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[0:01] Ana Gasteyer: Hi, it's me, Ana Gasteyer, and you're listening to Behind the Awards.

[0:14] Eila Mell: Hello, and welcome to Behind the Awards. I'm Eila, here with Bruce. Hello there.

[0:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Hello there. We are coming in hot to the Tony Awards season.

[0:26] Eila Mell: The announcement is tomorrow.

[0:28] Bruce Gotlieb: I can almost taste it, you know? That's right. It's so close.

[0:32] Eila Mell: So, Uzo Aduba and Darren Criss are going to be announcing the Tony nominees.

[0:37] Bruce Gotlieb: Excellent. Our guest, Uzo. Our guest, yes.

[0:40] Eila Mell: So, after you're done listening to her announce the nominees, you can grab her book from your nightstand and give it a read.

[0:46] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. The Road is Good. That's Uzo's book, and it's pretty great.

[0:52] Eila Mell: So, we are going to be diving right into the nominees once they come out.

[0:59] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, every week we have our special Tony Award episodes.

[1:02] Eila Mell: Yes, so that afternoon, Tuesday, we will be sequestered from one another.

[1:08] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right.

[1:09] Eila Mell: There'll be no conversations because we have to make our picks.

[1:12] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, that's going to be hard to not.

[1:14] Eila Mell: Who we think should and who we want.

[1:17] Bruce Gotlieb: And who got snubbed.

[1:18] Eila Mell: And who got snubbed.

[1:19] Bruce Gotlieb: And we will be bringing you five Tony specials like we did last year.

[1:26] Eila Mell: Will those be on Fridays, Bruce?

[1:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Those will be on Fridays, and each episode will have a handful, five or so categories.

[1:34] Eila Mell: And we will go through them painstakingly to see what we think.

[1:39] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. You know, we do it every year, and we get a lot of great feedback from it.

[1:45] Eila Mell: So, we hope you'll join us again this year.

[1:47] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, once the nominations come out, DM us your thoughts, snubs, who you're looking, who you're pulling for.

[1:53] Eila Mell: Make sure that you chime in because we would love to share some of your interests, your rooting interests on our episodes.

[2:02] Bruce Gotlieb: And we can't wait to get into it.

[2:04] Eila Mell: But now, let's get to our guest because we have a very exciting guest today, Ana Gasteyer.

[2:10] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, star of stage, screen, and life.

[2:16] Eila Mell: We are so excited to welcome Ana Gasteyer to Behind the Awards.

[2:21] Ana Gasteyer: Hello there.

[2:22] Eila Mell: Hi.

[2:23] Ana Gasteyer: Thanks for having me.

[2:24] Eila Mell: Good morning.

[2:25] Ana Gasteyer: Good morning.

[2:26] Eila Mell: We are thrilled to have you with us.

[2:27] Ana Gasteyer: I'm thrilled to be here.

[2:28] Ana Gasteyer: I'm backstage with Kelly and Mark, which is why I'm in full glam.

[2:32] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, well, you do look great.

[2:34] Eila Mell: For those of our audience watching, they get a treat.

[2:38] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, I was going to say, this is not my normal morning face.

[2:41] Bruce Gotlieb: If only.

[2:43] Ana Gasteyer: If only.

[2:44] Ana Gasteyer: So, Bruce, I have to tell you, has seen Schmigadoon more than many people.

[2:48] Bruce Gotlieb: Really?

[2:49] Ana Gasteyer: I have.

[2:50] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[2:51] Ana Gasteyer: It's just the best infusion of joy and laughter that you could possibly want in your life.

[2:56] Bruce Gotlieb: So many people have come to the show.

[2:58] Ana Gasteyer: And, I mean, even last night, you know, Adam Cantor was there.

[3:02] Ana Gasteyer: I mean, just different brand of people every day are like, I did not know how hard I was going to be laughing.

[3:07] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[3:08] Ana Gasteyer: And I think that's kind of a nice surprise for people.

