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[0:02] Drew Gasparini: Hey guys, Drew Gasparini here from Now We're Talking with me, Drew Gasparini, and I'm just letting you know that you can now support this podcast by becoming a patron of our show on Patreon.

[0:13] Drew Gasparini: Just go to Patreon.com/slash NWT Podcast. And for as little as five dollars a month, you can help keep this podcast alive.

[0:21] Drew Gasparini: We have so much fun doing this podcast, but it's so much work from booking our star-studded guest list to the research I do, writing, hosting, recording, editing. Holy mother effing crap, the editing and beyond, this particular podcast is a one-man operation through and through.

[0:38] Drew Gasparini: So five dollars a month could really go a long way. Not to mention the perks you get by becoming a patron. Go to patreon.com/slash NWT Podcast to see how you can support us today.

[0:48] Drew Gasparini: Thanks to our newest patrons, Katie, Elizabeth, Becca, Thomas, and Sheena. We couldn't do it without you. And now what you're all waiting for, the Mada Flippin' Show.

[1:00] Drew Gasparini: Hi there, it's Razzie Award-winning non-actor Drew Gasparini here with another episode of Now We're Talking, the podcast, whose special skills include burping the alphabet and farting the Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:12] Drew Gasparini: I'll be honest. I truly love today's guest. Like truly, we all know her from her hilarious portrayal as Christmas Eve in the original cast of Avenue Q. She's also starred in several Broadway shows, including Suessical, Les Misérables, Nine to Five, Cinderella, and more.

[1:27] Drew Gasparini: On top of being a theater favorite, she's also been seen gracing the screen in TV series such as NBC's Smash and most recently in the Apple Plus series Schmigadoon, where she played Florence Menlove. You love her, I love her. Buckle up buttheads, because now we're talking with Ann Harada.

[1:44] Drew Gasparini: We are here with one of my favorite humans, Ann Harada.

[1:48] Ann Harada: Hi, Drew.

[1:49] Drew Gasparini: Hello. I'm so excited you're here today, and do forgive me, I'm really happy you're not in this room with me right now. Last night I went to a tremendous Greek restaurant in Astoria in Queens.

[2:03] Drew Gasparini: And I didn't know this, but the older I get, the more I realize most foods make me tremendously gassy. And I, for that reason, I'm thrilled that we're doing this remotely and not in the same room. Although I love, yeah, you're welcome for that. Although I do love when we are in the same room together, as rare as that happens, it's always been a joy.

[2:26] Drew Gasparini: I'm just gonna, I mean, like, I think, and you can agree or disagree, I think you're a humongous icon in the Broadway community, ladies and gentlemen. She's giving me the look of how dare you! Why would you say something like that? But that's the truth.

[2:41] Drew Gasparini: And people I was talking to leading up to this, I was like, tomorrow I've got this interview with Ann Harada, she's on the podcast. They're like, What? How did you get her? And I'm starting to realize you're an easy ask. You're just such an easy ask, Ann. I'm putting it out there. If you guys want Ann to do something, all you have to do is ask, and she might just say fucking yes.

[3:03] Drew Gasparini: Because the way we met was me or Alex Breitman and I together writing you and saying, Will you be a part of this reading of or this concert of It's Kind of a Funny Story? It's before we even really had a show written, and you just gave us a big thumbs up and said, Yeah, I'll do it. And then I realized we totally underused your talent.

[3:24] Drew Gasparini: And I think you had like one little speaking line and you sang some oohs and ahs, and the whole time I was like, what a waste of Ann Harada this was.

[3:34] Ann Harada: I mean, not at all. Here's the thing: I mean, people, you're not, you can't always be number one on the call sheet. Do you know what I mean? And that's fine.

[3:42] Ann Harada: And I don't understand. I've never been there, so I don't know what to do.

[3:45] Drew Gasparini: Well, me neither, but I'm just saying you can't always be because I know this.

[3:49] Ann Harada: And I also feel like, what's the point of doing this stuff if you're not gonna work with young writers who have something to say?

[3:58] Drew Gasparini: Well, it's like I'm not interested in just doing the same old shit over and over again. I know that's hard to believe looking at my resume, but it is true.

[4:07] Drew Gasparini: So speaking of your resume, can we talk about Suessical for a minute?

[4:15] Ann Harada: I would love to.

[4:16] Drew Gasparini: Okay. It is one of my favorite musicals and one of my favorite scores. And, you know, Stephen Flaherty was a mentor of mine when I first moved out here, and like he was just so open to me asking him questions and trying to get my foot in any sort of door. He was just so tremendous and sweet, and like anybody who's worked with him could probably say the same thing. He's just a teddy bear.

[4:38] Drew Gasparini: But you are quoted as referring to this experience as too much drama for one show. What was the drama? What do you mean when you say that?

[4:49] Ann Harada: I know it kind of had an ill-fated future, but it was, you know, it started out so dreamy, you know, the whole concept of doing a new show by Ahrens and Flaherty, you know, everybody's idols, based on the works of Dr. Seuss. And it was just like dreamy.

[5:09] Ann Harada: Okay, so I was in that first iteration where it was just sort of like we were in a rehearsal room singing through it, and I was like, this is wonderful. Then they were like, we're gonna do a workshop in Canada. Because at that point, Live Event was involved, and it was like, okay, great.

[5:28] Ann Harada: So we go to Canada, we do this workshop. It was all just, you know, t-shirts and jeans and ladders, and very simple. And everybody from New York, all the producers in the world from New York came to see it, and they were like, this is a surefire, wonderful, wonderfulness. We were like, we are this is it. We are going to Broadway, we're gonna run 20 years.

[5:47] Ann Harada: Okay. So we go, so we go, and somewhere in the part where we weren't doing stuff, like part of the way to New York, it was like we lost our star, Andrea Martin, who was the Cat in the Hat because she wanted to stay in California with her son who was graduating, and I was like, that's cool.

[6:08] Ann Harada: Yeah, and then she was replaced by David Shiner, a famous mime. Uh-huh. I don't think we have to go any further than this.

[6:16] Drew Gasparini: Okay, so then so now we're in New York with a famous mime as the lead.

[6:24] Ann Harada: And surprisingly, we have to change the show because he couldn't do any of the other things.

[6:32] Drew Gasparini: Because he's a mime, right?

[6:34] Ann Harada: Because he's a really amazing mime.

[6:37] Ann Harada: But mime does not necessarily include sing, dance, or talk. Can I ask a question right there?

[6:44] Drew Gasparini: Who was like, you know, here's a great replacement for Andrea Martin?

