This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Teresa Attridge: Hello Barnables! Hello everyone!

[0:03] Pauls Macs: Hello! Oh my goodness, we're so excited to have you all here today.

[0:07] Teresa Attridge: We're having a pod party y'all. It's the shiny Pokémon of the Backstage Pass.

[0:12] Pauls Macs: Once in a blue moon. Extra special. Once in a blue moon, we will have more than just the writers.

[0:18] Teresa Attridge: Today, we've got two actors and plot twist, one of them's here.

[0:23] Pauls Macs: So please, I would love to introduce the rest of my beautiful team that I've been working with for the past few weeks.

[0:29] Teresa Attridge: Lights, camera, Marlise! The writing team for Marlise the Musical is here. Say hi everybody.

[0:35] Justino Tesoro: Hi!

[0:36] Jesse Ayala: Oh my gosh, it's an honour. I'm not even going to lie though, it feels very deeply weird because I'm like, oh god, we might talk about Marlise.

[0:43] Jesse Ayala: Might? I feel really left out. I'm the only one in this room who's not working on Marlise the Musical.

[0:48] Pauls Macs: A little awkward, yeah.

[0:50] Teresa Attridge: Yeah, it is a little awkward. This is the first time we've ever done a show while Teresa is in the show.

[0:55] Pauls Macs: And also, we are so pleased to welcome my dear friend, Katie Emerson, who houses me whenever I come to New York and is the star of the show, is Marlise in Marlise the Musical.

[1:05] Teresa Attridge: So Katie, special welcome to you. Thank you for being here with us.

[1:09] Katie Emerson: I've been a longtime fan, that's correct. I'm so thrilled to be here.

[1:12] Pauls Macs: Finally, finally, after three seasons, you're on the pod.

[1:16] Katie Emerson: You finally made it. That's how you knew you made it.

[1:19] Pauls Macs: All right. And you are here today and I am here today.

[1:23] Teresa Attridge: Well, I'm here today because I do the podcast, but you are here today because of the wonderful Justino and Jesse, the writers of this show.

[1:30] Justino Tesoro: Hi.

[1:31] Jesse Ayala: Hi.

[1:32] Pauls Macs: Such a thrill. Oh, my gosh. Before we go too much further, I want to make sure everybody knows what show we're talking about.

[1:39] Teresa Attridge: So here we go. It's 1954 and Hollywood star Marlise Mattox has been framed for murder live on television at the Oscars.

[1:46] Teresa Attridge: The only person who believes she is innocent is Arnold Berman, an obsessive superfan and studio prop-room assistant.

[1:52] Teresa Attridge: After bailing Marlise out of jail, Arnold pulls her into a madcap investigation through backlots, biblical epics, and film-noir shadows.

[1:59] Teresa Attridge: Along the way: flipping Pharaohs, biblical tap numbers, buried Hollywood secrets, and a robot on skates.

[2:06] Teresa Attridge: Equal parts love letter to and loving spoof of Hollywood's Golden Age, Marlise! follows one fallen movie star and her greatest fan as they attempt to solve a murder and film her comeback at the same time.

[2:15] Pauls Macs: Oh, this is so fun, pal. Should we let these listeners know exactly what kind of royalty is in the room?

[2:20] Teresa Attridge: We absolutely should. All right, Justino, Jesse, and then Katie, I'm going to read your bios and introduce you to everyone.

[2:27] Pauls Macs: So here we go. Jesse, we're going to start with you.

[2:30] Pauls Macs: Jesse Ayala is a first-generation Latino gay storyteller whose work amplifies voices that challenge and reshape their eras.

[2:36] Pauls Macs: He trained at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, Berkeley, NYC, and Harvard.

[2:41] Pauls Macs: And his musicals have been developed or presented by organizations, including Players Theater Off-Broadway, Across a Crowded Room, Sparkfest, the Making It Happen Festival, and NAAP Discover New Musicals.

[2:54] Jesse Ayala: Oh my God, I did that. Sorry.

[2:56] Pauls Macs: Outside of writing, he is managing editor of Theater Life. Wow, that's really exciting.

[3:01] Pauls Macs: We have a managing editor, a Broadway investor, ka-ching, ka-ching, and a member of the Dramatists Guild and several national arts organizations.

[3:08] Pauls Macs: His documentary films premiered at Tribeca, Cannes, and South by Southwest.

[3:12] Pauls Macs: And he's a former resident artist with New Museum, Meta, and Future of Storytelling. Jesse, welcome to the show. We're so happy to have you.

[3:20] Jesse Ayala: Oh my God. Jesse, is that all?

[3:22] Pauls Macs: That's barely even the surface.

[3:25] Jesse Ayala: I know. The fact that this is like the tip of the iceberg of your bio is...

[3:30] Pauls Macs: I will let everyone know. I'm not sure I've said this on air yet, but the bios are now condensed.

[3:35] Pauls Macs: The bios are condensed to be no more than four sentences, even three if we can make it happen.

[3:40] Pauls Macs: But it was not possible with Jesse, so that is the condensed bio. Go to Marlise's website to find out more about Jesse.

[3:46] Teresa Attridge: Amazing.

[3:47] Pauls Macs: That's a hard one to follow. Justino.

[3:49] Justino Tesoro: No, it's not.

[3:50] Pauls Macs: No, it's not. All right, Justino, here we go.

[3:53] Pauls Macs: Justino Tesoro is a composer, lyricist, and performer whose work blends theatricality, humor, and heartfelt perspective.

