a little insane in this episode--it was our first time recording in an actual recording studio. I am veeeeeeery particular about the sound of this podcast and I was just loving every second of being in that padded room. So just, you know, bear with me. Ok, ENJOY!

SURPRISE EPISODE! Happy Friday, Theater People! We're so excited to bring you this mini bonus episode featuring Broadway powerhouses Emily Skinner and Alice Ripley! Alice and Emily first met in 1998 when they were cast as the conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton in the 1998 production of Side Show. Though they'd each go on to have separate thriving careers, they joined forces for the critically acclaimed albums Duets and Unsuspecting Hearts. Now they're back with a brand new album Unattached, from Broadway Records. It was such a thrill to get to interview them both at the same time! Enjoy!

You guys, I just have to go ahead and admit it, I have a full on Broadway crush on today’s guest, THREE time Tony nominee, Christopher Fitzgerald. I know, I know, I know, it’s probably inappropriate to call a full grown man adorable, but I can’t help it, he’s so…..Adorable. Of course, he’s also insanely talented. If you’re one of the lucky ones who has gotten to see the new musical, "Waitress," you know what I’m talking about. In the role of Oogie, sure, he may not appear until about 50 minutes into the first act, but when he arrives, he completely steals the show. Chris began working professionally in New York in the late 90s. One of his first big gigs in town was the somewhat controversial Terrance McNally play "Corpus Christi." Actually, strike the word somewhat from that sentence, it was COMPLETELY controversial and I was so excited to get the chance to talk to him about it here. In addition to about ten thousand other credits, he, of course originated the role of Boq in the 2003 smash hit "Wicked," he earned his first Tony Award nomination in 2007 for originating the role of Igor in "Young Frankenstein," and he earned his second Tony nomination for originating the role of Og in the 2009 production of "Finian’s Rainbow." He earned his third Tony nomination, of course, for "Waitress." He was such a delight. I’m counting the seconds until we get to talk again. But not, like, in a creepy way.Enjoy!

You guys, I’m SO excited to share our interview with Tony winner James Monroe Igleheart with you today. This guy is so smart and warm and funny, I could have talked to him for hours. He made his Broadway debut in 2007 as a replacement in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and then went on to co-star as Bobby in 2009’s Tony Award winning best musical, "Memphis." In 2014 he landed the role of a lifetime as the Genie in the Broadway production of the Disney musical "Aladdin." He would, of course, go on to with the Tony Award for his work in that show. He is still hoofing it as the Genie 8 times a week at the New Amsterdam Theater, if you can get there to see him, you absolutely must. The sheer energy he brings to that performance is show stopping. He was so much fun to talk with! Enjoy!

YOU GUYS!! The day has finally arrived! We are SO thrilled to share this hilarious and heart warming interview with Betsy Wolfe with all of you!Betsy made her Broadway debut in the 2007 production of "110 In The Shade" (which she got through an OPEN CALL! Open calls really work sometimes, you guys!). Her next Broadway gig was alongside our pal Lindsay Mendez backing up Sherie Rene Scott in one of my all time favorite shows, "Everyday Rapture" in 2010. In 2012 she starred as Rosa Bud in Roundabout Theater Company production of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" before going on to win the coveted role of Cathy in the Second Stage production of Jason Robert Brown's "The Last Five" Years in 2013. She was last seen on Broadway in the 2014 production of "Bullets Over Broadway." Of course, she recently starred as Elsa in the lab production of the Broadway bound "Frozen." That all happened after this interview was recorded, so we don't get into that here....it just means that she'll hopefully come back to talk about it!She was such a great interview. Enjoy!

Theater People! I'm STILL in a state of shock that the Tony winning powerhouse that is Alice Ripley agreed to sit down for an interview with me! I was SO nervous--I stammered like a fool and kept telling her what an honor it was. Ugh. ANYWAY, she was amazing! Such a delight and so so kind We met in her dressing room and talked ALL about :American Psycho". I'm completely OBSESSED with the show, so she was kind to indulge me!For the uninitiated, Alice made her Broadway debut in the 1993 production of "The Who's Tommy". She went on to star in "Les Miserables" and "Sunset Boulevard" before landing the star-making role of Violet Hilton in 1997's "Side Show." After performing roles in "James Joyce's the Dead" and "The Rocky Horror Show," she won her second role of a lifetime as Dianna in 2009's "Next To Normal"--a role for which she won a Tony Award. She was a delight. I'm obsessed. Enjoy the interview!

Theater People! I'm STILL in a state of shock that the Tony winning powerhouse that is Alice Ripley agreed to sit down for an interview with me! I was SO nervous--I stammered like a fool and kept telling her what an honor it was. Ugh. ANYWAY, she was amazing! Such a delight and so so kind We met in her dressing room and talked ALL about :American Psycho". I'm completely OBSESSED with the show, so she was kind to indulge me!

For the uninitiated, Alice made her Broadway debut in the 1993 production of "The Who's Tommy". She went on to star in "Les Miserables" and "Sunset Boulevard" before landing the star-making role of Violet Hilton in 1997's "Side Show." After performing roles in "James Joyce's the Dead" and "The Rocky Horror Show," she won her second role of a lifetime as Dianna in 2009's "Next To Normal"--a role for which she won a Tony Award.

She was a delight. I'm obsessed. Enjoy the interview!

You Guys! Jenn Damiano (she told me to call her Jenn, so.....) has to be one of the kindest, funniest, most humble humans I've ever met. Most recently Jenn starred in the fabulous, hilarious, legitimately scary, and gone-way-too-soon "American Psycho." She made her Broadway debut at the age of 15 in the groundbreaking and Tony winning "Spring Awakening." She earned a Tony nomination for her work in "Next To Normal" before being cast as Mary-Jane Watson in the Broadway mega-hit "Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark." She was SUCH a delight! Enjoy!