[6:48] Ann Harada: Who was and they said still to this day have no idea who was in charge of that decision. That is the most crazy flip of events of just like, I know, some guy who no one's ever heard sing or even speak. He'd be a great Cat in the Hat.

[7:04] Drew Gasparini: Well, you know, obviously he's a brilliant mime.

[7:08] Ann Harada: Yeah, but like, you know this is a musical, though.

[7:12] Drew Gasparini: Right, it doesn't necessarily mean the two things overlap in a Venn diagram.

[7:17] Ann Harada: I'm like, what? No, no. So that's like someone saying he's a really good chef. I think he'd be great as the Cat.

[7:25] Drew Gasparini: He'd be so great.

[7:26] Ann Harada: Oh my God. Yeah, like you're just like, what?

[7:30] Ann Harada: So we get, you know, so like we get in the room and we start trying to, you know, put the show together, and it becomes really apparent like he can't do stuff.

[7:38] Ann Harada: He can't do a bunch of the stuff. So then they're like rewriting songs madly to try to figure this out or come up with stuff that's better on him. You know what I mean?

[7:49] Ann Harada: Which is fine. That's a normal part of the process for anybody.

[7:53] Ann Harada: Accustom the show to the stars sometimes.

[7:55] Drew Gasparini: Correct. And we were just like, wow, wow, okay. So the show that we ended up with in, I know it sounds ridiculous, but the show we ended up with in New York was not at all the show we had done in Canada.

[8:10] Ann Harada: But like that's got, that's making my heart break because when you're a part of the experience and you get all the feedback from the producers, and you're like, wow, this, you know, you're having the thoughts, and who doesn't in the first workshop where you're like this is gonna run for 20 years?

[8:22] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god, we're all set with jobs forever, forever. And then what a flip around.

[8:26] Ann Harada: We gotta make this show work for a mime. The other thing that is so funny is like, how can you go from like, okay, we can't get this star to play the Cat in the Hat, but you know what? To ensure ticket sales, let's get that mime that some people know.

[8:41] Drew Gasparini: Like, I'm sure he's a famous mime, but even if you're the most famous mime, how well known are you? Like, that is niche.

[8:48] Ann Harada: That's so niche. I mean, you'd have to be Marcel Marceau.

[8:52] Drew Gasparini: Exactly.

[8:55] Ann Harada: Right. But I mean, and even then, I mean, I'm sure I'm sure at that point he was way dead.

[9:00] Drew Gasparini: And so, yeah.

[9:03] Ann Harada: No, I mean, it was just not, it was just like a bunch of really weird bad decisions, like all kind of lumping onto themselves.

[9:11] Ann Harada: And in Boston, we had a famously bad kind of try-out experience. Where, you know, that was when the chat boards were like really a thing.

[9:20] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[9:21] Ann Harada: They probably mean like this is probably when chat boards were like the thing, you know. Nothing, because nobody else had any, there was no other way to get like in-person information on stage.

[9:30] Drew Gasparini: Right, right.

[9:30] Ann Harada: It's not like now where everybody's got a phone and you know, whatever.

[9:33] Drew Gasparini: So, um, yeah.

[9:36] Ann Harada: So the word back from the chat boards was like, this show is a disaster.

[9:40] Ann Harada: You know, they changed, they fired like a bunch of the creatives right at like zero hour, like during the dress parade, the costume designer was fired.

[9:53] Drew Gasparini: Oh, dress parade.

[9:55] Ann Harada: Oh my god.

[9:57] Ann Harada: That's like going to like the Indy 500 and being like, whoever's driving that car, he's fired.

[10:03] Drew Gasparini: The guy in the seat is fired.

[10:05] Ann Harada: Right, exactly. It was so bizarre because it was sort of like, why are you firing? She executed all the costumes like she said she was gonna.

[10:13] Ann Harada: That drawing looks just like my thing, you know what I mean?

[10:16] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, but it was just because they just didn't kind of know what it was, and when they saw it, they were like, Oh, this isn't what we want at all.

[10:24] Ann Harada: So it really wasn't her fault, but it was just the, you know, the producers going like, no, I don't like it.

[10:31] Drew Gasparini: So then they hired new people.

[10:34] Ann Harada: Right. You know, which was all fine, but that kind of chaos doesn't help you.

[10:41] Drew Gasparini: You've worked with many producers, I've worked with a good number of producers as well. And something I have found that is not a, I wouldn't say a common denominator between every single one of them, but there is a good chunk of them who fall under this category of the least creative people making all these creative decisions.

[11:00] Ann Harada: Is that something that sounds like it kind of happened in this moment here with Suessical?

[11:05] Ann Harada: You know, I don't know. Without shit talking anyone in particular. I mean, like, here's the thing because I don't really know who was in charge of these decisions.

[11:14] Ann Harada: I honestly don't. Like I can make big assumptions.

[11:18] Drew Gasparini: Sure.

[11:18] Ann Harada: Kind of like based on the people involved. But no, I know I don't really know because I was so far down on the food chain, I wasn't privy to any of this information.

[11:27] Ann Harada: But I just sort of feel it isn't that so much. I just sort of feel like what I've tend to forget sometimes, and even though I know a lot of producers and am friendly with a lot of producers, yeah.

[11:38] Ann Harada: What you kind of have to remember is as an actor, producers are your natural enemies.

[11:44] Drew Gasparini: Yes.

[11:44] Ann Harada: It's sort of like in the wild, there are predators and prey. You know what I mean?

[11:50] Drew Gasparini: Yes, I do.

[11:52] Ann Harada: And if you're one of those little, you know, bunny rabbits who probably shouldn't make friends with the falcon just because people's the innate nature of who we are is going to come out at some point.

[12:06] Drew Gasparini: Right, right.

[12:07] Ann Harada: Even if you're like, you know, very close and we're friendly and we all, you know, and like at some point when they stab you, you have to be like, I should have realized this might happen because that is.

[12:18] Drew Gasparini: I saw your talons miles ago.

[12:21] Ann Harada: But here that's like I know, you know who we are. Like that's sort of what it is. And so you're like, and so I it's like I like them. I feel I mean, I feel like I am friendly with some of my producers, but I don't know that I that I would ever be like, let's trust them 100%.

[12:39] Drew Gasparini: Could you say you'd call any of them up and be like, hey, what are you doing? Let's get dinner. Are they that? Do they ever evolve into that kind of friend for you?

[12:47] Ann Harada: Maybe way after the fact.

[12:50] Ann Harada: Wait. Once the blood is dry.

[12:53] Ann Harada: Once the show is done. Do you know what I mean?

[12:57] Drew Gasparini: Or like if we're not working, if we're not working together at the time, absolutely.

