This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:08] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to the Break a Bat Podcast where baseball meets Broadway, an attempt to show that my two favorite mediums don't have to live in such separate worlds and maybe even break some stigmas.

[0:20] Al Malafronte: We're happy to have you with us. Now let's play ball.

[0:26] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to another edition of Break a Bat, where baseball meets Broadway. I'm your host, Al Malafronte, coming at you for the Broadway Podcast Network. I think as the voice of this show, it's important for me as a host to set the tone right off the bat with just how excited I am about certain guests that come and visit the batter's box. We've had that a handful of times on this show. But what I think makes tonight's guest so special is not only how talented she is, but the stories behind actually going to see her perform on Broadway. And I'll go as far as to say she's one of my favorite players. I think what makes her so awesome is that she starred in a number of blockbuster franchises here over the last decade and a half or so, you know, The Light in the Piazza, Miss Saigon, and of course, Wicked, in which she now holds the title of being the longest tenured Glinda since opening on Broadway.

For the baseball crowd, in a lot of ways, she's a lot like a Johnny Damon who spent a significant time in a leading role for some of the game's most memorable franchises. And I have to say, at least as much as any other performer that I've seen in multiple blockbusters like the ones I've just mentioned, she really brings a part of herself to it, like few people can. And for those from the baseball demo in our audience, I think 40 plus episodes into this show, you know I've always been a fan of players who give it their all, play the game the right way, and really care about giving the fans a good show and make their own unique mark on the sport because of that. So I'm super excited to welcome someone who I certainly consider an all-star. With that being said, if you'll please turn your attention to home plate just beyond the marquee, now batting, Katie Rose Clarke. Katie, welcome to Break a Bat!

[2:28] Katie Rose Clarke: Thank you so much for that intro and for having me. That is just amazing. I feel so flattered.

[2:28] Al Malafronte: Well, you know what? I figure you're in Texas right now. Everything's bigger in Texas, and then more so than any other podcasts on the BPN, we have like the biggest intros. I think it's kind of our forte, but we saved the extra special ones for some of our favorites.

[2:40] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh, well, I appreciate it so much.

[2:43] Al Malafronte: Well, we appreciate you coming on.

[2:43] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It's so great to have you here, and this is one I've always wanted to do. Obviously, I wish things were normal and we could be in the studio, but I'm so glad you were down to join us tonight. And I hope that some of the baseball parallels didn't go too far over your head.

[3:00] Katie Rose Clarke: Well, I don't know who that player is.

[3:02] Al Malafronte: You haven't seen Fever Pitch then?

[3:00] Katie Rose Clarke: No, I told you I'm gonna be hopeless when it comes to the baseball stuff.

[3:00] Al Malafronte: We'll make it through in one piece. How are things in Houston, Texas?

[3:00] Katie Rose Clarke: So far, so good. You know, my husband and my daughter and I and our dog drove down sort of early, well, very early on, and we got here in March. And we've been quarantined here ever since. So we're just feeling really lucky that we have a little extra space for our daughter, who's now two. And so it's just been a really good time for our little family, which is a crazy thing to say the way the world is now at the moment with a lot of suffering. But we personally, our family feels really blessed to have a little bit of space right now and to feel safe out here. So that's where we are. It's been good.

[4:04] Al Malafronte: Is it just the four of you?

[4:06] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, my husband and my daughter and our dog and me.

[4:12] Al Malafronte: Everyone's getting along.

[4:14] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah, yeah. We're great. You know, it's great. We have a family home in Galveston, and so that's where we've been living in this family house that is otherwise unused. So we have our own little house, which has been great.

[4:30] Al Malafronte: That's great. You know, we started on a path here where everyone's being nice to each other. I'm staying at my family's for most of the summer back in the suburbs.

[4:38] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah.

[4:39] Al Malafronte: And in the beginning of things, you know, everything was so scary and chaotic. I figured I would try to ease the tension whatever way I can, you know. So I would make little efforts like, you know, before I ask for the ketchup at dinner, let me stop and think about what's the nicest way you can ask for ketchup. Like, hey, if no one's using the ketchup, I would love a little more ketchup. And now like four months into this thing, it's just back to like, give me that. I want the ketchup. Give me a salad.

[5:07] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah.

[5:08] Al Malafronte: Right.

[5:08] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh my gosh, that's funny. You know, we thankfully we have family nearby. So we, you know, after we did the quarantine and the allotted time, we have seen our parents and things, and that's been a really sweet thing. But like I said, having our own little house for our little family has been a huge blessing just to feel like we have our own space.

[5:32] Al Malafronte: So now I know you've been in NYC for a while, but do you think you're still a Texas girl at heart?

[5:37] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh gosh. Yeah, I mean, it's such a funny thing. I've been in New York for, it'll be 15 years this year, actually, which is crazy to say. So I moved there in 2005. And so all of my adult life, I feel like I've been a New Yorker. I mean, I was on the road on tour for about three years. So other than that though, I've been in New York City, and I just really feel at home there. But you never, you know, my roots are Texas. I can't get away from it. And I love it. I still love coming down here. So yeah, I guess the answer is that yeah, my roots are in Texas, but I really grew in New York.

[6:22] Al Malafronte: Yeah, and you came here so early. And it's like, well, you were like a college senior when you first got here, right? And making your debut on Broadway at the same time.

