This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Rachel York: My name is Rachel York, and you're listening to Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[0:16] William J Connolly: Hello and welcome to Eleven, the official theatre podcast that brings the biggest stars and creatives together in one place to discuss life in the arts. She's the award-winning Broadway leading lady that's made her way across the shores to star in the Stella Barbican revival of Kathleen Marshall's production of Anything Goes. Now steering the ship as the illustrious Reno Sweeney, she steps into the shoes of Sutton Foster as the show heads towards its final performances here in London. Having previously played the role across the United States, a staple of New York City's performing world, she made her big debut in City of Angels, later going on to play leads in Les Misérables, Grey Gardens, Head Over Heels, Disaster the Musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Hello Dolly, Camelot, Into the Woods, The Sound of Music, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Victor/Victoria, alongside Dame Julie Andrews, of which she won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical.

Direct from her dressing room at the Barbican before a performance of Anything Goes, we discuss why the show is exactly what audiences need right now, why her feet hurt rather a lot, and how she got three weeks' notice to join the show once again. What it's been like stepping back into the world of Reno Sweeney, both mentally and physically, after almost 10 years since she last starred, and why her leading men in Anything Goes are arguably the greatest she's ever worked with. We discuss her dream roles, some of the roles that she's already played that she'd love to revisit, one of which is an absolute classic, and why she believes it's the powers of attracting roles when you need them the most, and why you can find those that are special to you when you connect with a part deeply.

We also discuss her portrayal of Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians, the musical, and how she used Dame Julie Andrews' help to perfect her British accent. Plus, why she's incredibly proud of her time in the now groundbreaking musical Head Over Heels. But the show did make mistakes and why she believes it would have had greater success here in the West End. We also get to discuss rather amusingly the humour and joy brought on by Disaster! The Musical on Broadway, and why she is excited by the new world of theatre that's emerging post the global pandemic—a more accepting, more inclusive theatre that's for everybody. It is the incredible Rachel York here now on this, the next episode of Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[2:31] William J Connolly: To ensure the safety of all involved in this episode of Eleven, Rachel and I connected with this conversation digitally. So please forgive any brief moments while we wait for the internet to catch up. Enjoy.

[2:52] William J Connolly: Hello, how are you?

[2:54] Rachel York: I'm feeling very, very excited for a Friday afternoon.

[2:57] William J Connolly: How are you from your glorious dressing room at the Barbican?

[2:59] Rachel York: I'm great, actually. I was thrown into this show very quickly. My feet have been having some trauma because of it, but they're good today. That's what counts. They seem to be getting better and better as we go.

[3:11] William J Connolly: Definitely. I feel like feet are quite an important part of Anything Goes, you know, that whole tap thing. So no feet, I think you quite struggle with the show.

[3:18] Rachel York: You would, you would. And this is Anything Goes at the Barbican. This is this production that came along that everybody was very excited about, and there are a few little leading lady changes, and of course, we got the glorious Sutton Foster that came to start, and everyone just sort of fell in love with the show all over again. Because I think we did get quite a lot of New York and touring envy when Anything Goes happened back in 2011-12, where people were like, we want this production here, we want to see it. And the fact that it's now come here, we've all fallen in love with it is amazing.

[3:45] William J Connolly: And I know that you're no stranger to the show because you did the national tour of it, right?

[3:49] Rachel York: I did, yes. I loved doing it. It's one of my favorite roles. It's such a timeless show. Cole Porter. The audiences are eating it up. It's what we need right now. I, in fact, I don't understand, you know, if you go back in history and you look at all the different, you know, in World War II, people wanted to watch comedies and musicals and happy stuff. I think there's a lot of us that just want to be, you know, we want our day brightened. We want to look at the silver lining. We want to have a good time. And I think that the audiences are realizing, oh my gosh, this is what I needed. This is like changing my life. It just makes us all feel good and gives us a good outlook on life. So yeah, I did this years ago, and they loved it then, but I think they love it even more now.