[13:01] Ann Harada: Yeah, yeah.

[13:02] Drew Gasparini: But if we're in a thing at the same time, never.

[13:06] Ann Harada: It's such a shame. I mean, with that show in particular, it's such a shame just because like when you get the talent like you and you get the talent like Aaron's and Flaherty, it's just like what a waste because it could have gone so, so, so big. You know, it could have gone so well. You know that show. Like, that's the thing. The score is perfect. There's nothing wrong with it. I still sing "A Person's A Person" no matter what. Oh, it like melts me to death.

[13:33] Drew Gasparini: And by the way, Ann just took a big sip of whiskey.

[13:36] Ann Harada: I don't know if anybody... It's iced tea in a bottle because that's how I roll.

[13:41] Drew Gasparini: That's how you roll.

[13:43] Ann Harada: She rolls hard. Uh, you've been on vacation recently, right?

[13:46] Ann Harada: Oh, I have not been on vacation. I'm in vacation right now.

[13:49] Drew Gasparini: Right now.

[13:49] Ann Harada: Oh my god, you're doing this with me right now when you're on vacation.

[13:52] Drew Gasparini: Slap on the wrist, Drew. Come on.

[13:54] Ann Harada: I'm, uh, yeah, I've been working. I was just in Atlanta shooting a movie.

[13:59] Drew Gasparini: Yes. Oh my god, wait, the music director of Karate Kid.

[14:02] Ann Harada: Yes, I know.

[14:04] Drew Gasparini: He told me his girlfriend was just hanging out with you in Atlanta.

[14:07] Ann Harada: That's right. It was great. We had a super good time.

[14:10] Drew Gasparini: Awesome. I love that girl, Anna.

[14:12] Ann Harada: Yeah, Anna, Anna Cruz Kane. That's her name.

[14:15] Drew Gasparini: Ana Cruz Kane.

[14:16] Ann Harada: Yes. Remember that name. She's fantastic.

[14:19] Drew Gasparini: I will remember that name. And I'm kind of in bed with her boyfriend.

[14:22] Ann Harada: So it's hard to...

[14:22] Drew Gasparini: What I heard.

[14:26] Ann Harada: Which is exciting. It's really exciting. And you know what? There's the same kind of stress I have. I don't know if you had this going into like Suzi-cal. And then we're going to talk about Avenue Q for a minute because like the experience is just so wildly different because Suzi-cal is based off these properties that are beloved and exist in the world. And, you know, Dr. Seuss, what an insane canon of amazing material. And then with where I am at with Anna's boyfriend Andrew Resnick, this amazing music director, the Karate Kid, we are working so hard to make sure that this does run for 20 years or whatever because the whole world wants it to not. You know what I mean? This is because you didn't have... You had message boards going on, and we have like the entire Twitterverse against us being like no one wants another revival, no one wants this to happen.

[15:19] Drew Gasparini: There is so much of that coming our direction.

[15:22] Ann Harada: It's not a revival, it's a music... it's an original music... an adaptation is what I meant to say. We don't want another beloved movie.

[15:30] Drew Gasparini: That's a drag for you.

[15:33] Ann Harada: Because that means you have to put all that shit in from the beloved movie that you think people will be mad if it's not there, even if it gets in the way of the storytelling.

[15:44] Drew Gasparini: I know it's a drag. It's hard to write the "wax on, wax off" number. You know what I mean?

[15:51] Ann Harada: Of course. Yeah, that's... you know it has to be there.

[15:55] Drew Gasparini: It's gotta be there. We can't just omit like the most quotable line.

[15:59] Ann Harada: Yeah.

[16:00] Drew Gasparini: It's like it's over. It's like they've gotta have a song about it. God help them. You know what I mean? Help us all. So when you go from experience, which I'm excited to have, you know, and I love this process with Karate Kid just because we have a really kick-ass team, and I think we do have something quite special and unique. But I'm excited to bounce to something else after this that is a little less pressured because the material is familiar to everybody else. And you had that privilege going into Avenue Q, which is when you look at what Bobby Lopez's career has become after Avenue Q with the Frozen and all the time. World domination, which is insane.

[16:37] Ann Harada: Perfect. Good. Good.

[16:39] Drew Gasparini: Yes. And it all started with nasty puppets. And that's what I love about the story. Um, it was one of my favorite... to this day, it's probably still like top five favorite musicals of all time because it's like the first time I think I peed in my pants laughing while in a theater.

[16:55] Ann Harada: That's a first. It happened. Um, do you think a show like Avenue Q could still be... like if it was written new, not if it was just, you know, or going to new world stages or getting revived here and there. Do you think if it was written new for today's audience, it would have the same holy shit effect that it had back in 2003 when this came out?

[17:18] Ann Harada: It's hard to say because it was so fresh then, like nothing had ever been seen like that before. There were so many parts of it that were so like revolutionary, like what? Puppets? What? You know, like social commentary, what? You know, like all that kind of stuff. Now, maybe people are a little more, you know, like this is sort of like part of the world now, but it wasn't then. Right. I mean, yes, I do think that if it was updated, it would have just the same sort of emotional impact. Because even as it is, and people giving me a hard time because of all of the politically incorrect things about it, and you know, things that are like trigger people now, the whole premise of it is universal.

It's never gonna change. There's always gonna be young people graduating from college and trying to figure out who they are in the world, yes, and figuring out how to make friends and survive in a big city or wherever, or just like how to grow up. Basically, that musical is about how to grow up and how to, you know, find yourself. And so that's never gonna change. It's always gonna be resonant. Yeah, you know, so I of course I think Avenue Q is timeless for a lot of these reasons.

[18:37] Drew Gasparini: Yes.

[18:38] Ann Harada: Now, like any other show or any other piece of art, you have to look at things in the context of the time they were written and why they were written that way.

[18:50] Drew Gasparini: Yes, I agree. I'm a big... I do not want shows to get canceled because they are problematic or because there are lines that are problematic or, you know, whatever. To me, it's like, yes, I can see how it would be hard to watch a production of Show Boat, but it doesn't mean I never want to see another production of Show Boat. I just want people to understand there are historical contexts and, you know, and it's like, and at the time, Show Boat was a revolutionary, you know.

[19:23] Ann Harada: I mean, you're just like you sit here and you just go like, uh.

[19:26] Drew Gasparini: Yes, you do. You go ugh.

[19:29] Ann Harada: That's what I do all the time. I can't say... I can't, you know, like I can't have this discussion, I can't have this discussion about like how inappropriate shit is now. It's like, well, yeah, it was written 70 years ago or whatever it was.

[19:42] Drew Gasparini: No, that's right, exactly. Like you just have to kind of like realize the things are written in the time period they're written in, and none of those people thought this work of art has to last forever.

[19:53] Ann Harada: Right. They all were like, we want the show to run.

[19:56] Drew Gasparini: That's all.

[19:56] Ann Harada: Right, exactly.

[20:00] Drew Gasparini: Do you think that like it's a patience thing? Like, there's a... like sometimes I feel like there's so much instant gratification that a younger audience, or like I call them the TikTok generation, because that's like where I kind of fall off and I don't understand whatever's happening. I can't get through Instagram, so don't look at me, okay. But there... because they have so many likes and follows, and they're getting validated, and they feel like every thought they have needs to be validated as well. And I'm sure I've been guilty of this in the recent past, but it just seems like they're expecting like Show Boat's a great example, okay? But it's a problem now, so can we just delete it from history? And it's like if you saw though the steps that that show took in the right direction for the time it was written, you'd understand the significance of this.

[20:55] Ann Harada: When you look at a character like Christmas Eve, there are people... there are people who I'm sure you've heard or have seen people would be like, this character needs to not exist because it's offensive to Asian Americans and things, and I could totally see where that narrative comes from. But if you take that character out, or if you redo the show the way it was when it was written, the entire heart is kind of reshaped. The idea behind the show is a little reshaped. And it is supposed to be commentary on everybody, not one specific person. And it really is that. And then it ends with that beautiful little mantra of, you know, for now.

[21:35] Drew Gasparini: That's a perfect way to look at it.

[21:37] Ann Harada: Is this only for now? You know, and then after this is good, we're gonna keep progressing, we're gonna keep going in the right direction. This is all just for now. Anyway, all this is to say is you were so kicked ass this Christmas Eve. And I think that in terms of where your placement is on the food chain, was it right after that show? Did you feel you got a little clicks higher up on that food chain?

[21:56] Ann Harada: After that show, I never had to explain who I was to anybody again.

[22:00] Drew Gasparini: What a great feeling.

[22:01] Ann Harada: Was what it was. Like after that, I go into a casting room and they go, Oh, she was the girl from Avenue Q. Whether they liked it or not, whether they saw it or not, it was all of a sudden it validated me enough to get into some different rooms. And that's really the whole struggle, man, is to get into the rooms.

[22:18] Drew Gasparini: That is a huge struggle. That's... I was just listening to this interview with Matt Damon talking about Good Will Hunting, and the reason that that show is probably still so, you know, beloved is because it's just about somebody who wants to be seen.

[22:35] Ann Harada: And that's exactly like the most human thing. And as an artist, we can all really click to that idea of, yeah, we're just trying to be seen. Because for some reason we think what we do is really important. We just want to be seen so we don't have to explain ourselves. So we can be taken for who we are and what we do, and I just kind of love that about that part of your story after Avenue Q.

[22:54] Ann Harada: No, I... you should have just gone straight offer only. How come it didn't go exactly that way?

[23:00] Ann Harada: Um, I would say that I am somewhat offer only these days.

[23:06] Drew Gasparini: Yes!

[23:07] Ann Harada: That's pretty good. All God knows, not all, because I still make more shitty self-tapes than anybody on the planet, but somewhat offer only. And I'll take it. I'm so happy when somebody just calls and drops an offer at my door. I'm like, okay, sure.

[23:25] Drew Gasparini: No matter what it is, you're like, I'll just take it.

[23:27] Ann Harada: It's great. Yeah, wow. You're playing King of the Skinheads, and we want you to play this part. You're like, what's the plan? Where do I have to be? Canada.

[23:39] Drew Gasparini: They're all filming in Canada.

[23:41] Ann Harada: Well, yeah, and you know, filming in Canada is awesome because they have actually figured out their COVID system really well. God help us out here. And when we shot Schmigadoon, I felt 100% safe all the time.

[23:57] Drew Gasparini: Right, like that was during the height of the state.

[23:59] Ann Harada: Oh yeah, it was totally like, yeah, it was... it was like September through November of, yeah, last year. That show, I just watched it. My girlfriend and I just watched it just like every other theater fan in the entire world and just loved the homage to old musical theater and like this, the just kind of making fun of what it was a little bit, like making fun of itself as like, yes, this is what happens in musicals, and you and Aaron Tveit and all these... it was just so, so great.

[24:27] Ann Harada: Uh, was playing the wife of a gay mayor always a dream for you?

[24:34] Ann Harada: I can honestly say I've been practicing for that probably since high school.

[24:38] Drew Gasparini: Uh-huh.

[24:39] Ann Harada: Yeah. Um, because that's when I had a gay boyfriend, you know.

[24:41] Drew Gasparini: Had you... had you worked with Alan Cumming?

[24:43] Ann Harada: By the way, it surprises me.

[24:45] Drew Gasparini: I hope you take this as a compliment, but it surprises me zero percent that you had a gay boyfriend in high school.

[24:50] Ann Harada: Oh no, who didn't?

[24:52] Drew Gasparini: Well, I mean, that's why, you know, when Cecily keeps interrupting me during my song, she's like, that was me in high school. I was like, oh man, that is so... you know what I mean? I so feel that.

[25:02] Ann Harada: Yes.

[25:04] Drew Gasparini: Um, who I adore and is still a friend of mine. You know what I mean?

[25:07] Ann Harada: Of course.

[25:08] Drew Gasparini: But um, great. Yes. Um, you know, Alan, no, I've never worked with Alan before, but of course we all know each other because theater is so tiny.

[25:15] Ann Harada: You're gonna make it.

[25:18] Drew Gasparini: When you're walking around Times Square, you feel like you're in the cafeteria at high school because you're like running into groups of people that you've like kind of, you know, like I think we're in the same English class.

[25:28] Ann Harada: That's what it feels like sometimes.

[25:31] Drew Gasparini: Well, it's like, you know, yeah, like of course it's like, yeah, I've met him at like a two, you know, million benefits or a party at somebody, and but like, you know, we never work together. And that was true of a lot of the people, but China with as well, I'm assuming you guys have to be a good one. Showth and I had done a audiobook together for Seth Rudetsky, but literally that was like the only time we'd ever hung out before.

[25:53] Ann Harada: Seth Rudetsky, who was your gay boyfriend in high school, right?

[25:56] Ann Harada: No, I wish. Oh my god, I wish. Oh, can you imagine having somebody who played piano that well as a gay boyfriend in high school? That would have been amazing. I've wanted to be recognized by Seth Rodetsky, like my whole career. It is the weird, desperate thing. So if you can put in a good word for me, because I don't think he's aware of who I am, but he knows a lot of my contemporaries, and I just want him to be aware.

[26:21] Drew Gasparini: You think so? You think he's got the thumb on the ball?

[26:24] Ann Harada: You know what? If they're still doing Stars in the House when Karate Kid comes out, baby, you are all over it.

[26:31] Drew Gasparini: From your mouth. I love it. Can we talk about Schmigadoon just for a minute in just terms of like when that gig came your way, which like was that like the dream of dreams? Being like, okay, this is a mini-series for a streaming network, a newer streaming network with Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong and Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth and all these amazing people. That's and it's a musical. What seriously? Were you like, yeah, I'll take it? Or were you like, is this really happening? Like, should we like—

[27:07] Ann Harada: Well, I mean, you know, again, I had a self-tape audition for it. God bless that I did right here where I am now. Only I didn't know. I did not have the green screen up. I had, you know, my mother-in-law's basement behind me. And literally Bernie Telsey at the callback was like, nice ironing board. I was like, thanks. You know, um, I'm doing the best I can for God's—

[27:39] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, man. Wait a way to call it out. We're all trying our best, god damn it, Bernie. Jesus Christ.

[27:47] Ann Harada: That is so funny. Um, is there like I I don't know why I wanted it to last so much longer. I just wanted it to keep going. And it was only these like six episodes, I think, right? Is that right? Why? Why can't that that could be a season two? Couldn't it be like, you know.

[28:03] Drew Gasparini: There's plenty of ideas. I mean, I know they have plenty of ideas, but it's up to Apple to renew it, right? It's not up to any of us.

[28:11] Ann Harada: Who do I call? Who do I call at Apple? Is it?

[28:13] Drew Gasparini: I have no idea. I've never met Apple or I've never met one person from that.

[28:18] Ann Harada: Well, why would I? I mean, again, it's like, you know, you're in the cast of a you're like number down on the list of a cast of a thing. They're not gonna—

[28:24] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, I mean, honest to God, when you think of the big stars in this, you couldn't have been that far down on the list. You have like a huge number or a really funny hysterical number.

[28:34] Ann Harada: There I'm pretty far down on the line.

[28:36] Drew Gasparini: I don't buy it. And you know what? If that's the case, who I'll call Joe Show Business and I'll call it.

[28:41] Ann Harada: Yeah, okay, you figure that out for me. That would be good. I I read this and I don't know if it's true, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. Are you from Hawaii?

[28:49] Ann Harada: I am.

[28:50] Drew Gasparini: How long did you live in Hawaii?

[28:52] Ann Harada: 18 years. I graduated from high school and I went to college and that was it.

[28:56] Drew Gasparini: Wow. Wow. But okay, so like when you live you live in Hawaii for most of your uh adolescent, all of your adolescent life.

[29:04] Ann Harada: And all of my yes, from birth to adolescence.

[29:07] Drew Gasparini: And then you make it to New York, which is like when you think of the two energies of the two places, you couldn't find a wider spectrum.

[29:16] Ann Harada: Correct. That's why I wanted to move.

[29:19] Drew Gasparini: Did were you sick of it? Were you sick of the Hawaii, you know, relaxedness? Is that what it's like?

[29:24] Ann Harada: I have only vacationed there, like most yucks. But you like it, right? You liked it.

[29:28] Drew Gasparini: I do, but I always have the very New York thought, which is I could never live here.

[29:33] Ann Harada: Because I I'd get bored.

[29:34] Drew Gasparini: Okay, so there's the thing. You know how like some people are city mice and some people are country mice. Well, I was a country mouse, dying to be a city mouse my whole life.

[29:43] Ann Harada: Wow. And did you live up to like the idea of the city?

[29:46] Drew Gasparini: Totally. That's all I wanted because you know, when I was, I think it was 12. This is how old I am. When I was 12, it was 1976, the big bicentennial. I don't know if you heard of it.

[29:54] Ann Harada: Yeah.

[29:56] Drew Gasparini: Okay. So the for for this for this historical moment in time, my parents were like, we're gonna take a trip to the East Coast and visit all these famous historical, wonderful cities that we have never seen. So we took a so we took like get this a bus tour, you know, that went like Boston, New York, Washington, DC. So like you hit all the big sites, right?

[30:19] Ann Harada: Yeah.

[30:20] Drew Gasparini: So when we were in New York, I was like, please, can we see a Broadway show? You know, that kind of a thing.

[30:26] Ann Harada: Yeah, totally. We went to see Pippin, and it was my first Broadway show, and Michael Rupert was Pippin. Um I know it was so awesome. And I was literally like, this is my world, like you know, like now I know what it is that I want, you know. Not that I needed, not that I knew that I was gonna be an actor at that point, just that I wanted to live in New York and be a part of that and be able to see stuff like that.

[30:49] Drew Gasparini: I we just had Raymond J. Lee on the podcast. And we talked, we talked, and I love him. Oh my god, do I love him? But we were talking about uh like what the thing was that made us go, oh, New York is where I want to go. And I think for a lot of people my age, it was like Seinfeld.

[31:04] Ann Harada: Yeah, yeah, okay, fair. You know, like I don't know why I was like, they they seem angry and funny. That's me. I'm angry and funny, and that's where I want to get those are my people. What was the thing you saw or ex was did it take going to New York and seeing a Broadway show for you to go, this is it? Or was there like an ideal?

[31:20] Ann Harada: It was sort of the punctuation of like exclamation point of like, yes, this is the place. Because you know how in well, again, you're really young, but there was a show when I was growing up called Green Acres.

[31:33] Drew Gasparini: I I know what Green Acres is, too.

[31:35] Ann Harada: Okay, great. Good for you. So there's a theme song at the beginning of Green Acres. Green Acres is the place. Where they explain. Leda was like, you know, he wants to be a farmer and she, darling, I love you, but give me Park Avenue. The chores, da-da-da-da-da. The stores! Fresh air, da da da. Time Square. Okay, so this. I'm thinking to myself, who the fuck would want fresh air and the chores if you could have the stores and Times Square?

[32:12] Drew Gasparini: Chores is not a good selling point, by the way.

[32:16] Ann Harada: No, you know, it's like they're doing the break in the hay, and she's like, I'm in Saks. And I'm like, that's what I want. That's what I want. I wanna live in a city and glamour and you know, that in my mind. Because, you know, I'm from Hawaii, like in a pokey little town. Like, you know, come on.

[32:37] Drew Gasparini: But did you love Hawaii though? I mean, like, did you love all that came with Hawaii?

[32:41] Ann Harada: Of course, I love everything about Hawaii, but if that's not who you are, you can't stay there. Isn't it wild that you can be born in the place that you're not meant to be? I just think that's so crazy because I was born on the in the Bay Area, which is, you know, it's good. There's a metropolitan vibe near San Francisco, but anywhere outside is like really it's a little too over the top, hippie dippy for my—

[32:58] Drew Gasparini: Right. For your taste.

[33:08] Ann Harada: Yeah, for my thing, my angry funny thing. And just like New York made so much sense, and I was the first person in my whole entire family to leave California at all. And then both my sisters ended up coming out here, and now it's like this dual coast uh family dynamic, which is super fun. But like your your family, I'm assuming was like they'd been in Hawaii and they probably stayed there after you moved, and like, you know what I mean?

[33:33] Drew Gasparini: Like still there. New York is not even close.

[33:37] Ann Harada: New York is so far away. It's inside.

[33:39] Drew Gasparini: That's not true. I mean, I would say that, like, you know, there's me on the East Coast, there's a few cousins in California, and then everybody else is still back in Hawaii.

[33:48] Ann Harada: Right. Whatever. It's fine. Nobody's mad at me. It's just, it's just, I didn't, that's not, I knew that's just not where I belonged. It has nothing to do with like rejecting Hawaii. I love Hawaii. I love visiting Hawaii. There's things about Hawaii that are so amazing, of course. Who wouldn't want to go to Hawaii? I mean, your whole trajectory and your whole career just says it in itself and like what meeting you and your personality and the whole thing. It all vibes out here. It really does. I I love Ann in New York.

[34:16] Drew Gasparini: That's a good Ann.

[34:20] Ann Harada: That's how, yeah, me too. I mean, of course, I haven't been there recently. I've been in this basement, or like, you know, I love it. Earlier you said it's your mother-in-law's basement, but I love the idea if we cut that part out and you just go, I've been in this basement, and maybe you've been kidnapped. Who knows?

[34:39] Ann Harada: Right, somebody else's house. I have no idea where she is. Um, I just want to say one more time before we get to this next segment, which is called Stupid Questions with Drew, before I say thank you and goodbye. Uh, I just want to say one more time the experience of having you come and like you came to my apartment on the upper west side and like rehearsed with like a scrappy little cast that we put together. And I strongly think that it was your name in the press release that helped us sell out both concerts. And it was also that concert, I don't know if you knew this, Universal like let us do this concert as basically a proof of concept for the show. And they took a private jet from LA to New York that day just to see that performance.

So Alex Brightman and I were like, our anuses were tightened as tight as possible, and we were sweating the whole time, just looking at their table. And at one moment, one of the head NBC guys fell asleep, and we're like, oh, this is it. This is the last time we'll ever get to do this material. Thank God though, the rest of the table stayed awake for what was to be this quite successful concert. And it's going into the next phases of development. And because of the videos of that concert, the fandom is insane. People are getting the lyrics tattooed on their arm. There's all these websites dedicated to it with fan art of Ann Harada as Dr. Minerva. It is so wild to me that that exists. Seriously, the internet is a dark and scary place, but there is a lot of things.

[36:00] Ann Harada: Oh, I don't want to know. I don't want to see it. But I'm I'm thrilled for you. And you know, of course, that's what we all want. Why wouldn't you? Why shouldn't you?

[36:11] Drew Gasparini: You're bless your heart for saying so. But that that kind of support was so tremendous for Alex and I. And just so big thanks to you for that. Uh, many years ago, it was about six years or five years ago at this point, I feel like. Nobody even knows Jesus Christ. I don't know. This last year counted as like eight. She's been trapped in a basement. People are sliding toast and water under a door for her every once in a while.

[36:37] Ann Harada: Um, all right. This is called Stupid Questions with Drew, and these are just mindless questions, and you can answer and you can explain however you see fit. Uh, question number one stupid question with Ann Harada. Here we go. What is something you are never ever in the mood to eat?

[36:56] Ann Harada: Oh, wow. Um I'm gonna say avocado because I hate it.

[37:02] Drew Gasparini: Wow. Really?

[37:05] Ann Harada: Yeah. I don't agree.

[37:07] Drew Gasparini: That's like, okay, going to California and saying I hate avocado is like going to the South and saying Jesus didn't exist.

[37:17] Ann Harada: That's I think it's the equation.

[37:19] Drew Gasparini: Well, okay, I was just in Atlanta. So I'm telling you, you cannot get a glass of unsweetened iced tea.

[37:26] Ann Harada: Okay.

[37:27] Drew Gasparini: It's not possible. I was like, do y'all have some iced tea? Yes. Is it sweetened? Oh yes. Oh yes.

[37:37] Ann Harada: Okay, well.

[37:39] Drew Gasparini: My friend from Georgia says when someone gets diabetes in the South, they don't call it diabetes. They call it the sugars. Which is like the cutest name for a horrible disease.

[37:51] Ann Harada: I have diabetes. I was just diagnosed with diabetes during the pandemic.

[37:57] Drew Gasparini: That was funny. Are you are you for real? Are you serious?

[37:59] Ann Harada: Yeah, I'm totally serious.

[38:01] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god, type one or two.

[38:03] Ann Harada: Two. Type two. My dad's type one diabetic. So that's why when I was in the south, I was like, Do you have unsweetened fill in the blank? And they were like, oh no.

[38:10] Drew Gasparini: No, we'll just give you this big shot of sugary drink with a shot with a shot of insulin next to it.

[38:18] Ann Harada: Well, that's why.

[38:23] Drew Gasparini: Yeah. And they were like, would you like iced tea? I was like, yes, but it's not have sugar in it. Oh my god. It was completely paralyzing. Like they were like, oh, I don't think we have any that doesn't have sugar. Okay, well, I'll let me go talk to props. I've never heard someone say I was just diagnosed with diabetes, and then so shortly after saying that start laughing. Like—

[38:43] Ann Harada: No, I mean it's horrible. It's horrible, but I mean, like, I've, you know, I've now been like a million places having to work and trying to like navigate all these different weird situations with it.

[38:55] Drew Gasparini: Yeah. Um, but like during COVID too, how scary.

[38:59] Ann Harada: Oh, well, that little thing. Oh, that little problem. Yeah, no. I mean, you know, no, it sucks and it's hard, but you just it's like obviously something is bad and you have to solve, help solve it. You know, you can't just go out there and like, fuck it, I'm gonna eat every potato in the world.

[39:15] Drew Gasparini: Right.