[3:10] Ana Gasteyer: I think, you know, in a world of production where so many TV shows and film re-adaptations and re-imaginations, you know, Schmigadoon was conceived of initially for the stage and then sold for the television show and now is kind of back home where it belongs.

[3:27] Ana Gasteyer: But in this really cool, you know, Cinco's talked about this quite a bit in the press, but it is genuine, I think, the development process by the sort of number of months involved in refining a TV show and editing a show and all of those sort of fine-tuning moments.

[3:43] Ana Gasteyer: I think he really understood the brief and he knows the material incredibly well and how to adapt it.

[3:50] Ana Gasteyer: And then I think Washington showed them what they needed to know very, very quickly as an out-of-town tryout.

[3:55] Ana Gasteyer: So in terms of like a Broadway move, it kind of showed up very evolved the first day of rehearsal.

[4:01] Ana Gasteyer: You know, there were changes here and there, little cuts, of course.

[4:05] Ana Gasteyer: But as far as like your traditional previews process, it was honestly very painless.

[4:10] Ana Gasteyer: Jokes got sharper. Some story points got sharper.

[4:13] Ana Gasteyer: But significantly, I think Josh and Melissa, Alex Brightman and Sarah Chase's roles, I think kind of tracking their emotional arc is cleaner.

[4:22] Ana Gasteyer: But the world of Schmigadoon is so solid, like in terms of where we live as a community.

[4:28] Ana Gasteyer: It is just everything. Like you said, it's like everything you want for a stage production.

[4:33] Ana Gasteyer: It's got big dance numbers. It's got the jokes.

[4:35] Ana Gasteyer: You know, you feel like you know the songs even though you never heard them before.

[4:39] Ana Gasteyer: Right, because they're rooted in Golden Era sounds, so many of them, or at least musical theater kind of like tropes and earwigs.

[4:45] Ana Gasteyer: They're not like straight-up parodies, though.

[4:48] Ana Gasteyer: I feel like they're so effective in terms of the actual storytelling and the plot of Schmigadoon itself.

[4:53] Ana Gasteyer: Like Tribulation, my song, is a huge plot point.

[4:57] Ana Gasteyer: It's really about creating, you know, conflict and tension inside the town and villainizing them.

[5:03] Ana Gasteyer: It's not just making fun of trouble for the sake of making fun of trouble.

[5:07] Ana Gasteyer: It is using the form exactly how it's used in The Music Man, which is like, you know, casting a spell, if you will, over the town.

[5:15] Ana Gasteyer: And that's what Mildred Layton, the bad guy, is doing with that song, is really using the song to get everybody allied against the outsiders, you know, which is really fun.

[5:24] Ana Gasteyer: So it's always more fun to sing a song that has drive and intention to it, because you're not just sort of singing for singing's sake, you know?

[5:31] Ana Gasteyer: You know, it's a parallel, sort of, to Trouble, and all the songs are parallels to, you know, what they are, I guess, parodying.

[5:40] Bruce Gotlieb: So did you take anything from Robert Preston and Music Man for that song?

[5:45] Ana Gasteyer: Not actually. Yeah, the song, I mean, it's really well written that way.

[5:49] Ana Gasteyer: And actually, that, of course, is like the challenge, because Mildred Layton is also sort of living in her own Ulele McKechnie-Shen, Margaret Hamilton, you know, Mr. Potter.

[5:59] Ana Gasteyer: Like, if there's a lot of just sort of true kind of standard villainous intent to what she's doing, the minister's wife, I mean, I feel like we've seen this in a lot of movies, and so it's easy to draw from all those things.

[6:10] Ana Gasteyer: But then the Robert Preston is so, he's so charming.

[6:14] Ana Gasteyer: That performance is so bewitching.

[6:16] Ana Gasteyer: Finding the way in between the two of them, the kind of, like, Bible beating that we do throughout the show, and hypocrisy along with the language, it definitely informed it.

[6:27] Ana Gasteyer: Just the scan, too, and the need to drive the rhythm.