[6:31] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, that's right. I was graduating. I moved up to New York to replace Kelly O'Hara in The Light in the Piazza in November. And I was supposed to graduate mid-year in December. So I had to take my finals online as I was rehearsing Piazza, and so it was all real crazy. And then I had been to New York like twice on family trips, you know, ever in my life. So I knew nothing. I was so green as it gets. And so I moved straight away up to New York, was rehearsing, studying for finals, taking things online, and so it was just pretty nutty. And then after all that, once the show was open, I had to go and learn the subway system, which was a whole nother journey, which you know, back then we didn't have smartphones. So it was truly just writing out subway lines and getting off at the wrong stop. And you know, so yeah, it was a crazy, crazy time of life, but also just like any huge life change like that, it was just super magical and a lot of growth. So it was cool.

[7:41] Al Malafronte: What's the scariest subway station that you accidentally got off at?

[7:47] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh my gosh. I can't even remember. I used to get lost all the time. I was lost in New York City for all of 2006. I didn't know where I was most of the time. I just think I ended up walking everywhere because it was a great way to learn. And especially once the weather started warming up, I just really, I was really just, I would get off at the wrong spot and just walk from wherever I was. And you know, I don't know that I ever really got off at a place where I felt unsafe, which is kind of crazy to say. I don't know if that was just me being sort of naive or just trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing. I didn't look like a tourist or like I, you know, I was just trying to act the part, you know, act like I knew where I was. But yeah, I was a real walker. So that's how I learned the city.

[8:46] Al Malafronte: It's like the thing I miss the most right now. It's just like, you know, being able to go out and about. It's like you feel guilty, you shouldn't leave the house if you don't have to and whatnot. But it's like that's the nicest thing about Manhattan, you know. I know in this, and especially in the summer, right now it's so empty, you know, a lot of people retreat the city like this is one of the best chances that you have to enjoy. This is like one of my favorite times of year to go typically see a Broadway show, you know.

[9:11] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah.

[9:12] Al Malafronte: Oh my gosh. And that's the beauty too of when you're not in a show is going and seeing the shows and having the time to do that. And yeah, I agree. I love summertime in the city, especially. It feels just everybody's out, you know, and all the restaurants have their tables out. It is a magical time in the city right now.

[9:33] Al Malafronte: So, like growing up where you did in Texas, how does Broadway become or you know, musical theater become such an interesting? Because you know, you and I are around the same age, but you know, back when we were growing up, you didn't have all these touring productions coming to like the big venues and stuff. How'd you get into it, you know, growing up where you did?

[9:49] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh my gosh. Well, my dad was a musician and wanted to be a musician and ended up deciding to later in life, actually, he went to medical school and became a doctor. So I grew up with music, and every, you know, all of that side of my family growing up was musically inclined. So I always had an interest in music, and you know, we would when we were on a car trip, we would all sing four-part harmonies like it was just normal, you know. And my brothers and my, you know, my brother, my sister and I, and we would just be, you know, we were just really a musical family. We all played an instrument, you know. I attempted, we all played instruments, and so that sort of shifted to just having a real interest in singing.

And my very first voice teacher, Laney Carlin, was the woman who introduced me to musical theater rep, and she and her husband ran the community theater in my hometown. So they invited us, my sister and I, to audition for the shows, and really that was in high school really when I started to learn about it and fall in love with it.

[11:04] Al Malafronte: And didn't your voice teacher in high school link you up with Kim Grigsby?

[11:08] Katie Rose Clarke: That's exactly right! Wow! Yes, they went to college together, our friends from college, and Grigsby and Laney, my high school voice teacher. And so again, like I said, Laney and I just kept in touch and we're always close and still are to this day. So in college, Laney gets a call from Kim asking, you know, I had met Kim one time prior, and so Laney gets a call from Kim saying this is crazy, but the girl that I met, is she where is she? Is she still interested in doing musical theater? And of course, Laney, you know, excited freak out, yes, of course she is! She's about to graduate school, she's in Huntsville, Texas, you know, trying to finish her degree. And it was basically Kim asking, well, can she be on a flight to New York this weekend to audition to replace Kelly?

And so sure enough, it was just that nutty. So Laney calls me. I talked to my mom and my parents. And my mom is able to, this is a crazy part of the story, but my mom used inheritance money that she had just received from her mother passing away the prior year. So we were able to go to New York and stay so that I could take this opportunity to audition for the show, which was nuts.

[12:42] Al Malafronte: Amazing.

[12:44] Katie Rose Clarke: It was a good investment. She really believed in you, and obviously look at what happened.

[12:48] Al Malafronte: Thank God. I can't, I mean, what a crazy thing. And now as a mom, I'm like, of course I would move heaven and earth to like make open doors for my daughter as well. No matter how scary they might be to me, and I'm sure moving their youngest daughter to New York City was a scary prospect. But you know, there was no guarantee that I was gonna get the role at all. It was truly just come in audition. I mean, Kim even had me over to her apartment to sing the material to make sure that I could even do it before she sent me to the audition. I mean, I had to, I definitely had to prove that I could do it, which I mean, it's wild. It's wild looking back on it that they took a chance on me.

[13:36] Al Malafronte: Now listen, I know you don't know a ton of baseball, but I like to think like Kelly O'Hara is kind of like the Joe DiMaggio, and you're like the Mickey Mantle making your debut, replacing someone who's really established, and you're only 21 to have your Broadway debut come that way, you know, to replace a Tony nominee.

