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[0:00] Dan Tracy: Well, welcome to Guys Who Like Musicals.

[0:01] Joe Carroll: We're having a different week this week.

[0:03] Dan Tracy: Um because it is to guys who like musicals.

[0:05] Joe Carroll: It is the one year anniversary of the Broadway shutdown.

[0:09] Dan Tracy: And we just wanted to take a second to reflect um because it has been just an absolutely horrible year.

[0:19] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[0:19] Dan Tracy: Um I mean, it's it's been a horrible year.

[0:22] Joe Carroll: It's been filled with lots of tragedy, and a lot of people have gone through some crazy shit.

[0:26] Dan Tracy: And some things about the year have been okay, I guess, for certain people, depending on like how things have gone.

[0:34] Joe Carroll: You know, some people have been less affected than others.

[0:37] Dan Tracy: Some people have found new things.

[0:39] Joe Carroll: Joe and I have two new businesses.

[0:41] Dan Tracy: We love that.

[0:42] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[0:42] Dan Tracy: But at the same time, like I I'm so lost.

[0:47] Joe Carroll: Um totally.

[0:48] Dan Tracy: And I just w the the good needs to be like remembered and and acknowledged, right?

[0:55] Joe Carroll: Because there has been good, and the good for us on this show this year has been the fact that guests want to keep coming on talking about what they love about musicals.

[1:03] Dan Tracy: And that's been really cool.

[1:05] Joe Carroll: Because like we were really sort of crippled at the beginning of the pandemic because we didn't want to ask people to come on here and talk about stuff that they love when there was nothing happening.

[1:12] Dan Tracy: You know, and then slowly, you know, we we got our groove back and we wanted to talk to Robyn Hurder from her bedroom and Corey Cott from his parents' house, and you know, hear what James Eigelhart's doing around Christmas time.

[1:28] Joe Carroll: And and it was amazing.

[1:29] Dan Tracy: It was amazing that people were so generous with their time.

[1:33] Joe Carroll: You know?

[1:33] Dan Tracy: I I felt that way at least.

[1:35] Joe Carroll: Um because I think we're all lost, and you know, that was that was the positive, I guess.

[1:41] Dan Tracy: Um, but we wanted to just take a second to reflect and and um remember all of the lives lost and a lot of the tragedy that people have faced all over the world and here, and you know, the kind of pause slash stop of this $15 billion industry in in New York, Broadway sector, and all of the thousand hundreds of thousands of people who didn't have work for a year and didn't really know what to do, including us, and uh the fact that almost the entire union is about to lose their health insurance.

[2:18] Joe Carroll: Yep.

[2:19] Dan Tracy: Like with the exception of probably like a handfuls of people.

[2:24] Joe Carroll: Like I I I is there even work where you can get health insurance right now from from equity from the stage union?

[2:29] Dan Tracy: I don't think there is, so it's like okay, so the entire union's gonna lose their health insurance in May.

[2:35] Joe Carroll: Most of it's already gone.

[2:37] Dan Tracy: Right, right, which will have which will have no repercussions for our health plan in 2022, like it's like I laugh because I'm gonna cry, otherwise, it's like, you know, the I the uh the the repercussions, the ramifications of this, like yeah, we'll just live on for a long, long time.

[2:55] Joe Carroll: Um and that's the stuff that people hopefully I mean I think the people that listen to this podcast know, you know, like our listeners have are our theater lovers, like they know what's going on.

[3:04] Dan Tracy: And so I know that you feel you feel us and hear us, and it just, you know, it just blows.

[3:11] Joe Carroll: I mean, one of the things I wanted to do today was just talk about like what what were you about to see, Dan, when all of this shut down, and what was the last thing you saw?

[3:21] Dan Tracy: And I'll go first because I remember like uh we talked about it with Kirsten Anderson that I saw Unknown Solider.

[3:26] Joe Carroll: Mm-hmm.

