This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Rory O'Malley: You're listening to episode number 58 of Living the Dream with Rory O'Malley.

[0:05] Rory O'Malley: Audition, side job, swimming upstream. Believe it or not, you're living the dream.

[0:11] Rory O'Malley: Hello, dreamers. Rory O'Malley here, your host for Living the Dream. Thank you so much for listening.

[0:18] Rory O'Malley: If you can do me a favor, please write a review, rate us, give us some love on the podcast here so we can keep having these great conversations.

[0:28] Rory O'Malley: Today, my guest is Mandy Gonzalez, who I absolutely adore. She is currently playing Angelica on Broadway in Hamilton.

[0:39] Rory O'Malley: She took over the part for Renee Elise Goldsberry, the Tony Award winner, back in September of 2016 when I was still in the show playing The King, and I immediately gravitated to her.

[0:51] Rory O'Malley: She is such a fantastic human being and an insane singer, a wonderful talent. I look up to her for so many reasons, but mostly she's just a great mom.

[1:03] Rory O'Malley: And she is someone who has a phenomenal story. She just did an album called Fearless, which is also a part of her hashtag Fearless Squad.

[1:15] Rory O'Malley: She's very positive on social media, which is something I truly, truly respect. It's hard to do.

[1:21] Rory O'Malley: And she has put together a campaign of talking to people about being fearless and who's your fearless squad. She put out an album of songs written by so many of her good friends, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of a little show called Hamilton, wrote the title track, and it's about her parents who have such different stories and have an amazing love story of how they came together, which I'll let her share with you.

[1:52] Rory O'Malley: But she's done so much. She was Nina in the original In the Heights. She has played Elphaba. She is currently Angelica. She's put out an album. She also sang backup for Bette Midler. She's a Harlette, people, so clearly I got very excited about that.

[2:13] Rory O'Malley: I really, really think the world of her. And I hope that you enjoy my conversation with Mandy Gonzalez, especially everything that we're talking about.

[2:22] Rory O'Malley: It's stuff that we're also used to, and the audience that I have is people who are interested in the face of it.

[2:28] Mandy Gonzalez: I love your podcast. It's so good, Rory.

[2:30] Rory O'Malley: Thank you.

[2:31] Mandy Gonzalez: And I remember you doing it like in your dressing room.

[2:33] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[2:34] Mandy Gonzalez: You know, just kind of hoping and wishing that one day I would be with you.

[2:40] Rory O'Malley: Well, so now it's happening.

[2:43] Mandy Gonzalez: I wasn't sure if you were living the dream material, Mandy.

[2:46] Mandy Gonzalez: But now it's a touchy.

[2:51] Rory O'Malley: Oh, all right. Well, yeah, let's just start. Thank you so much for doing this. Hi, Mandy.

[2:56] Mandy Gonzalez: Thank you.

[2:58] Mandy Gonzalez: Hi.

[2:58] Mandy Gonzalez: Hi, Rory.

[2:59] Rory O'Malley: You're in your dressing room right now.

[3:01] Mandy Gonzalez: I am, and I just had it painted pink because it was this like weird, like, I wanted it to be yellow because yellow's my favorite color.

[3:09] Mandy Gonzalez: And then it ended up being like a highlighter yellow. And so I had them go over that, and Lexi was like, you should use this color that I have. It's called butter. And so then I put it on, and then it just looked horrible. No offense to Lexi.

[3:23] Mandy Gonzalez: So I've been like waiting. And so they just painted it the other day.

[3:26] Rory O'Malley: Oh, they painted it pink.

[3:27] Mandy Gonzalez: So now I feel really good. It's like bright and very much me.

[3:32] Rory O'Malley: More common than the highlighted highlighter butter.

[3:35] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, it's true. It's much better.

[3:38] Rory O'Malley: Well, good. Well, I love that I'm talking to you, and I know exactly where you are in the Richard Rodgers Theatre. That theater is special to so many of us, but to you, it must be on another level of how important it is to you as a building.

[3:55] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, definitely. I mean, this room, I mean, this is I'm in my same room that I was in, my same dressing room when I was Nina Rosario in In the Heights, and you know, it's been through a lot of changes. I mean, it's still the same size, but they've painted the door, it's really nice, you know.

[4:13] Mandy Gonzalez: Like when I was there, it kind of like chip paint. And but you know, my friends come up from Heights, Andrea and Janet and Ellie, and we climb up to my dressing room and they're like, was it this many stairs? I'm like, I know, right? Like, but it is. It's the I think we're the third floor. I'm the third floor here, and you know, I'm next door to now it's Joanna Jones and Lexi Lawson who play my sisters, but during In the Heights, it was Karen Olivo and Chris Jackson.

[4:44] Mandy Gonzalez: And you know, I just have so many memories, you know. We all just kind of grew up together, which is so special and such a special, incredible show. So, and here we are, you know, here we are again. We've all like touched the plate of Hamilton, and it's been fabulous, you know. This team has just kind of taken us along the way, you know, whether we're first string or second string, they've never forgotten us, which is, you know, so rare.

[5:17] Rory O'Malley: No, you don't. I don't think people realize how important it is to the creative team behind In the Heights and Hamilton to have an atmosphere of a family. You know, that they're in the building so often, you know.

[5:34] Mandy Gonzalez: Definitely. Yeah, Lee was here yesterday. And um, I don't know if I should say that, but um they don't know when this is airing, you know. This could have been months ago.

[5:43] Rory O'Malley: Right, right, right.

[5:44] Mandy Gonzalez: Um, Tommy's here all the time. Alex, uh Andy, they're all checking in. David Korins is checking in and making sure that everything's going good, not just on stage, but behind, you know, behind the scenes and making sure we're all okay. And I consider, you know, I really consider those guys my family.

[6:02] Mandy Gonzalez: So yeah, so I feel very good to be here. I still remember the day when um Tommy came into my dressing room to tell me that you were taking over the role of Angelica.

[6:13] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah. And he was like, because you know Tommy, he like needs to tell everybody in person. He wants to get the news, he doesn't want to just be an email. And he was like, Rory, we're so excited. A member of our family is coming into the show, and she's gonna be so amazing. And I can't wait for you to meet her because I think you guys are really gonna get along.

[6:33] Rory O'Malley: And you know, he was kind of right, but um Yeah, sort of. I mean, except for Chris. No, just kidding. He was so right, and it was such an exciting moment for me because I loved In the Heights so much. I was such a fan of In the Heights, and I almost I swear to God, sometimes I forget that I wasn't in In the Heights.

[6:53] Rory O'Malley: I don't know what I would have been, like the Irish drunk on a door down. But um I because you all are such a strong family from that show, and because I remember your first night, like was like half the cast of In the Heights came to see you in the show.

[7:11] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh, that's right. Yes, it was there was just such a loving atmosphere. And it felt more like a reunion as much as it did, you know, feeling like Hamilton. So I feel like I've been adopted by that family, which I really love.

[7:26] Mandy Gonzalez: Definitely. I think anybody that's been a part of Heights and seen it, they do feel that family connection. And I think because it's such a universal story, you know, and people don't think that right away because they think, oh, it's a Latino story, it's different. And it's like, no, it's about people that in a neighborhood that are going through things that everybody goes through struggles.

[7:45] Mandy Gonzalez: And I think everybody can see themselves and so many of those characters. So when I see, but it's interesting, like seeing people now like at the Hamilton stage door, and they're they're like, oh my gosh, I saw you in Heights. I'm like, were you like 10? Like Yeah. She's like, it changed my life. I'm like, oh my gosh.

[8:04] Mandy Gonzalez: And it's true, like these young people, they and I think because so many of them now are doing the show in their high school and they're, you know, they're like I was finding their first cast recordings for the first time and In the Heights is one of them. And so, you know, they feel a connection, so they have this incredible connection to Hamilton.

[8:23] Mandy Gonzalez: You know, and that's the beauty of it is that you know, I stay at the stage door and people tell me their stories, but then they're like, and Nina, you know, I'm like Nina, and and I'm the first one to go to college, and you know, and and these stories are just I mean, they're geniuses. Uh Lynn, Tommy, Alex. It's like it's genius what they've created.

[8:45] Rory O'Malley: It is. Well, and they also the part of their talent that kind of you know isn't talked about as much is really that they have a gift for bringing people into a room and bringing out the best in them. And I think that's what happens with the cast of In the Heights or Hamilton or anyone who is filled in those roles, such as you and I, that you know, stepping into uh replace certain actors is a difficult task, but they give you that ownership and room to do it.

[9:15] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh, definitely. Can you talk a little bit about that moment? Because I know for me, you know, stepping into that into Hamilton was such a wonderful and also scary thing. What was it like for you?

[9:25] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, I was just I was so excited. I mean, um, and so ready. I think that Hamilton's my first time back to Broadway since after I had a child. And so, you know, from the time that I had my daughter to the time that I got Hamilton, I think she was four.

[9:44] Mandy Gonzalez: And so it's like I've just been hitting the pavement trying to get back here. You know what I mean?

[9:51] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[9:52] Mandy Gonzalez: And to get back into a place where I feel loved and appreciated. You know, there's nothing like being in the room with those guys. And when I you first get to sing with Alex Lacamoire, I mean, I don't know how you feel, but for me it's like uh it's like I'm breathing because he's so supportive and with music and that's what I love.

[10:13] Mandy Gonzalez: And so the steps that I've had to take to get back into um into the theater world, like into Broadway, um, and to get that calm and it's like, yes, you know, the oh, there's so many stories. But um the story about getting back onto uh onto Broadway, you know, the thing about it when you have a lot of doors that are shut, you know, I've always had doors that are shut in front of me, and I've always been that person that kind of tries to kick the door down or at least try to open a window and be like, hey, what about me? Like, that's my whole life.

[10:46] Mandy Gonzalez: Um, so I think that when you're a mother, you kind of go, okay, well, this door isn't opening, so what else am I gonna do? So I was able to kind of create a whole other platform for myself, which was like concerts and television and doing those kind of things, but I always miss that uh that eight shows a week, that connection with an audience and a company.

[11:10] Mandy Gonzalez: And so when I got the call from Tommy and he was like, hey, so I don't know what you're doing, but um do you want to come to Hamilton? I was like, um, yes. And I canceled everything, and I was like, okay, but I had a different perspective this time, like coming in. I wasn't like, it wasn't like I was trying to prove myself. I just wanted to do it.

[11:33] Mandy Gonzalez: You know, I just I really just wanted to to play and have fun and um and show that what was possible, you know, and and just to prove to myself that yeah, I'll get up at six in the morning with my kid, and then I'm gonna go and do, you know, two shows that day. And I wanted to, because that's what I when I had a child, like I always thought that I would do.

[11:54] Mandy Gonzalez: So um, for me it was like a sense of accomplishment just getting into the room, you know, again.

[12:01] Rory O'Malley: Yes, yeah, and what a hell of a room and a part to dive into. You talk about having a different perspective from having a child, but there's also those challenges like getting up at 6 a.m. How do you juggle? We even just like getting this together, you were like your entire day today changed, and you were like, I'm gonna have to reschedule. Can we do this? I was like, Yes, of course. Right? You are amazing in how you're able to be there for your beautiful, wonderful daughter.

[12:33] Mandy Gonzalez: And eight shows a week and always be present and always be a delight.

[12:39] Rory O'Malley: You are so much fun at work.

[12:41] Mandy Gonzalez: You are just like total sunshine. How do you balance that?

[12:45] Rory O'Malley: How do you find the energy?

[12:45] Mandy Gonzalez: I have no idea. Um, I think the biggest balance is my husband. I have an incredible husband who supports me to the nth degree. I mean, he was always, you know, like after you have a kid, I was like, I don't know, you know, if I can do this, I just want to be with her like all the time. And then I felt like I was losing a part of myself by not performing. And it was really my husband that was like, you have to go, you have to start hustling and working, and that's just part of you. And we talked about it, and I was like, you're right. So knowing that I have support at home is everything.

[13:28] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, and then it just kind of goes from there, you know. I see her, and I want her to see me in the workforce and being a strong person and a strong woman and seeing me follow my dreams, you know. I don't want her to feel like she can't do it all. And that's a kind of crazy thing that we I think we put on ourselves as people that, well, we have to do it all. And I think, yeah, it's okay to do it all, but just remember it's not always gonna be perfect, you know? And I have friends that have told me that, that are, you know, also working parents, and they've said, you know, sometimes you're really good at this, and sometimes you're really good at this, and sometimes, you know, so I just honestly, I just I try to do my best, and I try to, but I'm doing what I love, you know, and I love being a mother and I love working, and so it's kind of this incredible blessing.

[14:24] Mandy Gonzalez: So I remind myself, uh, when I do get those times where I'm like, oh my god, I'm so tired, that um to remind myself of gratitude, and sometimes I'm just really tired and in a bad mood or whatever. And that's okay too. That it's not always gonna be just even, you know, and I realized that. But um, but yeah, when I got sorry, I like got off track, but when I but when I got into the room, you know, um, I just was so happy, and I actually was lucky because I got to rehearse the show with the Chicago Company because right, yeah, because at the same time Karen was cast, uh, Karen Olivo was cast for the Chicago company, but she was also doing concerts and she had a concert out of town, and so they were like, Mandy, we'd like you to play Angelica uh with the company for like two weeks. Would you do that? And I was like, uh yes.

