This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Josh Lamon: Hi Alan!

[0:02] Alan Seales: Hey Josh, how's my baby boo-boo bum bum?

[0:06] Josh Lamon: Oh, I'm good. I've got my coffee and I got my long island accent, and I'm doing alright.

[0:14] Alan Seales: Good.

[0:14] Josh Lamon: I've got my bubbly.

[0:16] Alan Seales: I'm obsessed with bubbly right now.

[0:18] Josh Lamon: Obsessed. I always say like I'm gonna what's that? Where's Sweeney?

[0:22] Alan Seales: He was just like crawling all over you.

[0:24] Josh Lamon: You get the city.

[0:25] Alan Seales: No, that was Toby. My cat loves my recording studio and will literally like climb up onto my shoulders.

[0:33] Josh Lamon: And I mean, but it hurts. It's like the kinkiest pet hold you could imagine. Like it really hurts. His nails, even when you cut them, they're so fucking sharp. It's brutal.

[0:46] Alan Seales: Yeah, cats, you know, they do that. They claw they crawl on things.

[0:49] Josh Lamon: Is that a train I hear?

[0:51] Alan Seales: It is. It's the Long Island Railroad.

[0:53] Josh Lamon: Okay. It sounds like something from an old musical.

[0:57] Alan Seales: Like, oh look, it's the Wells Fargo train coming out.

[1:00] Josh Lamon: What do you talk? What do you talk? How do you talk? What do you talk? We're the show with the whitest cast. What do you talk? What do you talk? What do you talk?

[1:06] Alan Seales: Oops, sorry.

[1:08] Josh Lamon: He's gonna know the territory.

[1:09] Alan Seales: He doesn't know the territory.

[1:11] Josh Lamon: Doesn't know the territory. Well, Alan, I'm really excited about our episode today. Um, my dear, dear baby angel boo-boo bum bum from another mum mum, Rory O'Malley is on the show.

[1:21] Alan Seales: We met doing uh Little Miss Sunshine. Did you see Little Miss Sunshine?

[1:26] Josh Lamon: No, that was during the phase where between when I got super into Broadway and just listened to cast albums when I was a young person.

[1:35] Alan Seales: That's fascinating.

[1:37] Josh Lamon: I just thought that you were always one of us.

[1:40] Alan Seales: No, no, not until like the last, you know, day or two.

[1:43] Josh Lamon: Okay, okay, cool. Well, welcome, welcome to the theatrical community. Um, and for those of you, I mean, I'm sure you know who Rory O'Malley is. He's a Broadway star, he's incredible. Um, and now he's like the star of TV and film, including like some incredible new shows.

[2:03] Alan Seales: One is on Netflix right now that I'm obsessed with.

[2:06] Josh Lamon: And so, get ready set. Are you ready for the episode, Alan?

[2:12] Alan Seales: I am so ready.

[2:13] Josh Lamon: Fuck. All right, here we go. Play the music.

[2:21] Josh Lamon: Josh Follows, Josh Fallos, Josh Follows.

[2:38] Josh Lamon: Hi everybody, welcome to episode two of Josh Swallows Broadway. I am so excited because I have uh a really old friend here on the show that I miss that I love. He lives in LA now. He um has a child, so all this time that I thought I was going to be his baby, um, I was wrong. Please welcome to the show, The Genius, the most talented Rory O'Malley.

[3:05] Rory O'Malley: Josh, you'll always be my baby.

[3:07] Josh Lamon: Yeah, that's right. I'm just a baby. I'm only this many. Um and yeah, we were just talking about like, so yesterday we just did episode one, but we did it in person, but now I'm back in the dungeon booth.

[3:20] Rory O'Malley: That looks like I was kidnapped.

[3:22] Josh Lamon: And um, yeah, and you said something really funny that I'm just gonna regurgitate that I should sing, I think we're alone now.

[3:31] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, yeah, I think I'm alone now.

[3:33] Josh Lamon: Because you thought you were in like one of the mall recording studios being held captive.

[3:38] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, yeah. Haven't seen mom in weeks, and here I am, and uh talking to famous people. How are you?

[3:46] Josh Lamon: I'm I'm good. Hey, I'm alive. Yeah, I am uh healthy. I just am like so grateful every day to have you know to gotten through the last year and a half, and you know, it's like a new level of gratitude. So yeah, I'm I'm good. I'm great.

[4:03] Rory O'Malley: Good. I'm so happy to hear that.

[4:04] Josh Lamon: Yeah, the past year and a half was such a kick in the balls. It was so terrible. Every day. Every day was so horrible. But um, I'm so glad that the world is opening up. Um, we're gonna get to know your show to your new show in a minute because it is so funny and it's so nice to watch something light and hilarious rather than you know, just days of doom and dread. Um, but we met years ago. We were acquaintances for a long time. Um during I was like a stalker of Hair. I saw Hair many times, and yeah, all my friends were in it, and uh was obsessed.

[4:43] Rory O'Malley: You wouldn't stop following me.

[4:45] Josh Lamon: I wouldn't stop. I couldn't it it was it was really scary for a while. I had to go to the Broadway League.

[4:51] Rory O'Malley: Um is that where you go?

[4:54] Josh Lamon: Yeah, well, all my problems makes them sound like Avengers, the Broadway League. I'm here for protection.

[5:01] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, basically, and uh then we did Little Miss Sunshine together off Broadway, yeah.

[5:08] Josh Lamon: It was so much fun.

[5:10] Rory O'Malley: It was so much fun. Um I miss it, I miss you. Um, all those little girls are all grown up, and some of them are super famous.

[5:19] Josh Lamon: Yeah, I know. It is wild, it is wild. Like that was how long ago was that now, Josh?

[5:26] Rory O'Malley: Oh god. Um It was 2013, I think.

[5:30] Josh Lamon: So eight years ago.

[5:31] Rory O'Malley: Was that really eight years ago?

[5:33] Josh Lamon: Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I think it was like the fall of 2000. So like exactly eight years ago. Remember when Stephanie J. Block made me be dance captain?

[5:42] Rory O'Malley: Yes.

[5:42] Josh Lamon: Made me made you be dance captain.

[5:45] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, that worked out terribly. Um she's brilliant.

[5:51] Josh Lamon: Josh, be dance captain.

[5:52] Rory O'Malley: I don't want to do it.

[5:53] Josh Lamon: Uh, okay, Miss Black. Um, and then of course, I'll never forget. Was it what did James Le Pine call it? Feeding the animals.

[6:03] Rory O'Malley: Oh my god. I forgot about it.

[6:05] Josh Lamon: He would throw candy at us to catch your mouths.

[6:09] Rory O'Malley: Yes, he would throw uh snacks, like sometimes candy, whatever he had, and he would throw it and we would have to catch it in our mouths.

[6:19] Josh Lamon: This was Pulitzer winner, Tony winner, James Le Pine.

[6:22] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, like I just want to talk about Sunny in the Park with George, and he's like, okay, but first, see if you can prove to me your worthiness by catching this candy in your mouth.

[6:32] Josh Lamon: And I'm like, well, I better do it. I didn't know, I was terrified.

[6:37] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, all of a sudden it was like you needed an athletic ability to be in this musical, and it just it kind of threw me for a loop.

[6:45] Josh Lamon: But he was so good with the kids. That was great with the kids, though.

[6:49] Rory O'Malley: I love that that was like that was our job to catch food thrown at you by James Le Pine.

[6:57] Josh Lamon: Yeah. Um yeah, yeah. And for the city, but it was pretty easy. Bill the Finn.

[7:01] Rory O'Malley: Bill Finn.

[7:02] Josh Lamon: Yes, that was your other duty. Come on, just give me a massage, please.

[7:07] Rory O'Malley: Please, I'm so oh I farted. It doesn't smell, I promise.

[7:13] Josh Lamon: Yeah, that was part of your dance captain duties.

[7:17] Rory O'Malley: That was the dancing in the show.

[7:18] Josh Lamon: That was the dancing, massaging Bill Finn. Not dirty massages, listeners. Get your mind out of the gutter.

[7:26] Rory O'Malley: Um, so you've had a busy year. I'm so proud of you. I think one of the dreams for all actors is to get to be a voice on a cartoon.

[7:39] Josh Lamon: Yes.

[7:40] Rory O'Malley: Oh yeah. I mean, I've because I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and loved musicals, and the only musicals I would see were Disney musicals. It was like I wasn't getting to even go to touring shows that were coming in because we couldn't afford to go. You know, it was like getting to see Beauty and the Beast and all of those great musicals through animation, is how I fell in love with musical theater. So yeah, always has been a dream.

[8:07] Josh Lamon: And um Chicago Party Aunt is not Beauty and the Beast, but it is it sort of is.

[8:13] Rory O'Malley: Oh, sure. It sort of is.

[8:14] Josh Lamon: Okay, now that you mention it.

[8:16] Rory O'Malley: Daniel and the ant.

[8:18] Josh Lamon: Yes.

[8:18] Rory O'Malley: Okay. I see that. I see that. Now that you mention it. Um ever learned to love an ant. An ant from Chicago.

[8:31] Josh Lamon: Um, yeah, no, it is it is a crazy raunchy, hilarious show. Uh, that's basically a love letter to the city of Chicago. And I grew up in Cleveland. So to me, it's like a love letter to the Midwest and to Midwest culture, which loves their sports teams and their bars, and you know, that life. And I grew up in that world. Uh, I didn't know, I wanted the Browns to win so badly. I remember praying for the Browns to win. I didn't care. I just wanted my family to be happy. And I knew it meant so much to them. So it meant so much to me. And you know, it it does. It's part of the culture. And that's what this show is about is like how hardcore um Chicago uh folks love their city and and everything about it.

[9:27] Rory O'Malley: And it's it's actually, you know, it's a crazy way that this came about that Chris Watoski uh started this Twitter handle called Chicago Party Aunt and just made like hilarious jokes as if he was this woman from Chicago, and uh got together with his friends Katie Rich and John Baronholtz and created this show that is so over the top funny, but really at the end of the day, it's this kind of love story between an aunt and her nephew. And I have so many aunts in my life related to me and not, and especially as a gay guy, those relationships are so important to me. And I they aren't really explored too much. There's not a lot of like you know, stories like this, especially on on TV. So that's my favorite part of the show is exploring the aunt-nephew relationship, and um, there's a lot of exploring going on some crazy situations. It's so funny.

[10:24] Josh Lamon: Um, I love the aunt character. I mean, she really is like a party holic, so raunchy, so like I was watching an episode today where like the character wasn't even talking, but her tongue was like wagging out of her mouth, and it was the funniest thing I had ever seen.

[10:47] Rory O'Malley: The it what's what's great is that when you do an animated show and you read the script and it's so hilarious, and then you see what the animators did with it on top of it that has nothing to do with the lines, it's like a whole new level of of comedy. And this character, Diane Dombrowski, she's she's brilliant, you know. I think she's up there with like Homer Simpson, and um she's just so full of joy and so offensive and so over the top, but totally joyful and happy and loves her family and her city so much, and that's what makes it work, you know, is that it's actually just a big celebration of of who she is and her people.

[11:31] Josh Lamon: Yeah, well, and I love that your character Daniel's gay.

[11:35] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, that makes me really happy. It makes me feel seen. It's like and he's such like a lovable dork.

[11:42] Josh Lamon: Yes, yes, he's a nerdy gay, like like me. So I was I I love this character so much, and I'm so happy that they cast a gay person.

[11:55] Rory O'Malley: Yes, you know, that's it's it's funny. I you know, you don't you think like, well, of course, but we we know that's that's not always the case, and I think it was very important to them to have a gay actor voicing this character. Um there's also RuPaul on the show, which is I was going to say, like, have you met RuPaul?

[12:20] Rory O'Malley: Only like this over Zoom, because we recorded the whole thing during COVID.

[12:26] Rory O'Malley: We started back in March 2020, yeah.

[12:30] Rory O'Malley: So we had a bunch of table reads and every recording session where we could have be on the same schedule.

[12:38] Rory O'Malley: It was kind of like doing a radio play where we couldn't see each other, but we were just doing the lines back and forth.

[12:45] Rory O'Malley: And you know, I'm a huge, huge fan of RuPaul, obviously.

[12:50] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[12:51] Rory O'Malley: I'm an alive gay man.

[12:54] Rory O'Malley: And she like the best part about recording Chicago Party Aunt was saying lines and hearing RuPaul's laugh.

[13:06] Rory O'Malley: Because you know, like when the Queens are on stage and they get RuPaul to laugh, you're like, oh my God, RuPaul loves her.

[13:14] Rory O'Malley: Like, how amazing would that feel to have to get RuPaul to laugh at one of your jokes or something?

[13:20] Rory O'Malley: And Rue is just like all in, was so professional and so supportive, and was laughing, you know, just loving the gig.

[13:30] Rory O'Malley: And uh, you know, I'll take that with me till my final days that I got RuPaul to laugh.

[13:38] Rory O'Malley: Everything about RuPaul, I'm obsessed with, like, especially especially their laugh, like uh the whole Miss Vanjie, like, Miss Fangie, Miss Vanji, and then Michelle Visage kept on being like, Miss Vanji, and he couldn't even handle it, was like, shut up, shut up.

[13:55] Rory O'Malley: I'm gonna like that's the kind of moment I want.

[13:58] Josh Lamon: And now you know RuPaul.

[14:00] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, yes, through Zoom.

[14:02] Rory O'Malley: You know, it's like a lot of these relationships of work have changed.

[14:06] Rory O'Malley: But yeah, I mean, I've acted with RuPaul and God.

[14:12] Rory O'Malley: What else is that?

[14:13] Rory O'Malley: Now you really have to adopt me.

[14:15] Rory O'Malley: I want to have a bar mitzvah.

[14:19] Josh Lamon: California is calling you home.

[14:22] Rory O'Malley: Oh my god, could you imagine?

[14:24] Rory O'Malley: That would be amazing.

[14:25] Rory O'Malley: And I'll come live with you and your family.

[14:28] Rory O'Malley: We will love that.

[14:30] Rory O'Malley: My husband certainly needs a break from me after being stuck with me for so long.

[14:34] Josh Lamon: Nonsense.

[14:35] Rory O'Malley: Nonsense.

[14:36] Josh Lamon: So, like, tell me a little bit about your journey.

[14:39] Josh Lamon: I know that you're from Cleveland.

[14:41] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[14:41] Rory O'Malley: And uh you uh you were raised by a single mom, right?

[14:46] Rory O'Malley: Yes.

[14:46] Rory O'Malley: Which is incredible.

[14:47] Rory O'Malley: And who's here right now?

