Podcast appearances and mentions of Christopher Ashley

Matty and Kikau talk with Erin Farrell Speer, the Head of the Musical Theatre Program at The University of Utah. She just completed her first semester in this new position after leading the MT program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. She was the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the School of Theatre at the UNCG, where she developed a new BFA musical theatre program with music director and arranger Dominick Amendum. Her recommendations include the series Jury Duty on Amazon Freevee, Brenee Brown's podcast "Unlocking Us", Justin Su'a's podcast "Increase Your Impact", Liz Gilbert's Big Magic, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho! --------------------- Before joining the Department of Theatre, Erin was an Assistant Professor specializing in Musical Theatre and Director of Undergraduate Studies for the School of Theatre at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she developed a new BFA musical theatre program with music director and arranger Dominick Amendum (Wicked, Prince of Egypt). While at UNCG Erin was also recognized as the College of Visual and Performing Arts Outstanding Teacher in 2021. In 2022 she was the recipient of the UNCG-wide James Y. Joyner Award for excellence in teaching.  A Los Angeles native, Erin made her Broadway debut serving as the Directing Assistant to Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley on Escape to Margaritaville, the Jimmy Buffett musical. She also served in that capacity for the show's pre-Broadway tour. Erin's career has taken her from coast to coast, giving her the opportunity to work off-Broadway at the York Theatre and regionally with companies like Center Theatre Group/the Mark Taper Forum, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sarasota Opera House. In addition to her directing career, Erin has worked professionally as a performer in theatre, film, and commercials, even spending a year as an agent assistant in LA. She couples her directing and performing knowledge with nearly two decades of teaching experience, covering a wide range of abilities from true beginners to Broadway performers and television stars. Erin was previously an adjunct faculty member in musical theatre and dance at Florida Southern College and instructed/lectured in musical theatre, directing and theatre history at Penn State. She earned her MFA in Directing for the Musical Theatre Stage from Penn State University where she studied in their nationally recognized musical theatre program under the mentorship of veteran Broadway director and former SDC President Susan H. Schulman. Erin is also a proud graduate of The University of Michigan, where she earned her BFA in Acting from another nationally recognized program and studied alongside many future Broadway and film/TV stars.   Some of her favorite university direction/choreography credits include American Idiot, Rock of Ages, The SongeBob Musical, The Bridges of Madison County, Sweet Charity, Hot n' Cole, ‘S Wonderful!, Dreamgirls, The Wild Party, Stones in his Pockets, Romeo and Juliet, and many others. Professional direction/choreography credits include All Shook Up, Little Shop of Horrors, Oklahoma!, Bye Bye Birdie, Seussical, Footloose, Cinderella, Annie Get Your Gun, and Guys and Dolls among many others. Film direction: Hear Our Voices, Radio. Film producing: One Week at Woolworths, Flatbush Avenue. Erin is a proud Associate of the Society of Directors and Choreographers (SDC), and an alumna of the Director's Lab West.

We love him, he's perfect, now change into your fanciest hat before we're joined by the legendary lyricist, Mr. Joe DiPietro! (say what?! *faints) In this week's EXTRA-special surprise Thanksgiving episode, the two-time Tony Award winning author of Memphis joins us to discuss his latest play, Babbitt, now playing at the powerhouse La Jolla Playhouse until December 10th, as well as his beloved long-running musical 'I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'. (And we cover Rose Tattoo's Rose Tattoo for the Metal album) Plus, we chat working with this incredible cast, overworking this incredible cast, pro-shots, Diana the Musical, dying satire, and heaps more in this jam-packed episode!Babbitt is sold out. A limited number of tickets may be released daily, so please check the website'Babbitt': https://lajollaplayhouse.org/show/babbitt/--Socials--Joe: https://twitter.com/joedipietronyc Around the World in 80 Plays:Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/around-the-world-in-80-plays/id1709294420Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6M8Yff4VPblqINhu2SSrrg*****Juxtaposing Metal with Musicals - joined by iconic guests from the worlds of Music, Broadway, Hollywood, and more! https://www.thetonastontales.com/listen -- https://www.patreon.com/bloomingtheatricals - https://twitter.com/thrashntreasurehttps://linktr.ee/thrashntreasure*****Help support Thrash 'n Treasure and keep us on-air, PLUS go on a fantastical adventure at the same time!Grab your copy of The Tonaston Tales by AW, and use the code TNT20 when you check out for 20% off eBooks and Paperbacks!https://www.thetonastontales.com/bookstore - TNT20 ***** ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

By Joe DiPietro Adapted from the novel by Sinclair Lewis Directed by Christopher Ashley You can't always get what you want, but you might get what you need. Multi-award-winning star of stage and screen Matthew Broderick and Tony Award-winning playwright Joe DiPietro (Diana, Memphis) join forces with our own Christopher Ashley and a stellar cast for this remarkable theatrical event. Babbitt entered the zeitgeist in 1922 as a novel by white-hot satirist Sinclair Lewis, the first American Nobel Laureate. An instant literary classic, Babbitt has been a stalwart on ‘best ever' lists for over 100 years, and is now adapted for the stage. George F. Babbitt is a middle-aged real estate broker in the Midwestern city of Zenith. By day, he has a prosperous, respectable middle-class existence. By night, he's plagued by the thought that he has amounted to nothing. Searching for more to life than his top-of-the-line toaster and hickory golf club ― more meaning ― Babbitt leaps with abandon into the most spectacular rebellion of his life ― one that could end up costing him everything. Led by Matthew Broderick in the title role, the cast bringing this world premiere to life features Emmy Award nominee Anna Chlumsky (Veep), Ann Harada (Broadway's Avenue Q) and Julie Halston (Sex and the City).

COME FROM AWAY  Book, Music, & Lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein Works Consulted & Reference :Come From Away (Libretto) by Irene Sankoff & David HeinCome From Away: Welcome to the Rock: An Inside Look at the Hit Musical  by Laurence MaslonCome From Away (2021 Live Capture ) Directed by Christopher AshleyMusic Credits:"Overture" from Dear World (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music by Jerry Herman | Performed by Dear World Orchestra & Donald Pippin"The Speed Test" from Thoroughly Modern Millie  (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by Dick Scanlan | Performed by Marc Kudisch, Sutton Foster, Anne L. Nathan & Ensemble"Why God Why" from Miss Saigon: The Definitive Live Recording  (Original Cast Recording  / Deluxe)  | Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Lyrics by Alain Boublil & Richard Maltby Jr.  | Performed by Alistair Brammer"Back to Before" from Ragtime: The Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music by Stephen Flaherty, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens | Performed by Marin Mazzie"Chromolume #7 / Putting It Together" from Sunday in the Park with George (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim | Performed by Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Judith Moore, Cris Groenendaal, Charles Kimbrough, William Parry, Nancy Opel, Robert Westenberg, Dana Ivey, Kurt Knudson, Barbara Bryne"What's Inside" from Waitress (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Sara Bareilles | Performed by Jessie Mueller & Ensemble"Me and the Sky" from Come From Away (Original Broadway Cast Recording)  | Music & Lyrics by Irene Sankoff & David Hein | Performed by Jenn Colella and 'Come From Away' Company"Maria" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording)  | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Evadne Baker, Anna Lee, Portia Nelson, Marni Nixon"My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording) | Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Performed by Julie Andrews"Corner of the Sky" from Pippin (New Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz | Performed by Matthew James Thomas“What Comes Next?” from Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) | Music & Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda | Performed by Jonathan Groff

Originally recorded September 16, 2023. We are here at the start of a moment. Our back-to-back Christopher Ashley directed musical arc concludes with a show that was praised unanimously for its portrayal of the human spirit's triumph over adversity. There's not enough words to describe here so let's just say it's "Come From Away"!

Paul Rudnick is a novelist, playwright, essayist and screenwriter, whom the New York Times has called, “one of our pre-eminent humorists.” His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world, and include I HATE HAMLET, JEFFREY, THE MOST FABULOUS STORY EVER TOLD, VALHALLA, REGRETS ONLY, and THE NEW CENTURY. He has won an Obie Award, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and the John Gassner Playwrighting Award, and two of his short plays have been included in STANDING ON CEREMONY: THE GAY MARRIAGE PLAYS. His novels include SOCIAL DISEASE and I'LL TAKE IT, both from Knopf and PLAYING THE PALACE from Berkley. He's a regular contributor to The New Yorker and his articles and essays have also appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Vogue and Vanity Fair. HarperCollins has published both Mr. Rudnick's Collected Plays and a group of essays entitled I SHUDDER. His essays have also been included in the New Yorker anthologies FIERCE PAJAMAS and DISQUIET, PLEASE.Mr. Rudnick is rumored to be quite close to Premiere magazine's film critic Libby Gelman-Waxner, whose collected columns were published by St. Martins under the title IF YOU ASK ME. Ms. Gelman-Waxner has also reviewed in the pages of Entertainment Weekly, and the column now appears every few weeks on The New Yorker website.Mr. Rudnick's screenplays include IN & OUT, SISTER ACT, the screen adaptation of JEFFREY, and ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES. His Young Adult novels, entitled GORGEOUS and IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, have been published by Scholastic.Mr. Rudnick has appeared on the Today show, Real Time with Bill Maher, Conan O'Brien, A Prairie Home Companion, and Fresh Air, among other programs. Mr. Rudnick's new play, Guilty Pleasure, will be directed by Christopher Ashley and produced at the LaJolla Playhouse. On September 12, 2020, HBO began airing Coastal Elites, written by Mr. Rudnick, directed by Jay Roach, and starring Bette Midler, Dan Levy, Issa Rae, Sarah Paulson and Kaitlyn Dever. He's currently writing a screenplay called EX-HUSBANDS, based on an original idea by Billy Eichner, for Amazon. His new novel, FARRELL COVINGTON AND THE LIMITS OF STYLE, will be publshed in June of 2023 by Simon&Schuster From his humble beginnings growing up on his grandfather's dairy farm in New York, JOEL THURM became one of the most admired, powerful, and accomplished casting directors in Hollywood, Early on, Thurm's instincts proved beyond reproach when he recognized John Travolta as much more than a teen idol, casting him in the TV movie THE BOY IN THE PLASTIC BUBBLE. It was during his years as Vice President of Talent and Casting for both Paramount Television and NBC that he discovered the remarkable Phoenix family, from which River and Joaquin became A-list movie stars. With his insider's knowledge, irreverent style, and biting wit, Thurm tells the stories of his key involvement in such iconic movies and shows as GREASE, AIRPLANE!, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, CHEERS, TAXI, THE LOVE BOAT, FANTASY ISLAND, STARSKY & HUTCH, CHARLIE'S ANGELS, THE GOLDEN GIRLS, KNIGHT RIDER, THE COSBY SHOW, HILL STREET BLUES and many, many more. SEX, DRUGS, AND PILOT SEASON is the ultimate backstage pass to the boardrooms of Manhattan and the executive suites of Hollywood where show-business history was made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm so honored to announce the release of my interview with the brilliant author and playwright Paul Rudnick, writer of the newly released novel Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style. Tune in today to hear some of the stories of his career, including what it was like experiencing a seance with Celeste Holm, working with Bette Midler on Sister Act, the advice he got from William Finn, turning Coastal Elites from a play into a TV special, taking risks with Rude Entertainment, his thoughts on the royal family, collaborating with Christopher Ashley on Jeffrey, and so much more! You won't want to miss this hilarious conversation.