[15:16] Mandy Gonzalez: And so it was really nice because I got um I got to really know the Chicago company and you know, kind of be their big sister, and then move to Broadway and feel like I was just dipping my toes in here, which was nice. And even on my birthday, I got like three cakes because I got cake, yeah, uh cake and at with the Chicago company, and then cake here on Broadway, which was awesome. I mean, um Broadway's mostly about how much cake you get. That's what I say. Like, if you're not a part of the birthday club, it's like, what's wrong with you?

[15:46] Rory O'Malley: I feel like I wonder if people know about the birthday club.

[15:49] Mandy Gonzalez: I mean, I guess at a lot of offices, they probably I get really offended though if it's somebody's birthday, and you know, I I won't name names, but there are some people here that are not part of the birthday club, and all of a sudden they'll just be like, Oh yeah, it's my birthday. And I'm like, Really? Like you couldn't have cake for the whole like company? You know, it's about it's not about you.

[16:09] Rory O'Malley: It's not, no, it's not.

[16:10] Mandy Gonzalez: Birthday club is when you sign up, you stay when your birthday is, and the person whose birthday it was last gets a birthday cake for you or something sweet so that everybody can enjoy their day and celebrate your birthday. But like sometimes or like sometimes they do something healthy.

[16:27] Rory O'Malley: Uh-huh.

[16:27] Mandy Gonzalez: And I'm now this is ridiculous. Somebody did like cheese and crackers. I was like, really? Come on now. And then I was like, give me some of those I'll still take it.

[16:33] Mandy Gonzalez: I'll still take it. Like, no big thing. But um, but yeah, I I don't know what we're talking about.

[16:44] Rory O'Malley: This is my mind.

[16:45] Mandy Gonzalez: It's all right. This is what we come for on Living the Dream is it's to look into the mind, see where it takes us. There's no direction or anything.

[16:53] Rory O'Malley: Great.

[16:53] Mandy Gonzalez: But you know that you were able to have birthday cakes from both the Chicago Company and the Broadway Company. I think that it, you know, that was a special moment because that was the first company outside of Broadway. And it was such a it was like the first time they're trying to make a copy of what of the magic that was already made, which is you know, that's not exactly how it works, but I think it must have been so wonderful for the creative team to also have you and you to have that, and yeah, because Tommy was there and Tommy's like, hey, you guys, try try this.

[17:27] Mandy Gonzalez: Try that. That was the hardest part about joining the cast for me is that I didn't have a rehearsal process with the cast. I was just jumping in to the show in the middle of Tony season.

[17:36] Rory O'Malley: Right.

[17:37] Mandy Gonzalez: I was like, Well, I I'll probably ruin this show. Here it's a big hit. But and then didn't you also have to do um Ham for Ham?

[17:46] Mandy Gonzalez: Yes. Oh my gosh, you have pressure work. Oh my god. No, that was Lynn came over to me around like a week before he was leaving and was like, Hey, um, when I go, could you take over Ham for Ham? And I was like, oh I know. It would be an honor, sir.

[17:57] Rory O'Malley: Right, right.

[17:57] Mandy Gonzalez: I was like, oh my God, you know, like there were thousands of people. It's so crazy. But isn't it kind of also brilliant? Because I noticed that whenever I'm afraid of something.

[18:13] Mandy Gonzalez: Um, I guess that's why my album's called Fearless.

[18:16] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[18:16] Mandy Gonzalez: Uh when I'm afraid of something, I realize that it's probably something I should do. Um, or if it's something, you know, in my gut, I'm like, oh, that seems really fun. And but then I'm like, I all the doubt comes in where it's like, well, I don't know if I can do that.

[18:32] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, you know, who am I? What am I? I don't know. Who am I?

[18:34] Mandy Gonzalez: And um, and then I go, yeah, I'll do it, sure. And then I prove to myself that I can do that, even though some most days it's probably terrifying or whatever. It's like I did that, you know, and that feels better than not trying, you know.

[18:49] Rory O'Malley: Let's talk about that for a second because we we talk about making your own shit on this podcast a lot. And last fall you came out with your album Fearless, and it's yeah, incredible.

[18:59] Mandy Gonzalez: And it takes so much work to put out an album.

[19:04] Rory O'Malley: Um do eight shows a week.

[19:06] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh my god, yeah. On top of it, I was in that you did like you were doing shows at the Carlisle. You know, there was so much putting it.

[19:14] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, the thing was is that I've been you know working on so many things before, you know, I did get that call from Tommy that was amazing, but then all of a sudden you're in Hamilton, and then people start saying yes.

[19:26] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, yeah.

[19:27] Mandy Gonzalez: So I've been wanting to make an album, and then all of a sudden I'm in Hamilton, and people are like, Yeah, that's a great idea. Like, let's do it. Let's do it.

[19:34] Rory O'Malley: And so I have to say, it's now on it.

[19:37] Mandy Gonzalez: Yes. And so um I said yes, and uh and it happened, and I put together, you know, an incredible team for the for the album and wonderful producers and an incredible um everything. I asked Lynn to write me a song, he said yes. I asked Tom Kitt, he said yes. It was like Jennifer Nettles wrote a song.

[19:59] Mandy Gonzalez: It's crazy. Um, but it was one of those things where you know you have that thing inside where you're like, I really want to do this, but all these sometimes doubts come in your way, and then somebody says yes, and you go, Yeah, all right, sounds great.

[20:13] Mandy Gonzalez: And uh it's so good. And I'm so proud of it.

[20:15] Rory O'Malley: Lynn is the he wrote Fearless, right?

[20:19] Mandy Gonzalez: He did. He wrote Fearless, and that's a true story about your parents, right?

[20:24] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, it is, you know. Um, I started this thing on social media as well as everything else I've been doing, um, because my mind just kind of keeps going.

[20:34] Mandy Gonzalez: And uh I started to feel overwhelmed with social media, um, overwhelmingly like negative. I think it's a lot of fun, and I think it's a great way to connect.

[20:45] Rory O'Malley: Um, I just can get overwhelmed by um by everything on it, and so I felt like we talk about that a lot here, so get into it.

[20:52] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, it can be way overwhelming.

[20:54] Rory O'Malley: Well, way overwhelming.

[20:55] Mandy Gonzalez: And so I felt like if I feel like this, like other people must feel like this, and other people might just want to talk and listen and and have a I don't know, real conversation, but definitely uh feel like they have a squad.