[14:49] Rory O'Malley: She's also yeah, she's here for a couple months um helping out.

[14:54] Rory O'Malley: She actually she came uh back in March of 2020 when we were gonna open Hamilton here in Los Angeles on our our final dress was March 11th.

[15:05] Rory O'Malley: Our first performance was going to be March 12th of 2020.

[15:08] Rory O'Malley: And so we never had that first performance.

[15:11] Rory O'Malley: And so my mom had been in town just to help out with Jimmy, and uh it was was amazing and was only gonna be here for a month, and obviously I wasn't gonna put her on a plane with everything that was happening.

[15:24] Rory O'Malley: So she ended up being here for about seven months and was a wonderful help to us throughout the pandemic.

[15:30] Rory O'Malley: And you know, she lives alone, so I was just so so glad that she was here with us.

[15:34] Rory O'Malley: So anyway, she's back.

[15:36] Rory O'Malley: We've opened Hamilton again, and uh it's it's kind of nice to have her back here to be able to go to the show at night and you know, not be afraid that the world is ending.

[15:49] Rory O'Malley: I mean, I'm always afraid the world is ending, but at least you know, it's not not the same feeling as as the spring of 2020.

[15:56] Rory O'Malley: But anyway, yes, it's great to have her here.

[15:58] Rory O'Malley: She she raised me uh in Cleveland.

[16:01] Rory O'Malley: I came from a big Irish Catholic family.

[16:04] Rory O'Malley: My first role was playing Saint Joseph in the Christmas pageant at Our Lady of Angels.

[16:09] Rory O'Malley: My aunt was the director.

[16:12] Rory O'Malley: Uh, so that's as far as my nepotism took me in this business.

[16:16] Rory O'Malley: And uh, you know, I knew from that moment that I wanted to be an actor when I was eight years old.

[16:23] Rory O'Malley: And I sat my mom down very seriously and told her this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

[16:27] Rory O'Malley: And to her credit, even though she was an accountant and had no idea what this world was, she enrolled me in the local children's theater at Beck Center.

[16:36] Rory O'Malley: And I spent uh 10 years at that children's theater and community theater doing plays and you know, did every play and musical I could in Cleveland, uh, sometimes two or three at a time.

[16:48] Josh Lamon: Well, please tell me some of these incredible productions that you oh my god.

[16:52] Rory O'Malley: I was just listening to Chess, thinking about when I was a freshman in high school and did Chess at the local community theater.

[17:00] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, I was thinking of my one night in Bangkok costume.

[17:04] Rory O'Malley: It was leather pants.

[17:09] Rory O'Malley: Uh I can't believe that I was allowed to be in that, but you know, anything for art.

[17:15] Rory O'Malley: And um, it was I I did like Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita.

[17:20] Rory O'Malley: I mean, I we it got to be in a live for Evita.

[17:23] Rory O'Malley: I was I was really perfect.

[17:25] Rory O'Malley: Scream our Argentinian, yeah, I know it's true.

[17:29] Rory O'Malley: Um, you know, well, I I was in the the um the cluster of English people, the you know, you know what I mean?

[17:37] Rory O'Malley: What the the like ones who look down?

[17:39] Josh Lamon: They are not yes, exactly, exactly.

[17:42] Rory O'Malley: That was that was me.

[17:43] Rory O'Malley: I was in the ensemble, obviously.

[17:44] Rory O'Malley: But um, you know, I played uh Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls at my high school.

[17:51] Rory O'Malley: That was a really big role for me.

[17:54] Rory O'Malley: Um I remember it was one of my biggest mistakes I've ever made on a stage.

[17:58] Rory O'Malley: I walked into the uh revival scene, and I you know, my line is has anyone seen Nathan Detroit?

[18:06] Rory O'Malley: And I walk in and I go, has anyone seen Sky Masterson?

[18:10] Rory O'Malley: Wait a minute, I'm Sky Masterson.

[18:15] Rory O'Malley: Literally got the biggest laugh of my career.

[18:19] Rory O'Malley: Like I'll never I'll never get a bigger laugh than that mistake, because everyone knew exactly what happened.

[18:25] Rory O'Malley: You know, sometimes when you make a mistake, just underline it and put exclamation points around it.

[18:30] Rory O'Malley: My favorite story is one of the 8,000 national tours of West Side Story.

[18:36] Rory O'Malley: The uh the Chino at the top of Act Two, like ran on stage and was like, Maria, they killed your parents.

[18:44] Rory O'Malley: And she was like, Oh no.

[18:48] Rory O'Malley: And how is my brother?

[18:56] Josh Lamon: I had not heard that one.

[18:58] Rory O'Malley: Oh, it's I heard the one um when the gun didn't go off and Chino hit Tony with the back of his shoe.

[19:08] Josh Lamon: And he fell over.

[19:09] Rory O'Malley: Did you hear that?

[19:11] Rory O'Malley: How many heels left, Gino?

[19:13] Josh Lamon: The heel for you.

[19:15] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, she said, how much poison is left on this poison heeled shoe, Chino.

[19:20] Rory O'Malley: How much poison?

[19:26] Rory O'Malley: God knows if any of this stuff is true, but I I love those kinds of things.

[19:31] Rory O'Malley: Theater legends of a performance that only like it's you're right.

[19:36] Rory O'Malley: No one can no one can write that kind of stuff and let it, you know, go on for years and decades.

[19:42] Rory O'Malley: But there's another story about like Death Trap or something where the guy was supposed to have like a fake gun and he didn't, and so he took like a cup and pretended there was water in it and was like, This is poison juice, and like pretended to flicker off flick it on her or something like that.

[19:59] Rory O'Malley: It's like this so fucking funny.

[20:02] Rory O'Malley: And you know, like there's you know, half the audience is like, oh my god, that's hilarious.

[20:08] Rory O'Malley: And then the other half is like, yeah, it's poison juice.

[20:10] Rory O'Malley: I accept it.

[20:11] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, I accept it 100%.

[20:12] Rory O'Malley: That's it.

[20:13] Rory O'Malley: That's how my aunt died.

[20:14] Rory O'Malley: Poison juice.

[20:15] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, they don't know.

[20:17] Rory O'Malley: They don't know, even when it's West Side Story, you know, it's like, oh, they made some changes at this local community theater.

[20:23] Josh Lamon: Good for them.

[20:24] Rory O'Malley: Guess this is the reboot.

[20:26] Rory O'Malley: I sort of get off.

[20:27] Rory O'Malley: This is so terrible on those like videos on YouTube of shows that have gone wrong.

[20:34] Rory O'Malley: Like an amateur Peter Pan.

[20:36] Rory O'Malley: Oh, they put Peter Pan flies into the set and the set falls down.

[20:40] Josh Lamon: Yes.

[20:41] Rory O'Malley: Yes.

[20:41] Rory O'Malley: No, I mean, I I have laughed too many times at like actors falling.

[20:48] Rory O'Malley: It's gonna come back to get me.

[20:51] Rory O'Malley: Like I have to admit to it now.

[20:52] Rory O'Malley: I know I'm I it's bad karma to do it, but we've all been in these situations.

[20:52] Rory O'Malley: We've all been in there.

[20:58] Rory O'Malley: Yes, maybe the recorder wasn't on.

[21:01] Rory O'Malley: We have, you know, but I've forgotten full all my lyrics to songs and made up, you know, a whole song before.

[21:08] Rory O'Malley: I forgot my lines and I looked at the other actor and I just laughed and said, Your turn.

[21:12] Rory O'Malley: Um, did you see the video of Helen Keller falling off the stage in a production of Miracle Worker?

[21:18] Josh Lamon: No.

[21:18] Rory O'Malley: She was so in it.

[21:20] Rory O'Malley: And it was like a high school production or something, and poor Helen Keller fell off the stage.

[21:28] Rory O'Malley: But they kept going.

[21:30] Rory O'Malley: They kept going as there was a really large hole in that family's kitchen.

[21:36] Josh Lamon: Um my God.

[21:38] Rory O'Malley: Well, good for them.

[21:39] Rory O'Malley: Good for them.

[21:40] Rory O'Malley: I think that's sort of where my love of improv came in.

[21:43] Rory O'Malley: And like, do you on Chicago Party Aunt, do you get to do any improv or anything like that?

[21:49] Rory O'Malley: Yes, it doesn't mean that they keep it or put it in the show.

[21:53] Rory O'Malley: But when you're in, you know, in a recording session for an episode for like three to four hours, you know, you do the lines a certain way, but you know, they are like, all right, now do it, you know, one for fun, you know.

[22:07] Rory O'Malley: So obviously, but it's the the folks who wrote Chicago Party Aunt are all from Second City in Chicago.

[22:14] Rory O'Malley: Oh, yeah.

[22:15] Rory O'Malley: And so I'm really way too intimidated to improvise with the likes of them because they are total pros.

[22:24] Rory O'Malley: But you know, you've got you, you're hilarious.

[22:28] Josh Lamon: Well, thank you.

[22:30] Rory O'Malley: I I feel like there's different kinds of uh comedy performance.

[22:37] Rory O'Malley: And when you're in with the likes of like real improvisers who do it for a living, who were trained for a decade in improv and comedy improv, like it is it's like watching a magician, you know.

[22:52] Rory O'Malley: That's what I always say.

[22:54] Rory O'Malley: It's like a magic show when it's done really, really well.

[22:57] Josh Lamon: Yeah, yeah.

[22:58] Rory O'Malley: And so to, you know, be in a recording booth with with folks like that who can, you know, who created the characters and you know are living in that world, it's just it's intimidating, but also they're very generous to me and and laugh.

[23:14] Josh Lamon: Remind me of the actress's name who plays who plays her aunt on the show.

[23:18] Rory O'Malley: Lauren Ash, she was on Superstore, so good, brilliant, yeah, yeah.

[23:23] Rory O'Malley: Um she's amazing.

[23:25] Rory O'Malley: So, like, I mean, I haven't done a cartoon.

[23:27] Josh Lamon: What do you think is the biggest difference between doing like TV film theater and now voice acting?

[23:36] Rory O'Malley: Well, um, first of all, voiceover acting is incredibly hard to break into, even more than, and I, you know, it's just crazy to say that because it's all so hard.

[23:53] Rory O'Malley: But I have probably auditioned for 500 voiceover uh jobs, and I mean that 500.

[24:01] Rory O'Malley: And I think because it's easier to, you know, ask for auditions, it's kind of like you know, we're all doing things on tape now because of of COVID, but that's how voiceover always is.

[24:13] Rory O'Malley: So you're never going in, so they can submit something and get hundreds of of auditions without you know losing any time.

[24:20] Rory O'Malley: And I think that because you can have actors play, you know, if you get one person who you like who you work well with, you can have them play so many different roles because they just change their voice.

[24:31] Rory O'Malley: They don't have to change what they look like. So I think it's a really small part of the industry, and so I'm still figuring out how to do it, you know. You know, it's not like uh when we walk on a stage, we feel like we're at home because we've been on a stage since we were kids. Even when you're in front of a camera, like it just feels a lot more uh natural because you're talking to people. Being doing voiceover is kind of like you're in a vacuum. Even when you're working with other people, you're only hearing them. And you have to kind of give them a variety of options. And you know, I think the best part of the reason why musical theater folks are so good at it is because we can warm up our voice and know how to play with it.

So even when you're not singing, like I'm not singing in Chicago Party Aunt, I'm definitely using my voice in a way that's similar to singing a song, um, and trying to find different pitches and you know, playing Daniel uh who's 18, and I am not 18. What are you talking about, Evan Hansen? Josh, I I have I okay. Sorry, we won't go there. We won't go there. Well, let me tell you like doing press for this show, people brought that up. They were like, well, um, yes, people said Ben Platt is playing a younger character in in his movie, and now you are playing a younger character in this show. Have you been getting any pushback? And I was like, um, no, because it's a cartoon. Have you talked to Stu from Family Guy?

I think it's okay. I was like, I've I've also voiced like animals and like well, the raccoon community is yeah. I mean, it's just was a little, I was like, I think it's a little different, you know, without getting into it. Um, but you know, but uh but I will say like I had to make sure they didn't you know sound like I just smoked a pack of cigarettes or something when I would go to the recording studio to be, you know, uh listen, Aunt Diane, I've never had a kiss before, and I won't. Exactly right. So I had to pitch it up, you know, and and be 18, but luckily I still sound like I'm going through puberty sometimes.

[26:51] Josh Lamon: I think your portrayal of Daniel is perfect. It reminds me a little bit of Little Shop of Horrors, not the show, but the character in the sense that there's all these huge characters around you, right? And so you have that hard job of being like the sweet normal one.

[27:09] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, the straight man.

[27:10] Josh Lamon: The straight the gay straight man, yeah, the gay straight man. Um you know, and also you said something about like, you know, it's like singing, which I agree. Can we please have a Chicago Party Aunt musical episode?

[27:27] Rory O'Malley: I hope so. I hope that's in the works. Can I pitch it? Yes, send a tweet or something and be like, hey, I wrote a song. Like, and you need to sing it.

[27:38] Josh Lamon: Yeah, exactly. They'll they'll tell the cast that I'm singing for all the characters. It's gonna be great. Yes, and then I won't have to sell my body anymore.

[27:49] Rory O'Malley: Um that's fabulous. I'm I'm really excited for you. I uh I've been binging it, and I think I may have mentioned this earlier. My favorite episode for sure is when you want to get your first kiss. And those The Halloween episode.

[28:05] Josh Lamon: Oh my god, the costumes at the gay bar.

[28:08] Rory O'Malley: Yes. Like sexy what are you from Toy Story, yeah, sexy tin man.

[28:12] Josh Lamon: Sexy Tin Man. Um, oh god, I'm I'm blanking on some of the others. But like literally, I had to pause and rewind because I was focusing on all the costumes, and I was like, okay, now I'm gonna go back and like listen to what's actually happening. Um yeah, I know. It is that's it's like the animation is so funny in itself. Like, even beyond that's that's why that was the surprise for me when I was watching it for the first time, just not even knowing how many more jokes were gonna be there, and and people from Chicago, like if you're from Chicago, you're going to see so many Easter eggs in this show because they've recreated so many of the different bars, like the the bar we're in, the gay bar Roscoe's um you know, even I've been to Roscoe's.

[29:01] Josh Lamon: I have too.

[29:02] Rory O'Malley: Okay. Oh, so that wait, that was you.