A lifelong arts maker, Audrey Hoo is the Director of Production of Tony-award winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley California. Originally from Singapore, Audrey ventured to the United States to seek new experiences. Most recently, she has worked at the American Conservatory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has had the pleasure of working with artists across all performing arts genres such as Tony Taccone, Chay Yew, Christopher Ashley, William Kentridge, Alex Timbers, Catherine Martin, Sam Mendes, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, John Turturro & Elaine Stritch. Outside of work, Audrey strives to be her best self. Always pushing to learn new skills, her main loves include martial arts, hiking, west coast swing and country two-step dances.  Audrey holds a M.F.A in Technical Direction from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.     @theatreartlife Thank you to our sponsor @clear-com The TheatreArtLife Podcast is a branch of our larger TheatreArtLife Community. Come visit us at www.theatreartlife.com

A lifelong arts maker, Audrey Hoo is the Director of Production of Tony-award winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley California. Originally from Singapore, Audrey ventured to the United States to seek new experiences. Most recently, she has worked at the American Conservatory Theater, La Jolla Playhouse and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has had the pleasure of working with artists across all performing arts genres such as Tony Taccone, Chay Yew, Christopher Ashley, William Kentridge, Alex Timbers, Catherine Martin, Sam Mendes, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, John Turturro & Elaine Stritch. Outside of work, Audrey strives to be her best self. Always pushing to learn new skills, her main loves include martial arts, hiking, west coast swing and country two-step dances.  Audrey holds a M.F.A in Technical Direction from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.     “ATTENTION SPOTIFY LISTENERS: IF you want to WATCH this with VIDEO, you can also subscribe to our video version: https://open.spotify.com/show/5e9KnBRZdjUTXTvCe6Nrqm?si=6639537c61044396” @theatreartlife Thank you to our sponsor @clear-com The TheatreArtLife Podcast is a branch of our larger TheatreArtLife Community. Come visit us at www.theatreartlife.com

Based upon a popular off-Broadway stage play performed in the early '90s, this sweet-natured but raunchy romantic comedy was one of the first of its kind when it came out in the mid '90's: it focused on a budding romance between two gay men including the titular protagonist Jeffrey played by Steven Weber who then was best known as the star of the popular network sitcom, "Wings."  We follow Jeffrey on a journey of self-discovery amid his struggle to be comfortable building a new connection during the Age of AIDS....and yet most of this played for laughs thanks to an unending stream of comic vignettes written by Paul Rudnick, adapting his own stage show for the screen.  Michael T. Weiss co-stars as the subject of Jeffrey's affections along with Patrick Stewart and Bryan Batt.  Also included among the extensive stacked cast are Sigourney Weaver, Nathan Lane, and Kathy Najimy.  Just in time for the kick-off of Pride Month, it's time to revisit this groundbreaking rom-com directed by Christopher Ashley! Host: Geoff Gershon  Producer: Marlene Gershonhttps://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/ 

In the Season 3 Premeire Russell sits down with UNCG's musical theatre professor and director Erin Speer as they discuss the similarities as well as differences between directing musical theatre compared to theatre itself and the impact it has on artists and audiences alike.Brought to you by Real Creative Heart. Like, Review, Share & Subscribe.Erin Farrell Speer – Erin is a musical theatre director, educator and filmmaker. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre and Director of Undergraduate Studies – School of Theatre at UNC Greensboro. She earned her MFA in Directing for the Musical Theatre from Penn State where she studied under the mentorship of veteran Broadway director, Susan H. Schulman. Erin is also a proud graduate of The University of Michigan, holding a BFA in Acting. Erin made her Broadway debut in 2018 serving as the Assistant to Tony winning director Christopher Ashley on Escape to Margaritaville, the Jimmy Buffett musical. She also served in that capacity on the pre-Broadway tour. She made her off-Broadway debut in 2022 as the Associate Director for Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road at the York Theatre. Originally from Los Angeles, California, Erin's creative work has taken her all around the United States. Regionally, Erin has worked at Center Theatre Group/the Mark Taper Forum, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Heritage Repertory Theatre, Sierra Repertory Theatre and the North Carolina Theatre among others. In 2022, Erin directed both The Spongebob Musical and The Scarlet Pimpernel. In Spring of 2023, she will direct The Bridges of Madison County at Elon University and Rock of Ages at UNCG. Favorite Direction credits include: The Spongebob Musical, Pippin, American Idiot, Sweet Charity, and many, many more.

November 15 – December 11, 2022 Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre By William Shakespeare Co-Directed by Christopher Ashley and Will Davis Produced in association with Diversionary Theatre The original rom com, wild with love and high on joy In Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy, Rosalind and Orlando meet by chance in court and have an immediate connection. When they are both banished, fate brings them together again in the Forest of Arden. Far from the restrictions of court life, we find ourselves in a vibrant new world, where identities can be fully explored and romance can blossom in multiple forms. Brought to vibrant life by a cast of trans, non-binary and Queer performers, Christopher Ashley and Will Davis's re-imagined As You Like It is a celebration of the limitless possibilities of love and humanity. This bold and beautiful production inhabits a wonderful, ‘gender-ful' world – a sensuous place that embraces the full spectrum of gender possibilities. Evoking the heady experience of falling in love, and underscored by heart-thumping live music, there are no boundaries in As You Like It, just endless complexities, infinite love and the joyful expression of true selves. Love is in the air!