[6:31] Ana Gasteyer: It's such a fantastically rhythmic score.

[6:34] Ana Gasteyer: You know, the Meredith Wilson, I think Sinko's done a really good job of doing that.

[6:38] Ana Gasteyer: You know, just as a performer, figuring out when to breathe, where the arch comes, how big the belt is, how big the gospel gets.

[6:47] Ana Gasteyer: You know, that's what's really fun about it, because it really is kind of a gospel number at the same time, too.

[6:52] Ana Gasteyer: It's like roof raising, which, thank God, I'm a beltress.

[6:55] Ana Gasteyer: So that's fun for me, because I can kind of use both skills in one song.

[6:58] Ana Gasteyer: But it's not without its, it's challenging.

[7:01] Ana Gasteyer: I would say it's as hard to do as, like, you know, a song from Wicked, just in a completely different way.

[7:07] Bruce Gotlieb: The breathing is really, really hard.

[7:09] Ana Gasteyer: Yes.

[7:10] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, I'm sure. And you're corseted, you know.

[7:12] Ana Gasteyer: And I'm corseted.

[7:13] Bruce Gotlieb: To injure your life.

[7:14] Ana Gasteyer: It's so funny, he's like, it's that thing where, like, when you used to watch your parents smoke, and you're like, when are they going to exhale?

[7:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[7:20] Ana Gasteyer: Like, that little bit.

[7:21] Bruce Gotlieb: But, yeah.

[7:22] Ana Gasteyer: But navigating that has been really, really fun.

[7:24] Ana Gasteyer: I also love it because my, you know, last year I did Mattress, also played a screaming villain, and also had a very wordy monologue, but not set to music.

[7:33] Ana Gasteyer: But this time, I get to do it amongst the ensemble, and our ensemble, I mean, you know, the dancing, the choreography is just, it's so explosively uplifting, and the sense of community is so strong, and the sense of sort of joyful.

[7:50] Ana Gasteyer: Honestly, like, in this AI world, I hate to say this, it's just such a celebration of analog talent, frankly, the show.

[7:59] Ana Gasteyer: It just is.

[8:00] Ana Gasteyer: It's about, there's 14 real pieces in the orchestra.

[8:03] Ana Gasteyer: You know, as you mentioned, the ensemble is, you know, such an incredible series of triple threats on Broadway.

[8:10] Ana Gasteyer: I mean, they are, they have 100, they counted the first day, they have 113 Broadway credits amongst them.

[8:15] Ana Gasteyer: Like, when the Legacy Robe ceremony came, we were like, I don't even know who's going to get it, 10, 11, 12 shows under their belts.

[8:23] Ana Gasteyer: This is my sixth show, like, you know, and I'm one of the newbies.

[8:27] Ana Gasteyer: Like, you know, it's really, really cool to be a part of that.

[8:30] Ana Gasteyer: And the set, of course, is hand-painted.

[8:32] Ana Gasteyer: I know, if you haven't had time to, like, really look at that Scott Pask, some of his stuff, it's mind-blowing.

[8:39] Ana Gasteyer: And it's, so we were talking about it yesterday, Bruce and I, and how perfect it is, because it's, you know, it's both real and fantasy, which it means to be.

[8:48] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, yeah, the sort of gazebo and the way that he coordinated the lighting and the scenic are so well-coordinated in terms of the magic feelings of the different times of day and the backdrop.

[8:59] Ana Gasteyer: I mean, they really, I was kind of nerding out on all that stuff during tech.

[9:03] Ana Gasteyer: It just, one of those rare and beautiful projects that, like, everyone is, A, firing on all cylinders, but B, we're all in the same show.

[9:13] Ana Gasteyer: Every principal, every ensemble member, every musician, everyone's riding this, like, cool third rail.

[9:21] Ana Gasteyer: It's not 100% traditional, old-fashioned, wholesome.

[9:25] Ana Gasteyer: It's very edgy.

