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[0:00] Jayke Workman: Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?

[0:10] Jayke Workman: Oh my god, did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear? Oh my god, guys.

[0:14] Jayke Workman: Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, guys.

[0:26] Jayke Workman: What's up, everybody? My name is Jayke Workman, and this is Oh My Pod U Guys, a musical theater and pop culture podcast. You guys, there is a lot going on this week that I must update you about. Shamelessly, I'm giving myself a plug on the pod.

[0:42] Jayke Workman: You guys, this Tuesday, the 29th, I will be performing at Birdland Jazz Club in the lineup hosted by Susie Mosher. And you guys, if you have never seen this cabaret show, Susie Mosher is a kooky, crazy lady, and she is an absolute comedic genius. She makes up songs on the spot. They're different every single show, and she always assembles an incredible lineup of talent. It's super varied and super exciting, but Susie just elevates it beyond. She's so, so freaking funny, and I'm so excited to get to sing on Tuesday night. So please, if you are in New York City, get your tickets to the lineup on the 29th.

[1:27] Jayke Workman: And you guys, I have another very exciting gig coming up in September at 54 Below. I am singing in a concert version of a new musical called Out by my lovely friend, Jaron Barney. And it's going to be an entire evening of queer people singing queer songs and telling queer stories. I'm just so excited to be a part of it. The music is absolutely stunning, and the stories are so brilliant. They're heartfelt. They're funny. They're just genius, and I'm just so excited for the world to see Jaron's work. So that will be on September 13th at 9:30 at 54 Below. Get your tickets today! And with that, we gotta dive right into this week's Broadway World Recap, brought to you by my amazing partners at BroadwayWorld.com.

[2:12] Jayke Workman: You guys, first of all, I just have to start this recap by screaming from the rooftops that my incredible, wonderful friend, Mr. Sam Hartley, will be making his Broadway debut in Gutenberg, standing by for Andrew Rannells. Sam was my very first Billy Flynn ever when I did the tour of Chicago, and he's an absolute gem of a human. Hi, Sam. I know you're listening. And I just could not be prouder. I am so over the moon for Sam. And his standby cohort, Mr. Russell J. Daniels, who had a fantastic run as Ruth in Titanic off-Broadway. You guys, I'm just so excited to see the show. Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad, now we know that they are in excellent hands for when they inevitably need a moment off the stage. Sam and Russell will be stepping in seamlessly. I'm so, so excited, and just sending all my love and congratulations.

[3:09] Jayke Workman: Next, you guys, it was just announced that, sadly, the Britney Spears musical Once Upon a One More Time is going to play its final Broadway performance in September. I have not personally seen this show, so I cannot form an exact opinion on it. However, it has been met with some scrutiny. You know, reviews are reviews. But I am always sad to see an original show close on Broadway, just because I know how long and hard these people work to get there. So congrats to everyone who worked on this show. I'm sure that you will all move on to amazing things in the near future.

[3:44] Jayke Workman: Next, you guys, we got a sneak peek photo look on the official Broadway World Instagram of Betty Who rehearsing for her role in Hadestown. Betty Who is such a fierce vocalist, and she is going to be taking on the role of Persephone. And it, I cannot even tell you how excited I am to see it. I just saw the show, but I have to go back and see it again. Not only because of Betty Who, but also Celia Pfeiffer, who just took over for Eva Noblezada. So definitely check out those photos on the official Broadway World Instagram.

[4:11] Jayke Workman: Next, you guys, it was just announced that none other than Shia LaBeouf will be making his stage debut in a new work by playwright David Mamet called Henry Johnson. This announcement has been met with some interesting opinions, some scrutiny, if you will, because Shia LaBeouf has a rather tumultuous reputation and track record when it comes to being on set. And playwright David Mamet has a track record of writing somewhat incendiary works. So I think this is going to be kind of an interesting thing that happens to Broadway. Obviously, I hope that everything goes smoothly for, you know, the safety and well-being of everyone involved. But I think maybe this casting will ruffle a few feathers in an interesting way. So stay tuned to see what comes of that.

[5:06] Jayke Workman: And lastly, you guys, in an exciting bit of casting news, it was just announced that two new principal cast members will be joining the off-Broadway production of Titanic. One Drew Droege and one Willem will be joining the show as Ruth and Victor Garber, respectively. You guys, if you know me, if you listen to the pod, you know I love Titanic. But also, I love Willem so, so much. Willem was a drag queen who was on RuPaul, who has an incredible track record of performance. She was supposed to do Death Drop off-Broadway, but that's been postponed. She did it in London. She's everything. She's so funny. She has an incredible podcast called Race Chaser with her friend Alaska. And I am so excited to see her do this role and in this show.