[29:05] Josh Lamon: Yeah, that was me. Fascinating. Uh yes. No, I mean, it's it they really went through uh a lot to make sure that it looked like Chicago and the references are like so specific. Even the um the the barber shop where Diane works, um, which Rue manages and they it was like you know, sports cuts, whatever. That is actually a real barber shop. And Rue Rue's character Gideon takes it over and turns it into like a borough, a New York kind of fancy place. But they what there is a real place called like sports cuts or whatever in Chicago, and they put the real address of what that place was in the cartoon, like on the door. So they're they're specific. Like they know Chicago, the people who've created this show. And so most of the people who are really flipping out about it are the people who live in Chicago and love it. But again, it's you know, it's for everyone. We all have a Chicago Party Aunt.

[30:10] Josh Lamon: Oh we all do. Well, I mean, it's so global, it's so universal. My aunt wasn't a party aunt, but she was the one who like took me to New York to see Sunset Boulevard or took me to a guy.

[30:22] Rory O'Malley: Who did you see?

[30:23] Josh Lamon: Who was your Norma Desmond?

[30:24] Rory O'Malley: Betty Buckley.

[30:25] Josh Lamon: Mine too. And guess check this. We she took me to Sardi's after the show. And I was like, I'm on a stage door. No, no, no, no, no. But fine, let's go to Sardi's, whatever that is. And we went to Sardi's, and then we were walking back to the hotel. And guess who came out the stage door?

[30:42] Rory O'Malley: No.

[30:43] Josh Lamon: Betty Lynn Buckley.

[30:46] Rory O'Malley: I think she was still in character.

[30:48] Josh Lamon: She looked like a little like what character?

[30:52] Rory O'Malley: She she looked like she just killed somebody and they fell in a pool. You know, but it's a force. She she is a force of nature. Getting to see her in that role was probably one of the greatest experiences I've had on Broadway because she just is a tidal wave.

[31:09] Josh Lamon: A tidal wave. It was heaven. My aunt like lightly had to like slap my arm because I was singing along with the show. Because what else do like 14-year-old queers do?

[31:23] Rory O'Malley: Exactly. Exactly. No, I was in the same place. I remember I went uh to a family vacation in Vermont and I was listening to the recording. Um, and I remember saying, you know, Vermont is so close to New York City. We should we should go there.

[31:39] Josh Lamon: Like Vermont is not really that close.

[31:44] Rory O'Malley: No, but when you're from Ohio, you know, it's it's a little closer.

[31:51] Josh Lamon: Close enough. A little bit. So I remember trying to convince my mom to take me to New York, just you know, a little detour on the way back to Ohio. It didn't work, but then I got to go see Betty Buckley. And I remember Terry Hatcher was at that performance.

[32:08] Rory O'Malley: That's that's the time capsule of that memory.

[32:12] Josh Lamon: I didn't see Terry Hatcher at mine. But um also to just think about all those stars, you know, and how much they meant to me. And then like being an adult and being like, oh yeah, I'm doing a reading with Joe Gillis. Like, are you kidding me?

[32:29] Rory O'Malley: Yeah. Um yeah. Oh gosh, it's so powerful. Maybe Betty can come on uh Chicago Party Aunt and um I don't know, be like your crazy grandma or something like Norma Desmond comes on.

[32:44] Josh Lamon: I would love that. You know who plays the the grandma actually, at least on on the mother's side. I don't know who the who the father's side would be, but is Laurie Metcalf.

[32:54] Rory O'Malley: Stop it, yeah.

[32:56] Josh Lamon: Yeah, that that's Laurie Metcalf. Uh-huh. Stop. Stop face. I know. I know. It's funny because uh there's a lot of people in the show that they haven't really publicized that they're the voices, they kind of just wait for you to like read the credits at the end.

[33:13] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[33:13] Josh Lamon: But uh, you know, the the creators are all from Second City and Chicago, so it's just full of people who are from that that world. And um, yeah, we're not. Have you gotten to Zoom with Laurie Metcalf?

[33:28] Rory O'Malley: No, but by God, if I get to do more. I am. I'm gonna flip my laptop over and throw this workplace abuse.

[33:38] Josh Lamon: Um I was in physical therapy. I forgot what show I was doing at the time, but she was doing Misery.

[33:45] Rory O'Malley: Oh, Bruce Willis.

[33:48] Josh Lamon: Uh-huh. And she was on the table next to me. And oh my gosh, it took everything within my power not to roll over and be like, I love you, Laura.

[33:58] Rory O'Malley: Oh my God. I so agree. I still, I mean, her her days on Roseanne, she was sorry, my my Siri doesn't understand what I'm saying. Siri just started talking.

[34:07] Josh Lamon: Siri, shut up.

[34:10] Rory O'Malley: Shut, shut up. You just don't understand our love for Lori Metcalf series.

[34:14] Josh Lamon: Yeah, jealous. Clearly, Siri's not gay.

[34:19] Rory O'Malley: Um, but I I mean, I loved Roseanne so much, and she was so fantastic on that show. Her and John Goodman, their scenes were were my favorite. And I remember when I first moved to LA, this is like right out of college. I saw her in All My Sons. She was the mom in All My Sons.

[34:19] Josh Lamon: And she was so good, and I had brought a date.

[34:42] Rory O'Malley: I brought a date, a guy who I had maybe met once before.

[34:47] Josh Lamon: And I was like, let's go see All My Sons at the Geffen.

[34:50] Rory O'Malley: And on the way out, she was in the lobby talking to people.

[34:56] Josh Lamon: And I was like, Oh, I I I have to say something to her.

[34:59] Rory O'Malley: And he was like, not a a theater person, really. He was like, oh no, you don't you don't talk to people like you don't know her.

[35:05] Josh Lamon: I was like, she was like, Do you know her? I was like, no, I don't know her, but I I need to. I need you know, it was like that feeling. You have to say something.

[35:12] Rory O'Malley: And I just went up to her, probably interrupted what she was saying to a friend, and was like, You're wonderful, you're absolutely magnificent. That was an amazing performance. Thank you so much.

[35:28] Josh Lamon: And she was like, Oh, thank you. That you know, very, very nice, but like I'm in you know, in the middle of a conversation, and I said, Okay, bye now.

[35:36] Rory O'Malley: And I walked out, and I never heard from that date ever again.

[35:40] Josh Lamon: I know that that guy was like, he's he is he's insane.

[35:45] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, well talker. I think theater dates are hard. I went on a date, like a first date to go see Leap of Faith.

[35:52] Josh Lamon: Oh, yeah, I think that sums it up.

[35:56] Rory O'Malley: Um, yeah, oh, yeah. It is it is hard because you know what? Being in an audience of a show is such a a personal experience that you have to share with somebody afterwards, and it really is it's actually so revealing, and it's a little maybe a little too intimate, you know.

[36:14] Josh Lamon: Yeah, I think so.

[36:16] Rory O'Malley: Why couldn't we have just gone to Planet Hollywood and boink in the bathroom?

[36:21] Josh Lamon: That you don't have to have any, you know, deep feelings or conversations about Planet Hollywood.

[36:25] Rory O'Malley: Also, don't boink in the bathroom at Planet Hollywood. That would be really, really disgusting.

[36:29] Josh Lamon: Again, Bruce Willis is there.

[36:31] Rory O'Malley: That's disturbing.

[36:33] Josh Lamon: Yeah, but if Lori Metcalf was there, I'd be like, I love you, Loriak.

[36:37] Rory O'Malley: Oh, for sure. I think I'm gonna do an ASMR episode where it's just like this is Lori Metcalf.

[36:44] Rory O'Malley: Oh, you are you're Lori Metcalf.