www.iconsandoutlaws.com    Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton was born June 22, 1953, in Brooklyn, New York City, right here in the U.S., to Catholic parents, Fred and Catrine. Her mother was from Sicily. She has two siblings, a younger brother Fred (nicknamed Butch), and an older sister, Ellen. Her parents divorced when she was five.   Her earliest childhood days were spent in Brooklyn, but when she was about four years old, the family moved to Ozone Park, Queens, where she lived in a railroad-style apartment through her teenage years. Growing up, Lauper felt like an outcast. She grew up listening to such artists as The Beatles and Judy Garland. Then, at only 12 years old, she began writing songs and playing an acoustic guitar that she got from her sister.   Cyndi was primarily raised by her mother, who worked as a waitress to support the family. Mom loved the arts and frequently took Cyndi and her siblings to Manhattan to see Shakespeare plays or visit art museums. However, Cyndi did not do particularly well in school. She was reportedly kicked out of several parochial schools in her youth. Raised in the Roman Catholic faith, Cyndi Lauper recounted in Boze Hadleigh's "Inside the Hollywood Closet" the time a nun attacked her after catching a nine-year-old Lauper scratching a friend's back: "A nun ran in, ripped me off her back, threw me against the lockers, beat the s**t out of me, and called me a lesbian."   As many kids do, she expressed herself with various hair colors and eccentric clothing. She took a friend's advice to spell her name as "Cyndi" rather than "Cindy." Unfortunately, her" unusual" sense of style led to classmates bullying her and even throwing stones at her.   Lauper went to Richmond Hill High School, where she was expelled but later earned her GED. In her book, Cyndi revealed that after her stepfather threatened to sexually assault her and her sister and then secretly watched her take a bath, she left home for good. Cyndi left Home at 17 to escape her creepy ass stepfather, intending to study art. Her journey took her to Canada, where she spent two weeks in the woods with her dog Sparkle, trying to find herself. She eventually traveled to Vermont, taking art classes at Johnson State College and supporting herself by working odd jobs. Money was sparse, so she waitressed, served as an office assistant, and even sang in a Japanese restaurant for a time. At one point, her boyfriend at the time hunted and shot a squirrel, which she cooked up and ate. Lauper also faced an unplanned pregnancy, which she wanted, but her boyfriend did not. So, Lauper terminated the pregnancy.   "Nobody wants to run in and do that," She later told HuffPost. "It's just that I didn't want to have a kid that I love come into the world and not be able to share the kid with a dad." During this period, Cyndi got around by hitchhiking. Unfortunately, she put herself into close quarters with some potentially crappy individuals, such as the man who gave her a ride and forced her to perform a sexual act on him. "I just wanted to be able to live through it, get to the other side of it." On another occasion, she was assaulted by a bandmate and two accomplices.   Sometimes, it all understandably got too overwhelming for Lauper. "A lot of times I couldn't take it anymore, so I just lay in bed all the time," Lauper wrote. "When I really couldn't deal with anything, I used to get the shakes, just complete anxiety attacks." In 2019, Lauper gave the commencement address at Northern Vermont University-Johnson, the academic institution that now includes Johnson State. At this event, NVU awarded her the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.   In the early 1970s, Cyndi performed as a vocalist with several different cover bands. One of those bands, Doc West, covered disco songs and Janis Joplin. A later band, Flyer, was active in the New York metropolitan area, singing songs by bands including Bad Company, Jefferson Airplane, and Logan's favorite, Led Zeppelin. Although She was performing on stage and loving that part, she was not happy singing covers. One night, while singing a cover of Kiki Dee's "I've Got the Music in Me" in 1974, her voice gave out. But it came back shortly after, and Lauper continued to sing in cover bands and a Janis Joplin tribute act. Then, in 1977, Cyndi's pipes said no more. Her voice disappeared again, and doctors discovered that she'd suffered a collapsed vocal cord.   Recommended by her temporary replacement in the Joplin cover band, Lauper sought the help of vocal coach Katie Agresta. She helped heal Cyndi and provided her with the tools and techniques to prevent it from happening again. Agresta also helped her realize that she was singing the wrong music entirely, discovering that she was more suited to pop, not hard rock. As Lauper wrote in her memoir, "[I realized] what I was aching for — to sing my own songs, in my own voice, in my own style, that I made up myself." In 1978, Lauper met saxophone player John Turi through her manager Ted Rosenblatt. Turi and Lauper formed a band named Blue Angel, Combining a New Wave look with a '60s throwback sound, and recorded a demo tape of original music. Steve Massarsky, manager of The Allman Brothers Band, heard the tape and liked Lauper's voice. He bought Blue Angel's contract for $5,000 and became their manager. "The playing was bad. There was something interesting about the singer's voice, but that was all," he later told Rolling Stone. Massarky set up a few major label showcases, but they all thought the same thing; the band wasn't great, but the singer was something special. Lauper received recording offers as a solo artist but held out, wanting the band to be included in any deal she made. She even turned down the chance to record a song by herself for the soundtrack to the MeatLoaf movie Roadie, produced by legendary disco song crafter Giorgio Moroder, the founder of the former Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. Blue Angel was eventually signed by Polydor Records and released a self-titled album on the label in 1980. Lauper hated the artwork, saying it made her look like Big Bird. Still, Rolling Stone magazine later included it as one of the 100 best new wave album covers (2003). Despite critical acclaim, the album sold poorly ("It went lead," as Lauper later joked), and the band broke up. The members of Blue Angel had a falling-out with Massarsky and fired him as their manager. He later filed an $80,000 suit against them, which forced Cyndi into bankruptcy. She then temporarily lost her voice due to an inverted cyst in her vocal cord.   After Blue Angel broke up, Cyndi worked in retail stores, waitressing at IHOP (which she quit after being demoted to the hostess when the manager sexually harassed her), and singing in local clubs. Her most frequent gigs were at El Sombrero, which sounds like they have amazing chimichangas. Music critics who saw Her perform with Blue Angel believed she had star potential due to her four-octave singing range, which was not an easy feat. Then, in 1981, while singing in a local New York bar, Cyndi met David Wolff. He took over as her manager and had her sign a recording contract with Portrait Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records. On October 14, 1983, Cyndi released her first solo album,"  She's So Unusual." The album became a worldwide hit, peaking at No. 4 in the U.S. and reaching the top five in eight other countries. She became extremely popular with teenagers and critics, partly due to her hybrid punk image, which was crafted by stylist Patrick Lucas.   Lauper co-wrote four songs on She's So Unusual, including the hits "Time After Time" and "She Bop." On the songs she did not write, Lauper sometimes changed the lyrics. Such is the case with "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," originally written and recorded by Robert Hazard, which you can find on YouTube, and it's pretty awesome. She found the original lyrics misogynistic, so she rewrote the song as an anthem for young women.    The album includes five cover songs, including The Brains' new wave track "Money Changes Everything" (No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100) and Prince's "When You Were Mine." The album made Cyndi Lauper the first female artist to have four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 top five hits from one album. The L.P. has stayed in the Top 200 charts for over 65 weeks and sold 16 million copies worldwide.   Cyndi won Best New Artist at the 1985 Grammy Awards. She's So Unusual also received nominations for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"), and Song of the Year (for "Time After Time"). She wore almost a pound of necklaces at her award ceremony. It also won the Grammy for Best Album Package, which went to the art director, Janet Perr.   The video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" won the inaugural award for Best Female Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, making Cyndi an MTV staple. The video featured professional wrestling manager "Captain" Lou Albano as Lauper's father and her real-life mother, Catrine, as her mother, and also featured her attorney, her manager, her brother Butch, and her dog Sparkle. She was a huge wrestling fan. In 1984–85, Cyndi appeared on the covers of Rolling Stone magazine, Time, and Newsweek. In addition, she appeared twice on the cover of People and was named a Ms. magazine Woman of the Year in 1985.   In 1985, she participated in "USA for Africa's" famine-relief fund-raising single "We Are the World," which has sold more than 20 million copies since then.   At the Grammys in 1985, She appeared with another professional wrestler, a Mr. Terry" Hulk" Hogan, who played her "bodyguard." "'The Grammy means a lot to me,' said Cyndi (in the arms of Hulk Hogan) after winning Best New Artist, 'Because I never thought I would amount to anything. I always wanted to make art.'" She would later make many appearances as herself in a number of the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" events and played Wendi Richter's manager in the very first WrestleMania event. Dave Wolff, Lauper's boyfriend and manager at the time, was a wrestling fan as a boy and helped set up the rock and wrestling connection.   In 1985, Cyndi released the single "The Goonies' R' Good Enough," from the soundtrack to the movie The Goonies and an accompanying video that featured several wrestling stars. The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.   She then received two nominations at the 1986 Grammy Awards: Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "What a Thrill" and Best Long Form Music Video for Cyndi Lauper in Paris.   Cyndi released her second album, "True Colors," in 1986. It entered the Billboard 200 at No. 42 and has sold roughly 7 million copies.   In 1986, She appeared on the Billy Joel album The Bridge, with a song called "Code of Silence." She is credited with having written the lyrics with Joel, and she sings a duet with him. In the same year, Cyndi also sang the theme song for Pee-wee's Playhouse, credited as "Ellen Shaw." In 1987, David Wolff produced a concert film called Cyndi Lauper in Paris. The concert was broadcast on HBO.   Cyndi made her film debut in August 1988 in the comedy Vibes, alongside a nobody named Jeff Goldblum, Peter Falk, and Julian Sands. She played a psychic in search of a city of gold in South America. To prepare for the role, Cyndi took a few finger-waving and hair-setting classes at the Robert Fiancé School of Beauty in New York and studied with a few Manhattan psychics. The film flopped and was poorly received by critics but would later be considered a cult classic.   Cyndi then contributed a track called "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" for the Vibes soundtrack, but the song was not included. Instead, a high-energy, comic action/adventure romp through a Chinese laundry video for the song was released. The song reached No. 54 on the U.S. charts, but did way better in Australia, reaching No. 8. Cyndi's third album, A Night to Remember, was released in 1989. The album had one hit, the No. 6 single "I Drove All Night," originally recorded by Roy Orbison, three years before his death on December 6, 1988. Cyndi received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance at the 1990 Grammy Awards for That track. Still, overall, album sales for the album were down. A side note; The music video for the song "My First Night Without You" was one of the first to be closed-captioned for the hearing impaired. That record sold around 1.3 million copies.   Due to her friendship with a familiar name here at Icons and Outlaws, Yoko Ono, Cyndi was a part of the May 1990 John Lennon tribute concert in Liverpool. She performed the Beatles song "Hey Bulldog" and the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero." She was also involved in Sean Lennon's project, "The Peace Choir, "performing a new version of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."   Shortly after, the album was met with a dismal response, and she split with her boyfriend and manager, David Wolff. Cyndi lived alone in a New York hotel, emotionally drained and considering suicide. "I had come so far but felt like I had failed," she wrote in Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir (via Bullyville). "I would go to the studio, and then sit in my dark room and drink vodka. I had to spend most of my time alone. I was grieving. I thought the sadness would never go away." Indirectly, it was Cyndi's best-known song that encouraged her to try to crawl out of her low place: "The only thing that always ­prevented me from suicide is that I never wanted a headline to read, 'Girl who wanted to have fun just didn't.'" On November 24, 1991, Cyndi married actor David Thornton, who's been in home alone 3, John Q with Denzel, and that god-awful tear-jerker, the Notebook.   Cyndi's fourth album, "Hat Full of Stars," was released in June 1993 and was met with critical acclaim but failed commercially, unsupported by her label. The album tackled topics like homophobia, spousal abuse, racism, and abortion, sold fewer than 120,000 copies in the United States and peaked at No. 112 on the Billboard charts. The album's song "Sally's Pigeons" video features the then-unknown Julia Stiles playing a young Cyndi. You may remember Julia from ten things I hate about you, alongside a young Heath Ledger.   In 1993, Cyndi returned to acting, playing Michael J. Fox's ditzy secretary in the movie Life with Mikey. She also won an Emmy Award for her role as Marianne Lugasso in the hugely popular sitcom Mad About You with Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt. On November 19, 1997, Cyndi gave birth to her son, Declyn Wallace Lauper Thornton, who is now a trap rapper. Her fifth album," Sisters of Avalon," was released in Japan in 1996 and worldwide in 1997. Just like "Hat Full of Stars," some songs on "Sisters of Avalon" addressed dark themes. The song "Ballad of Cleo and Joe" addressed the complications of a drag queen's double life. The song "Say a Prayer" was written for a friend who had died from AIDS. "Unhook the Stars" was used in the movie of the same name. Again without support from her label, the release failed in America, spending a week on the Billboard album chart at No. 188. This album also received much critical praise, including People magazine, which declared it "'90s nourishment for body and soul. Lauper sets a scene, makes us care, gives us hope." Let's just say it… her label sucks!   On January 17, 1999, Cyndi appeared as an animated version of herself in The Simpsons episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken." She sang the National Anthem to the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" melody. That same year, she opened for Cher's Do You Believe? Tour alongside Wild Orchid. Yeah, that group with a young Fergie. Cyndi also appeared in the films "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" and The "Opportunists." In addition, she contributed to the soundtrack of the 2000 animated film, Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, performing the song "I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever." On October 12, 2000, Cyndi took part in the television show Women in Rock, Girls with Guitars performing with Ann Wilson of Heart and with the girl group Destiny's Child and the queen B herself!. A CD of the songs performed was released exclusively to Sears stores from September 30 to October 31, 2001, and was marketed as a fundraiser for breast cancer.   In 2002, Sony issued a best-of CD, The Essential Cyndi Lauper. Cyndi also released a cover album with Sony/Epic Records entitled At Last (formerly Naked City), which was released in 2003. At Last received one nomination at the 2005 Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for "Unchained Melody." The effort was also a commercial hit, selling 4.5 million records.    In April 2004, Cyndi performed during the VH1's benefit concert, "Divas Live" 2004, alongside Ashanti, Gladys Knight, Jessica Simpson, Joss Stone, and Patti LaBelle. This event supported the Save the Music Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America's public schools and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education. She made appearances on Showtime's hit show "Queer as Folk" in 2005, directed a commercial for the Totally 80s edition of the board game Trivial Pursuit in 2006, served as a judge on the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards, and made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated "The Threepenny Opera" playing "Jenny." In addition, she performed with Shaggy, Scott Weiland of Velvet Revolver/Stone Temple Pilots, Pat Monahan of Train, Ani DiFranco, and The Hooters in the VH1 Classics special Decades Rock Live. In 2006, she sang "Message To Michael" with Dionne Warwick and "Beecharmer" with Nellie McKay on McKay's Pretty Little Head album.   On October 16, 2006, Cyndi was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2007, she served as a guest performer on the song "Lady in Pink" on an episode of the Nick Jr. show, The Backyardigans. Cyndi's sixth studio album, "Bring Ya to the Brink," was released in the United States on May 27, 2008. Regarded as one of her best works when it was released, the Songwriters Hall of Fame has regarded the album track 'High and Mighty' as one of her essential songs. The album would be Cyndi's last release to date of original material, in addition to being her last for Epic Records, her label since her 1983 debut solo album. The album debuted at #41 on the Billboard 200, with 12,000 copies sold. Other projects for 2008 included the True Colors Tour and a Christmas duet with Swedish band The Hives, entitled "A Christmas Duel." The song was released as a CD single and a 7" vinyl in Sweden. Lauper also performed on "Girls Night Out," headlining it with Rosie O'Donnell in the U.S.   On November 17, 2009, Cyndi performed with Wyclef Jean in a collaboration called "Slumdog Millionaire," on The Late Show with David Letterman. In January 2010, Mattel released a Cyndi Lauper Barbie doll as part of their "Ladies of the 80s" series.   In March 2010, Cyndi appeared on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice with the then-future president, Donald Trump, coming in sixth place.   Cyndi's 7th studio album, Memphis Blues, was released on June 22, 2010, and debuted on the Billboard Blues Albums chart at No. 1 and at No. 26 on the Billboard Top 200. The album remained No. 1 on the Blues Albums chart for 14 consecutive weeks; Memphis Blues was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 2011 Grammy Awards. According to the Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo, the album had sold 600,000 copies worldwide by November 2010. In addition, Cyndi set out on her most extensive tour ever, the Memphis Blues Tour, which had more than 140 shows, to support the album.   Cyndi made international news in March 2011 for an impromptu performance of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" while waiting for a delayed flight at Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires. A video was later posted on YouTube.   In November 2011, she released two Christmas singles exclusive to iTunes. The first release was a Blues-inspired cover of Elvis Presley's classic "Blue Christmas," and the second was a new version of "Home for the holidays," a duet with Norah Jones. In June 2012, Lauper made her first appearance for WWE in 27 years to promote WWE Raw's 1000th episode to memorialize "Captain" Lou Albano.   In September 2012, Cyndi performed at fashion designer Betsey Johnson's 40-year Retrospective Fashion show. She also released a New York Times best-selling memoir, "Cyndi Lauper A Memoir," which detailed her struggle with child abuse and depression.   Cyndi then composed music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, with Harvey Fierstein writing the book. The musical was based on the 2006 independent film Kinky Boots. The musical tells the story of Charlie Price. Having inherited a shoe factory from his father, Charlie forms an unlikely partnership with cabaret performer and drag queen Lola to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business. It opened in Chicago in October 2012 and on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013. She won Best Score for Kinky Boots in May at the 63rd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards. The musical led the 2013 Tony Awards, with 13 nominations and six wins, including Best Musical and Best Actor. In addition, she won the award for Best Original Score. Cyndi was the first woman to win solo in this category. After a six-year run and 2,507 regular shows, Kinky Boots ended its Broadway run on April 7, 2019. It is the 25th-longest-running Broadway musical in history. It grossed $297 million on Broadway.    In the summer of 2013, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut album "She's So Unusual," Cyndi embarked on an international tour covering America and Australia. The show consisted of a mix of fan favorites and the entirety of the She's So Unusual record.  She stated:"  It's been such an amazing year for me. When I realized it's also the anniversary of the album that started my solo career, I knew it was the perfect time to thank my fans for sticking with me through it all. I'm so excited to perform She's So Unusual from beginning to end, song by song and I can't wait to see everyone!" The tourtour grossed over $1 million   She was a guest on 36 dates of Cher's Dressed to Kill tour, starting April 23, 2014. In addition, a new album was confirmed by her in a website interview.   Cyndi hosted the Grammy Pre-Telecast at the Nokia Theatre, L.A., on January 26,  later accepting a Grammy for Kinky Boots (for Best Musical Theater Album).   On April 1 (March 1 in Europe), Cyndi released the 30th Anniversary edition of She's So Unusual through Epic Records. It featured a remastered version of the original album plus three new remixes. The Deluxe Edition featured bonus tracks such as demos, a live recording, and a 3D cut-out of the bedroom featured in the 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' music video with a reusable sticker set.   On September 17, 2014, Cyndi sang on the finale of America's Got Talent. Then, on September 25, as part of the Today Show's "Shine a Light" series, she re-recorded "True Colors" in a mashup with Sara Bareilles' "Brave" to raise awareness and money for children battling cancer. By October, the project had raised over $300,000.   The Songwriters Hall of Fame added Cyndi to its nomination list in October 2014. Also, her fourth consecutive 'Home for the Holidays' benefit concert for homeless gay youth was announced in October. Acts included 50 Cent and Laverne Cox, with 100% of the net proceeds going to True Colors United. In July 2015, She announced a project with producer Seymour Stein. She later told Rolling Stone it was a country album co-produced by Tony Brown.   On September 15, 2015, Kinky Boots opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End.   In January 2016, Cyndi announced she would release a new album on May 6, 2016. This record was made up of her interpretations of early country classics entitled "Detour." The announcement was supported by a release of her version of Harlan Howard's "Heartaches by the Number" and a performance on Skyville Live with Kelsea Ballerini and Ingrid Michaelson. Then, on February 17, 2016, she released her version of Wanda Jackson's "Funnel of Love."   In February 2016, Cyndi was nominated for an Olivier Award for contributing to the U.K. production of the play "Kinky Boots" along with Stephen Oremus, the man in charge of the arrangements. In January 2017, this production's album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.   In May 2016, she was featured on "Swipe to the Right" from Electronica 2: The Heart of Noise by French producer Jean-Michel Jarre. This second album of the Electronica project is based on collaborations with artists like Tangerine Dream, Moby, Pet Shop Boys, and more.   In October 2016, her son Dex Lauper was the opening act for her in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, for her dates on her Detour Tour.   In January 2017, Cyndi was featured on Austin City Limits' 42nd season, performing some classic bangers alongside some of her country tunes from the "Detour." album. The episode aired on PBS.   In March 2018, it was announced that Cyndi and co- "Time After Time" songwriter Rob Hyman would compose the score for the musical version of the 1988 film "Working Girl." Ya know the movie that starred Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver. She teamed up with Hyman because she wanted "the music to sound like the 80s". The musical would be staged by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley. A developmental production premiere of the musical is planned for the 2021/2022 season.   For Grandin Road, Cyndi exclusively designed her own Christmas collection, 'Cyndi Lauper Loves Christmas', available from September 2018. "I've always loved Christmas. It reminds me to find some happiness in the little things," she said.   Her annual Home For The Holidays concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York was held on December 8, 2018.   Cyndi guest starred, playing a lawyer in an episode of the reboot of the television series Magnum P.I.. The episode, titled "Sudden Death", aired on October 22, 2018.   On November 15, 2018, iBillboard announced that Cyndi would receive the Icon Award at the Billboard's 13th annual Women in Music Event on December 6 in New York City. According to Billboard's editorial director, Jason Lipshutz, "The entire world recognizes the power of Cyndi Lauper's pop music, and just as crucially, she has used her undeniable talent to soar beyond music, create positive change in modern society and become a true icon."    The song "Together" was featured in the Canadian computer-animated film Race time, released in January 2019. Originally written and performed in French by Dumas, Cyndi performed the English translation in the English version of the film initially titled La Course des tuques.   On June 26, 2019, she performed at the opening ceremony of Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019. Backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Cyndi played two concerts on July 12 and 13, 2019, at the iconic Hollywood Bowl.   In September 2019, it was announced that Cyndi would star alongside Jane Lynch in the new Netflix comedy series described as "kind of The Golden Girls for today." However, as of March 2021, there have been no updates on this project. On April 23, 2020, Cyndi participated in an online fundraising concert to raise money for LGBTQ nightlife workers who struggled financially because of the coronavirus pandemic. Her finale was her performing "True Colors." The show was initiated by the Stonewall Inn Gives Back nonprofit organization of the historic Greenwich Village gay bar.    In November 2020, She dueted with former top ten "American Idol" finalist Casey Abrams on a cover version of the song 'Eve of Destruction.   In November last year, Shea Diamond featured Cyndi as a guest vocalist on the track 'Blame it on Christmas.' An official video was released in December.   She then performed at this year's MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute Show, honoring folk icon Joni Mitchell on April 1.   It was announced in May this year that Alison Ellwood will direct a career retrospective documentary about Cyndi. The project is already in production but does not yet have a release date. "Let The Canary Sing" will be the title of this career-spanning documentary produced by Sony Music Entertainment.   Still killing it after all these years!   "Shes So Unusual" ranked No. 487 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. In addition, the album ranked No. 41 on Rolling Stone's Women Who Rock: The 50 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012.   "Time After Time" has been covered by over a hundred artists and was ranked at No. 22 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years and at No. 19 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s.   "She Bop," the third single from She's So Unusual, is the first and only top ten song to directly mention a gay porn magazine. An ode to masturbation, it was included in the PMRC's "Filthy Fifteen" list, which led to the parental advisory sticker appearing on recordings thought to be unsuitable for young listeners. Rolling Stone ranked it the 36th best song of 1984, praising its unusual playfulness regarding sexuality.   "True Colors" is now considered a gay anthem, after which True Colors United, which advocates for runaway and homeless LGBT youth, is so “colorfully” named.   Info used from: Nickiswift.com Wikipedia.com