[3:27] Dan Tracy: And like a couple days before that I went to see Tina with Patti Murin.

[3:33] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[3:33] Dan Tracy: And there was a guy coughing behind us, and I like couldn't pay attention to what was happening on stage.

[3:39] Joe Carroll: Mm-hmm.

[3:39] Dan Tracy: And then we had tickets to see Company, and we also had tickets to see for our anniversary.

[3:45] Joe Carroll: Right.

[3:45] Dan Tracy: We were gonna go see um Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon.

[3:49] Joe Carroll: Oh wow.

[3:49] Dan Tracy: Because our first anniversary was back in October of uh and and your first anniversary's paper.

[3:56] Joe Carroll: Right.

[3:56] Dan Tracy: You know how that that like there's like the first anniversary's paper, and the second anniversary's like close or whatever.

[4:00] Joe Carroll: Yeah, um, and so the first one I I got uh tickets um for us to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon, and I I couldn't I didn't get a refund for those tickets for so long because I was just I was sure I was gonna be able to use them.

[4:13] Dan Tracy: Eventually I called the Beacon, and like we were supposed to see that show March like 20th or something, and I called to get a refund in November.

[4:24] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[4:25] Dan Tracy: Because I was like, it's like I don't know why.

[4:28] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[4:28] Dan Tracy: It was like this little beacon of hope like sitting on our fridge.

[4:31] Joe Carroll: Right.

[4:32] Dan Tracy: I was like, maybe maybe Dan's gonna be wrong, and it won't be a full year before we come back.

[4:37] Joe Carroll: Right, right, right, right.

[4:39] Dan Tracy: Right, right.

[4:40] Joe Carroll: Just desperately hoping you were right.

[4:41] Dan Tracy: Uh Julie and I went away for our third anniversary.

[4:44] Joe Carroll: Oh wow.

[4:44] Dan Tracy: We just celebrated our fourth anniversary.

[4:46] Joe Carroll: Congratulations.

[4:47] Dan Tracy: Your post on Instagram was cute as a button.

[4:50] Joe Carroll: Thank you.

[4:51] Dan Tracy: I'm gonna sneeze.

[4:53] Joe Carroll: Bless you.

[4:54] Dan Tracy: Thanks.

[4:55] Joe Carroll: Yes, we celebrated our third anniversary uh on an Airbnb, which was like the second, the last trip we took.

[5:02] Dan Tracy: Um in an Airbnb, basically, we didn't do one again until my 30th birthday last November.

[5:10] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[5:10] Dan Tracy: I'm gonna sneeze again.

[5:14] Joe Carroll: Bless you.

[5:14] Dan Tracy: Um but for our anniversary, she got me tickets to see To Kill a Mockingbird with Ed Harris.

[5:22] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[5:22] Dan Tracy: So we saw that, I think the 10th, maybe the ninth.

[5:29] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[5:30] Dan Tracy: So uh and walking to the theater, she was like, we shouldn't be doing this.

[5:37] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:37] Dan Tracy: Or why we lived on uh off of 8th Avenue and we you know hustled our ass up 8th Avenue.

[5:43] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:43] Dan Tracy: I forget if we took a cab or not.

[5:44] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:44] Dan Tracy: I think we walked and we're walking up 8th Avenue, and she's like, I don't we should be this is so stupid.

[5:51] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:52] Dan Tracy: We should have exchanged the tickets.

[5:54] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:54] Dan Tracy: Like, do you think this is a bad idea?

[5:55] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:57] Dan Tracy: Should we not be doing this?

[5:57] Joe Carroll: Right.

[5:59] Dan Tracy: And meanwhile, nobody else was really paying any attention.

[6:01] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:01] Dan Tracy: But she was like, Bring your scarf.

[6:03] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:03] Dan Tracy: I'm wearing a scarf, even though it was warm.

[6:06] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:06] Dan Tracy: We had scarves over our faces, and you'll never wow.

