This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:04] Bryan Plofsk: Did you bring wine?

[0:05] Kevin Jager: I got the glasses.

[0:07] Kimberly Cooper: You guys, I made a quiz.

[0:08] Carolee Carmello: I didn't bring anything, but I heard it's a bug.

[0:20] Bryan Plofsk: Hello, and welcome to the official Broadwaysted Podcast where we're drunk on theater.

[0:24] I'm your host, Bryan Plofsk, and today we attend the tale of Broadway Todd.

[0:28] Because we're by the sea.

[0:31] It's the most beautiful day, so we've got to live like this forever.

[0:34] It's time.

[0:34] What am I waiting for?

[0:35] You don't know this man, though I can't do it alone.

[0:38] This isn't over yet.

[0:39] Maybe for those factory girls, but with all the wasted time, we're not passing over the red, the old red hills of home.

[0:46] Till then, I'm yours, yours, yours, and we'll give you all of the compliments.

[0:50] But I'm not sorry.

[0:52] It's a privilege to be.

[0:54] So why did I listen to that man, beautiful boy?

[0:57] Just make me as you with that with the crimson kiss.

[1:00] What you don't know about women is they'll stand up when you have a fire.

[1:05] So follow me and to the lost or found and see what does it profit at the four-square march where there's more racquetball.

[1:13] Joining us today.

[1:17] A lot of us it's just song titles, not coherently.

[1:20] Beautiful boy, just make me as you with the crimson kiss.

[1:23] What you don't know about women.

[1:25] Make me as you make me as you are.

[1:27] I bet that could that the sentence was.

[1:30] Oh, make me as you are.

[1:31] Oh, that was a delete mistake.

[1:33] How did you not think how did you think make me at you are was a correct anything?

[1:37] I've been looking at computer screens all day.

[1:40] You have a fire, so follow me to the lost or found and see what does it profit at the four square march, which is scandalous, right?

[1:49] Kevin Jager: Sort of, yeah.

[1:50] Bryan Plofsk: Yeah, enough.

[1:51] Uh where there's more racquetball, which is like my little falsettos.

[1:54] Kimberly Cooper: Oh, racquetball, okay.

[1:56] Bryan Plofsk: I was like, the only racquetball scene I know is falsettos, but I wasn't in that scene.

[1:59] Kevin Jager: But that's a reference to the show.

[2:02] Kimberly Cooper: Yeah, yeah.

[2:02] Bryan Plofsk: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[2:05] Bryan Plofsk: Joining us today are the usual unlikely lovers that know you can always count on me, including Kevin, Revive Parade Jager.

[2:13] Kevin Jager: Yes!

[2:14] Bryan Plofsk: We've been saying that since like the first episode.

[2:16] Kevin Jager: Hashtag Revive Parade.

[2:20] Bryan Plofsk: All they tweet is hashtag Revive Parade.

[2:22] Kevin Jager: Yeah, just every day.

[2:24] Bryan Plofsk: It's so good.

[2:25] Uh and then we have Kimberly, our game master, an unofficial babysitter for the hour.

[2:29] Kimberly Cooper: I like that you're really hitting the M on game.

[2:32] I haven't had that much to drink yet, so just wait until we get there.

[2:35] Um whatever I say, it sounds like gay master.

[2:38] So I have to put the M to do it.

[2:41] Bryan Plofsk: Hard stop.

[2:41] Kimberly Cooper: Exactly.

[2:42] Um but with us today is a legend.

[2:45] Kevin Jager: No.

[2:46] Bryan Plofsk: A Tony nominee and Drama Desk winner, who you may have seen in City of Angels, Falsettos, 1776, Parade, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Kiss Me Kate, Hello Again, You're in Town, Mamma Mia, Lestat, The Addams Family, Sister Act, Scandalous, Finding Neverland, Tuck Everlasting, and most recently, Sweeney Todd Downtown.

[3:11] And I haven't even mentioned the National Tours or regional or the rest of her amazing off-Broadway credits.

[3:15] Carolee Carmello: Ha ha.

[3:16] Bryan Plofsk: So before we run out of time with her resume, let's give a big Broadwaysted welcome to Friend of the Show.

[3:16] Kevin Jager: Friend of the show.

[3:24] Bryan Plofsk: Carolee Carmello.

[3:26] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[3:26] Bryan Plofsk: Welcome.

[3:28] Carolee Carmello: Thanks so much for joining us.

[3:29] Bryan Plofsk: You're welcome.

[3:30] Carolee Carmello: Thanks for having me.

[3:31] Bryan Plofsk: Of course, of course. You can follow her at her full name at Carolee Carmello on Instagram and Twitter.

[3:36] Carolee Carmello: True.

[3:37] I don't do Facebook though on Twitter.

[3:38] Bryan Plofsk: That's okay. We have me.

[3:41] Kevin Jager: We didn't, we didn't do Facebook, and then we did, and it didn't really work, and now we have a Facebook fan page that Kevin set up.

[3:48] Kevin Jager: A group.

[3:48] Bryan Plofsk: It's amazing.

[3:49] Kevin Jager: So that you guys can all talk to each other and we're not there.

[3:52] Bryan Plofsk: Kevin runs it right now.

[3:54] Kevin Jager: We'll chime in sometimes.

[3:54] Bryan Plofsk: But Kevin, right now is the ad and has all your personal data stolen.

[3:57] Kevin Jager: Exactly.

[3:58] Bryan Plofsk: So that's cool. That's what we're really looking for in a platform.

[4:01] Kevin Jager: Gotcha.

[4:01] Bryan Plofsk: When we choose social media, we want to make sure that somebody else can beat us.

[4:05] Kevin Jager: The most vulnerable possible.

[4:07] Carolee Carmello: How many ads have been bought by Russians on this one?

[4:10] Bryan Plofsk: Green that I want that one.

[4:11] Kevin Jager: Totally.

[4:11] Carolee Carmello: I mean, I've always wanted to be a Russian bot.

[4:14] Kevin Jager: Yes.

[4:15] Carolee Carmello: So excited about it.

[4:16] Bryan Plofsk: Bot wasted.

[4:20] Carolee Carmello: Bot wasted.

[4:21] Bryan Plofsk: I really am.

[4:22] Bryan Plofsk: But let's start with wasted.

[4:25] Let's start with what we always start with.

[4:26] What is drinking?

[4:30] Carolee Carmello: Okay, so we are drinking some very nice. Carolee wanted to have a nice white wine, and so we are drinking some lovely Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.

[4:41] Carolee Carmello: Because that's all I ever buy, and the boys bought it themselves today.

[4:45] Kevin Jager: We did.

[4:45] Carolee Carmello: And I showed up and I was like, oh, the thing I usually get.

[4:49] Bryan Plofsk: What would Adam Rippon do?

[4:50] Carolee Carmello: And we decided he would drink Oyster Bay.

[4:52] Kevin Jager: Is that true?

[4:53] Carolee Carmello: It is.

[4:53] Do you think he'd be as classy as me and put an ice in his glass?

[4:56] Bryan Plofsk: I do think he would.

[4:57] Carolee Carmello: Well, he loves the ice.

[4:59] Bryan Plofsk: I want you're coming back, Bryan.

[5:04] Bryan Plofsk: I'm back, baby!

[5:06] Kevin Jager: You really have, yeah, I'm not here you ask.

[5:09] Bryan Plofsk: I myself worry.

[5:10] So uh yeah, so Kimberly and Carolee and I are enjoying this lovely.

[5:13] Kimberly Cooper: I thought you were just gonna say, so Kimberly loves Adam Rippon, and I was really guessing too much.

[5:18] Bryan Plofsk: Um and then I'm drinking the Hudson Manhattan rye whiskey.

[5:22] Carolee Carmello: Um we've had this quite a bit, and I love it so much.

[5:26] Bryan Plofsk: It's so smooth.

[5:27] Carolee Carmello: Um I we get the big bottles, a 700 milliliter bottles.

[5:31] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[5:31] Bryan Plofsk: You know that used what are they used to be called a friendly?

[5:34] Carolee Carmello: Is that what they used to call it?

[5:37] Carolee Carmello: So thanks very much. I have a real alcohol question for our alcohol podcast.

[5:41] Bryan Plofsk: Sure.

[5:42] Carolee Carmello: 750 mls used to be called a fifth, correct?

[5:44] Bryan Plofsk: It's like a fifth of a gallon.

[5:46] Carolee Carmello: I just heard that Bob Dylan is gonna make whiskey.

[5:49] Bryan Plofsk: Did you guys hear that?

[5:49] Carolee Carmello: What?

[5:50] Yeah, I heard it on NPR.

[5:52] Bryan Plofsk: Wait, really?

[5:53] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. He's got three like brands, not brands, but little I guess, yeah.

[6:00] Bryan Plofsk: A rye and something else.

[6:02] Carolee Carmello: Like, okay, Bob.

[6:03] Bryan Plofsk: Varietals.

[6:07] Carolee Carmello: That's what they say about wine.

[6:09] Bryan Plofsk: You guys are so physical.

[6:12] Carolee Carmello: Um, but yeah, we're drinking that.

[6:15] Bryan Plofsk: And then um, let's go right into what have you seen this week.

[6:15] Kimberly Cooper: What have you seen this week?

[6:20] Carolee Carmello: Or recently.

[6:21] Bryan Plofsk: Or oh yeah, or recently.

[6:24] Carolee Carmello: Um I saw I saw The Band's Visit recently.

[6:27] Kevin Jager: I did too.

[6:28] Carolee Carmello: You did?

[6:29] Kevin Jager: Yes.

[6:29] Carolee Carmello: What did you think?

[6:30] Kevin Jager: I really liked it.

[6:32] Carolee Carmello: You did, yeah.

[6:33] Kevin Jager: I did, honestly.

[6:34] Carolee Carmello: I didn't really know what to expect, but it's so like original.

[6:40] Like it feels, I mean, I know it's based on a movie.

[6:43] I never saw the movie, but it just feels like the format of it and the style of the music and the way it's directed, everything just feels very.

[6:52] That's not based on one of those like big blockbustery movies that you usually see things coming in, you can like tell how it'll translate.

[6:59] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it feels very much still like an indie movie.

[7:02] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[7:02] Kevin Jager: Beautiful.

[7:02] Carolee Carmello: Um, but I agree. It's very indie, and I like that about it.

[7:05] Kevin Jager: I liked it, yeah.

[7:06] Carolee Carmello: And Katrina was great.

[7:08] I said to Kevin, if there's anything I remember from The Band's Visit, it's gonna be her performance during.

[7:16] I honestly don't remember the name of the song.

[7:18] Kevin Jager: Um, but the one where yes, exactly.

[7:20] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[7:21] Kevin Jager: Kerly is conducting an orchestra right now.

[7:22] She's doing the downbeat.

[7:23] Carolee Carmello: Um, but that whole sequence where he's conducting and and speaking in Egyptian.

[7:29] Kevin Jager: Yes.

[7:29] Carolee Carmello: Yes.

[7:29] And her song about like I wonder what he's saying.

[7:32] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[7:32] Carolee Carmello: Is she so good at it?

[7:33] It reminded me very much of um uh He Wanted to Say from Ragtime ish.

[7:40] Kevin Jager: Oh, I can see that.

[7:41] Carolee Carmello: Oh, just some like someone on stage interpreting someone else on stage.

[7:46] Kevin Jager: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[7:47] Carolee Carmello: Cool.

