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[0:02] Drew Gasparini: Hey you sexy buttheads, it's everyone's favorite part of the keto diet. Drew Gasparini here with another fantastic episode of Now We're Talking, the podcast that slaps you so hard that it hurts so good. Today is a very special day because we're joined by someone I'm so excited about. She's making the rounds as a star of several Broadway shows. You may know her for her breakout role in the Broadway adaptation of Groundhog Day, or her star turn in the cult favorite Head Over Heels. She'll be in the LA production of some little show called Hamilton, and it was just announced that she'll be co-starring alongside Beth Leavel in the Broadway adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada. Not only that, we're both Bay Area natives, so that makes us cooler than all of you. Guys, now we're talking with Taylor Iman Jones.

[0:47] Taylor Iman Jones: How often do you wash your sheets, Taylor?

[0:51] Taylor Iman Jones: Uh, once a week.

[0:52] Drew Gasparini: Do you think men in general have a hard time remembering to do this?

[0:57] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, I don't think they take the time to care. Someone explained to me. I let me preface this by saying I wash my sheets. Of course, I wash my sheets, but I don't think to do it every time I do like a weekly load of laundry. I don't know why that's the last thing I think about. And I don't like making my laundry day like a six-hour. I don't like going back and forth to the mat. I just don't like making it a whole day. Do you make it a whole day?

[1:28] Taylor Iman Jones: So, okay, to be fair, it depends on where I live. Right. So when I live in New York City, like one of my expenses is taking my stuff to the mat. I don't do my own laundry. You know, I drop it off. I drop it off, yeah. Yeah. No, I'm so that way, you know, I just come back and pick it up the next day. I love it. It's no time for me. Laundry is literally just like outside my door, so then it's easier to do.

[1:52] Drew Gasparini: Do you mean see? It's riveting conversation we're having here on this podcast. You're a Bay Area kid.

[1:59] Taylor Iman Jones: Yep.

[2:00] Drew Gasparini: I'm a Bay Area kid.

[2:02] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah.

[2:03] Drew Gasparini: Like I don't know what it is, but I'm always like drawn to or fascinated by the Bay Area transplants in New York City. And I had no idea. And then when I asked you to do this, and then when I like looked up more about you, it was like, what?

[2:21] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah.

[2:21] Drew Gasparini: And I never know that like I never meet you all in the Bay Area. I meet you all in New York, and then I find out way after the fact that you're from the Bay Area. Tell me about your life, your childhood, everything. Tell me about your parents. Do you have siblings? I want to know it all.

[2:36] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, cool. That should take like no time. Um great. No, um, yeah, I've got to be. No, yeah, I'm a Bay Area kid, like you said, um, Fairfield, California, born and raised. Um, I'm actually here now because of the pandemic. So I'm not sure. Yeah, same. I'm in I'm in Marin County right now. It's like we should be doing this in person because we're just like a half hour away from each other right now.

[3:01] Taylor Iman Jones: I know. Uh, but we gotta be safe, we gotta be good. Uh so you're living back with your parents because of the pandemic.

[3:08] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, um, but anyway, so yeah, I grew up here. I was in like uh music pretty early in my life. Like I started piano when I was a kid, and then that led to like band in school. Like I was in all of the bands from elementary, middle school, and high school.

[3:24] Drew Gasparini: Did you play piano in band? Is that what your jam was?

[3:26] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, I played piano and jazz band in high school, but I played flute for like orchestra and you played piano in jazz band?

[3:36] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes, it was my nightmare to be honest.

[3:38] Drew Gasparini: Why too much pressure?

[3:40] Taylor Iman Jones: Are you way talented? Like beyond the realms of which I knew. This is insane. I mean, that's the thing. Like, I played piano. I do play piano, but I'm not like a jazz pianist by any means. It was more like I was the one of one kid who could play piano and like read the sheet music. So they're like, well, that's where you go. But it was like it was really embarrassing when we go to competitions and these like kids' savants would take piano solos.

[4:12] Drew Gasparini: Oh no, it's incredible.

[4:13] Taylor Iman Jones: And meanwhile, I was like, do do do okay. Move on. Next and change. Yeah, yeah. Please, I don't like I'm gonna do a two-bar solo, and then the other people can take the rest of my name.

[4:23] Taylor Iman Jones: I uh I don't know, I don't know if this really is the same thing, but I got really nervous because I sang in jazz choir, and I hated, dreaded, because the conductor would be like snapping and like, yeah, everyone's vibing, and there's a lot of ooze and do-wops and do a watas and all that kind of shit. And then in the middle, during the scat section, I put that in big fat air quotes because I don't even know if that's a real thing, but she would point to us at random, like your turn.

[4:50] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, and then all I would do was like hold one note for like eight measures, be like, yeah, bitty. Whoa, dad! Like, I was so uninventive because I got so nervous on the spot. Honestly, that's how I think how I feel on Broadway.

[5:08] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[5:09] Taylor Iman Jones: Like, and run here. I'm like, okay, okay. Very long and high. Can I hold this one? Let's start there. Is there a lot of that on Broadway? They were like, okay, and then you do what you want here.

[5:21] Taylor Iman Jones: From me, but you know, I I've come from like for you and only you. Does this apply? I don't know. This is like, because I don't know, Head Over Heels also was just a very runny show specifically for my track and like Bonnie's. So it was just like too much pressure.

[5:38] Drew Gasparini: Too much pressure.

[5:39] Taylor Iman Jones: Too much pressure. Okay, wait. So before we get up into the land of where we're and inevitably gonna end up. Tell me, like in high school, you're a music geek. Would you say is that what you would qualify yourself as? Or was it like that's just what a part of what you did, but you were like the cool chick.

[5:56] Taylor Iman Jones: I would never say I was cool. Because yeah, like I said, I was in band. So I was in marching band, concert band, and jazz band in high school.

[6:06] Drew Gasparini: Oh dang.

[6:07] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, but then I was also very much into like my theater gig then. I'd already done like I'd started the um local youth company.

[6:18] Drew Gasparini: You started you started in?

[6:21] Taylor Iman Jones: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, sorry. Um the Solano, sorry, you're from the Bay, so I can like speak more specifically about it. Absolutely, please do Solano Community College had um a program called SYT, Solano Youth Theater.

[6:33] Drew Gasparini: Gotcha.

[6:33] Taylor Iman Jones: That um, you know, kids really honestly they had when I started when I started there, um, from kindergarten through high school, and then it ended up being more like 13 year olds or like 10 year olds through high school.

