This week on the podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down (in person) with Broadway dancer extraordinaire (Mean Girls and Finding Neverland on Broadway; Mean Girls First National Tour; Hamilton ("and Peggy") National Tour), Ixchel Cuellar. I have wanted to interview Ixchel since I worked with her back in January (on the Anne of Green Gables workshop). I couldn't … [Read more...] about Let’s Dance, with Ixchel Cuellar
Love Letter
Defending Musical Theatre…Against Itself
Last week, I found myself at coffee with a friend who had seen one of the industry presentations of Anne of Green Gables the musical, on which I had worked. He adored it, showering it with praise. One of the funniest compliments he gave me, though, was that he really enjoyed the show and identified with the themes and the characters despite having "not seen a musical in … [Read more...] about Defending Musical Theatre…Against Itself
A Round-Table Discussion on Sunday in the Park with George, with Eamon Foley and Talia Suskauer
This week, I had the absolute pleasure of getting back to the podcast -- and to Arts Journal! -- by hosting a special, roundtable discussion with some of my colleagues working on the upcoming Sunday in the Park with George at Axelrod Performing Arts Center. The discussion included director/choreographer (and former guest of the pod), Eamon Foley, star (and former guest of the … [Read more...] about A Round-Table Discussion on Sunday in the Park with George, with Eamon Foley and Talia Suskauer
Jesse Green on His Book, Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers
I was so thrilled to be able to bring Jesse Green, Chief Theatre Critic for The New York Times, on the podcast this week to discuss his book Shy: the Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers. I had Jesse on the previous iteration of the show (when it was called "Theatre Book Club" and done through Berkshire Theatre Group) to discuss his own career, the nature of theatre … [Read more...] about Jesse Green on His Book, Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers
A Theatre Love Letter: Tracy Turnblad’s Vertical Bed in the Opening Number of Hairspray…On Doubleness, Performance, and Lacan
Based on last week's discussion of Hairspray on the podcast and on Arts Journal, and looking forward to the string of really exciting podcast guests I have coming up (!!), I realized I had a very specific thing I had been wanting to write about for months -- or rather for years, since I first saw the show on Broadway in 2002. In fact, though this thing is so small and so … [Read more...] about A Theatre Love Letter: Tracy Turnblad’s Vertical Bed in the Opening Number of Hairspray…On Doubleness, Performance, and Lacan