We've got a royal scandal on our hands this week, folks: featuring NYC and Winnipeg's own Raffie Rosenberg! This princess production was directed by Christopher Ashley with music and lyrics by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro. You know, that guy from Bon Jovi and Memphis. Paul, Jill, and Raffie hold court to ask the important questions, like: should one's kingdom get funkadelic? Why can't I marry a Scorpio? And why didn't we go with “Epic Smackdown for the Crown” over “Thriller in Manila”?We got MERCH now y'all! Visit Spring to check out our mugs, t-shirts, hoodies and more!Twitter: @monkeyplaybillsInstagram: @monkeysandplaybillspodEmail: monkeysandplaybillspod@gmail.comPatreon: patreon.com/monkeysandplaybills Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/monkeysandplaybills

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe Here: https://youtu.be/sLr6rbzYmik PETER BOGYO has been an actor, a Company Manager, a General Manager, an Executive Producer, a Producer of Special Events and Benefit Concerts, and an Author. On Broadway, he served as General Manager of LOVE LETTERS, starring Mia Farrow, Brian Dennehy, Carol Burnett, Alan Alda and Candice Bergen; THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, starring Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr.; STICK FLY, starring Dulé Hill, directed by Kenny Leon, TIME STANDS STILL, starring Laura Linney, directed by Daniel Sullivan, AMERICAN BUFFALO, starring John Leguizamo, directed by Robert Falls, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN, starring Kevin Spacey and Eve Best, directed by Howard Davies, THE BLONDE IN THE THUNDERBIRD, starring Suzanne Somers; SLY FOX, starring Richard Dreyfuss, directed by Arthur Penn; FORTUNE'S FOOL, starring Alan Bates and Frank Langella, directed by Arthur Penn, and VOICES IN THE DARK, starring Judith Ivey, directed by Christopher Ashley. Off-Broadway, his general manager credits include A MOTHER, A DAUGHTER, AND A GUN with Olympia Dukakis; Elaine May's ADULT ENTERTAINMENT, directed by Stanley Donen; Jerry Herman's musical revue SHOWTUNE; MR. GOLDWYN, starring Alan King, directed by Gene Saks; MADAME MELVILLE starring Macaulay Culkin and Joely Richardson; and THE UNEXPECTED MAN, starring Alan Bates and Eileen Atkins, directed by Matthew Warchus. He has served as Executive Producer for the soldout Carnegie Hall concert PIAF! THE SHOW, and for FIGARO 90210 at the Duke Theater on 42nd Street. For more information, please visit www.peterbogyo.comnstagram.com/pbogyo.gmg/

Watch the full video interview here: https://bit.ly/CoffeeWOW2022COFFEE WITH THE PLAYHOUSE | WOW 2022WOW Fest 2022 coming April 21-24. Book your tix: https://bit.ly/WOWFest2022YTThese morning chats are a way to connect with us, virtually, as our very own Christopher Ashley shares behind-the-scenes stories, interviews artists and previews what is new and next at the Playhouse. Listen in as Christopher talks to three remarkable artists featured in the upcoming WOW Festival, April 21-24 at ARTS DISTRICT Liberty Station: David Danzon, Artistic Director of CORPUS and co-creator/performer in La Bulle; Patrice Amon, Artistic Director of TuYo Theatre and writer of On Her Shoulders We Stand; and Dominique Salerno, creator/performer for The Box Show.Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and more.FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouseLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/la-j...TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lajollaplayhouseWebsite: https://lajollaplayhouse.org/#WOW #LaJollaPlayhouse #WithoutWalls #ImmersiveTheatre #SanDiego

This is the second part of my recent conversation with Irene Sankoff & David Hein -- the dynamic writing team and married couple that created the international smash hit musical Come From Away. Five productions of Come From Away have recently reopened around the world: Broadway, Toronto, London, Sydney and on tour across America. A new Dutch production has just opened, as well, and a live filmed version of the show is streaming on Apple TV+. On the previous episode Irene and David related how they got hooked on musicals, and how they went from their first show based on a true story -- My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding -- to deciding to create a musical based on the real life events that happened in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland in the days following 9/11. They also described what it was like to attend the 10th Anniversary of the events in Gander and then begin to transform the stories they heard there into a musical during an early workshop production at The Canadian Music Theatre Project at Sheridan College. We also explored the classic Broadway shows that influenced and inspired the writing of their book, music, and lyrics for Come From Away. If you missed part one you may want to go back and catch up on that episode before you listen to this one. Today we look at the extensive development process that CFA went through on its journey to Broadway - including a workshop in Seattle, a series of productions at the La Jolla Playhouse, The Seattle Rep, Ford's Theater in DC. and the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, as well as a thrilling concert presentation in Gander where it all began.  Back in 2015, I served as the Executive Producer and Artistic Director of The 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle and, as such, I had the great pleasure of co-producing that original Seattle workshop of Come From Away. This was the first time that the show's Tony award winning director Christopher Ashley and choreographer, Kelly Devine began to work on the show -- and it was great fun to recall that exciting experience with Irene and David. Come From Away is the fifth musical to originate in Canada and eventually open on Broadway.  The first was 1974's Rockabye Hamlet with book, music and lyrics by Cliff Jones. This rock musical adaptation of Shakespeare was originally titled Kronborg 1582 and was well received, first as a radio series on the CBC, and then at the Charlottetown Theatre Festival and on tour in Canada, before being retitled and opening on Broadway with Gower Champion as the director. It became a legendary flop and closed after 7 performances. Next, in 1980 came the intimate and engaging Billy Bishop Goes To War written by John McLachlan Gray the show featured one actor to playing18 different roles to tell the story of real life Canadian fighter pilot Billy Bishop during the first World War. This show nearly doubled the run of Rockabye Hamlet closing after 12 performances. However, over the next ten years Billy Bishop Goes To War received scores of productions at theaters all across North America.  The Story Of My Life, with music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill, opened on Broadway in 2009. Unfortunately, it had an even shorter run than either of the previous two Canadian shows. However, one year earlier, a group of Canadian writers finally scored a significant hit with The Drowsy Chaperone – book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison. This delightful show opened on Broadway in 2008, received Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score, and ran for 674 performances.   There have been a few other Canadian writers that found success on Broadway – Galt McDermott being the most famous of them – but that was with shows that originated in the US.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the ladies discuss Her Majesty's recent cancellations and what the implications are for the monarchy as she scales back. They also unpack the Bot Sentinel report about Twitter accounts targeting the Sussexes. On a more uplifting note: Meghan's letter in support of paid family leave, a Beatrice and Eugenie royal wedding sighting, the Cams on vacay, and so much more. They're also joined by director Christopher Ashley for a delightful chat about Diana: The Musical on Netflix and its long-awaited Broadway debut. Grab a stiff drink and tune in now!--Presented by PureWow and Gallery Media Group. Follow all the royal happenings at purewow.com/royals. Follow us on Instagram at @RoyallyObsessedPodcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/UaBfYF7z0QsCOFFEE WITH THE PLAYHOUSE | Charlayne WoodardThese morning chats are a way to connect with us, virtually, every month as our very own Christopher Ashley shares behind-the-scenes stories, interviews artists and previews what is new and next at the Playhouse.Listen in as Christopher talks to Charlayne Woodard, playwright and co-star of The Garden, the world-premiere play that opens our 2021/2022 Season. Charlayne is a two-time Obie Award winner and a Tony Award nominee. Her Broadway credits include Ain't Misbehavin' (original cast) and Hair (revival), and she has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway productions, such as "Daddy", Hamlet, WAR and The Substance of Fire. Her La Jolla Playhouse credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Night Watcher (actor and playwright), Pretty Fire (actor and playwright), The Good Person of Setzuan and Shout Up a Morning, among others. She plays Rhonda in this season of HBO's In Treatment and has had recurring roles on Pose, Prodigal Son and Sneaky Pete in recent years. She has also starred in the movies Glass, Sunshine State, Unbreakable and The Crucible, to name a few.Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and more!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouseWebsite: https://lajollaplayhouse.org/#CharlayneWoodard #TheGarden #LaJollaPlayhouse #BroadwayAtHome #POSE #Diana #ComeFromAway

 Written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the Broadway smash COME FROM AWAY tells the amazing true story of the Americans left stranded in Gander, Newfoundland after the events surrounding 9/11. Now, directed by Chris Ashley, the iconic story comes to the small screen on Apple TV+, making the live experience accessible at home. In this 1on1, we participate in a special roundtable conversation with Ashely, Sankoff and Hein about telling an American story from a Canadian perspective and bringing the stage to life onscreen. 

Chris and Taylor review the live staged musical film "Come From Away" written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein with direction by Christopher Ashley. The musical showcases the true story of when 7,000 passengers were rerouted to Newfoundland after the 9/11 attacks and how the people of Gander stepped up to try and help and house them. The musical film stars Petrina Bromley, Jenn Colella, De'Lon Grant, Joel Hatch, Tony LePage, Caesar Samayoa, Q. Smith, Astrid Van Wieren, Emily Walton, Jim Walton, Sharon Wheatley and Paul Whitty.