[9:27] Ana Gasteyer: A lot of the jokes are extremely edgy and, you know, just, like, people are like, oh, can I bring my kids?

[9:33] Ana Gasteyer: I'm like, you absolutely can, but they're the kind of jokes that will, like, fly over them that are pretty, like, racy, you know?

[9:38] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[9:39] Ana Gasteyer: There's a lot, there's just a lot there, and we're all really grateful.

[9:44] Ana Gasteyer: It's so fun to get to do a number amidst the ensemble.

[9:48] Ana Gasteyer: That is so, that's such a relief.

[9:50] Ana Gasteyer: It's such a, I'm an ensemble performer.

[9:52] Ana Gasteyer: I like being on stage with other people.

[9:54] Ana Gasteyer: I like, you know, playing catch, basically.

[9:56] Ana Gasteyer: So much of my training is improvisational, so a lot of my scenes are in big group numbers, so it's just very social, which I very much enjoy.

[10:04] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, it looks like just a lot of fun to do for so many reasons.

[10:08] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, exactly.

[10:09] Ana Gasteyer: Well, they say all these studies, there's all these psychological studies that say that people who sing every day together are happy, happier, like, psychically, and, I mean, it's so funny, if you think, like, the trope of musical theater people, like, being, like, real quirky and upbeat, but it is, it is true.

[10:24] Ana Gasteyer: It's like everyone's just kind of getting their HIIT workouts all day long, every day.

[10:27] Bruce Gotlieb: Right, yeah.

[10:28] Ana Gasteyer: Some of these guys are just, you know, these ensemble people are machines.

[10:31] Ana Gasteyer: They'll be like, I'm in a workshop all day, like, you know, whatever.

[10:35] Bruce Gotlieb: Right, I know.

[10:36] Ana Gasteyer: Come to the theater, you know, it's just bananas, so.

[10:39] Ana Gasteyer: If people weren't sure that your character's a villain by your dialogue or anything else.

[11:12] Ana Gasteyer: There is a lot of aggravation written into this character. Not that it's the same performance obviously. So when you're playing someone like that, what's your way in? Obviously, you're not like that in real life. But where do you, what part of you overlaps? It's a really fun process, because it's a little terrifying, because they're bossy characters. I think I'm actually such a people pleaser that it's sort of like, lets some of the air, it lets me exercise some demon that I'm not comfortable with in real life. You have to be commanding so early in the process. You have to be commanding in rehearsal before you feel command of the character itself, the material, whatever. It's like embarrassing.

It's like being a bull in a china shop, and you just sort of have to put on that, you have to try to channel those people that you've known that are authoritative in that way. So much of the action is driven by villains. You have to give people something to push up against. Sarah and Alex are so sort of likable and kind and real and authentic in the show that I think it's fun to have them confronted by the rules of Schmigadoon right out of the gate, the first scene. I have such responsibility to set up a lot of, I'm sorry, I'm being so nerdy, but I figure this is the place to do it.

[12:35] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh yeah, we like that.

[12:36] Ana Gasteyer: You know, Brad Oskar, I talked about it with Cinco early on. I was like, you know, because Tribulation kind of comes out of nowhere and Mildred's suddenly running for mayor. And I was like, I feel like we need to set up opposition with Brad Oskar's mayor very early. So actually, they wrote several lines during previews that really changed the dynamic in the opening in a great way. And it kind of let me, made it clear that Mildred saw herself as the de facto leader of the town, whether or not she thought this kind of wimpy mayor works and made it clear. It's incredible how economic his writing is, but basically by shaming Florence for staring into the sun right out of the gate, I'm able to sort of set up that Mildred is superior in her mind to both the mayor, the mayor's wife, and offers her authority in the town really early to Josh and Melissa.

And it just helps set up the rules of Schmigadoon, that you're not going to be able to share a room if you're not married. And there's a moral code here. And there are a lot of rules that people are going to hold on really tightly to. And obviously, there's like modern parallels to that. So it's just fun to lean into that person whose life is so messy and confusing. And there are so many sides to everything. It's such a relief to play somebody who's so clear on who they are and what their rules are. You know, that's also what makes the meltdown so fun at the end of the show, because those people have a lot farther to fall and a lot further to unravel than the rest of us who maybe admit that things aren't always black and white.