[36:47] Rory O'Malley: Well, okay. Yeah, sure. And I'll just be like, I was wonderful as Jackie. And Jackie, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, now she's on your show. That's really incredible. And like her, I've always felt like to be an incredible comedic performer, you just have to be an incredible actor. Like you have to be able to get it. I've seen you do so many different things. And to see you, well, to watch you do Daniel in this show, is just it's just like another flavor of another flavor of like your talent that we don't always get to see. And it's I don't know, it's really heartwarming. It um it makes me feel just over the moon for you. Plus, you're on my favorite network, is that what it's called? Network or streaming service?

I yeah, sure. I don't know, but Netflix. I'll ask some people who are younger than us, they'll tell us. Yeah, we'll put them on Zoom. Um but no, like Netflix taught me through the pandemic. Yeah, same. You know, and so I don't know. I'm so grateful for them. I'm so grateful for the show that's out. Um and uh wait, don't you have another cartoon as well? Central Park? Central Park, yeah. That is that, and that is uh a musical cartoon, and that's really that's probably why I'm on Chicago Party Aunt, because um, like I said, I had auditioned hundreds of times, and the first break I had was because I went to college with Josh Gadd and he created an animated TV show, and I play Elwood, uh, who is the assistant to um Owen, played by Leslie Odam Jr., another college friend of mine.

So, you know, it was kind of like, okay, great. You know, you auditioned hundreds of times, and it's like I literally had to be a college roommate with someone to get into this business. But you know, it's like then I was able to kind of do two years of those first two seasons, and the character is written so well and has so many great songs. And it's definitely for this audience, you should check out Chicago Party on Apple TV, excuse me, Central Park on Apple TV, because it is some of the greatest music coming out right now of storytelling, and they have so many different writers, so many amazing uh folks. And in the next part of season two that's coming out in uh a few months, I believe. I sing a song written by Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez, and I'm so excited about that because that's so cool.

You're like Elsa now. Yes, basically I'm Elsa now. Move over, Casey. Yeah. Yeah, my dream coming true. That's so fantastic. I wish your son was old enough to watch Chicago Party Aunt. Yeah, well, he has been in the room when it's been on, and even though he doesn't get the, you know, the really raunchy joke, I just can't, I can't like have it on while he's in there. I'll just, you know, it's it's definitely an adult show for everyone listening. But he can watch Central Park, which is great. And I wasn't sure if he realized, you know, that I was voicing character of Elwood, but when I was when the character was singing, he pointed to me and went, Papa, Papa. Oh my god. It was cool, you know, because now I'm in I'm in Hamilton again at in Los Angeles.

We've opened the show back up. With Taylor. Yes, that's right. I love her. Oh my God. She's so good in it. She is that's what I hear. She's phenomenal. She just is such a great spirit. Taylor Amon Jones, she she plays um Peggy and Mariah. And she is just extraordinary. And it's so funny because she's kind of like her being in the show means a lot to our company because, like I said, we were about to open the show and we got closed down. And now the whole company is back a year and a half later, and we opened the show. And she's the only person in the company who had never performed in Hamilton because she was new. She was the only person who was new to I don't know that Hamilton. So I remember having a dream a couple of months in to quarantine, where she finally got to perform.

And she was so happy. And on our next company Zoom, I was like, Taylor, I saw it. You are gonna perform this. We're gonna come back. And I know it's gonna happen. It was this beautiful dream. And I didn't know it was gonna be another year after that that we would be coming back. But it was just such a beautiful thing to get to witness her have her first time in the show that you know we had spent, we've all spent years um doing the show, but it was her first time, and she's awesome.

[41:37] Josh Lamon: What was that like being a part of one of the first shows to reopen?

[41:42] Rory O'Malley: It was surreal. You know, I I have to be honest about it. We focused so much on uh that happening, you know, that I was when we got the word back in May that we were gonna open, it was so quick. It was like, okay, we found out in May that we're gonna open up in August that our first show was gonna be like in eight weeks. So it felt like it felt crazy. It was like, oh okay, great, you know, this is amazing. Finally, and it also felt really um, I don't, I wanna say scary. It just it was like Delta was coming back so quickly, bringing bringing it all back. It felt like PTSD, you know, like it felt like, okay, here we go. We're going back into this theater into the Pantages. Cases are going up, everyone's scared.

How are we gonna get through this? And there were just days where I was like, we're being set up for failure again. We're being, we're gonna have our our hearts broken, you know, like that's that that's what I was afraid of. I was afraid that we were just going to uh be punched in the gut again. Luckily, the shows are doing such a fantastic job of keeping everyone safe, the audience and and backstage. We are we're all vaccinated, everyone in the audience is vaccinated. We get tested three times a week. We don't we don't go into the Pantages until we have a negative COVID test. Um and the audiences have just been absolutely amazing. You know, I look out and see a sea of people wearing a mask.

We're wearing masks backstage when we're not on stage. I don't know what else could be done. And you know, luckily we've had success in in keeping everybody safe uh so far. And so it was it was uh a scary time, you know, of being like, are we all just gonna set up a failure? And feeling like if we if we screwed it up, that it was gonna screw it up for everybody else as well. You know what I mean?

[43:48] Josh Lamon: Well, I mean, I think all of us were sort of like, I mean, this might sound terrible, but it was like, well, open up Hamilton and Wicked first and let's see how that goes.

[43:58] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, yeah. No, I I totally agree. And I've said like to our I think our cast and our company really knew like we have to be, we have to be strong and go first. Because Hamilton can, you know, like this is the this is, you know, the the what this show needs to be in this moment in time because audiences are gonna show up. We gotta show that we can do this, we can do it safely for the people working on the show and the people coming to see the show. And I think everyone has been just amazing. You know, I I'm so proud of my company, not just the actors, but the the crew and everyone in in front of house wearing masks the entire time. Yeah, working so hard, vaccinated, making sure that everyone feels comfortable.

And uh, you know, now we have COVID stage managers who are literally just walking around making sure that people are wearing masks, that everybody feels safe, uh, and testing all of us. And you know, that's a whole new division of our industry, but it's very important.

[45:08] Josh Lamon: Yeah, no, it's strange. I just got an I'm doing a workshop in a couple weeks, and I just got an email from the COVID safety manager, and I was like, oh wow, okay, okay, all right, all right.

[45:18] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, five minutes to no swab, okay.

[45:21] Josh Lamon: Yes. Um, yeah. Well, I'm really happy for you. I'm really proud of you and proud of your entire company. I think that um I just started going back to seeing shows.

[45:30] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[45:31] Josh Lamon: And there's also a sense in the audience of uh like a sense of camaraderie of we're all here. We're all here because we love it, we're all here because we want to support it. And um that theater is such a huge part of our lives that it really matters for us to be here.

[45:53] Rory O'Malley: I have never ever been more grateful to audience members than I have been over the last month. Audience members are always working so hard to get into a Broadway show. They're waiting for tickets, they're paying for tickets, they're paying a lot of money, they're, you know, getting there. It's not easy. It's much easier to sit on your couch and watch watch a TV show.

[46:16] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[46:17] Rory O'Malley: So it's always hard. But to make sure that you have your vaccination card ready, to make sure that you're wearing a mask the entire time. Obviously, these are things now that are a part of our culture after the last year. But to see theater goers making sure that not just that that we are safe, but that their fellow audience members are safe, to jump through that hoop just to see a play is the most beautiful thing after a year and a half of basically being told by society that we are the least essential workers.

