This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Kristen Goodman: Hi, I'm Kristen Goodman.

[0:02] Sarah Goodman: I'm Sarah Goodman, and we're Showbiz Siblings.

[0:06] Kristen Goodman: We live in New York City.

[0:08] Sarah Goodman: We're both queer and we love musical theater.

[0:11] Kristen Goodman: This is our podcast.

[0:25] Sarah Goodman: Hey, good show listeners. We are here today with a special bonus episode about the musical Lempica.

[0:34] Kristen Goodman: Yeah.

[0:35] Sarah Goodman: This time we are breaking out of the archives at the library and going to a real Broadway show in real life.

[0:42] Kristen Goodman: Yeah.

[0:43] Sarah Goodman: So um Kristen and our roommate Andy and I all went to see the show together last week.

[0:49] Kristen Goodman: Last Friday.

[0:50] Sarah Goodman: That wasn't even a whole week ago.

[0:52] Kristen Goodman: Oh my gosh. What is time?

[0:55] Sarah Goodman: And I had already seen the show once, and I'm obsessed. And then I got to do some red carpet coverage with my day job at the Broadway Podcast Network.

[1:05] Kristen Goodman: So cool.

[1:06] Sarah Goodman: So cool. So we decided, you know what? This show's queer. Let's toss it in to the queer series.

[1:12] Kristen Goodman: Hell yeah.

[1:13] Sarah Goodman: Hell yeah. Lempica is a new musical that is based on the real life of painter Tamara Delempica, who um was famous in the 1930s in Europe for her bold art deco painting style.

[1:29] Kristen Goodman: The show takes place over like 50 years of her life.

[1:32] Sarah Goodman: It starts in like the 19 teens. Her and her newlywed husband have to flee because of this um Russian revolution and unrest.

[1:42] Kristen Goodman: And they move to Paris, where Tamara goes to painting school, studies art, really hones her craft.

[1:50] Sarah Goodman: And then the bulk of the story of the musical is about her meeting her muse, Rafaela, and this beautiful sapphic love affair that they have.

[2:01] Kristen Goodman: And it's really great. There's a subplot about this lesbian bar owner who's fabulous.

[2:08] Sarah Goodman: Um, there's a whole lesbian bar scene that we get to go to a few times.

[2:14] Kristen Goodman: Um the show goes all the way through into 1975. Um, Tamara had to flee again in the late 30s when the Nazis entered France, um, and she moved to California.

[2:28] Sarah Goodman: So the show sort of is bookended by her time in California in the 70s.

[2:35] Kristen Goodman: Yeah, yeah. Really cool, um, historical figure to be doing this show about. Um, this writing team is this is their first piece on Broadway.

[2:45] Sarah Goodman: The book lyrics and the original concept are by Carson Kreitzer, and the book and music was written by Matt Gould.

[2:53] Kristen Goodman: So, as I mentioned, this is their first show on Broadway. We're super proud of them for that.

[2:57] Sarah Goodman: Yeah. Um, it was directed by Rachel Chavkin.

[3:01] Kristen Goodman: We love her. Big Town, Thanksgiving play, um Pierre.

[3:07] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. And many other shows.

[3:12] Kristen Goodman: Well, and also it's worth noting that Lempica and Hades Town are right across the street from each other, which is very cool.

[3:20] Sarah Goodman: So, right before Lempica opened, there was sort of this um event where they put up a street sign and temporarily called it Rachel Chavkin Way.

[3:29] Kristen Goodman: Good for her.

[3:31] Sarah Goodman: So that's pretty incredible to have two Broadway musicals on the same street directed by the same badass woman director.

[3:39] Kristen Goodman: Yeah. I really love that. I and I love her direction.

[3:42] Sarah Goodman: I think she's so great. And the this was no exception. This show was really well directed.

[3:48] Kristen Goodman: Choreography was by Raja Feather Kelly.

[3:51] Sarah Goodman: We love him. Strange Lube. We saw Strange Lube a couple years ago.

[3:55] Kristen Goodman: This choreography was so like queer and cunty and like super cunty.

[4:00] Sarah Goodman: Very like vogue inspired.

[4:04] Kristen Goodman: Janet Jackson rhythm nation kind of thing.

[4:07] Sarah Goodman: Yes. I love that. And also very flowy and like beautiful at times, too.

[4:13] Kristen Goodman: And I loved how even when there was just a simple solo happening downstage, we got all of this lovely dance and movement from the ensemble.

[4:21] Sarah Goodman: There's also um a lot of really cool choreography moments where time is played with where people are sort of like in slow motion or going really fast.

[4:31] Kristen Goodman: And there were a few moments since I've seen it three times now. I've noticed some of these more specific things.

[4:36] Sarah Goodman: Um that there's a few scenes where a one dancer will be walking in slow motion and then speed up and then go back to being slow, and it just does these really cool effects.

[4:47] Kristen Goodman: Sorry if you can hear my dog's bowl in the background, everyone, but I geeky.