[14:04] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah. You mentioned your improv and obviously creating characters. My favorite thing as of late is September.

[14:13] Ana Gasteyer: Oh my gosh, thank you. The fact that you, I don't know who, I'm assuming it was your September Davis is a character, a Broadway diva, a major leading lady of Broadway, who's had some tough, tough breaks lately. And I love that you interviewed, she interviewed you for Schmigadoon. She auditioned, she was up for Schmigadoon. She lost the role to me and has not gone quietly into the night around that situation. She's now doing, she's redeemed, she has a lot of addiction struggles, so she went back to rehab for a while, but she's out of that and now she's doing Proof of New Musical up in Great Neck, Canada and hoping to move it in next year. But she did make it to opening night, which was nice. She was able to work the carpet.

She didn't stay for the show though, which is okay. It's probably different. It's painful. It's a competitive business and everyone's very different, but in her mind, she offered some really constructive ideas. She thought some nudity might help Schmigadoon. So, you know, I get it and I have great respect for her craft.

[15:25] Ana Gasteyer: It's just the, it's like a whole nother level of creativity that must live inside your brain. I love Broadway and I love Broadway culture and I love Broadway denizens, so September is a great way to cover some of the less savory aspects of our industry. So, you know, for fans of Broadway, Schmigadoon is kind of perfect because it's a very modern musical with modern sensibilities, but then you get to recognize so many shows that you grew up loving and it's so much fun to just pick out, oh, there's Oklahoma, there's Music Man.

[16:01] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, there are definitely Easter eggs for people who know the canon, your Carousel. I mean, we even have Godspell and some modern references towards the end. There's a tiny Sunday in the Park reference. There's references throughout the show, but I would say that I don't think that it's like a straight up parody. It's not like forbidden Broadway or something that's living inside an active parody. There's a tip of the hat to the classics, but what's been actually really exciting for me, obviously, it's got audience appeal for all those reasons, but I know people who are not familiar with the canon, who grew up more on Renton, you know, whatever, up to the outsiders, you know, that are loving it, so that they like the music, they like the world of it, they like the jokes, they like the characters. It's a very character driven, ridiculous comedy at the end of the day with, as we've said, unbelievable dancing. The dancing is just, again, every day I'm like, take that AI.

[17:02] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, really?

[17:03] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right.

[17:04] Ana Gasteyer: I know. Watch Josh Barrage do that flip in the opening.

[17:07] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh my gosh.

[17:08] Ana Gasteyer: Oh my God, yeah. They're just unreal. You know, they're tap dancers. Richard Yoder is like one of the top dancers on Broadway. I mean, it's really, really cool. And what Max Clayton's doing is just gorgeous.

[17:13] Bruce Gotlieb: I know, and Izzy McCalla, there's this back that she does, but you're like, I don't understand how you can do that and then sing that note. It's magical, really magical.

[17:23] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, it's a ridiculously talented cast. When you were getting started in your career, was Broadway always on your trajectory? Like one day, that's the goal?

[17:31] Ana Gasteyer: Yes, and my career actually probably followed all of the anxieties and neurosis accordingly. Because I started as a voice major at Northwestern University, and back in the day, we only had a classical music program. I did not want to be an opera singer, which I suppose I could have been. I was like, this is way too serious for me. And then I found improv comedy because I went to college in Chicago where improv was born and fell into that. Actually, Mary Zimmerman was a PhD student at Northwestern when I was there, so I did a bunch of Mary's shows and a show, Lookingglass and things like that. And then I moved to LA, did comedy, didn't even think I was going to be a singer, but I'd always harbored a secret love of musical theater, basically.