[3:59] Pauls Macs: A graduate of Wagner College and Berkeley NYC, his music and performances have been featured at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Sony Music Hall, Green Room 42, Don't Tell Mama, and The Triad.

[4:09] Pauls Macs: And his musicals include Marlise, June Moon, Horseplay, Out of Body, Out of Mind, and Angry Old People.

[4:15] Pauls Macs: A queer artist on the autism spectrum, he creates stories that celebrate individuality and explore how those who feel othered can find community.

[4:23] Pauls Macs: He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and a co-founder of Punch-Up Theater Company.

[4:27] Pauls Macs: Justino has 28,000 followers on TikTok where he writes a song a day.

[4:31] Pauls Macs: Find out more at www.justinotesoro.com.

[4:34] Teresa Attridge: I would argue, Justino, you're probably the only person who could go after Jesse.

[4:38] Pauls Macs: So maybe we need to be a little more confident in ourselves.

[4:42] Justino Tesoro: I have one-fourteenth of your Instagram followers or Twitter followers.

[4:46] Justino Tesoro: So, you know, goals.

[4:48] Pauls Macs: Yeah, I was about to say. And Pauls is a math guy apparently.

[4:52] Justino Tesoro: Apparently.

[4:54] Pauls Macs: Crunching numbers.

[4:56] Pauls Macs: That's why you're a director.

[4:58] Pauls Macs: That's why I make the medium bucks, as Teresa liked to say.

[5:02] Teresa Attridge: That's why you make the medium bucks, baby. My favorite phrase.

[5:06] Pauls Macs: Katie, we're doing you next.

[5:08] Pauls Macs: Katie Emerson is a versatile spitfire of an actress, singer, director, and painter, originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas and based in New York City.

[5:16] Pauls Macs: Recent credits include starring as the murderous Mrs. Voorhees in Camp Crystal Lake the Musical, a parody of Friday the 13th.

[5:22] Pauls Macs: And she tours nationally as a lead vocalist with the Disney tribute bands The Little Mermen and The Princess Pals.

[5:28] Pauls Macs: Her stage career spans off-Broadway, national tours, international productions, and regional theaters, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas the Musical, appearing with Wolfbrain Productions, Maltz Jupiter Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Arkansas Repertory Theater, Northern Stage, The Hanger Theater, and Syracuse Stage.

[5:43] Pauls Macs: Known for her exceptional vocal range and sight-reading ability, Emerson is also an accomplished performer of new musicals, workshops, and concerts, with critics praising her as captivating and lauding her voice and magnetic stage presence.

[5:54] Teresa Attridge: Oh my God, what a bio!

[5:57] Pauls Macs: Also, I will say, as someone who has been in the rehearsal room with Katie, like Katie can not only sight-read, I'm pretty sure Katie is just a wizard.

[6:05] Pauls Macs: Because like, we'll look at a paper, sing it perfectly and then be like, sorry, I've never seen this in my life.

[6:12] Katie Emerson: And I'm here like, what's a quarter note? What do you mean?

[6:16] Pauls Macs: You have an amazing ear, dear.

[6:18] Katie Emerson: Oh my, you're the eyes and I'm the ears, baby.

[6:22] Pauls Macs: Well, I like that word magnetic because the way I met Katie actually was I directed Katie in a 10-minute musical at NYU, with, shout out to Broadway's Kendi Kanagawa, it was called Jack and Jill.

[6:34] Pauls Macs: But so magnetic that the next time I needed a couch to sleep on, I was like, hey, I know I only know you from that show I directed you in for two weeks, but can I sleep on your couch? And she was like, yeah.

[6:45] Katie Emerson: Now that's going like three or four years at this point.

[6:48] Pauls Macs: But I was just being a great friend in general, because we really did just hit it off.

[6:52] Katie Emerson: We did.

[6:53] Pauls Macs: We had like a really good heart-to-heart about grad school and life.

[6:57] Pauls Macs: And I was like, I'm keeping this one.

[7:00] Katie Emerson: Yeah.

[7:01] Pauls Macs: I'm glad to be kept.

[7:03] Katie Emerson: I'm glad to be kept.

[7:05] Pauls Macs: Oh my God. The vibes on this pod are so pure today.

[7:09] Teresa Attridge: That's so sweet. Oh my gosh. Well, I mean, now we know how you two met. Jesse and Justino, how did you two end up?

[7:16] Jesse Ayala: A segue. Like, what's the story there?

[7:19] Justino Tesoro: What a segue.

[7:21] Jesse Ayala: So we met on a Zoom as well.

[7:24] Justino Tesoro: Ah, Zoom love story.

[7:26] Jesse Ayala: Really?

[7:28] Justino Tesoro: Oh my God. Yes, we did.

[7:31] Jesse Ayala: Boom, boom, boom. Made my heart go zoom, zoom.

[7:34] Justino Tesoro: Supernova girl.

[7:36] Jesse Ayala: Wow. There are people of a certain age in here.

[7:39] Justino Tesoro: There are.

[7:40] Pauls Macs: Millennials.

[7:42] Jesse Ayala: Zoom, zoom, zoom. Made my heart go boom, boom.

[7:45] Justino Tesoro: Justino, I swear to God. Do you know what we're talking about?

[7:48] Justino Tesoro: I do. I've heard this song.

[7:50] Jesse Ayala: I'm not that young.

[7:52] Justino Tesoro: You're not saying?

[7:54] Pauls Macs: God.

[7:56] Pauls Macs: Are you not?

[7:58] Justino Tesoro: He's young.

[8:00] Pauls Macs: How old are you?

[8:02] Justino Tesoro: We can cut this, Justino. Don't worry.