[7:47] Carolee Carmello: I think that this show I'm all. This season there's been a lot of like really fun, kind of like big, like over-the-top musicals.

[7:55] And I feel like which it is great.

[7:57] SpongeBob is incredible.

[7:58] Like these shows are really hitting like that high note with like the loud, kind of like exciting moments.

[8:04] But I feel like Band's Visit brings like the moment that show starts.

[8:10] No, the moment that show starts, I feel like you're like in a completely different world.

[8:15] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[8:16] Carolee Carmello: And I don't think that this world has been represented on the Broadway stage yet.

[8:20] And so I think it's really exciting to just kind of see like how that world affects and characterization.

[8:27] Kevin Jager: So much more of an insular story than all the presentational stuff that's out there.

[8:32] Carolee Carmello: I have to say this is this is a random thought that I had about the show, but I kept thinking, how do they have covers for these people?

[8:41] Right?

[8:42] Because those musicians, I mean, the talents are so very specific.

[8:48] How could you have like one guy cover four?

[8:51] I mean, you'd have to have like a different coverage.

[8:53] Kevin Jager: Individual covers for instruments, yeah.

[8:55] Carolee Carmello: That's crazy.

[8:56] Kevin Jager: Yeah, the expense.

[8:58] Carolee Carmello: I was just listening to to shout out another podcast. The Ensemblist, who's been gone for a while, just released a Spring on Broadway podcast.

[9:05] Kevin Jager: That's just people who've been writing things for their blog, just read their stories aloud.

[9:10] Carolee Carmello: Our friend Aaron J. Albano is the first story on there.

[9:13] Kevin Jager: Oh, nice.

[9:14] Carolee Carmello: But also the actor who's the violinist in the dinner party scene.

[9:18] Kevin Jager: Oh yeah.

[9:19] Carolee Carmello: Just talked about how music and acting can go together.

[9:25] Kevin Jager: And it was a very interesting thought process of like when you can't speak anymore, sing, when you can't sing anymore, dance, and when you can't, and when dance doesn't do it, you play.

[9:35] Carolee Carmello: And he was just like that. It was so fascinating to him to be someone who could own was such an awkward person and could just express himself with his violin instead of with his words.

[9:48] Kevin Jager: I'm just thanking God right now that I can sing because I can't dance or play fiddle.

[9:53] Carolee Carmello: I would be out of a job.

[9:55] Bryan Plofsk: But boy, can you sing?

[9:58] Carolee Carmello: Thanks.

[10:01] Kevin Jager: But yeah, loved loved her especially.

[10:04] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, she's fantastic.

[10:06] Kevin Jager: She's gonna win.

[10:07] Carolee Carmello: I would say she has a really good chance.

[10:10] Kevin Jager: I think.

[10:10] Carolee Carmello: So you're saying that.

[10:13] Kevin Jager: So tight.

[10:15] Carolee Carmello: I'm gonna say it again.

[10:15] Hot take.

[10:16] Kevin Jager: Angelina Marigogell's gonna win best score.

[10:19] Carolee Carmello: You keep saying that.

[10:20] Kevin Jager: I know, I still haven't seen it.

[10:21] Carolee Carmello: I have another.

[10:22] I saw the original, but I didn't see this version.

[10:24] Kevin Jager: You didn't brace myself for 12 hours.

[10:27] Carolee Carmello: Insane experience in the theater.

[10:29] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it was beautiful.

[10:30] Carolee Carmello: It was really moving and sort of groundbreaking, and yeah, all the things that you want a theatrical experience to be.

[10:37] Kevin Jager: I'm sure this one is fantastic.

[10:39] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[10:40] Bryan Plofsk: I loved it.

[10:40] Um, and you guys saw something today, actually.

[10:43] Kevin Jager: Oh, we saw the press preview on their second day of rehearsal of The Royal Family of Broadway that's gonna be at Barrington this summer with three friends of the show, Haley Pachoon, AJ Shively, and Kathy Fitzgerald were all there.

[10:57] Carolee Carmello: Um you said you love the music.

[11:00] Kevin Jager: And it's a new Finn, so like how can you not?

[11:03] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, and it's songs I didn't know.

[11:04] Kevin Jager: So like Alan H. Green came out to sing a song, and I was like, wait, I don't know this song.

[11:08] Carolee Carmello: Oh, but it sounds like Bill Finn and I just want to listen and sit here forever.

[11:12] Kevin Jager: And we got to be in the same room as Will Finn, which was incredible just to be like Caroline has never done.

[11:18] Carolee Carmello: Right, never never met.

[11:22] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[11:22] Carolee Carmello: What has been your experience working because you've worked with him multiple times because you also you also have recorded some of his music.

[11:29] Kevin Jager: Was it for Elegies before?

[11:30] Carolee Carmello: I did the production of Elegies at Lincoln Center.

[11:34] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[11:34] Carolee Carmello: So you've worked with him multiple times.

[11:36] Like what is your because he seems just like a like because he spoke for like maybe two minutes, didn't he?

[11:40] Kevin Jager: But very quickly, and it was like he just seems like fascinating.

[11:43] Carolee Carmello: I just exactly how it was.

[11:49] Kevin Jager: And then he said, yeah, and then he sat down, and then the music starts, and it's just this like unbelievably beautiful moment.

[11:56] Carolee Carmello: Like I've never understood how his brain works.

[11:59] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it's just he's so fascinating.

[12:01] Carolee Carmello: And they so showed two very different songs a love song and then a comedic song that was so it was fun to see.

[12:08] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it was and so we decided with Haley and AJ that we need to go have a like summer camp at Bay.

[12:14] Carolee Carmello: We should absolutely do something.

[12:15] Kevin Jager: That's actually a really good idea.

[12:17] Carolee Carmello: And Carolee will come.

[12:18] Kevin Jager: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[12:20] Carolee Carmello: She left.

[12:21] Bryan Plofsk: She just walked out.

[12:31] Kevin Jager: Wanna join the what have you seen this week?

[12:34] Carolee Carmello: Conversation?

[12:35] Kevin Jager: Well, our friends at Gold Star are sponsoring this episode and giving you the chance to save on already discounted tickets to all of your favorite live experiences.

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[13:24] Five stars, please.

[13:25] Kevin Jager: We've talked about this.

[13:27] Don't forget, this code expires June 30th.

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[13:34] Don't forget it, it's Broadway.

[13:37] Carolee Carmello: And you might forget about it.

[13:38] Kevin Jager: That's Broadway.

[13:39] Carolee Carmello: That's Broadway.

[13:39] Kevin Jager: Have you heard of it?

[13:40] Carolee Carmello: Broadway.

[13:40] Kevin Jager: Have you heard of Broadway?

[13:43] Carolee Carmello: Don't spell it Broadway.

[13:45] Kevin Jager: And join us as we talk about what have you seen this week.

[13:45] Carolee Carmello: What have you seen this week?

[13:50] Kevin Jager: Or recently.

[13:52] Carolee Carmello: But yeah, let's let's just get into questions.

[13:54] Bryan Plofsk: Let's do it.

[13:54] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[13:55] Bryan Plofsk: Okay.

[13:56] Carolee Carmello: Questions for me?

[13:57] Kevin Jager: No, for Kevin.

[13:58] Carolee Carmello: Well you did you didn't prepare questions for Kevin?

[14:00] Bryan Plofsk: I did.

[14:00] Carolee Carmello: Where did you get that shirt?

[14:02] Kevin Jager: It's fabulous.

[14:03] Kevin Jager: My daddy bought it.

[14:05] Carolee Carmello: What's your favorite musical?

[14:07] Kevin Jager: My favorite musical.

[14:10] Carolee Carmello: And we're gonna tell all the other musicals you don't like them as much.

[14:13] Kevin Jager: I mean, I can't.

[14:15] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. Gosh. There are just a few that I think are so well crafted, well written. Like *Little Shop of Horrors* is just one of those shows that's just like a perfectly sculpted show that just like works.

[14:30] Kevin Jager: Have you done that one?

[14:31] Carolee Carmello: Uh, when I was younger, yeah. I did it in Boston for a year.

[14:34] Kimberly Cooper: That's awesome.

[14:34] Carolee Carmello: Um, that's a really fun part. Um, my favorite musical. God, it's so hard to say. I mean, *Parade* is that is one of the top ones just because it has such a special place in my heart because it was the first time I ever originated a role.

[14:51] Kevin Jager: Oh, really?

[14:52] Carolee Carmello: I mean, it was just what a role to originate too.

[14:54] Kimberly Cooper: And you won the Drama Desk for that, correct?

[14:56] Carolee Carmello: Uh, yeah. Uh, tied, tied.

[14:59] Kevin Jager: Oh, that's right. Bernadette, yes.

[15:01] Carolee Carmello: That is like '99.

[15:03] Kevin Jager: So that was what was Bernadette winning for?

[15:05] Carolee Carmello: Uh, *Annie Get Your Gun*.

[15:06] Kevin Jager: Yes, yes, I think so.

[15:08] Carolee Carmello: I wore her shoes from that one.

[15:09] Kevin Jager: Really?

[15:10] Carolee Carmello: This is the weirdest thing about me. I know my college, Manhattanville, used costume collection for all of our shows.

[15:17] Carolee Carmello: So when I was in *Candeed*, I was getting fitted for stuff, and they were like, "How do these shoes feel?" And I was like, "Uh," and before I could say they're a little too tight, they're like, "They're Bernadette's from *Annie Get Your Gun*." And I was like, "They're perfect."

[15:31] Carolee Carmello: So if you get a pair of shoes that says B. Peters and are covered in blood, those were mine.

[15:38] Carolee Carmello: I was in the ensemble. I sat down that whole show.

[15:40] Kevin Jager: Oh, right.

[15:40] Carolee Carmello: It really didn't matter.

[15:41] Kimberly Cooper: So you originated a role like the first time was on the Lincoln Center stage?

[15:46] Carolee Carmello: That's a daunting place to like create a role.

[15:50] Carolee Carmello: Um, I didn't know the difference. I mean, I had done a few other shows, but I had never done something from the beginning, you know, and we had done readings and out of town productions and stuff leading up to the street.

[16:02] Kevin Jager: And you were with it from the get-go?

[16:02] Carolee Carmello: Like I was, but I've told this story before that I almost didn't—I almost got replaced in the middle of the process.

[16:12] Carolee Carmello: I um, I did the very first reading in Philadelphia that was ever done, and that was like in '95.

[16:21] Carolee Carmello: And then, in the same room. This is a good story.

[16:30] Carolee Carmello: No, um, so I was doing a television show called *Remember When*. I don't know if you know it.

[16:38] Carolee Carmello: Yes, W E N N. It was about... It was a great show. It was sort of a precursor to *Mad Men*. It was on AMC, and it was about this radio station during the '40s.

[16:49] Kevin Jager: Oh, cool.

[16:49] Carolee Carmello: Um, so I was in my dressing room and walking down to set, and I hear coming out of Amanda Naughton, who was in the show with me, out of her dressing room, I hear these songs that I recognize from *Parade*.

[17:04] Carolee Carmello: And I like stop outside her dressing room door. I'm like, "Oh," so I realized that she's singing, you know, it took me a second to put it together, but she's singing songs from *Parade*, which at the time was called *I Love a Parade*, by the way.

[17:18] Carolee Carmello: That was the original title, *I Love a Parade*.

[17:22] Kevin Jager: Um, what a coincidence.

