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[0:00] ♪ Musical number: "Who Gets the Win" — performed by the Concept EP Cast of Winner The Musical ♪

[1:55] Teresa Attridge: Welcome back to part two of our conversation celebrating the release of the Winner Concept EP by Theater Barn Records. Before we jump back into the conversation, we're going to do something a little different. We had Diana Huey, who appears as a performer on the Winner Concept EP, drop by the studio. Diana is a Seattle legend, talented performer, champion of new musicals, and the reason Joe and Nico met. She couldn't join us on a recording day, but we wanted to make sure we got her perspective on recording the Winner Concept EP and what makes the show unique. Diana, thank you so much for recording with us today. Can you talk a bit about the process of recording the Winner Concept EP and also what the show means to you?

[2:32] Diana Huey: I had so much fun recording the Winner Concept EP. Something that was really cool for me is I am a millennial. So the things that the show kind of drops in and talks about, there were a lot of fun little nostalgic winks at, you know, the 2000s. And that was really fun. But something that I found really interesting in particular is recording this with actual high school students. There were a few kids that we had that were coming in to join us to help give that authentic young person's vibe and voice and sound. So that was really cool to kind of see them experience something like this for the first time. And to, you know, just remember what it was like to be 18, which was maybe a long time ago for me. But that's okay. You know, we get older, we get wiser, and we can still pretend to be in high school when you do it in a musical.

[3:25] Teresa Attridge: Thank you for singing part of that answer. I'm a millennial as well. So I'm definitely feeling the millennial love and millennial vibes. And I know you've been working with Nico for a while. So I'd love for you to talk about how you met and also why this piece is particularly important in terms of her body of work.

[3:42] Diana Huey: I worked with Nico. I met her working on her show, Millennials Are Killing Musicals. Again, millennial shout out. Maybe this is why we get along so well. Nico Juber is the bop queen. All of her music is such a bop. Always, always, always. And her teamed up with Joe is just chef's kiss. They have created something that's really funny and really heartfelt and also really important. And I'm just so excited for the thought of students all around the world getting to do a show like this. I wish I had a show like this to do when I was a student, when I was in high school or in college. It's just there's so much great stuff in there and so much heart. And it's a really great way of humanizing all people and bringing them to the stage and bringing them as the leading characters and the leading voices.

And it's so important because representation really matters. So I'm just so honored, honored to be a part of this. And it's yeah, it's a really exciting piece. And I'm excited for all of the students to get to see it. And then for all of their family and friends that come to see the show in the audience. You know, they're going to sort of get this look at maybe a community of people that they otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to. So it's really cool. It's a really great way to showcase a spotlight for all people and for them to feel seen and represented and heard.

[5:12] Teresa Attridge: I totally agree. And Diana, this is Backstage Pass after all. So if you could share a behind-the-scenes story of the recording process. We're a very lighthearted podcast. Maybe it'll be kind of funny. Anything you want to share about the process so we can learn what it's really like to record an album like this from the actor's perspective?

[5:32] Diana Huey: When we were recording the EP in the studio, we had to be separated in different areas of the room or in different isolated booths. And I ended up in a far side booth where I couldn't see our music director. So I had to sort of just really lock in with what I was hearing in the headphones and just really go for it. There were a couple of moments of me sort of pulling the microphone as far as I could into the corner so I could peek out of the window of my door so that I could see some important cutoffs that we needed to all be very specifically together on. But it was sort of like flying blind in my own little box, in my own little corner, in my own little chair on the side of the studio. But it was a really fun challenge.

[6:22] Teresa Attridge: In your own little corner, in your own little world. All right, well, thank you, Diana, for joining us and thank you for being a champion of new musicals. It's been a pleasure to have you with us. And now we return to our conversation about the Winner Concept EP with Nico Juber, Joe Barros, Jade McLeod, and Gabby Boera.