[6:12] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[6:12] Dan Tracy: So I just remember like how much coughing there was, and every time we heard a cough, she would put a scarf over her face, and I just kept looking over at her, and she looked like I can't even describe to you what she looked like.

[6:28] Joe Carroll: Yeah.

[6:30] Dan Tracy: You could like only see her eyes.

[6:31] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:31] Dan Tracy: Through, you know, everything else was covered by a scarf for a hat or a hood.

[6:34] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:34] Dan Tracy: Yeah.

[6:35] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:35] Dan Tracy: You could only see her eyes looking out, and I'd look at her and she'd look it back at me like this isn't good.

[6:39] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:40] Dan Tracy: This is bad.

[6:41] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:41] Dan Tracy: This is bad.

[6:42] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:42] Dan Tracy: We are in thankfully, we were fine, they were fine.

[6:45] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:45] Dan Tracy: Obviously, the virus was already circling at that point.

[6:48] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:48] Dan Tracy: Yeah.

[6:48] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:50] Dan Tracy: And nobody really knew.

[6:50] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:50] Dan Tracy: I mean, you could have guessed, but nobody really knew.

[6:54] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:54] Dan Tracy: And um, I think the next thing I wanted to see was probably Company or or Carolina Change.

[6:59] Joe Carroll: Right.

[6:59] Dan Tracy: I I remember that that was the week that like we talked to you know all of our Moulin Rouge friends, and it was like people were getting sick.

[7:08] Joe Carroll: Right.

[7:08] Dan Tracy: And it's all public information now, but it was like friends, like Tam Mutu at Moulin Rouge was like got it and it was like holy shit like it's he's gonna be patient zero for the Broadway community or whatever and it was like no it's it's everywhere like now every person and at every you know the entire cast of Frozen the entire cast of of Come From Away the entire like uh it just it just ran you know but we we didn't know we were like oh you know it's gonna be anyway it's just it's so wild to look back at this year and you know how thr how excited we are to see some glimmer of a light at the end of a tunnel that is that we're not yet quite to but like yeah you know it's like it's still we're not out of the weeds yet certainly but it's like it'll be really fun this year I think to just start to chart like okay we're at March 12th 2021 and you know the vaccine rollout is going you know well ish you know if Johnson and Joe Biden said we can all get it by May 1st exactly or we can all we're all eligible by May first right so which is huge which is like you know I I know that they wanted to open Hamilton for July 4th and for the first time last night I was like that might like you know it's Hamilton they'll sell it to 50% it's Hamilton right because people will pay $300 a ticket to see Hamilton totally on the 4th of July and I almost cried thinking about that yesterday I was like that is awesome and that happens yes you know yeah at the very least like let's like open up a week of each show at the Delacorte in the summer in Central Park.

[8:47] Joe Carroll: Yes.

[8:51] Dan Tracy: Get on the phones.

[8:52] Joe Carroll: Yes.

[8:52] Dan Tracy: Start calling producers.

[8:54] Joe Carroll: Come on.

[8:54] Dan Tracy: We have equity.

[8:55] Joe Carroll: Let's go.

[8:56] Dan Tracy: Equity. And also, like you all who listen to this show, get out there and let your voices be heard and tell these people that they need to like that you'll pay the money because like I'll pay the money. I'll pay $200. I want to be able to show outside.

[9:08] Joe Carroll: Absolutely. I mean, I couldn't agree more. And like now that we know what we know, theater outside can happen. The Delacor, you know, like the I think it's Regents Park in London, you know, play those places, and they're all over the country. The Muni, let's go. Like, put up, put up some little plastic dividers, throw your masks on, and let's go watch some goddamn legally blonde.

[9:32] Dan Tracy: Yeah, if everybody's vaccinated on stage, and then you can create a little bit of space, like they should be doing.

[9:39] Joe Carroll: Gosh, I didn't even think of the Muni. That place would be so easy. It's like a 12,000 C venue. Like you could fill that place with 3,000 people.