[39:20] Ann Harada: You know, it's like that's not helpful. Well, that is how most things do get solved. Eat all the potatoes, and then it's a big thing. Look, I was in Ireland shooting a movie. You think I was literally like, what am I gonna do? I'm not gonna be able to eat anything.

[39:34] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, oh my god, all they eat there is potatoes.

[39:37] Ann Harada: Potatoes. I mean, like for every, you know, meal, you'd be like, oh, I can't have that. I can't have that. I can't have that. And like, what am I gonna do? Wow, to be the to be, you know, in big quotes, to be the picky eater in Ireland is really funny because all they eat is potatoes.

[39:51] Drew Gasparini: Potatoes.

[39:52] Ann Harada: Yeah, yeah, I know. Wow. Oh my god, we just learned something mega about Ann Harada here today. Diabetes type 2. I'm so sorry to hear about that diagnosis, but God, you keep a smile on your face and you keep that energy up.

[40:04] Ann Harada: Well, you know, what are my choices?

[40:08] Drew Gasparini: Very good point. Um, and next stupid question for you. What is something you are completely horrible at?

[40:16] Ann Harada: There's so many to pick from golf.

[40:21] Drew Gasparini: Oh, yeah.

[40:22] Ann Harada: But that's that's a great thing to be horrible at. And you know what? Even better, it's a better sport to play when you are horrible at it, I think.

[40:29] Drew Gasparini: I can't even imagine how horrible it would be to try to play a round of golf as bad as I am, though. Here's what I want to pitch to Broadway.com or one of these theater sites. It would take years. I mean, just me just sort of putting the ball along. I mean, it would take forever. There's no way. It's not gonna happen.

[40:45] Ann Harada: You and me, you and me and a whole bunch of unsweetened iced tea. We get in a golf cart, and we just I don't know how to play. You don't know how to I like I'm I'm positive I'm miserable.

[40:56] Ann Harada: Amazing at mini golf.

[40:58] Drew Gasparini: Oh, I'm horrible at that too. I just like whack it around like I'm playing hockey.

[41:03] Ann Harada: Oh, I like mini golf. Okay, but I like small things. I like table tennis and mini golf. I can do those things. I'm happy to do those things. Like you dread soccer, but you love foosball, right?

[41:18] Drew Gasparini: Well, I don't love I don't love foosball. I hate soccer.

[41:21] Ann Harada: Okay.

[41:21] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god, I think. Could it be worth it to me? It's me. So it's like, let's run a lot in the heat. Back and forth. I'm like, it just sounds awful. Like there's no. This is where my my stupid dumb ego comes into play. I'd be like, yeah, that sounds like a nightmare. And then I'll take a look at one of those guys' bodies. I'll be like, but I look like that naked. Sign me up. I'm sign me up for soccer. I'm I'm waiting for it.

[41:49] Ann Harada: If I was gonna go for like an ideal body type, I would try to be a swimmer.

[41:55] Drew Gasparini: Oh yeah, that's actually a good point.

[41:57] Ann Harada: But I'm also not a very good swimmer. But I mean, you know, I can at least, I won't die if you throw me in a pool, but I'm just saying, like, we sink to the bottom.

[42:07] Drew Gasparini: We're very, we are dense.

[42:09] Ann Harada: We just go right to the bottom. We're very dense. Um, all right. Next couple stupid questions with you, Ann, if you don't mind. Uh, who would win in a battle of wits? Alan Cumming or Keegan Michael Key, based on the experience you just had with both gents.

[42:24] Ann Harada: And they're both so charming and so fast and so talented. Who do you think would win in a battle of wits?

[42:32] Ann Harada: This is rough. This is a rough one. I'm sorry about that. I'm very sorry. I'm gonna say Keegan.

[42:40] Drew Gasparini: Keegan Michael Key.

[42:42] Ann Harada: Well, he's got such an improv background, too. He's just a genius. Um, but I would also correlate that by saying if it was like a battle of trivia, I think, I think Alan would win.

[42:54] Drew Gasparini: Do you know what I'm saying?

[42:55] Ann Harada: Is he is he a know it all?

[42:57] Drew Gasparini: No, he's not a know-it-all. But he's been everywhere, he's done everything, he's met everybody. Like, literally, you can't out try to, you know, you can't out-drop name Alan.

[43:10] Ann Harada: I'm sure of that. There's nobody. Like, there is no one. I'm sure of that. He'd literally be like, I had sex with him in a bathroom. You know, like there'd be no way.

[43:19] Drew Gasparini: Oh my God.

[43:20] Ann Harada: There's something about his accent, too, that the minute I hear it, I would assume he's been everywhere and knows most things, and it's left with many people in bathrooms.

[43:28] Drew Gasparini: Exactly.

[43:29] Ann Harada: That's how I feel. There's, you know, like he's he's literally like one of those Noel Coward guys. You can just imagine him, like, and like anything Noel Coward wrote down in a play, be like, oh, Alan Cumming, that's him in life.

[43:42] Drew Gasparini: Yeah, yeah, that's his biography, right?

[43:44] Ann Harada: Right, that's his biography. I mean, so I just go like, yeah, of course, you know. I like both those answers very much. It gives us some intel onto both of those gentlemen who I uh idolize. I think they're straightforward. They're fantastic. Oh my god. How cool that you got to work with them.

[43:56] Drew Gasparini: Which leads to this next silly question. Who is someone you've always wanted to work with, but you've yet to, or you cannot because they're no longer with us?

[44:07] Ann Harada: Oh, well, that's it's a horrible question. There's so many people I'm horrible question. No, because George Gershwin, I would have liked to have worked with.

[44:16] Drew Gasparini: Right.

[44:17] Ann Harada: Well, he'd be good. That's a good answer. It's a great answer. You know, come on. And then somebody that super dead. Like somebody who I want to work with that I haven't worked with.

[44:29] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[44:30] Ann Harada: There's a million people, and they're all British. Emma Thompson is my number one.

[44:35] Drew Gasparini: Wow. Oh my God. That's actually. I hope that happens. I really think energy-wise, you both put out that same energy. I whatever you got, she's got it too. And I think that she's a little bit more than a little bit. Also, almost anybody who ever played Doctor Who, I would Okay.

[44:50] Drew Gasparini: Are you a big Doctor Who nerd?

[44:52] Ann Harada: I'm a big Doctor Who nerd, but I'm just a fan of British actors in general.

[44:57] Drew Gasparini: Same here. Alan Cumming was on Doctor Who.

[45:02] Ann Harada: God damn it. I mean, that's just one that's one degree of separation. Look how close you are.

[45:07] Drew Gasparini: I know, I know. I'm super close. I mean, I'm super close. I've worked with a lot of people who've worked with them. But still, that's not the same. And you're like, oh my God, what if I could just get in a show with Peter Capaldi or David Tennant? How great would that be?

