This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:07] Richie Grasso: Hello and welcome to Half Hour, an entertainment podcast through Two Worlds Entertainment.

[0:11] Jeff Malone: I'm Jeff.

[0:12] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie. Here to bring you all the casual conversations on the shows, concerts, films, and events that we see and observe throughout our career.

[0:20] Jeff Malone: Our conversation today will feature spoilers, so please make sure you've listened to or seen the content we are discussing today. If you'd like, and if not, that's okay, but just let you know there's gonna be some spoilers as we move forward here on what we're talking about.

[0:33] Richie Grasso: Moving forward, Sunday, March 19th, as you're listening to this, it is Monday, March 20th. So we have lots of updates for you as we're midway through March on some concerts that we've seen and some albums that have been released and some shows that we've seen as well.

[0:49] Jeff Malone: So we're gonna dive right in because we've actually have a lot to talk about today. Um, and we're starting with a new album that just came out a couple days ago from Aly and AJ. Um, this was really exciting. We saw Aly and AJ live maybe about a year ago or so. Um, really enjoyed that, and now here they are with another album. They just finished touring, I know, with Ben Platt. They were doing that whole tour with him, and now they have this new album. Uh, what are what is it about? What are the thoughts? Tell us everything, Jeff.

[1:17] Jeff Malone: So Aly and AJ are back with their fifth studio album, With Love From. And I actually, uh, really loved this album as well. I thought that this was a perfect segue from their last album, A Touch of the Beat. And I just really loved how they're just kind of growing into this duo that really just shines for them. And you know, I, uh, is it fully pop music? I would say it's a little, it still has the underbelly of pop, right? And it really has this like Americana feel. It has this folk feel, it has the singer-songwriter feel, and it was just nice. You know, what was your experience listening?

[1:59] Richie Grasso: I was listening to it on doing a lot of driving the last couple days back and forth from different events and work events and things, and I found that it was really refreshing to listen to in the car. I always like compare things like can I listen to this in the car? I don't know why. But I feel like there was something really, really nice about it that just felt, oh, like this is cool. It feels, it kind of calms you a little bit. I thought I love the style of the album. I love the musicality of it. The chord progressions on some of these songs are really well written. I think it's well written in that way.

[2:30] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[2:31] Richie Grasso: And I also think that they have a nice sound to their voice, and they're just enjoying what they're doing. And some beautiful lyrics in there too. Uh, do you have a few any favorite songs? Because I actually wrote down three songs that I really liked on this.

[2:43] Jeff Malone: Um, I did. I actually wrote down five songs.

[2:46] Richie Grasso: Oh, five. Well, maybe I wonder if any of these line up. Should we start? I mean, uh, the first one I really liked is the opening one, Open to Something and That Something is You.

[2:54] Jeff Malone: Okay.

[2:54] Richie Grasso: I didn't put that one down.

[2:55] Jeff Malone: Oh, I think it's a good opener to the album.

[2:57] Richie Grasso: Totally, yeah. I also put Love You This Way.

[3:00] Jeff Malone: Okay.

[3:00] Richie Grasso: Love that. I just love the feel of that song.

[3:02] Jeff Malone: Okay, cool.

[3:03] Richie Grasso: And then I put, um, Baby Lay Your Head Down. I really like that song.

[3:06] Jeff Malone: You know, I'm gonna bring up a funny little story here about Baby Lay Your Head.

[3:11] Richie Grasso: Okay, let's hear it.

[3:11] Jeff Malone: Because when this single came out, I said, Is this a bop or a flop? And you said that this leaned flop.

[3:14] Richie Grasso: Okay, but it's being pulled out of context. See? I know. It's part of an album now, and I'm listening to this forward from to back, and it's like making more sense now. And I, anytime I say something's flop, I usually mean that it has to grow on me. It doesn't mean I hate the song forever.

[3:32] Richie Grasso: No, I'm saying you said it was like bop flop leaning flop.

[3:36] Jeff Malone: Well, I like it now. And another fun fact there, I remember because you know I have to remember everything. But one of the things was I said, this is something that we're gonna want to play when we're driving around San Francisco this summer.

[3:50] Richie Grasso: And does that stand totally California vibes on this?

[3:53] Jeff Malone: So California. And it really has that Americana feel. Another song that I wrote down, okay, which was my favorite is Sun Choke.

[4:00] Richie Grasso: Oh, yeah, I like that.

[4:01] Jeff Malone: That was my favorite on the album. I think it's so good. And they have this lyric in the song, and it says, and it's just really something that kind of gets me, but it says, I'm so mad at myself, I could choke the sun.

[4:12] Richie Grasso: Yeah.

[4:12] Jeff Malone: That's an, I heard that. Did you ever feel that sometimes you want to do, you never think you would choke the sun, but like you're just looking at it, you're so mad, and you're like, oh, I could choke the sun right now.

