In Memoriam: Rita Gardner, Actress

Friends, you need to go see Dancin! It is one of the best musicals on Broadway and is true brilliance. To celebrate its opening, we are sharing our 2019 interview with director/choreographer of Dancin, Wayne Cilento! Dancin Tickets HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlotte d’Amboise has been gracing Broadway stages for decades. Since making her Broadway debut in Cats, Charlotte has been nominated for two Tony Awards for her performances in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line (Cassie) and Jerome Robbins' Broadway (multiple roles). She has also won numerous Fred Astaire Awards for her roles in Pippin (Fastrada), Sweet Charity (Charity), and Damn Yankees (Lola). Most recently, she has been seen in the role of Roxie in Chicago, that has earned her the LA Ovation Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award and the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award. Charlotte has also appeared in the Broadway casts of Company, Contact, Carrie, and Song and Dance.  Throughout her career onstage, she has worked alongside several legendary directors including, Jerome Robbins, Michael Bennett, Peter Martins, Rob Marshall, Ann Reinking, Debbie Allen, Gillian Lynn, Rob Ashford, Diane Paulus, Walter Bobbie, Scott Ellis, and George Balanchine. Her film credits include The In Crowd (1988), American Blue Note (1989), Just Off the Coast (1992), and The Preacher's Wife (1996). She appears as herself in Every Little Step (2008), a documentary about the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line. In 2012, she co-starred in Frances Ha, directed by Noah Baumbach. On television she has appeared in Law & Order (2001), One Life to Live (2009), a videotaped performance of the Broadway musical Contact (2002) and the Kennedy Center Honors (1989, 1995, 2009). Of all her experiences on stage, one of the most special moments for Charlotte was her performance in the Kennedy Center Honors (2009) performing with her brother (Christopher d’Amboise) in an evening honoring her father, Jacques d’Amboise which also aired on television. Charlotte is the Co-Artistic director, with her husband Terrence Mann, of Triple Arts, a musical theater summer intensive for young artists. To see Charlotte in Chicago Click HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robert W. Schneider reviews monologuist Colin Quinn's new show, Small Talk, at the Lucille Lortel and gives it 4/5 stars! Tickets: https://www.colinquinnshow.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the life of Lawrence Merritt we are re-running our 2016 episode with him. Larry's shows included: No Strings, No Where To Go But Up, Golden Rainbow, Dear World, Applause, On the Town, Pippin, and Evita! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us as we celebrate the lives and careers of those we lost in 2021 and 2022 with Mr. Show Business himself....LEE ROY REAMS! Yes, Lee Roy is back with wine, wisdom, and wicked stories about Broadway and its denizens. While we celebrate icons like Stephen Sondheim, Harvey Evans, and Carole Cook, Lee Roy takes on some fabulous de tours that include handling a handsy Michael Bennett, making Lauren Bacall laugh, and why Lil Abner was an appropriate name for some actors. This episode is NSFW so put in your earbuds, crack open some wine, and get ready for Lee Roy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the passing of actress Carole Cook (1924-2023) we are reviving our 2019 interview with her at her home in Los Angeles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sheldon Epps was artistic director of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse for two decades, and still acts as artistic director emeritus for the playhouse. Previously, he was associate artistic director of the Old Globe Theatre. Sheldon directed numerous plays and musicals at many of the country’s major theatres, including the Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club, the Guthrie, Playwrights Horizons, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre and the Goodman Theatre. He conceived and directed the highly acclaimed Broadway musicals “Play On!” and “Blues In the Night,” which both received Tony Award nominations. “Blues in the Night” also was nominated as Best Musical for the prestigious Olivier Award in London. He co-directed the Tony-nominated production of “Baby It's You!” Sheldon has had a busy career as a television director, helming episodes of shows such as “Frasier,” “Friends,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Girlfriends” and many others. He is a longtime board member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers and is the chair of the SDC Foundation Board of Trustees. BUY SHELDON'S BOOK HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arnold J. Mungioli is a Casting Director, Audition Coach, Career Coach, Writer, and Teacher who has worked in the professional theater, film, television, and entertainment industries for over thirty years. Arnold has served as Executive Director of Casting for DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS and Senior Vice President of Casting and Creative Development for LIVENT, INC, for which he cast the Broadway and international premieres of four companies of Ragtime, two companies of the Tony Award winning Best Musical Fosse, five companies of the Hal Prince/Susan Stroman Tony Award Winning Best Musical Revival of Show Boat, Phantom of the Opera, Candide, Music of the Night, Sunset Boulevard, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond, Seussical, Sweet Smell of Success, Parade, the Hal Prince/Rob Marshall production of the Tony Award Winning Best Musical Kiss of the Spider Woman with Chita Rivera and with Vanessa Williams, as well as many other productions. Arnold has received two Artios Awards from the CASTING SOCIETY OF AMERICA for outstanding achievement, as well as the Governor's Committee on Equal Opportunity Employment Media Access Award for "casting based on ability rather than disability." He currently serves on the faculty of the NEW YORK UNIVERSITY TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS, and has worked internationally, teaching master classes and seminars across the United States and Canada, and casting throughout the five continents of North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the life of actress Rita Gardner (1934-2022) we are re-posting her 2017 interview. May her memory be a blessing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate the life and legacy of musical coordinator Seymour Red Press, who passed away on October 24th, 2022 we are re-releasing our 2018 interview with him. May his memory be a blessing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices