This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:07] Jeff Malone: Welcome to Half Hour with Jeff and Richie, a Broadway podcast.

[0:11] Richie Grasso: I'm Jeff.

[0:12] Richie Grasso: And I'm Richie.

[0:13] Jeff Malone: And today we have a very special guest joining us for an exciting discussion about the upcoming fall 2023 Broadway season. Please welcome ALAN SEALES, the host of The Theatre Podcast, a show all about engaging conversations that spark curiosity and create an intimate connection with his guests.

[0:32] ALAN SEALES: Thank you. It's so nice to be here and meet you guys face to face digitally finally.

[0:38] Jeff Malone: That is nice. And before we get started on this fall Broadway season, we wanted to give the floor to you a little bit to tell our listeners about yourself and how you got started in the Broadway podcast world with The Theatre Podcast.

[0:54] ALAN SEALES: Whoa. Um, how far back do we go? Let's see. There was a dark and stormy night. Uh, no, uh, in a nutshell, I grew up completely, uh, my left and my right brain were constantly at odds with each other. I love tech, I love engineering, I love sports, but I also love performing, singing, dancing, uh, to quote um, um, Idiot and running, jumping, climbing trees, putting on makeup. Um, and it's been, uh, kind of this constant struggle to figure out what I wanted to do, and I ended up going to college for computer science while still doing chorus and theater and whatnot. And I was like, well, once I get out of college with my comp sci degree, I'm gonna be a professional actor. And that's what I did.

And so then, uh, fast forward to 2007, the writer's strike hits. And so I'm like, oh hey, um, I guess there's nothing to audition for, so fall back on computers. I'm like, ooh, regular paycheck. This is brand new. Oh, it's been with this for a while. Um, ended up fast forward five years as an engineer. I make my way to Google, where I figure out that there's the Google Talks team where you can volunteer to bring in speakers to present to the office. And so the people that I had previously been performing with for those five years I was, or previously five years ago, um, when I was doing my engineering stuff, some of them made it to Broadway. So I reached out to my friends who were then on Broadway and was like, hey, you should come in and do this thing, which then opened up the door to realize, oh, there's a whole ecosystem of press and marketing and the way that the business of show business is run.

And then one night back in August or September 2018, God, I can't remember. Yeah, 2018. I was just, I couldn't sleep one night. I said, hey, listen, uh, to myself. I said, hey, listen, self, and self said yes. Uh, what can we do to get to sleep? And we said we should find a podcast. This is kind of this medium that I haven't gotten into yet. Let me hear from like secrets and stories from Broadway people. I couldn't find anything. And, um, which speaks to a discoverability issue that exists in the podcast ecosystem anyway, because as soon as I started my own, I realized there were lots of others out there. I just couldn't find them. But anyway, by that point, I'd already started my own, and I'm stubborn, so I didn't quit.

Um, now five years later, gosh, uh, yeah, it was I think it was October, I forget the date is late October, I think, um, 2018. My first episode with Ariana DeBose was dropped. Um, and I've been going one a week ever since. It's been a hustle.

[3:37] Jeff Malone: Oh, yeah, it's amazing. We've been, uh, we kind of started ours during the pandemic when we were like consuming a lot of movies and TV and then movie musicals, and we, while there was theater shut down, we were like, oh, we should kind of talk about like some of the things we're watching during COVID times, and then that became like, then when Broadway reopened, like let's go to shows because we find like we have family and friends all the time. We'll go see a show, and 10 to 20 people, uh, in separate texts and messages will say, oh, what did you think? What did you think? I'm like, we should just sit and record a quick conversation for 30 minutes of what we thought instead of messaging literally 20 people what we thought of this show.

So that's because of what, and then it's amazing how we have family and friends that are like, oh, now I'm gonna go. We're like, oh, I don't know. Like, and they just will want to know our opinion about it. So not that we're like these mega people, but we just would see stuff and they always wanted to know. So that's, it's interesting to hear how other podcasts emerge too.

