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Excuse My Grandma's Tony Awards Reactions · Excuse My Grandma

• 0:00
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• 0:45
  Speaker 4: Welcome back to another episode of Excuse My Grandma. It's Kim and my co hosts. Grandma Gail. Grandma, we've been busy. Yes, we have.
• 1:10
  We went to an event with Lancome earlier in the week, which was fun. I mean, the whole time you were like, who's Olivia Rodrigo? She can't be famous. I was like, she's literally the most famous.
• 1:21
  Speaker 5: I I think I have to be a little younger to understand who she is, but she was quite beautiful. And the, the show was fun. And, of course, I won something with those claws, which and I guess I'm not very good ever at this game.
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: Like, the claw game at an arcade. They had that for juicy tubes.
• 1:37
  Speaker 5: Exactly. So we had fun, and it's always nice to see a lot of the people that we see at at these influencer events.
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah. You start to see some of the same people or you get to know the team, which is always Which is fun. Like the the best case scenario of going to these things, especially if you are working in content and you are treating it like a business, like, you definitely want to meet the team of a brand that you really love because then hopefully they think of you when they have campaigns.
• 2:06
  Speaker 5: And that's very important because this is a business.
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: She's saying it's important, but like I've had to tell you that 500 times for it to sink in.
• 2:12
  Speaker 5: Well, the funny thing was you didn't realize it. I'm in the I'm coming from one location. You were coming from another, and I tell the driver where we're going. And I said, fuck gosh. I think I've been here before.
• 2:23
  I think I was just here last week. And as we're driving down the side streets, I said, I know we've been here. And I called up Kim on the phone. And of course, we had been there a week before for Amazon. They take these spaces by these large companies and they reinvent the spaces, which is so cool.
• 2:40
  And there must be one or two of these locations that are down on the Lower East Side that are really adaptable for this.
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: But I had not been there prior to the Amazon event, I don't think.
• 2:52
  Speaker 5: No. I think I was there for something else, but not at that location. It was somewhere in that area. But anyway, it was so much fun as I I said, I knew we were here. I mean, I'm getting to know the local shops that are in the neighborhood because everything is happening in that downtown spot.
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: Most of the events we go to are downtown. And you don't come to all of them
• 3:11
  Speaker 5: with me. No. I can't, Kimberly. I would be
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: I would be dead. Yeah. True. But, like, the important ones we try to come or the ones that we're particularly interested in. Like, we're going to try back a film festival with Hulu.
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: Yeah. And I happen to love Lancome, and I love Amazon. So you knew I was gonna go to those two.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Yes. And the Tribeca stuff should be fun.
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: I'm very excited.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: I went to one, the Call Her Alex documentary, the Alex Cooper, the Call Her Daddy podcaster. Who you're obsessed with. I just really look at her as like a north star of content creators and podcasters because she's so successful. So it's nice. It feels like when you're both when you look up to someone and they have a win, it feels like you have a win or you're like on the way.
• 3:56
  I don't know if you ever had that with anyone you looked up to.
• 3:59
  Speaker 5: Just my mother. Yeah. Just my mother.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: But weren't were there certain celebrities like that when you went to see them concert? Let's say you were, like, extra excited.
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: I think the only one that I really because she's my age was Barbara Streisand. So we started off very young together when she was, like, 18, 19, and I saw her in a play, and I followed her career. But I was never as starstruck.
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: And Well, I think also you were never trying
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: to be in the industry. Correct.
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: So it didn't feel as close to home. Correct. Versus, like, maybe if you saw a really successful lawyer, maybe you would feel like, oh my gosh. I wanna talk to them and, like, follow in their footsteps in some way. I think I
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: was too busy being a mommy, so I I just I hate it. I I think I I always thought that certain people were fabulous in their fields, and I looked up to them, but it wasn't anybody I really wanna emulate. I was very happy in the role I chose, but it's different now. So I'm excited for all the young girls and the young men who can find a hero and follow their their star.
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: But also what you're saying of, like, you were happy with the role you were in and your mom was that. So it's like you were in a way,
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: you were looking
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: at I was looking at role.
• 5:08
  Speaker 5: No question.
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: Right. So everybody Role
• 5:10
  Speaker 5: models.
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: Role models of some sort. Hopefully. Yes. And then we were in the Hamptons. I went to play cards with your friends for a little bit, made an appearance.
• 5:19
  Are they sick of me?
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: I don't think they're sick of you. I I think that we had fun. It was one of the I can't take it. There has been six weekends where it's been raining. So, you know, everything indoor activities are certainly paramount in everybody's thoughts.
• 5:34
  But we had fun, and I think they were excited when you came. And you filmed a couple of things, which was silly, but we had fun.
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: Yes. Okay. Let's go to Grandma Gail's voicemail. Someone sent in a voice mail question for us. Okay.
• 5:53
  So let's listen.
• 5:54
  Speaker 6: Hi. I'm thinking about starting a podcast. I was wondering if you had any advice and, like or any tips for somebody who wants to start a podcast or anything that you think really helped you when you were starting out?
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: I love when guys call in.
• 6:09
  Speaker 5: I think it's great. Hello. Well, so many of the podcasts are by guys. So, I mean, it's Yeah. Frankly, too many.
• 6:17
  And very successful.
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: But, yes, I have tons of tips. It could be an entire podcast worth of them. I would listen. I did a solo episode a few months ago where I really went into detail on, like, the equipment you need and how to start a podcast and stuff like that. But briefly
• 6:35
  Speaker 5: Do you remember the date on that? So if he wants to go back
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: A few months back, it'll be called, like, excuse my solo for my Okay. My solo episodes. But if you're watching the episode now, you see we're, like, in a really nice studio. It wasn't always that way. You can a 100% podcast from home.
• 6:52
  Exactly.
• 6:53
  Speaker 5: We did for at least a couple of years.
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: Yes. But I think when it gets to a point where you're really trying to up your production value or if it's really if you're not good with equipment and like you've saved up and you really wanna come to a studio like this, absolutely do so. But what It's
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: always fine if you have a friend that can help you out.
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: Yes. Like, somebody it's actually, by the way, like, I'm not a tech wizard. It's not that complicated. Right. It just You did it.
• 7:16
  It took a lot, especially because when we started four and a half, five years ago, it wasn't as mainstream. So there wasn't as much many resources on how to do it. So I think I was, like, really digging on the Internet to figure out, like, the kind of equipment I needed. But what you really need is a microphone. I've got, like, a $30 one off Amazon.
• 7:36
  I have it linked on our Amazon storefront. And I just you need, like, the correct adapter to plug it into your laptop. You can get a sound mixer. You really don't need one if it's just you or two people if you just plug it in.
• 7:51
  Speaker 5: One, Kim. It was very good. Yeah. We used that for a long time.
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: Little bit more control that way, but you really don't need it. And then your iPhone or a camera to just film you if you want it to be video. Obviously, it's a audio first format podcasting, so you don't even really need video. And I would say then there's all this more technical stuff of you need a host platform, which is usually free. And that sends out an RSS feed that gets it on all the platforms like Spotify and Apple.
• 8:21
  But basically
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: You can start simple. You can start simple. You need the content.
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: Like, you just need
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: You need something good to talk about to your audience.
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: Yes. A story, a different angle. There are so many podcasts out there. So I think it took us a really long time. I knew I wanted to do something with my grandma, and I had the concept in my head, but I couldn't name it for, like, seven months stalled us too.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Well, it was
• 8:45
  Speaker 5: also during COVID, you had plenty of time to think about it.
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: Yes. But I think just start, Go with whatever feels right to you. Go with whatever title feels right to you and see if people resonate. And I think the best way too since I will say podcast don't have the best algorithm for discovery, the best thing is to be clipping up your clips from your episode and putting it on TikTok and Instagram, YouTube so people can discover it that way. And it's harder than it looks.
• 9:19
  So you know what? You really have to make it
• 9:21
  Speaker 5: a business. You have to think about it carefully. It's just not a sideline that you can do for a half an hour and do it properly. But if it is something you just want to, you really want to start in this profession, think about it, get all your equipment together, and get a friend to sort of listen to you and see if you've got the ability to do it if you're coming off well.
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: That's a good tip. I think also, like, we're not saying leave your job and become a podcaster. Exactly. But I think it is an easy thing if you're it's literally 30, like, of talking that you can do on a random weekend. And if it gains traction, of course, then you can think about leaving your job and and But don't career.
• 9:59
  Leave But it it is an easy thing to at least start on the side, but it's not an easy thing to become successful at as a side gig. So those are really the main thoughts. Okay. Let's move on to ask grandma anything.
• 10:15
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• 10:36
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• 10:46
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• 11:05
  That's olly.com.
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: We'll do some rapid fire questions from our audience, all kind of surrounding, career. So someone said, I'm a 50 year old male Fed employee who has been let go. How do I start over with a career?
• 11:27
  Speaker 5: Well, it's not easy. A lot of companies wanna hire younger people because they are less expensive. But if you have a particular talent, apply to companies that need that talent and don't give up. Send your resume to 20 people or 30 people. You know, it all depends on what you do.
• 11:47
  Be a little creative. Think a little bit out of the box now because you've got 20 year olds that are constantly on screens figuring out things. So it is a little more difficult, but you will find something.
• 11:57
  Speaker 8: I think
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: there are also our executive search firms that you can work with where they place you.
• 12:02
  Speaker 5: Yes, they certainly are, but they always look for they're not so many of them don't look for 50 year olds. So it is a harder thing for you, but certainly go into those search firms as well. Yeah.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: It's And good luck. Yeah. It's also never too late to start a new career
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: as we talk about. Sometimes you can flip it. Do something different.
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: Daughter graduating from high school soon. Don't have a career path. Ideas for her? I think there's a lot of pressure to, like, have a career path. I think you can start with whatever you can get a job in and then kinda obviously, you have to be interested in it, but and then go from there.
• 12:35
  It's not calling what the rest of your life will look like. But, yeah, I think use your personal network, use your college network,
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: your high school school. Right.
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: Right. So
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: I think if she's not going on to college, then she has to find a a career. There are certainly plenty of them in the health field that take as long as you graduated from high school, you can do some work in hospitals and then perhaps go on to nursing school or some kind of other area that looks friendly upon younger applicants, but there are loads of things to do. Certainly restaurant areas, beauty shops that, you know, young people because they know what everything is happening. But you know what? It's only a beginning And, it's you never know where a an 18 year old will be when she's 25 or he's 25.
• 13:30
  So let him go with an open mind to feel that he really enjoys and see what happens.
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: Is it worth it to risk it all and redirect from my career to pursue dream of medical school?
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: Well, school is a whole other thing. That's not the same It's different question. I think you have to know if you're applying to medical school, which is still one of the most wonderful professions to go into, it's very hard today, it's a very, very long educational process, it's very costly even if you get scholarships because you're in that for seven, eight years usually, and you need to have family support as well and people who are around you say, I believe in this for you, go for it. But we certainly need more doctors and more qualified people, So if you really love that area, try it. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: Okay. We have a very special treat to talk about the Tony's with us this week because we have to debrief everything with an actual expert of someone who was there. Henry Tisch, he's been in the Broadway industry for a while now, started his own company, and is a really successful producer. We'll
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: bring Very exciting since his play won a Tony. So this is really spectacular. I'm so excited for you all to listen to him.
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: So let's bring out Henry. We are joined by Henry Tisch. We're so excited to talk Tonys and hear all about your career in Broadway. So Henry, welcome to Excuse My Grandma.
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me.
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: So you work for Key to the City Productions. Congratulations on the picture of Dorian Gray.
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: Thank you
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: so much. Thank you. Thank you. It's been a very long and exciting journey with this show. My producing partner, Amanda Lipitz, and I first saw an archival video of the premier production in Sydney
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: Oh, wow.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: Which premiered the summer of twenty twenty. And we saw this video about four years ago, and it's just been a really amazing journey of getting it first to the West End and then to Broadway. And we had a very exciting night at the Tony Awards
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: Yes. Six Snobs.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: Last weekend. Yeah.
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: And Sarah Snook obviously winning. So I don't know a lot about the behind the scenes of how it comes to life, these shows. When you discovered it in Sydney, was she in it already?
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: She was not. No. There was a phenomenal performer named Erin Jean Norville, who did it in Australia and her understudy Nikki Shields. And they did a return season in Australia as well. And then when we brought it to the West End, that's when Sarah came and joined the project.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Amazing.
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: And that was, about a year ago.
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: Good. I'm going to see it Wednesday night. She Yeah. She better not be does she ever get replaced by the understudy? I'll have a nervous breakdown.
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: Don't have an understudy.
• 16:13
  Speaker 5: Oh, yeah.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: So it
• 16:13
  Speaker 5: is So are
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: you high stress for us, but it means that you will see her.
• 16:17
  Speaker 5: Alright. Because I really wanna see her. I'm so excited.
• 16:20
  Speaker 4: I mean, with a one woman show, such a intense performance, I feel like it would be hard to have multiple people
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely. And this is a very high-tech production as well. Sarah plays 26 characters, and she is interacting with quite a bit of prerecorded video of herself Mhmm. That was filmed about a year and a half ago before the London run.
• 16:44
  And so it's very dependent on her performance and would be very difficult to have an understudy. But part of the beauty of it is that although it is a one person show, she also has five on stage camera operators with her and a crew of more than 20 people, all of whom are doing this very highly choreographed piece of theater together. And in a way where the crew is very exposed and they're her scene partners. So it, in a funny way, is really a big company.
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: How do you think the tech driven, like, narrative of it all really contributed to the story itself?
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah. It's very reflective of the story. Our brilliant director and adapter, Kip Williams, was very inspired by some writing of Oscar Wilde, where he talked about how Dorian Gray really is three versions of himself. And that is what inspired Kip to do this idea where it's one actor playing multiple versions of themselves against themselves. And so and so much of the story is about self image.
• 17:57
  It's about how we see ourselves.
• 17:59
  Speaker 5: Never growing old.
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: Yes. Never growing old. It's about vanity. And so there's a lot of really fun technology in the show that has to do with social media and with filters. Right.
• 18:13
  So it just feels very, very modern even though the novel that it's based on was written over a 100 ago.
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: When not even just with this play, but like in general, how do you know that something has the potential when you're just trying to take it from a concept or seeing it in a small theater to eventually being on Broadway?
• 18:32
  Speaker 5: To be in love with the process and with the show.
• 18:34
  Speaker 3: Exactly. Right. And you really have to trust your gut. Right. I mean, I think there are there are certainly ways that you can evaluate things.
• 18:43
  And some of that is based on sales of earlier production. Some of it is based on just sort of informal polling of people. But at the end of the day, it's really what you believe will sell. And and sometimes that is breaking the mold of what has sold in the past, but just what what you feel will really resonate with audiences.
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: Yeah. How do you think you develop those skills, or is it just having gone to theater your whole life?
• 19:12
  Speaker 5: Wait a minute. Let's do a little background on him. He haven't went to he's been in this field of acting since he was a young man. He certainly did it at Yale. Yes.
• 19:21
  And so I wanna hear a little bit of that. Give us some background. Sure. Audience loves to hear this.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: I grew up in New York City and so I was very exposed to theater and I really fell in love with theater, when I was in middle school basically. You Yeah. And I I knew that I didn't wanna perform. I had terrible stage fright. I wasn't happy on stage.
• 19:45
  And I think growing up in New York and being so close to the professional theater industry, I knew enough to know that producer was a role that existed. I don't know that I actually could have told you what it was
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: at
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: But the I stubbornly decided that's what I was gonna do. And so I I stage managed in high school. When I got to college at Yale, I did produce a lot of extracurricular theater. And one of the things that's so amazing about the Yale theater program is that it really is largely student produced. So I really sort of got my hands dirty doing that.
• 20:20
  Post college, I worked for Disney for their theater division, which was an amazing place, developing shows for Broadway and for professional theaters. But also I got to develop shows for amateur theater and for educational theater as well, which was really amazing. Mhmm. And then about four years ago, my producing partner and I started our company. And so it's just been something that I've been working at for a really long time.
• 20:50
  And to your question, it is a lot of just honing your own taste and seeing as much as you can see and seeing what works and seeing what doesn't work and sort of learning learning the box of it all so that you can learn how to break the box when when that's warranted.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah. So true. And I
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: think it's a very good thing for our listeners even for to to give advice to their children, their grandchildren. You have to start when it's a passion really. It's very much the same time frame that he was doing theater. You were going on podcasts with me, but you had really prior to that also dabbled in school and the plays and all that. So it was something that you, in the back of your mind, always loved.
• 21:31
  And so I think Yeah. I don't think
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: people are like, I'm gonna make a billion dollars.
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: No. I don't think it's about the money.
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: It's about passion.
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: Exactly. The passion has
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: to be there for sure, but I guess the like, how do you start a career?
• 21:42
  Speaker 5: And and people should encourage because the arts is such an important part of person's development. It doesn't necessarily have to be a career moment, but it still broadens your your mind on what's out there and the beauty of all different kinds of productions. If you live in a small town, there's always a traveling company that comes in. Take your grandchild, take your child, and expose them to the beautiful things that have come about and have gotten to your town. Certainly if you live in a place like Chicago or California or New York, it's there.
• 22:15
  So make it available to your youngster and it never can hurt. Doesn't necessarily have to be a career, but it is enlightening and opens the mind to new things and new and new ideas that are out there. It's usually very talented people.
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 22:32
  Speaker 5: Sometimes way out, and you'd really I mean, in the case we'll talk about it like Hamilton that nobody knew what he was doing and how he created an entire world around something that was so different ten years ago. So I think continue with Henry. I just wanted to put that in because I do think, I really do think we have a responsibility to our children and our grandchildren to open it to theater on every level, whether it be Broadway or small little community theaters.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: I couldn't agree more. And arts education and arts access is something I'm so passionate about. Separate from my producing career, I am the incoming chair at New forty two, which is an organization that really is all about providing access to the arts from the earliest years onward. We run the New Victory Theater, which does theater for young audiences on 42nd Street. And there is so much research about how important it is to see theater from a really young age.
• 23:26
  It just fosters empathy and resilience and so many things. Gail, to your point, Colascola, who just won Tony for best actor in a play. In In O'Mary. Yes.
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: 50 TikToks of him last night.
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: Well, he's amazing. Yeah.
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: Or of them. Right. But I I went I went through literally just like a rabbit hole.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: No. Cole is a superstar. Cole has been has been a real force in sort of the queer downtown comedy scene for a very long time. They've been working at this for a really, really long time. And it's so amazing to see them succeed in this huge way.