[21:08] Mandy Gonzalez: And so I just put out a hashtag and I called it the Beerloose Squad, and I had no idea that it would become what it's become today but it's now has like thousands of um members like all around the world and people that talk about all different kinds of things issues and sometimes we just lift one another up you know I yeah I have um a mother and daughter who are part of the fearless squad since the beginning um so it's been around for like a year and um her daughter was diagnosed uh she's 15 was diagnosed with cancer uh last year and so she wrote me and she's like hey Mandy can you ask the fearless squad to kind of give her some strength and support and so it became that for her um hashtag Peyton Strong and I'm I'm just so happy that she um is in remission and cancer free and but the thing is I never would have met these people had it not been for putting positivity out there and wanting to connect um wanting to connect on social in a in a good way so um yeah so I started this thing and and when I was talking to Lynn about writing a song he said well I'm gonna write a song and it's gonna be an anthem for your Fearless squad and I'm gonna call it fearless and I was like really like okay um because that was the most amazing thing I've ever heard in my life first that Lynn wants to write me a song and then um that he's gonna do that because I knew how much it would mean to so many people and and then um he asked me what fearless meant to me and I thought about it and I said well really it's about my parents and my parents met uh as pen pals my father was drafted um to the Vietnam War when he was 18.

[22:46] Mandy Gonzalez: And my mom was like 17 and she wanted to join the Peace Corps. And her parents were like, no so she did the next thing, which was write letters to soldiers that maybe didn't have anybody to write to them.

[23:00] Mandy Gonzalez: And my dad was one of those people. And she wrote to him and he wrote back. And I think he sent a picture of himself and was like, you know, said something, oh, you're so beautiful, or blah, blah, blah. So my mom was totally into him. And they corresponded very handsome.

[23:14] Rory O'Malley: I said that piece of a chance to get away.

[23:15] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, guapo. I get it. I know.

[23:17] Mandy Gonzalez: Hey. Um, but the thing is they they corresponded throughout his time in Vietnam. So it was a year. And um they became like best friends and they fell in love.

[23:28] Mandy Gonzalez: And he would say at the end of it every letter, like, I'm gonna come and find you, and um, not a creepy way. And uh he but he did.

[23:38] Mandy Gonzalez: He looked after he uh left the war, he uh showed up with nothing and on my mom's doorstep with just his car, and he would sleep in his car and shower at the YMCA and he got a job and they fell in love, and uh and the thing that made them fearless for me is not just that, but you know, my dad is Mexican American.

[23:57] Mandy Gonzalez: Um he grew up as a migrant worker all around the the United States, you know. He came from a very uh hard life, but joyful life, you know, because they were together.

[24:09] Mandy Gonzalez: So um, and families should never be separated. Um, you're right.

[24:14] Mandy Gonzalez: So it was the seven of them, and they would uh go all over and they settled in this small town in Northern California, and uh my dad would go to school in the mornings he would work, uh he go to school, and then at night he would work.

[24:28] Mandy Gonzalez: And at 16, my dad dropped out of school uh to work full-time with his family. And um, my mom was Jewish American.

[24:36] Mandy Gonzalez: She grew up in the valley in uh California, um, not overly wealthy, but just a comfortable life. And um, when my dad showed up, her family was like, uh, absolutely not, you know.

[24:50] Mandy Gonzalez: Um, he's from a different culture, he's not Jewish. And it the he my mom really had to make that choice whether she was going to stay and go the route that her family wanted her to go or go with my dad, and they've been together for 46 years.

[25:06] Mandy Gonzalez: So um she went with her heart. And so um the beautiful thing about it and her their fearlessness of following their heart is that you know, they brought both families together. So um, I grew up with an abuela and a Bubby, you know. Um perfect upright. But I never felt like uh I was different in either of their eyes because I was, you know, from two different cultures, you know, and and so that's the beauty of I think their story is that it brought peace ultimately. Uh my my grandma's now, you know, 95, she lives with my parents. She's like, Your father's the best thing that ever happened to us, you know. And so, and she means it. He's a good person, and that's what counts first. And um, Mandy, that's just it's the most American, beautiful, fantastic story ever.

It is oh, thank you. So Lim wrote me the song, and it it'll be there forever. And I played it for my parents. Uh my Aulita, she passed away last year, and um, you know, the beauty of Hamilton and my um my family here is Tommy said, Well, you have to go, you know, to the funeral. And and so they let me off and I went and uh I played fearless for my parents as we're driving up the grapevine, you know, to Northern California, and my parents held hands and they looked at each other and they were just like, It's our story. And I said and and my dad was like and you wrote it for us. I'm like I know I know and uh so I feel like with music it'll go on forever, you know.

[26:39] Rory O'Malley: Oh yeah that's yeah that's amazing. I mean talk about making your own thing and it's yeah it's it what a gift to be able to give back to them for all that they gave to you and did for you.

[26:50] Mandy Gonzalez: It's definitely that's the dream come true right there. It is it is it's definitely my Nina Rosario moment.

[26:57] Rory O'Malley: Yeah. Well I mean and it's it's it th there's a reason why you played that part clearly you know that there is there is a dream that uh is being passed along from from different uh generations over over countries and stories from way back to people that you don't even know and that it's all come together in your life and your accomplishments.

[27:22] Mandy Gonzalez: It's never been about me. You know what I mean? I mean it is about me like look at me. But um it's always about us. We are actors. However however um it's always been about you know my family and and uh wanting to make them proud and have them be noticed in a way that uh I feel like they weren't uh they weren't able to be noticed uh growing up so um so it's for them it's for uh it's always for them.

[27:30] Rory O'Malley: Oh it's it's that's beautiful and I think that's also a reason why you have had such great success in this business. It's not just that you are tremendously talented, which of course you are. It's undeniable that the power of and the majestic nature of your voice but thanks sorry you are incredibly positive. You have, you know, clearly the drive and the attitude given to that that you know comes from a father who works as a migrant worker and and is still going to school and all the all of that he had to go through, you know, that is applied to eight shows a week, I'm sure. I mean, I can it's a direct correlation.

[28:36] Mandy Gonzalez: Um always. I mean, when people um, you know, and I understand everybody gets tired and everybody has different feelings about things, but you know, people, even when I didn't have a kid, people are like, Are you tired? And I'm like, my dad was up at four, like walking to the carpool, like I'm not tired, like I'm okay.

[28:53] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, you know, get through it.

[28:56] Mandy Gonzalez: Daydreamers just taking a quick break to remind you about our special offer from Gold Star. Go to Goldstar.com backslash Rory, enter the promo code Rory, and you will get an additional ten dollars off your first order. That's goldstar.com backslash Rory and get that sweet, sweet ten dollars off. And it supports the podcast. All right, now back to my guests.

[29:24] Rory O'Malley: Well, what about in terms of what we have to deal with in our business rejection? How did you apply that to dealing with the the worst part of our business, which is the constant rejection?

[29:38] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, I think that um I had to learn um integrity, you know, and I had to learn that early on. Um, because and that really served me and has served me throughout my journey in this world. Um, because when I first started in the business, um, I had I went to college like everybody else, and I went to a school close to home because I wasn't really ready to leave. I went to school uh CalArts, uh, which was a great school. Um, and I did my freshman year there, and I got a job as a backup singer um for Bette Midler. And now for the next 15 minutes, we'll be talking about that.

[30:23] Rory O'Malley: No, and then um, yeah, so I was 19 and I was on the road with Bet.