[6:40] Pauls Macs: We sort of touched on the idea that the day resets, right? We didn't talk about that it's sort of in this sci-fi way that's fun and silly. And we learn as we go throughout the show that this DJ mic on the mic has something to do with that we find out about more later. But there's a lot for the sci-fi fans of The X-Files and The Matrix of that era, a lot of Easter eggs and stuff in there relevant for the sci-fi nerds. Essentially, the show is a three-act musical, but it takes place without an intermission and it really is a one act. But we see it in three pieces because the day resets three times. The first time Autumn loses the election. Second time she wins the election. And the third time we don't find out because it doesn't matter because she basically she surrenders to her truth.

Amazing. Everything sort of mobilizes from there. Obviously, bisexuality is a huge piece of this. Everyone in the show, every character does something right and something wrong. And so, again, this idea of no one is 100 percent right. No one's 100 percent wrong. Autumn breaks into the school system to learn about the election results, which is hacking, which is wrong. But she was right that she was winning. And so there's all those layers that you can exist in these spaces in between, whether that's sexuality, right and wrong, feeding into this idea of the ending where it doesn't actually matter. We don't need to know who wins the election. We talk a lot about gray areas and intersections, like Nico was saying. And one of our favorite jokes is it's not Mulder or Scully. It's Mulder and Scully. And for all of the babies out there, that's an X-Files reference.

[8:20] Pauls Macs: And I was going to ask Gabby, do you understand that reference?

[8:25] Gabby Boera: Yeah, totally. I know exactly what you're talking about.

[8:27] Pauls Macs: I'm going to do it again. Speaking of humor and the layers of the show, I'm going to play one of my favorite hilarious songs from the show. Can you please set up "Let's Start Again"?

[8:34] Nico Juber: I definitely want people to hear that song. I think when this is staged, one of the funniest songs that has ever been a part of my body of work. I think it's so funny and you just kind of have to hear it and imagine what is happening in it. But essentially, Autumn, our lead character, is now on the path. She's figured out what's happened with the election and that it's rigged and needs to get some people on her side to go to the school administration. We know that her ex, Jesse, who graduated last spring, is back on campus now. They hooked up in the past and he still wants to get back together. She feels a little conflicted about this because she did like him. They have this moment. I don't know if it's good for me to say anything else. Yeah, I think the song can speak for itself. So and who is performing this song?

[9:24] Nico Juber: This is Alex Wyse and also in the scene with Alex is Jade McLeod. And technically, Taylor Iman Jones would be in the scene because Stevie shows up, but she didn't record anything. So she's really not there. We can pretend she's there.

[9:36] Pauls Macs: All right. Here is "Let's Start Again" performed by Alex Wyse and Jade McLeod. And we'll pretend Taylor Iman Jones is in the scene.

[11:35] ♪ Musical number: "Let's Start Again" — performed by Alex Wyse and Jade McLeod ♪

[12:43] Pauls Macs: This song is so funny. I would say that this is some signature Nico Juber.

[12:45] Joe Barros: It's totally faux boy band sort of song.

[12:48] Jade McLeod: It's not faux boy band. It's full on boy band.

[12:50] Nico Juber: I think what Nico does is she plays with pop pastiche really, really well and lyrics. But still, this is very much a story driven moment in the show, which I love. It allows the audience to decide if they like this character, Jesse, or not. And I think the song plays into the struggle because it's so seductive and fun and silly. But he's also sort of tone deaf to what her truth is and what she really wants in the show.

[13:15] Pauls Macs: Taylor Iman Jones was on the Café Con Leche recording for Theater Barn Records. And it's just a champ. Absolutely a fan. The song is so funny, but also some of the things that the character says are so brutal. Some of those messages, you know, it's just a phase. As someone who grew up roughly in that era, I remember how prevalent those attitudes were, even at that time. I love the way it blends it. This is language that we heard all the time. Or like, bye now, gay later. And this is why for so long I was like, oh, well, I guess I'm gay then because I'm not allowed to be this other thing. Or I'm not allowed to even understand why I feel a certain way, even though this feels totally natural to me.

[13:50] Jade McLeod: No, big agree. I feel like it's also I went to an all girls Catholic high school. Being bisexual was at my school at that time.

[13:59] Joe Barros: Right. Which was only a couple of years after this was. It was basically code for you're just a whore. It was like not a sexuality as much as it was a marker that you were just a slut. They're like, oh, did you hear about Hershey's? Bye. Like it was like just shorthand for whore because I got called by aka whore as someone who wasn't dating anyone. But like they clocked my teeth. So I don't really know what to say. They got me just not in the way they expected.