[4:54] Sarah Goodman: The scenic designer is Ricardo Hernandez. Really cool set. Love the set.

[4:59] Kristen Goodman: Kind of minimalistic, but they did so much with it, and it just kept morphing into a different shape.

[5:05] Sarah Goodman: Things would roll on, things would fly in, like there was just all kinds of levels.

[5:09] Kristen Goodman: We love the levels.

[5:10] Sarah Goodman: And Beth level.

[5:12] Kristen Goodman: F level, on a level.

[5:13] Sarah Goodman: We'll come back to the cast in a moment. But Beth level, you gotta know that she's in there on the level, sometimes up on the levels.

[5:19] Kristen Goodman: Levels on levels.

[5:20] Sarah Goodman: Levels on level. Costume design by Paloma Young.

[5:23] Kristen Goodman: The costumes were beautiful. I love the costumes.

[5:25] Sarah Goodman: Very striking. And like those, all those corsets and like boustiers and stuff that the answer was wearing.

[5:32] Kristen Goodman: I loved those. Really high-waisted pants. That dress that Rafaela wears in the club scene.

[5:38] Sarah Goodman: Oh my god. Yeah. And her cool, like almost like Sgt. Pepper kind of jacket thing that's really long.

[5:44] Kristen Goodman: It's like a velvet coat.

[5:45] Sarah Goodman: Yeah. And then I love how Tamara's clothes, her kind of clothes evolution throughout the show as they're getting like more and more wealthy, and she's becoming more of like a star and like in the elite of Paris.

[5:59] Kristen Goodman: Authentic artist. So sh they they kind of have a couple costume reveals where it's like, oh my gosh, look at her now. Oh wow, look at her now.

[6:06] Sarah Goodman: She's these crazy cool sleeves. Oh, and then they go to the lesbian bar and Rafaela wears this green gown that's absolutely stunning.

[6:14] Kristen Goodman: And Tamara has this like white leather white shirt with a leather skirt that's like asymmetrical, and then this very cool um like cape.

[6:24] Sarah Goodman: Yeah. That's like bright green on the inside.

[6:26] Kristen Goodman: Ooh. Yeah, it felt 20s, 30s, but very fresh, and like all the colors were really beautiful and saturated.

[6:33] Sarah Goodman: And yeah, yeah. Very true to the style of like art deco and period, but also made it feel really now.

[6:40] Kristen Goodman: Like it felt very contemporary.

[6:42] Sarah Goodman: Totally. And you'll hear a little bit of this later in the red carpet footage, but um Natalie Joy Johnson's gold gown in the in the women song.

[6:51] Kristen Goodman: Stunning.

[6:52] Sarah Goodman: Woo! Loved it. Amazing. Um, lighting design by Bradley King.

[6:57] Kristen Goodman: The lighting with those moving lasers, or what would you call that?

[7:01] Sarah Goodman: Where they're like oh, like the LED tape.

[7:03] Kristen Goodman: Yeah, the LED of the railings, and like it's on every single line on the set has this cool LED tape in it, so that they do those.

[7:12] Sarah Goodman: I don't even know what's going on.

[7:13] Kristen Goodman: It's like contagion flashes across the stage.

[7:16] Sarah Goodman: It's so cool. That was brilliant. And the way in the love scene between Tamara and Raphaela where the blue light just like washes over the audience and like becomes blinding, and instead of just like fading out to a boring blackout, it's like whoa, that was really emotional.

[7:34] Kristen Goodman: That was beautiful, gorgeous. Sound designers are Peter Halinski and Justin Stussy, Stasouve, I don't know how to pronounce that last name.

[7:42] Sarah Goodman: But the sound was great, you know.

[7:44] Kristen Goodman: Amazing. We were sitting in the orchestra, which I don't get to do very often. I normally am up in the mes or balcony.

[7:49] Sarah Goodman: But it sounded so loud and and rich. I could hear all the instruments.

[7:52] Kristen Goodman: I could really I mean I was never struggling to hear anything. I felt like it was a beautifully sound designed show.

[8:00] Sarah Goodman: I agree. I think it was beautiful. I really love when the band is nice and loud and you can like really hear and feel the band, which is incredible for this show because they're all over the place, they're all in different places.

[8:11] Kristen Goodman: The strings, winds, and the MD are in the boxes, like the opera boxes on the side.

[8:17] Sarah Goodman: Right. And then the drummer and another keyboard player, like in the basement or something.

[8:21] Kristen Goodman: On the lowest level, another room. And then at one point the MD and the bass player are on stage as actors.

[8:28] Sarah Goodman: I love that in the club. I really loved that.

[8:30] Kristen Goodman: So yeah, lots going on sound design-wise, and it was all flawless. The first time I saw it, I was in the Mes, and it sounded great up there too.

[8:37] Sarah Goodman: And also, um, that I think the last the most recent time I saw it, I think the Susie character was like also playing the piano a little bit during the underscoring part.