[4:28] ALAN SEALES: No, it's really cool you do that because there's a lot of people like, um, I moved to New York in 2007, before like you could buy tickets online essentially. And there was no TKTS. There was no Today Tix. I'm sorry, there was no Today Tix, there was no anything like that. So I would stand in the TKTS line um to get tickets. Yeah. And I looked approachable and quiet, I guess. And like never failed. Almost every time I was in line, someone would come up to me and say, what should I see? I'm new, you know, I'm just in for a day or two. I don't know anything about Broadway. What should I see? And I was like, oh, Peter and the Starcatcher. That's blah blah blah. Like the great stuff that is just frickin' hilarious, right?

Is amazing. And they're like, see Lion King, go see Chicago. I'm gonna see the stuff that they've heard about that they've heard about because it's been around for a while. And I'm like, oh God, there's so much like not nothing against those shows at all, but there are the startups, right? The startup shows that are so different, and we're gonna talk about a lot of that, you know, and there's so many of those things coming this season, but like the stuff that you could see that is not your mainstream things that you could see touring locally, like come to New York and see something you can't see anywhere else. That's my, that's always my advice.

[5:40] Richie Grasso: Right. And I'm so, and kind of diving into this a little bit, this kind of leads us into what we're gonna talk about today, which is our the fall 2023 Broadway season. So, for those of you who are listening who probably already know this, the Tony season usually goes from May or June to the following May or June. It's a one full calendar year, not full calendar year, it's almost like a school year, I guess. Um, we obviously know that the summer had some new shows. We've seen those, we've talked about those. So now we're talking about fall, and then of course there'll be like a quiet time like in January, and then it'll kind of resurge again in the spring. So, for those of you who don't know, there are 10 new shows opening on Broadway between September 2023 and December 2023.

Um, actually, technically 11 starting. Um, I put the honorable mention in as Prayer for the French Republic because it starts previews in December, but it doesn't start and officially open until January. So I'm being a little nitpicky on that one. But we do have 10 shows that are fully opening as of now. Those shows are Pearly Victorious, Jaja's African Hair Braiding, My Window, Gutenberg the Musical, Merrily We Roll Along, I Need That, Harmony, Spamalot, How to Dance in Ohio, and Appropriate. And that's a mix of plays and musicals. Um, we have some revivals of things in there, and I, and I'm just saying those out loud and reading this list. I'm like, wow, this is really a different diverse list of shows. Uh, so with that being said, let's just kind of casually talk about what are we most excited for? What are we most curious about? What do we think of these 10 shows? Let's take it away.

[7:18] ALAN SEALES: Oh goodness. Um, who wants to go first?

[7:22] Richie Grasso: I, I get stu, I'll start.

[7:24] ALAN SEALES: Yeah, okay, cool. I'm the guest. I'll start. I don't get to do this often. Um, I just wrote, I was thinking about like what I'm most excited for, and uh, being in the community for a while and just knowing people behind the scenes, right? I think like the cast, putting together the cast for Spamalot has gotten me really, really excited. It's like Michael Urie, James Monroe Iglehart, Ethan Slater, Chris Fitzgerald, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer. I mean, everything you see coming out of this looks like comedy gold. And Spamalot was one of the first shows I saw when I moved to New York, you know, back in that in the mid-naughts, right? And to have it come back now is really fun to compare where I am.

Uh, I want to see it because it allows me now to compare where I am now in my life versus where I was then, and it's such a stark difference um, in a good way. Uh, but that's, I think I'm most excited for Spamalot and then again Gutenberg, um, because it was developed by Scott Brown and Anthony King as an Upright Citizens Brigade show. I'd love that, that sketch comedy style of comedy, and so you know, throw in Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, and that's just again comedy gold. Totally those are my two.

[8:49] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I would agree with all those. I think the Spamalot stuff, I totally get that. I mean, that's, I saw the original cast on that too, and to see that come back will be really great. And also speaking of Gutenberg, I don't know anything about it. I'm trying to like find information, but then I'm kind of trying to also go in blind because I don't really know what we're gonna get with that, but I know you do have a comedy duo there that will work so well. Um, everyone keeps asking us about that too. They're like, what's this new Josh Gad Andrew? I was like, I really know nothing about it. Yeah, uh, I'm probably going in just as blind as you, and they're like, should we get to? Because I was like, yeah, I mean, they're funny guys.