[14:24] Pauls Macs: And I'm sorry, Teresa, that you had that experience. But I feel like that's the story of it. Right. And you're not shying away from it either, you know. And it is supposed to be biting. And I guess if I take a step back, it is, I think, probably because it's been so internalized for so long that this is what people would say. But I also think that this character is pretty clueless.

[14:46] Jade McLeod: I mean, even in the show, you know, there's lines like, oh, he's not that smart. He's just he's just not that smart. You feel for him a little bit that Autumn, you know, isn't interested and he's not reading the room just around what's going on and really was the prevalent attitude at the time. It's not great and it's not good now. But that was the norm back then. That nuance that's in there. It's like, oh, well, that's what so many people thought at the time.

[15:10] Joe Barros: But he ends up becoming a huge catalyst for change and a major shift in the first day when he is the person who helps Autumn expose the truth, which is, you know, a huge shift. But again, it's still part of his motivation. He still wants her.

[15:25] Pauls Macs: Yeah. Well, the thing you said earlier, everyone in the show does good things. Everyone in the show does bad things. That's part of what's interesting about the show. Their song is perhaps my favorite. I mean, like you said, it has that dichotomy of like, oh, wait, can we swear?

[15:39] Jade McLeod: Yeah.

[15:40] Pauls Macs: I'm assuming. Okay. This is a podcast. You're like, oh, this guy's like real fucked up. But that's high school, man. Like, it's so funny and brilliant. And I think the writing is brilliant. And the way Alex executes it is brilliant. And it just made me giggle all the way.

[16:01] Joe Barros: Some of the stuff that changed in the past year. One big thing we did at Goodspeed is we have this character, Girl in a Hoodie. Really, she was there as this sort of phantom. She was doing bad things. She seemed like a bad person. But we actually made her a real fleshed out character and a true villain to the story, but kind of true to the rest of the show, is doing what she thinks is right and all the wrong ways. So she's basically bribing everybody because she needs enough money to pay for her, Autumn, and Stevie to go to conversion therapy. So she thinks she's doing something really good by kind of extorting money from all these people, but for all of the wrong reasons.

[16:39] Jade McLeod: And we felt like when we took a step back and looked at the show, we had all of these experiences of queerness. We had Stevie, who's really comfortable in her queerness. We have Autumn, who's sort of on the edge. And even Corey, who's the closeted best friend. But we didn't have the self-loathing experience. And so we felt like having somebody who was at a different, who could actually be a true antagonist that you end up feeling really bad for and kind of has her own arc in the story and comes around. But really, I think, has a really cool new song now that we wrote together at Goodspeed and I think added a whole new layer of depth to the show.

[17:18] Joe Barros: We're hearing now from the students that are doing it are super excited about her. Yeah, it's really become one of our favorite songs. It's called The Aftershocks, and it's not on the album. So I guess we're going to have to record a single or something.

[17:29] Gabby Boera: Oh, no.

[17:31] Joe Barros: Oh, no, not another single.

[17:32] Pauls Macs: Would you be doing it through Theatre Barn Records?

[17:35] Joe Barros: We probably would do it through Theatre Barn Records. And you know what? I think I'm going to tell you a little bit more about Theatre Barn Records. How about that? You know, Pals mentioned earlier that Taylor Iman Jones has been on other Theatre Barn Records projects. It's just been a really incredible journey. New York Theatre Barn created Theatre Barn Records three years ago. It is the vision of Theatre Barn Records president Hector Flores Jr. And we like to say that Theatre Barn Records is the theatre community's global destination for streaming original musicals in development.

[18:02] Gabby Boera: We're basically dedicated to releasing EPs and concept albums of original musicals in development. And Theatre Barn Records creates a global audience for an eclectic blend of stories by a diverse community of writers long before the show is even produced. And we believe that this is the future of musical theatre development. And some of our recent releases include the musicals Xena Warrior Musical, Sueños, our American musical, Ghosts in the Machine, and Café con Leche. And those pieces are really fantastic. We were lucky enough to have Café con Leche, Ghosts in the Machine, and Xena Warrior Musical on the show. Those were also big podcast parties. And also, I have so much respect for Hector and the work that he's doing. Like the vision he's creating for Theatre Barn Records with you, Joe, brings the music to a worldwide audience in such an exciting way. These songs, as I heard them today, these have never sounded better. These are so good.