[4:22] Richie Grasso: Yeah, no, it's interesting.

[4:23] Jeff Malone: Yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah, I, I did want to read a quote because they just did an interview with Nylon magazine, and, uh, Allie had said, um, A Touch of the Beat, that record that opened up a whole new portal for Allie and I to feel comfortable as musicians and songwriters.

[4:42] Richie Grasso: So I found that was really interesting because that last album still had like their pop influences, and now they're like, oh, we actually really feel like good songwriters, and they, and their fans embraced that. That was something I really liked to hear.

[4:56] Jeff Malone: Totally. I think they have a really nice way of writing it. They're the full package for me. They have nice vocals, they have good songwriting. The production value on the record is nice, it has really good production value on it, and it's not overly produced either.

[5:12] Richie Grasso: Uh, and I just really enjoyed it. I would definitely keep listening to it.

[5:15] Jeff Malone: Yeah, and one thing that I was gonna say too is like we did see their last tour. Do you think that this album is a nice segue from that last album into this?

[5:23] Richie Grasso: From their tour into this, you mean?

[5:25] Jeff Malone: Or their, oh, from their last album that they toured into it.

[5:28] Richie Grasso: Yeah, um, sure. I think this is the direction they're going in, and it makes sense and it works.

[5:32] Jeff Malone: Which they're also gonna be touring this album. We're not free to see it this time around. But they did that tour, they opened for Ben Platt, and now they're doing another album. They're busy, they're busy and they're working and good for them.

[5:43] Richie Grasso: And I love it. I love it. Really, really good stuff. I just really enjoyed it.

[5:45] Jeff Malone: Yeah, yay. And speaking of live concerts and performances, we had a couple live things that we recently saw in the pop music world. We went to, uh, Betty Who's big tour, and let's just say something.

[6:01] Richie Grasso: Betty Who puts on a show.

[6:02] Jeff Malone: Yeah, right?

[6:04] Richie Grasso: She's really amazing. It's the second time we've seen her. She, we were, she embraces the audience, she lives with and for the audience. She came into the audience right near us, and I was like, I'm gonna play a couple acoustic guitar songs right here for you. She's not afraid of that. So many pop stars are afraid of that.

[6:20] Jeff Malone: That was something I wanted to ask you about, Betty, because sometimes we see these pop stars and they just come on, they perform their songs, and that's it. And I really found like Betty, she's talking. She even had a musical theater reference in there that had you, uh.

[6:34] Richie Grasso: Yeah, she was like, I'm in New York, and she started singing NYC from Annie, and I was like, there was like, you know, seven and a half people that were like, Annie, and like everyone, I was like, I was one of them, and I was like, Oh my god, Annie, yeah, she's like NYC.

[6:45] Jeff Malone: And she embraces New York, her music just flows really well, she's relatable. I really like that venue, the Hammerstein Ballroom.

[6:55] Richie Grasso: There's, in New York, for those of you maybe who aren't familiar with New York, there are any kind of venues. There's small little underground basements, and then there's MetLife and Madison Square Garden, and there's everything in between. Even Radio City has its perks concert, uh, Beacon Theater concert versus no car. Where are you sitting and watching or something where you need to sit versus stand?

[7:13] Jeff Malone: I like the how high the stage is in Hammerstein Ballroom. I like how close you can get because it's general admission on the floor, yet there's still seats upstairs. I just like the location of it. I like a lot of things about Hammerstein Ballroom. I think that's a great venue.

[7:25] Richie Grasso: I actually think it's one of the better ones as well. I mean, I like Terminal 5 and I like Hammerstein Ballroom. And you know, sometimes we do go to concerts and it's so hard to see, but yeah, at least Betty's tall.

[7:35] Jeff Malone: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we really just, I just really enjoyed it.

[7:39] Richie Grasso: Sounds great.

[7:39] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[7:39] Richie Grasso: And the little choreo that she does, it's just she's a fun time. So I definitely think if people, if the big tour has not come to you yet and it is coming to you, I highly suggest you going and checking Betty out because that was so much fun.

[7:52] Jeff Malone: And the night before that, we went down to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, which let's talk about venue first before we tell them what we saw.

[8:00] Richie Grasso: That's a stunning venue.

[8:02] Jeff Malone: Yeah. The New Jersey Performing Arts Center is huge.

[8:04] Richie Grasso: I've never been.

[8:05] Jeff Malone: And we, I never even really heard of it.

[8:07] Richie Grasso: No, and it's like, and big acts are going there soon. There's some big names going there.

[8:12] Jeff Malone: What an amazing venue. We saw the 25th anniversary tour of Riverdance.

[8:21] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I should have been wearing my green.

[8:23] Jeff Malone: Yeah. I've never seen it. I've seen bits and pieces of clips here and there, but I've never seen it.

[8:27] Richie Grasso: Uh, the, whether the full video of it or live. 25 years later, here we are.