Yeah, it's like, you know, it, it Book of Mormon and this, and isn't it, wasn't it a rumor too that they've been pinned for a while to come back and do a producer's revival? That was a rumor. I heard that as a rumor, but I don't know. Maybe this is good. Then this comes along, so I'm like, yeah, you know, you never know. But, uh, and I would also throw in there, I do, I am really excited for the Merrily We Roll Along revival, only because it was such a hard ticket off-Broadway. It got great reviews, and I do really love that show. And I know it's like the most expensive hard ticket now to get right now, so it's gonna be an in-demand thing this fall, but I'm very curious to know. I've heard through the grapevine that they've changed a lot of things.

I mean, every time this show is done somewhere, it's like, let's figure it out because there's that like amazing documentary about how the struggle with Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim to get this to work and it couldn't and whatever. So I'm curious to see a new director come in and figure it out. You know, yeah, it was a huge flop when it opened in '81. It was huge. It closed after 16 performances. Yeah, huge, right? So I'm watching that, yeah. I also had Spamalot down because I actually did not see Spamalot when it was first on Broadway.

[10:28] ALAN SEALES: So and I just yeah, I know. It's so funny. It's so funny. Uh so I'm really excited for that. And I love Leslie. So like to see her do this is gonna be great. Um, I also had Gutenberg. I also have how to dance in Ohio, which we're definitely gonna get more into that. Um, and I did put a play down because I am really excited to see Jahja's African hair braiding. I was reading the plot to this, and I'm really intrigued to see something like new and current in the play space um coming to the stage.

[11:00] Jeff Malone: Yeah, yeah. Centers around a group of West African immigrant hair braiders and their customers in a Harlem salon.

[11:05] ALAN SEALES: The play takes place over one full day. A lot can happen in a burning salon in one day.

[11:11] Jeff Malone: Yeah. I mean, uh you set up you when you give such a uh specific environment like that. I I agree that you can like as a writer, you can dive in, and there's so much uh so much you can tell over the course of one day because you have the ability to really develop the character uh from uh focused in one spot for so long.

[11:29] ALAN SEALES: Totally. Like being in a hair salon, you know, we always hear the stories. Even that guy at a barber shop when you get your haircut, there's so much like gossip and drama happening in that like little time frame that you're there. I can only imagine what's gonna happen in this play. And and then what's also nice about that is that play really has a very new cast, a new team, new playwrights, new directors.

[11:51] Jeff Malone: It's nice when you see that.

[11:52] ALAN SEALES: I mean, yes, I'm looking at like my list here too. Like, yes, we have like someone like um, okay, like Kenny Leon, he's gonna have two shows this season. Alex Timbers, he's gonna direct two shows this. Like, it's great to see those names too, but then it's nice to see a new work with like all new people coming. Even like the how to dance in Ohio team looks like a really new team coming in. Uh so that's like nice that this is a mix of like the names of Broadway and the new names of Bro. I kind of really appreciated seeing the mix of all that this season coming.

[12:22] Jeff Malone: We'll be right back.

[12:26] ALAN SEALES: Welcome back, you know.

[12:28] Jeff Malone: Yeah.

[12:29] ALAN SEALES: Which is really nice. And uh kind of speaking on all of the names on Broadway. We kind of love to talk about stunt casting on our podcast.

[12:38] Jeff Malone: Because it happens all the time.

[12:41] ALAN SEALES: Um, but you know, I'm curious to see what kind of stunt casting are you excited for this season, or are you kind of like, why are they doing that? And do you think it's gonna help the runs of the shows?

[12:52] Richie Grasso: It's uh my safe answer is that I'm always excited as long as it helps the show, right? So it's gonna depend on the person. Um just high level, I don't think Pam Anderson really belonged on in Chicago.

[13:07] ALAN SEALES: Right.

