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[0:08] Jeff Malone: Welcome to Half Hour with Jeff and Richie. I'm Jeff.

[0:11] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie. And for today's show, we are welcoming a very special guest, Moulin Rouge!'s current Nini, Sophie Carmen-Jones. Sophie, welcome to Half Hour Podcast.

[0:20] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Hi, thank you for having me.

[0:21] Jeff Malone: Of course. Sophie is an actress known for her roles in both theater and screen. She's made her Broadway debut as Nini in Moulin Rouge! after gracing the West End stage in productions like Jersey Boys, Wicked, and We Will Rock You. Sophie has also appeared in popular TV shows like One Day and Dark Money, as well as blockbuster films, including The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Cats, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Rocketman. Wow, wow, wow, you are busy.

[0:45] Richie Grasso: She's been busy.

[0:46] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah, I love it. I love it. It's wonderful.

[0:49] Jeff Malone: Sophie, it's really great to have you on the show. And we wanted to kind of start at the beginning with what sparked your interest in theater and how did you get your foot in the door?

[1:00] Sophie Carmen-Jones: What sparked my interest was actually, I think I was about 11 years old, and I went to watch Chicago the Movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma, who is from where I'm from, in Wales. And I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. And I thought, well, if she can do it, so can I. So that's what got me thinking I could do it for real. I just loved singing and dancing and acting as a kid. And then seeing that someone from where I'm from was doing it and getting paid and all that stuff, I was like, well, that's what I want to do. Yeah, so that was the beginning for me.

[1:35] Richie Grasso: Love that, love that. And then how did you kind of get through your childhood, into your young adulthood, and then into the Broadway and television space?

[1:43] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah, so luckily, I went to some good schools. Where I was from in Swansea, there was a great dance school, Maria Evans. I don't even know if it's still open these days. But it was a brilliant dance school. And one of the boys in the class below me, actually, he was like a bit younger than me, still one of my best friends now, Harrison. He auditioned for a school called Tring Arts Ed, which is a boarding school for ages, I think actually starts at eight, but mainly 11 to 16, where you do your school studies in the morning, and then you sing, dance, and act all day long after lunchtime. I was like, well, that sounds amazing. Sign me up. I've only got to do a morning of school. I can just dance, sing, and act the rest of the day.

How do I get in? And bless my mum, like ran me up and down the motorway a few times to audition. And I managed to get in with a little scholarship. And yeah, so then I went at 14, which really propelled my training then because, you know, you could put a lot more hours in there. The training there was incredible. So doing the two years there really pushed me forward. And then I got into a great musical theatre college called Lane Theatre Arts in Epsom in Surrey, which a lot of amazing people have been to, and did three years training then. And then I left there at 19 and went straight into We Will Rock You in the West End. Wow, wow. So that was amazing.

[3:09] Jeff Malone: And so you've also been with Moulin Rouge now on Broadway and in the West End production. And we did see this for the five-year anniversary. So we saw the original cast five years ago and now we went back.

[3:19] Richie Grasso: Yeah, we went back and last night we saw you in this and with the new five-year anniversary with Jojo and Aaron and you and everyone. And so we haven't seen it on West End, but we've now seen it on Broadway. And I know you worked on it in West End. What's been the most surprising difference at all between doing this in London first Broadway? Are there any differences?

[3:36] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yes. You know, there was one massive difference for me, which was obviously being the original West End company, we were learning it as it had already been created. And there was some freedom of like different spacing and things like this, but it had already been created with the original Broadway company. So we were sort of emulating that and creating it off the back of that. Whereas, so we were told it quite strict, and there were certain movements that were set. Come to Broadway, and so much of it is free. So much of it is no, do your own thing.

[4:11] Richie Grasso: Oh wow.

[4:12] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Exactly this and look exactly here. No, no, do you want, I was like, this is a party. Wow. I loved it. I was like, this is great. I love that because I feel like when I'm watching some of these choreo numbers, everything looks like if one person was out of step by an inch, the whole thing, it's just so wonderfully crafted that it's nice to then also hear that you have freedom within the realm as well.

[4:35] Sophie Carmen-Jones: So there are absolutely moments which are super strict, like the leg has to be this high and everyone's looking here and the arm is exactly here at this point. But then there are so many other moments that are so free, that weren't as free in London. So I'm having a bit more fun and freedom over here.

[4:54] Richie Grasso: I love it.

[4:55] Sophie Carmen-Jones: I wonder how free they were in the beginning of the Broadway run versus now.

[4:59] Jeff Malone: I do wonder.

[5:00] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah, they were all beasts and like, you know, cream of the crop. So I imagine it was like, you're all amazing, do what you want.

[5:05] Jeff Malone: And now we're celebrating this five-year anniversary of Moulin Rouge, what does this milestone mean to you personally and professionally?

[5:16] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Well, to be honest, I still feel like I've won the lottery. But the fact I'm on Broadway, I'm like, as if this girl from Swansea is on Broadway. I get moments of like, how the hell has this happened? Really? But to be part of the fifth anniversary cast does feel very special. I made a joke when they announced that Jojo and Ara were coming back. I was like, it's like Avengers Assemble, what it feels like. Yeah, it's been super special. And also for a show to be running on Broadway that long, I've learned very quickly how hard it is for a show to stay running. They're expensive here. All the overheads are huge on Broadway. Not that I know the ins and outs, but I don't think they're as much in London.

So things close a lot quicker here, whereas I feel like in London, we give shows a bit more grace to try and last a bit longer. Like I was in Viva Forever, the musical, the Spice Girls musical in London, which wasn't a smash hit. But I feel like on Broadway, that probably would have lasted two weeks. No, maybe two months. But we actually did like nine months on the West End with that. They really, you know, gave it time to see if it was gonna bring in an audience. But in the end, we sadly had to close. But yeah, I feel like on Broadway, to hit five years is a huge achievement. Big up Moulin Rouge!

[6:43] Richie Grasso: Right. And you're in this long-running show, which, you know, there's many long-running shows. Some, of course, don't last long. Some last a really long time. And so when I see the energy in this, you know, my next question is, how does this impact you as Nini, getting your energy to do this eight times a week? Like, you were all up there performing like it was opening night. And to do that eight times, it was just incredible to see. So like, where do you get that energy for Nini in a long-running show like this?

[7:12] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Well, thank you. That means a lot. Because I think that is something as performers do pride ourselves on, is getting out there and giving it your all every time. Because, you know, you see the audience and I see some people's faces light up sometimes, and that just gives me so much joy. People's faces, like they've never seen anything like this in their lives. And you don't know people's situations. They might have saved up the years to come and see the show that day, or they might have never seen a Broadway show before. So it's so important we go out there and deliver it like it is opening night every time. So thank you for picking up on that. It does mean a lot.

[7:46] Richie Grasso: Yeah, yeah. It's really amazing. And one thing we were reading is that you're a fan favorite as Nini.

[7:54] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Am I?

[7:55] Richie Grasso: Yeah, there were some articles out there that listed you as the fan favorite of like, the audience choices and things like that.

[8:00] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Stop it. I never read that stuff for fear of what I will read. So that is good to hear.

[8:06] Richie Grasso: Yeah, yeah. Actually, in this cast, a lot of the people that are playing the roles, the performers playing the roles are a lot of the fan favorites. So it's like, it feels like a very well-rounded cast right now. But what is your secret to bringing the character of Nini to life each night?

[8:22] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Gosh, to be honest, I think with anything, it's bringing your own self to it. Because as people, we're all so unique. And just by bringing yourself to a role, it will invariably be unique then. And keeping it fresh every night is actually just connecting with the people on stage. And that's the wonderful thing about Moulin Rouge! on Broadway is the cast changes quite regularly. So that, you know, the keeping it fresh is so much easier, because every three months, we do have new cast members or even more often with the amazing swings and understudies that we have that are on every other night, you know, every night, even like, that keeps it so fresh. Every single night, you will see a different cast.

Last night, we had loads of swings on. So you would have seen, you know, half the ensemble might not have been on for a week. So that's fresh. And you know, there's so much like whirling around the stage. Sometimes I'm halfway through the opening. I'm like, oh, I didn't realize you were on tonight. I'm like, wow.

[9:21] Richie Grasso: That is kind of cool that when you step onto the deck, and you're out there in the moment, and you're like, wow, yeah.

[9:25] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Oh, I always wonder that, like, when a swing is on, you're like, this feels a little different tonight, you know?

[9:30] Richie Grasso: Yeah. Stephen Kankan, you're like, oh, hey, girl. I forgot you were on.

[9:36] Sophie Carmen-Jones: I love it. I love it. And of course, we want to ask you about some other things you've done outside of Moulin Rouge! But to kind of wrap up this portion of the Moulin Rouge! We love seeing the success of the show around the world. And it's just reaching new audiences daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. What are you most excited for about you in this role, you in the show, or just the future of the show in general?

[10:01] Sophie Carmen-Jones: We'll be right back.

[10:05] Jeff Malone: Welcome back.

[10:07] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Oh, my gosh. I love this show so much. I could talk about it forever, because it's been a huge part of my life for the last three years. And what I'm most excited for the show is that it continues to run and run and run forever, I hope, and that it reaches as many audiences as possible. And around the world, it's about to go on a world tour. I think it's mainly doing the UK for the first year, which is incredible, because it is so expensive, people now, to get down to London, and ticket prices are more expensive in the capital cities. So it's amazing that it's going to be going to these other places. I think it goes to Edinburgh first, which is such a magical city. I love that place. And you know, the prices of tickets will be a bit cheaper.

So it's amazing that Scottish audiences can see the show. And it just makes it more accessible, which I love. And the fact that it's going to be going to all these amazing countries the year after is just incredible. Long may it Moulin Rouge! run forever.

[11:02] Richie Grasso: I love it. I love it. It's so important. And so as I had said earlier, in the podcast, you have so much work on other TV shows and shows, you've worked in film, TV, theatre, all these different mediums. How does preparing for a stage role like Nini differ from the screen work that you've done as a performer?

[11:16] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Gosh, I mean, for a role like Nini, the massive difference was preparing myself physically. Like fortunately, because the show had already been up and running on Broadway, I knew how physically demanding it was going to be. So I went into actually, my friend is a personal trainer. So I did like a 12-week course with her and her name's Chelsea Labbadini, shout out to her. And yeah, I did a training program with her because, you know, I've heard of a lot of people getting injured on the show. And I really didn't want that to happen to me. So physically, I really got into good shape for this, whereas the bits I've done on TV haven't been that physically demanding. I've been playing a waitress or a receptionist, so I've not had to worry about kicking my legs or anything.

So there's that massive difference. But acting-wise, I think the same preparation goes in. You do the work, you enter into that world, who am I? You know, why am I making these choices? Why am I acting like this, behaving like this? What is my relationship with everyone in this world? Who are the other people in this world? I think, yeah, it's sort of, as an actor,

[13:29] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah, it's been cool being able to do both and have an experience of both.

[13:35] Jeff Malone: And you were also in so many of the films I mentioned earlier, and many Disney films too, these live actions. We have a lot of fans who listen to our podcast who are fans of Disney and films, and what is it like working on those mega blockbuster films and dancing in them?

[13:50] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah, it's incredible. I'm not going to lie. When you step onto those sets, you are like, whoa, it feels like you're in the movie. My first one was Disney's Beauty and the Beast. And the scene I was in was a ballroom scene. And I don't really think much of it before we've been in some massive space rehearsing. There's like 40 of us playing these debutantes in these huge ball gowns. I walk on set and I was like, whoa, it was like an actual ballroom of a palace. It was insane. Like these fake marble pillars look real marble to me. It was crazy. Doing Aladdin, I was in the parade scene. And we shot it outside, which was risky because of London weather. And it did rain a few of the days, but they had, it's humongous.

Like I feel like it was about at least 150 meters, maybe 200 meters long. They had actual camels walking down. It was crazy. Like everyone's outfits, when you have that, there was like 180 extras, I think, all in costume, like the Aladdin style costumes. It was insane. Like, honestly, when you walk on those sets, you are just like, whoa, no expense is spared. They are magical. And yeah, when you're on a Disney film, it does feel like no expense is spared. You're like, wow, yeah, they've really gone the extra mile here. It's been their trending thing to kind of be doing these live action adaptations of their, and they do not hold back with their budgets, clearly.

[15:19] Jeff Malone: No, they do not. Even with the latest one, The Little Mermaid, we saw last year that.

[15:23] Sophie Carmen-Jones: I was in that.

