The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
Broadway Podcast Network

1 Creator

1 Creator

1 Listener
All episodes
Best episodes
Top 10 The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales Episodes
Best episodes ranked by Goodpods Users most listened
Ep200 - Patti LuPone: Broadway Royalty
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
04/05/22 • 68 min
Combined across the Emmys, Grammys, Olivier and Tony Awards, Patt LuPone has 14 nominations and six wins. Her resume includes 27 Broadway credits, including Eva Perón in the original Broadway production of Evita (1st Tony Award), Anything Goes, Sweeney Todd, Noises Off, Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy (2nd Tony Award), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, War Paint, Working, Oliver!, The Robber Bridegroom, and The Beggar’s Opera. In London she starred in the original casts of Les Misérables, The Cradle Will Rock, Sunset Boulevard, and the West End revival of Company. She also has a long and illustrious career across TV and film, with credits including Driving Miss Daisy, Frasier, Will and Grace, Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, Glee, American Horror Story, Girls, Penny Dreadful, and of course, Life Goes On. She's a voiceover artist, a cabaret performer, a mom, and performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic, all of which mean you can find her singing across 22 different albums. Patti LuPone was the first American to ever win an Olivier Award, has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame, and can now be seen on Broadway in the revival of Company.
LuPone recalls her first introduction to the musical Gypsy (playing Louise) in high school, speaking candidly about not understanding the play at the time, and shares how she was initially banned from participating in any of Arthur Laurents work before going on to win a Tony Award for playing Rose. She reflects on going to the “dark side” a lot when COVID shut the industry down, noting it wasn’t that she couldn’t perform but rather that she had nothing to fill that void with, and shares how close-knit and supportive the cast and crew of Company is as a result of the collective trauma and uncertainty they faced together once they resumed rehearsals. LuPone also speaks about the importance of doing her work completely in the rehearsal room, allowing her and the audience to both play and relax once she is onstage, and shares why she looks at the audience every single night.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Being in one of the first-ever students in Juilliard’s school of drama in the 70’s
- Her Marilyn Monroe impression at 3 years old
- What it is about laughter from an audience that brings her joy
- What she calls the “Italian blast”, and not having a filter
- Her “Andrew Lloyd Webber memorial pool”
- Resenting producers or anybody that underestimates the audience's intelligence
Connect with Patti:
- Twitter: @pattilupone
- IG: @pattilupone
- Web: pattilupone.com
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
04/05/22 • 68 min

1 Listener
Ep109 - Mo Brady: The Ensemblist podcast host, The Addams Family, SMASH
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
09/22/20 • 49 min
Mo Brady is a jack of all trades - a broadway actor turned social media specialist turned podcaster. After working for many years as a performer in Seattle, Washington, Mo made his Broadway debut in The Addams Family musical in 2010. He later landed work as a recurring character on the second season of the NBC TV hit show Smash. These days, Mo works as the Communications Project Manager for Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, and continues to host a wildly popular podcast, which he also co-created, called The Ensemblist. Amassing a following over the years, The Ensemblist has become an “online advocate for the talented artists working in theatre ensembles.” Now boasting not only a podcast, but a website and a social presence as well, they are “creating conversations about what it means to be a successful artist in the theatre.”