[6:45] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[6:45] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, but you'd do a show, it would take you know a whole semester, you'd rehearse three times a week, um, but you'd put on a full production mics, costumes, everything on the Solano College stage, and you got like three credits of college, you know.

[6:59] Drew Gasparini: Pretty cool.

[7:00] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, so I did that mainly from when I was 11 all the way until I graduated high school, pretty much.

[7:06] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[7:07] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, so that's why I'm like, I was I was a theater kid. Like, especially in high school, that's when I had gone to New York a few times with my mom on a trip. So I'd seen Broadway. We were already going to all the tours that would come through San Francisco.

[7:21] Drew Gasparini: Sure, sure.

[7:21] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, yeah, and uh I mean, so that must have been a trip for you, like just seeing tours in San Francisco when Head Over Heels was sitting in San Francisco for a minute. Is that was that like an absolute full circle kind of crazy thing?

[7:34] Drew Gasparini: Absolutely. My parents saw that by the way. They saw it in San Francisco, they loved it.

[7:39] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah. Okay, so yeah, it was full circle because I had grown up seeing all of the tours that came through there. So to me, it was so so special. Um also that theater had been closed for quite some time. So that was brand new open, and we got to be a part of that legacy.

[7:56] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, at in that version of Head Over Heels in San Francisco, I was a narrator for the whole production. So I got to intro the show. I had like saying a lot more. I had a way, you know, I literally like in between every scene, I was like, wasn't that crazy? Like inverse, wasn't that crazy? Like, look at this next scene and like did-da-da-da-da.

[8:16] Drew Gasparini: Um so for the first time ever and since for my whole career, like even doing shows locally in the bay, from the first preview until closing day, s I knew someone in the audience every single performance.

[8:33] Drew Gasparini: That's awesome.

[8:35] Taylor Iman Jones: Who I yeah, who I'd worked with in my like local Bay Area theater career or who taught me as a kid, like come on. Yeah, like do you start pinching yourself when it's that kind of a life when you're like, oh my god, I'm looking at the people that inspired me as a kid. I'm looking at the mentors I had as a kid, and now I'm doing the thing that they helped me, they help create like concrete the path to Broadway, to these, this this out of town, to all these productions I'm doing, and they're here every single night. Are you just pinching yourself left and right?

[9:06] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes, I made sure to be very present and uh just aware of that every time.

[9:13] Drew Gasparini: Good.

[9:13] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, you know, otherwise you would have been a big jerk. Yeah, and it's totally wild. It is but so bizarre because I'm not only someone who like grew up in the Bay, but I didn't go to a university, I didn't go to a conservatory. I did community and regional theater here in the Bay in San Francisco. So not only are these people that like helped me start when I was straight out of high school, just like kind of a little kid entering adult world to professional actors who taught me how to be a professional actor, who taught me how to show up before moving to New York, you know, before any of that, before Broadway, I knew how to be a professional actor because of my community here in the Bay. So I owe them everything.

[9:57] Taylor Iman Jones: So I totally, yeah. I like this is just another like two on my own horn, but I forget what day it was. But one day they organized like 25 or 30 people to come and see me and in Head Over Heels.

[10:11] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god.

[10:11] Taylor Iman Jones: And that show when I was a narrator, I used to start with, hi, like my name is Mopsa, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right. But I was like, hi, my name is Mopsa. And they were like, Oh my god.

[10:24] Taylor Iman Jones: Straight up just screamed for like a full. We had like, it was a full stop in the show where I had just like sit there and take it. And I will never forget that.

[10:33] Drew Gasparini: Um This was your Justin Bieber moment.

[10:36] Taylor Iman Jones: That's it totally was you know what I mean. You got to know what it feels like to be him for a little bit. That's really, really freaking crazy.

[10:43] Drew Gasparini: So were your parents always kind of like God, I'm so curious. I think we've only really met slash hung for a minute, maybe once ever. So yeah, yeah. This is really cool for me to get to know, particularly from because you're from the Bay Area. But what were like when you were like, I'm a music geek of sorts, I'm a theater geek of sorts, and what were your parents thinking? Because a lot of parents get like, no, no, no. Let's look at being a lawyer real quick. No, no, no, let's look at going to business school real quick. What was the support like in the household? Or was there ever a moment of, yeah, we like that you're doing it young, but then you gotta get a quote unquote real job?

[11:22] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, my parents were always like pretty uh realistic, I would say. So, you know, when you're a kid, it's just like nice to have extracurriculars, I think. Um they were really thrilled once I got my own license, so they could stop driving me and I could drive myself to all these things.

[11:36] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[11:37] Taylor Iman Jones: Um but once I like kind of got more serious about it, and especially once you start thinking about colleges, and I was kind of in that place where I'm like, Well, I don't really want to go to college. Um, they were just like, You have to go to school or you have to get a job.

[11:55] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah. That that my both of my parents are like were very independent young adults, like worked for themselves, have worked for everything they own today, you know. Um, and so to them it wasn't like you have to go to college, but they were just like, you need to make something of yourself, right? Um, so we kind of agreed eventually, that like I could take the year off, quote unquote. Um, but I did need to have a job, you know. You know, I can still do my theater stuff, but they're like, you need to pay for your gas, you need to pay for you know everything else, how your food, whatever.

[12:27] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, and so I've always had a like full-time job um throughout my young adult life. And I think even once I did end up going to Solano College eventually for a couple years, um, I also still had a job. So, like I held a job, I went to school, and I still did theater. Like they've always instilled that in me.

[12:49] Drew Gasparini: That's the best, right? You got like just every artist really kind of needs a little work ethic fire under their ass so that they're not sitting on the edge of their bed going, Why am I not famous yet?

[13:00] Taylor Iman Jones: I think I spent a year or two of my life going, how come I'm not like all the way fucking famous yet?

[13:07] Drew Gasparini: I felt that, yeah.

[13:08] Taylor Iman Jones: I felt that way when I was 12 and 13.

[13:11] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[13:11] Taylor Iman Jones: Like watching the Disney Channel and like all these kids on all the shows that I was like, oh, cool. So in like a year or two, like sitting in my living room, like not even auditioning or nothing, but I'm like, I'm definitely gonna be on the next season of this show for sure.

[13:27] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, I was doing it more at the age of like 32, 33.