When I left SNL, I sort of doubled down. The chaos of SNL is sort of the polar opposite artistically from the discipline and rigor of A to Z. And they both have assets, but I was really ready for that sense of routine and perfectionism and that opportunity to try to refine and get better at something over a period of time in a community. I also just like the fourth wall. To be honest, I kind of like the anonymity of that side of the business. I think I like the hustle, and I like the hard work, and I like that feeling of just working hard at something with a bunch of people every day. That's just personality-wise. But I was a comedian. Bernie Telsey saw it. He had me come in for workshops and things when I was on SNL.

I sang for On the Town for George Wolfe, and I was in the early workshops of Hairspray. There were things that were around, but it was nothing like these kids now. The system is so trained. People show up. I was really intimidated. I was like, these people can sight sing. They can do all these things. I was kind of a trained singer, but that was about it. A lot of my characters sang, as you know, on SNL. Just because you use your toolbox when you write, and that's something that you're going to do. So that was when I really focused on moving forward. I was in the final rounds for Wicked, believe it or not, and I didn't see myself that way. I didn't think of myself as that kind of singer. In fact, I remember being in the final callback and being like, this song is so high.

I don't know how they're going to do this. Then after the show, I was just like, yeah, I think I've got to focus on this. So I started studying again. I put myself out there. I did as many benefits as I could. I just kind of worked my way through the community trying to find a home there. It took a long time. I think TV is such a powerful medium, and people really know you as one thing. I really confused them that I could sing, but it's certainly not a hilarious character. I mean, arguably, I brought comedy to it, but it's not a funny role, and nothing about it cross-sected. Then I did Passion at Chicago Shakes. I did a bunch of serious musicals. I have been avoiding playing parts like Mildred and Agravain a lot of my career, because out of the gate, that would be what I would have been offered.

The funny lady who does a patter song, and I wanted to prove that I could do more. Now it's sort of so nice, because I feel like I'm just more comfortable. I know that I'm a pinch hitter. I know that I can do both. If nobody else cares, then that's fine. I have a whole concert life, and I love it. I mean, I love a big vocal role. I love it, but I'm more and more aware that, I guess, comedy is so much harder than people think, and being able to make these little roles work off of whatever, a total of six-time drive-bys on stage, and landing those each time, it just takes a certain kind of craftsmanship.

[22:25] Ana Gasteyer: Before coming to Broadway, and I was like, wait, this is the same one. People get really, really confused. They do. And then I heard it and I was like, oh, and it was pre-social media. So back in the day, the second those things, you know, I was whatever the fourth alphabet, like now I look back at that and like it's crazy. I mean, if anything leaked out, if anybody recorded you, they would cease and desist that right away. They were like, no, you know, slime tutorials. There was nobody. Right. So it's still confusing to people, frankly. I think like they don't always know that I can really sing. So it's the best surprise to discover it. It's like Christmas morning. Depends who you're talking to.

But yes, you sang so much on SNL. I mean, I know I think it's a funny thing. I mean, frankly, that's always true with like anything. Right. With awards, with anything. If you're good at comedy, it's considered like easier somehow, even though I think I mean, whatever. I don’t want to be that guy. There’s a company’s hardware. But it is it’s just a very refined skill. And not that not everybody can do it. No. And it's also not rewarded very, very often. People just think it's easy. I would say it's culturally and spiritually. And that's fine. Like that. It really is fine. The fact and I really sound corny here, but the world is really hard right now. Yeah. And there's so much ambiguity and every day feels uncertain.

And I do know with certainty that every day, every day we start to make a dune and every day for two and a half hours, people are really transported in a way that is just lovely and escapist. And they're having a great time. They're not where I've had so many people say I needed that so badly. You have no idea. And that's really rewarding. You know, it just is. And it feels good to do it, to be in a community that's doing that every day for people. It's like welcome to Oz, you know, when you get there.

[24:15] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, it is even better.

[24:16] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah.

[24:18] Bruce Gotlieb: With that, that sort of magical technicolor moment.

[24:20] Ana Gasteyer: Exactly. And you feel it in the audience.