[8:32] Jeff Malone: Um, you've seen the original in video, right?

[8:36] Richie Grasso: Well, I've seen the video. My parents had it on VHS as I was growing up.

[8:40] Jeff Malone: So I really, while watching it, I didn't know if they were actually going to be doing the actual 25th anniversary show from back then, which they were.

[8:50] Richie Grasso: Yeah.

[8:50] Jeff Malone: And obviously, it's different, a different cast of characters there, um, performing these roles, but it was definitely a nice thing to see live.

[8:59] Richie Grasso: I mean, I was a child when that year came out.

[9:01] Jeff Malone: Yeah, what did you think of this concert, of this tour rather?

[8:59] Richie Grasso: Um, it was a lot of fun. I think, uh, it, I think it's aged well, you know, and I think it's still great. I would love to see, um, kind of more like a reimagined version of Riverdance maybe now.

[8:59] Jeff Malone: Well, they added projections, they tried to add some of that in. I, it sounds like 45 instruments are playing at times and there's three people up there, so they must have tracks being put in.

[8:59] Richie Grasso: Yeah, um, the dancing is incredible. I, I don't know how they do that. Like, it's just amazing that they do that. It's very entertaining and they're telling a story.

[8:59] Jeff Malone: Yeah, it's nice. I mean, listen, I would, I would, it's definitely like a bucket list thing, like see Riverdance because why not, you know? The audience seems to enjoy it. Um, they're trying to put a little bit of a story to it. Could it have, it's like, uh, you know, it's like dancing.

[8:59] Richie Grasso: Yeah, it's like dancing. Could it have a complete overhaul? That's what I'm sure.

[8:59] Jeff Malone: Sure, I feel like it could have a complete overhaul of like costumes and do the same style of dance but maybe tell a different story, tell it differently, add some levels of stage, right? Maybe add, I don't know, just change it up.

[8:59] Richie Grasso: Saying I know it's a 25th anniversary of it, but, uh, you, what is a more reimagined 25th anniversary of this? Like we just saw Dancing, Bob Fosse's Dancing, and it was reimagined from what it was. So, you know, does Riverdance have something similar to that, you know?

[8:59] Jeff Malone: So, but it was great. It was cool.

[10:30] Jeff Malone: It was great to see, and it was great to see during the Irish holy season.

[10:33] Richie Grasso: Yes.

[10:34] Jeff Malone: And it was a magic stage.

[10:35] Richie Grasso: It clearly sells because the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, which is a huge space, was full.

[10:38] Jeff Malone: Totally.

[10:39] Richie Grasso: That was something we were actually supposed to see right as New York City was shutting down.

[10:43] Jeff Malone: Yeah, at Radio City, it was supposed to be, yeah.

[10:45] Richie Grasso: Tickets and they almost played their whole run at Radio City.

[10:48] Jeff Malone: And I think we actually had tickets to the last performance.

[10:51] Richie Grasso: So this was our time to find this.

[10:53] Jeff Malone: Yeah, it's a reschedule all the these times when it came back.

[10:56] Richie Grasso: Yeah.

[10:56] Jeff Malone: So great, great, great.

[10:58] Richie Grasso: Seeing lots of good things.

[10:59] Jeff Malone: Seeing lots of good things and sometimes seeing bad things.

[11:02] Richie Grasso: Oh well.

[11:03] Jeff Malone: No pun intended.

[11:05] Richie Grasso: We are getting ready to talk about the Broadway show that we've seen recently, Andrew Lloyd Weber's Bad Cinderella.

[11:12] Jeff Malone: Which we know that everyone has been waiting for them.

[11:15] Richie Grasso: Yes, everyone's like, we can't wait to hear what they thought of that.

[11:17] Jeff Malone: We saw this. This is playing at the Imperial Theater in New York. Uh, this is music by Andrew Lloyd Weber, book by Emerald Fennel, and lyrics by David Zippel.

[11:24] Richie Grasso: Um, choreography by Joanne M. Hunter, directed by Lawrence Connor.

[11:28] Jeff Malone: Uh it's a it's Andrew Lloyd Weber's take on Cinderella. It was called Cinderella in London.

[11:32] Richie Grasso: It it closed there, it didn't do very well there.

[11:35] Jeff Malone: It's now here in New York with the new title, Bad Cinderella.

[11:39] Richie Grasso: Um, okay, uh, let's see here. I want to start off by saying that I always admire the work that people put into a show.

[11:47] Jeff Malone: There are many, many people employed right now on that show and working.

[11:52] Richie Grasso: And I will never sit here and shun or look down upon the work that people are doing in a post pandemic world live on stage eight times a week.

[12:02] Jeff Malone: There are some phenomenal dancers in that show. There are some amazing orchestra players there. Some of the design was beautiful, so I think we need to highlight where highlight is due.

[12:12] Richie Grasso: Yes.

[12:13] Jeff Malone: With that said, are you gonna go first?