[13:07] Richie Grasso: I missed that. That kind of stunt casting, but to get Danny DeVito in I need that, uh I would I'd love to I I'm excited to see him on stage.

[13:17] ALAN SEALES: Yeah, because I don't know how much theater work he does. He's not known for that. Sarah Paulson, inappropriate.

[13:22] Richie Grasso: Um, she does do more stage work, so she's got a reputation for being good, and I'm excited to see her just because I know she's gonna be good.

[13:29] ALAN SEALES: Right.

[13:29] Richie Grasso: Yeah. So, you know, and literally we talked, bring it back to Marilee. Um Maryland, we roll along. I I right before we record this, I just got out of a recording with Katie Rose Clark, who's opposite um Jonathan Gruff and Marilee, right?

[13:41] ALAN SEALES: And so we were talking about everything, and and she's working on developing a new musical with Huey Lewis, who was a stunt who was stunt cast in Chicago as well at one point.

[13:50] Richie Grasso: Yeah, yeah. There you go, and all comes full circle.

[13:52] ALAN SEALES: It is interesting because there's also this like when you say these names like Sarah Paul, Danny Divino, even uh Jessica Lang, which I know is Spring, but there's that was just announced recently. I think it's interesting because there's this major strike right now, but there's not a strike in live theater in New York.

[14:06] Richie Grasso: And I wonder, and Daniel Radcliffe is a big star too. So you see these film people coming in, and I think it's in a way a win-win. We get to see film people live. They're working on their craft in a space that their unions in the live space can work can successfully support.

[14:21] ALAN SEALES: They know I was just talking to someone recently who works in film, and they like, there's actually a thought that that strike could actually kind of go well into 2024. So it's not like that might end anytime soon.

[14:31] Richie Grasso: So why not? As long as you said it helps the plot, it helps the story, and it helps us out with the telling the story and giving some great acting moments. Then sure, I might we might even see more in the spring announced with movie and film TV actors. Who knows?

[14:44] ALAN SEALES: Yeah.

[14:45] Richie Grasso: I'm excited for it. I'm I really am because there's a there's a lot of people, I mean, uh a lot of people who got their start in theater and then you know may have some breakthrough in film and they haven't come back.

[14:53] ALAN SEALES: Uh if you look at look at um all the Avengers, those those actors, if you look up their all almost all of them have like small off-Broadway stage credits before they were ever big into TV and film, you know.

[15:05] Richie Grasso: So yeah, well, and a lot of a lot of these actors are going to off Broadway as well. Like we keep seeing things of like, oh, the off-Broadway season is really shaping up well too.

[15:14] ALAN SEALES: When you have someone like Aubrey Plaza going off Broadway, and you're like, Oh, okay, there's another show added to my list.

[15:21] Richie Grasso: Um I I you brought up Danny DeVito. It's also I'm very intrigued to see what Danny DeVito and his daughter, Lucy DeVito, are going to be doing together on the stage.

[15:31] ALAN SEALES: Because I was like, oh, that's cool. I haven't seen that.

[15:34] Richie Grasso: Um, and uh I always for you for Richie and I sometimes we're like, oh, that's a stunt cast when it's a Broadway person, but like some people don't really know all the Broadway people, so sometimes I I'll be like, Oh, yeah, like Leslie Odom Jr. is gonna be in Pearly.

[15:49] ALAN SEALES: Like, yeah, for me, that's a stunt cast.

[15:51] Richie Grasso: Yeah, you know, yeah, he's a great question. I was gonna bring that up too, and I almost wrote Leslie and I didn't, because I'm like, oh, he's a Broadway person. But then when you look at uh what Into the Woods did, the Broadway production, uh I I really liked actually how they kept it fresh in the press by continuing, I will call it Broadway stunt casting.

[16:11] ALAN SEALES: They kept having these shortened these short contracts to to rotate through very big Broadway names.

[16:16] Richie Grasso: So outside of the Broadway community, I don't know if it would make much as much of a splash as it did, but inside it was just like powerhouse after powerhouse, keeping the show at a at a level that uh kept it really in front of everybody in the news.

