This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Joe Rosko: What's going on and welcome to Built For The Stage Podcast. This is Joe Roscoe, founder and host of Built For The Stage, Broadway's number one fitness platform with clients in over 20 Broadway shows, London's West End, Australia, Tokyo, Disney, collegiate theaters across the country, stages around the world. We are your one-stop shop for all things theater and fitness. Check us out, builtforthestage.com. You can do a two-week trial working with none other than myself on an interactive fitness app, builtforthestage.com.

[0:45] Joe Rosko: All right, let's get on to our special guest. Special guest is always currently a part of the cast of The Who's Tommy that was just nominated for Best Revival of Musical for the Tony Awards this year. This guest is swinging the show, also the dance captain and the associate choreographer, which is very cool. They've also had Broadway or New York City credits in Heart of Rock and Roll as the assistant choreographer, SIX, associate choreographer, Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and much more. Please welcome to Built For The Stage podcast, Dee Tomasetta. Hello.

[1:26] Dee Tomasetta: Hi.

[1:28] Joe Rosko: Thanks for joining us. You've had a busy morning and now afternoon already, just hopped out of rehearsals. We were chatting a little bit about, yeah, you making the walk over to Ripley Greer afterwards. How was rehearsal today? What are we working on? Even though that you opened up in March, what was rehearsal like today?

[1:45] Dee Tomasetta: The rehearsal was good. Also, thank you for having me. So excited. Big fan of Built For The Stage. Yeah, rehearsal was great. We're going through all the understudy roles, so it's getting easier and easier each time we do a cycle through. We're getting ready for the Tony Awards too, so we're excited for that. We're going to be performing in a week.

[2:11] Joe Rosko: That's very cool. You get to perform whatever number you're doing as is, or are you having to do a Tony version of it where maybe you're cutting and splicing different things?

[2:23] Dee Tomasetta: We're cutting and splicing and making it Tony official performance. It's really exciting for us because we do the show every single day and night, the same show, and to spice it up a little bit. All the swings are on stage, so it's exciting to do something new and fresh on the Tony Awards. I mean, come on, it's great.

[2:49] Joe Rosko: Yes, a special night. That's going to be amazing. How many numbers are you combining together for the Tony performance?

[2:56] Dee Tomasetta: Two-ish. Two. Okay, not bad. Not bad. Not to give too many secrets away. They're not making you do a montage for the Tony, so that's good.

[3:09] Joe Rosko: All right, well, let's rewind. I actually got to see some photos from in front of the theater taken by Josh Drake, I believe of you, and yeah, beautiful photos. You and Josh produced some, yeah, top-notch, but as you scroll through, though, there's this little girl, I think, in front of a gypsy promo and then a couple of dance videos. Who's this little girl in the end of your Instagram post there?

[3:43] Dee Tomasetta: It's little Dee Tomasetta, just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and just fell in love with New York City from the first visit that I went to New York, and that was the first Broadway show that I saw was Gypsy. Well, I was in auditions for it for Baby June. I was in final callbacks. It was between me and somebody else, and that was the first show that I got to really see in New York as a little kid.

[4:12] Joe Rosko: Okay. Are you from the New York area?

[4:12] Dee Tomasetta: I'm from Boston. I'm full of suburbs, but Massachusetts.

[4:17] Joe Rosko: Okay, Boston. Boston strong. I'll work on it. How did you end up auditioning to the New York City call for Gypsy? Did you hear about it? I don't know. Your mom found it in the newspaper? I don't know.

[4:30] Dee Tomasetta: No. I mean, that's a good guess. That's a good guess. We were dancing very extensively, and I was a competitive dancer, and I used to go to this dance competition called Excess Broadway, where they brought in a bunch of Broadway performers, and that's where I really fell in love with musical theater and got to know that side of Broadway. They have this mock audition, and there was an agent, and the agent discovered me and became my agent as a little girl, and so she sent me on a bunch of auditions, and Gypsy being one of them.

[5:13] Joe Rosko: Nice. Okay. So you're auditioning as a kid. Does that just carry through to you as a young adult, or do you ever take a break, or were you dead set on, hey, this is what I'm going to do?