[12:16] Richie Grasso: I don't know. Should hire you.

[12:18] Jeff Malone: What do you let's go? Why don't you go first? I just wanted to do that disclaimer because I feel like that's really important in this industry. But now let's talk about the show.

[12:26] Richie Grasso: Thank you for doing the disclaimer.

[12:29] Jeff Malone: It's important.

[12:29] Richie Grasso: It's important.

[12:30] Jeff Malone: Okay, go.

[12:31] Richie Grasso: No, it is important. I did if I had to do the disclaimer, I was gonna say that Bad Cinderella had limited moments of greatness, but ultimately it does not know what it wants to be.

[12:43] Jeff Malone: It does does not know what it wants to be. And like, I think like I'm gonna bluntly say this, but and this is like a little bit of a story as well while we were at this show. But during intermission, we made friends with our neighbors in the aisle here, and we it was we were just having a little powwow laugh session here because they're theater goers, we're theater goers, and we were having a good time.

[13:05] Richie Grasso: Anyway, I turned to her and I said, Do you watch RuPaul?

[13:09] Jeff Malone: And she said, Do I watch RuPaul? And I said, Okay, good. Because I said to her, I was like, isn't this like a really bad version of a RuPaul's Drag Race rusical?

[13:23] Richie Grasso: And I'm like, and she's like, oh my god, yes. And I'm like, and I'm saying that kindly because I actually think some of the rusicals on RuPaul are very funny and great. We actually just saw one this past weekend when they did the Footloose Rusical, and I was what?

[13:38] Jeff Malone: Wig loose.

[13:38] Richie Grasso: Based on Footloose. But um I I said this because I was like, at least in RuPaul with this rusical style thing, it knows what it is. This show doesn't know what it is.

[13:51] Jeff Malone: Is it camp? Is it serious? Is it a rock musical? Is it a classical musical? Is it a great take on Cinderella? And you know what? I and I'm really coming to the conclusion on this. Cinderella needs to be done.

[14:02] Richie Grasso: Cinderella needs to be done. It's so tired.

[14:07] Jeff Malone: Well, we all know the Brandy Whitney Houston, Roger Hammersong Cinderella is the best Cinderella ever.

[14:13] Richie Grasso: Okay, but that's still like the basic Cinderella story. I'm so tired of seeing a Cinderella story.

[14:18] Jeff Malone: But let's but yes, it is this thing that just people, and it's maybe Americans or maybe British people too, are just obsessed with that story. I don't know what the obsession is.

[14:24] Richie Grasso: Disney.

[14:27] Jeff Malone: I mean, it name every major production does so many different things. But hasn't it already been mastered by some? I don't know why we're still trying to reinvent the wheel with Cinderella.

[14:35] Richie Grasso: Well, here's here's my thoughts on this.

[14:37] Jeff Malone: Okay.

[14:37] Richie Grasso: Andrew Lloyd Weber, why? Like, why are you doing this right now? You have created such mega shows.

[14:44] Jeff Malone: Yes, he has had flops before. And people sometimes forget that.

[14:46] Richie Grasso: Yeah.

[14:47] Jeff Malone: He had a show, I think it was Women in White. Uh, he had he's had some shows that are just didn't do well.

[14:52] Richie Grasso: Yeah.

[14:52] Jeff Malone: Um, he has a phantom sequel out there that doesn't seem to do well. So what are you doing with your time and money?

[14:59] Richie Grasso: With all the money and all of these new scripts and young writers and new stories that we could be bringing.

[15:05] Jeff Malone: Yeah, what are you doing spending so much money on this?

[15:09] Richie Grasso: Right. It is very lost of a production. It has no idea what it wants to be.

[15:12] Jeff Malone: It's almost so strayed from the plot of Cinderella that it's not Cinderella.

[15:19] Richie Grasso: Right. That's what blows my mind. There's no there's very she knows the prince already, she's friends with him already, but then at the end, they don't have to be Prince and Princess because the other prince comes back.

[15:30] Jeff Malone: That's not the story of Cinderella, so maybe this should have been called like a different name. I don't know why this is called that.

[15:35] Richie Grasso: Um, I I there's there's lags at times. I don't think all of the performances are that great. Some things are stronger than others.

[15:46] Jeff Malone: If I actually don't mind okay, so let me talk about some things. I thought the costumes were actually pretty good. I thought there were some pretty beautiful costumes, and then they gave her, I don't know.

[15:55] Richie Grasso: I know.

[15:55] Jeff Malone: She's in like, I don't know what she's wearing. They're trying to show that she's this rebellious person in the town.

[16:00] Richie Grasso: Which is like also not Cinderella.

[16:02] Jeff Malone: So like I don't understand match the theme of the overall piece. I don't know.

[16:06] Richie Grasso: It doesn't know what it wants to be.

[16:08] Jeff Malone: I will say, at times there are a couple big orchestral swell moments. Like, oh, there's the Angelo Weber.

