This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Eddie Noel: And then uh before COVID, I auditioned for Hadestown. Uh, but I got two callbacks, nothing happened, COVID happened, and then being in Puerto Rico, I received an email that they were looking for someone uh again for they were looking for more people for tour. So after that moment, everything happened through Zoom. So my auditions, even my final callbacks with Anais Mitchell, Rachel Chafkin, Liam Robinson, and everything everybody from the cast from the creative team. It was via Zoom, and I was in PR in that studio that I've been dancing for 15 years of my life. So I was like, it was it was it was it was a lot going on. I was really emotional. And after that audition, I was like, whatever happens, I'll be happy and you know, grateful.

[1:02] Joe Rosko: Hey, what's going on? Welcome to Built for the Stage Podcast. This is Joe Rosko, founder of Built for the Stage, Broadway's number one fitness platform with clients in over 20 Broadway shows, national tours, clients in London, uh on the West End collegiate stages across the country. If you need the help, we're here for you. We are a remote online training program that helps marry fitness and your theatrical career pursuits together. So builtforthestage.com, check it out. Thanks to Broadway Podcast Network. You can check them out at bpn.fm. All right, let's get on to the podcast episode. A special guest as always, the FTS fam on the road with Hadestown right now. Please welcome to the podcast, Eddie Noel.

[1:55] Eddie Noel: Thank you so much for that sound effect. I love it. Yeah, people will know that sound effect, especially in Hadestown. They will know that reference.

[2:07] Joe Rosko: What do we stumble upon? Let's get into that. I saw Hadestown when Broadway came back. Um I don't know when it was October, November. The months are blurring together. Tell us a little bit about that sound effect in Hadestown. What do you what are you referencing right now?

[2:20] Eddie Noel: Oh, it it's a thing that in Puerto Rico, every time you go to a party of reggaeton or something like that, they have this sound effects like so here in Hadestown, suddenly uh in the in the curtain call. Every time we turn around to the musicians or something, it's like bam bam bad brown. That's what I do for them on stage. Oh they're it's an inside it's an inside joke between the cast. God, and every time so we're celebrating something, enter to a room is like bam, bam, bam, bam. It's like, yeah, Eddie's here.

[2:49] Joe Rosko: Oh see, I I thought I missed something because I was like, I don't remember the party horn in Hadestown.

[2:57] Eddie Noel: No, no, no, no, no. It's super inside. Hilarious, hilarious. Well, I'm down in my I'm down in my oh my goodness. Thank you for being on the show. It's a long time coming. I'm so glad to finally chat um with you almost in person, more so on our nice little video screen here. But you're currently in Philly right now with the tour.

[3:20] Eddie Noel: Yeah, but before we get into Hadestown, let's just get to know you just a bit. Where are you originally from, Eddie?

[3:26] Eddie Noel: I am from Puerto Rico, specifically from my hometown, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, the same hometown as Bad Bunny. If you know Bad Bunny, you know he's from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.

[3:37] Joe Rosko: Yeah.

[3:38] Eddie Noel: So yeah.

[3:40] Joe Rosko: All right. Tell us about growing up and when performing became like a passion of yours, or maybe when you started to realize, like, oh, this is something I might want to do. Um tell us a little bit about that.

[3:54] Eddie Noel: Uh honestly, since I was a kid, starting all the talent shows, like dancing with friends, you know, this talent show. Okay, let's do this song. Uh, she wants to imitate Britney. Okay, let's do the backup dancers. Like, do the and that's how we started. Um, and after that, um the big Wait, let's let's let's zoom. Sorry to interrupt. Let's zoom in a little bit about your days as a backup dancer for Britney Spears as a child. Is this like watching the music videos over and over and over again until you get all the choreography down?