• 24:04
  But they spoke at what's called the Spring Road Conference, when all the touring theater presenters and operators come into town for a conference every spring. And Cole gave the keynote speech, and it was all about the power of having theater come to them, right, growing up and the the world that that opened up. So to your point, Gail, like, we're lucky that we live in New York. It is the epicenter of this industry. We have a lot of access to it, but it's everywhere.
• 24:36
  And so it's really amazing that to give access to it really wherever you can.
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: Kudos to the Academy. They gave an award to the drama teacher in I think it was in Brooklyn. I think he's from Brooklyn, but encouraging young people to go into theater. And I know many of the New York theaters have tickets for schools that are like $10 so they really can bring, you know, they apply for it, there's a way of bringing their classes to the theater, and that's very important because collectively when you see it as a group and not even as an isolated person, it even I think it's more beneficial because then you can share it and talk to your classmates.
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: Totally. And that's that's part of the fun is being able to talk about it. Right. I think it's so much fun to go with a group, with friends Mhmm. And be able to compare your your experiences.
• 25:30
  Yeah.
• 25:31
  Speaker 4: I feel like I'm pretty tuned into Broadway. Am I living under a rock though that I didn't know who Cole was?
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: No. Because Cole Cole only very recently existed within what I would call sort of the Broadway frame. Right. Cole They
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: were like the star of the show of the Tony.
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: Yes. I mean, and and they were exceptional on the Tonys and they're so funny. But Cole Cole's done a little bit of TV or a fair amount of TV. Okay. But then really comes from like the downtown sort of very out there scene.
• 26:04
  Which is so fun. Yes. Totally. Yeah. Like Cole came out of a lot of Joe's Pub stuff.
• 26:11
  Just a lot of these, like, very, very sort of like downtown one night venues. Yeah.
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: I wanna ask both of you what the first show you ever saw was.
• 26:23
  Speaker 5: Oh my god.
• 26:23
  Speaker 4: Do you remember?
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: I think I do remember. I think my parents because we lived in the suburbs, and it was a big deal to come into the theater. I think my first show might have been Oklahoma when I was very little. You know, my parents, we loved musicals in the fifties. Yeah.
• 26:44
  And I think that that show might have been 1948. What I think I was very little, but I would come in very often and stay, you know, we would come in, we'd have dinner, we'd make it a very special occasion. I mean, the tickets weren't like they are now, but we would, you know, it was special to come in and, I remember them all fondly and my father loved to sing. So he loved The Pirates of Penzance, which I was so happy to see that Yes. On the show.
• 27:10
  If I it almost felt like he was back in my life for the for the second that Hyde Pierce was singing.
• 27:15
  Speaker 4: Follow-up. When you see reboots or revivals, sorry, like do you ever think, oh, well when I saw it fifty years ago, it
• 27:24
  Speaker 5: Was better? Yes. Interesting. Yes. I saw Carousel.
• 27:28
  I saw Oklahoma! Actually recently. I did think the because I thought it was more true to what the author had in mind, but we're now making it so that it's for a wider audience. When we went to the theater in the fifties and even early sixties, sixties I was already married, so it had to be the fifties. It was very different theater than it is now and very different programs and what was acceptable in the theater.
• 27:53
  Right, Henry?
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: I'm Well, Oklahoma's a funny example because Oklahoma, when it premiered, was very avant garde. Yeah. And you don't think of that today. And actually the the revival that you probably would have seen seven or eight years ago was itself avant garde today. Yes.
• 28:08
  But if you see a traditional production of Oklahoma, that feels old fashioned. Right. Right. So I a lot of it is the context of sort of when when it originally premiered and what
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: And who's seeing?
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Totally. Totally.
• 28:21
  Speaker 5: They've they've adapted it to audiences, which is so wonderful. Yeah.
• 28:24
  Speaker 4: I I did wanna ask more about, like, inclusivity later. But what was the first show
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: you saw? I actually don't remember because I was quite young. Yeah. I know it was either Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King.
• 28:36
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 28:37
  Speaker 5: Didn't you work on The Lion King as you
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: I did. Yes. When I was at when I was at Disney. Right. I got to work on The Lion King.
• 28:44
  I got
• 28:44
  Speaker 5: to That was so fabulous.
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: Do a little bit translations for international productions. I got to work with the team that maintains the show around the world, which was really fascinating because there is an army of associates who just travel the world.
• 29:02
  Speaker 5: Puppetry. And that was just amazing.
• 29:03
  Speaker 4: Well, also, what's interesting, I think Lion King was my too or Wicked or something. But I feel like Lion King seemed high-tech in a way at
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: the time.
• 29:14
  Speaker 4: And now it's like with so many other shows that have, like, actual screens behind and and all of that, it feels
• 29:22
  Speaker 5: But it was still very innovative with the puppets.
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: I think they were brilliant. Yes. I don't I don't know many.
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: Were you shocked, like, seeing I feel like I don't Dear Evan Hansen is what's coming to mind for me, but, like, the first time where I'm seeing, like, tons of screens on a
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah. And Dear Evan Hansen was a different kind of show where you were dealing with something that you wouldn't have dealt with ten years ago. You know, with suicide and drugs and that, that's become a much more relevant and certainly important subject matter. Now, when I was, you know, even fifteen years ago, I don't think I would have felt comfortable. I think the most, actually I'll tell you what was the most uncomfortable theater experience for me because I was living it at the time was Rent, and that was such a brilliant production.
• 30:07
  I cried during Rent. I mean, you know, it was really during the 80s and I still cry during Rent, but it got great reviews but it was not universally loved as it is now. You know, it's much more accepted now. Let's face it. That's the it's a difference of timing.
• 30:25
  But that was probably one of the hardest shows that I remember seeing in the eighties. So, you know, each generation, I think, and certainly under Henry's I don't
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: Brent was Brent was the nineties.
• 30:36
  Speaker 5: Nineties. Yeah. It was about eighties '5, '86, '87. But I think that, you know, you have to have a lot of guts as a producer Yeah.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: Totally.
• 30:46
  Speaker 5: To put these kind of shows on. You know? Either either you don't care about the monetary because it could be a major flop.
• 30:52
  Speaker 4: But you're influencing the zeitge. Correct. Correct. That's a really big responsibility to change conversations. Right.
• 31:00
  Speaker 5: And that's what Henry's doing.