[13:54] Katie Rose Clarke: It's like, how much did you put a lot of pressure on yourself? Are you like super carefree that you just trusted your confidence enough that you could do it or like did that take a lot of time? Oh my goodness. I think naivety was just my saving grace at that point, you know. You know, I of course knew Kelly and um and Vicky and the whole I mean I and um so it was it was absolutely daunting and I'm a pretty pretty shy person anyway. And so it was hugely daunting. But I I'll never forget when I trailed Kelly as I was learning the show excuse me. When I trailed Kelly learning learning the track she was just so amazing and gracious that it just made me feel right at home. In fact like I I kept bumping into her and so like the ding dong that I was the 21 year old ding dong that still had this thick Texan accent.

And she was just laugh and just hug me and just it was just great. I mean she just really was so gracious to me during that time and so that really is I think what got me what of the things that got me through but definitely and not knowing anything was the other thing. I if I it just didn't occur to me that I could be fired you know I think if I knew I could be fired then I would have been way more fearful.

[15:19] Al Malafronte: So it's funny you say you're shy but I feel like over the years you've really come into your own do you agree?

[15:19] Katie Rose Clarke: I do I think so you know it is it actually has been something I've had to um work out a little bit because I am a little bit closed off I think um but I uh I love people and I I love letting people in and um it just takes me a minute to be brave enough to do it. And honestly, I think the older I get, and um my husband has encouraged that in me a lot and helped me sort of recognize that I struggle with that, which has been a sweet thing for for him to do for me. And um uh and then I think you know, just feeling more confident as a woman, becoming a mother and um just feeling just more confident in who I am has really just uh been something that I think just time has helped with.

[16:13] Al Malafronte: Yeah, you know, it's funny. I mean, I've only seen you I've seen you perform on stage, and that would never come across to me, at least in recent years, some of the things that I've seen you in. Are you still, you know, is it still a struggle even in social settings, you know, to kind of overcome, you know, uh a shyness that I mean I'd imagine is that is that something that like even as a kid that you know you feel like you've struggled with, if that's the right term?

[16:39] Katie Rose Clarke: Um yeah, I think I did uh in different settings, um, always feel really, you know, bashful and um I think that it just kind of maybe more like an adolescence, and once I got through in it and into college, and I think um yeah, I don't I I don't know if I have a great answer for that, other than um just that I once I started recognizing it in myself, I knew that I needed to sort of push myself a little more in that area and just be a little bit more open and engaging with people and um and I I never want to off be off putting or make people feel uncomfortable, and I think that at times because I am shy that I I have done that unintentionally, and so I think it was just a balance of recognizing that and feeling confident enough to um make a change.

But yeah, I I did struggle a little bit with that, especially uh when I first moved to New York, I I think I just felt such like a fish out of water. That was really when some of those things started to creep into my personality, some of the shyness.

[17:50] Al Malafronte: And thank God you came up when you did, because I can imagine, like, you know, especially nowadays, if you're trying to break in with the way social media is. And listen, the Broadway fans are great, but we've seen that quite often through social media, they'd be, you know, some people will try to make themselves like a part of your life and want to know every little thing about you. Um, I can imagine that, you know, you were fortunate that you got to break in when you did because you didn't have to deal with all of that extra stuff that's going on now, which I can only imagine, you know, for some of these kids coming up is probably uh extremely difficult.

[18:26] Katie Rose Clarke: I agree. It's such a difficult balance how to manage um your social media presence. And I certainly, again, in my innate shyness, I I tend to not overshare or engage too much in social media. Um, so uh, and you know, when I when I did replace Kelly in 2005, that was the same year that YouTube came out, and like so some of those things were only were only starting, you know, like YouTube videos and bootlegs and things like that. And I just um I I think because of that, I it made me really wary of joining face. So I never got on Facebook. I I was just very um cautious. And I think I always that for sure has always been part of my personality. I'm just a pretty cautious uh person. And so uh in in that way, I didn't join social media until gosh, really late.

I don't know. Um after I was married. I mean, I it was 2013 when I joined social media and it was just Twitter and Instagram, which I'm not even on Twitter anymore. So uh all that to say, I think it's it's difficult and I I do um I feel for uh the people coming in to you know the Broadway community and and being at all in the in the public eye in the age of social media, I think it's really a challenge to to to navigate that well and be discerning about what content you put up and and even just balancing how you receive uh comments and things on social media and recognizing what's emotional and reactionary and what's the truth of of a situation, which can be really hard.

[20:17] Al Malafronte: You know, uh listen, I know you're in Houston, Texas right now, and I know that you're typically not the biggest baseball fan, but I'm sure you heard a little bit about you know the whole Astros uh cheating scandal that went on this offseason. Now listen, I feel for the fans. It wasn't the fans that did this, it was the players. But I feel like so much of the the fuel on the fire uh that you know came about was because of social media and the fans and whatnot, and you know, that aggression, you know, it stemmed onto the field. Have you ever, you know, uh encountered folks, you know, on social media that, you know, consider themselves Broadway fans that are like as aggressive as the baseball fans, let's say.

[20:57] Katie Rose Clarke: I don't think so. I I can't imagine. Uh I can't imagine that to be true. I think Crowdwee fans are generally just they just love musical theater like me. Um but you know, it's different with sports, isn't it? People are really emotional.

[21:16] Al Malafronte: Well, the ticket prices are about the same. So that's why I was always curious.

[21:20] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh gosh, I know. Well, and that's the thing. When the Astros were playing playing the Yankees, which just you can fix all this, right? I don't know what I'm talking about, but go ahead, run wild with it, Katie.

[21:34] Al Malafronte: What the World Series before that, that same time frame, right? Right before that when they were playing the Yankees in uh Yankee Stadium. Uh my husband was dying to go. It was like impossible to go. I think he ended up getting a ticket though.