Today we're speaking with the creators of "Come From Away," the Tony Award-winning Broadway show, and the latest to get a streaming release, this time on Apple TV+. Joining us are the creators and writers of the book, music, and lyrics, David Hein and Irene Sankoff, and director Christopher Ashley. The show is set in the week following the September 11 attacks and tells the true story of what transpired when 38 planes were ordered to land unexpectedly in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland when the US unexpectedly closed its airspace. The characters in the musical are based on real Gander residents as well as some of the 7,000 stranded travelers they housed and fed. If this sounds like a big story, that's because it is. And just how do you pare that down into a tight, Broadway show, with no intermission? It was a challenge: "I feel like one of the first questions you ask about a musical or a film or a play is, "who's the lead?" And ["Come From Away"] doesn't have one. It's got twelve actors playing hundreds and thousands of people. So its emotional event is so spread out. But one of the things we do have that kind of replaces that is the delight of twelve actors transforming. And you come to know those twelve, even despite the fact that they're gonna play many different parts. So the pleasure in theatrical and acting transformation gives us a lot of juice that you wouldn't have with just a lead. And also, there's no villain! But everybody does have this shared trauma around 9/11, if you were old enough to have lived through it. And how you deal with that trauma turns out to be the problem that everyone's trying to solve." — Christopher Ashley, Director, "Come From Away" The musical premiered on Broadway in 2017 and was nominated for seven Tony awards, including Best Musical, Book, and Score, and Christopher Ashley won the Tony for Best Direction. You can watch https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/come-from-away/umc.cmc.262n0v53nmotkz7ulzuuco7rq (the filmed version of the Broadway show, right now, on Apple TV+). Please subscribe to Sound + Vision Lab: The Dolby Institute Podcast https://linktr.ee/dolbyinstitute (wherever you get your podcasts). You can also check out the https://youtube.com/dolby (video) for this episode. Learn more about the https://www.dolby.com/institute/ (Dolby Institute) and check out https://www.dolby.com/ (Dolby.com). Connect with Dolby on https://www.instagram.com/dolbylabs/ (Instagram), https://twitter.com/Dolby (Twitter), https://www.facebook.com/Dolby/ (Facebook), or https://www.linkedin.com/company/6229/ (LinkedIn). 

Paul and Jill take a trip down ol' Central America way for Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville! This jukebox, palm-frond basking joy ride stars Paul Nolan and Alison Luff, was directed by Christopher Ashley, and features music from the chief Parrothead himself.Paul and Jill mix themselves a batch of the titular beverage and find themselves wondering: what does musical theatre have against flats? Is bad costume design to blame for accidental incest? And where the hell did we put that shaker of salt?Twitter: @monkeyplaybillsInstagram: @monkeysandplaybillspodEmail: monkeysandplaybillspod@gmail.comPatreon: patreon.com/monkeysandplaybills Ko-FI: https://ko-fi.com/monkeysandplaybills

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/3A9hHphP3lUCOFFEE WITH THE PLAYHOUSE | Listen in as Christopher talks about bringing life to the stories on stage with extraordinary lighting designers of past Playhouse productions: Lap Chi Chu, whose multiple award-winning design career spanning a plethora of shows at acclaimed regional theatres includes the Playhouse's The Luckiest, The Year to Come, Queens, At the Old Place, Blueprints to Freedom, The Orphan of Zhao and Ruined; Natasha Katz, whose vision has been behind some of the most celebrated Broadway musicals, has worked on Diana (coming to Netflix this October before officially opening onstage in NYC in December); and Amanda Zieve, a Hamilton vet who was an associate lighting designer for Escape to Margaritaville, Hollywood, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Chasing the Song prior to taking the helm for Put Your House in Order.Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and more!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouseWebsite: https://lajollaplayhouse.org/

Our guest today is Actor Jamie Martin Mann. He plays Brody, a series regular on the upcoming music-themed Netflix show "Country Comfort," with Katharine McPhee and Eddie Cibrian. We talk about his new role, early starts, if he is treated differently by his peers, career goals, having confidence and much more! Enjoy.Jamie Mann plays Brody, a series regular on the upcoming music-themed Netflix show "Country Comfort," with Katharine McPhee and Eddie Cibrian. A true triple threat, he received rave reviews for his portrayal of Billy Elliot in "Billy Elliot the Musical" (Maltz Jupiter, Fulton, Palace, Company Theatre). Other theater credits include: Kid (young Hunter/Juan) in a new Hunter S. Thompson musical with La Jolla Playhouse (directed by Christopher Ashley), Dunlap Dewberry in "Because of Winn Dixie" at the Goodspeed Opera House (directed by John Rando), Brett in "13 the Musical" (off-Broadway), Weiner in "Camp Rolling Hills" and Lord N. Taylor in "Ever Happily After" (NYMF). He has danced with New York City Ballet in "The Nutcracker," "Swan Lake," and "Harlequinade"; with Alvin Ailey at the Apollo Theater; and as the Prince and Fritz in "The Nutcracker" at Westport Country Playhouse. He has sung at Feinstein's 54 Below and Green Room 42 in New York, at Foxwoods in CT, and as a finalist in CT's Got Talent. Have a question? Email us below!openmicguest@gmail.comBe sure to follow us on social media for all the latest podcast updates!Twittertwitter.com/@brettsopenmicIGinstagram.com/brettsopenmicFacebookFacebook.com/openmicpodcastwww.theopenmicpodcast.show

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/c_X7Hd1Dj9sTo jump straight into the interview, skip to 04:30.COFFEE WITH THE PLAYHOUSE LIVE | It's been almost a year since the Playhouse went dark due to the pandemic. The musical Fly was on the Weiss Stage at that time and had just officially opened its run when the production, to everyone's deep regret, had to close.Listen in as Christopher Ashley catches up with two of Fly's leads: Storm Lever, who was our "Wendy," dazzled as "Duckling Donna" in the Playhouse-born Broadway musical SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical and was a cast member of another Playhouse show, Freaky Friday; and Eric Anderson, who starred as "Hook" and is a stage and screen actor who has appeared in Broadway's Pretty Woman, Waitress and Kinky Boots as well as TV/film including The Greatest Showman and The Good Wife.We'll also be talking with Anjanette Maraya-Ramey, founder and CEO of Chula Vista-based Maraya Performing Arts and choreographer behind the upcoming Digital WOW dance film with spoken word, Towards Belonging.Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more behind-the-scenes videos, interviews and more!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouseWebsite: https://lajollaplayhouse.org/#StormLever #EricAnderson #AnjanetteMarayaRamey #LaJollaPlayhouse #FLY #TheGreatestShowman #Broadway #ChristopherAshley

Join Paul and Jill on their leap into Alan Menken’s 2012 reimagining of the Steve Martin classic! This original revival features music by the Duke of Disney himself, Alan Menken, starring Raul Esparza and directed by Christopher Ashley.This week, Paul and Jill ask themselves: why did Alan Menken work so hard to scrub this show from the internet? Is Brooke Shields doing okay? And can we see Raul fight Hugh Jackman for similar-career supremacy?Twitter: @monkeyplaybillsInstagram: @monkeysandplaybillspodEmail: monkeysandplaybillspod@gmail.comPatreon: patreon.com/monkeysandplaybills

Rodney Hicks is a New York actor/playwright, originally from Philly, who makes his home in Denver, CO with his husband and two dogs. He is currently working on a new project with some really special people. Hicks is an Award-winning Black Gay Male Artist. His play FLAME BROILED. or the ugly play had its World Premiere at Local Theater Company in Boulder, CO in the Fall of 2019. The play was awarded the 2019 Eulipions Fund on behalf of The Denver Foundation. His other plays, JUST PRESS SAVE and MS. PEARL'S CABARET was a 2018 and 2019 Semi-Finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Conference. JUST PRESS SAVE had a successful workshop presentation via Zoom in a private industry reading as part of the PRIDE Plays Festival of New Plays on June 20, 2020. It was directed by Michael Greif (Dear Evan Hansen, Next to Normal, RENT). The cast included: Tony Award Nominee Hailey Kilgore as Jocelyn Baxter, Taylor Trensch as Curtis Miller, Kenny Tran as Bolin Hsu, Wyatt Gray as Damon Webster, Rafael Molina as Carter Alvarez, and Rocky Vega as Monica Alvarez. What an AWESOME time we all had. Rodney has co-starred on Broadway as part of the Original Cast of the now International Hit Musical, COME FROM AWAY, by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. Rodney Originated the role of Bob & Others. Directed by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley with Musical Staging by Olivier Award winner Kelly Devine. (Rodney was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical -Ford’s Theater & a Gypsy Rose Lee nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical -Seattle Rep); Rodney Originated the role of Clarence Norris in John Kander & Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys. Directed and Choreographed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman; Rodney Revived the role of Peter in Jesus Christ Superstar (2000 Revival). Directed by Gayle Edwards with Choreography by Anthony Van Laast; Rodney Originated the role of Paul, a Cop and Others in the multiple Tony Award/Pulitzer Prize honored Landmark Musical RENT. Directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Greif with Choreography by Tony Award nominee Marlies Yearby. Rodney had a once in a lifetime opportunity to come full circle with RENT, coming back to the show in its final year on Broadway as Benjamin Coffin III. He plays Benny on the RENT: Live on Broadway DVD/ also available on streaming services. Some of his Off-Broadway credits include Originating the role of Philly in Lee Summers, Ty Stephens, and Herbert Rawlings, Jr’s R&B Musical, FROM MY HOMETOWN. Directed by Kevin Ramsey with Choreography by Leslie Dockery. (Audelco Award Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical nomination); He Originated the role of Rodney in the 2006 revival of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Directed by Gordon Greenberg with choreography by Mark Dendy. Rodney has a host of National/International tours and Prominent Regional theatre credits to his name. Rodney has the distinction of being the first African-American to portray the role of Curly in the first professional all-Black production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at Portland Center Stage. Directed by his now-husband, Chris Coleman. Choreographed by Joel Ferrell. Rodney was awarded the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical for his turn as Haywood Patterson in the first post- Broadway Regional Premiere of The Scottsboro Boys at The Philadelphia Theatre Company. Susan Stroman’s Tony-nominated Direction and Choreography were reproduced by Jeff Whiting, Associate Director of the Broadway company. The Choreography was reproduced by Eric Santagata, Associate Choreographer of the Broadway company. Rodney and Chris are now based in Denver, CO where Chris is the Artistic Director of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts. They have two dogs, Trevor and Logan. Rodney enjoys traveling with work when not spending quality time at home with his husband, keeping himself busy writing, hiking, and meditating. Original Cast Recordings: COME FROM AWAY, The Scottsboro Boys, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, The New Picasso (concept recording), and RENT. Directing credits include Flame Broiled. or the ugly play (World Premiere); Runaways: In concert (reworked book by Rodney Hicks) at Joe's Pub/Public Theatre 2007 to benefit Joey Dipaolo AIDS Foundation. Jamie McGonnigal, producer -featuring Tony Award nominee Alex Brightman, Ezra Miller, Max Jenkins, Karla Mosley, Idara Victor, Eric Anthony, Shaun Taylor Corbett, Karen DiConcetto, Garrett Zercher, among others; Guess Who's Coming for Chitlins' at The Triad in NYC 1997. Book, Music & Lyrics by Jerry Dixon. The cast included Kevin R. Free, Kathy Deitch, J. Cameron Barnett, Welly Yang, JoLyn Burks, and Danielle Lee Greaves. Nancy Gilsenan’s Ordinary People at St. Thomas Aquinas Players.  