• 31:01
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 31:01
  Speaker 5: He's changing the conversation. He really is. And he's doing shows that might not have hit the general audiences, but they are gonna hit the general audiences because of his efforts.
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: Right. So proud of him. Thank you. And my company is called Key to the City Productions because you get a key to the city when you do good in your community and when you do good in the world. And we feel really strongly that everything we do needs to have some sort of social impact component to it.
• 31:26
  But we also have pretty commercial takes. And so it's that balance of Right. Things that are gonna resonate with audiences, but also move the needle.
• 31:34
  Speaker 4: Well, I think that they said on the Tony's, Broadway made the most money this year than ever before. Is that one of the reasons you think because it's widely accessible now, like with the stories or like more inclusive? Like what do you think the reason is?
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I think, I mean, this season in particular was a spectacular season. And there was kind of something for everyone, which I loved about it. And not just something for everyone, but something good for everyone. Yeah.
• 32:03
  And you look at you look at a show like Oh Mary, which couldn't be more different than a show like Picture of Dorian Gray, which couldn't be more different than the revival of our town. And that's just plays. Right? And so it there was really no matter sort of what your taste is, there was something interesting to see. And that that makes a big difference Yeah.
• 32:23
  In terms of ticket sale.
• 32:25
  Speaker 4: I also feel like there was a lot of star power in that people who don't typically go to Broadway but watch a lot of TV or movies, like, would go to see those celebrities. Is that something that is really integral, you think, into making a show popular now?
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: It has as as costs of creating and operating a show have risen, It has become a much more core part of the business model of the theater industry. And it's gonna be interesting to see how that continues to But there is something really powerful, especially in our in our world of screens. Mhmm. There's something really powerful about being in the room with yeah. Someone Yeah, exactly.
• 33:12
  There's something like admire, and and someone who generally is is a great talent. Right? I mean, it's there's something like, I'll do Sarah Snook as an example. Mhmm. It it there's just something magnetic about being in the room with her as she does that performance.
• 33:28
  Right. And then it becomes a you had to be there moment. Mhmm.
• 33:34
  Speaker 4: And I wanted to talk too because I feel Broadway has also made its way into your personal life. Your husband is also in the industry. Also, I know this personally that you had like a whole Broadway number at your wedding. I wanna hear about it.
• 33:48
  Speaker 3: Absolutely. So my husband, Sean Walsh, he-
• 33:52
  Speaker 5: Was adorable and terrific.
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: He is. I agree. I couldn't agree more, Gail. He runs strategy and development, business development, and operations for company called Ampersand, which is, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the songwriters production company. And his, path in the entertainment industry is that he came through the corporate strategy side of the industry.
• 34:19
  So he was in three different divisions at Disney and then was at NBCUniversal and now
• 34:24
  Speaker 4: Did he meet at Disney?
• 34:24
  Speaker 3: We did. Yeah. We we had some friends in common. He lived in LA. I lived in New York.
• 34:30
  Speaker 4: Been there.
• 34:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. He Doing it now. Doing it. He met originally in a networking capacity, and then became friends and then started dating.
• 34:39
  And he moved to New York about six months after we started dating. And then, pretty
• 34:46
  Speaker 5: The rest is history.
• 34:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Exactly. Pretty soon after that COVID hit and we moved in with my parents and then the rest really was history. But we got married a little over a year ago, last April. And we had a pretty big wedding where there's a lot that goes into wedding planning.
• 35:03
  And one of the things that was really important to us very early on in that wedding planning process was to find something that could be just for us. Not about our parents, not about our guests, not about hitting the deadlines. And we came up with this idea of a special first dance. And Sean performed all through college, has an amazing voice, is so at home on stage. As I mentioned, I Yes.
• 35:32
  Hate being on so we, we worked with, Sarah Ogleeby, who is a amazing choreographer and also just like an amazing soul. She has the biggest heart. And we crafted this musical number that let us shine, but also built a lot around us with other performers so that it wasn't all on my dancing abilities or non abilities. True. And what was really special about it is that we started rehearsing about six weeks before the wedding and no one knew we were doing this.
• 36:07
  And so once or twice a week, it became this really special moment of like, we're gonna go do our secret little thing that is just for us. We sort of with Sarah and her associates who taught us how to dance, we created this, like, really special little space leading up to the wedding. And it it was it was so fun for all our guests who got this big performance, but it was also really, really meaningful for us. Yeah.
• 36:31
  Speaker 4: Terrific. What was harder, producing that or a Broadway show?
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: Oh, I would say producing a Broadway show is was harder. Yeah. But being in the spotlight like that was it just put me so out of my comfort zone, which I I came to love and appreciate, but it was scary.
• 36:52
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah. I also, since it is pride month, I wanted to ask about inclusivity, especially in the theater industry. How do you feel like do you feel like they do a good job compared to, other industries? Or how do you think they could kind of do better?
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I think I think that theater is, is quite inclusive and, certainly thinks about it in, I would argue, a different way than other industries. So much of our world obviously is about telling stories and thinking about what stories get told and who tells them and how you tell them. And so I I would say that maybe inclusivity is a little bit more top of mind for us. And then also theater is a world where like the misfits of the world have always felt at home.
• 37:40
  Right. And it's why, Gail, to your point about the eighties, like, it theater has always been a particularly queer industry, and it was devastated by the AIDS crisis. But it is it is a place where those who haven't always fit in elsewhere
• 37:58
  Speaker 5: Fit in there.
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: Fit in. And so it's not to say that the industry doesn't have more work to do. There's always more work to do. But I do think I think we've been moving in a really great direction. And I I think there is this sort of core that of inclusivity that maybe isn't naturally in other industries.
• 38:15
  Speaker 5: Well, I certainly think by the Tonys the other night, you was the you certainly did the job. I mean, they certainly included everything from every walk of life. So I think they should be the producers can be very proud of that.
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: It was a really amazing year for representation in general, particularly AAPI, Asian American representation, queer representation. I mean, for Cole to win best actor during this Pride Month is amazing.
• 38:44
  Speaker 4: Right. Wait. I also need to ask because I saw this online and I was curious the chat about it within the industry. Since Cole won best actor, which is a gendered category Yeah. Like, how does that make sense and how are they planning going forward?
• 39:00
  Do you think it'll change?
