The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

Opening up about her first live performance since the COVID pandemic began, this performer shares her joy in welcoming enthusiastic audiences back to the theatre, and says if people didn’t know it pre pandemic, they certainly know it now - “life without the arts is not living."Susan Kelechi Watson may be best known for her role as Beth Pearson in This Is Us, but she made her Broadway debut in 2005 in a Richard Greenberg play, A Naked Girl on the Appian Way. She later found her way to a successful TV and film career, with credits including Law & Order, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Veep, Billions, and recurring roles on Louie, NCIS, The Following, Third Watch, and The Blacklist. Additional Off Broadway credits include Twelfth Night and A Raisin in the Sun. Susan also starred as Andrea Vogel in the Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood alongside Tom Hanks. She can now be seen in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Merry Wives, playing through September 18th. Susan opens up about how her deep love and appreciation for her own Jamaican culture influenced and informed the work she put into her newest role as a Nigerian woman in Merry Wives. Part of her efforts to be as specific as possible included sending her script to friends for help with cadence and rhythm of language, as well as watching Nigerian movies every night for a month and a half. She calls theatre “magic”, and shares why she’ll keep coming back to it even in the midst of a successful film and TV career. Susan also talks about what it’s felt like to finally return to live theatre performance, and to be a part of a show which allows a crowd of people to laugh together once again. In this episode, we talk about:  Welcoming people back to the theatre every night at Merry Wives Performing while the COVID pandemic continues  This modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives  Being a first generation Jamaican, born in Brooklyn  Why she switched her major from English to Acting in college  Connect with Susan: IG: @SusanKelechiWatson Twitter: @SKelechiWatson Shakespeare in the Park's Merry Wives Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After realizing he “didn't just want to get up there and do a kick ball change, and sing a high C”, but also wanted his art to make change in the world, this Broadway veteran decided social justice would become a theme in his career. Jay Armstrong Johnson is no stranger to the stage, or screen for that matter, having six Broadway productions on his resume, as well as a recurring role on the ABC series Quantico. His Broadway credits include Phantom of the Opera (Raoul), On The Town, Hands on a Hardbody, Catch Me If You Can, and Hair (Broadway debut). Jay originated the role of Banko in Roundabout Theatre Company’s world premiere of Scotland, PA, for which he received a 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award Honor. He is the driving force, and a star of, the Hocus Pocus themed concert event “I Put A Spell On You”, which raised over a quarter of a million dollars for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS last year. Coming up next, Jay will be celebrating his birthday with all who tune in to his live streamed show from 54 Below on September 1st. Jay grew up a “queer kid” in Texas, and when he joined a community theater group at 12 years old, he realized he had found his place and his people. Jay shares his deep love for the movie Hocus Pocus with us, and how it later inspired him to create the now yearly and widely successful “I Put A Spell On You” show/fundraiser. He opens up about how his Broadway debut in Hair was a “life changing experience”, one where they played the part of 60’s hippies on stage, and also walked the walk offstage going to rallies and marches for marriage equality as a cast. Jay also speaks candidly about the “reckoning” of the last year within the theater industry, and the need for representation both on and off stage.In this episode, we talk about:  Being bullied at school as a child  Growing up as a “scholarship kid” How he almost ended up a swimmer  How his parents divorce provided some “relief” Connecting with Bette Midler Connect with Jay: IG: @jay_a_johnson Twitter: @jay_a_johnson On the Web Get Tickets to his 54/Below Birthday concert Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the Broadway stage to the television screen, this performer opens up about her undying love for live theater, as well as the new bug she caught for doing TV while filming her new series.Alison Luff is a Broadway veteran, maybe best known for her roles as Jenna in Waitress, and Elphaba in the First National Tour of Wicked. Her other Broadway credits include Matilda (Miss Honey), Les Mis (Fantine), Ghost, Scandalous, Escape to Margaritaville, and Mamma Mia (her Broadway debut). On TV she has appeared in FBI and New Amsterdam. Alison now has a starring role as Staci Spade in the Starz wrestling drama Heels, which was