Mo spent a few years working as a full time performer in Seattle, including in shows at The 5th Ave Theatre. In 2010, he made the jump to New York City, and six weeks after his arrival, he had landed his first Broadway show - The Addams Family musical. After a year on Broadway, Mo shares how his offer to volunteer for Broadway Cares turned into a full time job, and how he at one time was balancing working this full time job with filming episodes of Smash in Long Island City at the same time. When Mo later realized he didn’t really love being an actor in NYC the way he had in Seattle, and that he wasn’t feeling as fulfilled, he decided to let his agents go and focus on his Broadway Cares job. In doing so, he was also able to revisit his initial idea for The Ensemblist, which had struck him while in The Addams Family. He loved the people he had performed with, and wanted to share their stories - the stories of the ensemble. These days you can catch Mo twice a week on The Ensemblist podcast, proudly championing Broadway’s underdogs, by visiting BPN.fm/theensemblist.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Finding community in the theater
- His hands on experience at Whitman College
- Working as a performer in the Seattle theater scene
- Being a part of The Addams Family musical
- Why and how he decided to let performing go (for now)
- The inspiration behind The Ensemblist, and how it has grown since the beginning
- Being a dad, and what the surrogacy process was like
Connect with Mo:
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09/22/20 • 49 min
Ep104 - Jeannette Bayardelle: Girl from the North Country, HAIR, The Color Purple
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
08/18/20 • 66 min
A go-getter spirit at heart, a spirit which has taken her from singing in church to singing on a Broadway stage, this Broadway veteran shares how she is finding new focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how her Girl From The North Country Family is helping sustain her.
Jeannette Bayardelle is a Broadway veteran seen most recently as Mrs. Neilson in the new Bob Dylan musical Girl From The North Country. Her other Broadway credits include the revival production of HAIR as Dionne, and The Color Purple as Celie. Jeannette originated the role of Celie on the First National Tour of The Color Purple where she received an NAACP award for best lead actress in a musical. Other stage credits include the 10th-Anniversary production of Rock of Ages, touring productions of Rent and Deaf West’s Big River, as well as many other regional credits. Jeannette is the first Broadway actress to write the book, music, lyrics and star in her own musical, entitled SHIDA, which premiered Off-Broadway in NYC and went on to have successful runs at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge MA, The West Angeles Theater in Los Angeles, CA, as well as in London. Her success has landed her television appearances with Oprah and Live with Regis & Kelly, the opportunity to perform for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and work on Disney’s Princess and the Frog.
Jeannette also created and stars in the new web series “I Take Thee Zoe".
Jeanette shares with us how her experience with The Girl From The North Country has changed her life - from workshop, to the Public Theater stage, to Broadway - and refers to the show as her “church”. She couldn’t have known that when the Public Theater called saying they wanted her to be a part of this project, at that time just a reading, the Girl From The North Country family would be the one with which she would experience the COVID-19 pandemic. Believing there will be a renewed appreciation for live theater when it finally comes back, Jeanette is now patiently awaiting the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine so that she can share in this revival of theater when Girl from the North Country and Broadway return.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Meeting and hanging out with Bob Dylan in his dressing room at the Beacon
- How she began preparing for COVID back in February
- How COVID is creating opportunities for change, both personal and societal
- The differences in the rehearsal process for Girl From the North Country from other shows she’s done
- The inspiration behind and process of creating SHIDA - her one woman musical
- How her cast mates inspired her to learn guitar, and what the instrument has taught her about herself
Connect with Jeannette:
- IG: @jbayardelle
- Twitter: @jbayardelle
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
08/18/20 • 66 min
Ep107 - Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer: Hadestown, Grease LIVE!, In the Heights
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
09/08/20 • 60 min
This multifaceted, multi-talented performer takes us on a trip into her psyche, sharing how she lives by the idea that “competence breeds confidence”, which encourages her to continue to learn and grow even after achieving great success.
Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer is a Cuban-American actress, author, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She performed as Cha Cha in Fox’s Grease: Live, Vanessa in the 1st Broadway National tour of In the Heights, and currently as one of the Fates in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown on Broadway. Yvette has starred in stage productions of West Side Story, Much Ado About Nothing, and 3 Mo’ Divas, and won a Craig Noel Award in the category of Outstanding Female Lead. On television she has appeared as Kiki in the Emmy Award Winning Nickelodeon TV series The Fresh Beat Band, and Soleded Penagos on Madam Secretary. As a singer and songwriter, Yvette won the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and her songs have been heard on Sirius XM and in a variety of films and TV shows, including the feature film Life Itself and television’s NCIS: Los Angeles. Yvette has performed at prestigious venues like Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall, toured around the globe with a variety of artists, and can now be seen online performing through the Times Square Alliance Broadway Busker’s Concert series.