• 39:02
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I mean, it's it's interesting because this it's a question not just in theater, but in
• 39:07
  Speaker 5: any Yeah. So much is going on.
• 39:10
  Speaker 3: But, some of the smaller award shows, and by smaller, I mean, not the Tonys, Oscars, not the Emmys, have done away with gendered acting categories. The rule that the Tonys have is that there are still gendered categories. But if you are if you consider yourself non binary, you get to opt into which other category you So, so an actor like Cole had the opportunity to say, I want to be considered as an actor, an actress, or not be considered.
• 39:44
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 39:46
  Speaker 3: And that's progress, but also compared to maybe what it would have been ten years ago when it would have just been assumed, but also still not, not all the way there.
• 39:57
  Speaker 5: Not perfect yet, but they're working on it. They're working on it.
• 40:00
  Speaker 4: Okay. Let's move on to the drama club so we can talk everything about the Tonys and recap with Henry. You were there, I see.
• 40:07
  Speaker 3: I was there.
• 40:08
  Speaker 5: Oh, it was there. I saw him. But very, very I was looking and looking. My eyes hurt by the end of the evening. I didn't really find him.
• 40:16
  I Where were you? Very hard.
• 40:18
  Speaker 3: I was sitting I was sitting in the orchestra, and he failed your point
• 40:21
  Speaker 4: of I
• 40:22
  Speaker 5: thought maybe it was you, but then I had a feeling that it wasn't.
• 40:25
  Speaker 3: The challenge is that, as Sean and I were sitting there as two guys in tuxes in a sea Right. Of guys in I couldn't tell you to look out for a certain color or sequin.
• 40:35
  Speaker 4: Maybe next year, wear a color.
• 40:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah. I think that's the key. Yeah.
• 40:38
  Speaker 4: And what would we not know watching on TV that you kind of got to experience?
• 40:43
  Speaker 3: It's a really special night. I mean, it is a long night. You you get there sometime before six and you aren't out until after eleven. But part of what's so cool about it is that the Tonys, unlike some other award shows, are really about not just the awards, Which the I love.
• 41:04
  Speaker 5: That's the best part. Yeah.
• 41:05
  Speaker 3: Agree. It really is. And so it's so fun to see even just in the theater, you know, one minute you have the Tony nominated stars of the shows sitting around you. And then you look up and they've been replaced by seat fillers because they've gone backstage to get costumes for their performances. It's Right.
• 41:22
  There's so much intricate logistics to it, and it's all such a big dance, which is really, really fun. And this year, they also did a very fun thing where during the commercial breaks in the theaters, they showed clips of all the Tony nominated stars and writers and creatives as kids doing theater.
• 41:45
  Speaker 5: Oh, that's cute.
• 41:45
  Speaker 3: And so that was really, really special.
• 41:48
  Speaker 5: That's that is special.
• 41:49
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah. They should put it on social media
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: or Totally. They should.
• 41:52
  Speaker 4: Were you starstruck by anyone?
• 41:54
  Speaker 3: Oh, I don't, I, there-
• 41:56
  Speaker 5: Well, he's a star. So why does he have to be struck at four?
• 41:59
  Speaker 3: I mean, and it is, it's a small community. So I'm, I'm not- You're around it a lot. I'm around it a lot. There were, there were some performances that I was starstruck by. I will say both Nicole Scherzinger,
• 42:10
  Speaker 5: who- That was
• 42:11
  Speaker 3: in Sunset Boulevard and Audra McDonald, who was They, in they both did these performances where it was just them on stage doing these tour de force numbers. And I was starstruck by that. That felt really, really
• 42:25
  Speaker 5: And also Hamilton.
• 42:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah. And Hamilton was incredible. Yeah.
• 42:27
  Speaker 5: I love that.
• 42:28
  Speaker 3: That number was really well done. And to get that original cast back together
• 42:33
  Speaker 4: Did they have everyone?
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: As far as I know, they And, and they got the ensemble back and they got them back dancing. Right. It's such a big way. Dancing.
• 42:43
  Speaker 5: They did the original dancers. I didn't think they could dance ten years later like that.
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: There's there's one of them who's still in the show, which I love.
• 42:50
  Speaker 5: Oh, that's amazing.
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: But the rest of them, like, they've all gone on to different things. Yeah. And to be able to come back and be right back in it like that. And then you have Ariana DeBose, who obviously has gone on to host the Tonys three times herself. And she was in the ensemble of that show.
• 43:05
  And she came back and did it. Yeah. So it was just it was really, really cool. Spring.
• 43:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah. I feel like
• 43:11
  Speaker 5: And I thought the host was great.
• 43:12
  Speaker 4: Well, was here, Rivo's literally
• 43:14
  Speaker 5: She's to me, not good
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: to her.
• 43:16
  Speaker 5: She is so fabulous.
• 43:17
  Speaker 3: She is so fabulous.
• 43:18
  Speaker 4: There was no one else who could've I mean, said, she did it better.
• 43:22
  Speaker 5: She did it better than most of the past ones. Because they she didn't she was just and she sang, and she was herself. Yeah. And it was wonderful. We didn't have to listen to a bunch of gibberish for that so many times they do to make them look self important.
• 43:35
  She was terrific. She was herself and she sang her her voice, know, out. And I love the one in memoriam too that she sang. Yeah.
• 43:43
  Speaker 3: So beautiful with their ballet.
• 43:44
  Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. That was beautiful. I thought it was beautiful. Yeah.
• 43:47
  That's part of it. Just love.
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: There are some hosts that have just done a really exceptional job. And I I think of Hugh Jackman, think of Patrick Harris. And to me, Cynthia has has
• 43:57
  Speaker 5: Has she went not think she went above it? Yes.
• 43:59
  Speaker 4: It's also she's just so relevant right now with Wicked and everything that everyone who's watching feels connected in some way or another, which is really special.
• 44:08
  Speaker 3: Totally. And then she opens her mouth and sings. And you're like Then you're blown away. Your jaw's on the floor.
• 44:14
  Speaker 4: Insane. What other big moments did you have, like takeaways from throughout the night?
• 44:21
  Speaker 3: I would say that my my takeaways were that just it was a really, really exciting night of honoring so many great shows. I mean, I was so happy that maybe Happy Ending took Best Musical. I love that show. Think it's
• 44:35
  Speaker 4: really fun. Were underwhelmed by the number they've
• 44:37
  Speaker 5: Hey. I guess I I was. I didn't love it.