[8:49] Kristen Goodman: They're kind of playing side by side there. Um yeah, I'll mention now since we're kind of on that, the music director is Charity Wicks.

[8:57] Sarah Goodman: Um great job with with all of that. And the orchestrator is Kean McCarthy.

[9:03] Kristen Goodman: Um and this definitely added like a more contemporary flair than I was expecting. Lots of like um almost like EDM influences at times, right?

[9:12] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, like Europop, kind of like lots of like boomer. I feel like that kind of sound is in the show a lot.

[9:18] Kristen Goodman: Yeah. And um cool sort of like electronic drums and synth sounds and stuff.

[9:23] Sarah Goodman: Strings and everything. That was so beautiful.

[9:25] Kristen Goodman: Yeah. All of those strings are gorgeous. But yeah, great job, Charity Wicks. Um Peter Negrini is the projection designer.

[9:33] Sarah Goodman: I was so impressed. This is one of the first times I've seen projection where I'm like, that was on purpose and not just kind of an afterthought.

[9:41] Kristen Goodman: Or like that really added to the storytelling as opposed to just like, oh, that's pretty in the background.

[9:47] Sarah Goodman: Like it was almost like another character. Some of the I mean, it made sense. Like she's a visual artist, so we got to see some of her visual art in the scenes on these really cool shapes that they were mapping to for the projection.

[10:00] Kristen Goodman: But then as the intensity of the fascists, you know, rising to power and everything in Europe, like we got to see a lot of that historical footage and we got to see like the map of Europe like changing with the different powers coming into uh into play.

[10:16] Sarah Goodman: So that was that was amazing. It's some of the best projection design I've seen in a musical.

[10:22] Kristen Goodman: I feel like oftentimes projection can be kind of lazy, where it's just sort of like a backdrop or a photo of, you know, like it's just sort of like you said, an afterthought.

[10:32] Sarah Goodman: This was like a character. This really was a character. Like I feel like it absolutely was influential in the storytelling.

[10:38] Kristen Goodman: Totally. Hair and wig designer was Leah J. Lucas.

[10:45] Sarah Goodman: Cute. Like everybody had like these like finger wave wigs of the very much of the era.

[10:51] Kristen Goodman: Really, really pretty, but I liked how it was just like very like tight on everybody's heads.

[10:56] Sarah Goodman: Um, that was cool. Makeup designer Kirk Cambridge Del Pesh.

[11:01] Kristen Goodman: Um, I think you got to talk to him on the right carpet, right?

[11:04] Sarah Goodman: We'll hear a little bit from him in a moment.

[11:06] Kristen Goodman: So exciting. One of the best, you know, production levels I've seen, I think, on Broadway ever.

[11:11] Sarah Goodman: Well, much like Hades Town, another Rachel Chavkin show, it feels like all the designers were working together.

[11:11] Kristen Goodman: Right.

[11:11] Sarah Goodman: It feels like all the individual design teams were building off the same concepts and working in the same language and like doing the same stuff.

[11:28] Kristen Goodman: Actually, trying to tell the same story.

[11:29] Sarah Goodman: Storytelling. And not just like, oh, yeah, we're all working on the same show, but like, are we working together or are we just working next to each other?

[11:36] Kristen Goodman: Right. You know, I feel like there's a very holistic um quality to Rachel Chavkin's work.

[11:43] Sarah Goodman: I agree. I agree. I think that really shined. And um, and we love that this show features four strong adult women leads.

[11:54] Kristen Goodman: Woo! Love to see it.

[11:56] Sarah Goodman: Woo! Um, Edan Espinoza plays uh the lead Tamara De Lempica.

[12:01] Kristen Goodman: Amber Iman plays Rafaela, Amber Amon.

[12:05] Sarah Goodman: Uh give her the Tony.

[12:06] Kristen Goodman: Seriously, her voice is out of control.

[12:08] Kristen Goodman: Like some of those runs that she does.

[12:10] Sarah Goodman: I how I mean, how is that even physically possible for her to look so natural, just doing these incredible things with her voice?

[12:18] Kristen Goodman: And let's give it up for an alto getting a lead role on Broadway and not just having her have to.

[12:24] Sarah Goodman: I mean, she could belt high too, but she has this sultry, deep, low voice. That song she sings in the club, the bracelet song is just gorgeous. Amazing.

[12:33] Kristen Goodman: And then we already mentioned her, but of course we'll mention her again.

[12:36] Sarah Goodman: The Baroness Beth Level.

[12:39] Kristen Goodman: Beth Level. This was my first time seeing her live. I know you've seen her a couple times, I think, right? But um I just loved her. She got entrance applause for a little cameo she does in the beginning of Act One, which was kind of funny because I was I was confused. I was like, wait a minute. Is Beth Level playing? Okay, she played multiple characters. I get it now, I get it now. But mostly she plays the Baroness. And she's fantastic. Her song made me cry. It's so good. She is so flawless and so real and authentic and amazing. A legend.