In our conversation, Yvette lovingly articulates what it is she finds so addicting about performing. There is something to be said about losing yourself in a character, she says, about losing “myself in what I’m doing”. She shares that she finds a liberation and a freedom on stage, which then almost becomes like mediation. Yvette is also a firm believer in continually working on your craft, and always continuing to learn. She puts her money where her mouth is too, taking guitar lessons during quarantine, because in her own words, “competence breeds confidence”. Yvette is missing performing, and was excited to share some of her own original music through the Broadway Busker’s Concert series.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The story behind of the origin of her last name “Nacer”
- The violin her mother made her when she was 1.5 years old
- Being bullied in elementary school, and how drawing became her escape
- What she finds so liberating about performing
- The inspiration behind her music single “Quicksand”, and who she originally wrote it for
- The power of positive thinking
- The importance of not staying silent about the things that matter
Connect with Yvette:
- On the web
- Twitter: @YvetteNacer
- Instagram: @YvetteNacer
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09/08/20 • 60 min
Ep106 - Montego Glover: The Color Purple, Memphis, Les Miserables & Netflix's Inventing Anna
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
09/01/20 • 59 min
Montego Glover is an actor, singer and voiceover artist who made her Broadway debut in the original Broadway production of The Color Purple as Celie and Nettie. She went on to create the role of Felicia Farrell in the Broadway musical Memphis, for which she received a Tony Award Nomination, and won both the Outer Critics’ Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award. Montego also received acclaim for her performances in The Royale at Lincoln Center Theater, and All The Natalie Portmans produced by MCC Theater. She starred in the 2016 Broadway revival of Les Miserables as Fantine, and most recently, Montego completed a run as Angelica Schuyler in the Chicago Company of Hamilton. On television she can be seen in Bull, Black Box, The Following, Hostages, Smash, Golden Boy, The Good Wife, White Collar, NYC 22, Law & Order, and Memphis on Broadway for PBS. Montego has lent her voice to many video gaming projects which include: Battlefront, Renegade Squadron & The Old Republic all for the Star Wars franchise. And in the world of animation she can be heard voicing characters for Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go. We will soon see Montego in a new show called Inventing Anna on Netflix.
After moving to New York City to pursue her career, Montego gave herself a month to learn her new home - to get acquainted with the city, the subway, and catch up with old friends. During this month, she told herself she wouldn’t worry about auditions. However, two weeks after her move, she received a phone call from a fellow FSU alumni who was in a show downtown, and they’d just lost their leading lady. She auditioned and landed the job on the spot. Montego began working steadily in theater, but soon added commercials, television, voice-over projects, and guest spots with symphony orchestras to her repertoire. In her own words, the current pandemic has “changed the game”, and Montego shares with us how she is continuing to take care of her heart and her spirit, allowing her to keep showing up for herself, her career, her family, and her chosen family.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How she is staying busy and sane during quarantine
- One of the things she loves most about Theater
- Her “toolbox”
- Playing a woman with “a darkness” inside in All the Natalie Portman’s
- How she recovers after a deeply emotional performance
- Stumbling upon her first acting class in school when she was young
- Her BFA program at Florida State University
- Her views on abundance
Connect with Montego:
- On the web
- IG: @montegoglover
- Twitter: @montegoglover
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09/01/20 • 59 min
Ep105 - Adam Pascal: Rent, Aida, Memphis & Solo Rock Artist
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
08/25/20 • 49 min
Adam Pascal is an actor, singer, and musician most widely known for originating the role of Roger in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway. Rent was not only his Broadway debut, it also earned him a Tony Award nomination, a Theater World award, and an Obie Award. He went on to originate the role of Radames in Aida, as well as play the Emcee in the 1998 revival of Cabaret, Huey Calhoun in Memphis, Billy Flynn in the revival of Chicago, Chad in Disaster!, and William Shakespeare in Something Rotten! Adam reprised his role as Roger in the 2005 movie version of Rent, as well as the Broadway tour in 2009. He also performed in the London concert version of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall in London, alongside his Rent co-star and friend, Idina Menzel. Adam has two solo rock albums to his name, Model Prisoner (2000) and Civilian (2004), as well as a collaborative rock album called Blinding Light (2008) with pianist Larry Edoff. Most recently Adam has been seen onstage in limited engagements of Pretty Woman. And soon he can be seen virtually as part of the Times Square Alliance Broadway Busker’s Concert series.