• 44:40
  Speaker 4: It was interesting that it was like, but I had see the whole thing.
• 44:43
  Speaker 5: I that's what I I think I have to see the whole thing. Yeah. I mean, they were adorable.
• 44:47
  Speaker 4: But the set is so gorgeous.
• 44:48
  Speaker 5: The set is beautiful. Yeah. But they but they got it for the show. So and they of course, the it was very it's very creative. I think I have to see the entire-
• 44:56
  Speaker 4: It's got like a small number.
• 44:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it is. And it's, there's, what is so interesting about the show is that I talk about it like a Pixar movie on stage. And so it has this sort of very small core, but actually the production is quite big. And I think the production also really grows as it goes. They've been very intentional about it sort of starts within the confines of a box essentially, and it grows and grows and grows.
• 45:20
  And that moment that they You're seeing on that
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: tonight? Yes, I'm seeing
• 45:25
  Speaker 4: it tonight.
• 45:26
  Speaker 3: And Yeah. That moment that they did on the the Tonys, I think, is much more powerful in the context of seeing that unfold. Right.
• 45:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah. I have to see the whole thing. Yeah. I'm going.
• 45:37
  Speaker 4: There were other funny little moments like the actress from Death Becomes Her holding up a sign that was rude.
• 45:45
  Speaker 5: You like
• 45:45
  Speaker 4: that? Because that's a thing that's been going viral on social media, like that one sound. But what if she won? And then she was holding that was rude sign.
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: I mean, which I think would have been hilarious too, but, that category, the conversation was really so dominated by it being Audra McDonald versus Nicole Scherzinger. Uh-huh. And so I think Jennifer
• 46:06
  Speaker 5: knew knew what she was. Was getting Right.
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: And also, I love that she had that moment because in a show with two leads, it's Jennifer Samard and Megan Hilty, and they're really co leads. They they chose to do a number, which is the number I would have chosen to do if I was producing that show, but it was only featuring Megan Hilty because that's sort of the big fun dance number towards the start of the show. And so I'm really glad that Jennifer Samard got to sort of equally have her
• 46:32
  Speaker 4: Right. Moment. Moment. Yeah. Nominated?
• 46:34
  Speaker 3: She was. They were both nominated. Yeah. Yeah.
• 46:36
  Speaker 4: That's interesting too to like, I wonder what would happen if one was and one wasn't. And I guess it's all comes down to like, how much does do the awards really matter? Does it change your perspective of how good a show is or how good the I
• 46:50
  Speaker 5: think revenues go up after these tones.
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: They they're they have real financial implications. And, but it depends on the award, I will say. Right. Mean, as as amazing as it is when designers win for their work, generally is gonna sell tickets. The ones that really have financial implications are best musical, best play, best revival of musical, best revival of a play, and a few of the acting awards.
• 47:14
  I mean, us with Dorian Gray, it's certainly meaningful because in a one person show to get best actress- Yes. Right. Obviously is quite the endorsement of the show. Yeah.
• 47:25
  Speaker 5: Yeah. But now that's going off in a couple
• 47:28
  Speaker 3: of weeks. Have more week. Right. We still have tickets available. The way
• 47:32
  Speaker 4: up going
• 47:33
  Speaker 5: back. Guys, everybody get the tickets.
• 47:35
  Speaker 3: But we closed June 29. It's been an amazing sixteen week run.
• 47:38
  Speaker 4: And when you went into it, did you know the length it was going to be? Did it extend?
• 47:43
  Speaker 3: We did. We had a two week extension, but it's a really hard catching show.
• 47:50
  Speaker 5: On the star, don't forget.
• 47:52
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 47:52
  Speaker 5: Yes. You know?
• 47:54
  Speaker 3: So Sarah has earned her rest. Yeah. For sure.
• 47:57
  Speaker 4: Do you think there were any snubs?
• 48:00
  Speaker 3: I don't think there were major snubs. I will say this year, it felt like there were not a huge amount of surprises. I would say with the exception of a few categories that felt very competitive in that they were too hard to call in advance. Right. There there were no really, were no major awards this year where I thought, woah, what a shock.
• 48:25
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah. And that may be good. Do like a what's it called? Like betting, like a ballot or
• 48:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Have a lot of friends who fill out their ballot in advance. And and to that point, most of them were pretty accurate this year.
• 48:37
  Speaker 4: Nice. That's I feel like I should we should do that.
• 48:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah. It's fun. It's really fun to do.
• 48:42
  Speaker 5: Next year.
• 48:43
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Okay.
• 48:43
  Speaker 4: Also, I think there were a lot of influencers there that I saw on social media, which was interesting. What I mean, I guess who invites them? Because a lot of them were saying like, oh, we're invited to the Tonys and then they're on the carpet, which the carpet's not televised.
• 48:58
  Speaker 5: And they left us out. Yeah. That wasn't good.
• 49:00
  Speaker 2: That is Next year,
• 49:01
  Speaker 3: we gotta get you there. Yeah.
• 49:02
  Speaker 5: Got it.
• 49:02
  Speaker 3: Next year.
• 49:02
  Speaker 5: It's always another year.
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: I believe New York One televises the but I think a lot of it has moved to social media and various live streams, which is great. I think it's really important in terms of sort of lowering the Broadway age demographic.
• 49:21
  Speaker 4: Mhmm. But you don't see the influencers when you're there, right? Because they're probably in the bath.
• 49:24
  Speaker 5: They're probably in the bath.
• 49:25
  Speaker 3: I'm trying to think. I saw I mean, I saw folks with larger social media following. So, like, I saw Dylan Mulvaney.
• 49:32
  Speaker 4: Right. Oh, yeah. They showed on the actual, like, on where we were watching it. What what was it on CBS?
• 49:40
  Speaker 3: It was at CBS.
• 49:41
  Speaker 4: Yeah. On CBS, they showed Dylan multiple times. Yeah. Interesting.
• 49:45
  Speaker 3: Mean, she's really of the Broadway category. Was in Book of Mormon years ago.
• 49:49
  Speaker 5: That's the whole difference. I think that is the difference. Yeah.