[18:51] Pauls Macs: I mean, should we play them one more just to like round it out?

[18:54] Joe Barros: I think we should.

[18:55] Pauls Macs: All right. We're going to play Wildfire. Joe, Nico, can you set it up for us?

[18:59] Nico Juber: We sort of had set it up before. We're about to go live on Jesse's TV show, What Happened with the Election. And I think we can kind of let this song speak for itself because we have a lot of action that happens in it. But I do want to say that this is primarily melodically, lyrically. This is a Joe bop. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your Joe bop.

[19:20] Gabby Boera: I love that there's Joe bops and Nico bops. I didn't know that until this podcast. That actually makes so much sense to me.

[19:26] Joe Barros: We'll talk about that on the other side. There's a lot of people performing this song, I believe. Is that correct?

[19:31] Jade McLeod: Yeah, the entire cast is performing. It's primarily Jade McLeod, Alex Wise, but we hear from everybody because we hear from a lot of characters.

[19:39] Pauls Macs: A lot of plot unfolds in the song. Here is Wildfire performed by Jade McLeod, Alex Wise, and the rest of the cast of Winner the Musical's concept EP.

[20:12] ♪ Musical number ♪

[23:11] Nico Juber: That's why you didn't want to be with me. It's all over. I'm out of here. Now it's on the air. It's the evening news. Right down to the wire. Spreading like wildfire. Spreading and spreading like wildfire. Spreading and spreading like wildfire. Spreading, spreading, wildfire. Oh, right now I gotta go back to the gym. Totally. Gotta go back to the gym, gotta get on the treadmill, gotta pump. It's gonna be crazy. This is the epic musical sequence that you would expect as you're listening to the show. These great solo bops, these duets, you know, it's building, building, building. And I just knew there was gonna be, I guess I'll call it a Joe bop in the show. There's so much going on. It tells such a clear story.

It's basically the end of Act One of three mini acts that make one act. So we just we love the way it ends. And what's exciting is that the day resets right after that. Mmm, my gosh. We've talked in this podcast before about when you get to the end of an act and it doesn't end well. Thinking that's not how you end Act One. This show does not have that problem. And you get to. Yeah. You get to end of the act. What I like about it as well is that it feels complete. It feels like Winner Junior Junior could be just that act. It's very complete, but there is no ultimate conclusion except for it. Things start to fall apart because the truth comes out. I think musically through the show and there's a song on the EP, Let You Go, that I think really well represents the sound of day two.

There's a lot of optimism in day one. And then even though we get to day two and Autumn actually wins on day two, but it's sort of the underbelly of the whole thing. You get sort of different perspectives. And even though that's the outcome that you wanted, it doesn't feel as sort of exciting, as optimistic as day one does. This is also why the opening was called The First Day, because the first song starts the first day. That's writing, baby.

[25:27] Nico Juber: One thing I want to say about our writing process is that this has been such a collaborative, organic process. Some songs, Joe kind of spit out an idea, screamed a voice note in the middle of the night and sent to me. And then I scream one back. There have been a lot of those. Some of them I sit down. That chorus doesn't work like on I Am The Prize and then rewrites a new chorus. So there's been a lot of back and forth. Some of them we wrote really, you know, the one at Goodspeed we wrote together. Let You Go, I would say, is like a real back and forth, back and forth, iterative process. And that's really how the whole thing has been. So there's definitely moments that are more the Joe bop or the Nico bop. But I would say as a whole, it's very 50-50 collaborative on all aspects, book, lyrics and music. And we red pen each other all the time with no ego, which is also really nice and so lovely to have a partnership like that where there's not ego involved.