[24:23] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[24:25] Ana Gasteyer: Actually, a lot. Very often the set gets the reveal, gets an applause break, which is cute.

[24:29] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[24:31] Ana Gasteyer: I think Scott will get a nomination.

[24:33] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, I hope so. He certainly deserves one.

[24:35] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, he does. You're not that you're not busy enough, and obviously we have you in Schmigadoon for the next chunk of time, but anything else coming up after that that our listeners could keep an eye out for?

[24:47] Ana Gasteyer: September Davis has some things in the works that she can't announce yet.

[24:53] Bruce Gotlieb: OK, of course.

[24:55] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, she has a very exciting piece of theater that's coming forward, hopefully. And I have a couple of movies coming out. I have a very funny movie called Never Change, which is about a bunch of people who have to go back. Adults have to go back to high school to have their degrees ratified or whatever. I had nightmares about that.

[25:14] Bruce Gotlieb: I know it's a nightmare and it's a very funny movie. I have to say, I play the beleaguered principal, of course. But it's very funny and you deserve each other.

[25:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Is there any plans for a sweaty balls musical? Will that happen?

[25:26] Ana Gasteyer: I think of all the musicals, probably Bobby and Marty would be the one that would happen. But yeah, probably sweaty balls musical would end pretty quickly.

[25:38] Bruce Gotlieb: That's hilarious.

[25:39] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. For one night only.

[25:42] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. And Dratch and I, Rachel Dratch and I have been working away at the Clusterfunk musical. We did this show called A Christmas Clusterfunk, a parody of the Hallmark Christmas movies. And so we're working on a stage adaptation of that as well. But there's always something to write, always something to make, always something to do. And in the meanwhile, I just have to get through eight a week without losing my voice.

[26:00] Bruce Gotlieb: Have you been able to see Rachel in Rocky Horror?

[26:02] Ana Gasteyer: Yes, she was so fabulous.

[26:04] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, yes.

[26:05] Ana Gasteyer: She came to my opening. And Maya, of course, had her Broadway debut last night in Oh, Mary. So it's really cool to have the girls all doing what we do. We're all kind of, you know, live, live, live creatures. So it's a really fun transfer for everybody.

[26:20] Bruce Gotlieb: Does it feel at all like theater when you're doing SNL because it is live in front of an audience?

[26:26] Ana Gasteyer: I mean, people ask that question. And of course, the obvious answer is yes, because you have a live audience. But no, it never felt that way.

[26:33] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, it's interesting.

[26:34] Ana Gasteyer: It's like it's not as this is a strange way to put this. It's not as intimate. You know, even though you have a thousand people or whatever, 1800, depending what the size of the house is, the connection that a paid Broadway audience has with the people on stage is so deeply intimate and it's not interrupted. It's whatever it is. It's 90 minutes. It's 70 minutes. It's a two and a half hours. I mean, sure, you have intermission, but there's this kind of communion that happens and a sense of like surfing together that is just much more immediate. SNL feels there's a lot going on. So it's really like more of an exercise in ADD management than anything else, because you're just trying to like figure out where you're supposed to look and not and kind of I mean, I'm speaking for myself. Like the sense of like cameras and action is is very it's just a lot to manage in your brain.

[27:25] Bruce Gotlieb: It seems like a very specific skill, too, because of the pace of that week.

[27:29] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. You know how you have to learn the material. But 80 percent of it is that 80 percent of it is is pulling it off.

[27:36] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, 90 percent.

[27:38] Ana Gasteyer: And stopping everything in your brain. I just feel like, yeah, the getting that, OK, stay in there.

[27:43] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[27:44] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. There are different skills. Strangely.

[27:45] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[27:47] Ana Gasteyer: Now I get it.

[27:48] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[27:51] Ana Gasteyer: Well, we're so thrilled to have you on Broadway again, and we hope that you will keep coming back.