[4:36] William J Connolly: So talk me through logistically how this all happened then, because you referenced it very briefly at the start about the fact that you were thrown in. So there was this production happening originally, and we found out that Sutton was going to be leading the cast. Then it got extended and then it kept getting extended, and there were more and more performances added. And then, of course, that meant that Sutton's time was going to be over and they needed to find someone to come in. And they very, very cleverly picked you, which I think everyone was like, holy fuck, we're definitely being spoiled now. But how did it come that you were going to be coming across the pond back to the UK? Because I know you're no stranger to our shores to be taking on this role again. Talk me through logistically what the timeline was like.

[5:11] Rachel York: Oh, well, I would say, what was it? Like three weeks, maybe before I had to come out here. We were talking about me coming out here. And I was not worried about playing Reno. Reno's a part of me, and I just had to bring her out. But the dancing, I have tremendous respect for Broadway and West End dancers. They are so dedicated to their craft and they work so hard. And I have too much respect for them to call myself a dancer, even though I do dance and I've done it my whole career. But I was in pandemic mode. We had just moved to a new house, and I was painting and getting walking the dog and setting things up and got this call. And I couldn't be more out of shape. I couldn't have been more out of shape.

And so my only concern was like, oh my gosh, I have to get back in that kind of shape because I was in great shape when I was doing it before. So 15 pounds later, they were kind enough to send me a few videos to sort of just refresh my memory on some of the dancing. But as soon as I got out here, I had about 10 days to get in shape. So this was like my Broadway boot camp for Reno Sweeney. You just always wonder, can I still do this? I don't know. It gradually came back. Some things came back right away, and some things took a little bit more time, but finally it had to be done. You know, in this business, sometimes we just have to rise to the occasion. You don't have a choice. You don't have a choice to complain or say, can I do this?

You just jump in there and you gotta make it happen. And so that's what we did. I had a lot of support from this wonderful, wonderful company and all the people that were teaching me the dance. My gosh, George and Gabby and Carol Lee, and thank goodness for them. The first show was a bit of out of body. You know, when you haven't been on the stage in a year and a half on a Broadway stage or your West End stage, if you will, you know, it's wow, the lights, wow, the music. There's people here looking at me. Oh no, that first show. So like, okay, I'm getting back into it, getting back into it. Now I feel like I'm back into it, having fun, go out there and play with everybody every day. And it's just a glorious show. And I think people are having a good time. And I think people really like my Reno. I think my Reno is really special.

[7:46] William J Connolly: Definitely. Well, the reviews and social media and stuff, I don't know if you read any of that, but people are going crazy for you.

[7:51] Rachel York: Yeah, I mean this very respectfully, but they were always going to. I mean, you are fabulous in this role. And I love the fact you joked about videos because your social media is a funny thing anyway. But when you posted a video, I think it was you either in your put-in or one of your final dress rehearsals of you completely and absolutely exhausted, like, how the hell am I gonna do this every night? It was a really honest and just realistic look at the fact that this shit is hard.

[8:14] Rachel York: Yeah, yeah, what's an eight-minute? It's over an eight-minute tap dance. You know, I remember the first few shows, I was like, oh no, here it comes. Am I gonna make it? Am I gonna faint in the middle of it? Am I going to, you know, slip and fall? Because when you're when your muscles aren't, you know, when you're balanced, it's everything is affected when you're not in great shape.

[8:37] William J Connolly: And arguably inside of one of I think the most brutalistic but beautiful buildings that UK theatre has to offer of the Barbican, which is very opening. I've spoken about this many a times on this podcast, my mum's favorite theater. She's obsessed with it. And it just feels special. Not that I don't want to do any discredit to any of the other theaters, but I think when you're in that space because it's so vast and the audience feels very close, that and the stage feels very close. Like there's no hiding. So for you, when it comes to performing, you mentioned and joked about like, oh gosh, they're all looking at me. But was there an element because of the pandemic of oh, oh, they're looking at me like fuck, I got, I gotta do it.