[21:48] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh, we talk about 2017 or 2019?

[21:50] Al Malafronte: 2017.

[21:51] Katie Rose Clarke: Okay, the first time they face each other.

[21:53] Al Malafronte: Right before that when they were playing the Yankees in uh Yankee Stadium. Uh my husband was dying to go. It was like impossible to go. I think he ended up getting a ticket though.

[21:58] Katie Rose Clarke: Well, that's the year they won the World Series. They beat us again in 2019 with or without the use of buzzers and cameras, but go on.

[22:05] Al Malafronte: All right. Okay. Oh, are we getting into a sports uh debate debate? Is this not at all, just some stories. Tell us, tell us.

[22:11] Katie Rose Clarke: It would be exciting for me because I don't know anything. Um yeah, no, so but yeah, the ticket prices, that was all the only point I was trying to make was trying to get into that game for my husband. He was just uh desperate to go and and and he was keeping an eye on ticket prices. Um of course, then you know, he was cheering on the Astros, which you know That's why I said I feel for the fans, you know, because the fans are passionate, they don't necessarily know what goes on behind the scenes. Like for me as a kid, when I came up loving baseball, you know, I'm I'm sure you remember too. You know, you had all like these guys using steroids and whatnot. It's all such a spectacle that you just get wrapped up with, you know, the actual game. You don't realize, you know, sometimes you lose sight of what's going on behind the scenes.

[23:00] Katie Rose Clarke: And yeah. Baseball and Broadway are so emotional in that way, you know.

[23:03] Al Malafronte: Yeah. Do you think that Broadway fans get as emotionally attached as uh baseball fans and sports fans?

[23:09] Katie Rose Clarke: It's interesting because you know, some once in a while, you know, I'll see some of the comments that people will post up on like Instagram on, you know, folks that I've become friends with in the Broadway community. It's like, A, do you really expect them to answer that question? B why, you know, I think that you're taking it, you're going too far off the stage here with that question. I think that sometimes, you know, uh you have to create some boundaries. I'm sure is you've probably had to before too, even though you know, you've always used social media the right way. But I don't know. I feel like sometimes they get pretty riled around, pretty riled up. Have you seen like Broadway con or these like Broadway flea markets? It's like a madhouse sometimes.

[23:50] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, that all feels so like within recent years, too, doesn't it? I mean, I don't know if that would have been that wasn't really around again back when I was entering into the Broadway community. So it is a recent thing.

[24:05] Al Malafronte: You came up at the right time, but like let me ask you, you know, being someone who let me ask you, do you call yourself an introvert, like naturally?

[24:13] Katie Rose Clarke: I think so. Yeah, I think my I think my husband would call me an introvert.

[24:16] Al Malafronte: It doesn't show on stage because like I feel what's cool about watching you perform is I feel like there's like an openness where you still give off like a side of yourself that isn't always necessarily or wasn't always necessarily there before with like the established characters. You know, I'm just gonna give you an example. I saw you in Wicked. Like I've seen that show four times now, and maybe the hardest I've ever laughed, like in that like beginning part of for good before it like becomes like really emotional. It's like uh you say something like I've had so many friends. Like I was like, that that's like Katie Rose Clarke. She's putting her own like personal touch on that line to like set the tone for this awesome scene. Does like the audience pump you up? Like even though you're an introvert?

[25:00] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh gosh, yeah, they're such like a awesome give and take with the audience. That's like the magic of live theater. That's what I I get addicted to. That's the thing I miss most since you know Broadway closing is going and being a part of that magical exchange. Cause it totally I think maybe there is a portion of the audience that gets that that understands that, but it I think that that for the most part, it's not something that they think that the odd an average audience member would think about when they go to the show, how much that fuels and heeds the cast and the crew. I mean and the musicians. It's just that's the magic of life theater is hearing that re reaction and that give and take.

[25:47] Al Malafronte: I love that too. It it's so true. It it's interesting because you know, you've done like quite a few different types of roles on Broadway at this point. And I I've always been curious, you know, for someone who was a Glinda, you know, for someone who was an Ellen and like Miss Saigon, like what's like what's your favorite show that you've done?

[26:05] Katie Rose Clarke: I you know, I loved Miss Saigon growing up. It was one of the musicals that made me fall in love with musical theater and Leia Salonga's voice uh on uh in everything she has ever sung or said. I mean, I was such a major fan of hers. So being a part of telling that story was really particularly exciting and important to me um and but i i love them all and i know this is gonna feel like a cop-out answer but i love every role that I've gotten to play for different reasons um glinda is one that is such a huge part of my life now and and i had such a rare opportunity of playing that role really consecutively for a long span of time and so I really cut my teeth on that role it was really like the majority of my 20s I was playing Glinda on tour on Broadway and it was it you know that is a huge thing to say and what a gift and um rare experience for a performer to get to have that because it is a different skill set to be in a long run uh show like that in a heavy role like that and for me it was a vocally challenging and physically challenging role.

So it was a really great opportunity for me to learn and um just hone that skill set. So um yeah and I could go on and on about each role for different reasons why I love them so much. But you get they become a part of your own story as a human being.

[27:35] Al Malafronte: I mean Katie is made up of all of these experiences with all of these different characters. Do you feel like you're at an advantage when you go into audition rooms knowing that you've been able to take on different types of characters the way you have because there's a lot of people that get pigeonholed early in this business.

[27:53] Al Malafronte: And what's amazing is you know you've done this for what a decade and a half now and already your resume spans so many different things I would just I would feel extra confident going to a casting room. How do you feel?