[27:53] Ana Gasteyer: I hope that I am invited back. I love being here. It's such a comfortable place for me to live. I love it. I love doing it a week. I love taking the subway. I love my peers. I love rehearsal. I don’t like critics because I'm scared of them. But that's bullshit. And yeah, it's just it's just a joy to be a part of making things, like I said, in community with other incredible creative people. There's such a humility to our community. It's just, you know, the more time, whatever. I've done a lot of TV shows now, and it's just a different. I don't know. There's just something about it that if you love it, you can't you can't kick it.

[28:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, you know what? There's so few experiences that we all have together anymore. So it's really one of the main things we can do. It's sort of a community, you know, third space thing.

[28:38] Ana Gasteyer: And that's true. And it's something I've really enjoyed actually coming back because I took a 14 year hiatus basically between Broadway show number four and Broadway show number five. I did, you know, a few encore shows. I did A New Brain with Jonathan Groff. I did Hannigan at the Hollywood Bowl. Michael Arden did this incredible production of Annie there. That was incredible. So I did things that were theatrically oriented, some of those live musicals on television, but not in the sort of routine of it. All and the distance, what's what's really changed is the social media relationship, which I know is like a loaded thing to say, because social media can also be as toxic as anything else, especially toxic. But it is cool to be the new, you know, things like what you guys are doing and the fact that audiences across the country can really connect to New York is still so mind-blowing to me.

[29:29] Ana Gasteyer: It is still at the end of the day. It's like the Olympics, you know, like anytime I start a rehearsal process, I actually like ask everybody, where are you from and what did you do? And I'm always just stunned by the number of people who are like, I came from Wyoming with one suitcase. And you're like, how did this person, this voice, this ability to do to tap dance, find their way like the pinnacle? And in New York to still it's just like no matter what changes on planet Earth, the geographical fact of Broadway is still here and it is still a destination well worth traveling for. It's really cool, you know, and that social media can make that a smaller and more intimate experience for people that there is somebody in Oklahoma right now who's incredibly gifted and who knows that their people are waiting for them in New York City.

[30:18] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. Exactly.

[30:19] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. You know, or and by the way, like that's why we have the Tony Awards and other things so that these shows will eventually make it out onto the road. And, you know, come through a town near you. You know, my parents in Albuquerque can see everything, which is great.

[30:31] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[30:32] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. Social media is the number one way people find Broadway now. It's incredible.

[30:35] Bruce Gotlieb: Incredible to me.

[30:36] Ana Gasteyer: And it's a passionate fan base, of course.

[30:40] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes.

[30:43] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. With great you know, my son is an athlete. So I'm very like tied into the very parallel worlds of like there's a lot of sports psychology around performance and the sort of work ethic and the working towards a goal. And, you know, what defines like winning and what defines an outcome and all that. So it's really cool that they can kind of lock into their people or, you know, their tribe.

[31:02] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[31:05] Ana Gasteyer: Well, we love, like I said, having you back on Broadway. If you have not seen Schmigadoon, you have to go see Anna B. Just amazing in it. And if you've seen it, then you should just go see her again. I would say the stage is such a, you know, I know there's the TV show, but the experience of the live is so different.

[31:22] Ana Gasteyer: It was really meant to be on stage.

[31:24] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, yeah.

[31:26] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah.

[31:30] Bruce Gotlieb: It's such a natural transition for the show, because I guess you said it was meant to be on stage in the first place.

[31:31] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah, I didn't know that.

[31:32] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, that's how Cinco conceived of it.

[31:35] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah. And you have such different buy-in from theatrical audiences. You're not, you know, it's funny. The framework of the TV show is always like, get me out of this musical. Right. Because TV audiences are more cynical about musical theater. But theater audiences are like the number of people who have said, like, I want to move in to make a deal that's been doing, you know, like.

[31:55] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[31:57] Ana Gasteyer: Yeah.

[31:59] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, thank you for joining us.

[32:00] Ana Gasteyer: We'd love to having you. And we will see everyone next time on Behind the Awards.

[32:03] Bruce Gotlieb: Thanks. Bye bye.