[9:48] Dan Tracy: Exactly. Exactly. We don't need every single person next to each other, but I don't know. It's gonna be, but like I'm sure they're thinking about it. I know they're thinking about actually the theater that we've worked at, Dan, uh Mason Street Warehouse in Soccer Tuck, Michigan. Alex and I are doing a cabaret in September. We got hired. It's unbelievable. We're thrilled. Out there. Out there, yeah, outside, in the in the uh in the garden slash parking lot, slash like any outdoor space they can find. Um we're doing a show, so that's gonna be great.

[10:18] Joe Carroll: Little fall in Michigan.

[10:20] Dan Tracy: Fall in Michigan. Um gotta guys, guys, you gotta just prepare yourselves as I am for the amount of travel that Joe Carroll is gonna do in 2021. You know what I found out? That's gonna be disgusting.

[10:30] Joe Carroll: Okay.

[10:33] Dan Tracy: He's gonna be on the beach in another place every week with his microphone, like, oh hey Dan, sorry. I just let me put my pinu colada down.

[10:43] Joe Carroll: He's just been racking up the points.

[10:45] Dan Tracy: Racking them up. As much money as you possibly can. I mean so that he can get out and about.

[10:50] Joe Carroll: Yes, you're you couldn't be more right about it. I had a two-hour, I didn't even tell you this because I know we talk for 40 hours a day. I didn't uh I was on the phone yesterday with Andrew Cobra, friend of the pod. Yep, for two hours talking about points.

[11:03] Dan Tracy: Oh my god.

[11:08] Joe Carroll: We he and his wife are saving up for their Maldives trip in the fall of 22. And he figured out a way to fly to they are uh they're they're going to Hawaii for uh they're going to Hawaii first class for 50,000 miles, both of them.

[11:25] Dan Tracy: Unbelievable. What a deal.

[11:27] Joe Carroll: This is stuff that I care about. Anyway, so you're right. He's so excited. Honestly, honestly, I wish you could all see him. He's more excited about this than anything else we've ever done.

[11:37] Dan Tracy: Yes, yes, exactly. I can't. This is what I care about. So you'll find me. Well, I'm gonna be bringing you the pod from uh, you know, I don't know. Turks and Turks and Caicos uh at the park Hyatt. Uh listen, as long as we can as long as we can take that trip to Bermuda that you promised to pay for, then you know, and we can do the pod from a golf course in Bermuda while Alex and Julie sip Pinny Coladas on the beach, then God I love Pinny Coladas.

[12:06] Joe Carroll: It's all gonna be fine. This is good. This is really, really good. Um things are looking up, folks. Things are looking up. I do want to do, I want to take a second real quick, and I just this is a thing that came out this week. There was this article in the Times um about artists during the coronavirus, and and Tracy Letz had this this quote that I just want to read real quick because I thought it was it was the most relatable thing, and yeah, like I'm so grateful for you, Dan, and the way that we were able to create this, you know, to create a little something during this time.

[12:35] Dan Tracy: But this is from from you know future e-gotter, uh Tracy Letz. He said, based on you know, this is artists during the pandemic. Can you hear that that's what I'm saying? It's like, come on. Can't I just have my window open? Can I just live live in a place that's not loud? Anyway. Okay, sure.

[12:56] Joe Carroll: Come move up here.

[12:57] Dan Tracy: Yeah. I went for a five-mile hike yesterday.

[13:01] Joe Carroll: Nice.

[13:02] Dan Tracy: Nice. Just, you know, just a five-minute drive. Just a quick jot. Appalachian Trail.

[13:06] Joe Carroll: Is that where is that?

[13:07] Dan Tracy: Yes, sir. That's awesome. Anyway. Anyway. Okay. So Tracy Let's I've made nothing. On four separate occasions, I arranged my schedule with my wife Carrie so I could have six interrupted hours a day to write. All four times I emerged from my office after two or three weeks, rattled, defeated, feeling lousy about myself. My wife finally said, Here's what you have to do. Read books, watch movies, cook dinner, and take care of our boy. That is what I've done. And while my family is my focus and my joy from a creative standpoint, this year for me has been a dust storm. I'm normally involved in a number of creative endeavors in different forms, but the theater is my lifeblood, and I don't know who I am without it.