[28:04] Katie Rose Clarke: That is so nice. I I don't know. I try not to view myself in those terms, but I certainly have uh feared getting pigeonholed, especially playing one role for so long, uh playing Glinda for so long. I was um I did struggle with you know fear of not being able to come out of sort of that I you know, people's idea that that is what I what I do or all I do. And so uh yeah, I have had fears of that of being pigeonholed, but at the same time, I think again, like I said before, the older I get, the more confident I feel in who I am and what I can bring to the table, and that my own life experiences inform so much of of how I interpret uh what's on what's on the page and how I can bring what's on the page to life.

And so I've really learned how to trust that more the older I get and the more life I have under my belt. And this and particularly becoming a mom, uh it is such a uh hugely life-changing uh and you know, just changes everything about you. So I feel really blessed that I can have that and bring that into the room with me as as part of who I am.

[29:20] Al Malafronte: It's amazing, like your last go-around in Wicked, you were pulling double duty, not only as Glinda and arguably New York's biggest Broadway show, but as a mom too. I mean, what job is more important than that? That's amazing how you did that. Do you ever like stop and like, you know, I feel like you gotta give yourself some credit, you know, when you're accomplishing stuff like that. That's gotta be I can't even imagine like the eight show a week schedule and then being mom on top of it to a newborn nonetheless. It's amazing.

[29:47] Katie Rose Clarke: It was crazy. I'm so glad. I mean, again, you're gonna hate bring that you brought this up because it was such a huge thing and and uh mountain to over, you know, to to climb because I I was I was even still I was still nursing. I was going backstage and pumping like bubble dressing good for the baseball fans right everyone uh so yeah going out and big I know they all they want to hear about how I was a princess on stage and then backstage pumping so um but yeah it was pretty magical time and and you know and then actually I was a part of the the New York City lab for the Huey Lewis musical Heart of Rock and Roll. So that was actually also part of that whole time frame. So I was doing double I was working a hard rock and roll during the day wicked at night and then I had a five month old at home so it was pretty nuts.

[30:44] Al Malafronte: That's amazing. No wait you mentioned that uh the heart of rock and roll which which Huey songs were you singing uh during that um I was part of a lot of the group numbers um the uh hit to be square I had a I was in um do you believe in love I was in um what my favorite song that was my my main solo song was at the end uh is in that two called It's hit me like a hammer it's one of uh Huey's maybe lesser known songs um but it is one of the coolest uh moments that I've had and and the fact that I had the opportunity to develop it alongside um Brian Yusuf and really truly he is a magician with that with the with that material because he's totally transformed while still honoring Huey's brilliance and his in he's transformed the music to really um make it fit you know a musical theater style so if you heard you if you are familiar with Huey's original hit me like a hammer um Brian really made it something special to for this particular piece for the musical and um I know I know Huey and I have really um had a had bonding moments over it and so it's a really special uh song for to me and one of my favorite songs I've ever sung.

[30:45] Al Malafronte: That's amazing way you said you and Huey had bonding moments over it like he actually got to see you perform these?

[30:45] Katie Rose Clarke: Yes so Huey is really very hands on uh with the musical he's always there and and gives his input and is uh you know hugely supportive and excited and I I don't know if anybody knows this but Huey has been on Broadway in uh Chicago the musical as Billy Flynn so he has Broadway experience so he loves theater and um so he's very he is um a huge supporter and he's very excited and it's it you know he's kind of the heart underneath all of it when we all go into the rehearsal room and are working on this piece and he's hearing his music reimagined and um coming to life in a whole new fresh way he just is like pure joy he is so um excited in the room and very present pretty magical.

[30:45] Al Malafronte: How are we gonna get this thing to Broadway this show like this show needs to happen like especially you know as we come back with some momentum opening back up, you know, hopefully in January. I feel like this is that that music is legitimately uplifting. Like we need this to happen, and it especially for you know, you know, Katie Rose Clarke coming back on, you know. I feel like there's nothing, there's no show that we need more. How's it gonna happen?

[33:32] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh gosh, I agree. I I love this show so much. I've been a part of it since the very first table read, and they are um just a mat uh a really special group. This creative team is really special, and uh I just uh yeah, I I agree. How how and when is is kind of how I feel about about it. I I think everybody needs to see the show. It is uh uplifting and um more depthful than I think people would uh imagine it being, uh, you know, and I think that the creative team would all back me up in saying this that it is, you know, it is a jukebox jukebox musical of Huey Lewis and the news music. So I think people come in are surprised um that there are some really deep themes and um uh relationship themes that are really poignant and universal. And so it is a special story. I love it, I love being part of it. Um I I need it to come to Broadway just because I I think everybody will really just get so much joy from it.

[34:36] Al Malafronte: And not to just wax on, but you know, Huey, uh if you're familiar with his story, he has a degenerative uh his meneres disease, which is affects his hearing. So he's he can't record music uh anymore like he used to. And I don't want to, I don't want to misrepresent what the disease is because I don't really know, but I know it is affected his hearing. And so it's kind of a a great way to honor his legacy and his music and the work that he has created, um, and and in an exciting way and just breathe new life into it too. So it's it's just there's so many uh levels of why I love the show and love this creative team and so let's get it to Broadway. Let's bring Broadway back.

[35:20] Al Malafronte: Yeah I'm done with that and you're gonna get me tickets obviously right Katie?