[5:24] Dee Tomasetta: So that's a good question. So I was a child actor, and I did some professional stuff, but after that kind of experience, I was like, you know what? Maybe my mom was like, you should be a kid and go to school. I was missing a lot of school, and so I got a taste of that world, and I knew that I loved it, and I wanted to pursue it when I was older, and if I was still loving performing and Broadway, I knew it was right to wait and be a kid and go to school and have that experience. So I just trained my whole upbringing, and then when I got to, I guess it was at the end of high school, I got back into doing professional work.

[6:14] Dee Tomasetta: I was on that TV show, So You Think You Can Dance, and that kind of propelled into my career.

[6:23] Joe Rosko: Nice. Okay. So you do So You Think You Can Dance. Are you in New York at that time, or when do you make the move to New York to be a professional actor, dancer? When does it happen?

[6:35] Dee Tomasetta: Yeah. So senior year of high school, I was on So You Think You Can Dance, and I made it to the top 15 female dancers, and then I actually had a scholarship. So from that, I wanted to just move to LA and perform, and I was like, this is what I want to do, and I had a wonderful opportunity to go to the University of Michigan. I was on scholarship, and so last minute decided to go, and it was the best decision that I could have ever made. I'm so glad that I furthered my education and my network at Michigan, and it was the best chapter ever. While I was in school, I did some professional work and graduated early and moved to New York City three years later, officially.

[7:19] Joe Rosko: Okay, so you got on your horse, as they say, and got three years only to graduate. What was the inspiration behind wanting to graduate early?

[7:32] Dee Tomasetta: I think I was really itching to get to New York. I was like, okay, I did the school thing. I really want to be there, and I want to perform and start my life.

[7:42] Joe Rosko: Yeah, yeah, okay. Okay, so let's fast forward. How did The Who's Tommy come into the picture? Were you with it from beginning stages? When did this, when and how did this all happen?

[7:57] Dee Tomasetta: Yeah, so, oh my goodness. I, so Lauren Lataro, my queen, the choreographer of The Who's Tommy, this goes back to 2018. I first met Lauren. I got off a tour, and I was brought into a room, and she was doing pre-production for a show, and that's when I first met her. We were kind of like ships passing whenever job opportunities came about. I was either working on a show already that she wanted me to bring me on to, and Tommy came about where that was the first opportunity that I could actually be a part of the show that she was working on at the time. We started pre-production back in 2020, not this past fall, but the fall before that, 22. Oh my gosh, what is time? I don't know. In 2022, I was doing Radio City, and I was running to rehearsal back and forth.

It was a wild, wild time, and Lauren, I wasn't going to be a part of the Chicago production, and then a couple months later, I got a random text message from a random number saying, hey D, I would love for you to be my associate choreographer for The Who's Tommy going to the Goodman Theater, and I remember I was at the beach. I was on vacation with my family, and I dropped my phone in the sand. I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. When they say things happen when they're supposed to, that was definitely that moment. I went to Chicago and was with the show from the ground up creating the show. I became the swing in Chicago for a little bit, and then we got the great news that it was going to come to Broadway, and here we are now.

[9:48] Joe Rosko: Is there an interesting story in that little passing you said where you said you became the swing in Chicago? What all happened there?

[9:54] Dee Tomasetta: There was a lot of injuries, and we ended up not having a swing during the very beginning, during tech week going forward. I had to step in, and the actors healed now, and everything's good, but that's the beauty of being an associate choreographer. You know the whole show, so it's in territory. Of course, I'm a performer too, so it all worked out. It's definitely exciting times being thrown into the mix on the other side of the table.

[10:30] Joe Rosko: Your trip from Chicago to Broadway, much changed. It's pretty much the same production. What was the transition like?

[10:36] Dee Tomasetta: Oh my gosh. Well, there was a lot of back and forth. I was also working on Heart of Rock and Roll. I came back to New York. I was working on Heart of Rock and Roll with Lauren. Both shows were coming to Broadway, ideally at the same time, and we got into the studio. For the most part, we really didn't want to change much of Tommy. We really thought it was a great production already, and so all the changes that we made just enhanced and made it even better, especially in terms of choreography. We just really wanted to fine-tune things and enhance it, so it wasn't too much of changing. It was a quick turnaround once we got the okay, and it was a quick rehearsal process also. We had two and a half weeks to teach the whole show to the new members, and then going into tech, and then preview. It was very fast and furious because we just had our production in Chicago.