[13:08] Sarah Goodman: And then really, I don't know if you'd agree with me on this, but I think she steals the show.

[13:12] Kristen Goodman: Um, Susie is played by Natalie Joy Johnson.

[13:16] Sarah Goodman: I fully agree. She absolutely steals the show. Show stopping that woman song or whatever it is.

[13:24] Kristen Goodman: Where she sings a song in her new queer nightclub that she has in Paris.

[13:29] Sarah Goodman: Which is a real place. La Monacle was a real lesbian bar in Paris. Amazing.

[13:33] Kristen Goodman: Amazing. Yeah. And she's doing a takeover on Thursday nights. Um that uh she mentions in your in your red carpet chat with her.

[13:41] Sarah Goodman: So we gotta go check that out.

[13:43] Kristen Goodman: Uh yeah, that's why. I love her so much. The first time I saw the show, that number, I think my jaw was like on the floor, literally. I just was so overcome with joy.

[13:54] Sarah Goodman: I was so stunned to see this like huge show stopping, flashy number about a lesbian bar.

[14:06] Kristen Goodman: Wow, that's so cool. I really just loved it.

[14:10] Sarah Goodman: Yeah. Um, and I loved that there were all kinds of women represented.

[14:16] Kristen Goodman: Absolutely. It wasn't just like, you know, like in Follies where it's like beautiful girls.

[14:21] Sarah Goodman: And we have like the same body type coming through. You know, it was like all the ensemble was pretty diverse. We had really some like trans women representation, maybe, or you know, like there was definitely lots of looks going on.

[14:34] Kristen Goodman: Yeah, gender bendy.

[14:35] Sarah Goodman: That's definitely one of the strengths.

[14:36] Kristen Goodman: Yeah.

[14:37] Sarah Goodman: You know.

[14:38] Kristen Goodman: Yeah.

[14:39] Sarah Goodman: That was cool. There she's great. The joke of like they're like, oh, meet this heiress. And she's like, I had to get married or daddy wouldn't give me my allowance.

[14:48] Kristen Goodman: Here's my husband Frank, and he's like very gay.

[14:51] Sarah Goodman: And then he's like, it's Francine to my friends, and they all go, Hi Francie. So cute.

[14:57] Kristen Goodman: So cute. That was really fun. When Susie earlier in the show, when she's like passing out wine at the art opening, um, somebody asks her, like, oh, what kind of wine is this?

[15:09] Sarah Goodman: And she's like, she like makes something up on the fly. She's like, oh, it's Saint Michel, blah, blah. How the fuck should I know? It's red. Like, but her delivery on that is just so perfect.

[15:20] Kristen Goodman: She has the best one-liners in the show.

[15:23] Sarah Goodman: She gets a lot of the jokes and she gets a lot of the one-liners.

[15:27] Kristen Goodman: Yeah, they're great.

[15:28] Sarah Goodman: So great. She has great costumes too.

[15:30] Kristen Goodman: They have when she first comes out with Rafaela, she's sort of dressed like a like a weird punk Bobby, like a London cop.

[15:39] Sarah Goodman: She's got like a military-style jacket, but then like these kind of big floodwater pants and combat boots and a chain wallet, sort of thing.

[15:49] Kristen Goodman: Uh-huh.

[15:49] Sarah Goodman: But this funny helmet.

[15:51] Kristen Goodman: Yeah.

[15:52] Sarah Goodman: She's just kind of soft butch through most of it until she's in that gorgeous gold dress.

[15:58] Kristen Goodman: Oh my god.

[15:59] Sarah Goodman: It's amazing.

[16:00] Kristen Goodman: Yeah. Well, so Sarah, what are some of the other highlights we mentioned of many already in the creative team breakdown? But what's um standing out for you?

[16:08] Sarah Goodman: Well, I gotta say, just being the big old gay lady that I am. It was so overwhelming and beautiful to see a really grown-up and passionate representation of a sapphic relationship on stage.

[16:25] Kristen Goodman: I feel like often we get like, oh, just a little polite kiss or like some kind of male gazy.

[16:32] Sarah Goodman: Thankfully, like the prom and fun home are shows that show beautiful, queer blossoming relationships, young queer women's blossoming relationships. But this is like two grown ass fucking women who are passionate about each other.

[16:48] Kristen Goodman: There's a sex scene, there's lots of kissing, there's so much. They just did not shy away from it.

[16:54] Sarah Goodman: They weren't like, oh, make it make it kind of polite or like don't show too much. No, they just went for it.

[17:05] Kristen Goodman: Yeah.

[17:05] Sarah Goodman: Yeah. And like, you know, the sex scene isn't like super expensive.

[17:08] Kristen Goodman: No, no.

[17:08] Sarah Goodman: It could be nastier, honestly, I'll say. But um it's just so much more than just like the pan away to the fireplace kind of treatment that lesbians normally get.

[17:21] Kristen Goodman: Totally.