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/AqeX6O73CrITo jump straight into the interview, skip to 07:03.For this week's coffee date, Artistic Director Christopher Ashley will be talking with IDRIS GOODWIN and JACOLE KITCHEN, the playwright and director, respectively, of POP Tour 2021, PICK ME LAST, highlighting the importance of inclusivity at schools. Interim Director of Education & Outreach Bridget Cavaiola, who manages POP Tour programming, will also be joining the conversation. We want your questions! Email us a question for Christopher, Idris, Jacole or Bridget at marketing@ljp.org.Don't forget to subscribe!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#IdrisGoodwin​ #POPTour​ #LaJollaPlayhouse​ #BroadwayAtHome​ #AmplifyBlackVoices

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/d5uv4cQRIZ4Originally aired on December 18, 2020.Join us for a very special one-on-one conversation with the A Christmas Carol's solo star: acclaimed actor and UC San Diego grad Jefferson Mays, in a performance that was called "a tour de force" and named a "Critic's Pick" by The New York Times. Jefferson, the recipient of multiple awards including the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Obie, starred (again in an extraordinary solo role) in the 2001 Playhouse Page To Stage production, I Am My Own Wife, which went on to a Tony-winning run on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include Oslo and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, as well as many TV and film appearances.Don't forget to subscribe!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#AChristmasCarol​ #JeffersonMays​ #LaJollaPlayhouse​ #BroadwayAtHome

Award-Winning Playwright Ayad Akhtar Joins Us! Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/0vxs2XI2I5QTime Stamp for Straight-to-Interview content: 06:00Rich Family Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse Christopher Ashley catches up with Ayad Akhtar - the acclaimed screenwriter, novelist and playwright of two Playhouse world premieres: 2014's The Who & The What, which went on to Lincoln Center Theater and was subsequently produced around the world, and 2016's Junk: The Golden Age of Debt, which enjoyed a second life on Broadway before receiving a Tony nomination for Best Play. Named American Theatre magazine's most produced playwright in 2016, Ayad is the author of the recently published Homeland Elegies: A Novel, in which an American son and his immigrant father search for reunion and belonging in post-Trump America. The novel has been included in the Top 10 Best Books of 2020 by The New York Times, The Washington Post and Time Magazine.Don't forget to subscribe!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#AyadAkhtar​ #HomelandElegies​ #LaJollaPlayhouse​ #BroadwayAtHome

Welcome back! Once again, Host Stefan (@sjmaroni) sits down and dives deep into Queer and Queer Adjacent films with returning Hosts Bear Sailor Moon (@bearsailormoon) and Stuart (@janikon_)In this weeks episode we discuss the 1995 film "Jeffrey" Nothing Summarizes this movie better than a train wreck that must have put such a strain on Patrick Stewarts back, for literally CARRYING this movie from start to finish.Side Note: The Beginning starts with a brief history lesson on HIV/AIDS, followed by The Episode, next Wednesdays bonus content will dive deeper.Jeffrey, Directed by Christopher Ashley and Written by Paul Rudnick. Starring Steven Weber, and Patrick Stuart. Jeffrey, a young gay man in New York, decides that sex is too much and decides to become celibate. He immediately meets the man of his dreams and must decide whether or not love is worth the danger of a boyfriend dying.

Welcome to the 22nd episode of Broadway Babies! This week Noelle and Stephanie welcome the wonderful Joe Iconis (Be More Chill, Smash)! Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and performer. He has been nominated for a Tony Award, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, and is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, a Jonathan Larson Award, and a Richard Rodgers Award. Be More Chill (with Joe Tracz) is currently playing London’s West End, after running at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre and off-Broadway’s The Pershing Square Signature Center after a world premiere at Two River Theater. Joe is the author of Love in Hate Nation (directed by John Simpkins; Two River Theater), Broadway Bounty Hunter (with Lance Rubin and Jason SweetTooth Williams; Barrington Stage Company and Greenwich House Theater Off-Broadway), Bloodsong of Love (Ars Nova, NAMT), The Black Suits (with Robert Maddock; Center Theater Group, Barrington Stage Company), ReWrite (Urban Stages, Goodspeed Opera House), and Theaterworks USA’s The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks and We the People. Musicals currently in development include The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson for La Jolla Playhouse (directed by Christopher Ashley), Punk Rock Girl! His music appeared on season two of NBC’s Smash. Albums: Be More Chill (OCR and OBCR, which over 500 million streams); Broadway Bounty Hunter (OCR); Things to Ruin (OCR); Two-Player Game, The Joe Iconis Rock & Roll Jamboree, and the upcoming Broadway Bounty Hunter (OCR) all available on Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records. Joe is hugely inspired by Robert Altman, Dolly Parton, The Muppets, and the Family of artists he frequently surrounds himself with. www.MrJoeIconis.com --- Stephanie Andersen (Bare: A Pop Opera, Original Cast, Cast Recording and Revival) and Noelle Hannibal (Hair: 20th Anniversary Production, Star Trek, Buffy) and are professional performers and fangirls with a deep and never-ending love for musical theatre. Join them as they chat about all things Broadway on this special podcast which will feature interviews with some of Broadway's most beloved stars. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/broadway-babies/support

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/pJwJ6Xb7MXMFor this week's coffee date, Christopher will be joined by a very special guest: Playhouse Director Emeritus Des McAnuff, who has been at the helm of some of our most memorable productions, including The Who's Tommy, Jersey Boys, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Sideways and SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical. They'll discuss all things Playhouse – what drew them to work here, first-day-on-the-job memories, the LJP programs and shows they're most proud of and much more! FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#CoffeeWithThePlayhouse​ #DigitalWOW​  #LaJollaPlayhouse​ #RobertBrill​ #JesusChristSuperstar​ #AnimalCrackerConspiracy

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/MAMBLU69P4QCoffee with the Playhouse is a way to connect with us, virtually, every month as our very own Artistic Director, Christopher Ashley, shares behind-the-scenes stories, interviews artists and previews what is new and next at the Playhouse.For this week's coffee date, Christopher will be joined by Tyne Rafaeli, the director of last season's The Coast Starlight and next season's world-premiere play by Lauren Yee, Mother Russia. The morning will also include a chat with Alyce Smith-Cooper, a celebrated San Diego poet/storyteller/actress/community activist who was recently named Poet Laureate of the San Diego Veterans Museum, and Shammy Dee, an accomplished musical artist and DJ whom you may recognize from our production of Tiger Style! as well as our Opening Night celebrations and other Playhouse special events. Alyce and Shammy are collaborators of Digital WOW's forthcoming Spittin' Truth To Power While Light Leaping For the People, an inter-generational piece using images, music and storytelling styles reminiscent of the griot. (Griots are West African storytellers, musicians, praise singers, poets and oral historians of their communities.)Don't forget to subscribe!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#CoffeeWithThePlayhouse​ #DigitalWOW​ #TheCoastStarlight​ #TyneRafaeli​ #AlyceSmithCooper​ #ShammyDee​ #LaJollaPlayhouse

Q&A with Jeanna de Waal on Broadway Weekends. Jeanna de Waal will star in the titular role of Diana, Princess of Wales in “Diana” which will premiere on Netflix in early 2021, followed by a Broadway run at the Longacre Theater. In this unprecedented release plan, it will be the first time Netflix will produce a musical filmed live from the stage, and the first time a filmed version of a Broadway production will air before the show's Broadway run. Both productions are directed by Tony Award winner, Christopher Ashley. de Waal originated the role of Princess Diana in the first reading of the musical at The Powerhouse Theatre at Vassar. She was cast in its first staged production at La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. Previous Broadway credits include Lauren in “Kinky Boots” and as Heather in “American Idiot.” de Waal is a co-founder of Broadway Weekends, a musical theater program for adults of varying ages and levels of experience. Jeanna and her sister Dani, who is a software engineer at Google, founded the company to bring the joy of performing to fellow theater lovers. Classes have been taught by Tony Award winners, performers with 10+ Broadway credits, and dozens of working Broadway actors, dancers and musicians. Amidst the pandemic, de Waal shifted the structure of Broadway Weekends and created Broadway Weekends at Home, which offers a wide variety of classes, seminars and private coaching lessons via video conferencing.

COFFEE WITH THE PLAYHOUSE is an interview series that allows you to connect with us every month as our very own Artistic Director, Christopher Ashley, shares behind-the-scenes stories, interviews artists and previews what is new and next at the Playhouse.This month, we're joined by three-time Tony Award-nominated scenic designer Robert Brill, the creative force behind the design of such celebrated Playhouse and Broadway hits as Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and Jesus Christ Superstar. Christopher will also chat with extraordinary puppeteers Bridget Rountree and Iain Gunn of Animal Cracker Conspiracy, who will share a live, behind-the-scenes tour of their magical San Diego studio.Watch the full video interview here: https://youtu.be/XH5D9eVuKqg

Today we’re on the line with stage managers, educators, and authors, Narda E. Alcorn and Lisa Porter where we’re discussing their new book, Stage Management Theory as a Guide to Practice: Cultivating a Creative Approach, their recent HowlRound essay, "We Commit to Anti-Racist Stage Management Education," and what we as designers, creators, stage managers, and industry professionals can do to make anti-racist theatres and entertainment a reality.Narda E. Alcorn is a Professor and Stage Manager who has worked on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally. In 2019, Narda was appointed Chair of the Stage Management Program at Yale School of Drama. She has been Head of Stage Management for New York University, DePaul University, and State University of New York at Purchase. She received DePaul’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015 and The Robert Christen Award for Excellence in Technical Collaboration in 2017.On Broadway, Narda has had collaborations with the Tony-winning directors Kenny Leon, Bartlett Sher, and George C. Wolfe. She premiered four of Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright August Wilson’s Century Cycle plays, and stage managed two Broadway revivals of his work. Her New York and Regional credits include productions with Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Billy Crystal, Kevin Kline, Annette Bening, Phylicia Rashad, David Schwimmer, and Richard Foreman. Narda was a long-time stage manager on the Broadway production of The Lion King, and she has collaborated with the celebrated MacArthur Fellows, composer George E. Lewis and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. She has recently co-published, with Lisa Porter, Stage Management Theory as a Guide to Practice: Cultivating a Creative Approach and the essay We Commit to Anti-Racist Stage Management Education on HowlRound.Lisa Porter is a Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of California, San Diego, where she has taught since 2005. She is the Head of the MFA in Stage Management, and teaches graduate and undergraduate stage management. She has also developed courses related to creativity, neuroscience, disability, and performance. Lisa has taught in the MFA Stage Management program at Yale School of Drama, and has led international classes in Singapore, Taiwan, and China.Working in diverse venues on six continents, Lisa’s career has included international projects with Laurie Anderson, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Anne Bogart, Hal Hartley, Yo-Yo Ma, Silkroad Ensemble, White Oak Dance Project, and Robert Wilson. She has collaborated extensively on multiple intercultural productions with Singaporean director Ong Keng Sen and TheatreWorks Singapore. Her New York and Regional credits include productions with Christopher Ashley, Charles Busch, Jonathan Demme, Richard Foreman, Doug Hughes, Tina Landau, Kenny Leon, Suzan-Lori Parks, Darko Tresnjak, and Mark Wing-Davey. She has also produced and stage managed non-profit and corporate events since 1996. She has recently co-published, with Narda E. Alcorn, Stage Management Theory as a Guide to Practice: Cultivating a Creative Approach and the essay We Commit to Anti-Racist Stage Management Education on HowlRound.Interested in hearing more from Narda and Lisa? Register for their upcoming USITT Webinar, "Stage Management Theory as a Guide to Practice: Cultivating a Creative Approach" taking place Monday, Oct. 19 @ 7 p.m. EDT. This webinar is free for USITT members and $15 for non-members. Advanced registration is required. Register here: https://secure.usitt.org/NC__Event?id=a0l0b00000Djoy0AAB