[35:20] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah ow and you know it. Um opening night baby let's absolutely I will be there in a talk. It's just so it's I just want to touch on something really quick. I thought it was so cool because you know he you know he is going through that I have heard that um and you know he's a musical genius it's it that kind of reminds me a little bit of like with Brian Wilson um you know I'm not sure did you see Love and Mercy by any chance the movie with uh John Cusack and Elizabeth Banks?

[35:52] Al Malafronte: Oh no but I I know what you're talking about.

[35:54] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah I didn't see it.

[35:56] Al Malafronte: So we had Al Jardine from the Beach Boys on our show and they're trying to bring that to Broadway now because Brian's getting up there. You could bring shows like that that pay tribute with like the right involvement from the genius creatives that that made that music that's what's gonna get people back to Broadway.

[36:15] Katie Rose Clarke: Truly and I agree and and I think before before everything uh happened this pandemic happened and and Broadway shut down it I would have said you know the the jukebox musicals were really met with a lot of scrutiny particularly the ones that were not like a biopic. I mean this ours is just a brand new story set to Huey Lewis music. It's not his it's not about him. And so I think that would have been met with a lot of uh scrutiny and I think I think now and especially now that they just publicly announced that Broadway is is not coming back until January. I think the uh the thought of having just that uh that diversity of shows in the and and and I think Broadway is changing in so many ways, but I think that um there's just gonna be room for different things and and and particularly too not just that you know a show like that that would be have been met with scrutiny, but more importantly, way more importantly, um other voices and other stories that can be told from different human perspectives. And I think uh in the in the industry of storytelling, I think we are gonna be stronger as we uh open up uh those opportunities to voices that are underrepresented.

[37:37] Al Malafronte: So um I totally shifted there to something that is you know a different subject, but I do believe that um there's gonna be a lot of room on Broadway for for more stories to be told. And that is my my hope for Broadway to be stronger in that area and um just see a lot more representation and hear uh hear different stories. So I think that's what's gonna happen. I hope that's what happens. And I I believe Broadway's gonna come back. I think the the news that it's delayed again is is um has hit me really. I I think we all kind of expected it and and had insight that that was gonna be the case. And it's just a you know, for someone who's not just you know, I I work in the field, but I am such a mega fan. And um I my hope for Broadway is that it just makes it uh better and stronger on the on the other side.

[38:35] Al Malafronte: One question I have for you is, you know, we've actually seen some major league baseball players. I'm not sure if you saw they're trying to get the season going. Um they're gonna sit out because they don't feel safe, you know, things with their family. And you know, many much of it is very understandable. Um is there something for you that needs to happen to make you feel comfortable to go back and perform on stage aside from a vaccine?

[39:00] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh um gosh, I mean I I think that's such a huge question and there's so many differing opinions about it. Um I think I I think the only way is for uh writing this out and seeing the numbers um you know decline and um which is an unfortunate thing for things like sports and Broadway that rely on crowds gathering. Um so I don't know what the safest and wisest uh way forward is but I I mean I think so far that's what people's uh goal is you know is to is to do the the safest and wisest thing for the community and for the people coming to enjoy those events.

[39:48] Al Malafronte: So yeah it's like it's like how do you like pinpoint what's the right number of people to have in the theater because there's just so much uncertainty. It's like you set this this date of you know January 2nd, January 3rd, you know a lot can happen between now and then. Well eventually you're gonna have to have ticket sales go on so you can pay your performers and pay your crew and everything like that. And you just wonder you know how everyone internally feels about you know what would make them feel comfortable and if it's worth it and whatnot. So that's why I'm really curious to see what the opening is like, you know.

[40:18] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah.

[40:19] Al Malafronte: I I agree. I'm curious as I'm just as much as the next person. I I don't know what it's gonna look like. It's gonna be a really interesting thing. It'll be different. Again, I I say that it'll be different in a lot of ways. And and again, I think it'll be different in great ways that will make it stronger.

[40:37] Al Malafronte: So well, as you've hinted, uh, you know, that there might be some really great shows coming about, you know, featuring the music of Huey Lewis and Katie Rose Clarke, you know, starring in it. I I mean that I think that that's all the motivation that you know all these producers need to, you know, take that leaf, you know, just to get back on stage.

[40:56] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah.

[40:56] Al Malafronte: That's all we need. This interview here tonight, and they're gonna listen to that and full speed ahead.

[41:00] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh, yeah. I'm sure everybody's gonna take my advice. I don't I am just I I am so selfish. I love Ray to come back because uh truly, like I said before, when I'm not working, I go and see all the shows, see all my oh yeah. Oh yeah, it's like that's the the beauty of not working. That's you know, of course it's scary when you're not working, but one of the beautiful things when you're out of a show that you get to go and support your friends and see what's out there and watch the other shows. And there were so many shows I was excited to see this season. You know, I mean, I could just go on and on about each one, but I agree. I I I hope that it comes back and maybe you know, maybe maybe it will be different, but I think it's gonna be it's gonna be stronger.

[41:45] Al Malafronte: That what a great message, and I think that actually is the perfect note to go into our signature final segment, Katie.

[41:53] Al Malafronte: It's a little thing that we call fastball derby.

[41:57] Al Malafronte: All right, so oh yeah, so I get your helmet.

[42:00] Al Malafronte: I see one back there. I see, is that a Yankee jersey or is it an Astros jersey behind you?

[42:05] Katie Rose Clarke: I can't really get into, okay, I am ready.

[42:14] Al Malafronte: Get the eye black. You're gonna go into hit in the bottom of the ninth here. Think of it like the final inning, and you know, Aroldis Chapman is on the mound throwing 105 miles an hour.

[42:25] Al Malafronte: I'll ask you a question.