During our conversation, Adam shares how growing up and becoming a responsible adult was a challenge after having had his first audition experience lead to such success so early on. Amid this initial success, Adam recalls still being one hundred percent focused on playing in a rock band one day. When he started getting offers to audition for starring roles in Hollywood, what he really wanted was a record deal. This disconnect led to him making some “bad decisions” based on his ego, which he then spent years working on scaling back. Rent began the long journey of accepting the harsh realities of the career in which he found himself, but it also gave him a sense of safety. It gave him the overwhelming feeling of comfort whenever he walked out on stage. The feeling of being home in a way that playing in a rock band had never given him. He finally felt like he was where he belonged. And 25 years later, he’s still going strong.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Which movie musicals had an influence on him as a child
- How his friendship with Idina Menzel led to his audition for Rent
- The struggles that came with early success and recognition
- How he helped open the door for different types of voices on Broadway
- Why he prefers playing pre-existing roles to originating a character
- His desire for a record deal, and finally getting one
- What he would want to talk to Jonathan Larson about today
Connect with Adam:
- Listen on Spotify
- IG: @adampascal
- Twitter: @adampascal20
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
08/25/20 • 49 min
Ep108 - Alice Lee: Spring Awakening, Spider-Man, TV/film star, and indie recording artist
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
09/15/20 • 46 min
Alice Lee is an actress, singer and musician who made her Broadway debut in 2008 when she joined the cast of Spring Awakening. Her other New York theater credits include Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark on Broadway, as well as Off-Broadway productions of Bare and Heathers: The Musical. While she is no stranger to the stage, she is also no stranger to the screen. Alice was a contestant on the ABC reality TV show Rising Star in 2014, with other television credits that include Smash, The Mindy Project, Switched at Birth, 2 Broke Girls, Take Two, Zoe’s Extraordinary Playlist, and many more. She can also be seen in the Netflix film Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, and last year's hit indie movie Brittany Runs a Marathon. While she lived in NYC, Alice performed in numerous concerts at Rockwood Music Hall, where she frequently debuted original material. Coming up next she can be seen online performing through the Times Square Alliance Broadway Busker’s Concert series.
Alice was born and raised in the north suburbs of Chicago, the only child of parents who immigrated from South Korea. She shares that music entered her life at a very early age, and recalls learning to play instruments and sing long before she knew she wanted to be a performer. Her dad is also a great singer, and when Alice was young they would sing karaoke together. While she dabbled in the drums and clarinet, the two instruments she still plays today are the piano and guitar. When deciding what course of study to pursue in college, Alice researched the programs at NYU. And feeling like she didn’t quite fit into either the musical theater or the classical vocal performance categories, she opted to earn her BM in Music Business. It was while she was a freshman at NYU that Alice attended a performance of Spring Awakening, and in her own words, became “obsessed”. So when she found out they were holding open calls for replacements, Alice went and auditioned - and booked her first Broadway show.