Joe Iconis is a musical theater writer and performer. He has been nominated for a Tony Award, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Outer Critics’ Circle Awards, and is the recipient of an Ed Kleban Award, a Jonathan Larson Award, and a Richard Rodgers Award. Be More Chill (with Joe Tracz) is currently playing London’s West End, after running at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre and off-Broadway’s The Pershing Square Signature Center after a world premiere at Two River Theater. Joe is the author of Love in Hate Nation (directed by John Simpkins; Two River Theater), Broadway Bounty Hunter (with Lance Rubin and Jason SweetTooth Williams; Barrington Stage Company and Greenwich House Theater Off-Broadway), Bloodsong of Love (Ars Nova, NAMT), The Black Suits (with Robert Maddock; Center Theater Group, Barrington Stage Company), ReWrite (Urban Stages, Goodspeed Opera House), and Theaterworks USA’s The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks and We the People. Musicals currently in development include The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson for La Jolla Playhouse (directed by Christopher Ashley), Punk Rock Girl! His music appeared on season two of NBC’s Smash. Albums: Be More Chill (OCR and OBCR, which over 500 million streams); Broadway Bounty Hunter (OCR); Things to Ruin (OCR); Two-Player Game, The Joe Iconis Rock & Roll Jamboree, and the upcoming Broadway Bounty Hunter (OCR) all available on Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records. Joe is hugely inspired by Robert Altman, Dolly Parton, The Muppets, and the Family of artists he frequently surrounds himself with. www.MrJoeIconis.com @mrjoeiconis Jennifer Ashley Tepper is producer of the musicals Be More Chill, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and Love In Hate Nation, recent projects that are part of a decade-long collaboration with the group known as Joe Iconis & Family. From producing small concerts in basements to producing a show on Broadway, Tepper has cultivated the theatrical collective which The New York Times called “the future of musical theatre”. She is also the Creative and Programming Director at Feinstein’s/54 Below, where she has curated or produced over 3000 shows, including musicals in concert, original solo acts, theatrical reunions, songwriter celebrations, and more. Tepper's leadership at the venue has gained praise from publications including The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, Playbill, Newsday, The New York Post, and more. As a writer, Tepper has authored three volumes of The Untold Stories of Broadway book series, published by Dress Circle. NBC New York has called the books an "inspiring Must-Read". Published in 2013, 2014, and 2016, each book has occupied the #1 spot on Amazon.com's Best Sellers List in Broadway & Musicals. On Broadway, Tepper has worked on [title of show], The Performers, Godspell, Macbeth, and The Parisian Woman, and off-Broadway Smokey Joe’s Café and Boys’ Life. Tepper is the conceiver and director of The Jonathan Larson Project which premiered in fall 2018 and received an original cast recording from Ghostlight Records. She is historian consultant on the upcoming tick, tick… BOOM! movie and co-creator of the Bistro Award- winning concert series, If It Only Even Runs A Minute, now in its 11th year. Tepper recently received a 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. She was named one of the 10 professionals on Backstage Magazine's "1st Annual Broadway Future Power List", which stated: "Proving herself both a zeitgeist predictor and theatrical historian with her eclectic programming, Tepper is leading the conversation on contemporary musical theatre." @jenashtep . Want more of My Broadway Memory?! Follow us on Social! @MyBroadwayMemory on Instagram and Facebook and @MyBwayMemory on Twitter MICHAEL KUSCHNER: Instagram or The Dressing Room Project Dear Multi-Hyphenate Podcast BRIAN SEDITA: Instagram, Website, Page to Stage Podcast BROADWAY PODCAST NETWORK: Website or Instagram #MyBroadwayMemory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/aD1SuRe5E2QFor this week's coffee date, Christopher will be joined by not one... not two... but FIVE very special guests: the extraordinary creative team behind next season's world-premiere musical and winner of the 2019 Richard Rodgers Award, Bhangin' It. The team includes co-librettists Mike Lew (playwright of Season 2016/2017's Tiger Style!) and Rehana Lew Mirza (both Rehana and Mike were 2018/2019 Resident Artists and collaborated on the Playhouse-commissioned The Colonialism Project); composer/lyricist Sam Willmott, director Amy Anders Corcoran and choreographer Rujuta Vaidya. They'll be discussing their inspirations for bringing this exhilarating new production to the stage, as well as sharing more about bhangra, the energetic and traditional Punjabi folk dance at the heart of their show.Don't forget to subscribe!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#CoffeeWithThePlayhouse​ #DigitalWOW​ #LaJollaPlayhouse​ #BhanginIt​ #Broadway​ #TigerStyle​ #Bhangra

Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/p8EcaTX3UBwFor this week's coffee date, Christopher will be joined by two very special guests: Doug Wright, Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of the acclaimed Playhouse Page To Stage production, I Am My Own Wife, as well as the Playhouse-launched Broadway musical Hands on a Hardbody; and Melanie Chen Cole, sound designer of At the Old Place, POP Tours #SuperShinySara​ and Light Years Away, and Digital WOW's auditory series, Walks of Life.Don't forget to subscribe!FOLLOW USFacebook: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://facebook.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Instagram: @LaJollaPlayhouse https://instagram.com/LaJollaPlayhouse/​Twitter: @LJPlayhouse https://twitter.com/LJPlayhouse​#CoffeeWithThePlayhouse​ #DigitalWOW​ #LaJollaPlayhouse​ #DougWright​ #IAmMyOwnWife​ #HandsOnAHardbody​ #MelanieChenCole​ #AtTheOldPlace

The last Friday of every month, we invite you to join us for “Coffee with the Playhouse” – grab a cup of coffee and join us (virtually!) as Artistic Director Christopher Ashley answers your questions,  shares behind-the-scene stories, and previews what is new and next at the Playhouse. Watch the full video episode here: https://youtu.be/otjudSff5J8To jump straight into the interview, go to 14:25. For this series kick-off, Christopher and Playhouse Director of New Play Development Gabe Greene will welcome two fantastic Playhouse artists. Internationally-acclaimed scenic and costume designer David Reynoso, who is also our 2020/2021 resident artist, will share insights on his upcoming digital WOW project, Portaleza. We'll also chat and catch up with special guest Jeanna de Waal, the leading lady who portrayed the iconic Princess of Wales in the hit musical Diana, at both the Playhouse and on Broadway.

Good morning theater fans! This is Caryn Robbins with The Broadway Scoop for Monday, March 2nd.The Broadway premiere of Rona Munro's MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON ended its limited run at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Saturday. Adapted from Elizabeth Strout's best-selling novel, the Manhattan Theatre Club production starred Tony nominee Laura Linney, who reprised her role from the show's acclaimed London engagement. Also wrapping up its limited run over the weekend was the Broadway premiere of Bess Wohl's GRAND HORIZONS. Among the cast members taking their final bows at the Hayes Theater on Sunday was Gotham star Ben McKenzie, who made his Broadway debut in the production.The new revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's COMPANY begins preview performances tonight at Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, ahead of an official opening on March 22nd, the date of Sondheim's 90th birthday. Marianne Elliott’s gender-reversed production stars Tony winner Katrina Lenk alongside Tony winner Patti LuPone, who reprises her Olivier Award winning performance from the production’s West End premiere.And DIANA, the new musical about the late Princess of Wales, also begins previews tonight at Broadway's Longacre Theatre, ahead of an official opening on March 31. Directed by Tony winner Christopher Ashley, and featuring a score from the Tony-winning duo of Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, the bio musical stars Jeanna de Waal in the title role, alongside Tony winner Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth.And that's The Broadway Scoop for Monday, March 2nd.

We dive into Bizet's opera Carmen and the many ways the story continues to be told, we celebrate Uncle Jack Charles' Red Ochre Award win, and we meet the writers of Come from Away — a musical about the surprising impact of 9/11 on a remote Canadian town.

We dive into Bizet's opera Carmen and the many ways the story continues to be told, we celebrate Uncle Jack Charles' Red Ochre Award win, and we meet the writers of Come from Away — a musical about the surprising impact of 9/11 on a remote Canadian town.

Circa continue their thrilling fusion of acrobatics with classical music and opera by teaming up with Opera Queensland for a new production of Orpheus and Eurydice, arts critic Tim Byrne reviews contemporary dance at this year's Melbourne International Arts Festival, Tony Award-winning director of Come from Away Christopher Ashley shares his Best Advice, we ask voice and dialect coach Leith McPherson whether we should affect accents on stage, and Open Homes, presented by La Boite, invites the public to step into a stranger's home and learn about their life.

Circa continue their thrilling fusion of acrobatics with classical music and opera by teaming up with Opera Queensland for a new production of Orpheus and Eurydice, arts critic Tim Byrne reviews contemporary dance at this year's Melbourne International Arts Festival, Tony Award-winning director of Come from Away Christopher Ashley shares his Best Advice, we ask voice and dialect coach Leith McPherson whether we should affect accents on stage, and Open Homes, presented by La Boite, invites the public to step into a stranger's home and learn about their life.

Stream podcast episodes on demand from www.bitesz.com (mobile friendly).Theatre First Episode 214Come From Away (Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Australia)COME FROM AWAY tells the remarkable true story of thousands of stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland, Canada that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships.Don’t miss this breathtaking new musical written by Tony® and Grammy nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein, and helmed by this year’s Tony® winning Best Director, Christopher Ashley with musical staging by Tony® nominee Kelly Devine. Newsweek cheers, “it takes you to a place you never want to leave!”For more information visit  https://comefromaway.com.au/ Theatre First RSS feed:   https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ivetheatrereviews  Subscribe, rate and review Theatre First at all good podcatcher apps, including Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), Stitcher, Pocket Casts, CastBox.FM, Podbean, ACast etc.If you're enjoying Theatre First podcast, please share and tell your friends. Your support would be appreciated...thank you.#theatre #stage #reviews #melbourne #australia #musical #comefromaway  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Aside Podcasts are a free resource supported by Drama Victoria - Australia's oldest Drama Association In this episode of The Aside we Interview Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley, the director of the 2019 VCE Theatre Studies Playlisted show 'Come From Away' presented at Comedy Theatre from July 2019. Find out more here: comefromaway.com.au Please feel free to email asidepodcast@outlook.com to ask a question. We will try to answer on a future podcast.

Tony winning director Christopher Ashley is best know for various shows including Come From Away, Memphis, Xanadu, and All Shook Up and is the artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. In this episode, he speaks about his time at Yale as a math major who spent a lot of time in the theatre department. We discuss his career as a Broadway director, which eventually lead him to a Tony Award for best direction of a musical for Come From Away (and even how it is going to be made into a film!).  Christopher speaks about the difference between the New York and California theatre communities, the importance of arts funding and how theatre brings people together and creates a sense of community. Interview content begins at 3:23. Find more information about the La Jolla Playhouse by visitinglajollaplayhouse.org. Connect with The Theatre Podcast:Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcastFacebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcastTheTheatrePodcast.comAlan’s personal Instagram: @alansealesJillian’s personal Instagram: @jillianhochmanEmail us at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. We 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.

Bonhoeffer On Religious Political Resistance with Christopher Ashley The Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in a Nazi prison at the end of World War II as a martyr and exemplar of conscience. The political left and right have both claimed his legacy ever since his death. These presentations will sort through the tensions between his privileged life and abject death, his traditional Lutheran theology and his participation in a secret conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. The latest scholarship, grounded in Bonhoeffer’s own words, shows him to be a complex and fruitful source for today’s anti-fascist coalitions. February 24: The Cost of Resistance: Direct Action in the Crisis Christopher Ashley earned a doctorate in Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary. In New York City and holds degrees from Harvard (B.A. in English), and the Yale Divinity School (M.Div.). He has published articles on a range of topics including liberation theology, television and science fiction, and emergent worship practices. He currently serves as a resident-Chaplainat Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.

Bonhoeffer On Religious Political Resistance Part 3 with Christopher Ashley The Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in a Nazi prison at the end of World War II as a martyr and exemplar of conscience. The political left and right have both claimed his legacy ever since his death. These presentations will sort through the tensions between his privileged life and abject death, his traditional Lutheran theology and his participation in a secret conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. The latest scholarship, grounded in Bonhoeffer’s own words, shows him to be a complex and fruitful source for today’s anti-fascist coalitions. March 17: The Gospel as Resistance: Preaching and Teaching in the Crisis (A film was shown as Part 2 of this audio series on March 10)

Bonhoeffer On Religious Political Resistance with Christopher Ashley The Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in a Nazi prison at the end of World War II as a martyr and exemplar of conscience. The political left and right have both claimed his legacy ever since his death. These presentations will sort through the tensions between his privileged life and abject death, his traditional Lutheran theology and his participation in a secret conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. The latest scholarship, grounded in Bonhoeffer’s own words, shows him to be a complex and fruitful source for today’s anti-fascist coalitions. February 3: Prelude to Crisis: The Contradictions of the Lutheran State Christopher Ashley earned a doctorate in Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary. In New York City and holds degrees from Harvard (B.A. in English), and the Yale Divinity School (M.Div.). He has published articles on a range of topics including liberation theology, television and science fiction, and emergent worship practices. He currently serves as a resident-Chaplainat Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Paul Tillich, who barely escaped Nazi Germany to New York’s Union Theological Seminary in the years just prior to World War II, and whose books the Nazis had burned. This joint recommendation points us to perhaps the most creative edge of Tillich’s work: his doctrine of “theonomy,” the creativity of the divine in history, and its counterpoint, the “demonic,” that destroys as it creates. This series of presentations begins with the young Tillich in the context of Weimar Germany, and the ferment of revolution in ideas and politics that led him to his early theological breakthroughs. It will then follow him on his flight to America, just before being arrested by the S.S., and his reflection on faithful politics in a country that swung, in his lifetime, from utopian expectation to despair. We will explore the political implications of Tillich’s creative theological engagement with depth psychology, and seek to retrieve lessons for the turbulent present from Tillich’s social and economic transformation. Today: Tillich in Times of Chaos

