Unlearning with Veronica Stern | Broadway Podcast

Anna Zavelson is a rising Broadway actress and singer, best known for playing Younger Allie in The Notebook. A 2022 Jimmy Awards finalist, she previously starred as Clara in The Light in the Piazza and appeared on TV in 13 Reasons Why and Revolution. Originally from Texas, she’s currently earning her BFA at the University of Michigan.  ⁨@annazavelson6355⁩ 

00:00 – Welcome to Unlearning

01:56 - How We Met At Pearl Studios

04:19 - Phantom Masquerade Announcement & Working with Diane Paulus

07:13 - Balancing University of Michigan with Broadway Career

11:36 - Light in the Piazza NYC Debut - Behind the Scenes Casting Story

16:03 - Performing in the Social Media Age

18:14 - Slime Tutorials

20:22 - Light in the Piazza Success

22:34 - The Notebook Broadway

24:55 - Being a Broadway Replacement

32:30 - Redefining Success in Theater

36:27 - Wrap-Up

Follow Anna on socials: @annazavelson

Follow Veronica on socials: @thatmixedchicknyc, TikTok @veronicastern, Instagram

Addie Meny grew up in the theatre, participating in community theatre productions from the age of 3. She came home from her first summer at French Woods with an agent at nine years old, and quickly began working professionally in New York City. After taking a gap year between high school and college and participating in a program at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre, Addie began to pursue a career in arts administration. She earned her Bachelor’s in Arts Management from the College of Charleston in 2022, and worked at Spoleto Festival, Charleston Stage, and Piccolo Spoleto during her time in Charleston. She now works at Carnegie Hall as the Manager of Patron Programs, where she works on a fundraising team that manages over 1000 donors and raises critical funds to support the Hall’s mission.

Follow Veronica on socials: @veronicastern, Instagram @thatmixedchicknyc, TikTok

Franco Valerga was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he earned a BFA in Musical Theatre.His favorite performance credits include serving as the Evan Hansen Alternate in the Argentinian production of DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Querido Evan), Berger in HAIR at CCM, and Jesus Peña in HANDS ON A HARDBODY at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati.Franco is passionate about creating art that is both meaningful and beautiful in equal measure. He believes deeply in the transformative power of performance and strives to leave a piece of himself in every project he takes on.Beyond the world of music and theatre, Franco is also deeply interested in innovation strategy and design research. During his time at the University of Cincinnati, he was a NEXT Innovation Scholar.Follow Franco on socials: @francovalegraFollow Veronica on socials: @veronicastern on IG @thatmixedchicknyc on TikTok

Erich W. Schleck (he/they) is a Seattle native and graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), holding a BFA in Musical Theatre. They most recently starred as Herod in the Regent’s Open Air/50th Anniversary Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar and made their West End debut in Blippi the Musical, earning a 2023 Olivier nomination for Best Family Show. As a choreographer, Erich’s work has been seen in Big Fish, Spring Awakening, RENT, and Once on This Island, and they’ve served as associate to Connor Gallagher on The Secret Garden.

00:23 - Intro

1:04 - Catching up with Erich

02:09 - Patti LuPone disses Audra McDonald

12:05 - Graduating in 2020

18:37 - Booking Blippi

25:46 - Life on the Road

28:27 - West End vs. Broadway

30:21 - Getting Nominated for An Olivier Award

32:30 - Jesus Christ Superstar National Tour

39:07 - Bringing Their Queer Identity Into The Work

46:47 - The Success Question

50:25 - Outro

Follow Olivia on socials:Instagram: @olivia_the_cheechTikTok: @olivia_deicicchiFollow Veronica on socials:Instagram: @veronicasternTikTok: @thatmixedchicknycInquiries: [email protected]

Olivia Dei Cicchi is a dynamic performer who made her Broadway debut in the iconic musical Wicked. Prior to joining the Broadway cast, she toured nationally with Les Misérables, where she understudied the roles of Cosette and Fantine. Her on-screen credits include the feature film She Came to Me and an appearance on Saturday Night Live.