[45:22] Ann Harada: Wow, yes. These are some. You know, it's not gonna happen. I mean, it's not gonna happen.

[45:25] Drew Gasparini: You don't know that.

[45:27] Ann Harada: You really don't know that.

[45:29] Drew Gasparini: I know, I know. It's true. If you just look at your career, it's like, how could you have ever thought any of these things would just like line up the way they did it?

[45:35] Ann Harada: It's so true. Because literally, what's today? Two nights ago, I was waiting for a shot with Annette Benning, Brian Cranston, and Michael McKean.

[45:46] Drew Gasparini: Come on.

[45:47] Ann Harada: Come on. And I'm like, I'm hanging out with them, watching a baseball game on Annette Benning's phone.

[45:56] Drew Gasparini: I would start singing the song one of these things doesn't belong.

[46:01] Ann Harada: Right, exactly. One of these things doesn't belong. But I will tell you that I never felt that I did that I've had made it more than the day that Lynn Ahrens let me help her solve the New York Times Crossroad puzzle with her.

[46:15] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god, that's huge.

[46:18] Ann Harada: I know. Wow. See? I know, right? I've had some really special experiences. Very special.

[46:25] Drew Gasparini: So who's to say the Emma Thompson thing won't happen?

[46:27] Ann Harada: I know. You never know. Things I'll call show. I'm gonna call Joe show business and we're gonna try to make this all happen.

[46:33] Drew Gasparini: You know what, Drew? What if you cast Emma Thompson in the karate kid?

[46:40] Ann Harada: Okay, I got just the role for her.

[46:42] Drew Gasparini: As the karate kid.

[46:45] Ann Harada: Yes, she'll play Daniel LaRusso.

[46:47] Drew Gasparini: She'll play. Yes. This is perfect. I'm just saying, like, I think it's important to like, you know, mix things up nowadays.

[46:54] Ann Harada: I agree. I agree. If you want to cut, if she wants to be Daniel's son and you want to come and be Mr. Miyagi, that would be like a pairing for the center.

[47:02] Drew Gasparini: I don't see why not.

[47:03] Ann Harada: Okay. Now we're talking about it.

[47:05] Drew Gasparini: Now we're talking. I do actually kind of see why not.

[47:08] Ann Harada: No, I just the minute we started saying this, I watched my career just fly out the window.

[47:12] Drew Gasparini: Well, that's it. I was like, oh no, this is not a good fit.

[47:15] Ann Harada: This is a good idea. But like I'm just yeah, you know, I'm just saying, think about it. If there's some project at some point in time that you think Emma Thompson and I could both fit in the world.

[47:26] Drew Gasparini: Oh my god. I've I I'm gonna start writing it the minute we get off this call.

[47:31] Ann Harada: Um I have one last question for you, Ann, if you don't mind. And it's a it's a doozy of a question because I think it could go in many different directions. But in in your amazing career, I'm sure you've picked up a list of this. But what do you think is the worst part of show business?

[47:51] Ann Harada: Oh my god. Because you've just listed a whole bunch of great things. Like you might end up watching a baseball game on Annette Benning's phone with Brian Cranston and Michael McKean. But also there is a lot of trying efforts that don't get acknowledged. There's a lot of heartbreak. What to you is the worst part about show business?

[48:03] Ann Harada: The worst part about show business is the theory that when you get involved with the project, like a workshop or something, yeah, that we're all a big family putting a show together, and then you get cut or fired before the next step.

[48:25] Drew Gasparini: Yeah.

[48:26] Ann Harada: I don't care if I don't get a part, I don't get a shit ton of parts. You know what I mean? That's normal for me. But getting a part and then not getting a part is really, really disappointing. It's very hard. And I this has happened to me several times, partially because I'm not that good.

[48:44] Drew Gasparini: Oh, please.

[48:45] Ann Harada: Oh my god. But like you know what I mean. It's like obviously somebody was like, We didn't like her, so boop boop. And it's just very it's like, oh, I thought I was gonna be a part of this thing and I was gonna, you know, change my life for it. You know, like fill in the blank, go out of town, be on tour, whatever. But it was such a big deal in my head, and then to be told, like, no, forget it. We're not offering it to her. There's that heartbreak. She's yeah, you just, and you just go, like, ugh. And it that hurts way more than any other kind of rejection.

[49:21] Drew Gasparini: Uh, you know, I love that you said that because I know that there's going to be a lot of young uh artists and actors who are going to be listening to this podcast. Why we got a season two, baby. But this is this is important for them to hear because they're all gonna be fans of yours, no doubt. And they they're the career that you've had, they can see it all on paper. Just Google Ann Harada, you can see all the amazing things you've done, and that little part of the equation still exists for you. The heartbreak, and it's just kind of an occupational hazard. So if you're getting into this business and you're trying to be as amazing as Ann Harada, just know that it will come with some rejection, and it will come with some heartbreak, but the perseverance can lead you to watching a baseball game with Brian Cranston and Annette Benning and Michael McKean.

And I think that that is super badass. And thank God you've been so uh nonstop, and you've persevered through all those heartbreak moments, and you've just had the life you've had because it has brought so much joy to so many people, me included. And thank you for being a part of this podcast. And like, it's so good to see you. It's so good to chat for a minute. And I do look forward to the day that we can see each other in person. Hopefully, that's sooner than later.

[50:35] Ann Harada: Me too. You know, even though I can't cast you in the show, I'd love to offer you a ticket to the opening of Karate Kid when we're gonna be able to do it.

[50:41] Drew Gasparini: Are you serious?

[50:42] Ann Harada: I'm dead serious. I'll be there. Absolutely, yes.

[50:46] Drew Gasparini: Uh I can't, I can't wait. You'll you'll definitely be have a ticket on me. Um, so Ann, this has been a treat. Thanks so much for coming on for this podcast.

[50:55] Ann Harada: Thank you.

[50:56] Drew Gasparini: Well, thank you guys for listening. Now we're talking is a proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network. You can find out more about me and this podcast at bpn.fm slash now we're talking. I want to specially thank, specially, I want to especially thank our guest Ann Harada. I think she's a joy, and what a great time it was chatting with her. Guys, you can find more about this podcast out on Instagram, follow us at NWT Podcast, or on Twitter at NWT underscore pod. And make sure to subscribe and rate this podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you stream your podcast. And if you feel like supporting, be sure to check out our Patreon at patreon.com slash NWT Podcasts. See how you can support us. Keep tuning in for more amazing guests. Catch us next week.