[8:05] Justino Tesoro: I'm 23 years old.

[8:08] Pauls Macs: What the hell? Get the fuck out of town.

[8:11] Jesse Ayala: I'm sorry. You're 23?

[8:14] Justino Tesoro: I didn't know that.

[8:16] Pauls Macs: I'm 24 next month.

[8:18] Jesse Ayala: Holy shit, dude. That's, I mean, that's awesome.

[8:22] Pauls Macs: No, we're keeping it in. You have a bio that long and you're 24 years old, you piece of shit.

[8:29] Justino Tesoro: Well, you just have such, like, poise. You look older than me with that facial hair.

[8:34] Jesse Ayala: You look 23.

[8:36] Justino Tesoro: Hey.

[8:37] Pauls Macs: Who would have thought?

[8:39] Pauls Macs: Okay. Now I, okay. Generations coming together on Zoom. What was the Zoom for?

[8:45] Jesse Ayala: Generations coming together on Zoom. We were both in grad school together.

[8:50] Jesse Ayala: I was not 23 at the time.

[8:52] Jesse Ayala: And as new students, encouraged to write with new people to kind of see the jive and, like, who was, who you were going to work with.

[8:59] Jesse Ayala: And Justino and I were paired without meeting each other at all.

[9:03] Jesse Ayala: And it was like, have a Zoom, write a song, and then you're going to present it to everybody on Zoom.

[9:09] Jesse Ayala: We were both like, okay, I hope this person doesn't hate me.

[9:13] Jesse Ayala: And there were, like, two things we had to do in the song that were just, like, obscure, weird things.

[9:18] Justino Tesoro: So we, like, met and we're like, what do we want to write this song about?

[9:22] Jesse Ayala: I was writing, I think, lyrics at the time, which was rough, to say the least.

[9:27] Jesse Ayala: And I was like, how about we write this song about this guy who's in love with his girlfriend and is trying to convince her to join a doomsday cult.

[9:35] Justino Tesoro: And I said, yes, that one.

[9:37] Jesse Ayala: What a great icebreaker.

[9:39] Justino Tesoro: Oh yeah.

[9:40] Jesse Ayala: You know how sometimes the perfect thing happens to you? That was what that was.

[9:44] Justino Tesoro: That's so good.

[9:46] Jesse Ayala: I was like, I'll just take a swing. We'll see what happens. Like, I need to kind of, like, vet people out.

[9:52] Jesse Ayala: And he was, like, totally on board.

[9:54] Justino Tesoro: So then we wrote this song together.

[9:56] Jesse Ayala: And even through the whole process, like, he's going to hate me. He's going to hate me.

[10:02] Jesse Ayala: But we totally got along.

[10:04] Justino Tesoro: Jesse, did you hate him? Be honest.

[10:06] Justino Tesoro: No!

[10:08] Jesse Ayala: Yeah, Justino, confirm right now.

[10:10] Justino Tesoro: I felt the same way.

[10:12] Justino Tesoro: We wrote this song that was absolutely insane.

[10:15] Jesse Ayala: It was, like, one of the most freaky things that we'd ever written together.

[10:19] Justino Tesoro: And I was like, oh my God.

[10:21] Jesse Ayala: Uh-huh. Can people purchase it? Can they put it in their book right now?

[10:25] Justino Tesoro: I can slide the demo under the table later after this podcast.

[10:29] Jesse Ayala: I want a 16 and a 32 bar. Please and thank you.

[10:32] Justino Tesoro: Doomsday? More like Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, Doomsday. You know what I mean?

[10:37] Jesse Ayala: But I thought he was going to hate me, too. I was like, this guy's never going to want to work with me. I'm going to be a lousy guy.

[10:44] Jesse Ayala: And then it just magically, like, after that assignment, it went really, really well.

[10:48] Jesse Ayala: And we had been, like, you know, sort of speed dating other people as we were trying to figure out who we wanted to write our thesis musical with.

[10:55] Jesse Ayala: And then Justino invited me over to his place one day.

[10:58] Justino Tesoro: And Jesse's just, like, such a brilliant mind. All of our ideas, he came up with full plot lines outlined from the inciting incident to the finale of each idea, what they would be in the specific subject.

[11:10] Justino Tesoro: And I just fell in love with him instantly and just like that.

[11:13] Jesse Ayala: We were a match made in heaven.

[11:15] Justino Tesoro: I would agree.

[11:17] Jesse Ayala: Absolutely.

[11:19] Pauls Macs: That's so sweet. And then how long have you been working on Marlise? Was Marlise in that original pitch or how did you come to that idea?

[11:29] Jesse Ayala: Yeah, so we met at grad school in Berkeley and we needed to come up with a project in addition to a teammate.

[11:37] Jesse Ayala: And so we had to brainstorm all these ideas. We were both coming up with some crazy ideas, but I was like, what would be a good inciting incident?

[11:45] Jesse Ayala: For a show. How about somebody getting arrested live at the Oscars? Like, at the time, we had no idea what time period that would be in, but it's just, like, the pinnacle moment of someone's career, or so they think, and then it just comes crashing down. And I'm like, that is... Drama, baby. That's drama.

[12:00] Justino Tesoro: Yeah. It's so much to work with. So, we kind of both fell in love with that idea, and we're like, let's see where this goes. So, that one, I have, like, outlined, kind of, the story. There's, like, bits and pieces of it in the show today, but it's evolved quite dramatically from that original outline. What inspired you to set it during the golden age of Hollywood? Because, I mean, the Oscars are just that moment of, this is my greatest achievement, and then I'm suddenly blindsided by a murder accusation. I think setting it in the golden age of Hollywood is partially what makes the show so unique and so refreshing.