[30:27] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh my God. I didn't know you were 19 when you did that.

[30:30] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, it's insane. And then I but that was my first time away from home. And I I came back and I didn't want to go back to school, you know. I I felt like um my parents worked too hard, like I didn't want to put that on them, you know. And yeah, and so I decided that I was gonna work and I got a job at like a sandwich shop um close by Papalino's. And I called one of my friends and I auditioned and I but I called one of my friends and I said, Hey, would you introduce me to your agent? And she was like, sure. She was a friend from you know childhood. So she was like, Yeah, there were no i issues of any kind of jealousy or anything like that. She just wanted help.

[31:09] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[31:10] Mandy Gonzalez: So I went and I auditioned for this agent, and um she was like, Well, that's great. You know, you've worked at Bette Midler, like it's wonderful, we'd love to have you on. And I thought I made it, you know. And I went back to Papalino's and I made sandwiches for ex-classmates. And then um my agent, the agent called and and said, Um, we'd like you to come in and have a meeting. And I said, okay. And so I went in and she put me in this like small room, like an office next to her office, and she had a a pad of paper and a pen, and she said, Um, we think that your last name um is too ethnic, and therefore we want you to come up with names that you think represent you better that can help you get work, you know, that'll be easier for you to get work.

And so I was like, so embarrassed. And but I and she goes, and then we'll go over the list like after you're done. And so I was like, okay, um, so I thought of names, and I eventually picked this name. Um, I think it's because my grandma really liked Vicky Carr.

[32:17] Mandy Gonzalez: Um, so I decided I was gonna be Mandy Carr with two R's. Oh and she was like, Oh, that's really great. Like, that's the name. That's your new name. And then I went home that night and I was just so embarrassed. And because of not because of um my last name, but because of how I let this person make me feel about my my last name and my culture. And, you know, after talking to you, you know how important it is to me.

[32:43] Rory O'Malley: Of course.

[32:44] Mandy Gonzalez: And so um, I just I had in that moment to figure out what my integrity was going to be, um, and what integrity was. I I I really learned that in that moment because um I couldn't do it. I couldn't change my name. And I I called her the next day to make sure that um she knew that car, it it wasn't that car was spell with two R's, but that Gonzalez was spelled with two Z. Manelli, Liza Manelli. But I was like, and that was it, you know, that Gonzalez was very uh a part of who I was, and I wasn't gonna let anybody change who I was. I mean, I'm an actor, I can do anything. So um, you know, I can play any kind of part, but when I'm myself going into the room and when I put down my picture and resume, it's Mandy Gonzalez, it's not Mandy Carr. So um, so I think that that helped me early on with rejection because I I have a sense of who I am, you know.

[33:49] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, and I think that um if something doesn't work or if somebody doesn't want me for something, um I'll figure out a way to build something else for myself.

[34:01] Rory O'Malley: Right. You know what I mean?

[34:02] Mandy Gonzalez: Right.

[34:02] Rory O'Malley: Um well and also cut to, you know, the the role that made you who you are is the direct correlation to your name.

[34:12] Mandy Gonzalez: It's because you totally I would never have been now I would never have been considered for in the heights, yeah without my last name Gonzalez and Yes. Knowing and knowing so that people know your your name does say so much about who you are, where you've come from, your story, your family, and that was your role, you know, you that was your destiny.

[34:35] Mandy Gonzalez: And definitely yeah, it's funny how some sometimes people, especially in those positions where they're trying to represent you and make you as bland as possible so that you can fit as many roles as possible. They don't believe in it, they don't care about finding the right role, they just want to find as many as they can.

[34:47] Rory O'Malley: Exactly.

[34:54] Mandy Gonzalez: And I I think that I learned from that that you have to be your own um you have to represent yourself as best as you can. And what does that mean? Just because somebody says, Well, this is the right role for you, you know. You know, I've had different roles that I've turned down because it didn't feel right, and I've had roles that I really wanted that didn't I didn't get, or roles that I really wanted. Somebody didn't want to see me for. But I, you know, I found that window and I made it into the room and I got the job, you know. And so um I I think that for me, rejection is fuel for for me.

[35:27] Rory O'Malley: Fuel for the fire of like, okay, well, you don't want me, so I'll figure out how to how to live my dream.

[35:35] Rory O'Malley: Well, you sound very like healthy and well adjusted about this. So I don't know if you if this next thing comes into play too much.

[35:42] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, but jealousy is something that we don't really talk about, you know, kind of comparing yourself to other performers who have something that you're hoping wish you got, or do you how do you deal with jealousy if it ever comes up?

[35:57] Mandy Gonzalez: Oh, please. Um, I think that it's just human nature to have jealousy and want things that other people have. Um, and I remember having that, you know, when I was having that, like when I was younger. No, like all the time. But having that, it's like FOMO, you know, um, fear of missing out.

[36:17] Rory O'Malley: But that's because I'm I'm aware, I'm hip. I know the language. I just wanted to make sure I'm sorry. Just because I'm not in Hamilton anymore. Sorry, sorry.

[36:27] Mandy Gonzalez: But um, no, but it's I've always had that because I'm the third, I'm the youngest, you know, and so it was always like missing out with my brother and sister. Like, what are you guys doing? Like, wait for me. You know, Karen Olivo used to call me Pearl from 227 because I would always be like, What are you guys? What are you guys doing? Like, nobody invited me.

[36:37] Rory O'Malley: Exactly.

[36:38] Mandy Gonzalez: What are you guys doing? And so I think that I I have that. And so my dad told me when I was younger, he'd be like, Mih there's room for everybody. And so I remind myself of that constantly because you know I've been I've been up and down in this business you know I my first big show after I did Ida was Dance with the vampires and you know I remember getting that phone call of getting that job and I'm gonna be the lead opposite of Michael Crawford and it was like I dropped into my knees in my apartment in Brooklyn and being like this is it I made it and you had gone from were you in the were you an understudy in Aida I was I was I understudy for um I was a standby for Adina Menzel and I also was I would sing in the mic in the pit like a pit singer during the show and you know, they had me singing the soprano stuff um so I said and somebody you know because I don't want to belt it yeah and somebody on the ensemble like came backstage and they're like, you know, we sound like we're all together but there's this one voice that just sounds like they're out of place and I was like I was silent about it because I felt judged um but it was me so um and you're just you're just letting everyone know now it's been a long now you know Martin it was me that's that's what it was but you know to go from that to and first of all like standing by for Adina was like a dream because I was huge rent fan and she could not have been cooler.