just released on August 15. Alison began performing professionally at age 10 in Texas, and opens up about the journey that took her from Houston, to New York City straight out of high school to pursue her dreams. From understudying greats like Carolee Carmello, to earning star billing herself, Alison charts her career by a series of brave decisions. She recalls the first time she read sides for her starring role on the new Starz series Heels, what attracted her to the role, and what the audition process was like. Alison also chats about what draws her to performing onstage, and while she will always return to the theatre. In this episode, we talk about: Following her gut while auditioning for Elphaba  The Margaritaville connection that lead to her Heels audition  The stunt performances on Heels  Being one of the first shows to begin filming during COVID Performing emotional scenes on stage v. on camera Connect with Alison: IG: @alisonluff Watch HEELS on Starz Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Music is so beautiful, because it is the tapestry of our lives. There is a song or a lyric for absolutely every emotion - good, bad, high, low - it doesn't matter…”Toneisha Harris is a singer and songwriter who may be best known for receiving a four chair turn and becoming the runner up on the most recent season of The Voice. Coming up this November she will join the North American tour of Hairspray as Motormouth Maybelle.Starting at the age of five, Toneisha could be found singing with her family in church and on the road along Maryland’s lower eastern shore with her mother’s singing group. She didn’t know what it would lead to then, but Toneisha was tied to music for life. Toneisha recalls her experience watching all four judges turn their chairs to fight for her on The Voice, and speaks honestly about the “meltdown” she had just moments before stepping on stage. She opens up about receiving her son’s cancer diagnosis in 2011, and shares how throughout nearly 4 years of treatment, Toneisha’s son continued to encourage her to get back on stage. Toneisha also chats about one of her biggest dreams (now coming true) - to get back into theater. In this episode, we talk about: Why she decided to join #TeamBlake Filming parts of The Voice at home, with the help of her son  How her dad opened her eyes to the whole world of music  Her songwriting philosophy  Affirmations, and gratitude for the present moment Connect with Toneisha: IG: @iamtoneishaharris Twitter: @toneishaharris Get tickets to Hairspray Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Antonio Cipriano starred in the World Premiere of Jagged Little Pill at the American Repertory Theater as ‘Phoenix’, and reprised this role for his Broadway debut in the fall of 2019. He previously won the 2017 Sutton Foster Ovation Award for Best High School Theater Actor and was a finalist in the 2017 NHSMTA - Jimmy Awards. His regional theatre credits include La Jolla Playhouse, York Theatre Company, Second Stage Theatre, New York Stage and Film, and Michigan Opera Theatre. Antonio has performed in multiple concerts at Feinstein’s 54 Below, and TV credits include “God Friended Me”, “City on a Hill”, and an upcoming supernatural TV series, “Safehaven”. Antonio can be heard now as a lead in the new studio cast album called IN THE LIGHT, A Faustian Tale, which is the brainchild of Michael Mott. Antonio grew up in Michigan “a wild child”, and his parents sought different outlets for his energy. At summer camp when he was 8 years old, he played Zeke in a production of High School Musical, and he hasn’t stopped performing since. Antonio chats about finding success right out of high school, including his journey to working on Jagged Little Pill. He opens up about making his Broadway debut a few months prior to the COVID shutdown, how he felt when the industry came to a screeching halt, and what he has learned during the downtime. Antonio also talks about working alongside big names on the new cast album “IN THE LIGHT, A Faustian Tale”, and how he was invited to be part of the project. In this episode, we talk about:  His new love for golf Working with actors he’s looked up to while younger His stage door experience, and having fans  Imposter syndrome, and being humble  The Jimmy Awards process  Connect with Antonio: IG: @antoniocipriano_ Twitter: @AntonioCip_ Listen to In The Light Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A household name in Mexico, and now an Emmy award winning actor and Broadway performer, this bi-cultural artist commits himself to a life of learning and advocacy, and opens up his mental health journey through cancer and COVID-19. This summer, he hosts the Bryant Park Picnic Performance series here in NYC.Mauricio Martinez is an international star of both stage and screen, most recently seen in Papermill Playhouse’s production of Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, after playing Emilio Estefan in Broadway's On Your Feet!, and leading the national tour of the same name. Mauricio is an