[12:35] Jesse Ayala: Yeah. I mean, I think, I'll speak from my perspective. I remember being sick in, like, middle school and high school, and just, like, turning on, like, Turner Classic Movies. And it would always be these obscure movie musicals. I can't even think of, like, any of the titles, but it was just, like, there was always another one. And it was like, what is going on here? But they were so beautiful, big dance numbers, set on a farm, set wherever. I was like, there's something gorgeous about that moment that doesn't exist in contemporary music theatre. And so, I was like, let's try to, like, play with that world. And it is over the top. I think nostalgia is, like, a big thing right now, for whatever reasons. We were kind of like, let's play with this specific genre of time. And I think there's a lot of fun music to play with in there.

[13:20] Justino Tesoro: Yeah, I agree. I mean, most of my favorite shows are cult classic shows that are often set in the 1950s and spoof on this golden age of life. And I just felt like, you know, this would be a great opportunity to sort of have our little weird 1950s musical. Joe often calls this, in, like, our process, like, the Little Shop of our time right now. And I just feel like that was, like, a huge sort of inspiration for us with those wacky characters and scenarios and things. So, yeah, it's our little 50s thing. Joe, as in Joe Barros, father of the pod.

[13:54] Jesse Ayala: Friend of the pod, dad of the pod. Well, we should explain what Joe Barros is doing on this show. Joe Barros is your director and choreographer for your show that's going to open at the Players Theatre. It's going to run August 13th through September 6th. How did you get connected with Joe Barros?

[14:07] Justino Tesoro: We met Joe through Berkeley NYC, actually. He came in and spoke for this one class that we have where the professors and faculty will invite industry guests to sort of establish the connection between writers and the industry at large. And Joe came in talking about his organization, New York Theatre Barn, which is where we first connected and all of us had to pitch our shows to him. And he was a really big fan of Marlise. We sort of parted ways with Berkeley. We were submitting to opportunities when we came across the opportunity for the Players Theatre. And when we got it, we were just sort of putting feelers out there for people. And we connected with Joe when we were going to see the new work series and just sort of tossed the idea that, hey, we were getting a production. And he asked, oh, do you need a director for it? And just like that, the rest is history.

[14:51] Katie Emerson: How the hell do I get any prize? And then, Katie, where do you fit into all of it? How the hell did you join this party?

[14:58] Justino Tesoro: But from what you guys told me, wasn't I ButlerBot? Like, originally?

[15:03] Jesse Ayala: Yeah, like, you threw in.

[15:09] Katie Emerson: I know.

[15:10] Justino Tesoro: Oh, yeah.

[15:12] Jesse Ayala: Oh, my God!

[15:13] Katie Emerson: Reaction. Like, I wish the finals could have seen the reaction.

[15:17] Justino Tesoro: There is camera footage of this, we don't show it.

[15:20] Jesse Ayala: But I'm going to do an instant replay if we can.

[15:22] Katie Emerson: It was you guys who were like, that was so funny. She should play Marlise.

[15:32] Justino Tesoro: Justino and Jesse, like, you guys, yeah, take it away.

[15:35] Katie Emerson: Like, who, by you guys, it's not me. Who do you mean, Justino and Jesse?

[15:40] Jesse Ayala: Yeah. So, I guess for context, once you write your thesis show at Berkeley NYC, they put on this developmental showcase where they show off 15 minutes of the work, and they hire all sorts of actors and mostly union team, and they have this wonderful LED wall where they really do up these presentations. And so the way the casting process for that sort of works is that they toss a bunch of actors your way and who they think they would be best fit for. Katie was listed as ButlerBot, and Jesse and I took one look at her and were like, no way. I was like, this, if out of anybody on this list, might be our Marlise. And what's so crazy to me is the idea that Katie would be seen as anything except Marlise to me is so astounding because I cannot emphasize enough that it's like, you know, when you like, you see a show or you like are in something and there's someone who is just so perfect for something, you're like, this was meant to be. It was always going to be you in whatever universe you were going to be Marlise. You know what I mean?

[16:40] Justino Tesoro: I didn't even know your show, but as soon as I saw promotional images and I saw Katie as Marlise, I was like, oh my god, it's perfect. Look at those zany facial expressions.

[16:55] Katie Emerson: Katie's here. It's about to be not normal as f***.

[16:58] Jesse Ayala: Know thyself, as they say, Katie. Know thyself.

[17:05] Katie Emerson: Thank you for taking that pressure off of me, to be honest. You know what I mean? Thank you so much. Honestly, as a veteran of the tit industry, I really couldn't have a better mentor in this field. It's truly an honor. Also for context, the reason we're all laughing so hard as well is because I am currently ButlerBot. Wait, wait, wait. Can we just stop and explain what ButlerBot is? I think that's just so important because that's part of what makes your show so zany, right? As I'm encountering your show for the first time, everybody else in this room knew about it months before I did, but I'm like, wait, it's set in the golden age of Hollywood, but there's a robot. How does that work? If you could just talk about where, and don't be wrong, I love this choice and I think actually it makes perfect sense and I'll talk more about that, but where did the idea of inserting a robot come into the show?