[17:21] Sarah Goodman: Um, which I just was I was so electrified after seeing it for the first time that I immediately bought tickets to see it again.

[17:29] Kristen Goodman: Like you mentioned before, four women roles. Just so cool to see all those women have different songs, have different expressions of character, be different personality types.

[17:40] Sarah Goodman: Um, I feel like this show is really unique because the women characters are very complex and have depth that don't often come with women roles in musical theater.

[17:54] Kristen Goodman: Woman is plain light form.

[18:01] Sarah Goodman: Woman is plain color light.

[18:08] Kristen Goodman: Woman is speed green shadow.

[18:15] Sarah Goodman: Woman is powerful.

[18:23] Kristen Goodman: The production design loved loved it.

[18:26] Sarah Goodman: Visually very stunning.

[18:27] Kristen Goodman: So good.

[18:28] Sarah Goodman: It's exciting. I think the pacing of it is great.

[18:31] Kristen Goodman: Um direction is great.

[18:33] Sarah Goodman: I really love it. I'm just a huge, huge fan.

[18:36] Kristen Goodman: Yeah, the pacing, as you mentioned, I just that really stood out to me.

[18:41] Sarah Goodman: Um, I love a show that knows exactly what ingredients to add and when to provide us with that formulaic musical theater thing, as far as like this song needs a button.

[18:58] Kristen Goodman: We need an applause break here.

[19:00] Sarah Goodman: We need to let the audience revel in this moment.

[19:03] Kristen Goodman: And then there were times where it's like this song would be awkward to applaud after.

[19:09] Sarah Goodman: And so we're not gonna give you an applause break. We're gonna go right into another scene and just keep the energy going.

[19:17] Kristen Goodman: And all of the transitions in between were the underscoring of all of that was very exciting.

[19:23] Sarah Goodman: And yeah, it like I mentioned before, like the dancing behind all of the solos and just everything was very cohesive and it kept my attention the entire time it kept my excitement the entire time um and that that's honestly kind of rare for me like sometimes I get bored in shows because a lot of times they're like not giving me what I need to stay in in it the whole time and I was definitely definitely in this and um yeah just the queer representation I think is really one of the coolest things um you know this this this figure from art history um I don't know how she would identify but maybe bisexual or I believe she was openly bisexual in her like once she moved to America.

[20:12] Kristen Goodman: Right because when they do that opening scene where she's kind of starting out as the old lady telling us like this is my life she was basically saying like I had the great fortune of falling in love with two people but I just happen to love them at the same time.

[20:28] Sarah Goodman: And so I think that's just so beautiful to be able to show this very messy complicated relationship of this married couple trying to navigate their own other relationships at the same time as being married and they love each other but they're kind of a mess together like all of that was just I thought handled really well and not like a cringy way and not like a way that like played into any stupid tropes or anything.

[20:53] Kristen Goodman: Like it felt real.

[20:55] Sarah Goodman: Yeah.

[20:55] Kristen Goodman: And it didn't feel like it was shying away from the queerness like you said.

[21:00] Sarah Goodman: And um, but yeah, we got to just revel in this beautiful love scene with Tamara and Rafaela.

[21:07] Kristen Goodman: So lovely.

[21:08] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, I really loved that. Really, really loved that.

[21:11] Kristen Goodman: How queer is it?

[21:13] Sarah Goodman: How queer is it?

[21:14] Kristen Goodman: So in our queer series, we've been breaking down how queer these shows are.

[21:18] Sarah Goodman: Um, we have created a scale.

[21:20] Kristen Goodman: Um, the most queer is queer as fuck.

[21:24] Sarah Goodman: Then it's hella gay, love is love, fruity, and Pete Buttig.

[21:30] Kristen Goodman: Um, I definitely know this is gonna get more than Pete Buttig.

[21:34] Sarah Goodman: Way more than Pete Booty. What do you think, Sarah? What's your ski what's your rating?

[21:38] Kristen Goodman: How queer is Lempica?

[21:40] Sarah Goodman: You know what? Earlier I was thinking I was gonna give it a hella gay or maybe a hella hella gay, like add in an extra hella there. But I've decided to just be bold and say it is queer as fuck, because I can't think of a musical that I've seen on Broadway that's been more queer than this fucking show.

[21:58] Kristen Goodman: This was queer as fuck.

[22:00] Sarah Goodman: The costumes are queer, the makeup is queer, the characters are queer, the writers are queer. There's so much going on with queerness and also intersectionality.

[22:11] Kristen Goodman: Maybe not necessarily like a full LGBTQIA plus rainbow magic.

[22:17] Sarah Goodman: But that's hard to do.

[22:18] Kristen Goodman: So that's hard to do, and you know, it is a historically specific place.

[22:23] Sarah Goodman: Right.

[22:24] Kristen Goodman: About a specific time in history that wasn't very gay friendly.

[22:28] Sarah Goodman: Exactly.

[22:29] Kristen Goodman: But I think I think it was queer as fuck as far as commercial Broadway goes.