[15:23] Jeff Malone: Yes, yes, yes. It must have been incredible because there was so many underwater above water. That was probably tough to kind of be a part of that process too.

[15:32] Sophie Carmen-Jones: That was crazy because of all the CGI and stuff. A lot of it sort of was imaginary. But that was also very cool. I got to go to Sardinia with them. Yeah. Thank you, Joey and Tara, the choreographers, who called me. I probably wasn't needed in Sardinia, but they said that they needed me. So I was there, which was a win.

[15:52] Jeff Malone: I love that. Oh my gosh, I'm sure. Did you have a favorite experience from any of the films?

[15:59] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Tough question. I do think it was actually not a Disney film as much as they will be magical. It was working on Rocketman, the movie. My friend, my now very good friend Adam Murray choreographed that. He just created such a fun atmosphere every day. It was just like going, yeah, it was honestly amazing. We filmed in the summertime. The Marquis was in the studio, so we would, on lunch breaks, just be like out in the sunshine. We were dancing to Elton John's music. How epic can you get? And because it was telling the story of Elton John's life, that man went to a lot of parties. A lot of the scenes were party scenes. There were some sexual moments, so there was a lot of freedom of expression. We went through the 60s, the 70s, such fun eras to delve into. We just had so much fun. It was such a fun cast. All of us dancers had a ball. It was just the best memories on that film.

[17:02] Jeff Malone: I love that. We do have a fun final question to ask you, but before we get to that, I did want to ask you, what's some advice that you can be giving aspiring performers who are looking to live the life that you are, doing TV and film on Broadway and West End? I always love to ask people that because I think the advice that we can give to the next generation is so important.

[17:22] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yes, absolutely. The first thing that popped into my head then was probably, stay versatile. If you're a fantastic dancer in one style, keep stretching yourself in the other styles. If you're not as confident in that, keep pushing yourself because when you read out all the things I've done then, it's like, I wouldn't have done all those things if I'd have just stuck to dancing or if I'd have decided, I'm not going to dance anymore, I'm only going to act. It's staying versatile. So many things have led to one other thing and that's because I sort of added strings to my bow as I went along. If you play an instrument, great, keep going with that. All of these things can add to your career and make it full and keep you employed, which is the goal.

So that would probably be my biggest advice, is stay versatile, keep stretching yourself as a performer in all areas, singing, acting, dancing, different styles of acting, different styles of singing, which I've actually not been very good at doing that one. But yeah, really try and stay versatile and if something else does pique your interest, follow that as well. Don't think, oh no, but I said I was going to be a dancer. Well, no, if you've realized you love acting now, keep going down that avenue and explore that. Stay curious and keep creating and follow anything that sort of piques your interest.

[18:59] Jeff Malone: I love that. It's so important. And to kind of piggyback on that a little bit, speaking of other works, do you have anything down the line coming up that you're allowed to share that's next for you after Moulin Rouge? Or are you just kind of living in Moulin Rouge right now?

[19:07] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah, I would love to say I've got something lined up for you, but no, actually, I'm contracted in Moulin Rouge until the end of January. Okay, wonderful. And yeah, just see what comes, like life as an actor, just auditioning. And I'm super excited to be here in New York and I have an amazing agent here, Matt Redmond at DGRW, as well as all the other amazing agents there that are getting me in the door hopefully in the next few months for other things. And it's super exciting. There's so many amazing things that cast here, even just meeting the casting directors here. It's a whole new world. As much as I feel like I'm starting again here, I'm sort of starting from a different place, which is really exciting.

[19:49] Jeff Malone: It's nice to meet new people. The Broadway scene now.

[19:55] Sophie Carmen-Jones: I know, right? Who would have thought? So for one big final question we always like to ask, our listeners always love to hear about a fun, unexpected moment that has happened behind the scenes. We'll be right back.

[20:08] Jeff Malone: Let's jump back into things. So do you have any backstage story that stands out in your memory that you can share?

[20:12] Sophie Carmen-Jones: There's something that is coming to the front of my brain. I actually don't want to talk about because it was honestly the worst moment of my career. But it only happened last week. So now it's the only thing I can think about. I was literally when you when you asked me this earlier, I was like thinking, no, surely there's something else I can check, think of something else. But no, this is just like right in the front of my brain. I fully went to the white room. Fully, which I didn't even know what the white room was until I came here. I feel like it's not an expression we use in the UK unless I just haven't heard about it. But it's for anyone that doesn't know what it is. It's when you basically peace out.