[13:31] Taylor Iman Jones: Uh, this was just a couple years ago. But uh isn't that kind of weird to think about? You say you're 12 or 13 years old watching these kids on the Disney Channel, and yeah, I mean, like that, there's kid actors and you look up to them or whatever. Now, in the world of TikTok, don't you think it's mind blowing for some of these young people being like, wow, they have a hundred million followers?

[13:49] Drew Gasparini: How do I think it is it's borderline sickening?

[13:53] Taylor Iman Jones: And I feel so bad for some of these kids who put all of their life into the time it takes, first of all, to create one TikTok video is insane.

[14:02] Drew Gasparini: Okay, Drew, hold on, pause though.

[14:04] Taylor Iman Jones: Pause though.

[14:05] Drew Gasparini: Consider it paused.

[14:06] Taylor Iman Jones: Because how long does it take for you to write a song sometimes that is only a song?

[14:10] Drew Gasparini: Well, you can't lie, because I'm a genius, Taylor. It takes no time at all.

[14:14] Taylor Iman Jones: Then you haven't been on TikTok long enough because some of these kids crack out these videos quickly because they know what they're doing. Because they're professional in their game. Ipso facto.

[14:22] Drew Gasparini: You're old Drew.

[14:24] Taylor Iman Jones: You're old Drew.

[14:26] Drew Gasparini: We get it, Taylor. Thank you.

[14:28] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, no, I feel old. The TikTok thing is the first this is the first time in my life I have felt old.

[14:36] Drew Gasparini: And it's because of TikTok. I resent TikTok because it makes me feel old.

[14:42] Taylor Iman Jones: You know what? I get it. I get it. Because I was that. I I would definitely like, and I blame the pandemic. I do. 100%. That like, you know, when it started, I was like, I will never, you will never see me on that app. It's way too much. It's way overwhelming. I do not have the time. I don't even know what I would be posting on there.

[15:00] Drew Gasparini: Right, right, right.

[15:02] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah. Two months ago, where I'm like, eh, you guys, this is crazy. And I'm like seeing on all this stuff all the time. Like, because, and what I will say is um, you know, it's it's it is bizarre. And I know social media is a whole thing, but TikTok, you really do like go viral once and then not again. And then, like, like it's such a kind of lottery ticket thing. And I think I have found if well, you know, I know some people going viral like is a thing, but for me, it's not.

[15:34] Drew Gasparini: So because it's kind of such this um huge ocean of TikTok is almost like quantity over quality sometimes.

[15:42] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes, yes, and so I feel for me there's less pressure in that space because I can just like throw whatever is like in my brain. It's more like getting little nuggets of thought out of your brain rather than like here's a whole artistic expression for me right now.

[15:56] Drew Gasparini: Right.

[15:57] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, and I have to be when you see those ones that are like it looks like Spielberg put them together. You're like, how could I ever measure up to something like this?

[16:07] Drew Gasparini: You don't even try.

[16:08] Taylor Iman Jones: I'm not trying to do that. I'm not making spiel. That's not my jam. That's so much like that's a lot of work. Good for you, babe. Like right now, my baby sister Chloe, who is 10 years younger than me. She's just like I'm a huge fan of her.

[16:21] Drew Gasparini: Oh, she's she's wild. She's crazy.

[16:22] Taylor Iman Jones: But she's got like the number one used sound on TikTok right now.

[16:28] Drew Gasparini: That's huge.

[16:30] Taylor Iman Jones: She just signed a record deal.

[16:31] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, dude. Because of this. I mean, like, when I see this start to happen, I'm like, oh my god, this could change someone's life.

[16:38] Taylor Iman Jones: Of course, these kids are putting the pressure to make this their lifestyle on themselves. And hers was such a fluke. It was like, I'm just gonna post a cover of this Kanye song.

[16:47] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[16:47] Taylor Iman Jones: And it blew up ghostly. But see, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, like she just did this thing that she just felt in her brain that was just stuck in her brain, put it out there. And that truth spark, you know, sparked something. Also, her voice is so sick. So she deserves that. It's like butter. You know, when you brown butter before you put it in the baker in the baked goods, yeah. Chloe's voice is the browned butter that you put into a cookie to give it that real gooey texture. That's what Chloe's voice is to me.

[17:13] Drew Gasparini: Uh, but you don't need TikTok because you're already like you were one of the poppingest offest people I know.

[17:20] Taylor Iman Jones: Is that does that also color how old I am? I just tried so hard for popping off.

[17:23] Drew Gasparini: The poppingest off-est person I've I've really seen in a long, long time in the industry, just in terms of like this and then this and then this and then this. You had a real big domino effect of a career that I think is so, so interesting. Uh, I saw Head Over Heels, of course.

[17:43] Taylor Iman Jones: Before that, I saw Groundhog's Day.

[17:45] Drew Gasparini: Oh, yeah. And I mean, like, so you went from two shows, by the way, Groundhog Day and Head Over Heels. Both shows did not last as long as they should have on Broadway.

[17:54] Taylor Iman Jones: That is my personal opinion, of course, and I'm sure there's thousands of people who agree with me when I say that. In those experiences were you like, this is gonna be the thing. I'm that special girl who's gonna have the cult musical catalog behind her, and that's I'm gonna be like a favorite within this this demographic and theater. But then you book uh Hamilton, and then you book Devil Wears Prada, and that was announced right before the pandemic, and Lord knows where any of that is right now. But like just to see these announcements come out, it's like, oh shit, no, no. She's she she's about to poppy offie.

[18:30] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh no, oh no.

[18:31] Drew Gasparini: Yes, oh my god. Do you feel when you when you read your name in a press release next to Beth Leavel, and again, back to the pinch yourself moment. Maybe that's the theme of your whole episode is all the pinch yourself moments here. It's like being in the Bay Area full circle with Head Over Heels, and what a huge, even though it was short-lived, like you felt the love, right? From all the Broadway community.

[18:51] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, I loved it. You're actually the third person from that show we've had on this podcast. We've had Bonnie, we had Amber Ardolino who promised me she'd follow me on TikTok and never did, so let's call her out right now. Uh and now we have you, and now you're you do Hamilton, and right when that's happening, the announcement for Devil Wears Prada goes out. What's the thought in your mind when that happens?

[19:13] Taylor Iman Jones: I love when people succeed. What do you feel when it's forgiven? Um, yeah, so this is a very complicated answer for me. So, because uh let me go back to your first quest, like the first part of the question.

[19:26] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, sorry. I just gave you 33 questions.