[16:29] ALAN SEALES: What I also find interesting with sun casting, and to your point of the Into the Woods, the short contracts, I think is the new norm, or maybe the forthcoming thing, because if you're a working actor in New York, you want long contracts, or you want extensions of contracts, or you want multiple contracts, don't get me wrong.

[16:44] Richie Grasso: But if you're a famous person and you think an eight-show a week, I I've heard through the great five people have turned down. There was a quite a few people that I had heard like for Hedwig long ago that wanted to do it, and they were like, I can't do that like for two months. Like, that's I'm not doing it eight times a week.

[16:56] ALAN SEALES: And so, like, if you were to say to someone, oh, like, but do it eight times a week, but only for three weeks. I feel like there's like, oh, sure, yeah, count me in.

[17:04] Richie Grasso: So, like, I think there's maybe a little bit more of that coming. I don't know. We'll see.

[17:09] ALAN SEALES: Yeah, oh, that's that's really interesting. I mean, yeah, we don't have time to get into this, but yeah, even no Bozara and others have been very vocal about hating the the eight show schedule, and more and more major numbers are having scheduled like contractual alternates, but that's a separate podcast.

[17:24] Richie Grasso: Yes, um yeah, so moving forward here.

[17:28] ALAN SEALES: I mean, we were talking also about notable directors, choreographers, and designers that are coming this season. I had just mentioned earlier Kenny Leon, Alex Timbers, those are two big directors that are coming back to do some stuff.

[17:38] Richie Grasso: Um, are there any directors, choreographers, designers, or anyone else that we're looking forward to this season seeing?

[17:45] ALAN SEALES: So a friend of mine I've known for a few years now is Sammy Cannold, and who's director for Out of Dance in Ohio, and one of the uh she's Forbes 30 under 30. Everything she does turns to gold. She's one of these these people, these up and coming just people in life who only um only selects projects that are gonna better the world in general.

[18:08] Richie Grasso: And she she very much does art for the sake of art, like she's not ever in it for a cash grab and or any, you know, anything that's like I'm gonna revive it just because I know it's gonna sell tickets.

[18:16] ALAN SEALES: Like, that's not her at all. And to take on something like how to dance in Ohio is it it's so her uh in general, like personally, but um she just keeps getting recognized for all of her work um uh in in general, and to finally see her Broadway directorial debut, I'm so excited for her and and happy for the show in general.

[18:41] Richie Grasso: I've seen her name quite a bit too. She did the Ellis Island Ragtime, right?

[18:45] ALAN SEALES: Am I getting the right?

[18:46] Richie Grasso: And which was like so groundbreaking. And then I went to Kennedy Center last year to see Sunset, uh, that she directed with Stephanie J. Block, and the whole thing with that was like casting a younger Norma Desmond, and I'm a huge, huge, huge fan of that show.

[18:59] ALAN SEALES: And and and it worked, and it was dip, it was like so true to the text, but also slightly different.

[19:04] Richie Grasso: And it and Stephanie J. Block blew my mind.

[19:06] ALAN SEALES: And and I was like, Yeah, and then I saw her name, so like, yes, Broadway debut for her, it totally makes sense, and I think it's gonna be awesome.

[19:14] Richie Grasso: I totally agree.

[19:15] ALAN SEALES: Yeah, yeah. I agree with that too.

[19:17] Richie Grasso: I'm excited for that because I feel like and we're gonna get into how to dance in Ohio very shortly too, because of this whole plot and the documentary.

[19:25] ALAN SEALES: Um, but I did also write down Maria Friedman for Marilee because people keep saying that her direction um is really bringing this life to this revival.

[19:35] Richie Grasso: So I'm excited because I actually like that show, even uh you know, all the drama that's been with it. That's one of my favorite um Sondheim shows.

[19:43] ALAN SEALES: So it's like I'm excited for that.

[19:45] Richie Grasso: And I am excited for Alex Timbers. I always love the immersiveness that he brings into his fully thought out um idea and concepts.