[4:24] Eddie Noel: Of course. Remember when we used to do the mix with the cassette, and you were waiting for the music video and specifically, so you recorded it from MTV or any. So I used to record every single music video, Janet Jackson, um, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, all those songs. Backstreet Boys. Uh so we used to um uh imitate all those artists. Uh so we used to go to different um uh talent shows. One time one I one of the biggest I remember that we did was Moulin Rouge, and we did this whole production with the heart and everything. Um so and yeah, we went all the way all over Puerto Rico doing different talent shows, and and yeah, that's how I started falling in love with performing. Then I joined uh a band playing the trombone for three years, so that helped me a lot, you know, with the music, reading and stuff.

Um then after that I joined uh folkloric dance company called Hibaro de Puerto Rico. That is uh a dance company that um promotes folklore and culture of our uh Puerto Rico. So with that company, I was there for 15 years of my life, basically. And we travel a lot, uh different places. Uh Mexico, uh Greece, uh Turkey, representing our island, uh, showing our folklore. So that's why I'm very attached to our music, our culture, and it's so rich that every time I go somewhere, just like flag Puerto Rico.

[5:49] Joe Rosko: So beside besides Bad Bunny, what what's an artist, uh, what's an artist that you could reference to our listeners to be like, hey, do you wanna get the the real deal of my hometown culture? This is what you have to listen to. Do you have any artists in your mind?

[6:10] Eddie Noel: I mean, uh damn, in the spot. I mean Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's I mean, it's it's okay. I mean, I know reggaeton is a big thing from Puerto Rico, and there's a lot of people from like the uh important uh reggaetoneros like Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Bad Bunny. Even though I listen to it, reggaeton is not my maybe my favorite type of music, you know, but I love when they do match up with a lot of Latin rhythms or they combine rhythms with another country. So I'm into that. And um, I think right now, I mean, Bad Bunny is he has been moving a lot, especially for this uh new generation. Um, everybody knows Ricky Martin, so it's another thing. It's just like going deep down to someone that maybe they don't know. Uh I I don't know. Nobody pops in my name right now. I'm gonna okay. So I have a a long work day today with programming. Um I'm gonna be listening to Ricky Martin all day because of you. I can't wait.

[7:10] Eddie Noel: The old the new idea. No, now I remember Calle 13. I mean, he doesn't uh sing in English specifically, but Calle 13, if you know him, I love his music. I uh he inspire me a lot. Um he's been connecting with a lot of other cultures. Uh there's a documentary of him in in Netflix that hit one of his latest albums. He did the DNA test. Uh and depending on that DNA test, he went to different countries from he is from by uh by that DNA, and he brought music from different parts of those countries, and he made that album with those rhythms, those music, those sounds is gorgeous. I'll send you the link. It's Calle 13. It's his name and Calle 13.

[7:55] Joe Rosko: Okay, okay, okay. All right, cool, cool. All right, so thanks for that. Going off of that bunny trail. Uh you're no stranger to touring then. You just said what, 15 years with the trombone and the band?

[8:07] Eddie Noel: Um 15 years with the folklore dance company uh called Hibaro de Puerto Rico. So we've been most of the time we were in Puerto Rico uh performing, but every year we used to go to different uh places. Uh we went to Spain a lot. How did you make the transition into musical theater from from that?

[8:29] Eddie Noel: Well the company not only uh dancing folklore, they used to uh do a lot of original musicals, original plays. So that's where I started. I mean, I started dancing and then suddenly okay, you have to do this character right now. So then acting. And then the musical director one time they were looking for someone to sing, and I was like, okay, let's try it out. So I started basically doing everything with that company that we used to do everything. So I convert myself a triple threat, thank you to that company.

[8:59] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Uh so uh yeah. I'm curious. Did you also did you also go to some type of place for training for singing, acting, dancing, or is it truly just boots on the ground? You were learning as you were actually, you know, in the midst of performing and being with this this company.

[9:22] Eddie Noel: Yeah, I kind of started just with the company. Uh, but before that company, I used to uh start dancing jazz, hip hop and stuff in uh in uh another dance uh academy close to Vega Baja and my close to my hometown. Then when I moved to that company, basically every time we needed something specific that we take the class and we perform what we needed for that show. Um then uh when I started singing, then I decided to get some classes, but it was more like uh one on one thing. And then when I went to college, I studied telecommunications, but my minor wasn't theater. I was already working in theater, professional theater in Puerto Rico. Um, but I decided just you know, let me get what I need to get.