International Emmy Award winner for the TV show El Vato on NBC Universal and became a household name in Latin America before crossing over to Broadway, having starred as the leading man in the Mexican productions of Beauty and the Beast, Saturday Night Fever, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Drowsy Chaperone, Sweet Charity, The Last Five Years and A View from the Bridge. He can currently be heard as Thomas in the Broadway Podcast Network original podcast soap opera As The Curtain Rises and is now the host of the Bryant Park Picnic Performance Series.When he was 13 and growing up in Mexico, Mauricio discovered that the movie musicals his mom always played for him were actually based on live theatre shows. After realizing, “Wow, you can do this for a living”, he sought out voice lessons, saved his money, auditioned for AMDA, and moved to NYC when he was 18. Mauricio chronicles his journey from studying in NYC, to Berkeley summer programs, singing aboard cruise ships, and winning third place on Mexican Idol. He speaks about his love for working in multiple mediums at one time - doing theater while performing in concerts, or concerts while also filming for tv, or even better, a musical where he can sing, dance and act all at once. Mauricio also candidly opens up about his battle with cancer, touching on the importance of taking care of his mental health then and now.In this episode, we talk about:  Hosting the Bryant Park Picnic Performance Series  How El Vato allowed him to reach audiences across borders  His experience on Mexican Idol, which made him a household name Life and loss during the COVID-19 pandemic  Learning and relearning during times of social and cultural change  Connect with Mauricio: Instagram: @martinezmau Twitter: @martinezmau Listen to As The Curtain Rises Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With two Broadway shows and a record deal already to her name, this 13 year old actress and singer has something to teach us all about following your dreams whenever they find you. Madison Lagares is a highly accomplished Broadway veteran, and she’s only 13. She was previously hand selected by Gloria Estefan for On Your Feet!, helped bring School of Rock to life with Alex Brightman, and has recently signed to a recording label, become buds with Andrew Lloyd Webber, and currently happens to be workshopping a new musical with John Mellencamp. Madison also has numerous TV and film credits including Blindspot, Search Party, A Walk Among The Tombstones, and Manhattan Night. Madison was an active, energetic child, who by the age of 6 had already figured out what she wanted to do with her life - pursue a career in musical theater. On top of voice lessons, maintaining her grades in school, and auditioning, she made her Broadway debut at 9 years old. Madison turned down the tour of On Your Feet! in order to stay in school, and she shares with us why school was, and still is, a priority for her. She opens up about learning the importance of organization when preparing for auditions, and what it’s like being a part of the professional Broadway world at such a young age. Madison also chats with us about being a part of her first professional workshop for a new musical by John Mellencamp. In this episode, we talk about:  Her hopes for recording different genres of music  Auditioning for Disney  How her parents help and support her career  Actresses she looks up to and admires Representation on stage and screen  Connect with Madison:Instagram: @madisonlagaresofficial Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A witch, a squirrel, and soon a mom, this actress opens up about climbing the ranks since she was a teenager, and shares the joys and challenges that have accompanied some of her most notable roles. Lilli Cooper is an actress and singer who made her Broadway debut at age 16 in the original Broadway cast of Spring Awakening, originating the role of Martha Bessell, and recently earned a Tony Award nomination for her role in Tootsie on Broadway. Lilli’s other stage credits include the Elphaba standby for the North American tour, Australian tour, and Broadway productions of Wicked, originating the role of Sandy Cheeks in the Broadway production of Spongebob Squarepants, and playing Hélène Kuragina in the American Repertory Theatre production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. She has numerous TV and film credits, including The Good Fight, Bull, Elementary, Instinct, The Post, Dynasty, and Indoor Boys. Coming up next, Lilli will debut a brand new solo show at 54 Below at the end of July. Growing up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in midtown New York City, and with two actors for parents, Broadway and the arts were ingrained in Lilli and her brothers at a young age. When she was 15 and a student at LaGuardia High School, an agent took notice of Lilli and opened the door to her first professional audition and Broadway credit - Spring Awakening. Lilli opens up about the triumphs and challenges of landing Spring