[19:56] ALAN SEALES: So and I didn't even know he was directing Gutenberg, so when when I read that, I was like, oh great, because obviously Here Lies Love, that whole thing was just amazing as well.

[20:06] Richie Grasso: Have you have you ever met Alex or talked to him personally?

[20:09] ALAN SEALES: No, like like we were very close to seeing we were like at the table next to him at the drama desk uh awards that year, and he was like literally sitting right next to us, and we were like do we just go up to him or yeah, yeah.

[20:22] Richie Grasso: Well, he you should. He's he's super nice. What I was gonna bring what I was gonna say real quick was just that he's such he's such a quiet and and uh introspective guy, and he's not somebody who I would associate with doing these big in your face immersive comedies, but he's so good at them, like Mulan Rouge and Beetlejuice, which were at the same time, by the way.

[20:41] ALAN SEALES: Yeah, uh open at the same time, and yeah, Gutenberg and Here Lies Love and everything he does.

[20:46] Richie Grasso: Um, I I met him originally for um Oh hello with Nick Kroll and John Laney.

[20:51] Richie Grasso: Yeah, yeah. And again, one of those things where it's just like you walk in, it's just everything the set is phenomenal. Anyway, I just I love Alex. No, yeah, yeah. We'll be right back.

[21:07] Jeff Malone: Let's jump back into things. The and talking in some of these plots and themes of some of these shows, I mean, I know we how to dance in Ohio definitely stands out to me. I think um autistic young adults, act young autistic actors in that is amazing. I think that's gonna be a real I really have high hopes for it. I we saw the documentary recently and I cried. I thought it was just beautiful, and it's like such human emotion and love and kindness, and I think that's what Broadway kind of needs, and an original concept show, original. I just all good things I hope. I hope, you know.

[21:40] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I'm excited. I agree with everything, and that's exactly you know why I think a Sammy's doing it, but uh, because it is this message of love and hope and emotion. But uh, but yes, I I agree with that 100%. And you know, coming into the just highlighting in general, right? Like there's so much uh, like you said at the very beginning, it's so such a diverse half of season coming up here, right? And this is a this is a an area of representation that I really can't ever remember seeing uh unfortunately not as a trope, a stereotype, or like you know, something to sort of make fun of. And it's been uh it's been a long time coming, and I'm really really happy that we have this show now.

[22:25] Jeff Malone: Definitely, definitely. We've been listening, we we've heard some of the music from it as well because we were like, wow, how are they really going to develop these characters like after watching them in the documentary and like really do them a great service in this show as well. And we're hearing some of the music, and I'm like, I and I don't usually like listening to music before I go and see a show because I don't want it to like throw me off when I know the words or anything like that. But I'm just like, oh no, this this music is beautiful. Um, from what we've heard so far.

[22:54] Richie Grasso: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm in the same camp. Same camp with the notebook too. I I don't want to know anything, but everything I hear, I'm like, I gotta I gotta listen more. I know everything makes me cry.

[23:03] Jeff Malone: That's so funny about that. That's so funny about the notebook because we were actually in Chicago when the run was happening, and we were there like the last weekend of it, and you couldn't get a ticket. Everyone was like, we were talking to people from Chicago, we were like, what do we see when we're out here? They're like, you need to see the notebook. I was like, I can't. There's no tickets. I was like, well, and because of that, I was like, I know it's gonna come to Broadway, but you know, I'm really excited for that one as well. I know it's spring, but you know, it's also interesting when you look at all these shows coming up. I mean, if you looked at how to dance in Ohio, Spam a lot and Pearly Victorious, three of the most different shows I could name talking about so many different issues, like that alone is exciting.

[23:41] Richie Grasso: And then there's also this like I'm looking at him like, well, what's like the tourist trap? What's the like and I'm like, okay, maybe the Melissa Etheridge might window. That seems like I think it's an original concept of hers, but it seems a little Las Vegas y to me. Like, come see Melissa Etheridge one woman show, so maybe, but there's also a little bit of like harmony. I know that's I don't know if that's gonna cater to an older audience if that's kind of trying to get Taurus in. This is Barry Manilow's name on it. Um, so those two shows are maybe even merely with the Sondheim tag, you know.