But I was already working, I was in the business already. So I finished that minor. Um, and I remember when I was finishing my uh my degree, uh I they did um Rent in Puerto Rico, a version of Rent, and that was my first musical, my first you know, musical show besides the company that I used to dance and perform, and that's when I started covering Roger and going into the business of how to be an understudy, how to you know, connect with other people and perform, uh, and another thing that is not just uh folkloric um uh connected to folklore.

[10:39] Eddie Noel: Yeah, um, so then that was Rent, and then one of the shows one time when we when we with the company, we went to Madrid to Spain, and I remember that I saw Mamma Mia. Basically it's the same Broadway show, but in Spanish. And that was the moment when I saw the show specifically that I was like, I want to do this. It feels good, it looks amazing. And I fell in love with musical theater after I saw Mamma Mia in Madrid. Um and then I got obsessed. Then when I went to New York, you know, in the High Slant King, all those shows. I started I was uh you know a musical theater freak, and every time I was had an opportunity to go to New York, I try to catch a show.

[11:19] Joe Rosko: Do you I'm curious? Do you ever kind of look into musicals that are American-based and have either albums in English or you maybe you've seen it live, but then you've also seen that same show done in wherever Puerto Rico, Spain, and it's in Spanish. How well does it usually convert? Do they do how good of a job do you think they do, you know, when making the lyrics work and the songs and and so on and so forth?

[11:51] Eddie Noel: So it's very interesting. So in Puerto Rico, there's some uh productions. I don't remember the name of that production specifically, but I remember that basically the music, the music was original score in in English, but then the dialogue was in Spanish. So it was kind of tricky.

[12:07] Joe Rosko: Wait, so they would they would they would be speaking their lines in Spanish, but then when they would go to sing, they'd sing in English?

[12:15] Eddie Noel: It was gonna be it was in English, yeah. Yeah, I don't remember which one. I wanted to say in a name of a production, but it happened. I in my case, I did Godspell and we did it in Spanish, and it was a good, it was a good um, you know, conversion or transition or translation. Uh-huh. Um, it was a really good one. Um, but they did Legally Blonde, they did um uh Mary Poppins was in Spanish too.

[12:38] Joe Rosko: Oh, Mary Poppins was in Spanish too.

[12:40] Eddie Noel: But Mary Poppins in Spanish from Disney, they already have a translation, like approval approval. But there's some other productions that in Puerto Rico maybe they find someone to convert that the show in Spanish. Um and and it always most of the time, most of the time works, you know. If you're not that picky and you're like obsessed with just one version of it, you will enjoy it. But if you're going with a mindset of like, oh, I cannot. So but yeah, at the moment, at least with Godspell that I had that that experience and and La Cage, we did La Cage in Spanish too, and it worked. You know, the matrix works as long as the metric is okay and good, everything will work.

[13:16] Joe Rosko: All right, cool. All right, so you see Mamma Mia in Spain, you start to fall in love and say, Hey, this is I I kind of want to do this. What happens next? Do you do you come to the States? Do you start doing it in Puerto Rico? Where do you start performing um a lot in musical theater?

[13:32] Eddie Noel: In Puerto Rico, I already uh when I after I did Rent, then everything started like back to back. Uh a lot of shows in Puerto Rico, not only original stuff, but then Rent, then Godspell, then La Cage. Everything happened like very back to back. But the situation in Puerto Rico too is like it's not that you rehearse a show and then you do it for a year. No, basically you rehearse a show probably maybe two months, sometimes even three months, and you just do only nine shows. You know what I mean? So it's kind of like a rush thing. In some sense. You are like rehearsing this, and you have to do your your main job during the day, and then at night you have to rehearse, and then the next day, and and just at the end, when you finish those nine shows, is when you feel you feel that you're very comfortable with the character, and then everything is done.