[9:12] Rachel York: I think everyone can relate. I mean, we're all sort of hiding in our houses for so long. It's just everything's different. Not just physically, mentally, you're in a different place. You're in a hole. You're in a cave, and it's like coming out and going, oh, hello, everyone. It all comes back, of course. I have two sides to me. So the Leo is, you know, loves the spotlight and has fun playing on the stage and everything. But then the Aquarius is more of the observer. And sometimes it could, you know, sometimes I don't, you know, I just want to watch. No, I do have my Leo comes out when I'm on the stage. I have a good time. And you do get a few moments in the show, or be them brief, where you do get to watch, I think, some of the greatest performances that the UK has to offer.

I mean, they really were spoiling us with this cast. I mean, also your leading man and you know, Sam and Robert. I mean, it's just it's the real, real deal. I mean, I don't think you could get any more glitz and glamour more professional than this. And I wonder, do you feel a little spoiled being around this cast?

[10:20] Rachel York: I do. You know, I've worked with some incredible Moonfaces and Billies. They are the top two, for sure, or the top. It's so much fun. I mean, they're both incredibly consistent. But Sam is his voice, his dancing, his connection on stage. He should be a huge star. He's quite talented. And of course, Robert is, he's so much fun to play with on stage. So it's a lot of give and take on stage. I love it.

[10:54] William J Connolly: How similar is this production to the one that you did on the national tour? Are there moments of it where you think, gosh, I could be in the United States now doing this way back when?

[11:01] Rachel York: It's um, it is similar, it's very similar. And the cast is, you know, both of them were fantastic. They're both wonderful. You know, sometimes they say a show kind of colors the company in a way, you know, depending on the mood. You know, sometimes if you're in a show that's backstabbing, you might have backstabbing actors working with you. Because this show is so happy and so fun, everybody is really loving and supportive. And so both times, both experiences have been a delight. When I did it the first time, eight years ago, my daughter was a year and a half, and we were such a close-knit family. I remember I was on the road, I was exhausted. As you can imagine, having a baby. I would try to get as much sleep as I could to withstand the entire week, but I wanted to be with my daughter.

I wanted to play with her. So I got the minimal amount of sleep, and then I was ready to go. But I had a nanny because there was no way that I could do it all by myself. So, but I would take over at about 9 a.m. and then she would take over around, you know, 6 or 6:30 when I had to go to the theater. At one point I lost one of my nannies, and it was a quick thing. It was my niece, and she just kind of left me high and dry, and it was a really tough situation. Everybody came to my rescue, and everybody was like, when can I babysit? So I could have a second, and we can get somebody at the theater to watch you while you're at the theater, and we can find, you know, everybody pulled together and got me through until we got a nanny. It was just a beautiful thing to have such a close-knit family like that. And it's very hard to say goodbye to them.

[12:47] William J Connolly: Does revisiting this role this period amount of time later make you think about the possibility of some of the other signature roles that you've done that could perhaps make a return to your life?

[12:56] Rachel York: I think it depends on the role. I'd love to play Little Edie again. There was a wonderful connection there, and I think who knows that could come. I've played Dolly Levi, and that's another one I would love to play again. There's a few roles out there that are classics that have so much to them. Dolly Levi, the very fluffy, kind of light entertaining musical, but Dolly Levi's story has a lot of depth to it, and it's just wonderful to bring the layers to these different characters. I pride myself on being an actress first, and I just want to bring a lot of different layers and depth to these people because people are complicated and interesting. So, gosh, off the top of my head, those are the two that come to mind.

One of these days, I would love to play Mama Rose. Some of them I'm probably aged out of, like Fantine. I played that many years ago. I was probably one of the youngest Fantines, actually. And I remember coming out of the stage door and some kids saying, hey, aren't you too young to play Fantine? And I'm like, hey, have you ever read Les Mis? You know, her story starts from 16 and ends at I think 26. So I was the perfect age to play her. I'm not so I don't think I should be cast as Fantine anymore.

[14:21] William J Connolly: Because I think that when your casting was announced for this, it's what's great about when we get stars like you come to the UK is, and I know lots of other people do this, so I don't think I'm too strange in saying this, but you suddenly then go to the worldwide web and you're just like, right, okay, I'm gonna go into a YouTube hole of this person. I did it with Saturn, I did it with you. And it's just exciting to remind yourself of some of the brilliant other roles that they've done. And while I'm very much against like filming in theaters, there obviously are clips and stuff of people doing stuff. And City of Angels always comes up as one of the top clips, and people always talk about that in reference to you. And I wondered, do you like the fact that you have certain roles and productions that are somewhat synonymous with you? Do you like the fact that they sort of follow you around a little bit?