[11:48] Joe Rosko: Once you opened up, have you had to go on much? What's the swing life been like for you with the show?

[11:57] Dee Tomasetta: Oh yeah. I've been on every single week. It's been very exciting. Honestly, I thrive off of this because I'm like, oh yeah, who am I doing next? My brain's going crazy. The Broadway debut story is definitely one of those Broadway mid-show swing-on situations that is very exciting.

[12:14] Joe Rosko: Well, give it to us. What is it? What's the story?

[12:19] Dee Tomasetta: It was during the first week of previews, and I was in the audience with Lauren and our director, Des McAnuff, and we were taking notes. Within the first 10 minutes of the show, I got a tap on my shoulder. My phone was in my pocket, which is the first swing no-no. Make sure your phone is out in case somebody texts you. I got a tap on the shoulder from the stage manager saying, hey, we need you to come backstage. If somebody got hurt, you're going to go on. I'm like, right now. I'm going on right now. Okay, great. Within seven minutes, I ran backstage. I didn't have any wigs. I didn't have my costumes finished. I remember there was people pulling my hair up in a ponytail, putting my mic on, throwing a costume on me.

I walked on stage, and we did it. We made our Broadway debut. It was the most incredible, exhilarating experience that I probably ever had. I just remember after, if you've come to see the show, if you've seen the show, after act one, Pinball Wizard, because the show just moves. It's like you hop on the train, and you go. There's no stopping, especially for the ensemble. I remember after Pinball Wizard, just the curtain coming down. We're all staring at the pinball machine, and everybody starts screaming. I'm crying. I'm like, oh, my God. Then I was like, wait, we have to do act two now. I'm rushing over to my computer. It was the most incredible experience.

[13:52] Joe Rosko: Amazing. Then have you had any scheduled ones where you could actually tell family and friends, hey, I'm going to be on Pinball Wizard?

[13:59] Joe Rosko: Yeah, there's been an opportunity, you know, being from Boston, my parents were able to drive down, you know, like with a day's notice. So, but I have a couple, the summer is like big with the scheduled dates. So, I have a lot of dates coming up that a lot of family will come down and watch.

[14:17] Dee Tomasetta: Okay, cool. Exciting times. We'll have to get those off of you after this. And we'll put them in the description of the episode in case anyone wants to hop on over to see you in the show. So, you brought up your parents a couple of times. You grew up in Boston and like a supportive arts. Yeah, go dance or go. How was that upbringing and the support around you? Whether there was support or not? Or yeah, that experience?

[14:44] Dee Tomasetta: Yeah, I mean, I owe like my entire career and everything to my parents. My mom and my dad have been extremely supportive growing up to me and my brother with our dreams. And I wouldn't be here without them. I think I got started into dance by my grandmother though. She used to watch me when I was a young girl and we used to watch like Shirley Temple movies and like old, you know, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies. And, you know, she was like to my mom, we got to get her in dance classes. And so my whole family has been extremely supportive. I'm the only one in the arts. So I'm like a little bit of like the odd duck, but everybody like it's always coming to my shows. You know, I'm from a big Italian family.

So I remember one of my first big shows in New York was at Radio City. It was the last summer show, the New York Spectacular. And the first two shows of Radio City Music Hall was completely filled with my entire extended family. And they were just like sharing like it was like a football game. And I'll never forget it. It was hilarious, like rooting. But yeah, very supportive family and very thankful for them.

[16:00] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Yo, D, that's my cousin up there. Where'd it go?

[16:06] Dee Tomasetta: Perfect.

[16:07] Joe Rosko: That's my cousin up there.

[16:10] Dee Tomasetta: I'm like my cousin, Mikey.

[16:12] Joe Rosko: There you go. Yeah, of course. His name's Mikey. Of course.

[16:18] Dee Tomasetta: Of course, check the boxes. Okay, so what so we've talked about so many peaks so far, I love to ask about the valleys every once in a while as a coach helping people in fitness. The fitness journey is filled with ups and downs. But as far as your career in theater, has it been just since that first dance recital to your Broadway debut of a, you know, a red carpet rolled out and the butterflies and rainbows are everywhere? Or were there any like hardships that really taught you lessons that made you and molded you into who you are right now?