[19:28] Taylor Iman Jones: I don't know if you see the size of this cup of coffee I'm drinking, but it's it's a keg. Um uh groundhog day, uh head over heels, very short-lived. Um, but also you're right, like very cool kind of little cult following musicals because they're about the other of like our communities. Yeah, and then I got to do like Scotland PA, and I got to do the tale of Despero with Pig Pen.

[19:51] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god.

[19:53] Taylor Iman Jones: Janky say and Universal, yes, I love these people, I work with these people. And so um, like I feel very cool and ingrained that I've like that I've got to do new musicals about weird stuff and weird people and others and people like the stories that don't get told, and I do hope to continue to do that for the rest of my life.

[20:17] Drew Gasparini: Like you will. I've already called show business, it's taken care of.

[20:20] Taylor Iman Jones: That's what it's doing forever. Um, and then yes, so at the end of um, towards the end of Scotland PA is when I found out that I booked Devil Wears Prada.

[20:31] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god.

[20:32] Taylor Iman Jones: At that time, I think this is the uh at that time they're like, hey, guess what? Good news, you have booked Devil Wears Prada. Bad news, weird news, they're pushing back the production a whole year. And I was like, oh okay, well, like that's weird, but like cool, I will just figure out what to do until then.

[20:55] Drew Gasparini: Um kinda, yeah, but then also like you know, we might have workshops and stuff, so it it uh complicated finding other jobs because my availability wasn't so open, you know. It was like so I was I had to look for very specific jobs that I could kind of step in and step out of. It was it was strange.

[21:18] Taylor Iman Jones: Um a very scary time for me in my life with no jobs to look. That's also when I did um emoji land. I stepped in for emoji land for a week, like another show about a bunch of others. Um then that's when I found out I got Hamilton, was uh kind of right when I found out I was gonna step in for emoji land.

[21:39] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[21:40] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, and I was like, okay, perfect. Like, here's something I can do for a year while I wait for Devil Wears Prada.

[21:45] Drew Gasparini: And this was the Lord the LA production, right?

[21:47] Taylor Iman Jones: The LA production, yes. And I've of course I've auditioned for Hamilton before. I had been talking about trying to get into that show for the years I was in New York City. I heard it's finally you know, uh yes, yes, I heard you're doing well.

[22:01] Drew Gasparini: Really, really is uh, you know, but then so here we are. I start Hamilton rehearsals. I'm the only newcomer, so it's already a truncated rehearsal process.

[22:11] Taylor Iman Jones: Um and we go to tech, we get our last day of final dress rehearsal, and then the next day is March 12th last year when everything shuts down.

[22:23] Drew Gasparini: I remember it well.

[22:25] Taylor Iman Jones: And then sometime last year, maybe it's in the beginning of this year, there's another notice about Devil Wears Prada being pushed back another year. So, yes, you're right. I am absolutely punching myself over both of these opportunities, Hamilton and Prada, but they both still feel like dreams, like fever dreams.

[22:46] Drew Gasparini: Because you haven't been able to experience it yet.

[22:48] Taylor Iman Jones: Not at all, yeah. So it's so wild to have a lot of people telling you, hey, so you're in the Devil Wears Prada, hey, so you're in Hamilton. You're like, am I? I I I could I have no idea. This is insane.

[22:59] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[22:59] Taylor Iman Jones: So it's that reality. And it's it's just strange. But you know, it's it's the two things I have been able to hold on to throughout this whole thing.

[23:08] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[23:08] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, you know, I have to remain grateful, and I'm so grateful for them. It is it is wild to see my name in a headline with those titles. It doesn't make sense. And I I think because I still haven't done them, it really won't make sense, and it really won't feel real until I but then one then before you know it, you're just gonna be on that stage and you're gonna be looking to your right, and there's Beth Leavel.

[23:30] Drew Gasparini: And looking to your right because I know the blocking already.

[23:32] Taylor Iman Jones: But you'll be looking to your right and Beth level will be there, and you'll be there opening night, and Elton John will be there, and Shayna Taub, who I love, and I'm so excited you get to work with Shayna. And I just like that that team is gonna be epic, and it's you, babe. It's still you. That's why it does that just make like you just nailed it. It the the team of that show is so epic and continues to grow into like what I think is just the right direction, and and they're just putting the right people on their team, and I'm so excited that it's not real.

[24:03] Taylor Iman Jones: Like, I am a huge fan of Shayna Taub. I'm like, Ellen John, are you kidding? And it's a hero of that level, and yeah, and James Elsop, who's gonna be our choreographer, it's just like insane. It it is insane, and it does not feel real that it's me, but I am kind of like I as we inch closer now, and like I get my second vaccine on Friday, so things feel real.

[24:22] Drew Gasparini: Like girl, I get my second on Monday. Here we go.

[24:25] Taylor Iman Jones: Let's get back to work. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Um like it, I I am starting to um like tell myself to like sit more in that reality and sit more in that foundation.

[24:38] Drew Gasparini: Please do.

[24:38] Taylor Iman Jones: And you know, see that for myself and be like, and you know, it's it's been a hard year for everybody, and yeah, dude. I've had my ups and my downs, but I'm like, yo, babe, like you have to get through this because like once this starts, like you're gonna take over the world. Like, you know, I'm just like I mean, and like listen to the resume we've already listed. You've already taken over the world, a big, at least a huge quadrant of the world, and it's just gonna get bigger and bigger and bigger from there. And I think it's important for people to hear this. Just like how, like, if you're not in the immediate theater community, and you were part, like you watched the whole world shut down, of course, but like there were shows that were like a day from opening. Wasn't six like about to open the next day? And like all these things were on these precipices. Is that I don't know how to pluralize that word. Press a pie, precipite. I'm gonna let you go with it.

[25:30] Drew Gasparini: All right, great, thank you.

[25:31] Taylor Iman Jones: Uh precipices and uh, you are about to go off this. I had the Karate Kid announcement like one month before all this, and there's been moments of I'm never gonna work again. We're always canceled forever. But now, like talking to the producers and you're getting back in the full tilt of it, you're like, oh shit, okay, maybe we got a uh a year longer to wait to get there, but man alive, we're still doing it, and that's exciting.

[25:54] Drew Gasparini: So I'm so excited for you. Wow, you guys, just interrupting the interview real fast to say, don't you love Taylor Iman Jones? She's so chilled, she's so relaxed, and I love that demeanor. It's the perfect yin to my yang, my big loud, crazy over-caffeinated Italian yang. Anyway, as always, I'm here to remind you guys how you can support our guests on this podcast, and that is by following them on their social medias. They're all tremendous artists with a lot going on. So follow Taylor, follow Taylor. I can't talk. I've been drinking this morning. Follow Taylor at Instagram or TikTok or Twitter at Taylor Iman Jones and see what she has going on. And hey, while you're in the spirit of supporting artists doing their thing, please go ahead and click subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify.