[18:01] Justino Tesoro: ButlerBot is originally a co-star movie prop from one of Marlise's early science fiction films. So this is like a science fiction film from like the 1930s. Think of Journey to the Moon, like that level of production and kind of weird shit. ButlerBot's been thrown into the prop room on the studio lot for decades, and Arnold, when he gets a job there, kind of revives him into becoming his best friend. So this old prop is now the only friend that Arnold really has in the world, and it's something that Marlise has worked with. He just feels ultra connected to Marlise through this robot. But yeah, it's a living robot that in our production is skating around and really is there to be, I think the quote is, I am your sword, your shield, and your servant, and that's kind of ButlerBot's mantra throughout the show.

I should also add that they are Heelys. I am fully on Heelys, which is funny because that is not the first show I've been on Heelys in the past year. We really have that on the special skills on the resume.

[19:02] Teresa Attridge: If anyone's looking for an actor who is proficient in Heelys, hire Teresa at TeresaAdridge.com, which doesn't exist. Don't look it up. I don't have a website. But I think what's really interesting is that this is a show about like the golden age of Hollywood, right? 1950s movie musicals. The 1950s were actually when the introduction of robots in sci-fi was introduced in sort of like the general media of the time, because it was a result of Cold War anxiety and this idea of like what futuristic invention looks like in the post-industrial age through sort of like this golden era of, you know, Americana, etc. But yeah, so it's like the 1950s actually coincides with the very beginnings of sci-fi in film.

So the fact that movie musicals and robot sci-fi were happening simultaneously is really, really interesting, especially when you look at the archetypes of what robots were at the time, which were either these like imposing, terrifying figures where it's like, we're going to come over and destroy humanity, or it was like Rosie on the Jetsons. You know what I mean? It was like helpful servant and destroyer of worlds. And ButlerBot is the most helpful of servants, not even a servant, but just a true friend to Arnold, our sweet prop boy and Marlise's biggest fan.

[20:14] Jesse Ayala: The other thing I would say about ButlerBot is I was thinking about that character today is one of the deeper levels of this hilarious musical comedy. And I think, you know, the best musical comedies all have that kind of heartfelt layer underneath them. Like, for example, let's say You're in Town is talking about environmentalism under its surface, under this hilarious comedy. So many of your characters are trying to navigate the space of movie magic versus reality. I want my life to be like the movies, but is that actually real? Could it ever be real? And they're trying to live in that space. Like, my life has never felt that way, but I want to feel that way. And so to go ahead and put a walking, talking robot in the piece already shows the piece itself is a product of magic, of movie magic.

It's not real. But does that make the lessons that it teaches any less true? So it just feels like that fundamental question of is the movie magic that we imagine, is that possible? It's embedded in the DNA of your piece in a really fantastic way.

[21:09] Justino Tesoro: That was beautiful, pals. You get it. You get it. This is proof that the draft is working, babes. This is it. Pals understood it immediately. Pals is also very smart. But like, you know what I mean? I think we should play a song from the show.

[21:26] Teresa Attridge: Absolutely. So why don't we set up our first song, which is The Greatest Movie. So Justino and Jesse, you're on. Can you set up the song for us, please?

[21:35] Justino Tesoro: So this is actually an older demo of The Greatest Movie. This is not the version of Greatest Movie that you'll be hearing if you choose to purchase your tickets for Marlise from August 13th to September 6th. But really quickly, how exciting is that, that the audience gets to experience that?

[21:49] Jesse Ayala: Oh, this is a demo. We're already making changes.

[21:53] Justino Tesoro: If they would go to the show, they'll hear how the show has evolved since this demo. That's great.

[21:57] Jesse Ayala: Oh, we're going to touch on that after. In this version of The Greatest Movie, this is sort of Arnold's I Want song. Arnold witnesses his star idol Marlise Mattox getting arrested for the murder of her husband live at the Oscars. The ButlerBot and him sort of devise a plan to bail her out and solve the crime to clear her name in hopes for Arnold to get closer with her. And so this is sort of the dawning of the idea. Fantastic. And who is performing this song?

[22:20] Justino Tesoro: I think it might be my voice as Arnold and ButlerBot. And then we have our friends.

[22:24] Jesse Ayala: I think it is. Sorry, I didn't mean to bait you. I wasn't trying to.

[22:28] Justino Tesoro: I think so. And then I think it's our friends Brandon Scott Grayson and Issa Peña on background vocals. Here is The Greatest Movie performed by Justino Tesoro, Brandon Scott Grayson, and Issa Peña.

[22:39] ♪ Musical number: "The Greatest Movie" — performed by Justino Tesoro, Brandon Scott Grayson, and Issa Peña ♪

[23:31] ♪ Musical number: "The Greatest Movie" — performed by Justino Tesoro, Brandon Scott Grayson, and Isa Peña ♪

[25:35] Justino Tesoro: What a fun song, what a fun I Want song, that sets up the whole show!

[25:40] Katie Emerson: Oh my god! Thank you, thank you! I'm so glad you mentioned Little Shop earlier, because Arnold is such a touching hero, I find very much in the spirit of Seymour from Little Shop. I definitely see that symmetry there. And not like they're the same character, because for example, Arnold doesn't go on a killing spree. But you really root for him, and also, just you know, kudos, the Butler Bot performance is really, really fun. The robotic qualities as they're having that conversation, it really sets the stage for the show in a really, really fun, fantastical way.

[26:11] Justino Tesoro: Just wait to hear Teresa's Butler Bot.

[26:13] Jesse Ayala: Stop, you're crazy! Stop!

[26:17] Justino Tesoro: I need to let you know, Teresa, when I do demos or scratch demos, I talk in how I would imagine the characters would speak on stage. And the way I've started impersonating Butler Bot has completely changed since I've heard you do this voice.

[26:29] Katie Emerson: Oh my god.