[42:27] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, you're just shaking your head. You don't know Aroldis Chapman.

[42:30] Al Malafronte: Chapman, come on. Whatever you got, I can hit it.

[42:35] Katie Rose Clarke: I believe it. Johnny Damon would have had great success. I compared you to Johnny Damon earlier. That was the exact type of pitcher that he would actually be able to crush. So a spark plug.

[42:47] Al Malafronte: Awesome. All right. So I'll ask you a question. You say the first thing that comes to your head. How does that sound?

[42:53] Katie Rose Clarke: Okay, great. I gotta turn my brain on.

[42:54] Al Malafronte: Okay.

[42:55] Katie Rose Clarke: I don't know. I'm ready.

[42:58] Katie Rose Clarke: Is it on?

[42:58] Al Malafronte: I think so. Okay. Here's open. What is your favorite meal?

[43:05] Katie Rose Clarke: Dinner.

[43:08] Al Malafronte: Well, how about this? More specifically? New York City pizza or Italian or Texas barbecue.

[43:11] Katie Rose Clarke: New York City pizza.

[43:17] Al Malafronte: Damn, wow. You are not maybe you're not as much of a Texas girl as we thought. Look at that answer. Breaking news and breaking bats tonight, folks.

[43:29] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, I know that was an easy one.

[43:32] Al Malafronte: Okay. All-time favorite film.

[43:36] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh gosh.

[43:39] Katie Rose Clarke: When Harry Met Sally or My Cousin Vinny. There's a lot. I have a lot of favorite films.

[43:46] Al Malafronte: Person in the audience you were most intimidated to perform in front of.

[43:52] Katie Rose Clarke: Well, it wasn't in the audience, but it was Lea Salonga when we had our first music rehearsal together for Allegiance. I was again so shy. I don't think I spoke two words. And then of course, Lea, just being her effervescent self was just like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to sing with you. We're gonna blend so well. And I was like, I can't even believe this is real life right now. So Lea singing in front of Lea Salonga in the rehearsal room. Most intimidated by far.

[44:27] Al Malafronte: Favorite holiday.

[44:30] Katie Rose Clarke: Christmas.

[44:33] Al Malafronte: Big Christmas movie and Christmas musical.

[44:35] Katie Rose Clarke: I do love Christmas. I also love Easter because I love when spring is happening and I love the colors, and you know, yeah. So I kind of do love Christmas and Easter for different reasons. Equally.

[44:47] Al Malafronte: The one role you didn't get that you really wanted.

[44:52] Katie Rose Clarke: There's some scenes info here. Oh gosh. I can how many can I give you?

[45:00] Al Malafronte: As much as you want. There's no rules in fastball derby. That's the beauty of it.

[45:04] Katie Rose Clarke: Okay, well, I'm sorry, I'm not being fast enough to...

[45:07] Al Malafronte: No, tell stories.

[45:08] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh, go. I really, I was, this is gonna sound like, anyway. Let me, I don't know how this is gonna sound, so I'm just gonna say it, but I was really close to being in Smash, the TV show, and I lost out on it, and it would have been at the time I remember thinking, God, that would have just been the career-changing crazy thing to have happened. And I really, that was when I was really disappointed, did not go my way. But now and all of the every role that I was close to that I didn't get, I can look back and see why I didn't and why my life happened the way it did, and there was a reason why that door was closed and you know, life continued the way it did. And so, but that one was a tougher one to swallow for me.

I really did want that opportunity and to which is, I don't know. So that was probably a big one for me. It was just one of those higher profile ones that I was really excited about potentially dipping my toe in the TV world, and then there are so many other ones that I could list, but that was a big one for me that I was disappointed about.

[46:25] Al Malafronte: How about this? Your greatest career high.

[46:31] Katie Rose Clarke: You've had a lot, so choose carefully here.

[46:34] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, I know. I really feel proud to have been part of Allegiance and to have sung with Lea. I also feel, I mean, my first show to proud to replace someone who's as incredibly gifted and talented and who I admire as much as Kelly O'Hara. So it would be those, you know, stepping into shoes and coming alongside actresses that I have so admired is a hugely humbling and honoring thing to do. So those experiences, those two are pretty up there.

[47:13] Al Malafronte: Your desert island songs.

[47:16] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh my gosh.

[47:19] Katie Rose Clarke: I feel like this is where y'all are gonna all make fun of me. Well, Chris, my husband made fun of me the other day because somebody asked me what my favorite boy band was, and he said the Beach Boys for me.

[47:31] Al Malafronte: Wow, appropriate as we were talking about Brian Wilson, right?

[47:35] Katie Rose Clarke: It's just fresh on my mind because we were just talking about it, but I do the Beach Boys. Oh my gosh. Um particular song. Well, I, this is sort of one, but Claire de Lune, Debussy, is one of my favorite songs. I'm gonna go with that one because that feels better than the Beach Boys at this point.

[48:02] Al Malafronte: You can never go wrong with the Beach Boys, but that is a good choice.

[48:05] Katie Rose Clarke: Thank you.

[48:06] Al Malafronte: I agree. I'm just gonna for the fans at home, you know we love the Beach Boys here on this show. I just had to pull this off the DVD. Remember DVDs, Katie?

[48:15] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, that's not long ago.

[48:16] Al Malafronte: Yeah, this is a Beach Boys DVD here.

[48:19] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah, Al, seriously, when I talk about listening to original Broadway cast recordings and looking at like the CD insert and going through CD inserts, yeah. I mean, people just, you know, younger castmates will look at me just with like very confused. And it's just, you know, it just I totally, I think it's the best.