[17:23] Carolee Carmello: I love a parade.

[17:25] Kevin Jager: I do. Macy's for real, though.

[17:27] Carolee Carmello: The show I also love, *Parade*. Honestly, yeah, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of parades.

[17:32] Carolee Carmello: But that was just a good segue.

[17:35] Kevin Jager: Wow, I'm ready called out today.

[17:38] Carolee Carmello: But yeah. So I was like, "Hi, what—so where—why are you singing those songs?" You know, and she said, "Oh, I have an audition for the show."

[17:46] Carolee Carmello: And I was like, "So I call my agent," and they're like, "Yeah, they're seeing people, and you know, they think maybe you're not right for the role, and blah blah blah."

[17:56] Carolee Carmello: So the next production that they were gonna do, they were trying to find somebody else.

[18:01] Carolee Carmello: Um, and as I found out later, they wanted someone younger, because in the story, which you know, most people probably know, but it's based on a true story. Lucille Frank was in her 20s, and I guess I was in my 30s at that point.

[18:15] Carolee Carmello: Um, I was heartbroken though, because it was one of those shows that you know, we do so many of these like, you know, from the ground up kind of readings, and most of it is not very good, and then you come across something that on the first read is like brilliant, and you go, "Holy shit."

[18:33] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[18:33] Carolee Carmello: Oh, there goes the bleep. Carmen, thank you.

[18:37] Carolee Carmello: Um, so they went through all their auditions and they were getting ready to do a presentation workshop thing with Matthew Broderick as Leo Frank.

[18:48] Kevin Jager: Oh, interesting.

[18:50] Carolee Carmello: And so I knew that was happening.

[18:52] Carolee Carmello: She chose the other Leo. He went with the balloon.

[18:58] Carolee Carmello: Um, so they—so I get a call from Hal Prince one day, and like you do.

[19:05] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. I'm sitting at home with my then I think two-year-old or something screaming in the background.

[19:12] Carolee Carmello: And he basically says to me, "We've decided that we love you, but you're not quite right for this part."

[19:19] Carolee Carmello: And you know, we want someone a little more, you know, character-y, a little younger, or whatever.

[19:26] Carolee Carmello: But would you help us out and do this next presentation with Matthew Broderick? Because you know the music, and it would just be a favor to me, Hal Prince.

[19:37] Carolee Carmello: And you know, knowing that we're gonna move on, we're not gonna use you, but it would be a big favor to me.

[19:44] Carolee Carmello: And I was like, "Yes," because first of all, it's Hal Prince, and second of all, I just loved the score and the story so much.

[19:52] Carolee Carmello: It's one of those like lessons in life of you know, just go with your gut because I felt like I should do this, even though I was really hurt that they weren't gonna use me anymore, and you know, classic rejection story of an actor.

[20:08] Carolee Carmello: But as it turned out, I did that presentation with Matthew Broderick, and they didn't go for it with Matthew, but they did with me, and then they brought Brent Carver in.

[20:17] Kevin Jager: And so that's the magic.

[20:19] Carolee Carmello: Take any opportunity you have.

[20:21] Carolee Carmello: I unfortunately didn't get to see the show because I was in Florida, but um—

[20:21] Kevin Jager: And you were eight.

[20:25] Carolee Carmello: And I was not very—yeah, I was like, "Wait, what year was it?"

[20:29] Kevin Jager: What, '99?

[20:31] Carolee Carmello: Um, '98 into '99, I think, yeah.

[20:34] Kevin Jager: So you were 13.

[20:35] Carolee Carmello: Okay.

[20:35] Carolee Carmello: Um, yeah. That album was like a huge deal, and like I can't remember the first time.

[20:45] Carolee Carmello: We almost didn't make the album. I remember standing in the hallway at Lincoln Center and them saying, "We don't have enough money to make the album because we closed suddenly."

[20:53] Carolee Carmello: I don't know if you know the backstory of that, but Garth Drabinski, who was that producer from Canada who went bankrupt right around that time, he had a lot of money in the show, and that was kind of when his story blew up, and all of his money got pulled from the production.

[21:10] Carolee Carmello: And Lincoln Center couldn't replace it fast enough, so they had to close the show, and they didn't—especially for that show.

[21:15] Kevin Jager: I know.

[21:16] Carolee Carmello: I know some other shows that I want to be pulled money from, but not that one.

[21:21] Kevin Jager: It always around the same time as *Ragtime*, because people put them in the same category of closed too soon.

[21:26] Carolee Carmello: Did *Ragtime* close too soon?

[21:28] Kevin Jager: It ran like 10 years ago. People love it so much that like—

[21:30] Carolee Carmello: Well, the revival closed too soon.

[21:33] Kevin Jager: Yeah, the original, I mean, people just didn't want the original to close.

[21:37] Carolee Carmello: Right.

[21:38] Carolee Carmello: So it ran for a good long time.

[21:39] Kevin Jager: Yeah, I think that's a good idea.

[21:40] Carolee Carmello: I thought they closed around the same time.

[21:42] Carolee Carmello: So they almost didn't make that album.

[21:44] Kevin Jager: Right.

[21:45] Carolee Carmello: I remember standing in the hallway and they had like a company meeting where they said, "I'm sorry, but we just don't have enough money."

[21:50] Carolee Carmello: And we were all like, "What? We're closing so soon, and you can't even record the album because we just want—we knew that the score was so beautiful that it needed to be a good one."

[21:59] Kevin Jager: I can't imagine a world.

[22:02] Carolee Carmello: Yes.

[22:03] Kevin Jager: Oh.

[22:04] Carolee Carmello: I definitely think that.

[22:06] Kevin Jager: You owe me 27 cents.

[22:09] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, Kevin, what are you doing?

[22:11] Kevin Jager: Um, I'm the worst.

[22:13] Carolee Carmello: Oh, I love a good parade. I mean a good production of *Parade*.

[22:19] Kevin Jager: How much did you see the show change during your journey with it?

[22:23] Carolee Carmello: Um, I would say not as much as other shows that I've done from the beginning. It was just um they were so good, they were such a good creative team, Jason and Alfred Urey and Hal.

[22:36] Carolee Carmello: And Hal really knew you know what he wanted. Alfred was so good at um working with Jason on what particular scene and you know dynamic he wanted for any given song.

[22:54] Carolee Carmello: Um, but there were some changes, but so much of it was there right from the beginning.

[23:00] Kevin Jager: That's so cool.

[23:02] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, I mean Jason's brilliant.

[23:04] Kevin Jager: Yeah, I mean we can honestly talk about *Parade* the whole thing, but I'm gonna switch it up a little bit.

[23:08] Carolee Carmello: Do it.

[23:08] Kevin Jager: Um, do you have a favorite experience seeing a show?

[23:08] Carolee Carmello: Seeing a show.

[23:12] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it doesn't have to be your favorite show, but you walked out of there being like, "Whoa."

[23:17] Carolee Carmello: I mean, I have to say one of the first shows I saw before I lived in New York, because I grew up in upstate New York in Albany.

[23:24] Carolee Carmello: So every once in a while I would come down, you know, with friends and see a show. It didn't happen very often, but one of those trips we saw Patti LuPone in *Evita*.

[23:35] Carolee Carmello: And that was pretty spectacular.

[23:37] Carolee Carmello: And just the show itself to me was kind of eye-opening, you know, the use of like the movement of people in between scenes and the—well it seems like you like the use of leading women and their arms in shows between *Evita* and *Aida*.

[23:54] Kevin Jager: That's the pattern that I'm pulling from this.

[23:57] Carolee Carmello: I see where you're going.

[24:00] Carolee Carmello: That it was spectacular though. I mean, that production. So good.

[24:03] Kevin Jager: Oh, that's so cool. Well, do you remember what your first Broadway show was?

[24:06] Carolee Carmello: *Ain't Misbehavin'*.

[24:08] Kevin Jager: Ooh, which is a weird show.

[24:10] Carolee Carmello: I think we just went to the tickets line. I came down with some college girlfriends, and you know, I wasn't a theater student or anything. I went to school for business administration.

[24:18] Kevin Jager: Wait, really?

[24:19] Carolee Carmello: So yeah, so I went—

[24:19] Kevin Jager: Where you're at home in this conference room.

[24:22] Carolee Carmello: Exactly. This is why you went to be man, the road not taken.

[24:29] Kevin Jager: Oh, she starts on Monday at my company.

[24:31] Carolee Carmello: I need a job right now.

[24:35] Carolee Carmello: Um, yeah, my sweetmates and I from my dorm, we came down, and I think we just went to the tickets line and we were like, "That sounds fun."

[24:42] Carolee Carmello: Oh, that's so cool.

[24:42] Carolee Carmello: And it was fun, but it wasn't the kind of show that I like. Like I don't—I don't love revues. I love shows with stories.

[24:49] Kevin Jager: Yeah, characters. Makes sense.

[24:50] Carolee Carmello: Um, all right so this question is called Death Row Show.

[24:51] Kevin Jager: Death Row Show.

[24:56] Carolee Carmello: If you were on Death Row and you're gone tomorrow.

[24:59] Kevin Jager: Could happen.

[25:00] Carolee Carmello: True. You never know.

[25:02] Carolee Carmello: I saw *Sweeney*.

[25:04] Kevin Jager: Would you—what would you see the night before?

[25:07] Carolee Carmello: I could be any show. It could be at any time period. It could be—I mean if I could just time travel and put myself in the case or even dreamcast on the—yeah.

[25:16] Carolee Carmello: Oh my God. Wow. One of my favorite shows from childhood because it was a movie musical was *1776*.

[25:26] Carolee Carmello: And of course I never saw the original Broadway cast, but I saw the movie which had a lot of the original Broadway.

[25:31] Carolee Carmello: Was it Virginia Madsen? Is that her name who played—

[25:31] Kevin Jager: Yes, she was Abigail.

[25:36] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, she's amazing.

[25:36] Carolee Carmello: And Mr. Feeney, William Daniels.

[25:36] Kevin Jager: William Daniels, God.

[25:36] Carolee Carmello: And so I think if I could like drop myself into that Broadway, you know, original Broadway company and watch that on stage, that would be cool.

[25:50] Kevin Jager: And you did a reverse—

[25:50] Carolee Carmello: A reverse! My friend Emily was your music director.

[25:56] Kevin Jager: Oh yeah, she says hi.

[25:56] Carolee Carmello: I saw that was so fun. That was really—she played John.

[25:56] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, I had played Abigail in the Broadway company and I had always, you know, when people—You are your own husband, that was just for you.

[25:56] Carolee Carmello: I want to see *Cheers*. I would have clung to that. That was one of those roles that, you know, when people had asked me over the years, like if you could play any role that you know obviously you would never get cast in, what would it be?

[26:29] Carolee Carmello: And I always thought I wanted to do John Adams.

[26:29] Carolee Carmello: So I actually heard about it on Twitter. I saw—yeah, I saw it on some—I forget who posted it, but they said that 54 Below was doing an all-female cast, and I was like, "I know."

[26:32] Carolee Carmello: I really don't enjoy that. I mean, I know I'm not supposed to say negative things, but I don't enjoy the cabaret experience, like singing that in that setting.

[26:52] Carolee Carmello: I really like a theater setting.

[26:54] Kevin Jager: Yeah, but I just emailed right away and I was like, "If you don't have a John Adams yet, I'm volunteering my services."