[26:30] Justino Tesoro: Teresa, are you willing to give us a little sample? We don't have to.

[26:34] Jesse Ayala: Powell's, what do you mean you would like a sample?

[26:41] Justino Tesoro: Get your tickets! Get your tickets!

[26:43] Jesse Ayala: I'm just saying, you're never going to hear it for free again. But I will add actually something so special about this song in the fact that it's already changed, right? Like you were saying, Powell's, is that it's been reworked and workshopped. Getting to be in a rehearsal process where you're adjusting things in real time is really, really exciting because it is like incredibly collaborative. We'll sing it, we'll perform it, and then it's like the actors might be like, oh, would it make sense to do this here? Or the director would be like, oh, what about this? Or the writers would be like, oh, the way you're saying this means that I actually think this is the way this should be. So it's been really, really fun to be in a room with people who are not only like very generous in what they're giving, but everybody is very receptive to the idea of this thing being like something that is constantly being like molded and shaped and sort of refined as we go. And it's a chaotic process, but it's really fun.

[27:31] Katie Emerson: And also, speaking of fun, I think one of the cutest things about our production is that the actor playing Arnold is also a friend of the pod. Harrison Bryant is playing Arnold, but the cutesy cutesy part of it is that Harrison and I have actually been friends for 19 years. And we're playing these best friends, Arnold and Butler Bot, in the show. And we realized about a week into rehearsal that we're rehearsing in the exact same building and often in the same room where we met in the summer program we took together. So we were downstairs, we were waiting for the elevator. And it's these elevators that take forever in this building. It's like one of those where you're sitting in the lobby for like 16,000 minutes.

And I turned to him and I went, Harrison, this is the same building. These are the same elevators. And he turned to me and he was like, oh my god. And we took a selfie and we sent it to our friend from the program. We sent it to, I sent it to his mom. It was really cute. But it's nice to get to do a buddy comedy with your buddy that you do comedy with. It's just very cute. So thank you both for that opportunity.

[28:34] Justino Tesoro: Well, thank you both for saying yes and joining us. Because the chemistry is so spot on between you two. Even though you're playing people from 60, 70 years ago, it really is wonderful. Also, I just want to say shout out to Harrison, who was on the show in our first season with a show called Hanukkah Carol. We absolutely love that show. And Ben was on last season, made a guest appearance during the Live at NAMMT episodes. Because Harrison was just there and popped in to talk about Balls, the Monster Catcher musical, which Teresa was also in and was also incredibly. Wow. But also Harrison was just, yeah, icon. Oh my god, that's right. You were there. It was awesome. And then was also the company understudy in Marcel on the Train, a classic stage company, understudying Ethan Slater. Like, how cool was that? So Harrison, we love you. Friend of the pod forever. Barnacles forever. Yeah, nerd. Love you.

[29:28] Justino Tesoro: All connected. So Justino and Jesse, we've talked about this world that you're creating. You decided on the golden age of Hollywood. But of course, you need compelling characters to populate this world. Can you talk to us about the creations, especially of Marlise? We've talked a little bit about Arnold. Where did the idea of this wild, zany diva come from?

[29:45] Jesse Ayala: I'm gay, and I feel like...

[29:49] Justino Tesoro: I feel like...

[29:50] Jesse Ayala: I feel like that's the sentence. Where did it come from? I'm gay.

[29:52] Justino Tesoro: All right, next question.

[29:54] Jesse Ayala: Next question. Would you like to redirect? Would you like to respond to that?

[29:59] Justino Tesoro: No, please, sir. Jesse, go on, go on.

[30:00] Jesse Ayala: It was just too funny. It's true. It's like, I feel like I grew up having, like, obsessions with these women who were big stars. I don't know, like Diane Keaton. I was like a kid, and for some reason, I was obsessed with her. I had nothing in common with this woman. But it was like, I was seven, she was, you know, 40. Like, whatever the case it was. So I feel like that was kind of a little bit where this relationship between Arnold and Marlise came. But then it was like, with Marlise, it's like, how could we just turn up the dial on crazy for this person? Because she has sacrificed everything to get an Oscar. So, like, no relationship can last except this one that she's out to get. And I think that that was just like, who would that person be? How would that person act? How would that person treat other people? And it just kept, the dial kept turning, and turning, and turning up. Oddly, in my head, she always had red hair. And so when Katie came across us.

[30:55] Katie Emerson: Oh my god.

[30:56] Jesse Ayala: When Katie came in, I was like, oh my god. You never changed that hair. The sketch has turned to life. But it felt like, when we first met Katie, kind of embodying this character, one of our friends who was in a rehearsal turned to us and was like, it's as if you've possessed Marlise, and she's embodying this woman. And I was like, this is exactly what we wanted. So, yeah. I mean, it's a start.

[31:21] Katie Emerson: No, well, I mean, it's incredible. I don't know if you know this, but Katie's a first-class spitfire of an actress.

[31:27] Justino Tesoro: Oh no.

[31:29] Katie Emerson: I'm not surprised at all. This is the world that, I don't know, some pieces that you fall into, when do you find out about these Berklee pieces? Two seconds before they happen. And then just the generosity you guys have in your humor, and letting me play, and letting me be the idiot I want to always be, when I can't even tell you my whole career, people are like, just a little less, Kate. A little less. A little less. A little less. Anyway. And I just don't have to do that here. It's more all the time. And I am obsessed with getting to be this, I don't know, I'm living a fever dream through you guys. So I'm so grateful.