In our conversation, Alice candidly talks about growing up and feeling different, but so badly wanting to fit in. And while she and her parents never had any conversations specifically about race, she recalls that she was always aware of the differences, and of other people's attitudes towards them. Alice also lovingly recalls visiting family in South Korea every two years as she grew up, memories which she holds onto and celebrates as part of her identity. Shortly after quarantine began this year, Alice left her apartment in Los Angeles where she lives alone to go spend time with her parents outside Chicago. While there Alice shares she has been spending her time writing, recording demos and making pop music. “This is my frickin destiny” she realized this summer, affirming her vision for her next big dream - to become the first big Asian-American pop star.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Deciding to major in Music Business
- Why she moved from NYC to LA about 5 years ago
- Her experience on the reality TV show Rising Star on ABC
- Being recognized in public for her performances
- Activism on Instagram
- Growing up the child of immigrants
- The joy she finds in writing and making music
Connect with Alice:
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09/15/20 • 46 min
Ep103 - Rachel Potter: The Addams Family, Evita, Wicked tour & Nashville indie artist
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
08/11/20 • 84 min
Rachel Potter is not only a Broadway veteran, she is also an accomplished Nashville recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in 2010 as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, and originated the role of the Mistress in the 2012 Tony Nominated revival of Evita, starring Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris. Rachel has also toured with the smash hit, Wicked, where she understudied Glinda. Rachel’s television appearances include MTV’s Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods, where she placed in the top 15, and season 3 of FOX’s The X Factor as a Top 12 finalist. Rachel has been a guest soloist with many symphony orchestras, and enjoys a fruitful solo career, having released 2 solo albums and multiple singles. Recently, she released a new EP as Rachel Potter & Steel Union, a fresh country trio, made up of herself, Josh Matheny and Donny Fallgatter. And she can now be seen virtually as part of the Times Square Alliance Broadway Busker’s Concert series.
Rachel shares with us her experiences flying back and forth from Orlando to New York CIty to attend EPA’s and ECC’s after graduating college. She recounts meeting Pat Goodwin at an open call for Leap of Faith, which led to Bernard Tesley helping her get an audition for MTV’s Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods. She shares how finding her voice while singing in a wedding band helped sustain her until the audition that would lead to her booking the National Tour of Wicked. It was on this tour that she received the call to audition for Wednesday Addams, the role that would mark her Broadway debut in The Addams Family. And all the while, Rachel continued to write and explore her love of country music. A love which would eventually land her in Nashville, where she would successfully record 2 solo albums and multiple singles.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The first album she recorded when she was 15
- Growing up in the Baptist Church, and the events that lead to her leaving
- How working for Disney opened her eyes
- Discovering her voice while singing in a wedding band
- The Glinda audition which booked her the job
- Driving to the airport in a blizzard to get to her The Addams Family audition
- The pull she felt to move to Nashville
- The X-Factor experience she still recalls as traumatic
Connect with Rachel:
- IG @therachelpotter
- Twitter: @therachelpotter
- Watch the Broadway Buskers: TSQ.org/BroadwayBuskers or on our Facebook page: Facebook.com/TimesSquareNYC
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
08/11/20 • 84 min
Ep102 - James Harkness: Ain't Too Proud, Beautiful, The Color Purple, and Navy veteran!
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
08/04/20 • 76 min
James Harkness is a Broadway veteran, as well as a best director nominee, and award winning choreographer, and a songwriter. He made his Broadway debut in AIDA in 2001, and has been on a roll ever since. He is currently starring as Paul Williams in Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, and previously could be seen in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Other Broadway credits include Chicago and The Color Purple, as well as the Dreamgirls national tour. In 2017, James wrote and performed his debut show, Fragments of Me, at the Metropolitan Room in New York. And on August 4th, he can be seen online performing more of his original work through the Times Square Alliance Broadway Busker’s Concert series.
Originally from El Paso, Texas, James grew up constantly bouncing around and jumping “off all the things” - including the roof of his single-story childhood home. He recalls his mother always singing and dancing around the house, and is sure he learned to move by watching her. But it wasn’t until high school that he encountered structured dance classes, which changed his life. He had found a place that made him “100% happy”. After graduation, James joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego, and it was there that dance came back to him. Throughout his career in the Navy, James would spend his days working on a ship, and then attend dance classes in the evening. When he left the military behind, James started going on regular job interviews. He signed up with a temp agency, and got an office job. But, he also continued going on dance auditions.