[38:26] Mandy Gonzalez: You know what I mean? Like she let me hang out in her dressing room like you know, I would just be like, oh hey, you know, hi Adina, like hi D. And um, I just felt really cool. Um, but then I got the job, and I was like, uh I got this job at Dance of the Vampires, and you know, I was like, this is it, you know, this is it for me. Everybody's gonna know who I am, and you know, everybody said that like this is your big, you know, coming out or in Broadway. Right. And then it it tanked, you know, it was the biggest flop. I think now there's been bigger flops, but yeah. Well, I was in one that didn't even make it to Broadway. So see, everybody has their everybody has their thing. But, you know, it taught me because I would be, I would see other people in that season, like having the season of their life and you know, their life being made and you know, going to the Tony's and all those kind of things.

But um, the thing about that, it didn't make me feel good to compare myself to anybody else. It was just like, I so I why do I want to do that? You know, I my path is my path, you know. And so I had to um remind myself of that saying, you know, miha, there's room for everybody. And so um I think whenever I get into those those ways of thinking, it's because I'm not busy enough. Like I got other things to think about, you know. I I I can put together a show and do it at, you know, Joe's pub or something like that, you know. My story is never gonna be somebody else's story. So um, so that's how I deal with that with jealousy.

[39:58] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, by just moving forward and creating your own path.

[40:04] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah. No, I mean, it's once again, you know, that's completely from your parents. You're it's what you came from. Um so a lot of times uh women have such a different experience in this business and in life, like you know, like to be honest, it's but I feel so often like women are put under a a different kind of pressure. You know, we kind of talked a bit about a little bit about the perfectionism about having it all, but it's also you know, it's uh body image in our industry. It there's the the amount of roles aren't as much. How uh do you deal with those kinds of pressures that so many women in our business deal with?

[40:51] Mandy Gonzalez: Um well, I buy a lot of like night creams and stuff.

[40:55] Rory O'Malley: Well, good. That'll solve it.

[40:57] Mandy Gonzalez: So that really helps. I just hope Hollywood is listening to this because I definitely look really, really young.

[41:04] Rory O'Malley: You definitely do.

[41:07] Mandy Gonzalez: But here's the thing. Um, you know, I'm not the same age I was when I came here, but I'm also much better actor and a much better um person.

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

[41:21] Mandy Gonzalez: And so it makes me much more interesting. So I think that I just I hope for those parts that are coming, but I'm also if they don't come, I'm just gonna write my own or work with my friends and and it's that same thing of creating your own outlet, you know. I remember during um in the heights when um we would have talkbacks with these at student matinees, you know, and students would say, you know, I just feel so frustrated because there's not a lot of this is the only show like about Latinos that Latinos wrote. And Lynn was like, well, then write your show.

[41:53] Rory O'Malley: Right.

[41:54] Mandy Gonzalez: Write your show. Don't wait for somebody else to to give you an opportunity. But I I see the pressure, you know, I see the pressure in Hollywood and and women and especially women, you know. I I felt the pressure when I would go to an audition and the people would ask me, Well, how old is your kid? 'Cause they want to know, like, are you gonna be able to do it? If your kid is three months, oh, it may be hard for you to to do a job or this and that. So, you know, I look at it and I go, Okay, well, then that wasn't the right job for me because it wasn't gonna be supportive of me. So I'll find the right one. So I I do I have this like crazy positive perspective, which is that um as a woman I don't want to fit in anybody's anybody's box, you know.

[42:42] Rory O'Malley: And uh I say that now and I may think differently and you may be like, Oh my gosh, Mandy, you look so different.

[42:49] Mandy Gonzalez: But I'm hoping that doesn't happen. I'm hoping that I I keep my integrity, you know, and because I I think 'cause I have a daughter and I want her to um feel beautiful about herself. So I try not to um what is it? I mean, everybody like obsesses about different things like, oh, I wish I could be five pounds slimmer or you know, I wish I could do this, but you know, this is how I'm right now and I'm healthy and you know, I I feel blessed for that.

[43:19] Rory O'Malley: So well, I mean, i i it's you you are gorgeous and you are just uh the force on the I was waiting I was kinda waiting for you to say that.

[43:27] Mandy Gonzalez: I know. Well I need to work for it.

[43:29] Rory O'Malley: You just let me go, yeah.

[43:31] Mandy Gonzalez: But I re but you know, you brought up your daughter again and I think that that perspective is gotta be what she sees and what she what you want her to feel is what she can't feel, you know, that she's beautiful and that sh that everything, you know, that she does it is can be respected and and that she has a story if you don't.

[43:54] Rory O'Malley: And exactly.

[43:55] Mandy Gonzalez: And and I've seen her on the stage of Hamilton see you and what a gift to be able to have a child see you do that role.

[44:06] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah you know oh you can't like I remember before I did Hamilton I did like a um they invited me to come and do a Disney cruise and I could take my family yeah and I could do like a solo my solo show on a on a cruise all Disney music and it was so fun but the best thing was that I got to bring Maribel on stage and her thing was not performing you know although I said she could but her thing was that she wanted to like dress like she put on this like fake fur and like all these sparkles and it was just like she felt you know she felt just beautiful and um it was just that moment of her just kind of like seeing what it was like you know and and she really loved it and she the the best part about it I think sometimes is how proud she is you know um whenever we meet somebody new she's like are you gonna tell them like you're in Hamilton.

[45:00] Rory O'Malley: Really Yeah and I'm like, Maribel that's just you know we don't have to tell everybody you know what I do and she's like come on just do it and I'm like okay I'm in Hamilton.

[45:11] Rory O'Malley: I have I have a friend whose uh daughters are are the sweetest things and and and the older one she's like eight years old but when she was three I was the greatest thing in the world and now that she's eight she has better things to do than hang out with me and she doesn't you know and she came to Hamilton and she came backstage afterwards and she reached for my hand and I was like, I got her back.

[45:37] Mandy Gonzalez: I got I'm back in her good graces.

[45:39] Rory O'Malley: Like, thank you. Thank you, Hamilton.

[45:41] Mandy Gonzalez: You know, thank you, Hamilton. I mean, she loves, I mean, she loves you.

[45:45] Rory O'Malley: You're still the king for her because, you know, remember you used to steal the candy.

[45:49] Mandy Gonzalez: Or I would tell her you stole my candy. She'd be like, Did he take your candy?

[45:53] Rory O'Malley: Oh my gosh, that king.

[45:54] Mandy Gonzalez: So you're still her, you're still her king.

[45:57] Rory O'Malley: Oh, good.

[45:57] Mandy Gonzalez: But um, but yeah, I I think life is I mean, maybe it's a lot, just a lot of therapy, but um life it's it's like a pie, you know, or am I poor scump? I don't know. But it is like my performing life is just one part of it, you know. If if my other parts of my life aren't full, then how am I gonna be good at my job, you know? And and so I look at that and I say, um, you know, when I feel those feelings of jealousy or inadequacy that, well, what am I missing? What needs a little bit more attention? Oh, let me go and just make some cookies with my kid and you know, let me call my grandma and just check in on her health. And you know, it gives you better perspective because it's hard the business if it's just all about the business.