[47:01] Josh Lamon: The least essential.

[47:02] Rory O'Malley: Yeah. So it to see these the faces of these people with masks on them, to hear them uh, you know, cheering and the applause that they are giving to us, it's the most beautiful sound and responses I've ever heard in my life and ever will. So, you know, I wish I could hug each and every audience member after if it wasn't uh COVID inappropriate, kind of defeats the purpose. But you know it's it's it's a special it's a special time, you know, and I feel really obviously for so many reasons I feel uh privilege and honor to be a part of of Hamilton always, but at this specific moment in time, it's something that we're gonna be telling uh generations how the Broadway community survived this and how we got back up on our feet and who was there for us. And we're always gonna have to remember the the folks uh who who got us there, you know? And I think that we're we have a lot of leaders right now, not just on stage but in the audience and I so appreciate that.

[48:04] Josh Lamon: Oh my gosh, you're gonna make me cry.

[48:06] Rory O'Malley: Well I mean I'm grateful to you for what you do. I'm grateful that theater's back up and running and um I'm really grateful you know it's so important to me in this time of darkness to be able to just laugh.

[48:21] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[48:21] Rory O'Malley: I think laughing is you know whenever a friend has a birthday I'm like I wish you all the laughter in your new year because laughing is so important. And so it was a breath of fresh air like it's still hard. You know we're not all the way through this and there's still that like I have an audition every eight months or you know not really but it feels like that.

[48:45] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[48:45] Rory O'Malley: And so to be able to like sit on my couch, turn on your new show, not think about myself and just like laugh and feel good and miss my aunt.

[49:04] Rory O'Malley: Like, especially that app that that last episode that I was telling you about where, like, how awkward it is to like, how do you get somebody to kiss you?

[49:15] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[49:15] Rory O'Malley: At a Halloween, at a gay Halloween party where you don't want to be a sexy anything, you know.

[49:21] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[49:21] Rory O'Malley: I mean, it's that is it.

[49:23] Josh Lamon: I totally agree.

[49:25] Rory O'Malley: And that's the kind of, you know, my my 20s were were that conundrum of like, how do I fit in with all these cool gay people when I am not cool at all?

[49:36] Josh Lamon: I mean, in my 40s, that's what it still is.

[49:37] Rory O'Malley: I'm like, well, you please look at my body. Please, please just I'll give you all this money. Just look at my body, please. I'm so lonely.

[49:50] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[49:51] Rory O'Malley: And I mean, especially, you know, like this this past year, I think for a lot of gay people, because coming together at bars and theaters, you know, like we've all been isolated.

[50:04] Josh Lamon: That's our culture.

[50:06] Rory O'Malley: That's our culture. That's a that's how we found we found friendship. It's not, you know, we we have to have these spaces that we go to to celebrate each other, and we haven't.

[50:17] Josh Lamon: Um, and it's made it, it's made it really lonely for for so many of us.

[50:24] Rory O'Malley: And I think, you know, it it is. It's good to to have um make sure that we can watch TV shows and laugh, but also to like check in with friends and make sure we're we're all laughing through this insane time.

[50:37] Josh Lamon: Because the the I remember when I when I drove my mom back to the airport in September 2020, it was like seven months into the I remember wanting her to get back on that plane and go home because the pandemic was over and I knew she was gonna be okay.

[50:52] Rory O'Malley: And there was just this point where I realized that's not gonna happen.

[50:55] Josh Lamon: She's gonna have to go home, and it's gonna be really scary.

[50:59] Rory O'Malley: And I think that's what was kind of like my disappointment in Broadway coming back right now, because it is I am so proud. It is amazing, it is safe and it is, but I kind of wanted the the switch to flip and everything just to be okay.

[51:14] Josh Lamon: Yeah and that we didn't have to worry about anything, and that is not the case, you know, and that's okay.

[51:20] Rory O'Malley: I've had to like accept that, you know, over the last couple of months that no, we are we're gonna have to continue to make sure that everybody is is tested and you know, like this is a new normal for a little while.

[51:34] Josh Lamon: And once I got over that, that I wasn't gonna just be like back to normal, I realized it's good that a lot of these things are going right back to normal.

[51:34] Rory O'Malley: That a lot of the process.

[51:45] Josh Lamon: Yes.

[51:46] Rory O'Malley: And I think that health is being um taken to a new standard, you know, not just about COVID, but just like mental health, checking in with each other and uh from from a company standpoint and from each other, you know, and that is gonna, you know, as hard as this this year and a half has been, I think it's gonna make us all stronger in the end.

[52:08] Josh Lamon: I agree, you know, I've never been one to really cry in front of people for whatever reason unless it's on stage.

[52:15] Rory O'Malley: Right.

[52:16] Josh Lamon: Um, that's how you get awards.

[52:19] Rory O'Malley: Um but like I've had a number of friends where like we could just FaceTime each other at any time and just cry.

[52:30] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[52:31] Rory O'Malley: And be like, this is really scary, this really sucks. I don't know what's happening. I feel like I haven't seen another living soul other than my cats.

[52:41] Josh Lamon: You know, like, so how do you get through?

[52:43] Rory O'Malley: Or like I was home for a few months and I was like, if I see my parents one more time, if I have to remind them that I pick the home one day, one more time, you know, it's uh Shady Pines, Mom.

[52:58] Josh Lamon: Shady Pines, mother.

[53:00] Rory O'Malley: Um, you know, I do feel a much stronger connection to my friends, to my family, to this really insane industry that we're in.

[53:12] Josh Lamon: Um, and to the shows that I love and uh, you know, and the shows that help get us through because I do think that like Hamilton, I think that does get people through.

[53:24] Rory O'Malley: I think, you know, like your new show, that that will get people through.

[53:29] Josh Lamon: Um it's important to have love and laughter in our life, and um, yeah, and I'm so glad that that you get to be a part of all that history.

[53:39] Rory O'Malley: It's really important and incredible.

[53:41] Josh Lamon: What do you think the future of our industry is in terms of all of these uh recordings?

[53:47] Rory O'Malley: The pro shots, is that what they're called?

[53:50] Josh Lamon: I think I think that they're there to stay.

[53:52] Rory O'Malley: And I don't think that it's a bad thing.

[53:55] Josh Lamon: Um, I think it's great for people like us that grew up so far away from Broadway.

[54:02] Rory O'Malley: Um, what we don't know though is how that's going to affect people coming to New York or LA or Chicago to see these productions or the touring productions or whatever.

[54:13] Josh Lamon: Um so I think a lot remains to be seen.

[54:18] Rory O'Malley: I think Diana was really, really smart to do uh a pro shot.

[54:23] Josh Lamon: Right.

[54:24] Rory O'Malley: And um, you know, of course, wicked.

[54:27] Josh Lamon: Uh not wicked, um Hamilton.

[54:30] Rory O'Malley: Well, Hamilton, of course, but uh waitress, the w they just filmed theirs.

[54:34] Josh Lamon: Oh, they did.

[54:35] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, with Sarah Borellis.

[54:37] Josh Lamon: Oh, as soon as I heard that it was coming back, it's like, oh, you're doing a pro shot. I understand. Clever, clever Weissler.

[54:44] Rory O'Malley: I see.

[54:45] Josh Lamon: Um but I think it's good.

[54:48] Rory O'Malley: I I don't think that it replaces live theater, but also like with Hamilton watching it on Disney Plus, and I've and I saw the show with you in it.