The plug getting pulled out on the minutes, which was the show that he was working on on Broadway at the time, was truly devastating for me. I feel like a heel even saying this, and so many people in this country and around the world are suffering as a result of this pandemic in ways I can't even fathom. But it's the simple truth. I can't do computer theater. It's too depressing for me. And I've turned down a couple on-camera jobs because I'm just as scared of this virus as I was a year ago. Creatively, I'm lost. It's why I'm doing this interview. I guess there are some other artists who identify. And that is about the most relatable thing for me at least. That's what that's what the year has been. And we're just figuring out a way to keep our lights on.

[14:32] Joe Carroll: Yeah. Thank you to our listeners. Thank you to people who are buying the stuff that we're advertising on this show. I'd really like to thank you for that because just the fact that people actually are still listening to this that gives us some kind of outlet that makes us feel slightly normal.

[14:47] Dan Tracy: Exactly. Has been really nice. Let's remind ourselves of all of the people who live for this art form and really want to see everything come back in its full form and fullest form. And to be reminded by our peers that inspire us and those things, getting to talk to people like Michael Arden. Like, who are we, dude? Like, how did we get here? Like people listen to this and we're allowed and they let us do this and they're excited. I mean, it's still just crazy to even think about.

[15:19] Joe Carroll: So that's been nice because Tracy Letz doesn't have this. Just saying. Honestly, maybe we should get him on the pod.

[15:30] Dan Tracy: Hey, Tracy Letz. Tracy Let's around the pod. Actually, I did get a chance to audition for Mary Page Marlowe, which was the show that he did at second stage two summers ago. Uh-huh. He's just, he's so good. The dude is just his writing is just unbelievable. Um, so that is incredibly relatable. Um, we have some fun stuff though coming up. Um, working with a bunch of new guests, and uh we have a bunch of cool stuff planned. But Dan had this idea.

[16:00] Joe Carroll: I can't take credit for it. It's a hundred percent your idea.

[16:01] Dan Tracy: Just like the podcast. I think we should, I don't think we should tell him.

[16:05] Joe Carroll: Oh, okay.

[16:06] Dan Tracy: Okay, cool. We should surprise him.

[16:07] Joe Carroll: Okay, go good. I think you should stay tuned. I think you should go get get on the Instagram, check out our Instagram stories. Because we need your help. That's the other part of this. We need we need your your Instagram help. Go get on the Instagram and give Matt all of your answers for all of the things we're about to ask you. And uh stay tuned for a couple uh handful of fun uh episodes. If if you thought music man versus hello dolly was good, wait until you see the next few weeks.

[16:39] Dan Tracy: Dun dun dun. Wait until Dan.

[16:42] Joe Carroll: Yes.

[16:44] Dan Tracy: From the people who brought you Hello Dolly versus the music man, we bring you.

[16:52] Joe Carroll: Wow.

[16:54] Dan Tracy: Wow. That's see you next week. Maybe I'll get a voiceover agent from this.

[17:02] Joe Carroll: Don't laugh.

[17:03] Dan Tracy: Don't laugh.

[17:08] Joe Carroll: Thank you for listening to guys who like musicals. We are now part of the Broadway podcast network. We are hosted by Dan Tracy. That's you and Joe Carroll. That's me. We're produced by Ryan Kincaid, and Matthew Mucha is the social content manager. You can find us on Instagram at Guys Who Like Musicals, on Twitter at Musical Guys, or the old fashioned way at www.guyslike musicals.com. If you'd like a chance to be featured on the Ask the Guys segment of our show, please call 203 900 7990 and leave a message with your question. As always, thanks for listening.