[27:00] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, you know they fired three people so you can do it.

[27:04] Kevin Jager: They didn't.

[27:05] Carolee Carmello: No one said seven.

[27:05] Kevin Jager: Kevin's a big *1776* advocate.

[27:11] Carolee Carmello: Love *1776*.

[27:12] Kevin Jager: The year, that's a good year for him.

[27:12] Carolee Carmello: Did you watch the movie as a kid?

[27:14] Kevin Jager: Yeah, and my parents loved it, and um my little sister is— we'll talk about this later. My little sister is obsessed with John and Abigail Adams.

[27:23] Carolee Carmello: Um, she read their love letters and stuff.

[27:23] Kevin Jager: Um, if you read—I don't know if you've ever read them, but if you read their letters back and forth, it is like a definition of like a perfect, like honest, real relationship that like probably didn't exist back then anyone else.

[27:39] Carolee Carmello: Like he literally would write to her and be like, and treat her like a complete equal.

[27:45] Carolee Carmello: And that he was so enamored with her, and she like did not pull punches with him, but at the same time was just such a—she was there to support him all the way, and it just—it's such a beautiful like relationship that they had.

[27:58] Kevin Jager: Yes, and my dad is a huge history buff, so like we watch *1776* all the time.

[28:03] Carolee Carmello: So, like that was—and it's a good movie, it's a great movie.

[28:06] Kevin Jager: Yeah, well, my dad and I used to watch *1777* all the time.

[28:11] Carolee Carmello: We're big into sequels, you know.

[28:14] Kevin Jager: I have a question for you, uh, because we kind of touched on it for a second, but I want to just jump back.

[28:19] Carolee Carmello: You did not go to school for musical theater, theater or anything like that.

[28:23] Carolee Carmello: True fact.

[28:24] Carolee Carmello: And um, in a world like today where we see a lot of uh, like there's like the big schools that like send their kids who immediately are becoming like the stars of today.

[28:36] Carolee Carmello: So yeah, that we all know the school is where these kids are coming from, and it seems like to a lot of people who are coming to New York to be actors who don't come from those schools that they're almost starting at like a disadvantage because of like their connections aren't as strong as the others.

[28:50] Kevin Jager: Um can you talk about what it was like as an actor coming here without zero training?

[28:55] Carolee Carmello: Quote unquote. Well, I mean, you had your like the passion in the heart and the natural talent.

[29:00] Kevin Jager: Did I?

[29:05] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, I think it's great to talk about like how you got here without taking like what people would call the traditional course to Broadway.

[29:11] Kevin Jager: Yeah, true. It was definitely a different path.

[29:14] Carolee Carmello: The advantage that I had was that right before I moved to New York, which was the fall after I graduated from college, in that summer in between, I got my equity card.

[29:24] Kevin Jager: Oh.

[29:25] Carolee Carmello: In a random way, but I had done a few little community theater things in my hometown, and I was approached by sorry, I imagine you walking by the equity building, like finding someone else's card, and you're like, I guess I'm Caroline now.

[29:41] Kevin Jager: I like that story.

[29:43] Carolee Carmello: It's very it's very mad men.

[29:45] Kevin Jager: It's very AMC, Don Draper.

[29:51] Carolee Carmello: Sorry to interrupt, keep going. I can sing happy birthday. Is that okay?

[29:54] Kevin Jager: Um Yeah, I was approached about doing this summer theater job, and I remember the producer explaining to me what actor's equity was and that I would have to join this union, which I knew nothing about at the time because I had been a business major and didn't know anything about making theater a career. So I decided to go do that. And so as a result, when I came to New York, I was already a member of Equity, which helped a lot because I was able to audition for you know a certain group of shows that weren't available to everybody. So that helped a lot.

[30:28] Kevin Jager: But you're also known as like one of like the powerhouse vocalists of like our diva our divas of Broadway. And like to be one of those ladies without the like traditional training is like really, really impressive. So like what would you say has been like who like inspired you or like what is like the way that you learn to like kind of use your voice the way that you have?

[30:51] Carolee Carmello: I learned probably a wit the way a lot of people learn, which is listening to cast albums. I mean, when I was a kid, I listened to Godspell and Sound of Music and West Side Story and you know, whatever albums, albums are a thing that existed when I was a kid with turntables and they're coming back, are they?

[31:09] Kevin Jager: Yeah, yeah.

[31:10] Carolee Carmello: Oh, big and big.

[31:11] Kevin Jager: Why?

[31:12] Carolee Carmello: The sound. Sarah Van Hansen has a blue one now. SpongeBob has a yellow one.

[31:16] Kevin Jager: SpongeBob has a yellow one.

[31:17] Carolee Carmello: For real? So people have to buy turntables now.

[31:19] Kevin Jager: I have one. My sister has one.

[31:23] Carolee Carmello: I keep forgetting about albums, but I have a turntable. I'm super excited for A-Trax to come back.

[31:29] Kevin Jager: Cassette tapes.

[31:30] Carolee Carmello: I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Mini discs everyone. So many pencils, I don't know what to do with them.

[31:38] Kevin Jager: So you just you just add the natural born talent and then just staying along with the albums, or like, oh wait, I can do this.

[31:44] Carolee Carmello: I guess so. I don't remember like trying to imitate people per se, but I just remember like just singing along and trying to make sounds that felt you know like they went along with the music. I don't think I studied it consciously, but I think I just sort of by osmosis got a little Julie Andrews and a little, you know, Marnie Nixon, whatever I was hearing.

[32:10] Kevin Jager: Well, we've been talking for about 30, 40 minutes. So let's let's play a game.

[32:14] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[32:15] Kevin Jager: Oh my one playing while you're chips. So we're gonna play Sweeney Was.

[32:19] Carolee Carmello: Oh that I've created specifically for today.

[32:23] Kevin Jager: So my gosh. This is basically if Sweeney was someone else.

[32:29] Carolee Carmello: Oh, so I have a few different things for us to draw from.

[32:34] Kevin Jager: Great.

[32:35] Carolee Carmello: I have my new scenery bag.

[32:36] Kevin Jager: Oh, is that the Oklahoma scenery bag?

[32:38] Carolee Carmello: Yes. Do you know scenery bags?

[32:40] Kevin Jager: No.

[32:41] Carolee Carmello: They recycle old theater drops.

[32:43] Kevin Jager: No. Or what do they call that?

[32:44] Carolee Carmello: They um square curtains?

[32:46] Kevin Jager: No, they didn't call it something else.

[32:48] Carolee Carmello: They say they like rescue, like rescue drops or something. But they have a bag made out of the sister act billboard.

[32:55] Kevin Jager: Oh, really?

[32:55] Carolee Carmello: Somehow they take like that plasticky stuff that billboards made out of and make tote bags. Yeah, so they made those for us when I was. Oh, that's so nice. This is the Oklahoma tour cool drop curtain, which is a tour I saw, which is why I bought this one. Um at BroadwayCon, my like favorite purchase. Basically, instead of the ballad of Sweeney Todd, we'll be singing the ballad of whoever.

[33:19] Kevin Jager: Great.

[33:20] Carolee Carmello: Someone else. So you're gonna pick a show card.

[33:22] Kevin Jager: Attend the tale of someone else.

[33:25] Carolee Carmello: Exactly. Oh, that's a bad name. You did it.

[33:27] Kevin Jager: Okay. I'll tell the tale of someone else.

[33:29] Carolee Carmello: So you're gonna draw a show card. You're gonna draw an occupation and an adjective in the ballad.

[33:37] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[33:38] Carolee Carmello: Or just say lyrics. I don't know. Just speak them on rhythm if you're insane.

[33:43] Kevin Jager: Or what you got?

[33:45] Carolee Carmello: I want you all to attend the tale of Jackie Hoffman.

[33:49] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[33:50] Carolee Carmello: I love Jackie Hoffman. The tale of Jackie Hoffman. An acrobat and succubus.

[33:57] Kevin Jager: No, but you have to be like the end. But if you look and Barbara Fleet Street, that's how this came about.

[34:02] Carolee Carmello: Oh oh. The You can get there on your own.

[34:06] Kevin Jager: Okay. Yeah, wait. Attend the tale of Jaggy Hoffman, an acrobat and a succubus. If you look closer, she's really cool. She's just like one of us. She's she's succubus.

[34:20] Carolee Carmello: Right, sort of. That's good. I'll go next.

[34:22] Kevin Jager: Okay. I'm not sure I understand yet, but maybe by the third time I'll get it.

[34:26] Carolee Carmello: No, just have the Dem and Barbara of Fleet Street. Like the succubus acrobat of Fleet Street.

[34:32] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[34:32] Carolee Carmello: Oh. You see what I mean?

[34:34] Kevin Jager: Yes.

[34:34] Carolee Carmello: Oh, so you still use Fleet Street. I mean, or you can say 40 seconds. Whatever street you want. Wherever you think they might live. A barrow street.

[34:41] Kevin Jager: Okay. Attend the tale of Tina Landau.

[34:46] Carolee Carmello: The moderate baker of Broadway.

[34:50] Kevin Jager: The moderate.

[34:52] Carolee Carmello: That's what I got. The moderate baker.

[34:54] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[34:54] Carolee Carmello: Moderate was an antonym of demon, apparently.

[34:58] Kevin Jager: What? Really?

[34:59] Carolee Carmello: So you can be a demon or average.

[35:03] Kevin Jager: Yeah. Like moderate and conservative.

[35:05] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. Then Lando, the moderate baker of Fleet Street. Alright, what'd you got, Kimberly?

[35:11] Kimberly Cooper: Attend the tale of Norm Lewis.

[35:13] Carolee Carmello: I did.

[35:14] Kimberly Cooper: Yeah, you too.

[35:16] Carolee Carmello: Eight times a week.

[35:16] Kimberly Cooper: Oh, I did it once.

[35:19] Carolee Carmello: Um.

[35:19] Kimberly Cooper: Yeah.

[35:23] Carolee Carmello: Not as easy as it sounds.

[35:27] Kimberly Cooper: Carly is saucy.

[35:30] Carolee Carmello: I mean, Steven Sondheim is who he is for a reason.

[35:32] Kimberly Cooper: Exactly. This is a Sondheim musical?

[35:36] Carolee Carmello: Oh, yeah. Attend the tale of Norm Lewis. His arms are strong.

[35:40] Kimberly Cooper: And he has a lot of land.

[35:42] Carolee Carmello: Because he's the realistic farmer of Fleet Street.

[35:49] Kimberly Cooper: The realistic farmer of Fleet Street. It might rain today, and it might not.

[35:56] Carolee Carmello: That's realistic.

[35:58] Kimberly Cooper: Alright.

[35:59] Carolee Carmello: This one scans pretty well.

[36:00] Kimberly Cooper: Oh, good. Attend the tale of Bob Fosse.

[36:04] Carolee Carmello: The rascal bookbinder of Fleet Street.

[36:09] Kimberly Cooper: You know, if someone could.

[36:10] Carolee Carmello: It's a little known fact about Bob Fosse. I mean, everyone knew he was a rascal, but not very many people knew he was a bookbinder.

[36:17] Kimberly Cooper: He was quite the rascal.

[36:18] Carolee Carmello: He was super good at first readings.

[36:21] Kimberly Cooper: Was he?

[36:21] Carolee Carmello: Because he was a bookbinder.

[36:26] Kimberly Cooper: I will go again.

[36:30] Carolee Carmello: We're both like, really?