[16:14] Richie Grasso: Oh, and then we go 20 minutes, and they're like, what's going on?

[16:16] Jeff Malone: And then oh, there's the Angela Weber that we know and love. Up, it's gone again. It's just this hit or miss, hit or miss.

[16:22] Richie Grasso: Having all the guys shirtless in a dance number with the queen. I don't know what the point of that is.

[16:26] Jeff Malone: I it's very lost on me. I don't know.

[16:30] Richie Grasso: And I think that's the point that we're kind of talking here. Like the talent on the stage is amazing.

[16:35] Jeff Malone: And I would applaud every single one of them because a lot of them are doing so many great things, but the material that they are given is just what is this?

[16:49] Richie Grasso: I I I don't even know what to say because I'm looking at this and I'm saying, how are some of the and not talking about the people on the stage, but everyone on the creative team of this, how are they okay with putting something like this on the stage?

[17:01] Jeff Malone: Like, do they sit there and actually say, Wow, this is really good. This is my best work.

[17:04] Richie Grasso: I don't know, but it didn't do well in London. I know it was surrounded by a pandemic and it tried to reopen and then it didn't do well.

[17:09] Jeff Malone: And I I don't know why. Sometimes I will say things do bad in London and well here, and sometimes things do bad here and well in London.

[17:16] Richie Grasso: So that's not a good formula to be basically.

[17:18] Jeff Malone: No, not at all. And but but with getting the bad reviews that it did and literally changing the name of the production to Bad Cinderella, it's almost like they're playing.

[17:26] Richie Grasso: They're trying to play into this, but the camp in this show is not executed.

[17:31] Jeff Malone: No, it could have been. It's trying to be a camp show, it's not.

[17:34] Richie Grasso: And you know where the real camp was really ruined from me? When I needed to be invested in the first number, when a theater doesn't know how to get their ushers to not see people during the first number.

[17:44] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[17:45] Richie Grasso: We're watching the first number, and these people are standing up, and the ushers trying to get them to sit.

[17:49] Jeff Malone: And I'm like, you gotta wait till the numbers over.

[17:53] Richie Grasso: And this we were just at shocked recently, and I could not go back to my seat after intermission because the numbers started and they said, Oh no, no, no. Wait till the upload because people are going to miss what's happening in the story.

[18:04] Jeff Malone: I'm sorry. If you're late to an eight o'clock show and it's 8 10 when it's starting, you're gonna wait and get back at the theater.

[18:11] Richie Grasso: Right, for at least the first five minutes.

[18:12] Jeff Malone: Yeah. I will also say this. Caroline Carmelo is the name in this show.

[18:19] Richie Grasso: Carolie Carmelo is holding the show together.

[18:22] Jeff Malone: I'm sorry. That woman is a three, two or three time Tony nominee. She knows always knows what she's doing on stage.

[18:30] Richie Grasso: It's a little over the top at times. I understand that the role calls for that.

[18:34] Jeff Malone: I always wanted to see her on stage. I found that she was the glue for me for this piece.

[18:39] Richie Grasso: She was what was like brought in to kind of glue some of these people together. Because without her, I don't know what this would have been.

[18:45] Jeff Malone: I think this would have been even worse. And I don't even know how to, you know, say that.

[18:49] Richie Grasso: Um, I just thought she was really strong. The woman really knows what she's doing, and I think that that's a good thing for this production.

[18:56] Jeff Malone: Yes. And now we've seen Caroly Carmelo in two shows this season, 1776 and Bad Cinderella, and I'm so sorry for her.

[19:03] Richie Grasso: But I know, I don't know what's going on. I mean, the woman, she needs to work, and this is the work that she's getting, so good for you.

[19:09] Jeff Malone: I loved her gowns. I loved what she looked like. I just think this is I just don't know what else to say about it.

[19:15] Richie Grasso: I mean, it's just really unfortunate. I don't understand what's going on. You're in one of the largest theaters in America doing one of this huge mega show, and it's like, do people think they're going to see Cinderella?

[19:24] Jeff Malone: Do you bring your kids? Do you not? I don't even know if you bring your kids to this because actually some of them are some inappropriate things at times.

[19:39] Richie Grasso: Yeah.

[19:39] Jeff Malone: Weird ways.

[19:41] Richie Grasso: Um, yeah, no. I'm not sure.

[19:44] Jeff Malone: I mean, is standout performance Caroly for you?

[19:47] Richie Grasso: Stand-up performance is Caroly for me, I would say.

[19:50] Jeff Malone: I literally Janayo is playing Cinderella. She's she's got to carry a lot of the show. Should I didn't mind her, but it wasn't anything that I would say come close to Caroly, what she's doing in it.

[20:00] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I don't know.

[20:01] Jeff Malone: Uh she was fine. I also thought I think of mine for yours, because I have another.