You get it. Subscribe to the podcast, will ya? Uh, real quick, tangent, okay? Yeah. The older I get, the less I appreciate feet. Maybe my own feet. But just feet in general, I think are really starting to bum me out. And I don't want to kink shame anybody, but like, do you understand the sexual nature toward feet? Do you get it? Because I really don't.

[27:14] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh, I also hate feet. I've always hated feet. I hate my own feet. I just don't touch me with them. I don't need, don't put them up anywhere around. Like, I, yeah, and not to share, like whatever you need to do, like that's great for everybody else. But for my preference, I keep feet away from me, please. I'm getting to a point in my life where I'm starting to wear galoshes to bed. I don't even like having my bare feet in my bed with me. Just the idea just bums me out.

[27:43] Drew Gasparini: Uh, before we, uh, I wanna, before we talk a little bit more about career stuff, let's go into some stupid questions. How's that sound?

[27:51] Taylor Iman Jones: Great. Love to, I love stupid. I love time-wasting questions. It's one of my biggest, like, you know what? We have nothing but time these days.

[27:59] Drew Gasparini: It's true. True that. True that. Uh, alright, so let's waste a little more time together. Um, I just bought something that I want to plug right now, and it has to do with oral hygiene, which is something I'm a huge advocate of. And I've met adults in my life who say they only brush their teeth once a day. And that really bums me out. Violently bums me out. Um, I bought a tongue scraper the other day.

[28:27] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh, have you ever tried a tongue scraper?

[28:29] Drew Gasparini: No, but I have been thinking about it.

[28:32] Taylor Iman Jones: It'll change your life. You will never feel like you have bad breath ever again. Truly. I think I'm getting rid of a bunch of taste buds, but my breath is a plus. Is there a product that you've been using that you would just like to talk about right now? I have, uh, there's no sponsor or anything. You can just name anything you like, and let's just try to convince me that I should go get one.

[28:53] Taylor Iman Jones: Well, I mean, because we're talking about this, um, for Christmas, I asked my parents for a water flosser.

[29:00] Drew Gasparini: Oh, yeah.

[29:01] Taylor Iman Jones: And so I have one of those big, like, water flossers now.

[29:05] Drew Gasparini: Epic.

[29:06] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh my god, it chat, like you said, it makes me feel so clean and so healthy. Um, because you know, flossing is hard for everybody, but um, I've been told by dentists as well that my teeth are really close together.

[29:17] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[29:18] Taylor Iman Jones: And when I floss, it hurts. Like it hurts my gums, and I know you're supposed to wait, but like even after months and months, like everything still hurts. So I was like, I don't want to do this.

[29:26] Drew Gasparini: You got great teeth. Did you have braces?

[29:28] Taylor Iman Jones: No.

[29:29] Drew Gasparini: You didn't have braces?

[29:31] Taylor Iman Jones: No.

[29:32] Drew Gasparini: Your teeth just look like that.

[29:34] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes, yes. Okay. I have, um, good teeth privilege, but, uh, what I will say is I get cavities like a mofo. I have more cavities than anybody I know in my entire life.

[29:45] Drew Gasparini: How many cavities have you had?

[29:47] Taylor Iman Jones: Over 20.

[29:48] Drew Gasparini: Wow.

[29:49] Taylor Iman Jones: Like from thinking about like when I was a kid to like now as an adult.

[29:52] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[29:53] Taylor Iman Jones: What is it? Just sugar or just like that's just genetics.

[29:56] Drew Gasparini: I think both because you love that sugar.

[29:59] Taylor Iman Jones: I love candy.

[30:00] Drew Gasparini: Oh, same here. Oh my god, I love that. What's your favorite candy?

[30:03] Taylor Iman Jones: Kit Kats, like Kit Kats, Reese's, like cheap M&Ms and just plain chocolate M&Ms. Like, I love the peanut too, but just cheap.

[30:12] Drew Gasparini: Right at the register.

[30:13] Taylor Iman Jones: Cheap. That's, that's so, you sound like a real junkie right now.

[30:18] Drew Gasparini: It doesn't matter. Just chocolate. Cheap. It doesn't, I'll buy it for anything. Like they came out with Kit Kat thins.

[30:26] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah.

[30:27] Drew Gasparini: And I saw the commercial and I gasped. Like that's how bad it is. Like, I saw them and I was like, I got an issue with the thins because I bought, because I'm an Oreo freak.

[30:37] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh, I am an Oreo fanatic.

[30:39] Drew Gasparini: Those Oreo thins?

[30:40] Taylor Iman Jones: What's all, I'm still eating the entire sleeve.

[30:44] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, I don't do the Oreo thins. That doesn't help me feel better about the amount of Oreos I'm eating. And I do this, I do this, this is my fat kid brain. I'll do things like I buy a whole thing of double stuffed Oreos and then immediately have the regret. I'm like, why did I do that? So my brain goes, just eat them all right now. Then they won't be here.

[31:03] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes.

[31:05] Drew Gasparini: How does that make any sense? How do I let my brain get away with tricking me into this? You know, like, uh, because living with my parents, I am recognizing where a lot of my bad habits come from.

[31:18] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh god, me too.

[31:19] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, and now you know my parents, you know, they're grandparents now, so they're not even trying to buy healthy food.

[31:25] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, yeah.

[31:26] Drew Gasparini: Like my mom's like, okay, what three bags of chips do you want? Let's get like three bags of like family size candy sharing things like muffins and cookies. Like I'm the one who's like, Mom, we don't need this. Like, desperately trying to save myself. I've given in now, and I'm like, whatever, I'm here. I'm gonna just indulge in this.

[31:46] Taylor Iman Jones: Good for you.

[31:47] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god. Let it change everything about you. Let it change your entire shape and the way you feel. And just like, why not? Go dive into the bad food. I say go for it. Uh, alright. And we're gonna play a little game, okay? It's called every fourth question.

[31:59] Taylor Iman Jones: Okay.

[32:02] Drew Gasparini: So I'm gonna toss you some rapid-fire, uh, this or that questions, and then I'm gonna give you a would you rather as the fourth question? But I'm gonna try to get you those three first three ones, uh, to keep your brain loosey-goosey, so you answer, and then you can justify all the answers as you want. Okay, ready? Here we go. Taylor, cat or dog?