[36:33] Kimberly Cooper: I know he won't know.

[36:35] Carolee Carmello: Attend the tale of Jerry Bachenschild and Harrick.

[36:40] Kimberly Cooper: The seamstress angels of Fleet Street.

[36:44] Carolee Carmello: Seamstress Angels.

[36:45] Kimberly Cooper: Yeah.

[36:46] Carolee Carmello: Or the Angel Seamstresses.

[36:47] Kimberly Cooper: Yeah, I thought I'll switch it up.

[36:49] Carolee Carmello: That's fine. There can be seamstressing the angels.

[36:51] Kevin Jager: Kevin, you can do the last one.

[36:53] Carolee Carmello: Okay, I'll get the last one. Attend the tale of Raúl Esparza.

[36:58] Kevin Jager: The vampire chambermaid of blue streets.

[37:02] Carolee Carmello: That's pretty accurate.

[37:03] Kevin Jager: That's so good. I'm sorry, but that's pretty accurate.

[37:07] Carolee Carmello: The vampire chambermaid. Um since we're talking about Sweeney, if you don't mind, I'd love to talk a little bit about Sweeney Todd.

[37:15] Kevin Jager: Talk about it.

[37:16] Carolee Carmello: You don't have to answer any questions. Let's just talk about Sweet Street. Because one, not only you're being put in. Were they from 10 to 6, 9 to 5? Did you get your equity break?

[37:28] Carolee Carmello: Um I mean, so you're being put in. Is this the first time you played Lovett on that?

[37:34] Carolee Carmello: Yes. Yeah, and never played it before. And then so I guess one, what was it like to be put into that production, especially because it was so interactive and that space is so unique?

[37:44] Carolee Carmello: And then what do you think you brought to that Lovett that maybe has never been brought before?

[37:50] Carolee Carmello: Wow. Uh well, first of all, we didn't quite have enough rehearsal, if I'm being honest. Um, it was the first time that this group of creative team people had done, you know, they had done the show in London. I don't know if people know the history of the show, but yeah, it's really pretty fascinating. It started because the producer lived in this little suburb of London where there was a hundred-year-old pie shop on one side of the street and a barber shop on the other side of the street. And every day she would walk to the subway and be like, hmm. And so one day she just got up the courage, like after years of thinking about this, she got up the courage to walk into this pie shop and say, This is a crazy idea, but would you guys ever let us use your space after the bakery closes at night to do like a show in here?

And they were like, Yeah, sure. We don't care about our health break. So it was this teeny tiny little hundred-year-old pie shop that sat, I think, when they actually got the chairs in there, 32 people.

[38:51] Kevin Jager: Oh wow.

[38:52] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. Whoa. So that was the original production of the show, and it took place in this, you know, environment. Did they have to run across the street for the wait, really?

[39:01] Kevin Jager: They no, not during the show, but at intermission. They would go across to the barbershop where they had a bar and they would buy cocktails. Yep.

[39:09] Carolee Carmello: What so cool. So then Cameron Macintosh came and saw it there, and so did Sondheim. Can you imagine doing doing a show? I mean, it was hard enough when he came to the Barrow Street because you know it's You knew exactly where he was sitting. Totally. But I can't imagine if it's 32 seats. Yeah, he was at the piano. Pretty well.

[39:31] Carolee Carmello: Um so it moved to the West End because Cameron Macintosh created this. Yeah, he he had a space that was being renovated and he let them use it for this short period of time. So they created the show in this thank you. In this uh, I think it was maybe 90 seats at that point. Um, and then when they moved to New York, they expanded it a little more, so it was a total of 132 seats. But yes, the it still feels like 32 people.

[40:01] Kevin Jager: Does it really small?

[40:03] Carolee Carmello: Wait, it there's over a hundred seats there?

[40:05] Kevin Jager: Uh huh.

[40:05] Carolee Carmello: No. Well, because there's a little balcony area. Yes, so they wanted to have the British cast, so they had the four leads from the London production come over, but equity would only allow them to do it for I think six or seven weeks. So they hired Norm and me and the other replacements at the same time when they were casting like the other roles, Joanna and Anthony. So we knew from the beginning.

[40:32] Kevin Jager: Yes, very early.

[40:33] Carolee Carmello: So I got to see it, you know, a bunch of times before I went in. So I kind of knew what it was gonna be before I started rehearsals, which helped a lot.

[40:42] Kevin Jager: I'm sure in that space.

[40:43] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, because especially Kevin and I walked in and we did get pies. So we were sitting in there for half an hour, just like, how does this become a theater? Right. Yeah, we could try to figure out. And then like halfway through, I looked up and I was like, there are way too many air vents in here.

[40:58] Kevin Jager: That's what we figured out.

[40:59] Carolee Carmello: And then I looked over and I was like, the lights are in the vents. But it's so well hidden, isn't it? So much. Yeah, if like theater, like if you aren't a theater person who's like looking for it, totally get a special. The way that it's directed, so that like just like four people or five people like banging a peachy piece of silverware together at the same time is so powerful just because that show is so powerful that like just that single movement was like shivers through the audience.

[41:27] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it's true. The production is so cool. I mean, I give Bill Buckhurst, who's the director, a lot of credit for that, just using the space and and paring it down that way. I mean, I've seen other smaller productions of Sweeney that I don't feel like worked quite as well. There's something about the way he directed it. Um, but so to answer your question about rehearsals, it was it was hard for me because I didn't know the role at all when I started, and I think we only had three weeks of rehearsal, which wasn't quite enough to learn a Sondheim score.

[42:01] Carolee Carmello: 70% of it? A lot of the show. I never counted, but it's enough that I was petrified. I was told you have caster singing. Back up your singing. We have time, we can do it right now. And PS Steven Sondheim came to our very first performance.

[42:16] Kevin Jager: Stop.

[42:17] Carolee Carmello: Which was not fair.

[42:19] Kevin Jager: No.

[42:20] Carolee Carmello: Norm and I were like, what? And they, you know, of course they had to tell us because we were gonna see as soon as we walked out there.

[42:26] Kevin Jager: Oh, yeah.

[42:26] Carolee Carmello: Attend the tail. Oh. No. This guy wrote anytime you mess up a harm. He just stared at the very first time we're doing this. Okay, Steve. Um, but uh, and and to make things worse, Norm had just gone away to do a concert and came back and lost his voice.

[42:46] Carolee Carmello: And so in the middle of the show, Norm had to go home sick. This is our first performance, and the understudy who I'd never been on and I had never rehearsed with did the second act for Stephen Sondheim. For Steven Sondheim, so I was like myself. This is literally nightmares that people are like.

[43:05] Kevin Jager: I was gonna say I'm getting nervous just hearing this.

[43:08] Carolee Carmello: I was at intermission, like talking to the understudy. I was like, I got you, don't worry. I was like, what am I talking about? This is my first time doing this. This is your first time doing this.

[43:18] Bryan Plofsk: That's incredible.

[43:19] Carolee Carmello: So Hulk and walk around. So what did you think you brought to this love it that no one else has brought to this love it?

[43:24] Carolee Carmello: Oh, I don't think it's been done so many times and by so many amazing people. I can't imagine I brought something that nobody's ever brought before. I tried to make her as human as possible. I mean, I've seen versions of it where she's a little more sort of cartoonish or you know, a little heightened in her comedy, and I just feel like it's so well written that you can be a human being and really make that stuff funny without making it a cartoon.

[43:56] Kevin Jager: And you can't go too heightened in that small of a room.

[43:58] Carolee Carmello: Well, that's true, yeah. Like anyone, they're a foot away from you, they'll see through anything that's not fact.

[44:06] Bryan Plofsk: That's in your mind.

[44:08] Carolee Carmello: That's really true. And is it still running, right?

[44:10] Carolee Carmello: It is, yeah. Oh yeah. I think they're on sale through the summer.

[44:13] Kevin Jager: Mostly because that pie was delicious.

[44:15] Carolee Carmello: It's true. Nothing else. Did you guys eat those pies every day before the show?

[44:19] Carolee Carmello: Not every day, but once in a while. Once in a while they would save some that didn't get, you know, taken by the audience.

[44:27] Kevin Jager: Yeah, like family mail.

[44:30] Carolee Carmello: But you know, Billy Yassis, who makes the pies is this very famous accomplished baker who worked in the White House for like eight or nine years under Obama.

[44:39] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[44:39] Carolee Carmello: Cool. I think before we get to some next questions or games, I think we need to go somewhere.

[44:43] Kevin Jager: We do.

[44:44] Carolee Carmello: Go somewhere.

[44:45] Kevin Jager: Tuesdays.

[44:46] Carolee Carmello: In the corner with Kevin.

[44:49] Kevin Jager: They created this theme song when I was not here.

[44:53] Carolee Carmello: I thought it was gonna go somewhere else. I thought it was Tuesdays with Maury.

[44:56] Kevin Jager: Oh yeah.

[44:58] Carolee Carmello: And welcome to the podcast.

[44:59] Kevin Jager: Kind of like that.

[45:00] Carolee Carmello: The ghost of Jack Lemon!

[45:03] Kevin Jager: So Carrie, I have created three highly detailed researched questions about your career.

[45:10] Carolee Carmello: I'm scared.

[45:11] Kevin Jager: By scrolling through Wikipedia.

[45:15] Kevin Jager: Some of it is your page, and then I got distracted. But um so I have three questions for you. So these are crowdsourced questions. This is where we find out if Wikipedia is telling the truth. So we're gonna see how well you do in Kevin's Corner. Are you ready?

[45:28] Carolee Carmello: Oh my god, I don't think I am, but go ahead.

[45:31] Kevin Jager: Question one. You've said to yourself, here I go again. My my how can I resist you? At least multiple times as you stepped in and out of Donna Sheridan's shoes in Broadway's Mamma Mia.

[45:45] Carolee Carmello: About 1600 times.

[45:46] Kevin Jager: Yep. Here we go again. Am I right, Caroline? A role that you've shared with the formidable Oscar darling, Meryl Streep. Your uncanny series of connections with Meryl Streep's career may end with Mamma Mia and make me sound foolish for calling one incident a series.

[46:06] Carolee Carmello: But in 1998, you gave your incredible award-winning performances, Lucille Frank in Parade, alongside Christy Carlson Romano, who gained fame for her work with Disney.

[46:17] Carolee Carmello: Even Stevens, baby. I've been to Disney World, Universal, Six Flags, King's Island, and Cedar Point. And I've got to say, I love theme parks.

[46:27] Carolee Carmello: I love Cedar Point. Great call out. So good. So my question for you, Carly, is where is this going?

[46:33] Carolee Carmello: Okay. Exactly. What are your favorite theme park rides, moments, or memories?

[46:38] Carolee Carmello: Okay, first of all, I have terrible motion sickness. So my favorite rides are like it's a small world because the bench waiting for your kids to get out.

[46:48] Kevin Jager: Exactly.

[46:50] Carolee Carmello: I had one of the worst moments at a theme park. Well, two that I can remember. One was that um what used to be called MGM Studios is now Hollywood Studios.

[47:00] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, you know, the uh Tower of Sider.

[47:02] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[47:03] Carolee Carmello: I was like, I can do Tower of Terror. It won't be that bad. And then I was so sick just from those drops. It's like an if you haven't been on it, it's like an elevator that sort of drops.