Chapters:

00:23 - Introduction

00:52 - Seeing Boop the Musical & Death Becomes Her on Broadway

01:41 - How French Woods Changed Olivia's Life

08:52 - Why Olivia Dropped Out of Penn State MT

11:18 - Getting Discovered at French Woods15:35 - The Problem with BFA Programs

21: 26 - Olivia's Wild First Auditions in NYC

30: 21 - Les Miserables

32:00 - Re-Auditioning for Les Miserables

36:14 - Wicked

41:35 - Tour vs Broadway

43:51 - Les Mis & The Kennedy Center

47:52 - The Success Question

50:58 - One Last Thing

52:20 - OutroFollow Olivia on socials:Instagram: @olivia_the_cheechTikTok: @olivia_deicicchiFollow Veronica on socials:Instagram: @veronicasternTikTok: @thatmixedchicknyc

Inquiries: [email protected]

Lindsey Stone, your Broadway bestie and host of From the Mezzanine joins Veronica for a very exciting 2025 Tony Nominations breakdown episode! Veronica and Lindsey talk about what surprised them most about this years nominees + get into how Tony voting works. From The Mezzanine is THE podcast for fans of Broadway! Each week, Lindsey gushes and gossips about the latest breaking news in the theatre community each week as well as tracks the top shows on Broadway week to week. Veronica also joined Lindsey on From the Mezzanine this week for an IN-DEPTH breakdown of each Tony Awards category! Be sure to check it out!

00:23 - INTRO

02:21 - Who is Lindsey Stone?

5:03 - Tony Nominations First Thoughts

08:55 - How does Tony Awards Voting Work?

19:13 - Tony Nominations Snubs & Surprises

37:10 - Head over to From the Mezzanine for More!

37:51- OUTRO

Follow Lindsey on socials:  ⁨@FromtheMezzanineBroadway⁩ 

Follow Veronica on socials: @veronicastern on Instagram and @thatmixedchicknyc on TikTok

Rate & Review for more fun Broadway interviews and discussions xo

Inquiries: [email protected]

This one's for the Stern Spiel fans. Veronica's Dad, Charlie, joins Veronica for a short n sweet episode of Unlearning where they reflect on the first 12 episodes of the podcast and what they're looking forward to most for the next 12.Follow Veronica on socials: @veronicastern on Instagram, @thatmixedchicknyc on TikTok

Inquiries: [email protected]

Carlyn Jade Batya Barenholtz (she/they), a born-and-raised New Yorker who recently returned home after an incredible adventure. This past fall, Carlyn completed an exciting contract as part of the 47th mainstage cast of the Disney Wonder, where they sailed to Alaska, walked on glaciers, and even got to hold baby sled dogs. Carlyn earned their BFA in Musical Theater from Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music and is also a proud alum of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York City, where they majored in Vocal Music.They are currently continuing their training in NYC with Actor Therapy and Jared Trudeau at BroadwayVox.Chapters:00:00 - Intro01:19 - Variety's Actors on Actors Broadway Breakdown04:52 - Catching Up with Carlyn06:50 - Boston Conservatory of Music Musical Theater Training07:43 - Cruise Ship Performer Life23:27 - Work/Life Balance on a Cruise Ship26:35 - Advice For Actors Interested in Cruise Ships30:18 - What's Next?

Inquiries: [email protected]

Melvin Tunstall, III began his writing career while still a student at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music as a founding member of the AMP Theatre Company. A proud participant in the Yale Institute for Musical Theater, Melvin took a small break from writing to make his Broadway debut in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical after originating the role of “Ja’Keith” in the Toronto Company of the Broadway smash Rock of Ages. The acting bug now quenched, Melvin returned to writing with commissioned adaptations of the Broadway musicals Wonderland and The Wiz. His original musical BLooM! was a finalist in the renowned NAMT Festival in New York City. Peter, darling…, his highly anticipated new musical version of the classic Peter Pan, was commissioned by and will premiere at Casa Mañana Theatre in TX, Spring 2018. His show Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical won the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show in 2018. Melvin currently resides in New York City where he is hard at work writing the book, melodies and lyrics to Senior Class: a new musical Pygmalion.Follow Melvin on socials: @mtx3broadwayFollow Veronica on socials: @thatmixedchicknyc on TikTok @veronicastern on Instagram

Inquiries: [email protected]

Four time Broadway performer, and recording artist Nathan Lucrezio, has been working in the entertainment business for over 15 years. He recently starred as the Lover in The Who's TOMMY on Broadway at the Nederlander Theater, and Andrew Morton in DIANA The Musical, which ran on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre.​ Other Broadway credits include Disney's ALADDIN and Rogers and Hammerstein's CINDERELLA.Follow Nathan on socials: @nathanlucrezio on Instagramhttps://www.nathanlucrezio.com/Follow Veronica on socials: @veronicastern, Instagram @thatmixedchicknyc, TikTok

Inquiries: [email protected]