[22:34] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, I mean, I'm I'm inclined to agree with you.

[22:37] Kristen Goodman: I think I have to withhold my queer as fuck rating only because I would really have loved to have seen Limpica get cast with an actual bisexual or queer woman.

[22:48] Sarah Goodman: Agree.

[22:49] Kristen Goodman: I think, you know, Eden's a big star. I get it, but like I would have loved to have seen real queer queer women in that love scene.

[22:58] Sarah Goodman: Amber Amon, just like we've said, her voice is incredible. Like, I'm so glad I got to see their performances.

[23:04] Kristen Goodman: But I think to give it a queer as fuck from me, I need I need a queer lady in that role, at least the Limpika role, you know.

[23:13] Sarah Goodman: Um it's it's hella hella hella gay.

[23:18] Kristen Goodman: I will say that.

[23:19] Sarah Goodman: Three hellas three hellas.

[23:21] Kristen Goodman: Three hella gays.

[23:22] Sarah Goodman: I mean, they're like voguing in the choreo.

[23:24] Kristen Goodman: They are making out all the time in that in those clips.

[23:28] Sarah Goodman: There's a shotgunning opium moment that's hot as that's really hot.

[23:33] Kristen Goodman: Um the Susie characters kind of like got her tits out all the time.

[23:37] Sarah Goodman: You know, I mean, there's a lot, there's a lot of queerness.

[23:37] Kristen Goodman: There's a lot of queerness to see.

[23:41] Sarah Goodman: Um, but yeah, and like, I don't know, maybe Broadway just thinks they gotta put in these these stars, and there's not a lot of famous queer ladies on Broadway.

[23:52] Kristen Goodman: You know, there's hopefully shows like this will help bring in more because you have to see it to be it sometimes.

[23:59] Sarah Goodman: Yep.

[24:00] Kristen Goodman: As a person who wanted to be an actor when I was younger, it was really hard for me, especially when I was come like coming out as a lesbian. I had no longer really wanted to be an actor anymore. But it I think part of that struggle of my identity was like I don't fit into any of these boxes.

[24:17] Kristen Goodman: Like there aren't queer women roles, there aren't really any queer women in musical theater, which of course there are, but they're just not always right out there, right?

[24:27] Sarah Goodman: Front and center.

[24:28] Kristen Goodman: So this is an exciting show, but yes, you're right.

[24:32] Sarah Goodman: Would have been even more over the top perfect if the leads were actually queer as well.

[24:38] Kristen Goodman: Yeah, like dream casting.

[24:40] Sarah Goodman: Could you see somebody like Marla Mandel playing Lempicka?

[24:43] Kristen Goodman: Marla, an actual lesbian, right?

[24:47] Sarah Goodman: Yeah.

[24:47] Kristen Goodman: Oh, well, if we get a chance to meet her, we'll have to ask.

[24:50] Sarah Goodman: We just might keep a watch on our social media listeners.

[25:02] Kristen Goodman: Well, Sarah, you got to speak with so many cool people on the red carpet of opening night at Lempica.

[25:08] Sarah Goodman: I can't even believe that happened.

[25:09] Kristen Goodman: So to our listeners, Sarah was representing Broadway Podcast Network and also Good Show while she was on the red carpet the other night.

[25:18] Sarah Goodman: And we have the good fortune of getting to hear some of the conversations that she had with the celebs and the cast and creative on the red carpet.

[25:33] Kristen Goodman: Shout out to Samantha from Survival Jobs Podcast who shared the red carpet slot with me in the little BPN corner.

[25:41] Sarah Goodman: We had a Broadway podcast corner of the red carpet that was all Broadway podcast podcasts.

[25:48] Kristen Goodman: I love podcasts, podcast, podcast.

[25:51] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, and so go on our social media and go on the Broadway Podcast Network social media to see some of those clips, but we're gonna play for you a couple of the highlights from the red carpet interviews now.

[26:04] Sarah Goodman: Hi, I'm Sarah Goodman with the podcast Good Show on the Broadway Podcast Network, and we're here on the red carpet of Lempica on Broadway.

[26:12] Carson Kreitzer: Um, I am the book writer and lyricist for Lempica, co-writer with the lovely Matt Gould.

[26:21] Sarah Goodman: What does it mean to you to be bringing an original musical with a queer storyline into the musical theater canon?

[26:29] Carson Kreitzer: It's just I'm really, I'm a little speechless. I'm a little stunned. I'm very, very happy, and it's musicals were the first thing that I loved in theater, and I mainly spent my life as a playwright. But this really feels like coming home to what made me love theater in the first place.

[26:55] Sarah Goodman: What are you looking most forward to for tonight?

[26:58] Carson Kreitzer: I am looking most forward to being able to watch that show and know I don't have any more rewrites I can possibly do. Yeah, I can just breathe and enjoy what the incredible, incredible company of actors is doing filled with our words and music that we have been crafting over 14 years.