[16:56] Dee Tomasetta: Oh my gosh, of course. There's always, you know, it's a roller coaster. And every part of the journey is just as important. And honestly, it's the moments of the journey that isn't just about the success. It's like how you got there and like who was there for you and with you along the way and, you know, having injuries and making really difficult choices and staying true to yourself is all about the journey. And I would say, you know, I had a few injuries in my career. But I think the biggest obstacle that I overcame was when I first moved to the city. I remember just being like, I just want the opportunity. I just want the opportunity to be in the room. And I have a handful of mentors and people that took a chance on me.

And it just takes that one person to be like, invite you into a pre pro or invite you into a rehearsal, invite you to an audition. And I'm very thankful for that. But I just remember being so hungry and so eager and be like, I just want the opportunity. And if I'm not right for the job, like, that's totally fine. But, you know, my best advice for, you know, performers getting into this, to the field and industry, or if you have been is to stick with it. Because sometimes it happens right away. And then sometimes it takes a while, like, I'm just making my Broadway debut now. And I've done a bunch of stuff beforehand, you know, not to discredit that. But um, if you have a dream, you got to continue to believe in it and believe in yourself and believe what you're putting out there. And that's when other people are going to believe in what you're doing, too.

[18:40] Joe Rosko: So where did you pick this up from? Is this instilled in you naturally? Was a grab who was who was whispering these like prophetic things in your ear to have you have you be so resilient?

[18:53] Dee Tomasetta: Oh, gosh, I mean, my parents, my family, my brother, definitely my mentors, my dance teachers growing up. And, you know, a mentor that I will say that gave me my first like big break as choreographer Mia Michaels. She remember I got eliminated from so you think you can dance and I went back home and at the time I was devastated. I was like, Oh, this is like the most devastating thing like as a little 18 year old. And I remember going to a local dance convention and she was teaching and I remember, you know, not paying to like take class or anything. And I was like sitting amongst the dance moms. And I remember like seeing the combination and telling myself, Oh my gosh, I got to get up and dance.

And I started dancing in the back and there's hundreds of people and like dance guys. And I'm like doing stuff just like in my little corner. And I remember her getting on the God might be like you and the yellow shirt. Come see me after the class is over. I said, Oh, no, I'm in trouble. And from that moment, I went up to her and she she just wanted to know who I was. And like from that, like everything kind of all fell into place. I assisted her on so you think you can dance. Same season I was eliminated. You know, she hired me for Radio City Music Hall. Right from there, I auditioned for Finding Neverland and I was Peter Pan on tour and it was just kind of like one after the other. But before that, it was it was a hard time of just auditioning and hoping to like, hoping to get an opportunity. And so that's why I say like, always just like, you got to continue and and be resilient.

[20:41] Joe Rosko: Yeah, as usually as a young person growing up in dance, and just how you're talking now, assume like, you're very passionate about this, obviously, how do you find balance in all that? Are there other hobbies or passions involved? Or how do you step away from this career when you're on the clock six out of seven days a week?

[21:04] Dee Tomasetta: Yeah, so I will say, now in my life, like, I love what I do, don't get me wrong. But it is so important to have balance. So then you can show up for yourself and show up for the people that you work with. So that balance for me is like seeing friends, seeing family, the people that I love, I think that's really important is maintaining those relationships outside of what you do. Because at the end of the day, we're not just performers, we're humans. So definitely, you know, maintaining those, those friendships and relationships. I love fitness. So I love, you know, going for runs and walks, taking different classes in the city, taking yoga, just trying new things. And yeah, the balance is very, very important, I will say.

[21:55] Joe Rosko: Okay, so you hopped into training, you know, I can't resist. So usually, I promise guests that, hey, it's not going to be like, you know, 30 minutes talking about fitness, but you brought it up. So how in the midst of rehearsals, or being in a show, do you tell yourself, I might be tired, but this is going to benefit me and being durable being, you know, injury prevention, or just keeping up with my body? Because yeah, I'm being physical, but I understand your swing. But let's when you are being physical, or when someone else is doing it, the six out of seven days, you're still doing the same repetitive pattern day in and day out. And that's a problem of itself. So how have you been able to have that discipline of knowing that I still need to train? And did anyone like, help you with this? Or did you just kind of, I don't know, see it or figure it out? You're on your own.