Unless you're lucky enough that the producer decides to, you know, bring it back. So that's the situation in Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, sometimes you're rehearsing two shows at the same time to be, you know, on the game.

[14:36] Eddie Noel: I think in September. Um, they're gonna do it in PR. And yeah, a lot of stuff uh in the heights happened recently in Puerto Rico too, and it was a big event. Um yeah, it had to have been all Puerto Rican. It was it was really fun. Um cool, very cool. All right, so we we fast forward you're you're in New York City, you're doing the dr you're living the dream, if you will, you're pounding the pavement. Um talk us through this process of booking the tour for Hadestown in these like very trying times of the pandemic and how it was navigating around that and and your experience now with the tour. Um, how's it been? It's you know, it hasn't been too too long since you all have been out on the road since theater's gotten back up.

Tell us a little bit about the experience of getting the show, and then now that you're in it. I'm actually gonna go a little bit more back of that because my journey in New York my journey in New York actually started after Hierika Maria. When that happened in 2017, Hurey Cameria actually is kind of like the main reason that I needed to move and keep working and pursue my dream. It wasn't my plans to be in New York, but in 2017, when Here Kamer Maria happened and everything was canceled. Of course, theater wasn't a priority in that moment, you know. You know, priority was food, priority was gas, and everything. So, but I needed to, you know, keep up my thing, so I decided to move in October 2017.

And I was working at a retail store in New York in New York. Then I auditioned uh for the second time for On Your Feet, and then they booked me in five being in New York for five months. Then I booked the national tour of On Your Feet. So I had I did that. I was on the road for a year and a half. Then after that, I was in New York, you know, trying to make it happen. Then COVID happened. So then when COVID happened, I decided to go back to Puerto Rico. Uh while I was in Puerto Rico, I actually did some uh workshops, uh musical theater workshops for original musicals. So that was really fun. Um, and then uh before COVID, I auditioned for Hadestown. Uh, but I got two callbacks, nothing happened, COVID happened, and then being in Puerto Rico, I received an email that they were looking for someone uh uh again for they were looking for more people for tour.

So after that moment, everything happened through Zoom. So my auditions, even my final callbacks with Anais Mitchell, Rachel Chafkin, Liam Robinson, and everything everybody from the cast from the creative team, it was via Zoom, and I was in PR. And that studio that I've been dancing for 15 years of my life. So I was like, it was it was it was a lot going on. I was really emotional. And after that audition, I was like, whatever happens, I'll be happy and you know, grateful. And yeah, after that audition, that's uh that's so special that sorry to uh to cut you off there. That's so special that in your you know hometown growing up studio, that's where you know you're cutting your teeth on those were on those auditions, and where you ultimately booked the role. That's very cool, very cool.

[17:43] Eddie Noel: Yeah, and and and especially in that place uh and that space that I was auditioning it mean it meant a lot for me and even though sometimes you got in your head a lot about the situation of of course it's not a Latin show but it's a very diverse show and I was like as a Latino how can I fit in this show you have all that stuff going on and I love that they appreciate that and they've been more like you know um uh diverse in general if you see our cast and even on Broadway it's it's part of the main thing about the show you can everybody can relate with everybody and it's amazing um and being part of this right now it's it's just a blessing after that year and a half being in Puerto Rico um with with the COVID situation and we're still in the COVID situation but you know like thinking about what's going to happen next or like should I quit the business because how do you gonna you never know what's gonna happen with this business after COVID and we were very affected about you know not only Broadway community but the entertainment industry in general because in Puerto Rico of the restrictions like they they actually the restrictions in Puerto Rico were longer than even Broadway in New York.

So if you wanted to perform in a theater in Puerto Rico it was going to be harder so it was going to be then how we do this so booking this it was it was a blessing. And now being on the road until probably next year working I every time every day I practice gratefulness. You need to be grateful you know even in harder moments you just need to be grateful do your yoga do your routine go to the gym and like try to keep your say your play, try to keep yourself in a safe place of gratefulness every time. So that's what I've been doing to it.