[20:07] Richie Grasso: My standout performance goes to Mr. Raymond Baynard because I'm sorry.

[20:13] Jeff Malone: He is so dreamy.

[20:15] Richie Grasso: And uh I could not take my eyes off of him in MJ.

[20:15] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[20:15] Richie Grasso: Take my eyes off of him and Bad Cinderella. And he is a dancer, and he's got the body, and he looks great.

[20:26] Jeff Malone: He's great.

[20:26] Richie Grasso: You know, I'm gonna I'm gonna say he's my standout performance because again, I was so drawn to him.

[20:30] Jeff Malone: Yeah, and as an ensemble member, you can really like whoa, stand out in that way.

[20:35] Richie Grasso: Yeah. I was also gonna do a shout-out to um the queen, Grace McLean.

[20:39] Jeff Malone: I actually thought she was really great. Well, her and Carolie worked well together. They actually had a number together, and I was like, oh, great, these are two characters. And I didn't like the number. I said, What is this song? Yeah. I was like, Oh, there were moments and then there weren't. And I don't know. I was very disappointed. I was also it's another show with forgettable music.

[20:57] Richie Grasso: Yeah. You know, Bad Cinderella, the like the title track that they kind of keep playing. They just keep playing it all over. It's the title of your show, so I can't even really say that's the memorable song. It's just the title of your show. Um it was unfortunate because I was cr at times I was like, Oh, I just want this to be better, and I don't know what's going on. I don't know if it's really selling. I don't know. I just didn't really enjoy it. And I hate to say that but you gotta be honest.

[21:20] Jeff Malone: And you gotta be honest. I'm being completely honest. I'm not trying to be rude. I mean I feel like I'm gonna tie this in here because I feel like I have a final statement to kind of wrap up this Bad Cinderella, unless you have something else.

[21:30] Richie Grasso: Okay. And this might be an unpopular opinion, but I find a lot of people are saying the same thing about this show. Well, we have to embrace it and enjoy it because it's a job for everyone. And I get that statement. But at the same time, if the work is not good, why do we have to applaud it?

[21:50] Jeff Malone: Okay, so that's like a question to everyone. And if this was not on the stage, would something else be there that all of those performers could be able to do it.

[21:57] Richie Grasso: Could be working on, yeah. Okay, so that's one thing. But I'm gonna go as far as to say this in the music industry, where people work just as hard as the Broadway space, and they put out an album and they put out a music video and they put out a single, how many times do people not listen to it, not enjoy it, give their own opinions on it?

[22:19] Jeff Malone: And guess what? If the album flops, it flops, and no one kind of does the same thing in the music industry that the Broadway community loves to do all the time.

[22:28] Richie Grasso: No, we have to support it. We have to support it. Well, I see albums and music all the time where people are like, Oh no, that was terrible. I'm not gonna listen to it. You know, but the uh money talks, and it will be shown in the grosses of this if this doesn't sell.

[22:41] Jeff Malone: I am noticing that the grosses of the last few weeks have been not great.

[22:45] Richie Grasso: Yeah, it says 98% capacity seating. So clearly are the tickets being papered. Are they just trying to get people in the seats to talk about this? Because they're not pulling in this the money for a ninety-eight percent house sell.

[22:57] Jeff Malone: No, but my question to this though is why do we have to support it if it's not good?

[23:01] Richie Grasso: Right. Well, because you're trying to support the industry and you're surprised trying to support people working in the industry. And at the end of the day, that's what I'm not saying I don't want those people to be working. They should be in something else.

[23:11] Jeff Malone: Right. Give another show.

[23:12] Richie Grasso: Well, that's what the opportunity. There's only what, 41 Broadway houses?

[23:16] Jeff Malone: Yes.

[23:16] Richie Grasso: Okay. There's plenty of shows that want to come into that space. And I don't think I should be running and telling everyone that I know to go see Bad Cinderella. But I will say if you want to join into the bad hype of this and you don't want to feel left out, you should go see it.

[23:31] Jeff Malone: So you should go see Bad Cinderella if you want to see how bad.

[23:35] Richie Grasso: I'm not quite there's so many other wonderful things playing right now to go spend your time and money on. I just couldn't get through this. I I I tried. I really did try. I was like, maybe it'll be good.

[23:43] Jeff Malone: Yes, but I did see some people are like, wait, I think this is so bad, I actually need to go see it now to see what all the hype is around it.

[23:50] Richie Grasso: Yeah. That's Bad Cinderella.

[23:52] Jeff Malone: Oh, there we are. Oh my goodness. And another a few other Broadway notes you have, right?

[23:57] Richie Grasso: I think we've got to be around. There were some.

[23:58] Jeff Malone: Yeah, there were some Broadway announcements that I wanted to kind of ask you and get your opinions on. Um, do you think it's interesting that they're moving the Wicked release date from December Christmas 2024 to Thanksgiving 2024?