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Paul Tillich, who barely escaped Nazi Germany to New York’s Union Theological Seminary in the years just prior to World War II, and whose books the Nazis had burned. This joint recommendation points us to perhaps the most creative edge of Tillich's work: his doctrine of “theonomy,” the creativity of the divine in history, and its counterpoint, the “demonic,” that destroys as it creates. This series of presentations begins with the young Tillich in the context of Weimar Germany, and the ferment of revolution in ideas and politics that led him to his early theological breakthroughs. It will then follow him on his flight to America, just before being arrested by the S.S., and his reflection on faithful politics in a country that swung, in his lifetime, from utopian expectation to despair. We will explore the political implications of Tillich’s creative theological engagement with depth psychology, and seek to retrieve lessons for the turbulent present from Tillich’s social and economic transformation. May 20: The Political in Psyche and Art

Hope in a Time of Political Crisis: Paul Tillich’s Political Theology with Christopher Ashley, Ph.D. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Paul Tillich, who barely escaped Nazi Germany to New York’s Union Theological Seminary in the years just prior to World War II, and whose books the Nazis had burned. This joint recommendation points us to perhaps the most creative edge of Tillich’s work: his doctrine of “theonomy,” the creativity of the divine in history, and its counterpoint, the “demonic,” that destroys as it creates. This series of presentations begins with the young Tillich in the context of Weimar Germany, and the ferment of revolution in ideas and politics that led him to his early theological breakthroughs. It will then follow him on his flight to America, just before being arrested by the S.S., and his reflection on faithful politics in a country that swung, in his lifetime, from utopian expectation to despair. We will explore the political implications of Tillich’s creative theological engagement with depth psychology, and seek to retrieve lessons for the turbulent present from Tillich’s social and economic transformation. Today: Tillich in Cold War America

Hope in a Time of Political Crisis: Paul Tillich’s Political Theology with Christopher Ashley, Ph.D. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Paul Tillich, who barely escaped Nazi Germany to New York’s Union Theological Seminary in the years just prior to World War II, and whose books the Nazis had burned. This joint recommendation points us to perhaps the most creative edge of Tillich’s work: his doctrine of “theonomy,” the creativity of the divine in history, and its counterpoint, the “demonic,” that destroys as it creates. This series of presentations begins with the young Tillich in the context of Weimar Germany, and the ferment of revolution in ideas and politics that led him to his early theological breakthroughs. It will then follow him on his flight to America, just before being arrested by the S.S., and his reflection on faithful politics in a country that swung, in his lifetime, from utopian expectation to despair. We will explore the political implications of Tillich’s creative theological engagement with depth psychology, and seek to retrieve lessons for the turbulent present from Tillich’s social and economic transformation. Today: Tillich in Weimar Germany

Welcome to The Rock! This week, we're tackling the 2017 smash hit Come From Away! When American airspace was shut down on September 11, 2011, 38 planes carrying nearly 7,000 passengers were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland. For five days, the residents of the town took care of these strangers, Come From Aways as they were called. 10 years later, writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein went to Gander to meet the real-life people behind this now famous act of human kindness, and what resulted was this heartwarming musical.  For this episode, we too talk to some of the real-life people including Claude Elilott, the Mayor of Gander then and now, and Captain Beverley Bass, whose pioneering life story is told in the show-stopping song "Me and the Sky." We also chat with Sankoff and Hein, Tony-winning director Christopher Ashley, actors Jenn Colella and Caesar Samayoa, the producers, scenic designer and more as we chart the musical's journey from a Canadian college workshop to Tony-nominated hit. 

Playwright Paula Vogel discusses "Indecent," her new play on Broadway. Plus, the creative team from new musical "Come From Away," writers David Hein and Irene Sankoff, with director Christopher Ashley, and Jenn Colella performs "Me and the Sky"

Today, our host Chuck had a chat with Christopher Ashley from Slasher Film Festival Strategy (https://slasherfilmfestivalstrategy.bandcamp.com) about what he's been up to and all things Slasher. Christopher also runs the record label, Foreign Sounds (https://foreignsounds.bandcamp.com). As always huge thanks to and Holy Mountain Printing (www.holymountainprinting.com). Be sure to learn about this show and others at www.lastchancepodcastnetwork.com/ascendingtheholymountain

No Pro travels this week to La Jolla and the bi-annual Without Walls (WoW) Festival of immersive and site-specific performance. There we talk with Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director of both the Festival and the La Jolla Playhouse.  This is a can't-miss episode for the theatre makers in the audience. All that plus the usual news and notes from Noah.

Episode 18. This time out, the dynamic DFP duo get a JUNGLE OBSESSION, uncover hidden knowledge with ATARAXIA:THE UNEXPLAINED, do their homework at RUSHMORE and survive both a NIGHT OF THE DEMONS and THE RUNNING MAN. Tony shines a light on a couple of non-OST releases, from OLAFUR ARNULDS and VI-RES, while SJ provides this weeks Apache:Jump On It deep cut recommendation. Our guest on the virtual DFP red sofa this week is acclaimed synth-wave artist Christopher Ashley, aka THE SLASHER FILM FESTIVAL STRATEGY. He tells us all about his love of music and soundtracks, his Foreign Sounds label, the idea behind TSSFS and takes up the Vinyl Score challenge. Created by Tony Giles & Scott Johannsson Recorded at Solatron Studios, Birmingham UK August 28th 2015 Theme Music by Scott Johannsson

2002 Symposium: Assembling the Team: At its 3-day Musical Theatre Symposium in June of 2002, SDCF hosted a panel on assembling creative teams moderated by Arthur Bartow. Speakers included producers Marty Bell (Ragtime) and Sally Campbell Morse(Urinetown), choreographers Larry Fuller (Evita) and Daniel Pelzig (33 Variations), Roundabout Artistic Director Todd Haimes, directors Christopher Ashley (Memphis) and David Warren (Summer and Smoke), and composer Lucy Simon (The Secret Garden). These speakers provide case histories of collaborations that they put together that were either successful or dire failures, and include tales of Ragtime, the 1998 Revival of Cabaret,  Urinetown and the original collaboration on the Maltby/Shire musical Take Flight, which had a successful run at the McCarter Theatre Center in April of 2010 with a different creative team. Other topics include the role of the producer in initiating projects and finding good collaborations, the function of the director as part of a team, and the importance of workshops in the creative process for everyone involved. Listen to this podcast for an informative conversation with fascinating anecdotes on what it means to find the right people to make it to Broadway. Originally recorded - June 1, 2002. Running Time - 1:31:32 © 2002 SDCF

Mitchell, Ashley, and Mayer on Directing: In 2001, Charles Repole and Joe Miloscia of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation had the opportunity to bring together a trio of Broadway's hottest hit-makers for a special conversation. Michael Mayer, Christopher Ashley, and Jerry Mitchell spent an evening catching up, reminiscing and discussing the intricacies of creating comic plays and musicals. Originally recorded - March 28, 2001. Running Time - 1:22:50 ©2001 SDCF

At its 2003 Directing Symposium, SDCF hosted a panel moderated by Mary Catherine Burke and featuring directors Christopher Ashley, Jo Bonney, Susan Einhorn, Leah Gardiner, David Warren and Les Waters and playwrights Jorge Cortiñas and David Henry Hwang to discuss expanding diversity among writers, directors and subject matter of new plays. The discussion encompasses the artist's responsibility to creating diversity in theater, the producer's responsibility to take on diverse projects, and the difficulty of taking pieces out of development and into production in commercial or not-for-profit venues. The panelists aim to answer the question of how we are working to change the demographics of theater, and what still needs to be done. The conversation provides an assortment of important perspectives on one of today's hot-button topics and is a reminder of the need for social, cultural and political diversity in the theatrical craft.

At its 2002 Musical Theatre Symposium, SDCF hosted a panel moderated by SDC Executive Director Barbara Hauptman featuring directors David Warren, Christopher Ashley, Gabriel Barre, Jeff Calhoun, Mary B. Robinson, choreographers Daniel Pelzig and Joey McKneely and director/choreographers Rob Ashford and Karen Azenberg to discuss the director/choreographer relationship. Topics include the genesis of partnerships, the blurry line between dance and staging and the involvement of the choreographer in the movement throughout the production, and what it means to be a director/choreographer, among many others. Listen to this lively conversation for an in-depth look at this inspiring relationship told by ten masters of the craft.

The role of Regional Theatre in supporting and presenting new works to their communities was among the topics discussed by our panel: Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse, Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre, Sara Garonzik, Producing Artistic Director of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Eric Rosen, Artistic Director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre. They also explored how they share works and resources; the kind of show they feel best serves their audiences; their interaction with the local community; how they deal with competition within the theatrical community in their cities; what they learn from visiting Directors to their theatres; and the effect it has on their theatres when one of their shows moves to Broadway.

In 2001, Charles Repole and Joe Miloscia of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation had the opportunity to bring together a trio of Broadway's hottest hit-makers for a special conversation. Michael Mayer, Christopher Ashley, and Jerry Mitchell spent an evening catching up, reminiscing and discussing the intricacies of creating comic plays and musicals.

Tony-winner Harriet Harris talks about being "the adult" in a company of kids in the Broadway musical "Cry-Baby" and reveals which of the musical numbers in the show convinced her that she needed to be in the production. She also talks about being sent to theatre school as a child in Texas to cure her shyness; her Juilliard auditions for formidable directors John Houseman and Michael Kahn; her touring years with The Acting Company; how she transitioned from classical to comic roles under the tutelage of Christopher Ashley and Paul Rudnick, who wrote her multiple characters in "Jeffrey"; her belated Broadway debut in 2000 opposite Nathan Lane in "The Man Who Came to Dinner"; branching into musicals with Broadway's "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and the Kennedy Center's "Mame"; and finding the humor in the character of Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie" at The Guthrie, as role she'd wanted to play since she was 13. Original air date - June 6, 2008.

Tony-winner Harriet Harris talks about being "the adult" in a company of kids in the Broadway musical "Cry-Baby" and reveals which of the musical numbers in the show convinced her that she needed to be in the production. She also talks about being sent to theatre school as a child in Texas to cure her shyness; her Juilliard auditions for formidable directors John Houseman and Michael Kahn; her touring years with The Acting Company; how she transitioned from classical to comic roles under the tutelage of Christopher Ashley and Paul Rudnick, who wrote her multiple characters in "Jeffrey"; her belated Broadway debut in 2000 opposite Nathan Lane in "The Man Who Came to Dinner"; branching into musicals with Broadway's "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and the Kennedy Center's "Mame"; and finding the humor in the character of Amanda in "The Glass Menagerie" at The Guthrie, as role she'd wanted to play since she was 13. Original air date - June 6, 2008.

Harriet Harris (winner of a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for Thoroughly Modern Millie) talks about being "the adult" in a company of kids in the Broadway musical Cry-Baby and reveals which of the musical numbers in the show convinced her that she needed to be in the production. She also talks about being sent to theatre school as a child in Texas to cure her shyness; her Juilliard auditions for formidable directors John Houseman and Michael Kahn; her touring years with The Acting Company; how she transitioned from classical to comic roles under the tutelage of Christopher Ashley and Paul Rudnick, who wrote her multiple characters in Jeffrey; her belated Broadway debut in 2000 opposite Nathan Lane in The Man Who Came to Dinner; branching into musicals with Broadway's Thoroughly Modern Millie and the Kennedy Center's Mame; and finding the humor in the character of Amanda in The Glass Menagerie at The Guthrie, as role she'd wanted to play since she was 13.

The new artistic director of California's La Jolla Playhouse, Christopher Ashley, talks about his plans for the theatre, including whether he sees himself continuing or departing from the repertoire of his predecessor, Des McAnuff; explains how he found himself with an agent by age 22; describes his long-standing working relationships with playwrights Douglas Carter Beane and Paul Rudnick; considers the process of creating new musicals out of existing songs and how audience expectations are heightened for that music; and describes the evolution of of "Xanadu" the musical from social commentary to comic love story. Original air date - October 26, 2007.

The new artistic director of California's La Jolla Playhouse, Christopher Ashley, talks about his plans for the theatre, including whether he sees himself continuing or departing from the repertoire of his predecessor, Des McAnuff; explains how he found himself with an agent by age 22; describes his long-standing working relationships with playwrights Douglas Carter Beane and Paul Rudnick; considers the process of creating new musicals out of existing songs and how audience expectations are heightened for that music; and describes the evolution of of "Xanadu" the musical from social commentary to comic love story. Original air date - October 26, 2007.

Choreographer Rob Ashford, Director Chris Ashley, Director/Choreographer John Carrafa and Choreographer Gillian Lynne talk about making musical speak, move and sing.

Tony Award-winning choreographer Rob Ashford (for Thoroughly Modern Millie), director Chris Ashley, director/choreographer John Carrafa and choreographer Gillian Lynne talk about making musicals speak, move and sing.