[19:24] Joe Rosko: Yeah, absolutely. Now that you're on the tour, and especially when we had that omicron surge, what tell us some stories about coverage or just like when you all maybe were sitting down as a company before a show and saying, how how are we gonna make this work today? You know, do you have any stories like that?

[19:43] Eddie Noel: Actually, in our case, um, it would there was gonna there was a moment that it was gonna be like a chaotic moment of like maybe split tracks or stuff because suddenly everybody got COVID. In my case, I actually got COVID in our first week of tech rehearsals. So I was in New York, so we finished rehearsals, and the last day of uh of rehearsals in New York, I tested positive. So everybody went to Schenectady to do the tech rehearsals, and I was the only one in New York for a week and a half, and I was like, it happened to me. But you know what? It happened in that moment. But what happened uh recently was we were in Houston, and like nine people from the cast, you know, got the positive, so they decided to cancel.

So for two weeks we're stuck in in Houston. Um we were supposed to go to Austin, so then it happened. And then after being in Houston, we went to Dallas. So in Dallas, we started again. Um, but there's some people that were tested positive, like at the end of those two uh two weeks before. So we have some subs, we have some uh understudied stuff going on, but it has been good at the moment, you know? So let's keep it that way.

[20:57] Joe Rosko: And won't be because most of the people already have it, so we have the antibody, so hopefully we'll we'll not have a shutdown again. Do your castmates ever give you a hard time that you got to skip out on some of those long tech rehearsals?

[21:11] Eddie Noel: Say that again, I'm sorry.

[21:13] Joe Rosko: Do they do your castmates do they ever give you a hard time for you know when you got COVID during tech? Do they ever you know joke with you that you didn't have to stand there waiting for the lights and sound and set change, you know, you got to skip out on that painful moment sometimes.

[21:29] Eddie Noel: I mean, this is the thing. As a swing, that moment, like if I if let's be honest, like it's not missing a tech rehearsal is it wasn't that bad in my case because as a swing, I was just gonna be in the in the seat audience, like just watching because I was talking with other swings and they were like, You're good, you're good. I was like, okay, you're you're not you're just uh you're just missing uh them saying, could you could just move one step left on uh stage level six? Okay, we need you to step back for your special there. Yeah, okay, that's good. Okay. Moving on. And it's a moment that the show's still like changing a lot of stuff, and as a swing, like in my case, I like to learn what is like the official thing, but it was nice to be part of the process of the creation of why this instead of like the reason on Broadway is like this.

So that's why I always say, like, people, if you've seen the show on Broadway, you have to come see the tour because there's a lot of differences. Um, uh that is very interesting about the blocking, about the some even the interpretations of the characters, you know. You got the base of it, but it's very different. Vocally, it's it's amazing.

[22:40] Joe Rosko: Yeah, a lot of people have been watching the show from some Broadway and they come to see the show, and they were like, Oh, this is completely different, and I love it. It's like, yeah.

[22:47] Eddie Noel: Right, right.

[22:48] Joe Rosko: Yeah, the the words on the page are always the same, but it's the people that are up there that really make it come to life, and and it's always, you know, to each its own from cast to cast for sure.

[22:59] Eddie Noel: Yeah.

[23:00] Joe Rosko: Um, two more questions. Uh let's do one question or one question that you could answer to help out some of our listeners out there that either are currently swinging a show, they're maybe in the future they will. What's like one little tip or trick that you like to practice as a swing that has really helped you out?

[23:21] Eddie Noel: I've been um uh of course the first few months, you're always getting a lot of information and you have to be on your game. In my case, I cover five uh I five I cover six tracks The Five Workers and Hermes. That is one of the principles. So I've been on already for three of them, uh three more to come. Um, but it's always when you listen to the show every night, just pick one track and just go with the flow all the all the show with that track vocally, blocking wise. Always try to do that and have maybe one day that you know you're not gonna be on just to chill and relax and try to maybe reproductive and other stuff, but then other days at least scheduled yourself, like this day I'm gonna go with track three, this day gonna go with track four.