[27:22] Carson Kreitzer: And I will say, in terms of representation, you know, it's something I've been doing my whole life is writing these stories and getting them to the incredible actresses who I feel like need more challenging meaty roles where women are equal to men in the stage time and in life, but having it somewhere this big where more people are gonna see it. It's humbling, it's thrilling, and thank you for thank you for.

[27:56] Sarah Goodman: Thank you. I mean, not only is it amazing representation, but there are four grown women roles in this musical, which is something you don't see a lot. And it's really amazing to see like real adult women's stories being told and being shared with new audiences.

[28:13] Carson Kreitzer: Thank you.

[28:13] Matt Gould: I am Matt Gould, the composer and co-book writer of Lempica.

[28:19] Sarah Goodman: Congratulations on opening night. How do you feel?

[28:23] Matt Gould: Overwhelmed, grateful, just thrilled to be here.

[28:27] Sarah Goodman: Amazing. My name is Sarah. I'm with the podcast Good Show.

[28:30] Matt Gould: Yes.

[28:30] Sarah Goodman: And this season we are focusing on queer shows.

[28:33] Matt Gould: Yes, honey.

[28:34] Sarah Goodman: And so, what does it mean to you to be bringing a beautifully authentic queer storyline into the musical theater canon?

[28:42] Matt Gould: I mean, it means what does it mean? It's who I am. I guess I don't I didn't think about it when we were writing it, and it sort of only dawned on me maybe a couple days ago. I was sitting with Rachel Tafkin. I was like, holy shit, Rachel, like this thing is radical. You can't say that word on the air, but holy crap, Rachel.

[29:02] Matt Gould: We know you can say whatever you want. Holy shit, Rachel. Holy shit, Rachel. We made something really radical, really fucking radical. Fuck yeah. And I'm really proud of that. I'm proud that in this time, this era where people's rights are being infringed upon, where there is a rise of fascism in our country, that we are making work that is about something that gives people refuge from the street. They're kids who come in every night and they're like Lempica is my safe space. Yes, and they mean that, and they've coming back night after night after night. And for me, we won. That's it. That's the Tony. That's it.

[29:40] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, yeah. We won.

[29:41] Matt Gould: So that's beautiful.

[29:43] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, that's really beautiful. As a queer woman myself, I must say that I'm a huge fan of the musical. I've already seen it twice, and it means so much to me to see myself on stage. So thank you so much for spending so many years of your life bringing this beautiful piece of work to Broadway.

[29:56] Matt Gould: That means a lot. Thank you very much.

[30:01] Kirk Cambridge Del Pesche: Excellent. Congratulations on opening night.

[30:04] Sarah Goodman: Thank you. What does it feel like to be involved in such an incredibly authentic, brand new queer musical on Broadway?

[30:11] Kirk Cambridge Del Pesche: Out of this world. Yes. It's unexpected. It is the show of the now.

[30:17] Sarah Goodman: Yes. It's the show of the now.

[30:19] Kirk Cambridge Del Pesche: Absolutely, I agree. And must I say, the makeup's very cunty.

[30:23] Sarah Goodman: I love it.

[30:23] Kirk Cambridge Del Pesche: I love Smoky. Everybody looks gorgeous. Definitely reading cunting.

[30:28] Sarah Goodman: I am definitely giving cunt.

[30:31] Kirk Cambridge Del Pesche: Yes. We love to see it.

[30:33] Raja Feather Kelly: My name is Raja Feather Kelly. I'm the choreographer of Lempica!

[30:35] Sarah Goodman: Yes! Congratulations. Lempica is a stunning musical. I've seen it twice already. I'm a huge fan.

[30:45] Raja Feather Kelly: That's amazing, right? After all the month of previews, tech, all the rehearsals, so much stuff. Eight years. You're still loving it.

[30:51] Sarah Goodman: Still loving it.

[30:53] Raja Feather Kelly: I'm actually so excited to see it tonight.

[30:54] Sarah Goodman: Oh, that's amazing.

[30:55] Raja Feather Kelly: It's fun to watch people watch it.

[30:57] Sarah Goodman: Yeah.

[30:58] Raja Feather Kelly: Oh my gosh. Or they're really ready for this moment. And there's nothing, there's no greater pleasure than that.

[31:03] Sarah Goodman: Oh, that's so wonderful. What does it mean to you to be bringing yet another queer musical into the musical theater canon?

[31:10] Raja Feather Kelly: I feel excited by it. I feel really excited. I feel really excited by that. I don't know. It's something that it's within me, right? I'm a queer person. I love being queer, and when I get to show up to work every day and spread that queerness around and unearth the queerness out of other people and put it on a stage to music, what is better than that?

[31:30] Sarah Goodman: That's really amazing.

[31:32] Raja Feather Kelly: And they're both, you know, Strange Loop was super radical and I love it. I feel like the track record is changing the landscape, Raja. What's I'm excited for this?