[47:13] Carolee Carmello: Oh my god, I got so sick and spent the entire day being nauseous and nearly throwing up. So that kind of ruined my day at Hollywood Studios.

[47:22] Carolee Carmello: And then the other one is that um ride in um what's the um what's the park in Disney World where they have uh the tree of life and the Animal Kingdom?

[47:35] Kevin Jager: Animal Kingdom and there's the Bugs Life ride, right?

[47:37] Carolee Carmello: No. No, it's the one that goes up the mountain and goes down backwards.

[47:41] Kevin Jager: Oh, that's um I went on this too.

[47:43] Carolee Carmello: It's not Kilimanjaro Everest, Expedition Everest.

[47:46] Kevin Jager: Oh my god.

[47:47] Carolee Carmello: Just the sound of the name makes me sick.

[47:51] Kevin Jager: I wish you all could see your head free.

[47:52] Carolee Carmello: I didn't know it was gonna go backwards. It's horrible. And the same thing happened to me on the Harry Potter ride, because we weren't we were so excited.

[48:01] Kevin Jager: In the castle, I mean.

[48:02] Carolee Carmello: Yes. I was like, I thought it was gonna be like that ghost ride in the haunted mansion. I thought it was gonna be like that.

[48:09] Kevin Jager: Does your son love like rides like that and stuff?

[48:12] Carolee Carmello: My kids both love rides, yeah. And I tried when they were younger to go with them, but I realized quickly that it ruins the rest of the whole day for me.

[48:21] Carolee Carmello: So yeah, so that's did that answer your question?

[48:24] Kevin Jager: Absolutely. That was a good answer. We got two more. You think you make it?

[48:27] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[48:29] Kevin Jager: Okay, question two. You appeared in the Broadway production of The Adams Family. In Adam's Family, you appeared in the non-titular role of Alice. A My Name is Alice is a music review that won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best review and contained a song called The Portrait.

[48:47] Carolee Carmello: Painting her portrait from Jane Eyre is an epic tour de force song where Jane physically paints herself and then paints the beautiful object of her beloved's affection to force herself to see why he would never want her.

[48:58] Kevin Jager: Kevin's trying to make Jane Eyre happy.

[49:00] Carolee Carmello: I want Jane Eyre to happen again. I love that show so much.

[49:02] Kevin Jager: Really?

[49:03] Carolee Carmello: The song I want Stop airing out your dirty laundry. The song I want you to want me, which always makes me think of the movie Ten Things I Hate About You.

[49:07] Kevin Jager: I want you to want me to do it. Maybe that song?

[49:15] Carolee Carmello: Okay. Wait, is that in continuous?

[49:18] Kevin Jager: It is in Ten Things I Hate About You.

[49:19] Carolee Carmello: I thought you might have been Jane Eyre.

[49:20] Kevin Jager: It is not in Jane Eyre.

[49:23] Carolee Carmello: We took a Kevin's corner turn.

[49:27] Kevin Jager: The actual finale.

[49:30] Carolee Carmello: So the song I want you to want me, which always makes me think of the movie Ten Things I Hate About You, surprisingly didn't even chart when it was first released in the US.

[49:38] Kevin Jager: What?

[49:39] Carolee Carmello: US or us is the summation of you plus me according to the boy band together song calculus.

[49:49] Kevin Jager: So my question is it was a fake boy band on MTV in like 2001.

[49:54] Carolee Carmello: Oh, for real?

[49:55] Kevin Jager: Yeah, they had a song that said, I know my calculus. It says you plus me equals us.

[50:01] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[50:02] Kevin Jager: And then they had this whole break it down mo and like that's more algebraic.

[50:04] Carolee Carmello: Exactly. They're like, you plus sign, me equal sign, us. It was great.

[50:10] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[50:10] Carolee Carmello: Okay. And together was spelled weird.

[50:11] Kevin Jager: Yep, it was a two. It was together.

[50:14] Carolee Carmello: We've talked about them a lot on this podcast.

[50:16] Kevin Jager: I love that. They're amazing.

[50:17] Carolee Carmello: So here's my question after all of that research.

[50:19] Kevin Jager: Okay, I'm exhausted.

[50:21] Carolee Carmello: What are three non-mathematical equations that everyone should live by?

[50:26] Carolee Carmello: So blank plus blank equals blank.

[50:32] Kevin Jager: Oh my god.

[50:33] Carolee Carmello: So for example, I might say this was a mistake. I might say, I might say alcohol plus no eating plus driving equals hangover. So like what are three mathematical equations that you would say everyone should live by?

[50:47] Carolee Carmello: Non-mathematical equations.

[50:49] Carolee Carmello: Okay. Talent plus hard work plus perseverance plus luck equals a possibility of a career in theater.

[51:04] Kevin Jager: Sure.

[51:04] Carolee Carmello: So what I got from that is it's equal to the equipment. All the divided by luck, squiggly equal lines, which is like estimated.

[51:14] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[51:17] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. That's one. You got two more to go.

[51:21] Kevin Jager: Parenthood plus a career in theater equals juggling act.

[51:28] Carolee Carmello: A parade, if you will.

[51:31] Carolee Carmello: A parade of jugglers all trying their best. Um okay, equations. I got one more to go.

[51:36] Carolee Carmello: Um I took a lot of math in college, so I should be able to get this. Let me see. Right.

[51:47] Carolee Carmello: Business administration degree plus no theater training equals Carolee Carmello's brother career.

[51:54] Carolee Carmello: Luck on the sidewalk in front of the equity building. Lots of Tony nominations.

[52:01] Kevin Jager: You did it.

[52:01] Carolee Carmello: Thank you.

[52:02] Carolee Carmello: And a lost identity. Who am I anyway?

[52:09] Kevin Jager: I'll take that one.

[52:10] Carolee Carmello: Okay.

[52:11] Carolee Carmello: Thanks for writing it for me.

[52:12] Kevin Jager: You're welcome.

[52:13] Carolee Carmello: I did a lot of research, so I thought I'd help you out.

[52:15] Kevin Jager: Thank you.

[52:15] Carolee Carmello: Okay, so are you ready for the third question?

[52:17] Carolee Carmello: Yes.

[52:19] Kevin Jager: You appeared in the Broadway revival of 1776 in the role of a wise, witty, and saltpeter making Abigail Adams.

[52:29] Carolee Carmello: Abigail Adams is an idol of my little sister Caitlin. When I was 10 and my sister Caitlin was eight, the 10th anniversary concert of Lay Miz was broadcast on PBS, and my family ordered pizza and gathered around the TV to watch it.

[52:41] Carolee Carmello: And my little sister Caitlin was so mesmerized by Philip Quaff's performance of Javert that she gave perhaps she gave him perhaps the highest praise that an eight-year-old Catholic girl could.

[52:52] Carolee Carmello: She announced that she wanted Philip Quas to be her confirmation sponsor.

[52:58] Kevin Jager: Amazing.

[53:00] Kevin Jager: No, but she was planning ahead.

[53:03] Carolee Carmello: This is like five years down the road. But she actually asked my mom if we could write him a letter and ask if he would come to America to be her confirmation sponsor.

[53:11] Kevin Jager: Amazing.

[53:12] Carolee Carmello: We still joke about that. She got confirmed when she was eight.

[53:12] Carolee Carmello: Confirmation is a Catholic ritual where you reconfirm your baptismal promise, but this time as a conscious adult and not a screaming baby.

[53:19] Carolee Carmello: Basically, it's like a Catholic unisex bar mitzvah. A concept that you're familiar with from your work in the musical, Falsettos, which you did in what could arguably be the early phase of your career.

[53:33] Kevin Jager: Hmm.

[53:34] Carolee Carmello: If you could go back.

[53:35] Kevin Jager: You might argue that, Kevin.

[53:37] Carolee Carmello: I mean, I was under 30, so according to Wikipedia, it was one of your first shows.

[53:42] Kevin Jager: So first Broadway shows.

[53:44] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. One of the first. So my question is if you could go back in time and have a chat with yourself at the beginning of your career. What advice would you give yourself before fleeing to avoid tearing the space-time continuum?

[53:58] Carolee Carmello: Okay. That's easy because you mentioned Falsettos, and I was really lucky to get that job. I mean, the only reason that Janet Metz wasn't playing Cordelia on Broadway was because she had a job on the road doing a tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at that time, and they would not let her out of her contract.

[54:19] Kevin Jager: Was she the narrator?

[54:20] Carolee Carmello: Yes. And they wouldn't let her out of her contract to come and do Falsettos on Broadway.

[54:24] Kevin Jager: What is an angry narrator touring the country?

[54:26] Carolee Carmello: Oh my god. I mean, can you imagine? I would have been destroyed.

[54:30] Carolee Carmello: No. Because she had done it. She's like, go, go, go, Joe! Don't go. I don't care anymore.

[54:40] Kevin Jager: No, no, no more Joe.

[54:44] Carolee Carmello: So that's so anyway. I was really lucky to get cast in that part because it just opened up. I mean, a lot of the people had done the show before, and I had not.

[54:54] Carolee Carmello: So I would say to my older self, just like be so grateful for that job. And the thing that I would change if it wouldn't mess up the time continuum.

[55:06] Carolee Carmello: All that is that.

[55:08] Carolee Carmello: Yeah. I would have stayed in the show until it closed if I could go back and change anything.

[55:14] Carolee Carmello: Because I was young and ambitious and restless and wanted to play like a bigger part, and I was only in the second act of Falsettos.

[55:22] Carolee Carmello: So I was like, I want to be me. I want to be a big star. Uh so I left the show and went and did something else, and then ended up playing Trina on the tour, which was fabulous.

[55:34] Kevin Jager: So cool.

[55:35] Carolee Carmello: But if I could go back, I would have stayed and finished the run at Falsettos and just be part of that through the whole day.

[55:42] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, because it was such a special experience. And when you get something like that early on, you don't realize how few and far between those experiences are and how really unique and wonderful they are.

[55:54] Carolee Carmello: So I would have tried to talk myself into staying a little longer.

[55:58] Kevin Jager: Now we heard that you and the rest of the original casts went together to see the revival. Is that true?

[56:04] Carolee Carmello: Mm-hmm.

[56:04] Kevin Jager: How is that?

[56:05] Carolee Carmello: It was really fun. We all sat together, Stephen Bogardus and Michael Rupert and everybody, the kids, Jonathan came and Andrew, and that's so cool.

[56:15] Carolee Carmello: It was really um It's on Broadway special, right?

[56:18] Kevin Jager: Yes.

[56:18] Carolee Carmello: I keep meaning to watch it again. Congratulations, Caroline. You made it through Kevin's Corner.

[56:22] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[56:24] Carolee Carmello: Woo we have a segment called Stage Door Stories.

[56:29] Kevin Jager: You've been on Broadway a lot.

[56:32] Carolee Carmello: In like fifty-seven musicals.

[56:34] Kevin Jager: Fifty-seven.

[56:34] Carolee Carmello: Just four.

[56:35] Kevin Jager: We counted.

[56:36] Carolee Carmello: Um but we would love to hear about some of your stage door experiences.

[56:42] Carolee Carmello: Um whether it be a heartwarming story, a funny story. Something that when you think back of your career of stage dooring, the act three of a show.

[56:50] Carolee Carmello: Or even how it's doing a three act throughout your career. That's what I was thinking.

[56:57] Carolee Carmello: It wasn't a thing when I first started.

[56:58] Kevin Jager: Yeah, go ahead.