[15:00] Rachel York: Sure. That was my debut, uh City of Angels. It was my Broadway debut, and it was a very exciting time. Of course. Now, of course, I'm I again I've aged out of that role as well. But uh, there are some other roles in there I could play, which would be a lot of fun, I think. Because I'm just thinking also about like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as well. But I wonder about these pockets in your career that do they only work when they happen? And that sounds like I'm sort of being too literal, but for example, because they mean so much to you at that time with that cast. I, if I think going back to old jobs, would go, no, thank you. But actually, I think the performing arts is one of the only industries you get the opportunity to say, well, maybe I could give that a go with age and experience and see how it lands differently.

[15:44] You know what, it really does depend on the role. I do believe that what we're looking for kind of comes to us. Uh, like, for instance, I remember one year, and I'd been playing all these glamorous roles, and I remember saying to myself, I want to play a salt of the earth woman. I want to play a woman who's like a pioneer or somebody who's just, you know, she's trying to survive, you know. Desa Rose came to me, and I played a very plain woman in the post-Civil War era, and it was exactly what I wanted. So I, and that has happened many times in my career, where I'm in a place where I want to express that particular thing inside. And uh, it comes, it just comes right to me. So some of those roles were in a period of my life, I think.

You know, and again, it could have to do with age, but it could also do with just that. Was that where I was then? But there are many roles that kind of transcend that, and they are, there's so much expression in them. So, yes, many roles, very classic roles, I think can be played at different times in your life.

[16:53] William J Connolly: Speaking of organic and simple women, I don't think the same title would come to when you play Cruella de Vil.

[16:59] Rachel York: Yeah, you know, you know, there you go. Look, I am very proud of my Cruella de Vil. But that's a whole story. That's a background story. That's a story about the creatives that was meant to go to Broadway. Um, we had a creative team that didn't get along with each other. And so unfortunately, they kind of killed it. There were so many wonderful things about the show, and I loved the character, and I loved uh, Dennis DeYoung did the music for it, and he wrote some great belty songs. You can probably find them. There's a couple of them, I think, that are somewhere on the internet. I would love at some point if there's some sort of Cruella de Vil biography, uh, play that comes to light or whatever it is, I think I would love to sort of revisit that character because it didn't really see the light of day.

And she was so funny. And I really do love my interpretation of her. She's quite amusing. But also she's like the furthest part, I think, of where you could really take a character. So she really leads into your acting chops and the fact you get to root the fact that this is a character that we all know and love, but this is your version. And I can imagine knowing your career and knowing what you like. That is like sort of like porn for you. You're like, yes, this is what I want.

[18:14] Rachel York: It is. It's exactly that's a perfect way to say it. I don't know if you, we were sort of talking a minute ago about like reading reviews and stuff, but I don't know if you saw any of the news around before they announced that you were going to be doing Anything Goes. If you saw any of the rumors about who was supposed to be replacing you, or sorry, should be replacing Sutton. There was all these rumors about Stephanie J. Block doing it. And it was really making me laugh because she just tweeted and was like, it's not true. And I was just wondering if you were sat there like it's me, but they don't even know what they're talking about.

[18:46] Rachel York: Uh fortunately, I was painting a house at the time. When there was this rumor, I know there was a couple of rumblings about you doing it. I was like, there's no way she'll do it. I was, I was like just completely gagged. I think like a lot of people were that we got you back to the West End. And I wondered, do you consider this your second home? Because you obviously have spent time here with Kiss Me, Kate.

[19:05] Rachel York: I'd love it here. I would love to come back more. We'll see. We'll see what happens. Um, my daughter's in school right now, so you know, there's some obstacles to overcome. Um, we'll see. We'll see what happens.

[19:18] William J Connolly: And how's the British accent? Because one, which one do you want to hear?

