Broadway Episodes

11
Dec. 6, 2021

Ep. 100 with Moulin Rouge's Mia DeWeese

On this episode I talked with Mia about her beginning with dance, whether she ever though dance would lead to her performing on stage in a musical theatre show, what the first Broadway show she saw that made love theatre was, what her most valuable takeaway was from her college experience at Marymount Manhattan University, the very real hustle that comes with being a part of the entertainment / theatre industry, why she decided to take the LSAT post college while working FIVE side jobs, how she ...
7
Oct. 31, 2021

Ep. 96 with Dear Evan Hansen's Phoenix Best

On this episode, I talked with Phoenix about when she realized she wanted to be a theatre performer, the moment she realized she had the talent to make performing in theatre a career, why Annie made her fall in love with theatre, how she worked on and still works on becoming a well-rounded theatre performer, making her Broadway debut in The Color Purple where she was not only a swing, but also the assistant stage manager, how she prepared to learn the tracks she was covering in The Color Purple,...
4
Oct. 4, 2021

Ep. 93 with Dreamgirls' Brennyn Lark

On this episode I talked to Brennyn about the moment she realized she wanted to be an actress, why she doesn’t limit acting to just the stage and continues to explore all mediums of art, her decision to go to AMDA as opposed to other four year universities, her favorite regional show she’s ever been a part of, her audition for Eponine in Les Miserables, whether not knowing much about Les Miserables before getting cast in the show helped her to make Eponine her own, her audition for Dreamgirls an...
2
Sept. 18, 2021

Ep. 91 with Broadway's Bethany Tesarck

On this episode I talked with Bethany about how dance lead her to theatre, making her Broadway debut when she was only 8 years in old in Gypsy opposite Bernadette Peters, being cast in Bye Bye Birdie at age 12 opposite John Stamos, what it was like being a Broadway kid and how her childhood differed from other children, how many tracks she covered when she was in Bye Bye Birdie and how she was able to master all the tracks, her audition process for Diana, being a part of an original show and the...
88
June 9, 2021

Ep. 88 with Kinky Boots' Delaney Westfall

On this episode this episode I talked with Delaney about what made her fall in love with theatre, the first show see saw and the first show she was in that made her realize that acting and being on stage was in fact a career path she could take, how she worked on becoming a well rounded performer growing up, college auditions and what made her choose to go study theatre at BYU, getting to star as Christine in a production of Phantom Of The Opera while at BYU, how she got her audition for Side Sh...
87
June 1, 2021

Ep. 87 with The Lion King's Adrienne Walker

On this episode I talked with Adrienne about when she realized she loved performing, her passion for opera that led her to studying opera, participating in Porgy and Bess at Court Theatre in Chicago and deciding she instead wanted to pursue musical theatre, what prepared her for a career in musical theatre and how she became a well-rounded performer, what makes regional theatre so special, how her audition for The Lion King came about and what it was like, what stepping into the world of The Lio...
85
May 16, 2021

Ep. 85 with Broadway's Hayley Podschun

On this episode I talked with Hayley about when her interest in theatre began, what it was like making her Broadway debut at age 12 when she was cast as a standby for both Louisa and Brigitta in Sound Of Music, finding out what a standby was and what the pressure for a child is like when covering not one, but two roles in a show, being involved with just about everything Hairspray from the National Tour, to Broadway, to the movie, understudying Penny and Amber in Hairspray and making those two v...
84
May 12, 2021

Ep. 84 with Broadway's JJ Niemann

On this episode I talked with JJ about how growing up in a family who was involved in theatre and watching his sisters perform on stage made JJ realize that he wanted to be a performer too, how growing up he worked on becoming a well rounded performer, how he managed to balance a million and one different things (including theatre) while in high school, auditioning for colleges and why he chose to study theatre at Elon University, the many regional shows he’s been a part of, his love for the sho...
83
May 2, 2021

Ep. 83 with Dear Evan Hansen's Jared Goldsmith

On this episode I talked with Jared about how he’s always been into entertaining people since he was little, why he chose to study theatre at Elon University and how earning a BFA in Musical Theatre from Elon kickstarted his career, making his National Tour Debut in Dear Evan Hansen almost immediately after he graduated from college, what the audition process for Dear Evan Hansen was like for him, what he knew about how popular Dear Evan Hansen was before taking the show on it’s First National T...
82
April 26, 2021

Ep. 82 with Broadway's Ali Ewoldt

On this episode I talked with Ali about when she knew she wanted to have a career in theatre, why she fell in with theatre when she saw her first theatre show ‘A Chorus Line’ live as an audience member, why she decided to go to Yale University and study psychology instead of auditioning for a musical theatre program, how studying psychology helped her better understand the characters she’s played in different shows over the years since, her experience working at Disneyland, her Broadway debut as...
80
April 6, 2021

Ep. 80 with Arts For Autism's Jacque Carnahan & Michael Holzer

On this episode I talked with Jacque Carnahan and Michael Holzer about when their interest in theatre and the arts started, what kickstarted their interest in theatre, how Jacque’s experience performing on stage in theatre helps her when it comes to working behind the scenes, her one woman show “Main Street to 42nd Street”, what lead Michael to discover the theatre industry after getting a degree in computer science, whether he ever saw himself working in theatre and the arts, Jacque’s company B...
78
March 25, 2021

Ep. 78 with Broadway's Shereen Pimentel

On this episode I talked with Shereen about what is what like to make her Broadway debut at age 9 as Young Nala in The Lion King and how magical it is to step into the world of a classic movie you’re a fan of, what being on a Broadway stage at such a young age taught her to help her go forward in the world of theatre, why she made the decision to go to Julliard School and what her audition process for getting into Julliard was like, her audition for the West Side Story Revival on Broadway, what ...
74
March 7, 2021