[32:15] Justino Tesoro: That makes so much sense. I gotta say, Katie, I do have this memory of directing Jack and Jill at NYU, and there's a section where Jack and Jill want to go outside and play, and they throw a fit. And I think I said, can that be a little bigger? Maybe that's not true. But I was like, can that be a little bit more? The second one was its own one-act play. You were throwing yourself on the ground, going around the entire world. Kennedy was up on a chair, through a chair, something. Wow. No notes. One-act play. Incredible. Maybe a little less.

[32:41] Jesse Ayala: The level of commitment that you bring to any role that I've seen you in is truly remarkable. You are a remarkable actor, I have to say. Legitimately.

[32:54] Justino Tesoro: So then you got cast as Marlise. And just, if you can, or if there's something that you want to share about the rehearsal process and how you bonded with that character, that would be great.

[33:04] Katie Emerson: Well, first, the first day I walked into the wrong room, and that was a great way to start. But funny enough, it was Joel Marlise's room.

[33:13] Jesse Ayala: Whoa, it all comes back.

[33:14] Katie Emerson: It's all connected. Zoom, zoom, zoom. I walked, I walked. It was like my first Berklee NYC thing, and I was like, I was going to get there early. You know, I'm really good at that, as you guys know from working with me. But I was going to get there early. I walk in this room, I'm like, oh yeah, okay, this is where to settle my thing. I walk in, I'm like, oh my god, it's so nice to meet you. I'm like bonding, we're laughing. And then I'm looking around and I'm like, they're like, Katie, you're in the wrong room. And I'm like, oh, okay, I'm not in this musical. Sorry, guys. Wow, it's so nice to meet you. I guess I got to go across the street. I said this in a different way before, I think, but like some musicals just like make sense to your bones. And this is just one that makes sense to my bones.

[33:59] Justino Tesoro: Oh, yeah.

[34:00] Katie Emerson: The Judy of it all, like the milking of it all, like the fermato, the silly. I grew up also watching Turner Classic movies. One of my favorite things to do was to study these insane things. Like, I swear I could turn something on, and there's a film that I'm like, I can't believe that they're introducing this crazy thing. I'm a sucker for an old movie. Watched a lot of movies with my dad growing up. Yeah, I mean, all of this stuff just like feel, it feels like a fevery, wonderful home inside of this show.

[34:33] Jesse Ayala: I mean, speaking of like a fever, can we talk about Marlise's Lament real quick? Because that song is like 104 degrees, go to the hospital.

[34:43] Katie Emerson: Like 104 degrees fever, go to the hospital, you're going to kill yourself. Like you have to, like you need to, you need help, girl.

[34:52] Justino Tesoro: I know.

[34:53] Katie Emerson: She really does.

[34:54] Justino Tesoro: Oh my god. I mean, Justino, like, especially like for musically, how do you write someone having such an active mental breakdown?

[35:02] Justino Tesoro: This was such an interesting process for this song, because it's changed a lot. Our original song, which you can hear, which I think we have the demo for, but you can also hear Katie sing it, because we have the showcase footage from it, was very different from the way it turned out now.

[35:16] Justino Tesoro: Our song was originally based on the five stages of grief, and so we had, like, a section where Marlise would go through each of those stages in her own breakdown over losing the award, and so we wanted something that was, like, classically very all over the place, grand, but driving, that sort of changes sporadically as her mood is sort of rapidly shifting. So, context, Marlise has just been arrested live at the Oscars for the alleged murder of her husband. She's dragged to the Santa Monica precinct in a single cell and is just absolutely freaking out over the fact that she might have been framed for this murder. She is convinced that this murder was not her, and she is pleading, begging to be released to herself as she's in isolation. It's a great setup. And who is performing this song?

[36:04] Jesse Ayala: I think in this demo that we have, it might be my voice again.

[36:08] Justino Tesoro: It's you again? Yeah, no, that's how it happened.

[36:10] Jesse Ayala: Yay! This is, like, one of our favorite things to happen is when someone's like, oh god, this one's me, and we're like, yeah, it is!

[36:16] Justino Tesoro: Yes! You're so good! In context, as we've written this show over the past year and a half, every demo, there's some songs that have all six characters singing, and we have a robot, we have a star, we have a prop room boy, a French guy. Justina will do all of the accents, and all of these together, like, when Cher did West Side Story and played all the roles, it's, like, every time, it's always that. It's amazing.

[36:43] Jesse Ayala: That's great. Amazing. Well, here is Marlise's Lament, performed by Justino Tesoro.

[36:48] ♪ Musical number: "Marlise's Lament" — performed by Justino Tesoro ♪

[39:35] Justino Tesoro: She's still going.

[39:37] Jesse Ayala: Kill.

[39:39] Justino Tesoro: Not my kill!

[39:47] Jesse Ayala: Dang, okay.

[39:49] Justino Tesoro: Wow, just so you know, is Katie's understudy.

[39:54] Jesse Ayala: Should anything go down?

[39:58] Justino Tesoro: I think you're all of our understudies, yeah.

[40:00] Jesse Ayala: I think so. Truly, I think that's how it works.

[40:04] Justino Tesoro: Okay, understudy. I love that Marlise gets a 9-1-1 song now. It's like a short-term, I gotta get out of this situation, or rather, it's like, I wanna kill someone song. I mean, she is just unhinged. She's threatening to feast on people's hearts and clearly has a very fraught relationship with her ex-husband. I loved it when it was like, my husband, if you're up there, well, no, you're down there. So funny.