[32:20] Taylor Iman Jones: Dog.

[32:23] Drew Gasparini: Seinfeld or Friends?

[32:25] Taylor Iman Jones: Seinfeld.

[32:27] Drew Gasparini: Apples or bananas?

[32:32] Taylor Iman Jones: Apples.

[32:33] Drew Gasparini: Taylor, would you rather always feel like you have to sneeze and never get to, or would you never or never be able to complete a yawn?

[32:33] Taylor Iman Jones: Yawn.

[32:33] Drew Gasparini: You'd never be able to complete a yawn.

[32:47] Taylor Iman Jones: Really?

[32:48] Drew Gasparini: You'd rather have, you ever done that?

[32:50] Taylor Iman Jones: I think I have PTSD because every time I shared a room with my brother, if I tried to yawn, he would shove his fucking finger in my mouth, and then I'd never get the oxygen my brain needed.

[33:00] Drew Gasparini: So I have this like fear of never finishing a yawn.

[33:03] Taylor Iman Jones: Were you yawning without covering your mouth?

[33:06] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, is that rude?

[33:07] Taylor Iman Jones: That's rude.

[33:08] Drew Gasparini: That's ridiculous.

[33:09] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh, I only say that because my dad did that to me.

[33:11] Drew Gasparini: Oh, really?

[33:12] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes, and it was to help me to always remember. So he was like, if your hand isn't covering your mouth, I'm gonna get in there.

[33:18] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god, because what feels better than like a completed yawn?

[33:20] Taylor Iman Jones: Nothing.

[33:21] Drew Gasparini: It feels like, what feels worse than having to sneeze and then never getting to? You're right. I mean, like, that's like never getting to orgasm out of your face. That's what that means.

[33:29] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, but it's also pain and that tingle. Like, I couldn't imagine just like being stuck in that no one. Horrible. Uh, okay, just a few more for you. Summer or winter?

[33:38] Taylor Iman Jones: Summer.

[33:40] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, Bay Area girl. Uh, rock or jazz?

[33:43] Taylor Iman Jones: Jazz.

[33:45] Drew Gasparini: Alright. West Coast or East Coast?

[33:48] Taylor Iman Jones: West Coast?

[33:49] Drew Gasparini: Oh, I said that so fast.

[33:50] Taylor Iman Jones: You did.

[33:51] Drew Gasparini: It came right out. But like, no, but I love New York so much.

[33:57] Taylor Iman Jones: Okay. Now, would you rather have penises for fingers or a butthole for a mouth?

[34:08] Drew Gasparini: The world wants to know.

[34:09] Taylor Iman Jones: I know. Does it, is the butthole still? Let me repeat the question so everybody listens. I think it bears repeating. Would you rather have, would you rather, yeah, yeah, sure. You can ask me follow-up questions too. Would you rather have penises for fingers?

[34:19] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[34:24] Taylor Iman Jones: Or a butthole for a mouth?

[34:26] Drew Gasparini: What are your follow-up questions?

[34:28] Taylor Iman Jones: So the, for the mouth part, does it still work like a mouth? Is it just like your lips are the butthole?

[34:34] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, but I don't think you get the same, you see how like how flex can I sleep? Like, can you still eat food?

[34:39] Taylor Iman Jones: No, I think you have to eat through a straw, honestly.

[34:43] Drew Gasparini: I mean, it's a butthole.

[34:44] Taylor Iman Jones: Sure.

[34:44] Drew Gasparini: Oh, fair, fair. Okay, I hear you. So you'd be talking like this, become very full of time. Um, and then are your fingers, do they like work like penises? Like, are they like, are they sensitive to everything?

[34:51] Taylor Iman Jones: I don't think like they pee or have fluids or anything like that, but I also want to preface that they are not hardened penises. Like they don't have the same texture as your fingers.

[35:01] Drew Gasparini: I'm a butthole for a mouth.

[35:05] Taylor Iman Jones: You'd rather have a butthole for a mouth. You don't want to be the, uh, the Pan's Labyrinth monster that has penis fingers.

[35:11] Drew Gasparini: No, no. At least I can like overdraw my lips if I have a butthole for a mouth.

[35:16] Taylor Iman Jones: That is true. You can always get them tattooed on and get a real thing.

[35:20] Drew Gasparini: But I don't care.

[35:22] Taylor Iman Jones: Okay. Uh, desert or jungle?

[35:25] Drew Gasparini: Jungle.

[35:26] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh, same here. Except for like bugs, but like same here.

[35:29] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, yeah. Uh, Disney or Looney Tunes?

[35:33] Taylor Iman Jones: Ooh, Looney Tunes with that choice.

[35:36] Drew Gasparini: I'm really happy you said Looney Tunes. I'm really tired. Disney gets so much credit for like everything. It's crazy. Uh, okay, and hot or cold?

[35:44] Taylor Iman Jones: Hot.

[35:45] Drew Gasparini: Hot. Uh, would you rather have hooves or a tail?

[35:50] Taylor Iman Jones: Tail.

[35:51] Drew Gasparini: God, you flew right into that. Explain.

[35:53] Taylor Iman Jones: I don't know. I just thought about that before in my life.

[35:57] Drew Gasparini: Like, you've thought about this before.

[36:00] Taylor Iman Jones: Well, like, honestly.

[36:02] Drew Gasparini: Climb trees.

[36:03] Taylor Iman Jones: I don't know. Hit people with it. Um.

[36:05] Drew Gasparini: You think that if you have a tail, you climb trees?

[36:09] Taylor Iman Jones: I think because in my mind, it's like a long tail that like you have mastery over and could like wrap around things.

[36:15] Drew Gasparini: Oh, okay. Like, I see.

[36:16] Taylor Iman Jones: Like Magellan's Tale from Eureka's Castle. Did you ever watch that show?

[36:20] Drew Gasparini: No.

[36:20] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh, okay. Well then I'm about to sound real old again. Let's just move on.

[36:26] Drew Gasparini: Move on. Now let's talk about the West Coast East Coast thing for a second. Yeah. Because I've lived in New York for 13 years and I'm from the Bay Area most of my, uh, most of my life, 18 years, and then I lived in LA and then New York. I love the West Coast, but I think I've always had this like East Coast, at least New York personality in terms of my exuberance and anxiety and excitement and things like that. Uh, so I probably would have said East Coast, to be frank, except for all my family's here, and that's lovely. But why what made you say West Coast so fast?