Ep. 74 with Broadway's Chilina Kennedy

On this episode I talked with Chilina about her impressive resume, making her Broadway debut as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar, how she put herself in Mary’s shoes and put her own spin on the character, staying positive in one’s own life while playing such an emotional role, what makes fans love Jesus Christ Superstar, her audition Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, how she portrayed Carole King’s growth and journey on stage, what she learned about Carole King’s story that she previou...
73
Feb. 28, 2021

Ep. 73 with Mean Girls' Megan Masako Haley

On this episode I talked with Megan about her childhood dream to be a popstar like Britney Spears, the moment she saw her first theatre show and realized she could live out those popstar dreams in a way and perform for an audience on stage in musicals, her experience in the theatre department at Brigham Young University and what made their theatre program appealing to her, getting cast in Wicked as Nessarose shortly after graduating, the first cast she ever got to see in Wicked (Eden Espinosa as...
72
Feb. 22, 2021

Ep. 72 with Dear Evan Hansen's Gabrielle Carrubba

On this episode I talked with Gabrielle about how performing on stage as always been her passion, getting to go on the 30th National Tour of Annie as Kate where she understudied Annie as kid, auditioning as a kid vs. auditioning as an adult and how it’s different, the reason she chose to study theatre at Boston Conservatory and why she loved the program there, auditioning for Dear Evan Hansen and eventually being brought in as a vacation understudy for Zoe and Alana then getting bumped up to the...
68
Feb. 6, 2021

Ep. 68 with The Lightning Thief's Kristin Stokes

On this episode I talked with Kristin about how her mom’s involvement in and love for musical theatre translated to her, about working with adults in theatre shows as a kid and realizing that theatre was a career path, the reason she chose to stay close to home to study theatre and go to Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts, how that school helped go forward into her professional theatre career, doing readings and shows with TheatreWorks, how she got her audition for The Lightning Thief Music...
67
Feb. 2, 2021

Ep. 67 with Miss Saigon's Emily Bautista

On this episode I talked with Emily about the moment she knew she wanted to be a performer, her college experience and why she almost changed majors, her audition for Miss Saigon came about when her dad sent Cameron McIntosh an email asking about upcoming auditions, how surreal it was for her when she ended up booking the understudy for Kim in Miss Saigon on Broadway, her favorite part about working with the kids who play Tam in Miss Saigon, what the day she made her Broadway debut was like, how...
66
Jan. 29, 2021

Ep. 66 with Broadway's Donna Vivino

On this episode I talked with Donna Vivino about making her Broadway debut at only eight years old when she originated the role of Young Cosette on Broadway in Les Miserables, what goes through a young kid’s mind when they’re making their Broadway debut, her experience being the youngest in the cast of Les Miserables, her favorite Hairspray moments, her audition experience for Wicked, the number of times she played Elphaba in Wicked (comment below if you know the exact number), how she’s similar...
64
Jan. 23, 2021

Ep. 64 with Rock Of Ages' Justin Sargent

On this episode, I talked with Justin about what he’s been up to during quarantine, where his love for musical theatre stemmed from, going to University of Central Florida to study musical theatre, how his college experience helped his career skyrocket, when he made his Broadway debut, how difficult the jobs that swings and understudies have are, the pressure involved with playing an iconic character such as Drew in Rock Of Ages on Broadway, getting cast as Peter Parker in Spiderman: Turn Off Th...
63
Jan. 21, 2021

Ep. 63 with Six's Samantha Pauly

On this episode I talked with Samantha about the first theatre show she ever saw, the moment she realized that she wanted to be an actress and that it was possible for her to perform on stage, how she worked on becoming the well-rounded and multi-talented performer she is today, getting to play Eva Peron in Evita THREE TIMES, West End included, what prepared her to be in a show like Evita where she’s the main character and center of the show, getting to see Six on West End while she was in Londo...
62
Jan. 17, 2021

Ep. 62 with Paramour's Ruby Lewis

On this episode I talked with Ruby about when she discovered she loved musical theatre, her vocal training and how it’s prepared her for the shows she’s starred in, how she discovered For The Record Live, what it’s like to play multiple characters within in one For The Record show, her favorite FTR show, what makes For The Record so successful, touring with We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys, and Grease, acting on camera vs. acting on stage, when she first heard about Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, her...
59
Dec. 29, 2020

Ep. 59 with Mean Girls' Cailen Fu

On this episode I talked with Cailen about the moment she realized she wanted to be a theatre performer, how growing up in Fresno and going to school where Audra McDonald went to school made her realize that if Audra grew up where she did and made it then she could too, why she chose to study theatre at UC Irvine and continue with their program, the most valuable lesson she learned in college, her audition process for Mean Girls, how she puts herself into the shoes of Gretchen and Regina (two ch...
56
Dec. 18, 2020

Ep. 56 with Newsies' Ben Fankhauser

On this episode I talked with Ben about his experience at Ithaca College, how going to Ithaca kickstarted his professional career, auditioning for Spring Awakening and booking Ernst on the First National Tour, playing Davey in Newsies, the moment he knew Newsies was going to be a hit on Broadway, being committed to learning the choreography for the dance numbers in Newsies, his favorite memory from being part of the cast, playing Barry Mann on the Beautiful tour, teaching masterclasses this year...
55
Dec. 15, 2020

Ep. 55 with The Prom's Kate Marilley

On this episode I talked with Kate about how having parents who were involved in theatre and growing up around theatre world instilled her love for theatre, how she worked to become a well-rounded and triple talented theatre performer, getting to play Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden, why she ended up choosing to go to Carnegie Mellon to study theatre, making her Broadway debut in the My Fair Lady revival at Lincoln Center, getting cast in The Prom, getting to be part of a show during it’s begin...