[46:46] Rory O'Malley: Oh, Mandy, the the last 30 seconds, if I could encapsulate exactly why I started this podcast and like what is the most important message.

[46:56] Mandy Gonzalez: I hope that people hear is just that.

[46:59] Rory O'Malley: And you know, you said you it's not just about being happy, it's about being a good performer. You can't be a good performer if you're not happy at home, if you're not balanced to walk into work and give your best.

[47:11] Mandy Gonzalez: Exactly. I mean, you of course there's tortured, you know, actors and this and that, but I sure I'm sure in one way they they wish that they had you know something. I'm sure that they have something that makes them happy, whether they go surfing or they they have an out you have to have an outlet.

[47:28] Rory O'Malley: Well, they burn out and don't get to perform for very long I mean I I if I could choose one great performance in a life of hell or a a lifelong career and just keep trying to get better on you know I don't know working at it rather than torturing myself I choose the lifelong career you know the struggle for that but I that's the it's it's so much of who you are I could tell right away when I first met you is that it's family first it's grounded family and happy at at home that makes you such a joy to walk into the theater but you do have to walk into the theater eight times a week which is I do is crazy like I I I always like to hear how people deal with the repetition the the thing that can make you go crazy doing it over and over again how do you handle that?

[47:28] Mandy Gonzalez: I think I handle that by really focusing in and I do have repetition where I say hi to everybody um in the company before I do the show. Yeah I um yeah like I have certain moments backstage with like um with everybody you know stage managers and stage hands and yeah because it's about the company and and I really want to remind myself that it's not about me tonight.

[48:49] Rory O'Malley: Right.

[48:49] Mandy Gonzalez: You know what I mean? Right. And so um and so doing those little things uh make the show fresh and make the show new because everybody's in a different space you know every day and yeah I like that. Like I like being around people. And and so um for me it it's that, and and reminding myself of those tools that I learned, you know, which is what is it that you want? Yeah, you know, uh, where am I? Why, you know, because if you don't use your imagination, if you don't use those tools, like what's the point? Like it's boring.

[49:19] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[49:20] Mandy Gonzalez: So, you know, it's fun. It's fun to act, it's fun to create characters, and and so I I try to keep it fun. And when it's not fun, then you move on. You don't stay in something because of a paycheck, you know what I mean?

[49:34] Rory O'Malley: Oh, yeah.

[49:35] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, and I think that it's it's weird with um maybe you had this experience with in the heights, like you couldn't play Nina forever because you know, Nina is a specific character in her time of life. Angelica is, you know, the the sister that's in charge, she's the leader, and you can stay as long as you want. I feel like and I will and good and good, but like that's how I feel about Hamilton. Like, I'm yeah, people are like, Oh, are you sad to be done with Hamilton?

[50:03] Mandy Gonzalez: I was like, Oh, oh, I'm not. Like I'm not doing it right now, but I can play the king until I'm 65 and start collecting social security, which I'll be doing. But of course, you know, like that you have to be able to experience other things, but playing in Hamilton is a very different experience because they've changed what casting means in general, so a lot of the casting choices can be different. So you can keep playing this for a while.

[50:32] Rory O'Malley: How did you make the decision to leave In the Heights? And because that must have been incredibly scary.

[50:40] Mandy Gonzalez: It was, you know, I loved and I still love everything about In the Heights. I didn't want to leave, but I got an offer to go and do Wicked, and before I did In the Heights, I was offered the tour of Wicked to play Alphabet, and this was like before Heights went to off Broadway. Right and we didn't know what it was gonna be. Oh, before even off Broadway. Yeah, it was like, you know, I don't oh God, to do Wicked, you know, as a belter, it's like a dream. And so, but in my heart I wanted to stay at In the Heights. And so yeah, and so I always had that thing of like, man, I really still want to play that role. And then, you know, it's like those things. I'm in In the Heights, people see you, and all of a sudden they say yes, and they say, Will you come to Broadway?

And I think I talked to Tommy about it, and I said, Yeah, I think it's time, you know. I had done Heights for two years and I felt ready to go into a show like Wicked, and they couldn't have been more supportive. I mean, Lynn on my last day came out with a green shirt on, and Alex played music from Wicked at my bow. And so I felt like I was ready to go, and they were the people that were there for my opening night of Wicked, you know, it was Lynn and Alex and the core four and yeah, my family. So wherever I go, you know, I feel like they're with me. So I didn't feel like I was ever really leaving, you know.

[52:16] Rory O'Malley: Yeah, no, I think and I mean that's how I feel with Hamilton now and kind of how we started this is that once you enter that kind of family that those creatives have put together, you never really leave that bubble of togetherness or. And that's the thing is that doing this, what we do for a living is such a privilege, you know. And yeah, and I know that some people are young and are like, well, it's just this, you know, but it's this is a dream, you know, and it is it's a privilege. And so I think when you come to work and if you're thinking, oh, I'm bored, I don't want to do this, I'm too good for this, or this and that, like it's time to go. But I've never felt that in anything I've ever done because I've always just felt like God, this is such a privilege.

Like, like I said, I think back to my dad's walking to, you know, today, my dad's at the carpool, you know, four o'clock, he's walking to the carpool, and this is what I get to do for a living. It's pretty great, you know.

[53:14] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah.

[53:15] Rory O'Malley: Oh yeah, no, it's incredible. And I just I didn't realize that you made the decision to stay within In the Heights before it went to Broadway. Because you know, like that that's not an easy decision because you know, Wicked was already the guaranteed hit. This would be the national tour, it would be a lot for you. And you keep bringing up this word integrity, and I believe it or not, people haven't really brought up that word too much on my podcast. So maybe that's why it's I like I see that in you, that integrity is so important from starting with that agent about who you are, that lesson that you learned.

[54:01] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, you know, and that can guide you in all of your decisions, and thank God you have that because you're gonna be able to do it. Because even if I make a mistake, yeah, if I make a mistake or I'm in a show that flops or whatever, like it's my mistake. I did it, I made the choice. So integrity's definitely led me a long way on my journey.

[54:26] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[54:26] Mandy Gonzalez: But it's also stepping away and having a family, and that takes a lot of that too, you know.

[54:32] Rory O'Malley: Yes.

[54:33] Mandy Gonzalez: It's a lot of times, you know, for guys, it's like, oh yes, I also had a family. Well, you didn't have to give birth to the child. You can't, you like physically can't be at the audition the day you're having a baby.

[54:48] Rory O'Malley: Exactly.

[54:49] Mandy Gonzalez: Some dudes are, they're like doing the show and then going to the hospital to meet their child, or you know, it's right, like you're not pumping in the bathroom, you know.

[54:57] Rory O'Malley: Right, right.