[24:11] Jeff Malone: Sure, sure. So it'll be. I mean, we also have like Back to the Future, that's kind of Taurus Trappy that just opened, so there's some stuff already kind of lingering there, and I'm sure stuff stuff coming, but uh yeah, and it's an interesting mix, it really is of stuff this whole season.

[24:25] Richie Grasso: Yeah, there's there's a lot of like Back to the Future is is great. I don't care what the reviews say. I've seen it twice. I think it's great. Um, and Moulin Rouge, Moulin Rouge is just now I I wonder how they're doing. I haven't I I try not look at not to look at box office stuff, but I wonder how they're doing overall because they've just now started to do what I feel like is Broadway stunt casting and maybe a little bit outside of the Broadway stunt casting, right? Um so like there's Mulan and Anne Juliet now is riding off of uh of their Tony nominations and they're they're still growing. And like surprisingly and and maybe disappointingly, um, even after Kimberly Akimbo won. I don't know, like uh if Vittoria Clark leaves, is that show gonna survive? I don't know.

[25:09] Jeff Malone: Uh exactly. I don't know. And well, speaking of speaking of back to the future, don't listen to our latest podcast episode on it because we had a very opposite uh reaction.

[25:17] Richie Grasso: Oh, really?

[25:17] Jeff Malone: Oh no. We did. We are always respectful, of course, of the industry when we give our reviews, but we uh we're not fans, we're not fans, we're not fans.

[25:26] Richie Grasso: I just love the illusions, and I love the nostalgia. And to hear it is nostalgia to hear that music being played live, you know. It's why you go like watch Lord of the Rings with the Philharmonic, right?

[25:36] Jeff Malone: Yeah, it was I liked the three songs from the movie, if that's what you're talking about, sure. But I mean that's about and the car, sure, but that's about it, you know, for me. But anyway, well we digress later. I wanted to, I know we're getting tight on time. I wanted to talk really quick, just anything off Broadway that might be coming this fall. I know we're mainly focusing on Broadway, but I had put down like I'm really excited for this Dracula off probably show. I think there's some stuff.

[26:01] Richie Grasso: Yeah, I think that's we're gonna go see that in a couple weeks. I'm excited for that. Uh I also put which I don't even know. I was I was looking at something because I actually saw this on the Broadway Podcast Network. Was this a podcast first? Like that they've Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen wrote the script, and they were performing it regionally, I think a couple places in Florida, and then Gordon is it's all it's all it all kind of comes back. The reason I know Sammy is because her mom is Dory Berenstein, who co-founded Broadway Podcast Network with me.

[26:28] Jeff Malone: Got it.

[26:28] Richie Grasso: So this is this is that whole connection. And so Dory and Gordon have been friends for a long time. And so when we were creating original content when the pandemic started, we were like, let's turn this into an audio drama. And Dracula was the first thing we did, one of the first or second thing we did on the network. And you know, Chris Sieber is Dracula. Um, and it just it's freaking hilarious. We got a little cameo from John Stamos in there. Um but uh who plays Elvis. Um it's it's freaking hilarious. It's such a great show, and I can't wait to see Andrew Keening Bulger and the rest of the cast off Broadway. Uh and that opens uh or starts previews, I think next week is really. I think it already yeah, yeah. It's coming up soon.

[27:10] Jeff Malone: This week it's it's okay. I think it's just started this week. I think it already did start, yeah, yeah.

[27:14] Richie Grasso: Yeah, uh, so I had to put that down as a potential. I also put down, I mean, not that I don't think this has ticket left, but the new Sondheim Here We Are, which hopefully maybe that transfers to Broadway. Uh it just sounds like I mean to be in that room. I mean, yeah, that just sounds like that has the potential of being brilliant. Um, and then I also put down I can get it for you wholesale. I mean, I'm a Barbara Streisand fan. I hope they kind of do some cute, some rev you don't never hear of that show being done, so maybe there's something cool going on there. I don't know. Um, and I also like the golden age stuff. So, like Pal Joey City Center, I might want to try to check that out because I love the old and they're reinventing that book and trying to get that revival to Broadway. So I don't know, those are just some of my off Broadway thoughts.