[24:10] Richie Grasso: It's not interesting because things like that happen all the time. They move a week here, a week there. Why are they being a big deal about it? Because it's now you have a longer holiday season to see it, and because people are waiting, they know that we're waiting very, very long. By the way, it's not this Thanksgiving, it's two 2024's Thanksgiving.

[24:27] Jeff Malone: So they're just building hype for it and keeping reminding people that it's coming.

[24:30] Richie Grasso: I don't think we know it's coming. So it's Christmas. So now we can go see now Thanksgiving.

[24:35] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I feel we got to go a few weeks earlier to see what good. Great. And then we gotta wait another year for this part two.

[24:40] Richie Grasso: So I mean, we're gonna be how old are we gonna be when this movie finally comes out?

[24:44] Jeff Malone: But yeah, interesting. The real question is will Wicked still be on Broadway when we said that about Phantom?

[24:52] Richie Grasso: Well true, and you never know. Um also was announced that Room with Adrian Warren that's supposed to be coming this season is getting postponed indefinitely. What are your thoughts on this?

[25:01] Jeff Malone: My thoughts on that are that is a situation where I really feel for the people working in this industry because they were mid-rehearsal. You show up to a rehearsal room and someone tells you we're done. And what's difficult about that is Adrian Warren and some of the team members just made a video and they said we have no idea what's going on either. An investor pulled out and it's done, and we or don't even know what exactly is going on.

[25:23] Richie Grasso: And to be invested in them to think you're gonna be, and some people were making Broadway debuts. That's gotta be so hard. I feel for the show that I was excited for.

[25:30] Jeff Malone: Yeah, because I don't know much about it, but I was really excited. I heard it was gonna be amazing.

[25:33] Richie Grasso: So I do hope it'll come next season, or it'll come maybe it'll go out of town somewhere first or whatever. But um, it is very unfortunate to hear.

[25:40] Jeff Malone: So hopefully they find their footing in a few months.

[25:42] Richie Grasso: Yeah, and another thing is they finally announced that the Steven Sondheim musical, his final musical, Here We Are, is getting its off-Broadway staging in 2023. He was stuck Sondheim right before his death was very public about this. I think he went on Stephen Colbert a few months before he passed and talked about it.

[25:59] Jeff Malone: Um so of course I had a feeling that this was gonna be in the wings, and whether his estate or his family or his friends are gonna finish this up for him. He was working with someone, so they were it wasn't like he was doing it alone.

[26:11] Richie Grasso: So I'm sure I mean, and could you imagine what I was thinking about when I heard this is could you imagine what the tickets are gonna be for that?

[26:17] Jeff Malone: Oh, the last Sondheim show ever written that no one's heard.

[26:21] Richie Grasso: Oh my god, you better start saving up now. That's gonna and it's off-Broadway. Maybe it'll transfer to Broadway after it doesn't off-Broadway run.

[26:27] Jeff Malone: But oh man, that is gonna be a hard ticket. Could you imagine?

[26:31] Richie Grasso: You know what someone said? They were like, can we calm down by doing everything Sondheim right now? Can we let his legacy continue to live on?

[26:40] Jeff Malone: Why are we doing all of the Sondheim stuff immediately after he?

[26:43] Richie Grasso: Yeah, it's because people miss him and and they love his work. And so I think some things will Into the Woods had just wrapped up.

[26:51] Jeff Malone: Now we have Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along is coming this fall, so we don't really get a much of it.

[26:56] Richie Grasso: I mean, you know, there's always something. Sondheim worked on a lot.

[26:59] Jeff Malone: Yeah, he did a lot, so yeah, good stuff. Great stuff in the Broadway space.

[27:03] Richie Grasso: And we're wrapping up today with some Bop or Flops. So let's dive into this and see what are these top pop picks that came out this weekend.

[27:11] Jeff Malone: So for the pop music drop this week, we're gonna get Richie's Bop or Flop. Here we go.

[27:16] Richie Grasso: Okay. Uh starting with Taylor Swift. She released an unreleased song from Lover, and she also released three of her old um Taylor version tracks, two from the Hunger Games soundtrack and one from something else.

[27:31] Jeff Malone: I forgot what it is.

[27:32] Richie Grasso: But anyway, Taylor Swift, All of the Girls You Loved Before. Bop, love it. Love it, love it. Just have a good vibe with that.

[27:38] Jeff Malone: Yep, I love Lover.

[27:39] Richie Grasso: If you listen to the song closely, this actually kind of feels like a song that either comes in leading into Lover or it just it has the same melody. So I really like that. She also kicked off her Eras Tour on Friday night.

[27:52] Jeff Malone: And yeah, we're going in May.

[27:55] Richie Grasso: Can we just say something? She is playing for three hours and 10 minutes.

[28:00] Jeff Malone: Yes.

[28:00] Richie Grasso: Yeah. That's gonna be the longest pop concert you've ever been to.

[28:04] Jeff Malone: Oh yeah.