So congratulations to Drew Droege and to Willem. I cannot wait to see you both shine in Titanic off-Broadway. And you guys, this has been the Broadway World Recap. Oh my pod, you guys. I am so excited to welcome my next guest to the show. He is an incredible performer who I just so happened to go to school with at the Hart School. Please welcome my dear friend, Mr. Jamaal Fields-Green. Go Hawks.

[6:27] Jamaal Fields-Green: Claws up. Go Hawks. Go Hawks. How are you?

[6:36] Jayke Workman: I am good. How are you?

[6:39] Jamaal Fields-Green: I am so well. Can you tell me, where are you calling from?

[6:46] Jamaal Fields-Green: I am currently calling from Chicago, Illinois.

[6:49] Jayke Workman: Chicago.

[6:50] Jamaal Fields-Green: Chicago. I am here with the national tour of MJ.

[6:54] Jayke Workman: Yes, you are.

[6:56] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, currently on a Friday. It feels like a Thursday. I want to make sure.

[7:02] Jayke Workman: Yeah. Yeah.

[7:03] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yes. How long have you been in Chicago?

[7:07] Jamaal Fields-Green: We have been in Chicago for about a month now.

[7:10] Jayke Workman: For about a month now. It's weird because I was just saying yesterday how, especially on the road, how just, I mean, time nowadays feels like it's moving so quickly.

[7:13] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah. We're almost done here in Chicago. We have like two weeks left, but yeah, we've been here for about a month now. Crazy.

[7:19] Jayke Workman: Well, for the listeners who don't know, Jamaal is currently the MJ alternate in the national tour of MJ, fresh off of his extensive run as the alternate MJ and middle Michael, I believe, in the Broadway company. So you guys, Mr. Fields-Green has made his mark, shall I say, on the MJ brand, but he is now embarking on the national tour.

[7:45] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, that's crazy. So all of you better get your tickets and run to the theater to see him as MJ.

[8:03] Jamaal Fields-Green: Please come see us. Please, please come through. But tell me, what was the experience like rehearsing for the national tour after you have already done this extensive run? I mean, of course, I am going to make you tell the incredible story of your audition process for this show, but I, of course, want to know about your current position on the tour.

[8:28] Jamaal Fields-Green: Totally, no, totally, totally. So it was, I wouldn't say extensive, it was just busy. It was busy, double duty. While finishing up my time with Broadway, so for Broadway, I was actually just a standby MJ, standby middle Michael, they don't have an alternate on Broadway. So I'm actually technically the first alternate in the company's history, which is kind of cool, kind of cool. But the process for that really was, I wasn't needed for the first two weeks. I joined in week three, when they were in a studio, New 42, and basically would be there for the entire day from like 10 to about five, six o'clock p.m. And immediately after that, would go to the theater to Neil Simon, and for some nights, would go on for either for middle Michael, or for MJ, depending, pick your poison.

[9:35] Jayke Workman: Yeah. Really, you know, you just pick your poison. But the rehearsal process really for that was really, for me, honestly, was really just practice, my own practice. You have everyone that's new to the company, or just new to the show, learning the show, getting into the groove of everything. And for me, it was really just finding, and anyone that knows me would laugh, me just finding time, or just finding my space off to the side and practicing in the corner, right? Isms and practicing things that really only I can really practice now. Because I mean, I know the show, there's like little tiny little changes that we have that are fun little changes. But yeah, that was really the rehearsal process, really, for me, was really just practicing on my own and jumping in when needed.

[10:21] Jayke Workman: I mean, I feel like you must just know it like the back of your hand now, because not only have you gone on for MJ many times, but also middle Michael. And so you have like two perspectives of the show as a whole, which is crazy. But would you tell the listeners your insane audition story for this show? If you don't know, MJ is like a marathon of a show. This is like the greatest hits back to back to back with story in between. You guys are huffing it the whole time. But your audition story is so amazing. Please tell us what it was like.

[11:00] Jamaal Fields-Green: Totally. So hi, it goes all the way back to 2020. Right there. So 2020, I'm just getting back to the city from doing Hamilton here in Chicago, funny enough. And I was in callbacks for middle Michael, didn't get it. Ended up getting something else. You know how that story goes, the business.