[54:58] Mandy Gonzalez: So that's a it's it's it's another challenge, but it's the challenge in the that takes a lot of, as you say, integrity to be able to follow your heart throughout all of it. And I'm gonna follow my heart right back to something you brought up briefly, but I'm not gonna let you get off the hook this easily. You were a backup singer for Bette Midler. I don't need all the stories, but I would like to hear a little bit more about singing with the divine Miss M and being on tour at it as a 19-year-old.

[55:31] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, it was really great because I mean, it's Bet, so it was a dream. I mean, she's the ultimate super, like she's just like a super human, you know, like and to be a young woman and seeing this person in charge of, you know, she has people around her that she trusts, but it's ultimately her making the decisions for everything. Yeah, and I think I'll tell you one. I have like two favorite stories of Bet. One was my audition for her, and I took singing lessons with somebody who worked with this musical director that I worked with when I was like 15. I did a show at oh gosh, what was it? Oh, the Citadel, what was it called? At the Roosevelt Hotel, the club there.

[56:24] Rory O'Malley: Oh, I don't know.

[56:25] Mandy Gonzalez: Cynegral.

[56:26] Rory O'Malley: Cynegral, okay.

[56:27] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah. So and he was my musical director for that when I was like 15. And when I was in college, he was like, you know, Mandy, he was Bet's, what did he do? Vocal arrangements for the Harlettes, Bill Schneider, and he called me and he's like, Look, she's looking for new Harlettes, maybe we don't know what it is, but do you want to come to the open call? And I said, uh yeah. So I went to Capezio and I bought this because they were like, look really hot. So I bought this really, you know, I'm a singer who moves well. Right. I bought this really, this two-piece like brown jumpsuit kind of thing. I don't know if it's a jumpsuit if it's two pieces, but anyway, it felt like a jumpsuit. And I learned the dance, and she was doing like this African dance, and like, okay, so I learned that. I made it through the dance call. I made it through the sing call, and then we had to sing for Bet. So that was when I first met her.

[57:25] Rory O'Malley: Wow.

[57:25] Mandy Gonzalez: And she came into the audition and she had glasses on, and I was like, oh my god, Bette Midler's glasses, like, what is this? I know. And she had like this fabulous like green suit on, and she came in and she was just very serious, you know. And I was like, Okay, Bet's never seen anybody like me before. Here I go. And I danced for her, and then she had me sing. I made it to like the end, and she had me sing with this other backup singer. And I sang, she's like, We sing the soprano line, sing this, and I sang it. And the other woman sang it, and then she looked at me and she's like, Now sing it up the octave. And the other woman, and then I did it, and then the other woman couldn't do it. And Bet looked at me and she was just like, she just kind of smiled.

[58:10] Rory O'Malley: Oh no.

[58:13] Mandy Gonzalez: But it was one of those ultimate moments that you dream about, you know. Like I, you know, I grew up watching Chorus Line and all that stuff. We'd make the cuts, and you know, I didn't get to do that like once I came to New York because they don't do that for singers, like on the line. And I mean, like, you know, if somebody's gonna ask someone to sing something up the octave, you ask Mandy Gonzalez, because I don't care where you started, she's gonna be able to do it.

[58:37] Rory O'Malley: That's what I said.

[58:39] Mandy Gonzalez: That's what I said. And then for part of her, so we do cracking up, shacking up, you know, the number. Shacking up. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's this whole like she wanted to do this whole Hawaiian theme. So it ended the first act, and we became like hula dancers, and I learned how to do poi balls, and she got on top of this big thing that became a volcano, like it just kind of lifted up this cherry picker, and we were on the bottom of the volcano, and I remember the lights went out instead of CO2, which they're supposed to have to have smoke go out, they had this other stuff that firefighters use to like put out fires, which you can't breathe.

[59:23] Rory O'Malley: Oh.

[59:23] Mandy Gonzalez: And that went off, and I just never forget Bet yelling from the top of the volcano, get off the stage, like and so we all got off the stage, and I remember her coming backstage with just like oxygen to our dressing room, and she was just like, 'Are you guys okay? Do you need this?' First of all, I was like, I was like, Where did she get that oxygen? You know, the same thing with the glasses. I'm like, Bet's wearing glasses, like it was like Bet has oxygen. She's got a lot in her purse there.

[59:52] Rory O'Malley: Exactly.

[59:53] Mandy Gonzalez: But I was like, first of all, I was like, I'm okay, Bet. But the second of all, I was like, that's so cool that like she was looking after us. Like she could have just kept that oxygen to herself and like been living it up in the dressing room. We all could have been like coughing or whatever.

[60:09] Rory O'Malley: Yeah.

[60:10] Mandy Gonzalez: But she was always looking out for everybody. That's just her, you know.

[60:13] Rory O'Malley: That sounds very similar to you in the Richard Rodgers, you know. I feel like I mean, I know you've had a lot of people that you have looked up to, and clearly, like having someone who's that big of a personality at 19 years old, though, has got to give you some kind of influence. And I think that she is kind of a jack of all trades as in terms of being a performer, and that's the best. That's you, like, you know, being able to create have an album and being able, hey, get the jumpsuit on and you're a dancer, you'll do it. That's hey, you know, I'm looking for that window. But the thing is about Bet is that she didn't disappoint, you know. Like, you sometimes you can meet your idols and you feel like, God, you know, why couldn't he just been cool?

You know, it's like when I met Idina, like, I've been lucky because I've met these people that I grew up loving, and then they were really cool, you know. And yeah, not that Bet's like, oh, we're gonna hang out and be cool, like she was just a good person, you know.

[61:11] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, you have a lot of people in the cast of Hamilton, and they are they weren't born in the 70s or the 80s. A lot of them were born in the 90s, so they look, I know because they, you know, they're children, you know, they're very young. And I know that you are that example to them in that building. That you are the person that they, you know, it's not just people at the stage door who saw you in In the Heights, it's people on stage with you. And you're such a wonderful leader, not just at Hamilton, in the or in the Richard Rodgers, but in the Broadway community. I think that you have such a positive, positive vibe. And I'm so glad that I get to know where that comes from. And clearly it's your parents that their story and your family at home.

[62:02] Mandy Gonzalez: Well, I love you, Rory. Thank you so much for having me.

[62:04] Rory O'Malley: Of course. Thanks for doing it. And you have a show now.

[62:07] Mandy Gonzalez: Yeah, I got the show.

[62:09] Rory O'Malley: Oh my god. Well, tell everyone I said.

[62:13] Mandy Gonzalez: Okay, well, you tell everyone I said hello.

[62:14] Rory O'Malley: Okay, I miss you guys so much.

[62:16] Mandy Gonzalez: I will. I love you, Rory.

[62:17] Rory O'Malley: Love you too.

[62:18] Mandy Gonzalez: Okay, bye.

[62:19] Rory O'Malley: Bye.

[62:21] ♪ Musical number: "Living the Dream" — performed by Mandy Gonzalez ♪