[26:25] Joe Barros: Love it. Totally. And I just want to also add that she'll write something and I'm like, that's it. I can't. I shouldn't touch that. There's a bunch of those, but I really want to acknowledge who gets the win. And let's start again. I mean, I heard those and I was like, yep, those are solid. I could never have done that from the beginning. They really have Nico's signature in there. They're really the heart of the show, too. Amazing. And then so last but not least, Joe, for so many of our Barnacles, people who love the podcast, a lot of them like to ask themselves, you know, how would I get involved? They dream of having a record of their own. How does Theater Barn go about choosing musicals for that? Or, you know, how would somebody be able to try to see if they could get one of these coveted albums made? How does that all come about?

[27:06] Joe Barros: That's a great question. So much of what New York Theater Barn does is about community. So much of what we present is created through community and also through relationships. We absolutely do have an open submission process that we're now running three months a year. It's open right now. It runs through the summer into the fall. That's on our website at nytheaterbarn.org, where you can submit your musical, some demos. And there's a bunch of questions that we want to ask so we can sort of start the conversation with you. But then also attending some of our other programs, our new work series, our choreography lab, getting to know our writers through Backstage Pass. Also Barn on Fire, our residency on Fire Island now in its fourth year with the Fire Island Pines Arts Project.

Also, yeah, getting to know our shows through Theater Barn Records as well. When artists apply online, they can choose which of our programs they are the most interested in. And we also ask why and what you know about our work and why you think it might be a great fit.

[28:41] Nico Juber: I love that. I mean, Barn on Fire is what originally brought us together. There would be no me and Pauls on Backstage Pass if it was not Teresa and Joe Barros on Fire Island. You never know where you're going to go.

[28:51] Joe Barros: That's right. And you seem the perfect fit to work with Pauls. And it was amazing to have you on Fire Island working on Little Miss Perfect, which is now going to have its world premiere at Olney Theater Center in February, which is amazing.

[28:59] Nico Juber: Oh, we're hyped. We're so hyped, y'all. Y'all ain't ready for that. Well, I would just add that as the Artistic Associate, the conversations we have about choosing these pieces are very, very thoughtful. And we really do our best to evaluate them all and be in conversation about them all. So I'd encourage anybody who's interested, please submit.

[29:41] Teresa Attridge: So, yeah, after hearing about the process of y'all picking your own shows for this, I think that goes into our little game we're about to play, everybody. It'll make sense in a moment. The game this week, my friends, we're calling it On The Ballad. Get it? Like ballot? Because we're voting for a winner? Anyway, the game this week is going to be picture yourself back in your high school gymnasium and or computer lab. You are voting for who is going to be class president of your senior class. But what is this? A glitch in the matrix? Something in the system? You get to write in one musical theater character that will win the election for your high school class president. Who are you choosing? And why is it Elle Woods?

[29:59] Nico Juber: Give it up, Elle Woods, because I'm choosing Elle Woods. Had to do it. There's no one else I would want in any position of power for the rest of my life. How about y'all?

[30:06] Jade McLeod: I'll jump in. I think the problem we might have is that Elle Woods might be the answer for everyone. She's the answer to everything. I was inspired by one of the songs I was listening to today. And the person running on the electoral platform of Pizza Wednesday, you know, I always go to the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Kids. There's usually one in there that's going to fit the answer. Today, I was thinking Olive Ostrovsky. I just think Olive would work really hard and fight for the important issues like Pizza Wednesday, maybe Cupcake Friday. I would like to see that.

[30:54] Gabby Boera: She put a dictionary in every toilet stall.

[30:56] Jade McLeod: Every room, every toilet stall. I was going to say every room, but you're right. Olive Ostrovsky would make sure that every toilet stall had its own dictionary. That's what the kids want at school.

[31:04] Nico Juber: But because I can't choose Elle or we're all going to choose Elle, probably I'm going to go with Olive.

[31:09] Pauls Macs: Okay, babe, we're doing rank choice voting. It's rank choice voting on the pod today.

[31:13] Nico Juber: Hey, it worked really well in New York.

[31:15] Jade McLeod: It sure did. My first instinct was Elle also. I think that that is a really reasonable choice. But then I quickly shifted to Fiyero because I feel like we need a bicon, like canonically a bicon now as of the move. I mean, was always, but Fiyero is for everyone. We just need more bicons in positions of power. And we know we'd have a great senior year. It'd be super fun.