[56:59] Carolee Carmello: So um just tell a story.

[57:01] Kevin Jager: Yeah, it's so different now.

[57:02] Carolee Carmello: I mean, um the first Broadway show I ever did was City of Angels, and I I wasn't there very long and I was in the ensemble, but I remember walking out of the stage door and there was nobody there waiting at all.

[57:15] Carolee Carmello: Um so yeah, that I I think that's the biggest thing that comes to mind when you talk about stage door experiences is just how different it is now.

[57:23] Carolee Carmello: Um and I know that a lot of actors have talked about this, but the it's kind of expected now that you you come out and sign and take pictures and talk to everybody, and sometimes there are fifty people and sometimes they're you know, hundred people.

[57:40] Carolee Carmello: It takes a while to get through that and and to get home to your kids or whatever.

[57:46] Carolee Carmello: Um, it's it's nice that everybody wants to, you know, interact with you and and tell you how much your performance meant.

[57:55] Carolee Carmello: I mean, that's lovely.

[57:56] Carolee Carmello: But I also sometimes feel like people are just there to collect autographs and then sell them on eBay.

[58:02] Carolee Carmello: I mean, it's there's it it makes me very uncomfortable when people like hand me a blank index card and they want you know signatures for their no, you are not supposed to do that.

[58:13] Kevin Jager: If they give you a blank piece of paper, it's because they'll copy it and print it on things.

[58:16] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, right.

[58:17] Bryan Plofsk: So I would never have thought about that.

[58:20] Carolee Carmello: I would just be like, oh, he's supposed to have notes, no cards with my name letter.

[58:23] Carolee Carmello: I've seen people hand in uh microscope slides and ask for blood.

[58:28] Carolee Carmello: Um I've I've had people ask me to sign like their chest or really like get tattooed over.

[58:33] Carolee Carmello: I don't think so.

[58:34] Carolee Carmello: I think they just wanted Sharpie on it.

[58:36] Bryan Plofsk: I want a Carly Carmilla tattoo just right across my chest.

[58:39] Carolee Carmello: I will give it to you as soon as she finished this podcast.

[58:42] Carolee Carmello: My aunt had John Lennon sign her arm once because she just like ran into him and didn't have anything.

[58:48] Carolee Carmello: And so, like my 15-year-old aunt just got John Lennon to sign her arm, and he did it, and she's like, I'll never wash this again.

[58:55] Kevin Jager: And I think it lasted her like a month.

[58:59] Carolee Carmello: That's awesome.

[59:03] Carolee Carmello: Well, I remember asking the dish group on that's maybe one you get tattooed.

[59:07] Kevin Jager: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[59:08] Carolee Carmello: She's like the biggest Beatles fan I've ever met.

[59:09] Carolee Carmello: But I remember when I was doing Mama Mia, which I did for a long time, lots of people would come back to that over and over and over again.

[59:16] Carolee Carmello: Like every time they came to New York, and lots of people who didn't speak English, so that was a really interesting stage door experience.

[59:23] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, they wanted so badly to talk to you, but they didn't really know how to communicate.

[59:27] Kevin Jager: Yeah, yeah.

[59:28] Bryan Plofsk: What has been your favorite costume you've ever worn?

[59:30] Carolee Carmello: Ooh!

[59:31] Carolee Carmello: Because you your career has spanned like so many different time periods and so and stuff.

[59:35] Carolee Carmello: And you can include your TV shows.

[59:37] Carolee Carmello: Right, that's what you're not at all.

[59:39] Carolee Carmello: That's a great question.

[59:40] Carolee Carmello: You know what also kind of goes along with that is my favorite wig because for me, I I'm I know that a lot of actors have different ways of sort of getting into their character, and for some people it's a lyric or a costume, and for me it's hair for sure.

[59:58] Carolee Carmello: Um, but I think what comes to mind is um that last dress in Kiss Me Kate, which was this beautiful red satin gown that was designed by Martin Pacladinas, and then the other one that comes to mind is Scarlet Pimpernell, which was like in Kiss Me Kate.

[1:00:16] Kevin Jager: Yes, because Marin was a blonde, yeah.

[1:00:20] Carolee Carmello: Um Scarlet Pimpernell, though, I was a redhead and it was that you know 18th century kind of like Marie Antoinette, right?

[1:00:30] Kevin Jager: Yeah, and the Bustier and the corset, and you know, just like that was a fun show to do.

[1:00:36] Carolee Carmello: It really was.

[1:00:36] Carolee Carmello: It's still my mom's favorite, I think.

[1:00:38] Bryan Plofsk: Going along with stage door stories, is there an audience inappropriate audience reaction that you like remember, or something crazy that happened in the audience while you were on stage?

[1:00:47] Carolee Carmello: There's gotta be good.

[1:00:49] Carolee Carmello: The one that comes to mind parades?

[1:00:51] Kevin Jager: I was gonna say Mama Mia must be a big one.

[1:00:52] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, Mama Mia is the Mama Mia is the one that comes to mind.

[1:00:55] Carolee Carmello: I think parade pre I mean those audiences at Lincoln Center are pretty well being here.

[1:00:59] Carolee Carmello: They know that they're there.

[1:01:00] Carolee Carmello: And it it was also a short run, so you don't, you know, when statistically the first few months of a run are the people who really want to be there.

[1:01:08] Kevin Jager: You know, they're just like elite.

[1:01:11] Carolee Carmello: Exactly.

[1:01:11] Carolee Carmello: It's not just like I found us something to do on Saturday.

[1:01:15] Carolee Carmello: Which says there's a parade, or they're surprised.

[1:01:21] Carolee Carmello: Well, the story that comes to mind is that this um people have like little plastic bottles of water that now you can bring cocktails down, like you said, you had margaritas at Margaretville.

[1:01:33] Carolee Carmello: But back then you weren't allowed to bring anything except bottled water.

[1:01:37] Carolee Carmello: So this girl in the front row at the winter garden had a bottle of water that she had emptied, finished drinking, and was squeezing it.

[1:01:47] Carolee Carmello: And it was like crackling the whole time.

[1:01:51] Carolee Carmello: That still happens.

[1:01:52] Carolee Carmello: Like people are trying to get the last of the water bottle.

[1:01:55] Carolee Carmello: But she was just playing with it.

[1:01:56] Carolee Carmello: She wasn't trying to drink it.

[1:01:57] Carolee Carmello: She was just squeezing it like playing with it.

[1:02:00] Carolee Carmello: And it was happening all through the show, and I was losing my mind.

[1:02:05] Carolee Carmello: And I said, if she does this all through winter takes it all, I'm gonna kill her.

[1:02:09] Carolee Carmello: And now she's dead.

[1:02:17] Carolee Carmello: If I could have reached her, she would have been dead.

[1:02:19] Carolee Carmello: But what happened was I said to one of my co-performers, I said, if if she does that one more time, I'm gonna I'm gonna lean over and try to grab that bottle from her.

[1:02:29] Carolee Carmello: And he was like, I will give you $20 if you do this.

[1:02:33] Carolee Carmello: So we're exiting at the end of the show.

[1:02:36] Carolee Carmello: Um, after Sophie is like going off into the sunset with her boyfriend, and everybody alert in the hiking shoes.

[1:02:45] Carolee Carmello: Everyone comes to say goodbye, and I'm like the last one there, you know, giving her the hug goodbye.

[1:02:51] Carolee Carmello: And the girl is still rattling her water bottle, and as I'm exiting, I leaned over the front of the stage, and I just like reached my hand out, and I'm like, give it to me, give it to me, give it to me, give me the bottle.

[1:03:03] Carolee Carmello: I was like, I was having a Patty LaPone moment.

[1:03:07] Kevin Jager: I appreciate that.

[1:03:08] Carolee Carmello: Oh my god.

[1:03:09] Carolee Carmello: I was losing my mind.

[1:03:10] Bryan Plofsk: But the funniest thing.

[1:03:11] Kevin Jager: Did she give it to you?

[1:03:12] Carolee Carmello: No, because she had no idea what I was saying.

[1:03:16] Carolee Carmello: She looked at me like I was, you know, an alien from another planet.

[1:03:21] Carolee Carmello: Like she just opened her eyes really wide and had this look on her face, like, oh my god, the people on stage are talking to us.

[1:03:29] Kevin Jager: How old was she doing?

[1:03:30] Carolee Carmello: She was a teenager, but there was a woman next to her who I think was her mother who when I did that, when I said, give it to me, give me the give me the bottle right now.

[1:03:38] Carolee Carmello: The woman next to her looked up at me and said, Oh, so beautiful so beautiful.

[1:03:45] Carolee Carmello: And I was like, God damn it!

[1:03:49] Carolee Carmello: Like just no one understood it.

[1:03:51] Carolee Carmello: Just didn't understand.

[1:03:53] Carolee Carmello: Didn't understand that I was angry.

[1:03:55] Carolee Carmello: You're angry at something like that, and like it's like your final straw.

[1:03:58] Carolee Carmello: The last thing you would hear is your beautiful.

[1:04:00] Kevin Jager: Exactly!

[1:04:01] Carolee Carmello: I was like, no, we're not!

[1:04:03] Carolee Carmello: Give me that freaking bottle!

[1:04:06] Bryan Plofsk: So there was no satisfaction.

[1:04:08] Kevin Jager: Let's play a game.

[1:04:09] Carolee Carmello: Okay.

[1:04:09] Kevin Jager: Let's play it.

[1:04:09] Kevin Jager: Let's play our final game.

[1:04:10] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[1:04:10] Kevin Jager: Oh, yes.

[1:04:11] Kevin Jager: So this is a game called All the Wasted Time.

[1:04:15] Carolee Carmello: In which I mean you mean all the Broadway wasted time.

[1:04:18] Kevin Jager: There it is.

[1:04:22] Carolee Carmello: Is this teams?

[1:04:22] Kevin Jager: Because I want her.

[1:04:23] Kevin Jager: It's not a team.

[1:04:24] Kevin Jager: This is an individual.

[1:04:26] Carolee Carmello: Not sad in death, but like play like it is.

[1:04:28] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:04:29] Kevin Jager: So basically, I have some screenshots of lyrics from shows that Carolee has done.

[1:04:34] Carolee Carmello: Oh.

[1:04:35] Kevin Jager: Not necessarily ones that you've sung yourself.

[1:04:36] Carolee Carmello: Okay.

[1:04:37] Kevin Jager: Just from the shows.

[1:04:37] Kevin Jager: Oh, yeah.

[1:04:38] Kevin Jager: You guys are gonna be better.

[1:04:40] Kevin Jager: I'm not gonna say I got this is Kevin's game.

[1:04:43] Carolee Carmello: No, I know.

[1:04:43] Kevin Jager: So whoever says the name of the show first.

[1:04:46] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:04:47] Kevin Jager: Wins this round.

[1:04:48] Kevin Jager: Yep.

[1:04:48] Kevin Jager: I'll pause the timer.

[1:04:50] Kevin Jager: That's your score for that round.

[1:04:52] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:04:53] Kevin Jager: Lowest.

[1:04:54] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[1:04:55] Kevin Jager: Score.

[1:04:55] Kevin Jager: Lowest score wins.

[1:04:56] Kevin Jager: Golf.

[1:04:57] Carolee Carmello: Got it.

[1:04:57] Kevin Jager: Like golf.

[1:04:58] Kevin Jager: So you just yell it out.