[11:30] Jamaal Fields-Green: Of course. Then flash forward two years later, 2022 now, I'm just getting back to the city from doing Choir Boy in Philly. I was doing Choir Boy in Philly. And my friend, we had a mutual friend who was in the cast, who got us tickets. And he was just like, and I hadn't seen him in a while. We did Hamilton together and I hadn't seen him since 2020. He was like, hey, let's go. You want to see MJ? And I was like, why not? I grew up a big Michael Jackson fan. I'm like, I'm hearing things about the show. So I'm like, yeah, let me go see it. It's been a while since I've seen something on Broadway. So we go and see it. First act, I'm blown away, as everyone usually is. And then I remember intermission, I just checked my phone as I usually do, as us actors do, we check our emails.

During a show for some reason, I have an email for future replacements for MJ. So then right there in that moment, I'm like, okay, well, I'm studying now. I'm not just watching. It was a work session, not a work session. It was just a general audition to do three sides, three songs. One would be starting something stranger in Moscow. And it was a different song. I can't remember what the third song was. I submitted that. Maybe about a week after that, I hear back and my agents tell me that they want to do a work session. So then we were scheduling a work session, because at the time, I was doing the workshop for AIDA. So we're currently trying to schedule the work session, trying to figure out when, because they wanted the entire creative team to be there, which, you know, usually sometimes for work sessions, you know, they have the whole team, sometimes it's just certain members of the team. But for this one, it was everyone, including producers and everything, which is nerve-wracking.

[13:23] Jamaal Fields-Green: So the work session was finally scheduled. I get there. It was a two-day work session. The first one was with the associates and everyone, kind of us just getting familiar with the material, just to be ready to present it for everyone the next day. The next day comes through. The first two hours is just dance. We are doing Billie Jean, the Fosse section, we call the Fosse Fives, it's basically footwork, Fosse footwork. And then, so it's Billie Jean, the Fosse footwork, and one of the, it's a big section from Smooth Criminal. And we spent the first two hours just drilling that and doing that. Then they had us go, it's me and someone else, who, funny enough, is now Brandon. He's our middle Michael on the tour with us.

[14:31] Jamaal Fields-Green: It felt fine but I wanted it to be a little bit better especially vocally and it wasn't where I wanted it to be. Isn't that always how it is? That's always how it is, you know, so I'm like maybe I didn't get it this time, which is fine. I remember I was going to get hibachi with the same friend who I saw the show with months before. We were getting hibachi and right as I'm getting ready to walk in, I get a call from my agents and they're like, "Hey, they're interested, but you're not done yet. You're not done yet, but they're interested." And the next phase was sending me out to LA to go with Rich and Tone Talawega. For those who don't know, they teach basically what we call the MJ syllabus.

You do not get to do MJ without going through them. That's like the last line of defense. If we're storming the castle, this is the last final boss battle. They've worked with Diana Ross, they worked with MJ, they knew MJ. They worked with everyone big in the business and they're legends. So I go to LA, I was there for a week, four hours a day, and we only did "Billie Jean" every single day aside from different workouts and different exercises that they had me do, all MJ based, just learning his vocabulary. It was literally like a boot camp, just stripping me down and building me back up, seeing if I had the potential and everything, and they saw the potential. I'll never forget, it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life.

My body since has never felt such pain. You're building new muscles, really. You're just developing new muscles. A hundred percent. And then two weeks after that, I got the call that they were interested for me to be the standby. I took it and then made my Broadway debut. Broadway debut. Come on, it's so crazy. I mean, I have just loved being your friend for so long. We got to go to school together and I got to see you. I feel like we got to see each other grow and work so much throughout our time together at school. And so to hear that you were gonna make your Broadway debut but in such an incredible new show was just so thrilling. I was like, there is not anyone more deserving than fucking Jamal to work his ass off and get there, and you did it.

And I got to see you in the show, and I know that is probably so annoying to just constantly get compliments on it, but like your performance, Jamal, is insane. Like I can't—I have always known your talent and your work ethic, but like you transform into Michael Jackson. It is so wild.

[17:30] Jamaal Fields-Green: Thank you. Is it exhausting?

[17:32] Alan Workman: Yeah, it is actually. It's because the thing is about this is that, you know, we're not playing a character, we're playing someone that actually lived. Right? So with that, you know, there's a lot of pressure, but there also has to be a lot of respect and a lot of focus. And a lot of—I mean with this role, I mean I'm still to this day, I'm still practicing. I was practicing yesterday. I'm probably gonna practice—I practice at least maybe 25 to 30 minutes a day just to keep things sharp, but also just because he was so detailed and so sharp. But yeah, it's exhausting, it's tiring. Like you really—I like to say, leave a little bit of a little part of yourself every time you go on that stage. You have no choice.

[18:26] Alan Workman: Right. That makes it right in a healthy way.

[18:28] Jamaal Fields-Green: Of course. Well, before you became Broadway's Jamaal Fields-Green, and even before I got to know you at the Hart School, what was your connection to the arts and being a performer? How did you enter into this world?