[22:52] Dee Tomasetta: So I, I will say I'm very disciplined person, especially when it comes to like, working out outside of like what I do. So I think my dad, who's like an athlete growing up, like instilled that in me growing up, and like, it just kind of stuck. But because I'm a swing, and I'm not on all the time, I'm on a lot, but not all the time, I think it's really, it's really important to stay in it. And stay in shape, not only like physically, but mentally and emotionally, right. So every morning, I'm early morning riser, I will wake up and I will go for a run, or I'll go to core power yoga. I'll probably do if I'm crazy, I'll do both before rehearsal or going into the theater. I did that today, I was a little crazy today.

But I make sure that I move my body in, in like a cardio way. And then also like, weight training, and just being outside as much as I can working out because you're in the theater all day. But I think it's super important to make sure that you're cross training and you're doing other things, like you said, other than the show, because you can really plateau and just kind of stay in it. And also, that's where injuries kind of happen if you're doing the same repetitive motion over and over again. So it's good to like, have a balance of different things.

[24:20] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Okay. So you said you're disciplined. I love this topic. Because some people will say that they're disciplined. But the masses, when I at least when I'm first starting to work with them, I'm just not, I'm not disciplined. I don't have the motivation. Okay, so what you said you're disciplined? Why are you disciplined? What are the attributes to make someone disciplined?

[24:49] Dee Tomasetta: I know it might sound cheesy or obvious, but it's like, why? Why can you say that you're disciplined, but this person over here is like, I just can't be disciplined, when really, it's I think, just actions that, you know, make this discipline nature, not that Oh, I was just born disciplined.

[25:10] Dee Tomasetta: Right, right, right. I mean, for me, that sounds cheesy. But for me, like, I really want to bet I want to be a better version of myself, like every day. So we know that physically, like showing up for my show. I just I want to be better. I want to be a better performer, dancer, physically. So that's why I...

[25:34] Joe Rosko: Oh, my goodness. I'm just like making a fool of myself on.

[25:36] Dee Tomasetta: Alright, so I like this. So the root of your discipline comes from the fact that I'll add in that you just have one life. So if you just have one life, then let's live it to our fullest and try to improve daily. So I love that. Alright, let's close out the episode with three important questions. Are you ready?

[26:14] Dee Tomasetta: Let's do it.

[26:19] Joe Rosko: Alright. Number one, what's top of the list for going on some type of vacation? Where are you wanting to go?

[26:23] Dee Tomasetta: Oh, my gosh. Okay. So I really want to go to Italy. I have not been to Italy.

[26:27] Joe Rosko: That's my major. All right. Yeah, you got it.

[26:32] Dee Tomasetta: So that was number one, Italy. Alright, great. Okay, well, we can chat it up. I've been twice now. And we got to talk, obviously. Alright. Number two, really important. Burgers or pizza?

[26:46] Dee Tomasetta: Pizza.

[26:48] Joe Rosko: Okay, there you go.

[26:51] Dee Tomasetta: Love pizza.

[26:51] Joe Rosko: Hey, your answer is your answer.

[26:55] Joe Rosko: Alright, last and most important question. Cats or dogs?

[26:55] Dee Tomasetta: Dogs. I want a dog so bad right now, but I don't have time.

[27:03] Joe Rosko: Yeah, if you get that dog, you're going to have a lot of arranging to do to get to Italy because traveling with pets is quite difficult.

[27:07] Dee Tomasetta: Oh, man.

[27:14] Joe Rosko: Alright, thanks.

[27:16] Dee Tomasetta: Thank you so much for having me. So fun talking with you.

[27:19] Joe Rosko: Yeah. Can't wait to see the show. Everyone that's watching and listening. Make sure you head on over and see the Who's Tommy and see Dee and the gang. Dee, thanks.

[27:29] Dee Tomasetta: Thank you.

[27:31] Joe Rosko: Alright, everybody. Dee Tomasetta from the Who's Tommy on Broadway.

[27:39] Joe Rosko: But again, just nominated for best revival of a musical. So go ahead and check them on out. You can check out Dee on the Instagram at Dee Tomasetta. I'm Joe Rosko, Built for the Stage. Actors are athletes. Train like one. Later.