[37:02] Taylor Iman Jones: You know, I don't know, and I think that's why I reacted afterwards because I was like, wait, let me take it back. I think just because that's where I'm from, you know, like this is, you know, this is where my family's from, this is where my first friends are from. This is where, you know, um, I talk about the Bay Area Theater scene a lot because I owe everything I am to it, but I do plan on always like returning back to it. You know, I love coming back here to a performance of, but I kind of agree with like what you just said about myself that even when I was 13, like stepping foot in New York City, I was like, oh, this is my air, like this is where I'm supposed to be, you know.

[37:37] Drew Gasparini: Um, I feel that when I'm there, I miss it so.

[37:40] Taylor Iman Jones: Oh my god. Like even my friends there are like, we can't believe you haven't been here for like over a year now. And I feel that as well. Like that is, yeah, I miss New York like as much as I miss the people almost, you know. It was so crazy. You know, at the top of this pandemic, like everybody left, everybody went away from New York, and I didn't get out in time because I got sick. So I felt like everyone left. And then by the time, you know, eight months goes by, and I'm like, well, we haven't really been working on Karate Kid. I'm not about to sign a new lease out here. You know, it was like a lot of that mentality. So I left and now all my friends are back in New York, and I'm going back next month, but it's still been this like, God, I just, I, we kept, it was like ships in the night with everybody I knew in New York City. And now every time I see like a commercial where the Empire State Building's in it, I'm like sobbing. Like crazy. It affects me so, so viscerally. It's painful.

[38:41] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah, I know when I'm watching TV with my mom or dad or something, and even like a subway station sign cross, and I'm like, that's New York.

[38:51] Taylor Iman Jones: No, it's so embarrassing. But I'm not sure. But there is a lot of that, right? Like you're like, I mean, I've I catch myself telling people out here as if they've never been to New York. Most of the people I know have totally been to New York, but I'm like explaining why it's amazing. They're like, we know it's New York City. Of course, it's like, yes, it's amazing. I'm like, yeah, but you don't know how amazing. Let me tell you, it's like the most amazing place you've ever been. And it is. It really, really is. And it's hard. I mean, you know, I think the I think something that makes Bay Area natives that move to New York special is it is a very far move. So like you have to be very dedicated and it's a big leap.

You know, you can't take the train back to see your family on the weekends. You can't do that stuff. You know, you are limited to holidays because that flight is expensive, you know. Like and so it's hard to make the move. And New York City is hard. So you have to have, you know, the guts and the drive. Yep, and um the willingness, what I say, to like get through the mud in that city. Um, and that's what I always tell people if they're like debating on moving. I'm like, yo, I say yes to everyone, but like you have to be ready. Yeah, Joey Conis was on the podcast, and he said it best. It's so it's so easily put when he said when he said it. It was just it's a really hard life, but it's a really good life.

And I'm like, that's exactly it. Like, you if you're ready to experience the good, you have to get through this shit of it. You know what I mean? There's no, there's never a moment in New York where everybody's totally comfortable. You know, it's just like every day, every day you get on the subway, you're shoulder to shoulder with angry strangers. If you can do that every day and feel a little uncomfortable, then the good parts of it are gonna feel so good.

[40:45] Drew Gasparini: And like I hate driving, so even like the stinkiest, well, maybe not the stinkiest, but like the subway has always just been a dream to me because you know, Bay Area with traffic, and we have to drive everywhere, it's just exhausting. So I'm I'm on the subway, like was it what made you fall in love with New York? Like, what was uh the thing in pop culture that made you go, oh damn, New York looks amazing? Before you got to visit it.

[41:07] Taylor Iman Jones: It was Broadway, it was the fact that Broadway existed and it seemed like this magical land somewhere where like the best theater gets made. That's what we all you know think.

[41:17] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, yeah. Um, real quickly, I want to talk to you about a friend of mine, a friend of yours. You got to work with a uh a little man named Adam Guan. Can you talk to me about Adam Guan?

[41:25] Taylor Iman Jones: I love him. I want to have him on the podcast so bad. I think he's one of the best composers out there.

[41:31] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, totally.

[41:32] Taylor Iman Jones: Um, yes, I mean, I don't even know what to say. He's just such a good person. Yeah, like all in all, he's so chill. He makes you feel very comfortable. I mean, he he is. I mean, I'm short, so I guess he doesn't seem so tall. He's probably taller than me. So I'm like, I guess, I don't know. Um, and he's very sweet, you know. Um, I we did Scotland PA, so ours was a you know 70s themed ish, but contemporary musical. Um so you know, Adam draws from very specific styles, so you can hear the influences immediately, you're like, Oh, look at that like 70s disco, but then he's like let's you do you and like it into the new world and you know if you have ideas he's open to listening and um collaborating uh yeah he knows how it works like it it's when you see someone in this business who's as kind as that like unnecessarily kind you're just like okay these are the people I want to kind of surround myself with he's he's just one of those for sure and I just hope that I'm on his roster like I know I'm on his radar like I'm you are you played a like you were in his show he knows Andrew McDonald like he knows other people so I get that I'm like the JV you know I'm on junior varsity of asked for his like Kennedy Center concert one day but hopefully that'll happen one day yeah maybe she'll be busy God you know it's too bad you're about to be like so crazy famous because I feel like I just missed the mark.

[42:04] Drew Gasparini: I feel like I should have asked you many years ago to do some work with me and it never happened and now I'm like well now I'll never get you you're gonna be too big you're gonna be too well I mean you're also still creating things in your future unless karate kid is that's just that I retire.

[43:24] Taylor Iman Jones: That's the end nothing else.

[43:26] Drew Gasparini: So we missed it or maybe this you just never want to work with me and that was like your nice way of saying it which oh no that so wasn't what happened but now I know exactly how to like get out of wanting to you know just be like real nice like oh it's too bad we never got to work together.

[43:41] Taylor Iman Jones: It's like Drew you're you're 34. We have plenty of time.

[43:44] Drew Gasparini: It's like no I'm not doing anything else. Uh, I got a Twitter question for you. I just want to uh talk to you about it. And you talk a little bit about this, but this is a little more defined as a question. How was, because this person, her name is at Tahoe Girl, 63, she says, How was the San Francisco experience with Head Over Heels compared to or different from the Broadway experience?