[31:42] Gabby Boera: Fiyero is for everyone should be a t-shirt.

[31:44] Jade McLeod: I would wear that.

[31:46] Nico Juber: I would wear a Fiyero is for everyone election t-shirt. Can we make that? Honestly, I'm getting Joe Barros on the phone. Can Theater Barn make... I'm just kidding. All right, Gabby, what about you? You were like, you were excited.

[31:58] Gabby Boera: Well, yes, I was literally thinking going off of Fiyero and speaking of bicon. I fear we have to add Glinda to the list. I think the world would just be a brighter place with her in charge. Goodness knows.

[32:07] Jade McLeod: Goodness knows.

[32:09] Gabby Boera: I think so. A very much pinker, pinker... Yes, sparkles. I mean, we can't go wrong with that. But my first guttural instinct, and I really don't know why, and I'm probably going to be called out for this. But Ogi from Waitress just came to me in a vision. And I just saw something.

[32:27] Nico Juber: I see it.

[32:28] Gabby Boera: I will say what I appreciate about your choices is I feel that you have represented the opposite ends of the political spectrum. Because Glinda is popular. You know she's going to win. Or does she? Because I think that Ogi would get the outcast vote.

[32:39] Jade McLeod: All the band kids would vote for Ogi.

[32:41] Gabby Boera: He's an underdog.

[32:43] Nico Juber: Yeah, all the choir kids, all the theater kids would be voting for Ogi. The chess club is voting for Ogi.

[32:49] Gabby Boera: Exactly. He's a knowledgeable team captain. Yearbook is voting for Ogi.

[32:52] Nico Juber: So everybody thinks Glinda is going to win, but then Ogi comes back for the upset? Or, I don't know. I want to know the answer to this election.

[32:58] Gabby Boera: I don't know, man. I think he's the people's prince.

[33:01] Nico Juber: I think so. I think Ogi would also, like, if someone were like, we're having pizza Wednesdays, he's like, we're having Ogi's pierogi Mondays. Like, he'd do something crazy. It just is perfect. And I would vote for that.

[33:11] Joe Barros: Okay, and Joe, round us out. Who are you putting on the ballot? We gotta know.

[33:14] Joe Barros: All right. First of all, Elle Woods is not my write-in because she's in too mainstream of a musical for me. Oh, my God. Come for her. She's in a musical based on a movie. But, yes, it is a very, very good musical. I will say that. I had two initial ideas. One was Ti Moune because she's my favorite musical theater character. And then I thought Maureen Imran because she's a bicon. But I have to go with Doria Hudson from Smile who sings Disneyland.

[33:41] Nico Juber: Oh, Joe.

[33:42] Gabby Boera: Joe is the campaign manager on that campaign.

[33:45] Joe Barros: Joe is the kid in the hallway carrying a clipboard, like, taking down people's opinions and then reporting them back. But it's Nico who came up with Autumn for the Aughts. I mean, Autumn for the Aughts rules. Also, I can confirm that was our first Smile answer. I don't think anybody's used that on the podcast so far. So, way to pull that out, Joe. Weirdly, I don't know if has anyone brought up. No one's brought up Ogie, but I think we brought up Waitress once. But Ogie, that was an Ogie original. That was incredible. Absolutely.

[34:10] Teresa Attridge: Well, my friends, we like to say on the podcast, old friends and new friends. It's been so great talking with you, Nico. It's great talking to you, Joe. It's been so great meeting you, Gabby. And you, Jade. Jade, thank you for being here. We're so grateful for your presence and for being part of this experience, being part of this album. Go stream this now. Go stream it now. Diana was not able to join us due to some technical issues, but Diana brought Nico and Joe together. So, without Diana, this podcast would not occur. So, thank you, Diana. I mean, if anything, Diana's the real winner. And on that note, thank you, Barnacles, for being here. It's been such a pleasure. We'll see you next time.

Bye, Barnacles. Submit, submit, submit for Theater Barn. Thanks for joining us on New York Theater Barn's Backstage Pass, hosted by Teresa Attridge and Pauls Macs. And if you believe in supporting original culture-shifting musicals, please like, subscribe, and share. Thank you.