• 49:51
  Speaker 3: Yeah. But, yeah, it is it is, like, very important to get younger folks into the theater. I think to bring in all those influencers is a
• 50:02
  Speaker 5: huge Many times when we do publicity for a lot of these shows that they send us to go see, we know that their tickets rise after we talk about it because it's it's because they well, who's seeing us on on TikTok or Instagram influences younger people. So, you know, it is an influence. Is it a major influence? We don't know yet.
• 50:20
  Speaker 3: And I will say, I went recently, Trisha Paytas did a one night only Broadway concert, and I was there. And it was amazing both just because she's amazing and it was so much fun, also it was so amazing to see that room filled with people I recognize from TikTok and everyone was having the time of their lives- Taking pictures. Yes. And I was sitting there and I was like, this is, this is really important for the industry.
• 50:47
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 50:47
  Speaker 3: Like it's going to actually pay dividends.
• 50:49
  Speaker 4: Yes. And like, yes, it's not about the talent, but it's definitely entertaining. And there's something to say about that.
• 50:56
  Speaker 3: Totally. And Trisha has such a, I think a lot of it is about the authenticity, right? Which is true of Dylan Lemainie too.
• 51:01
  Speaker 4: Like
• 51:02
  Speaker 3: Trisha has such inauthentic love of this medium Yeah, that it it didn't feel nothing about it felt fake.
• 51:10
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 51:10
  Speaker 5: Totally. That's very important.
• 51:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah. I think those were my main moments I wanted to chat about. Anything on your end, Grandma?
• 51:17
  Speaker 5: I just think Henry has done a terrific job with his company. I'm wishing him many, many more successes because I look forward to it. I know he's so talented, and I love when young people get the opportunity to do what he's doing. That's my whole thing in life. It's all about young people doing their thing and being successful, or not so successful, but trying.
• 51:39
  And I think Henry has become successful, so I'm proud of
• 51:42
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
• 51:45
  Speaker 4: Tell everyone how they can find you, follow you if you want.
• 51:48
  Speaker 5: If they don't want it. Biggie doesn't want it.
• 51:49
  Speaker 4: If they don't wanna be found, look up your company. Yes.
• 51:52
  Speaker 3: Definitely look up the company. It's called Key to the City Productions. Come see Picture of Dorian Gray. We have three more weeks. Keep an eye out for future projects.
• 52:00
  Our next musical is called Galileo, and it is about Galileo. It's a rock musical that
• 52:07
  Speaker 5: Should be fun.
• 52:08
  Speaker 3: Really explores the tensions between sort of truth and power using Galileo's story and directed by Michael Mayer, did Spring Awakening and American Idiot. Amazing. And it's just this incredible, incredible show that we will have on Broadway hopefully very soon. Good. Yeah.
• 52:28
  Speaker 4: So you'll have all excited.
• 52:29
  Speaker 3: Yes. Absolutely.
• 52:30
  Speaker 4: Thanks for coming.
• 52:31
  Speaker 3: Thank you for having me.
• 52:32
  Speaker 4: It was so fun talking to Henry. I feel like I learned so much behind the scene.
• 52:36
  Speaker 5: Well, he knows so much. And, for a young person to achieve what he's achieved, it's just wonderful. And it gives people, really inspiration.
• 52:46
  Speaker 4: Okay. Let's play a quick game of should we bring it back to close out the episode? Broadway edition. Okay. Elaborate overtures before the curtain rises.
• 52:59
  Should we bring it back?
• 53:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah. I think it's beautiful. But the music has to be really good to listen to. I don't wanna listen to just, you know, things that don't really aren't melodious.
• 53:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah. I like when it's iconic shows and Yeah. Like know
• 53:12
  Speaker 5: what the
• 53:13
  Speaker 4: songs are gonna be. Right. But I would say bring it back. Yeah. Bring it back.
• 53:17
  Speaker 5: Let's try it again.
• 53:19
  Speaker 4: Fosse choreography, some jazz hands, or leave it in the sixties.
• 53:24
  Speaker 5: I don't know unless you have another Bob Fosse whether you'll ever have that again. If the one comes a bit out, please bring it back. Yeah.
• 53:31
  Speaker 4: I agree. I feel like let's not bring it back unless it's directly a, like, cabaret or something. Exactly. Dressing up for theater, like truly getting fancy and elegant to go to Broadway.
• 53:44
  Speaker 5: I don't think you can bring that back. I don't think our dress and our lifestyles are that anymore. I don't think you need to go in sweatpants. You could dress it up a tiny bit, put on a nice pair of jeans, but, you know, life changes.
• 53:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah. I don't really wanna bring it back because I don't wanna wear heels to Times Square.
• 54:00
  Speaker 5: You're right. You're right. Yeah. Right.
• 54:02
  Speaker 4: And lastly, cheaper ticket prices.
• 54:05
  Speaker 5: Oh, that would definitely bring it back. That's for sure. I know how either because everything I bought this season has been very expensive but I think if you go and are not looking to be in the orchestra and you're willing to sit very far back or on the, you know, very high, you can get reasonable seats, but they should lower these prices. But I guess the productions are so expensive. It's very hard to lower things.
• 54:28
  You know, they are not in it to lose money and many of them do. Right.
• 54:32
  Speaker 4: Okay. Thank you all so much for listening to Excuse My Grandma. Remember to follow us on social media, Excuse My Grandma. Also, wherever you are listening right now, please subscribe slash follow, leave a rating and review. Makes a huge difference to our show.
• 54:50
  And we will see you soon. Bye. Spring just slid into your DMs. Grab that boho look for that rooftop dinner, those sandals that can keep up with you, and hang some string lights to give your patio a glow up. Spring's calling.
• 55:10
  Ross, work your magic.
• 55:14
  Speaker 5: Hey, mama. Thanks for making all my favorite recipes.
• 55:17
  Speaker 3: Hi, ma. Thanks for your unfiltered advice.
• 55:20
  Speaker 5: Hi, mom. Thanks for always being by the phone. Hey,
• 55:24
  Speaker 3: mom. Happy Mother's Day.
• 55:26
  Speaker 9: When you ship UPS air at the UPS store, your items arrive on time or your money back, guaranteed at no extra cost, exclusively at the UPS store US retail locations. Visit the upsstore.com/air shipping for full details. Terms and conditions apply. Send your Mother's Day gifts at the UPS store, and we'll get your gratitude there on time.