Awakening while still in high school, pointing out that while she didn’t really have a support system at school for being a working actor at that age, she luckily had that support at home with her family. She also reflects on the profound experience that was being in a musical about teenagers while being a teenager herself. Looking back on originating the role of Sandy Cheeks in Spongebob, Lilli tells us how she first heard about the project, and why it was such a magical process. And she also shares her feelings regarding her Tony Award nomination for her role in Tootsie, and why she struggles at the same time she celebrates. In this episode, we talk about:  Developing her solo show for 54 Below while pregnant Singing in concert with her father, Chuck Cooper, and Seth Rudetsky Life as a standby for Elphaba  Booking Spongebob Squarepants with college friend Ethan Slater Hopes for major cultural shifts within the theatre industry Connect with Lilli: IG: @lilcoopz Twitter: @LilliCooper Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since making a name for herself in the comedy world after starring in 30 Rock, this actress has shifted her focus to explore other genres, sharing she “always likes a challenge”, and happily found exactly that while working on her new film.Katrina Bowden is an actress you may remember best as Cerie, Liz Lemon’s clueless assistant on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, or as Flo Fulton on over 217 episodes (so far) of the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. Her additional film and TV credits are numerous and include Ugly Betty, New Girl, Psych, Dirty John, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, Scary Movie 5, and Sex Drive. Katrina can now be seen as Kaz in a brand new movie called Great White, which comes out on July 16th. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, Katrina is a self described “big ham” who loves a camera, and began modeling, doing commercials, and taking acting classes as a teenager. She knew she wanted to pursue an acting career, and had reluctantly began preparing to head to college in NYC when she booked 30 Rock at 17 years old. Katrina gives us an inside look to her new film Great White, chatting with us about pre-production cast bonding and rehearsals, as well as the challenges of filming on, in, and underwater. She opens up about discovering her love for acting while taking classes with Ann Ratray in New York City, and how she still uses those same techniques today. Katrina also touches on how the tides of change within the entertainment industry are shaping how she’s moving forward in her own career. In this episode, we talk about:  The whirlwind journey to landing 30 Rock Being drawn to new challenges in Great White  Avoiding sunburn while shooting on a beach all day Her love for therapy  Breath hold and scuba training for Great White Connect with Katrina: IG: @katrinakbowden Twitter: @katrinakbowden Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JoAnn M. Hunter is a performer and choreographer with 20 Broadway credits and five US National tours on her resume, including Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (her Broadway debut), Miss Saigon, Guys and Dolls, Damn Yankees, Chicago, Spring Awakening, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, School of Rock, Kiss Me Kate, Curtains, She Loves Me, and most recently Disaster!. She is now across the pond choreographing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s brand new Cinderella, set to open soon on the West End.Born in Japan, and raised in a small town in Rhode Island, JoAnn grew up as a first generation Japanese American in a “very white place”. She found somewhere she felt like she belonged around age 10 when she began taking dance classes, and later, after spending a high school summer dancing in NYC, she dropped out to move to New York and pursue a career. JoAnn talks with us about working on Andrew Llloyd Webber’s Cinderella, a new iteration of the classic musical set to open in London’s West End at the end of July, and also opens up about her working relationship with Webber himself. She shares her hopes for the theater community as a whole to collectively come together and figure out how to make live performance work in the midst of a pandemic, circumstances no one alive has ever encountered before. JoAnn also chronicles her journey from performer to choreographer, a journey she admits was not easy nor a conscious decision, but later realized she actually loved it more than she anticipated. In this episode, we talk about:  How Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cinderella differs from other revivals  Frustration over societies devotion to sports over the arts  The impact of theatre immediately following September 11th  Leaving school for New York City as a high schooler  The lack of protocols for reopening theatre in the U.S.  Connect with JoAnn: IG: @joann_m_hunter Twitter: @joannmhunter On the web Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices