Theater People

THEATER PEOPLE!! I'm so excited to tell you that I've teamed up with BROADWAY ICON Jennifer Simard--the two time Tony Nominee and star of the upcoming Death Becomes Her for a brand new podcast called The Golden Girls Deep Dive Podcast! AND WE ARE SO EXCITED TO SHARE EPISODE 1 WITH YOU RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW! Each week we recap an episode of The Golden Girls with laughter and sass and then at the end of each episode we bring you a fully researched deep dive on something from The Golden Girls Universe--like, what ever happened to Coco the gay chef from the pilot episode? Or what's the deal with this rumored on-set feud between Bea Arthur and Betty White? You know you're gonna love it! So listen to episode 1 here and then go follow us wherever you listen and check out episode 2 which is out now! 

HELLO THEATER PEOPLE!! For the first time in FIVE FREAKING YEARS I'm breaking the silence of the Theater People Universe to bring you a VERY SPECIAL episode. A few months ago, I discovered the podcast "Stage Combat"  it's a true crime style THEATER PODCAST in which actor Sean Hayden tells his TRUE horror story of being cast as a lead in the Goodspeed production of "Billy Elliot." It was a dream come true for him, until everything went wrong. I don't' want to give too much away here, but this is the kind of story we NEVER hear in the theater world--one in which an actor does the unthinkable by standing up for himself even when he knows it's going to cost him everything. For this very special episode, we're going to play episode 1 of "Stage Combat" and then stick around for my in-depth interview with Sean. You are not going to believe this story. And you're going to come away inspired. And I can't wait for you to  hear it!Binge all of season 1 of Stage Combat here. And make sure you're subscribed so you'll automatically get the brand new episodes when season 2 premieres on July 25th. 

Laura Benanti needs no introduction, you guys!! The Tony winner and five-time nominee joined me live on the main stage at Broadway con where we chatted like old pals....in front of 2500 people. We swapped parenting stories and talked about everything from 'Women on the Verge,' because I'm still obsessed, to Melania Trump and Stephen Colberet. I'm obsessed with her. Enjoy!

Live From Broadwaycon 2018, we bring you "Being Out on Broadway!" Each BroadwayCon, I ask some of my favorite LGBTQ guests to sit down for a live panel discussion about how it is to be OUT on Broadway. On this year's panel, we discussed everything from dating to politics to polyamory. to the state of union under Trump. I look forward all year to moderating this panel at BroadwayCon. The conversation is always lively and fun and this year was no exception. Enjoy!

We're Back! Take a listen to this episode's intro to find out what Patrick and Producer Mike have been up to and how the Theater People production schedule will be a little bit different going forward. AND THEN, prepare ye for our interview with Jennifer Ashley Tepper.We are THRILLED to welcome our friend Jennifer Ashley Tepper to the podcast! Jenn is a writer ("The Untold Stories of Broadway"), producer, director, Programming Director at Feinstein's/54 Below, and all around force of nature. She's currently producing Joe Iconis' "Be More Chill" off-Broadway at NYC's Signature Theater AND is producing / directing the upcoming "The Jonathan Larson" project at Feinstein's/54 Below. She is the embodiment of theater kid living our her dreams on Broadway and I'm obsessed with her. We did this interview sitting on the floor of her office and I never wanted to leave. Enjoy!

Hey Theater People! Yes, it’s been a minute since our last episode. We will have much more on that in our next episode—an interview with newly minted Tony nominee Lindsay Mendez. You guys, if you haven’t seen "Carousel" yet, RUN, do not walk to the Imperial Theater. The one thing I do want to let you know is that Theater People is NOT going away. And we WILL continue to produce new episodes with Tony winners, Broadway legends, and today’s brightest theater stars. There are going to be some changes to our release schedule, but again more on that next time. Today we’re excited to share a new episode of one of our favorite sister podcasts, "The Ensemblist." After a four month hiatus, "The Ensemblist" is back to share some of their favorite stories from their website. In this episode, they’re sharing some of the very best stories from their blog this spring read by the actors who wrote them including George Abud, Aaron Albano, and Tomar Wilson with stories from Hamilton, The Band’s Visit, and more. And as a special bonus "The Ensemblist" is bringing back their reviews of favorite performances of Broadway ensemblists in their spring round table. So enjoy this episode of "The Ensemblist" and we’ll see you in about two weeks with a brand new episode of Theater People featuring Tony Nominee Lindsay Mendez.

Hey theater People! We have big big news! Check it out!

We're SO thrilled to welcome Adam Kantor back to the podcast! When we last chatted with Adam, he was mid-run as Motel in the 2015 Broadway revival of "Fiddler on the Roof." Adam is now back on Broadway as Telephone Guy in "The Band's Visit," one of the most critically acclaimed new musicals of the year. For the episode, we chat about how Adam won the roll, working with creative team (including one of our personal favorites, David Yazbeck) on creating the role, and perfecting his character's haunting and beautiful song "Answer Me."

YOU GUYS!!!! Sitting down with Lea Salonga for this interview was literally a dream come true. Lea, of course, needs no introduction, but since I have to put something here, here goes: In 1989 she was selected to star as Kim in "Miss Saigon"--first in London and then on Broadway where, of course, she won the Tony Award for her work. She would go on to star in "Les Miserables," "Flower Drum Song," and "Allegiance" to name just a very few shows. She was also the singing voice of Jasmine in the Disney film version of "Aladdin" and Mulan in "Mulan." In the Philippines, where she is a mega-star, she is a co-host of the popular TV show "The Voice" Her credits go on and on and on. And now she's back on Broadway as Erzulie, The Goddess of Love, in Michael Arden's utterly magical production of "Once on this Island" now playing at Circle in the Square. It was one of the high honors of my career to get to meet and chat with Lea. Enjoy!