[27:55] ALAN SEALES: Yeah, as of all as a as a a dad and podcaster and network runner and other things. I'm I'm unfortunately I don't make enough time for off-Broadway like I do, but Dracula has just been like a major blip on my radar that I'm so excited for.

[28:12] Richie Grasso: Yeah, definitely. Like there's there's a the through line, I think is a lot of there's a lot of good comedy coming back. There's like representation, there's these true stories, there's authentic stories talking about like through lines of of trends that we're seeing this fall, right? And it's I I like that there's no jukebox musical, um, like big jukebox musical. I like it, but everything is sort of rooted in in um in a little bit of truth and historical history and fact, and then even like Prayer for the French Republic, right? Um honorable mention, right? Is another it's a another Holocaust uh play, and it's three hours with two intermissions. Um it's gonna be like I mean, I don't know a Holocaust show that is not heavy, right? But of course, yeah. Um yeah, I'm I'm excited for the authenticity that this fall season is bringing. That's that's my big through line for me.

[29:03] Jeff Malone: Yeah, totally. And that's I would kind of wrap up too. Yeah, Jeff, what were you gonna say?

[29:07] Richie Grasso: I just hope like people outside of the Broadway community can kind of embrace a lot of these shows as well and not just look for that, like, you know, I'm gonna see Lion King for the 30th time like try something new because I feel like Lion King is going to run forever. So don't you don't have to worry about it's gonna be there.

[29:27] Jeff Malone: Yeah, it's like anything that is touring, like see that in your town. See it regionally because it's gonna be a much cheaper ticket. Come to New York and see something, it'll be a cheaper ticket and just as good. I promise you. So come to New York and see something you can't see somewhere else.

[29:43] Richie Grasso: Yes, that's like what we just had friends recently. They're like, What should we see? What should we see? And I'm like, What's from last season that they should see? It's like, You guys should go see Shocked. Yeah, go check it out. You love comedy, you love something new and fresh, and Alex Newell is killing it. So, so like, go check it out, right?

[29:58] Jeff Malone: Right, right, yeah, Alex Newell and and Robert Horn. The book is phenomenal. I mean, yeah, it's it's a laugh a minute. It's five laughs a minute.

[30:07] Richie Grasso: Yeah, right, right, right. Yes.

[30:09] Jeff Malone: So unfortunately, we're out of time. We have to wrap up. I can't believe that how fast that went. And I could sit here for two, three hours and just keep going, but we'll have to do another spring one.

[30:18] Richie Grasso: Yeah, let's do part two for the for the spring.

[30:21] Jeff Malone: Yeah, I totally love that. I can't wait to talk about the whiz.

[30:24] Richie Grasso: Oh man.

[30:25] Jeff Malone: Oh, I know. I can't wait. I know it's actually I find we were just talking because Jeff has never seen the movie, and I'm like, oh my gosh, we have to see the movie before he goes here. It's like iconic music. So anyway, but that is all the time we have for today's episode of Half Hour. We thank you all so much for listening to us today.

[30:41] Richie Grasso: Yes, and we're going to link the theatre podcast in our description, and so you can all check out Alan's show. We hope you join enjoyed this conversation. And thanks so much for joining us today, Alan.

[30:51] ALAN SEALES: Thank you guys for having me. I hope we can do more of these.

[30:55] Richie Grasso: Yeah, for sure.

[30:56] ALAN SEALES: For sure.

[30:56] Richie Grasso: And to all our listeners out there, if you have any suggestions for future episodes, we'd love to hear from you. And you can connect with us on Instagram and TikTok at half hour podcasts. So wrapping up for now, I'll say goodbye. I'm Richie.

[31:09] Jeff Malone: And I'm Jeff. Saying ta-ta.

[31:11] Richie Grasso: Bye.

[31:12] ALAN SEALES: Bye, everyone.