[1:04:59] Kevin Jager: You don't have to like raise your hand and I have dinging bells.

[1:05:03] Carolee Carmello: Oh my god.

[1:05:03] Kevin Jager: Get them.

[1:05:04] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:05:05] Kevin Jager: Okay, ready?

[1:05:06] Carolee Carmello: Yep.

[1:05:07] Kevin Jager: You got a kitten up a tree?

[1:05:08] Carolee Carmello: Well, come to me, and I'll see.

[1:05:11] Kevin Jager: It makes the front page.

[1:05:12] Carolee Carmello: That yes.

[1:05:13] Carolee Carmello: Uh, that's Evan Pappas in parade.

[1:05:16] Kevin Jager: Correct.

[1:05:17] Kevin Jager: Seven seconds is your score.

[1:05:19] Carolee Carmello: Okay.

[1:05:19] Kevin Jager: That wasn't a very good ding, though.

[1:05:21] Carolee Carmello: Sorry about that.

[1:05:22] Kevin Jager: That was really disappointing.

[1:05:24] Carolee Carmello: I'm sorry.

[1:05:25] Kevin Jager: Okay, ready?

[1:05:25] Carolee Carmello: I was on Family Feud, by the way, so

[1:05:26] Kevin Jager: Wait, were you really?

[1:05:29] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, with my family.

[1:05:30] Bryan Plofsk: Wait, what?

[1:05:31] Kevin Jager: Did you win?

[1:05:31] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, we did.

[1:05:32] Kimberly Cooper: Yes!

[1:05:33] Kevin Jager: How many weeks did you go?

[1:05:35] Carolee Carmello: I think we were on three shows.

[1:05:37] Bryan Plofsk: Whoa!

[1:05:37] Carolee Carmello: But my brother and I played Fast Money and we won both times.

[1:05:40] Kimberly Cooper: Amazing!

[1:05:41] Carolee Carmello: Right.

[1:05:42] Kevin Jager: I'm YouTubing later.

[1:05:26] Carolee Carmello: Yep.

[1:05:46] Kevin Jager: It's about time, don't you think?

[1:05:48] Carolee Carmello: It's about time to grow up, don't you think?

[1:05:51] Kevin Jager: It's about Finding Neverland?

[1:05:52] Carolee Carmello: No.

[1:05:53] Kevin Jager: Oh.

[1:05:54] Carolee Carmello: It's about time to grow up and face the music.

[1:05:56] Carolee Carmello: It's about time.

[1:05:57] Kevin Jager: Falsettos.

[1:05:58] Carolee Carmello: Correct.

[1:05:59] Kevin Jager: Oh, we were tied.

[1:06:00] Kevin Jager: I'll give it to you though.

[1:06:01] Kevin Jager: You're the guest.

[1:06:02] Carolee Carmello: Do you want to tie part of Falsettos?

[1:06:05] Kevin Jager: Oh, you mean act.

[1:06:06] Carolee Carmello: It's from Falsettos, but which bro off-Broadway show is it from?

[1:06:10] Kevin Jager: I would say March the Falsettos.

[1:06:12] Carolee Carmello: No, it's from Falsetto Land.

[1:06:14] Kevin Jager: Falls Settle Land.

[1:06:15] Carolee Carmello: Because it is Falsetto Land.

[1:06:17] Carolee Carmello: Oh, it's that song.

[1:06:19] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:06:20] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:06:21] Kevin Jager: Ready?

[1:06:22] Carolee Carmello: Oh, that was 11 seconds for who you just don't know who gets it.

[1:06:25] Kevin Jager: Okay, got it.

[1:06:26] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:06:27] Kevin Jager: How luminous he looks to me, so radiant and glorious.

[1:06:32] Carolee Carmello: Yeah.

[1:06:33] Kevin Jager: Is that Lestette?

[1:06:34] Carolee Carmello: It is.

[1:06:35] Kevin Jager: Three seconds.

[1:06:38] Kevin Jager: What does a what is a vampire doctor say?

[1:06:41] Carolee Carmello: Lestat!

[1:06:44] Bryan Plofsk: Brian really misses ER.

[1:06:46] Carolee Carmello: I finished all 15 seasons of ER and now I miss it.

[1:06:49] Kevin Jager: Oh ten years too late.

[1:06:53] Carolee Carmello: And I've been cheated by you since you Mama Mia.

[1:07:00] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[1:07:01] Carolee Carmello: I've been cheated.

[1:07:03] Kevin Jager: I liked your read though.

[1:07:04] Carolee Carmello: It's very dramatic.

[1:07:05] Carolee Carmello: Well, I was trying to say it in rhythm.

[1:07:07] Carolee Carmello: I was like, that's scandalous.

[1:07:09] Kevin Jager: For sure.

[1:07:10] Carolee Carmello: That's what I was thinking too.

[1:07:12] Kevin Jager: Okay, ready?

[1:07:13] Carolee Carmello: I was like, Kathy Lee.

[1:07:15] Kevin Jager: They're creepy and they're kooky.

[1:07:20] Carolee Carmello: A woman waits for marriage.

[1:07:21] Kevin Jager: Oh that's Adam's family.

[1:07:23] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[1:07:29] Kevin Jager: He trod a path that few have trod.

[1:07:31] Carolee Carmello: Sweetie Tom.

[1:07:34] Kevin Jager: That was four seconds.

[1:07:35] Carolee Carmello: Oh, that's the end.

[1:07:37] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[1:07:39] Carolee Carmello: Well, I don't know what's going on.

[1:07:42] Carolee Carmello: I like the most.

[1:07:44] Kevin Jager: I got zero.

[1:07:47] Carolee Carmello: She's wasted the most time.

[1:07:50] Kevin Jager: There's a fall in the scoring system.

[1:07:52] Carolee Carmello: Yeah, exactly.

[1:07:54] Kevin Jager: I think I came in second because I thought one of them first.

[1:08:02] Carolee Carmello: It's the story of my life.

[1:08:04] Carolee Carmello: No words.

[1:08:05] Carolee Carmello: Before we sign off, I do want to do some rapid fire questions.

[1:08:07] Carolee Carmello: First thing that comes to your head for shows that we haven't talked about yet.

[1:08:10] Kevin Jager: Okay.

[1:08:11] Carolee Carmello: You're in town.

[1:08:12] Carolee Carmello: Oh, that that damn Nancy Opel in that high G or whatever the heck that was.

[1:08:18] Carolee Carmello: That note, like what was she thinking?

[1:08:22] Kevin Jager: Tuck Everlasting.

[1:08:24] Carolee Carmello: Oh, so sweet.

[1:08:25] Carolee Carmello: It was such a sweet story.

[1:08:27] Carolee Carmello: And maybe in another season it would have done better.

[1:08:30] Carolee Carmello: But it was a lot of years getting my Broadway childhood books.

[1:08:35] Carolee Carmello: We had a lovely time seeing that show.

[1:08:36] Kevin Jager: Did you think it was sweet?

[1:08:38] Carolee Carmello: City of Angels.

[1:08:40] Carolee Carmello: That was my Broadway debut.

[1:08:41] Carolee Carmello: And I didn't stay very long.

[1:08:43] Carolee Carmello: I gave my notice after like eight weeks to go do the tour of chess to play Florence on the National Tour of Chess.

[1:08:49] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[1:08:49] Carolee Carmello: People were like, but this is your Broadway debut.

[1:08:51] Carolee Carmello: And I was like, yeah, but one of them.

[1:08:53] Carolee Carmello: I have one.

[1:08:54] Carolee Carmello: Florence was still singing someone else with stories.

[1:08:56] Kevin Jager: Yes.

[1:08:57] Carolee Carmello: That was the version that I did.

[1:08:59] Carolee Carmello: That was the 11 o'clock number.

[1:09:01] Carolee Carmello: Hello again.

[1:09:05] Carolee Carmello: Oh the thing that comes to mind is what an amazing cast that was.

[1:09:09] Carolee Carmello: I mean, you know, Michelle Pac and Donna Murphy and John Cameron Mitchell and Malcolm Getz and Michael Park and like just an amazing amazing group.

[1:09:20] Kevin Jager: Yeah.

[1:09:20] Carolee Carmello: Sorry, one more.

[1:09:21] Carolee Carmello: Scandalous.

[1:09:23] Carolee Carmello: Oh, the most uh the hardest I've ever worked in a show.

[1:09:28] Carolee Carmello: Every song.

[1:09:28] Kevin Jager: Yeah, yeah.

[1:09:29] Carolee Carmello: And there was one song that I didn't sing that George Hearn had, and then they cut it, and then I was like, God!

[1:09:36] Carolee Carmello: What are you doing?

[1:09:37] Carolee Carmello: I was like, I finally have a chance to go off stage and have a drink of water, and then they cut the song.

[1:09:41] Carolee Carmello: I watched it.

[1:09:42] Carolee Carmello: Um but thank you for joining us.

[1:09:43] Carolee Carmello: We really appreciate it.

[1:09:45] Carolee Carmello: Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule.

[1:09:46] Carolee Carmello: Thank you for having me.

[1:09:47] Bryan Plofsk: But um again, you can follow her at Carolee Carmello on Instagram and Twitter.

[1:09:51] Bryan Plofsk: Um, we want to thank Gold Star for sponsoring this episode.

[1:09:55] Bryan Plofsk: Uh, remember you can get already discounted theater tickets uh at Goldstar.com backslash broadwaisted.

[1:10:01] Bryan Plofsk: Use the code Broadway.

[1:10:02] Bryan Plofsk: Um, it's super easy to remember because as we as we know, give my regards to blank.

[1:10:07] Kevin Jager: Yep.

[1:10:07] Bryan Plofsk: First 200 uh listeners of the show before June 30th.

[1:10:11] Bryan Plofsk: So do that.

[1:10:12] Bryan Plofsk: Um, but we end every episode with a quote.

[1:10:14] Kevin Jager: We do.

[1:10:15] Bryan Plofsk: And today's quote is if I repeat one more word, I swear I'll lose my brain.

[1:10:19] Carolee Carmello: Oh, what else should I explain?

[1:10:21] Bryan Plofsk: Oh, yes, it's true.

[1:10:22] Carolee Carmello: I can cry on cue, but so can you.

[1:10:25] Bryan Plofsk: I'm breaking down.

[1:10:27] Bryan Plofsk: Follow us at Broadwaisted.

[1:10:28] Bryan Plofsk: Please.

[1:10:29] Bryan Plofsk: Um, go to uh iTunes, uh, rate or view us.

[1:10:33] Bryan Plofsk: Five stars, please.

[1:10:35] Bryan Plofsk: Um, and uh that's it.

[1:10:36] Bryan Plofsk: Thanks for joining us.

[1:10:37] Bryan Plofsk: Um join our Facebook group.

[1:10:38] Kevin Jager: Oh, Facebook group, right?

[1:10:40] Bryan Plofsk: Follow us on Instagram.

[1:10:41] Bryan Plofsk: Uh but we raise our glasses every episode, and we end with Zutuap.

[1:10:47] All: Cheers.

[1:10:48] Bryan Plofsk: Thank you, Carol.

[1:10:52] Carolee Carmello: That's a fun new thing.

[1:10:53] Bryan Plofsk: I like that.

[1:10:53] Carolee Carmello: I was gonna say you gotta end every episode.

[1:10:56] Bryan Plofsk: Yes, bells are ringing.

[1:10:58] Carolee Carmello: Oh, I love that show.