[19:22] Rachel York: That one, it's very good. Or we can go into a very, very different one.

[19:27] Rachel York: Darling. That's what I'll use that with my older years. And or we can do Julie Andrews. It's very, very nice to see you, everyone. Lovely to see you today.

[19:38] William J Connolly: Have you done that for her? Because obviously you and her go way back.

[19:41] Rachel York: We do. We go way back. Of course. No, no. She always said that I do the best impression of her. I have it in quotes, people. That would literally be on my Twitter bio be like Rachel, your Julie Andrews said dot dot dot. I've actually done a voiceover voiceovers for her where it's a sound alike. Oh, welcome to Mary Poppins.

[20:02] William J Connolly: That's kind of strange how good that is.

[20:04] Rachel York: I'm so oh my god, that could actually be now okay, Julie. Fair dues. I get it. That's the little bit older Julie. There's also a younger Julie, which I have to do when I'm having done five shows under my belt. That's you. And you guys work together. And I just wondered when you think of gosh, I'm a performer, I'm an actress, I get to do all these wonderful things, and then you get opportunities to work with arguably, I think the greatest musical theatre slash film performer there's ever been. Do you sort of go, how the fuck did this happen?

[20:30] Rachel York: I just feel incredible gratitude. I'm so grateful. And she's such a wonderful woman mentor. She's just a class act, she's so gracious. And so to be able to observe her when I was 24. Um, and how she dealt with people was um, I was very lucky. And it's something, and interestingly enough, that's something that Julie likes to say. It's like, how are you doing, Julie? I feel very lucky.

[21:00] William J Connolly: Oh, that's nice. That's a nice outlook on the world rather than yeah, I'm fine, which I always tend to say, and I think, oh God, you're so immeasurable, cheer up.

[21:05] Rachel York: She does. She likes to say that a lot. And I think it's true. It is her outlook. Amazing, amazing, and amazing spirit. I did want to talk to you about Head Over Heels because I had the honor of talking to Peppermint, who's actually quite a good friend of mine. And I said, please can you just come on my podcast and talk all in all and all about Head Over Heels? And we did. And just about how the fact that this show smashed through so many glass ceilings and just gave voices to so many different people. And I just wondered if you could talk to me about what it was like being part of that show. And the fact that it did, I was surprised at how many firsts that show had, but particularly just around visibility. And I just wonder if you could talk to me about that.

[21:39] Rachel York: I tell you a lot about it. Who did you talk to?

[21:42] William J Connolly: Peppermint.

[21:42] Rachel York: Do you know who did the yay? My she's my dear friend. Um you know, it was so many firsts, and it made so many strides, and it was such a great musical, and people enjoyed it so much. Uh, we missed the boat in that we developed it in San Francisco, which was great. And so it sort of got this label as a queer show, which is lovely. But the problem was is they kind of put all their eggs into that basket. And the wonderful thing about the show is that it really spoke to everybody, not just one demographic, and that's how powerful it was. But when in advertising, we sort of put everything in that corner. And my daughter came to see the show, I don't know how many times, 50 times. She loved it. She was eight at the time, and she brought all of her friends and they loved it.

They ate it up. And so it was like, hello, people. This is a kid's musical too. And it's um, it's a romantic comedy, and it's a story about, it's a fairy tale about a royal family, and it's about the patriarchy, and you know, so it was actually, uh, which is why it and it's a Go-Go's musical, right? But so it really had so much more depth and breadth than people that that than even the creative team and the advertisers gave it credit for. And uh, so in that way they missed the boat. But we did make lots of strides with it. I think it would do fabulously here. Might be a little more savvy and get it a little quicker. But people did. The audience did get it. I mean, I'm not gonna say a major Trumper is gonna be, you know, celebrating it.

But even some conservative people did come to see it and they you were able to say, okay, uh, I get the message here. Um, because it was a message of love. It was about, you know, we should be allowed to love who we want to love.

[23:42] William J Connolly: Do you think the same model slightly differently but applies to Disaster and the success that that had?