[48:42] Al Malafronte: I love that. That is so good. I feel bad for people that listen to Broadway cast recordings now without the insert to follow along with lyrics and really, I mean that was like how I got into Broadway shows was like singing along and looking at the lyrics on the page.

[48:59] Katie Rose Clarke: I know, and being a passenger seat in the car, now they don't even have CD players in the car, so you wouldn't have any place to put that and to follow along while your mom is driving and you're singing along to, you know, those songs.

[49:11] Al Malafronte: I totally get that.

[49:12] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh man, so true. I feel for this generation. They don't know.

[49:16] Al Malafronte: Yes.

[49:18] Katie Rose Clarke: They really need a CD.

[49:22] Al Malafronte: You and I grew up at the right time.

[49:24] Katie Rose Clarke: I agree. All right. How about this one? Favorite late night snack, two show day. Katie gets home. It's after midnight. What do you grab before you hit the couch?

[49:34] Katie Rose Clarke: New York slice.

[49:36] Al Malafronte: At a girl, Sicilian square or grandma slice. What do we have in?

[49:41] Katie Rose Clarke: I'm usually just kind of a regular slice.

[49:44] Al Malafronte: Okay.

[49:45] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah.

[49:45] Al Malafronte: All right. Nice and simple.

[49:46] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, I don't get super fancy with it, but I do like a lot of crushed red pepper.

[49:50] Al Malafronte: Oh, that's the way to go.

[49:52] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh yeah. That is the absolute way to go. Which I try not to do when I'm in a show because, you know, there was a reflex and all the things that you can't do to your voice. So that try to limit the spicy food.

[50:04] Al Malafronte: Especially with Glinda, with the amount of songs that you're in and the notes that you have to hit. That would be tough.

[50:10] Katie Rose Clarke: Yeah, exactly. You gotta be a little more careful.

[50:13] Al Malafronte: Okay. You've sung some great songs on Broadway, and you've been the lead in some epic shows. What's the best example of a Katie Rose Clarke performance?

[50:25] Katie Rose Clarke: Oh my god. Oh god, I don't even know how to answer that. The best example of a Katie Rose Clarke performance. I loved being the actress to perform the new song that the team wrote for Ellen in Miss Saigon. That was a very exciting thing for me. At least in the States, they had performed it in the UK, but I did it here on Broadway, and that was a huge honor. And it of course it replaced a song that was really beloved in the show. Now that I've seen her, it was the song before they replaced it with a new song called Maybe, and I loved it. And I was really able to, you know, talk with the writers about it and insert myself and my personality and my flavor into the piece, which was a huge honor with that particular creative team.

I mean, what a mind-blowing thing to be a part of. So that one is pretty major to me, but also again, I mean singing alongside Lea on a Broadway stage, there was not one night that I did that that I took it for granted. Every night I was looking into her eyes and just tearing up in disbelief that I was singing a duet with Lea.

[51:46] Al Malafronte: I mean, it's funny you talk about your own flavor, you know, like I said, that's something I for good and popular and all that great stuff that I've seen you do. I can only imagine with the song that Katie Rose Clarke is originating. So that is something I'm certainly looking forward to as far as when Broadway comes back and have a, all right, this is the last question. We ask everyone to end the show. We ask everyone this question to end the show. Best piece of advice anyone ever gave you and what was it?

[52:13] Katie Rose Clarke: The one that always comes to mind is when my dad always used to tell us if somebody asks you, you know, in a job setting, but in general, if they ask you, do you know how to do such and such? The right answer is always yes. And then you do your damnedest to figure out and learn how to do the thing you just told them that you could do. Because you have just to, you know, just to keep working hard to be better, to do better, to be the best. And to keep learning, I think is kind of the point of that, to never stop learning and to always, and not sitting on your laurels, not resting on your laurels. That kind of a work ethic, even if it makes you uncomfortable to say, yeah, yeah, no, I know how to do that.

And you have to go back and really figure things out and crank it out. I mean, I think that underlying that is that is the work ethic and learning and not being afraid to admit that you don't know how to do something to yourself that you need to learn and that you don't know how to do something to work your ass off to learn it and to do it. And yeah, I think that just goes back to work ethic. Like a lot, it's like a circuitous answer. Does that make sense?

[53:57] Al Malafronte: I'll take it. It's perfect.

[53:58] Al Malafronte: That's great, Katie. Working hard. I love it. And listen, it served you really well. And you, as much as anyone, I cannot wait to see come on back on Broadway when we're on the other end of this thing. And you know, hopefully you'll visit us in the studio too.

[54:14] Katie Rose Clarke: That would always be fun once it's safe to do so.

[54:18] Al Malafronte: I love that. Yes. It was so kind of you to join us tonight. Thank you.

[54:22] Katie Rose Clarke: Thank you so much for having me. What a blast. This has been just a really good time. So thank you.

[54:29] Al Malafronte: You're always welcome. And I'll tell the bat heads right now. This, if you couldn't tell, was one of my favorites that we've gotten to do. So I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. So, with that being said, that'll close out the ball game here on Break a Bat. This is Al Malafronte signing off for the Broadway Podcast Network. We'll see you next time.

[54:50] Al Malafronte: Thanks for listening to Break a Bat. This is produced by the fine folks at the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit and subscribe at BPN.fm slash breakabat. You can find me online at break underscore a underscore bat underscore podcasts. And you can also find the Broadway Podcast Network on Instagram at Broadway Podcast Network. It's been so great having you here with us today, and we'll see you next time.