James shares with us how a one-off audition for Whitney Houston’s concert tour led to him signing with an agent, auditioning for Debbie Allen, and finally meeting Kenny Ortega at an audition to dance for Michael Jackson on tour. While he didn’t tour with Michael Jackson, James would spend two and half years on tour dancing for Puerto Rican Latin pop singer Chayanne. And after continuing to pursue a career as a commercial dancer in LA, he was pulled to Las Vegas by work and friends. It was in Las Vegas he would book his first job singing and dancing as the lead in a show - “one of the best things that has ever happened” to him. And a little while later, when Broadway came calling - it called twice. James simultaneously booked Saturday Night Fever and AIDA, all without an agent. And he has been gracing stages in New York City ever since.
In this episode, we talk about:
- The nickname his AIDA cast mates gave to him
- How he came to find dance again when stationed in San Diego
- The Whitney Houston concert tour gig he was offered, but couldn’t take
- Shaking Debbie Allen’s hand
- What a typical audition day looked like for him between LA and San Diego
- The theater experience that convinced him to move to Las Vegas
- The honor and responsibility he feels in portraying Paul Williams in Ain’t Too Proud
Connect with James:
- Twitter: @ijamesharkness
- Instagram: @ijamesharkness
- Watch the Broadway Buskers: TSQ.org/BroadwayBuskers or on our Facebook page: Facebook.com/TimesSquareNYC
- Le James Cafe with The Wiggles
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
08/04/20 • 76 min
Ep110 - John Lloyd Young: Jersey Boys, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales
09/29/20 • 54 min
John Lloyd Young is a multi-award winning performer, who originated the role of Frankie Valli in Broadway’s Jersey Boys. He is the only American actor to date to have received a Lead Actor in a Musical Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Theatre World Award for a Broadway debut. John also starred in Jersey Boys on London’s West End, and was hand-picked by director Clint Eastwood to reprise his role in the Warner Bros. film adaptation. As a concert artist he has played to sold-out crowds at the Hollywood Bowl and has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the White House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Café Carlyle, and with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. John served as a member of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, appointed by Barack Obama, and as a member of the Committee, Young represented the United States on the first U.S. Cultural Mission to the Republic of Cuba. John’s five-star-rated solo album of classic R&B, My Turn..., debuted as a best-seller on Amazon. And next up, he can be seen online when his concert “John Lloyd Young’s Broadway” streams live from The Space in Las Vegas on October 3rd.
Throughout our conversation, John comes back to the importance of and the reverence he has always had for what he believes to be the most important element of a Broadway show - the audience. What he has learned to be true is if you invest in your audience, they’ll stay and be with you even in hard times. John shares how he found other creative outlets in the “dicey years” after Jersey Boys ended, and hopes that when the smoke from the pandemic clears, and audiences and performers alike are allowed back inside theatres, “hopefully we’ll be a little more humble and appreciate the privilege” of being able to be creative for a living.
In this episode, we talk about:
- Working on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities under Barack Obama
- The importance of investing in your audience as a performer
- What he’d like his return to Broadway to look like
- The choices you have when you get pigeon-holed as a particular role
- The moment when he knew Jersey Boys would be a hit
- The lessons he hopes creatives will take away from this pandemic
- His visual arts career
Connect with JLY:
- IG @JohnLloydYoung
- Twitter: @GenuineJLY
- JohnLLoydYoung.com/live (to get tix to his events!)
Connect with The Theatre Podcast:
- Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast
- Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast
- Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast
- TheTheatrePodcast.com
- Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales
- Email me at [email protected]. I want to know what you think.
A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible!
Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales
If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09/29/20 • 54 min
Show more

Show more
Featured in these lists
FAQ
How many episodes does The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales have?
The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales currently has 341 episodes available.
What topics does The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture, Podcasts, Arts and Performing Arts.
What is the most popular episode on The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales?
The episode title 'Ep200 - Patti LuPone: Broadway Royalty' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales?
The average episode length on The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales is 52 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales released?
Episodes of The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales are typically released every 6 days, 21 hours.
When was the first episode of The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales?
The first episode of The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales was released on Oct 26, 2018.
Show more FAQ

Show more FAQ
Comments
0.0
out of 5
No ratings yet