[54:57] Josh Lamon: I saw it with uh Grafie.

[54:59] Rory O'Malley: But there's still so much that you miss because there's so much happening.

[55:03] Josh Lamon: Yeah.

[55:04] Rory O'Malley: That it really is like, oh my god, look at what these people do.

[55:08] Josh Lamon: And the ensemble, how do they walk?

[55:11] Rory O'Malley: How do they walk after the show?

[55:14] Josh Lamon: I don't know.

[55:14] Rory O'Malley: They're so good.

[55:16] Josh Lamon: They're so good.

[55:17] Rory O'Malley: And I feel so guilty being the king who's just like literally takes 12 steps as my choreography for the entire show and they're working so hard.

[55:26] Josh Lamon: I wasn't like, I I want you to know I have worked hard in my life.

[55:28] Rory O'Malley: I did a tap number and all that, you know, like I I just have total Catholic guilt about it.

[55:34] Josh Lamon: But yeah, they're incredible, and you're right. There's so much to see.

[55:36] Rory O'Malley: And it's like I don't know if I would have known who James LePine was if I hadn't watched Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George on VHS so many times that you know the tape was destroyed.

[55:50] Josh Lamon: So I think that it is it's really great that these shows are being given to the masses, and you know, it's it's a little scary to try to figure out how it's gonna affect our industry, but it's kind of I don't want to say inevitable.

[56:08] Rory O'Malley: I think it just has to be it was it is gonna happen, and it we have to figure out the best way to uh make it so that it's bringing more people into the theater and keeping more people employed.

[56:20] Josh Lamon: Yeah, well, I I always say, you know, what we said at Groundhog Day when the set never worked, you know, it's like champions adjust.

[56:27] Rory O'Malley: Everybody in this industry is a is a fucking champion.

[56:32] Josh Lamon: Yeah, you know, it's uh and a champion of adjusting because that's our life.

[56:37] Rory O'Malley: And um, you know, I'm I'm really just grateful that I've gotten to be your friend over these years, and to uh, you know, you're somebody that I definitely look up to.

[56:49] Josh Lamon: And uh you're right back at you, right back at you, Josh.

[56:53] Rory O'Malley: I think you're one of the most talented human beings. You are certainly one of the funniest people I've ever been on a stage with.

[57:00] Josh Lamon: And I love how open your heart is to the your fellow artists, always.

[57:08] Rory O'Malley: You are always just uh a ray of sunshine, even when you're saying you're having a bad day, you know, like you are honest about who you are, and I'm so glad that you are podcasting.

[57:21] Josh Lamon: You know, this podcast is fantastic, and I'm so glad that you're doing it.

[57:25] Rory O'Malley: I've I've done podcasting.

[57:27] Josh Lamon: I know it's not it's not easy, you know, to

[57:27] Rory O'Malley: No, I was on your podcast.

[57:32] Josh Lamon: You were a member.

[57:34] Rory O'Malley: You sure were, and you know what? Your first guest of your podcast, Stephanie J. Block, my first guest, Stephanie J. Block.

[57:39] Josh Lamon: Stop.

[57:40] Rory O'Malley: Yes, we are, but uh, I'm gonna this is a fun fact that I've never admitted, even to Stephanie.

[57:46] Josh Lamon: I've never told anyone this.

[57:49] Rory O'Malley: I recorded my podcast with Stephanie at her home.

[57:53] Josh Lamon: This is like back in 2016, I don't know, when I was just starting, and I told her, Oh, I'm doing this podcast, and like, you know, I've been doing these interviews, and I was so nervous to interview anyone.

[58:07] Rory O'Malley: I was so scared.

[58:08] Josh Lamon: I had never done it, and I was so nervous she was going to find out that she was my first interview.

[58:13] Rory O'Malley: So I didn't tell her.

[58:16] Josh Lamon: Like, why would she care?

[58:17] Rory O'Malley: But I just, I don't, you know, like it just felt like so scary to feel like I had permission to ask questions.

[58:25] Josh Lamon: But the whole reason I did it was to have these, you know, personal conversations with the people that I admired.

[58:32] Rory O'Malley: And you know, I looked up to her and Sebastian because they had a child, and you know, I knew how that was so important to them because we worked with her.

[58:44] Josh Lamon: Yes, and I wanted that too.

[58:46] Rory O'Malley: And I think part of the reason that I started a podcast was just to talk to people in our industry who had kids or had gotten through difficult situations, and I wanted to know how they did it because I was having similar troubles or wanted to figure out how to get through our industry.

[59:04] Josh Lamon: And I feel like that's what you do every day, but you make people laugh as well, which is such a like you said, it's the only way to get through these crazy times.

[59:14] Rory O'Malley: And this podcast is excellent, and I'm just glad you're doing it.

[59:18] Josh Lamon: You can keep going.

[59:22] Rory O'Malley: No, Rory, thank you so much for coming on the show.

[59:26] Josh Lamon: I love you.

[59:27] Rory O'Malley: I miss you terribly.

[59:29] Josh Lamon: I miss you.

[59:30] Rory O'Malley: And um, I'm glad that I can bend Chicago Party Aunt.

[59:34] Josh Lamon: Um, so I can you can hear my pubescent voice.

[59:37] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, so I can be a little cracking.

[59:39] Josh Lamon: That's my Rory.

[59:40] Rory O'Malley: And now that I know that Lori Metcalf, ah, I need to go back and re-watch.

[59:44] Josh Lamon: Um, I love you. You're so important to so many people.

[59:48] Rory O'Malley: And um, thank you so much for taking the time to come on my show.

[59:52] Josh Lamon: I'm thrilled to be here.

[59:54] Rory O'Malley: Oh, you're the best.

[59:55] Josh Lamon: All right, listeners. Go check out the show on Netflix, Chicago Party Aunt.

[59:59] Rory O'Malley: It's brilliant.

[1:00:01] Josh Lamon: Also, if you want to help contribute to the show and keep us going, you can come to Patreon.com slash JoshSwallows Broadway, and I promise you I will love you and think about you and fantasy.

[1:00:15] Rory O'Malley: No, I'm just kidding.

[1:00:16] Josh Lamon: But I will love you forever.

[1:00:17] Rory O'Malley: All right, till next time.

[1:00:19] Josh Lamon: Thank you for listening.

[1:00:20] Rory O'Malley: Bye.

[1:00:24] Josh Lamon: Josh Swallows Broadway is produced by Alan Seales, Dory Berenstein, and myself, Josh Lehman with associate producer Elizabeth Wheless.

[1:00:33] Rory O'Malley: And special thanks to our Patreon producers David Rimmer and Josh Harris.

[1:00:38] Josh Lamon: You can join them. All you have to do is go to Patreon.com slash Josh Swallows Broadway.

[1:00:44] Rory O'Malley: Leave a rating.

[1:00:45] Josh Lamon: Leave a review.

[1:00:46] Rory O'Malley: I read them.

[1:00:48] Josh Lamon: This is how I continue living.

[1:00:50] Rory O'Malley: Help me live.

[1:00:51] Josh Lamon: Thank you so much for listening.

[1:00:53] Rory O'Malley: Thank you for keeping Broadway alive.

[1:00:56] Josh Lamon: And swallow you soon.

[1:00:58] Rory O'Malley: Josh Swallows, Josh Swallows, Josh Swallows, Josh Swallows Broadway.