And that's been helping me a lot um in this journey, especially now that I already got that information in my head, it's just to how to divide it in case I have an emergency, uh I have to go on on stage in emergency. I don't need to be need I don't need to go to my notes. So you know, I already have okay, I'm worker three, and let's go. And that's the hardest part for me is a it's the first time being a swing. So I I I kind of started kind of like create a system to understand all this process. At the beginning, it was a little it was hard for me. I'm like, I'm not gonna be, I'm not gonna lie. It was it was hard, but I try not to get in that uncomfortable zone of you know being like, what am I doing?

Like, no, there's a reason why I'm here. So you have to figure it out. Having that, I got my notes, cards, colors, and there's no like uh a book that tells you how to be the perfect swing. You have to figure it out.

[25:08] Joe Rosko: And yeah, I love that. I think I think that mindset you just shared is maybe the most valuable advice. It's just that hey, it's gonna be difficult. You're gonna feel like you're lost at times, but you just have to be confident in your abilities that you know you're gonna come through at the end of the day for sure.

[25:26] Eddie Noel: Just like a workout when you feel that you cannot do anything one more round, you just have to know there's a reason why I'm here and I'm doing this. So let's go.

[25:35] Joe Rosko: Yeah, absolutely. All right, last question. Um, whether you know this person or it's just someone that you've looked up to from afar, who has uh had some influence on you during your career, um, and what type of insight or just helpful advice that you might have gotten from them along the way, whether again it was in person or just something you heard them say or you read at one point, um, just to give our listeners just a bit more, you know, uh inspiration.

[26:09] Eddie Noel: Inspiration. You know what? There's there's one actor in Puerto Rico that's he's very um I'm sorry.

[26:18] Joe Rosko: No, yeah, yeah. Go ahead.

[26:19] Eddie Noel: That's great. Go ahead.

[26:20] Eddie Noel: Okay, that's that's a problem with the with the connection. Um, there's an actor in Puerto Rico uh called René Monclova. Um, I used to work with him a lot, and he's very well known NPR. He's an amazing actor. And he one time told me we were in the show, and he told me it's like it's always very important to treat everybody, no matter if it is the director, the main character, the principal, even the security guy when you enter to the room, like you have to treat everybody the way that you would like to be treated. And people will respect you because they know you respect them. And that for me is just like if I enter to a parking lot or whatever, it's always wave, always say hi, or ask how are you?

You know, those kind of stuff, those little details change a lot of the energy in general. And I'm a person that I believe in I'm about energy. And I remember I was maybe like maybe like 20 or something like that, and he told me that. And it was like, damn, thank you very much. And he was like, with all the makeup as a as an old man and whatever, um, and it was like this is perfect right now. So that always stuck in my head. Um and yeah, I'd admire him a lot.

[27:33] Joe Rosko: Yeah. When you're talking about energy.

[27:36] Eddie Noel: Okay, there you go.

[27:37] Joe Rosko: When you're talking about energy, it's so true that you know, if not just you are practicing um that habit, but your entire cast, your entire company, you all treating each other with that mutual respect will not only just create a good work environment, but it inevitably will heighten the performance of your show, the quality of your show as well.

[28:00] Eddie Noel: Um, so I love that. Most of the time that happened backstage reflects on stage. So that's why it's very important to keep that harmony uh all the time. Even if we got hard moments just to shake it up, and when you go on stage, you just forget about everything else. So I try to keep it that way.

[28:18] Joe Rosko: Cool. All right, Eddie. That's all the time we have for today's episode. Uh amazing chat with you. I really appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

[28:25] Eddie Noel: Thank you for having me, man.

[28:28] Joe Rosko: All right, everyone. That was Eddie Noel. You can check out Eddie uh on his Instagram. His handle is in the description of our uh episode caption here. And yeah, if you like the podcast, rate, subscribe, leave a comment. This is Joe Rosko with Built for the Stage. We'll catch you on the next one later.