You don't know where you are anymore. You forget your lines. You are out. You are in that white room. That happens. Because mid show the other day, we had a show stop because something happened with one of the lights. It's smashing. It was all very scary. We all had to leave the stage. It was fine. No one got hurt. It sounded a lot worse than it was. And literally no one got hurt. But you know, we're dramatic. It was a smash. We all like screamed ran off stage. And then we come back on after half an hour, they fix it clear the stage. And we were like, propelled straight to a scene that we usually like run into after a dance sequence. So it usually has like a lot more energy going into it. And, and I just said one of my line lines wrong.

And then it sort of tripped me up. And I was like, looking at all the other actors on stage, like, I don't know who I am right now. Oh, my God. I didn't even tell you what show I was doing. Wow. Wow. It was crazy. And I'm not even joking. I managed to say something like, I don't have anything else to say. I don't have anything else to say. Oh, my thing on my cigarette. They're all probably like, Yeah, all right, let's go. Girl, we can't say no. It was awful. It was awful.

[22:07] Jeff Malone: It happens. It happens. We're human beings, you know, and of course, you had something happen where you had the show stop. So that kind of derails you a little bit.

[22:15] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Yeah. But you know, I thought I'd share it in case anyone else has ever been to the White Room or is scared off. Now I'm like, Hey, I've been there. I've done it. It can't get worse than that.

[22:23] Jeff Malone: Exactly. Right. And that nobody died. No one. Right. No one was hurt. Right. Exactly.

[22:27] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Oh my gosh. Sometimes it's kind of great to hear all the different stories like that, to remind people like you're watching live theatre. We're human beings. And these things happen. And we're not machines, you know, in this industry. And it just humanizes us.

[22:41] Jeff Malone: True. I loved it. When that happened. I loved the other cast members sharing their stories of going to the White Room with me, which made me feel a lot better. And some people have got some great stories. Ricky, who currently plays Santiago, has got such a good one. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing. That's okay. He was in. He's amazing. He's literally the most consistent, like amazing form. You saw him last night. Yeah. Brings the fire every night. He was in Joseph in London. And I can't remember what role sings this song, but I don't even know what the song is. But he basically forgot all the words to the song. The problem is with the song is it just keeps going, doesn't it? You can't sort of stop and say something. He just said the word banana, the whole song. Banana, banana, banana. It's just banana. Oh my gosh. Which is fantastic.

[23:34] Jeff Malone: It's okay. That's great to hear. That keeps the momentum of the song going while you're processing, right?

[23:37] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Right. At least it was a word. Rather than la-la-la, which I think he also threw some la-la-la in as well. Joseph has comedy flair to it, so I'm sure that fit into the genre.

[23:49] Jeff Malone: Absolutely. And the best thing is, is the cast then gave him a load of bananas. They put them on his dressing room table.

[23:56] Sophie Carmen-Jones: That's brilliant. That's great. I love it. We have to laugh at ourselves.

[24:02] Jeff Malone: We do. And you do.

[24:07] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Exactly, exactly. Well, listen, we're just about out of time. This has been so incredibly wonderful to talk to you today and just hear your story and just see you in Moulin Rouge. We've loved this show and seeing you in this very, what looks like so difficult, but you're making it look so easy up there and it's wonderful.

[24:21] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Thank you.

[24:21] Jeff Malone: Of course, of course. So thank you so much for spending some time talking with us today.

[24:25] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Thank you. It was lovely talking to you. Thank you for having me here.

[24:29] Jeff Malone: Folks, that's all for today's episode of Half Hour. Thank you all so much for listening. We hope you enjoyed our conversation with Sophie. In the description, we'll share all information on where you can learn more about Sophie and where to get tickets to the show. And to all our listeners, if you have suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you as well. You can connect with us on Instagram, at Half Hour Podcast. Thanks again so much for joining us today, Sophie.

[24:52] Sophie Carmen-Jones: Thank you.

[24:54] Jeff Malone: Signing off for now, I'm Richie.

[24:54] Richie Grasso: And I'm Jeff.

[24:54] Jeff Malone: Saying ta-ta for now. Bye.