[40:25] Jesse Ayala: We really get to know this person, this diva, I should say. But also, I mean, I don't know any of these divas, but I feel like it's one step beyond in a way that I was thinking about Katie performing the song. I was like, oh, Katie will just make this song sing so well. And they say, we say it on the podcast all the time, that the best way to meet a person in a musical is through song. And I just felt like I knew her so well. Although, I think what's great about Marlise is that we get to know her so much better as the show goes on. She's not a one-note character.

[41:01] Justino Tesoro: No, in fact, I would love to talk about, because again, we're in a process where there's a lot of active rewriting happening, right? So many things are being shaped, even now, probably, right?

[41:05] Jesse Ayala: Pencils down.

[41:07] Justino Tesoro: Pencils down, baby, script is locked.

[41:10] Jesse Ayala: You heard it here first.

[41:11] Justino Tesoro: Oh, whoa, Katie, I can't wait to text everybody. I would love to hear, specifically with this song, since we're listening to it, how has this shifted from the version it was in the demo to the version that Katie is singing now? And sort of what are some of those story beats that had you reconsider what this song was going to be about?

[41:27] Justino Tesoro: You know, it was very interesting because when we initially wrote this song, a lot of people were very worried about this character and felt that in introducing this character in such an aggressive, hard way, that we might instantly not root for her. And so we explored a different version of Marlise's lament, which is closer to what it is now, where we really explored her true desires, the reasons why she pursued the fame that she did and what she had to sacrifice in order to get there.

[42:03] Jesse Ayala: I'm sorry, but that is hitting me. I'm like, no, that's so wrong. I'm glad you tried it.

[42:08] Justino Tesoro: And so that was the thing, is that we found out through hearing Katie do it, it was like, okay, well, now we're sort of missing the elements that make Marlise Marlise. And so we've sort of got a fusion of the two that heavily leans into the aggressive and profane version that we have of Marlise today. So much of writing the drafts of the script of the song is we have an idea and then we kind of swing back and forth until we finally land where we need to land. Because we are both, I think, for better or worse, pretty bold in what we're writing. We're both like, yeah, do you got the idea? Do you got the instinct? Go with it. Let's see.

[42:45] Jesse Ayala: Let's see.

[42:46] Justino Tesoro: And sometimes it's like, that was fucking unhinged. Let's ship it over. But I think throughout time, and that's why developing with actors is so exciting to us because you really get to see another person's perspective on the character and building it out with so much more depth is so helpful.

[43:04] Jesse Ayala: Amazing. What has been your favorite thing that Katie specifically has brought to Marlise?

[43:10] Justino Tesoro: Katie leans in.

[43:13] Jesse Ayala: Katie actually actively leaned out and was like, don't praise me.

[43:17] Justino Tesoro: It just like bobbed out of the screen.

[43:19] Jesse Ayala: Giving her hair.

[43:21] Justino Tesoro: Yes. I mean, I think for me, oh my God, Katie, I feel like we should be holding hands right now through the camera. But I think just the sincerity of willing to just go there. Some script writers, I'm sure like, that's not in the script. Why is she saying that? And I'm like, oh my God, that should be in the script. Oh my God. Like, I think you just, you really embody and build and it just enhances so much. And the profanities and the one-liners, like even when other people are singing, it's like, you gotta have that line. Because at the end of the day, this character is a star and any sort of light going anywhere else is like a threat to her is kind of how it is. And I think you're doing an incredible job at that.

[44:06] Jesse Ayala: Oh yeah. Also, let it be known, no one drops an F dot like Katie. Also, when you're an actor playing an actor, that actor has the ability to slip into other roles. And so you have to be versatile. You have to be able to slip into another role, to put on a disguise, to be in the back of the scene of a movie. Like, Let My People Go, for example.

[44:24] Justino Tesoro: I think you mean, Let My People Sing.

[44:30] Jesse Ayala: The unhingedness of Marlise, because you have such a sincere, I Want song from Arnold and Butler Bot. Because they're kind of like the sincere, I Want song, you actually earn the ability to have the more unhinged one, I think shortly after. So for me, it totally works.

[44:46] Justino Tesoro: Yeah. Something I really love about this particular script and show, like dramaturgical hat on, this is not a biased opinion. I think that every character who gets introduced gets introduced through a song and every single song is so different and so perfectly encapsulates them in style, in humor. Like, Ash Marhai's song is so different than Jean-Pierre Pierre's song, which is so different than Butler Bot and Arnold's song, which is so different from Marlise's song. And it's great because we're introduced to these characters pretty rapid fire, really. It's like, the beginning is just, we're learning every single person who is like a suspect or like involved in the case. And as it goes through, there's just this like delicious sort of texture, I think, in what you have written in the sense that it's like, you up the ante every time, but every single person gets a star moment, one at a time.

And it really is a gift for like a cast where it's, Marlise is the titular character, right? Marlise is the star, but it's an ensemble. It's a fleshed out show. Marlise is the star, but you've made a constellation of stars. As in everybody is equally important in making this beautiful thing in the sky. You know what I mean? Every single person makes up the bigger picture in an equally important way. Everyone go see it. Buy some tickets.

[46:11] Jesse Ayala: Oh my gosh, yeah. Another word that comes to my mind is madcap. It's like a madcap musical comedy where it's like there's a certain pacing to the introduction of the characters and they get zanier and zanier and zanier and the situations get more and more and more out of control. That arc feels really properly structured. It's very satisfying.

[46:28] Justino Tesoro: Thank you.

[46:35] Teresa Attridge: Thanks for joining us on New York Theater Barn's Backstage Pass hosted by Teresa Attridge and Pauls Macs. Join us next time as we continue our conversation about Marlise the musical.