[28:05] Richie Grasso: But all the music's good.

[28:06] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I can't wait.

[28:07] Richie Grasso: Yes. Can't wait. Up next, we have Lana Del Rey with The Grants.

[28:10] Jeff Malone: This is actually the intro to her upcoming album, which we will be listening to next week.

[28:14] Richie Grasso: So be excited. What did you think?

[28:16] Jeff Malone: I don't know how I feel about this.

[28:18] Richie Grasso: I'm just getting the same thing from Lana every time. It's very overproduced vocal. It's a very Enya-esque echo on it. And I just it all sounds the same to me, so I don't really am not obsessed with this.

[28:30] Jeff Malone: I like her.

[28:31] Richie Grasso: I really do. I like her old stuff especially. It's the same slow BPM. It's the same echoed vocal. I don't know. Just not working for me.

[28:41] Jeff Malone: Okay.

[28:42] Richie Grasso: Well see. I don't know. I'm being honest. Does anybody agree with me?

[28:46] Jeff Malone: This song is great. It is such an album opener, and it is so theatrical. I just could see this staged so well.

[28:53] Richie Grasso: Anyway, moving on. Up next we have Joy Ola-Ducan and Noah Khan, We're All Gonna Die.

[29:00] Jeff Malone: This I put Bop.

[29:01] Richie Grasso: I liked this.

[29:02] Jeff Malone: Oh great.

[29:02] Richie Grasso: I liked this.

[29:03] Jeff Malone: Yeah. What a relatable song.

[29:04] Richie Grasso: Yeah, it was fun. We're all gonna die. What are we gonna do?

[29:07] Jeff Malone: Oh my god. Then we have Becca and Tears.

[29:11] Richie Grasso: Oh yeah, this was nice. Bop.

[29:12] Jeff Malone: I put this nice.

[29:13] Richie Grasso: Yep, yep, yep. This one was nice because it has like the pop club feel.

[29:16] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[29:17] Richie Grasso: It's very similar to like the Dua Lipa sound right now.

[29:20] Jeff Malone: And then we have Snakehips and Take Medoza.

[29:23] Richie Grasso: Uh Show Me the Money.

[29:25] Jeff Malone: Yes, love this.

[29:26] Richie Grasso: I wrote Yes next to it.

[29:27] Jeff Malone: I didn't really like this one.

[29:29] Richie Grasso: Yeah, this was great. I actually discovered this on a playlist where she has another song, a cover of Where Is My Mind, which is just amazing. Everyone's gonna need to check that out.

[29:35] Jeff Malone: And then last but not least, this is okay. This is my favorite of the week, but it's Curtis Waters and Himbo.

[29:43] Richie Grasso: This I also wrote Bop Yes. Because I really like this one. You know, it's so funny because I love calling myself a bimbo, but now I'm a himbo.

[29:50] Jeff Malone: Oh Lord.

[29:51] Richie Grasso: Oh Lord. That's the pop music drop this week, you know.

[29:55] Jeff Malone: Five out of six?

[29:56] Richie Grasso: Yeah, um, I got five out of six, yeah.

[29:59] Jeff Malone: Not feeling a lot of them.

[30:00] Richie Grasso: We'll see about if he likes the album, if he changes.

[30:02] Jeff Malone: Maybe like I did with Aly & AJ, exactly.

[30:04] Richie Grasso: Full circle there.

[30:05] Jeff Malone: So there we go.

[30:07] Richie Grasso: Oh my gosh, we really are out of time.

[30:09] Jeff Malone: We're going quick here.

[30:10] Richie Grasso: So thank you all so much for listening. We talked about a lot today. Thanks for chiming in and tuning in and listening to us.

[30:14] Jeff Malone: We got more coming, lots of Broadway coming, lots of pop coming.

[30:17] Richie Grasso: So every week, and we're our new release is Mondays now, everyone.

[30:20] Jeff Malone: So we have Monday release day.

[30:22] Richie Grasso: Every week you can listen. Wake up on Monday, it'll be out. You can listen to it on your drives to work, your commutes to work.

[30:27] Jeff Malone: Monday morning on a recap of all weekend things.

[30:29] Richie Grasso: So it's wonderful. Thank you all so much for listening today. We hope you enjoyed.

[30:33] Jeff Malone: Um please follow us at Half Hour Podcast on TikTok, Instagram.

[30:37] Richie Grasso: Wherever you follow us, like, comment, subscribe.

[30:39] Jeff Malone: Uh especially our Instagram.

[30:41] Richie Grasso: We're doing a lot with our Instagram lately and our Insta stories, so make sure you're following us there at Half Hour Podcast.

[30:46] Jeff Malone: More to come in the future weeks.

[30:47] Richie Grasso: So signing off for now, I'm Richie.

[30:49] Jeff Malone: And I'm Jeff.

[30:50] Richie Grasso: Saying ta-ta.