[31:39] Sarah Goodman: Oh yes, that's very exciting. I'll be keeping a watch as well. What inspired you when you were creating the choreography for this show?

[31:48] Raja Feather Kelly: I think for this particular iteration, what was exciting to me was I mean, when I the music for sure, the music is just you're like, there's so much music, and it's giving so many different layers, and I'm like, I've got to meet the music where it's at.

[32:03] Sarah Goodman: Yeah.

[32:03] Raja Feather Kelly: And then also the writing. I think Carson is such an incredible poet and so nuanced. And they said, well, I have to also do that. So being able to put together like radical queerness with bombastic orchestrated electro pop music on Broadway, and then to be nuanced and poetic and lyrical all at the same time.

[32:23] Sarah Goodman: Yeah.

[32:24] Raja Feather Kelly: That is a choreographer's dream.

[32:26] Sarah Goodman: Yes, absolutely. It's super fierce. I really love it. I can't wait to see it again. I hope you have a super amazing time tonight.

[32:32] Raja Feather Kelly: I appreciate that.

[32:32] Natalie Joy Johnson: My name is Natalie Joy Johnson, and I play Susie Solidor.

[32:36] Sarah Goodman: Woo!

[32:37] Natalie Joy Johnson: Yeah. I love this show. I've already seen it twice.

[32:39] Sarah Goodman: Oh amazing!

[32:41] Natalie Joy Johnson: Incredible, incredible.

[32:42] Sarah Goodman: You are incredible.

[32:42] Natalie Joy Johnson: So good, right? It's such a good show. So good, so exciting. It's energizing.

[32:47] Sarah Goodman: What does it mean to you to be playing an iconic original lesbian role on Broadway?

[32:51] Natalie Joy Johnson: Well, as a queer person myself, it does feel super empowering to be able to bring Susie to life. I was doing the math though, and this is not my first lesbian role. Actually, it's like my fifth either lesbian or transgender role. So I kind of know the butch energy just comes through, honey.

[33:10] Sarah Goodman: What can I say?

[33:11] Natalie Joy Johnson: It does, it does. We love it. Your number is show stopping. It is truly my favorite part of the whole show.

[33:16] Sarah Goodman: I'd love it.

[33:16] Natalie Joy Johnson: That gold dress, girl.

[33:17] Sarah Goodman: Oh, it's coming with me. Don't tell, don't tell wardrobe.

[33:21] Natalie Joy Johnson: But when I leave, years from now, that dress is coming with me. I mean, they made it for me. Who else wants it? Nobody, nobody gets it.

[33:30] Sarah Goodman: It's for you.

[33:30] Natalie Joy Johnson: It's for you only.

[33:31] Sarah Goodman: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us. And do you want to tell our listeners about your monocle show on Thursday nights?

[33:38] Natalie Joy Johnson: Yes, of course, of course. So on Thursdays, directly after the show, the curtain comes down. I take the Susie wig off, I put another wig on, and we just trot around the corner to 44th and 9th. The Freaky Tiki turns into the Monocle. And it's just a party. It's like an hour and a half, usually. We'll see. And then we have special Broadway guests. You're never gonna know who it is. You just have to be there to find out. We've had Nathan Lee Graham, Carrie St. Louis, Gina DeWall, Kevin Smith Kirkwood.

[34:13] Sarah Goodman: Wow.

[34:13] Natalie Joy Johnson: So yeah, it's just a total blast. And it's really fun because they're like my Broadway pals are there and our fans are there, and it's really just like it's a safe, beautiful little space.

[34:25] Sarah Goodman: Oh, that's so fantastic. I can't wait to check it out.

[34:28] Natalie Joy Johnson: Yeah!

[34:28] Sarah Goodman: Happy opening night. I hope you have a blast tonight.

[34:31] Natalie Joy Johnson: Thank you. Oh, my opening always has a blast.

[34:35] Sarah Goodman: Hey oh always there with the sassy one-liners.

[34:38] Natalie Joy Johnson: I love it. I'm telling you, Susie and I, the veil is very thin.

[34:42] Sarah Goodman: Amazing. Thank you so much, Natalie.

[34:44] Natalie Joy Johnson: Thank you.

[34:45] Sarah Goodman: Awesome. And that's a wrap for the red carpet for Lempica tonight. Go see Lempica on Broadway at the Long Acre Theater.

[35:06] ♪ Musical number ♪

[35:25] Please, let me watch you here. Don't wake up turning. Don't open your eyes.

[35:46] Sarah Goodman: Thanks for listening to Good Show. And thanks for following, liking, and leaving a review for the pod on your streaming platform of choice.

[35:54] Kristen Goodman: You can find us on Instagram at Good Show Podcast.

[35:57] Sarah Goodman: Yeah, that's where we post cool archival photos from the original shows, photos of us as kids, info about our upcoming live shows, and so much more.

[36:07] Kristen Goodman: Thanks, everybody.

[36:08] Sarah Goodman: Good show.

[36:09] Kristen Goodman: Good show.