[44:08] Taylor Iman Jones: Totally. Um, you know, uh, there's plenty to be said, obviously, like the show itself changed, but I will say, um, I actually think San Francisco audiences um got us more than New York. I I yeah. And I think you know Beautiful from the Bay, and I think San Francisco is just more open to like exploring new ideas and new spaces and like spaces that combine, you know, Head Over Heels was a fairy tale, inverse, rock musical that was also like queer and forward at the same time, feeling timeless. And I think San Francisco was like ready for that discussion, and they really welcomed us with open arms. Where I think New York, just in its nature, is a like a bit more critical. And because you know it's Broadway, so they're just criticizing everything.

Yeah, um, I think a lot of our reviews were just like, we don't know what this is. And so and we were kind of like, yeah, it's new. And so that's why it like felt like it didn't work for some people. Right. Um I do get that in New York. Sometimes like you feel like people are going to the show to hate the show.

[45:13] Taylor Iman Jones: Like they have such a preconceived thought of how they want to feel rather than going in open and like accepting it and experiencing it as it happens. They're like, ugh, I don't know. I saw the poster outside, doesn't look like my cup of tea. And then they sit down and they won't allow themselves to be surprised by how good it is. They'll just be like, no, I made my decision before I saw it. I didn't like this. Like, I think that happens in New York.

[45:35] Drew Gasparini: It does.

[45:35] Taylor Iman Jones: The one comment that frustrated me the most in Head Over Heels was seeing people outside, and they're like, wow, this was great. I didn't know I was gonna like it. I thought I was gonna hate it.

[45:44] Drew Gasparini: Right, right.

[45:47] Taylor Iman Jones: We heard that so much. I thought I was gonna hate it. I did like, and that told me like it's not being sold correctly. You know, um so that also tells me that there's a large number of people who aren't seeing our show because they think they're gonna hate it. Yeah, and then now really I feel the impact of the show now, like years later, when other artists and other actors and just creatives and kids um comment on you know how it impacted them and how good it was and how much they still remember it. And I think it was a bit, you know, that show had a lot of newcomers, like all the kind of the the kids in the cast, and then it had a bunch of like Broadway legends in it as well. So it was just cool to like that show has a history, and I feel like it's like a little mini legend, even though it didn't get it, it's a mini-legend, and you know what was really cool about it, and I I've known Bonnie for such a long time.

It was really cool to see Bonnie finally get this role that like she deserved. I mean, like she really that was a that would have been that star-making role for her. I really think that that was such a big thing.

[46:54] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, it it was and it is if we ran longer, she would have had a Tony by now. Um, but and you know uh it wasn't my debut, so you know, I didn't get like the like yay debut stuff, but um, because you know I was Bonnie's partner in that show. I was witness to a lot of her best moments and special moments, and um, you know, I feel like there's a bunch of different ways that people make their debuts. I was thinking about this the other day. Some people you make it as replacing somebody in the middle of a run. Sometimes you make it opening a brand new show. Sometimes you're like Bonnie, and you've been in New York for 10 plus years. And when you make your debut, like it infects the entire Broadway community.

[47:40] Taylor Iman Jones: Yeah.

[47:41] Drew Gasparini: And hers was one of those that I could just like people that I had been looking up to and been fans of coming to Bonnie and been like, I'm so excited you're five like made your debut. It's so exciting to see you here.

[47:52] Taylor Iman Jones: So big time.

[47:52] Drew Gasparini: Um yeah, it's it was very cool to be a part of her history. I I always been saying that. Like that's kind of how I felt like because you know, for the writers, for the composers of that I all know. I'm pals with all these guys. So when Joe Iconis finally got Be More Chill on Broadway, oh yeah. I was like, dude, we've been wanting like you were like the the little golden child, and we all were behind you. And so like to finally see you do it, it it makes you feel closer to it, I guess is what it is, and that's a really cool thing. But also like finally someone getting the do that they put the hard work into, and I think that that's a really cool experience as well.

[48:28] Drew Gasparini: Uh Taylor, we're gonna end real quick here, but uh before I do, I just wanted to let you know that once we're done, just give it a minute when I push uh stop on the recording because it takes a second for things to download, yeah, and then we can we can bounce off and be good.

[48:43] Taylor Iman Jones: Cool.

[48:43] Drew Gasparini: Um Taylor, I really really want to say, on behalf of the Bay Area, because I speak for I'm like the Lorax for the trees. I speak for the Bay. I uh I couldn't be more excited for the things you've done because of everything you said, that it's about the others, it's about, and you you have something so special that I I hope kids understand and and look to you as an example of this. Individuality, uniqueness. You are so tremendous to watch on stage. One of my favorites in recent years, and I can't wait to see the rest of your success kind of unfold truly. If there's something you could say to somebody else who is young, maybe in the Bay Area, doing the community theater shit and having big grand dreams of Broadway, what would you tell that person?

[49:31] Taylor Iman Jones: It's totally possible. Um, you know, there are hundreds and hundreds and thousands of jobs in New York City on Broadway. Um it's super super hard. So you just have to be ready to put in the work. Believe in yourself. Believe in every single part of yourself. Your whole being is what makes you unique and special, and those gifts are what you can bring to the world, and the world deserves to see them, and they deserve to be seen. And so just remember that and never give up.

[50:10] Drew Gasparini: Well, you heard it here first, folks. Taylor, thank you so much. Uh continued success, and you know, in real life, I really do mean it. I I hope we can work together someday. And beyond that, I look forward to seeing Hamilton in LA when I come to visit. I look forward to seeing Prada when that hits the stage, and hopefully we can just get a martini when all of this is over and just have a real life chat, okay?

[50:32] Taylor Iman Jones: Yes.

[50:33] Drew Gasparini: Thank you for everything.

[50:34] Taylor Iman Jones: Thank you for your time.

[50:35] Drew Gasparini: Thank you.

[50:36] Taylor Iman Jones: Bye.

[50:37] Drew Gasparini: Bye.

[50:37] Taylor Iman Jones: Well, god damn it.

[50:39] Drew Gasparini: Thank you so much for listening. I really love when you do that. Now we're talking as a proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network. You can find out more about me, Drew Gasparini, and this podcast at BPN.fm slash now. We're talking. You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at DrewGasparini or on TikTok, which is at the Drew Gasparini. They've shadow banned me. So tell TikTok to go f itself and continue to follow me there. Hey, make sure to subscribe and rate this podcast wherever you stream your podcast. That's a very important part of this outro, so please don't ignore it. And let's all give a round of applause for Taylor Iman Jones. I adore her. This was a really fun interview, and I hope you guys enjoyed listening to it. Hey, while I have you here checking out the very end of this podcast, I just want to say: if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Goodbye, everybody.