[23:47] Rachel York: Disaster was so fun. And another musical that would do really well out here. Uh, it has the humor of Airplane. I don't know if people are familiar with that movie, uh, but just absurd humor. I gained so much pleasure by just sometimes like if I was in the wings watching another scene and watching the audience just eat it up. Just they were literally rolling in the aisles. They loved it. We just, again, the advertising, it just didn't get out there. It didn't, it wasn't effective. The theater that we were in was, it was not on the main, the main, you know, Broadway. It was a little bit out of the way. And so it just, uh, there were several things that contributed to that. And that just goes to show you just because a show doesn't last for many, many years, it doesn't mean that it wasn't good.

A lot of times it has to do with just how they marketed the show. And also I feel like if I feel like I'm skipping around a little bit, but if we talk about Head Over Heels, like Automatic Rainy Day has become a staple of musical theater. Like people sing it all the time. So there's, I think there's always life afterwards, even though Broadway or the West End never feels long enough. It, you know, it doesn't die there. Cast albums are a wonderful thing that we can still celebrate.

[25:03] William J Connolly: Oh, that's lovely. Uh, Bonnie and Taylor would be very happy to hear that. I'll have to tell them that. You know, it's amazing. We're so connected, you know, West End and Broadway, but yet we're not. It's a totally different world. Sometimes, even through social media, you don't get that message. And um, you know, both of them are like on to okay, well, what's the next gig? You know, what do I do next? You know, of course, every time you're in between gigs, there's that, oh gosh, will I ever work again? And do people appreciate me? So that's awesome to hear that.

[25:35] William J Connolly: Definitely. No, you've been very calm with your time today. So thank you so much. I just want to ask you one final question. I should say that Anything Goes is going to cinemas with the opening cast as well. So people get the opportunity to go and see it. And hopefully it won't be the end of our time with you here in London, either in the West End or Barbican or on tour or whatever it might be. So please don't stay away too long before you come back. And we've of course got this, we've got this final week, which I'm I was saying just before we started the recording that I am coming and I'm gonna be the person that just either A cries or B screams all the way through it. So maybe I'll throw it out and do a mix of both.

How about that? But I just wondered for you when you look at your career and the fact that you've had this opportunity to come back to the West End and to revisit this part. Are you excited by this new world of theater that seems to have emerged after the pandemic? The fact that the parameters have shifted and hopefully we've got a more inclusive but also more exciting theater upon us. Are you excited for what's ahead?

[26:28] Rachel York: I am excited. You know, Nancy Pelosi came to see Head Over Heels, and she said that theater and the arts are going to be what saves the world. And I thought that showed that she had a lot of wisdom. And I do believe that. And I think the pandemic, a positive way of looking at the pandemic, is that, you know, sometimes things have to get a little messy in order for them to change. And I think that's exactly what it has done on a spiritual level, on a social political level. Even though things look really scary sometimes, you're like, ugh, you know, this does not, this looks grim, but I think, I think after all is said and done, I think we are looking at more inclusivity and more humanity, hopefully. I think this is what it's gonna take in order for everybody to wake up. And I think theater is going to be the center of that. I think that people are going to value it more. It's a precious thing.

[27:26] William J Connolly: Absolutely. And if that doesn't save the world, Rachel, your belting will.

[27:30] Rachel York: Thank you.

[27:31] William J Connolly: Rachel, this is such a pleasure. Thank you so much. Enjoy your final week. I sort of feel slightly heartbroken saying that. You feel like you've just arrived and then we're going to be losing you again. But just thank you so much for coming over to the UK and just spreading some love. And I know you say you don't look at social media, but the response has been remarkable. So please know that the love and the embrace for you being here is not just crazy little old me, everybody feels it. So thank you.

[27:52] Rachel York: Something. Hey, people, follow me, would ya? I'm on Twitter and Instagram. See Rachel York, please.

[28:03] William J Connolly: Well, thank you so much. It was lovely talking with you. Thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your run. Enjoy the show today, and I'll see you very soon. In fact, I'll see you next week.

[28:11] Rachel York: Very good. I hope to see you.

[28:15] William J Connolly: You've been listening to Eleven, the official theater podcast. Find out more about Eleven at elevenpodcast.com or via the Broadway Podcast Network.