[18:44] Jamaal Fields-Green: Ah, for me, it all goes back, I guess, to my mother. Single mom. I love my mom. I'm a mama's boy through and through. You know, we run the world. My mom worked at NBC growing up, right under the chairman, Bob Wright. She worked there, so being a single mom, she always—in us being from New York and living in the city, I would go to work with her frequently. So with that came some—not pros—some just some—like benefits. Benefits, yes. With that, sometimes we would go to movie premieres or just even in the office when I would bring my movies and my toys, and there would be an office with this big flat-screen TV. But around me were always billboards of old movies and stuff, so I've always just had a big infatuation with movies.

I'm a big movie buff to this day. I'm going to the movies tonight after the show. And I just loved singing as a kid. And then it just really started in high school. I loved singing as a kid. I did chorus in elementary school because all the girls did chorus. You know, I was like, this is a life hack. All the girls are in chorus, and they love it if you can sing. Since day one, and they love it if they find out you can sing. You know, it wasn't always the case, actually. I was a big nerd. But in high school, I went through puberty, I lost my voice. So my friends and I were going to make a rap group. True, this is a true story. We were gonna make a rap group, and there was a music theory class, and I was like, well, if we're gonna make a rap group, I was like, we have to be different from everyone else, and we have to learn how to read music.

I was like, if we know how to read music, we can produce our own beats, and we'll be different from everybody else. We can make new stuff. And in that class, to this day, we're close. Nadia Rizzo, she saw Seaweed in the gang. We were such hooligans. We fooled around every class that we were in together. We had to be separate all the time. And she was like, you guys should audition for the play, for the musical. And we were like, literally, like it was like something out of a movie. We're laughing like we're not gonna do that because we were all jocks. We played football, varsity football, varsity basketball. This is my sophomore year. And my friend Matt, to this day, I owe him. I always say he signed us up as a joke.

He signed us all up to audition as a joke, and I ended up getting Seaweed. They were doing Hairspray that year. I got Seaweed. And we all ended up doing it, had the best time. It was like a high school musical, literally. And then the year after that, the choreographer for that musical, and we did The Wiz the next year, and I was a scarecrow, funny enough. He put my mom and was just like, he has that it factor. He can do this for the rest of his life. He takes it serious enough. He just needs training. He just needs someone to help him. At the time, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. So he helped me get a coach who was my acting mentor to this day. He helped me get prepared for college auditions. I applied for all the top schools in the country, got into Hart, and then just worked my butt off.

[22:14] Alan Workman: And you just worked your ass off. We had the same voice teacher all four years. Shout out Mark Banner. We're hawks.

[22:25] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yes, wow, that is so cool.

[22:27] Alan Workman: Yeah, yeah. So I mean, and then from there, I mean just work. Just, I mean, you know, must—I know people don't know my story, but just work. Just a lot of practice, a lot of practice, a lot of practice with this person right here too. We did a couple times just dancing when we just meet up and just dance for fun.

[22:43] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yes, we did.

[22:44] Alan Workman: Hell yeah. I was like, can you help me do this if I help you do that?

[22:48] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, we feel like hell yeah, totally. Well, you also—I mean, it's funny that you touched on like starting a rap group and everything in high school because you were so dedicated in school, but you also had such a sense of play outside of the world of musical theater. And that's still true because you take your own music very seriously, which I so admire. I think it's so exciting that, you know, you can be such a strong musical theater performer and still have skills and interests outside of that that you hone and make your own, make use of. Tell me about creating your own music.

[23:39] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's awesome, honestly. It's a—it’s a 50/50 thing. I'm not even a 50/50 thing. It's, you know, because people know you for one thing, but being an artist, you're passionate about multiple things. I don't know. Creating music, I mean, I just love creating. I was just talking about this earlier. I just love—I just love creating. I don't like waiting for someone to tell me when I can or can't do something, right? You know, especially when it's—when all we do is create. Like, where, you know, the instrument starts with us, you know? And I really—I'm doing Hamilton out here in Chicago. There were so many people in the cast that did their own stuff outside of the show, and seeing that, I was like, oh, I want to do more of that.

And then we started putting up shows. I ended up performing at Lollapalooza at one point in 2019. And doing that kind of just built my own confidence of just to continue pushing that forward of creating for myself and finding the right people. And then just—then once you kind of get into it, you can't stop, and then it becomes a snowball effect. But yeah, I love creating. I'm working on a—I took a break for a little bit, and now I'm actually kind of back into it. I'm working on a plethora of new music that I'm looking to release in a few months. It's just getting it ready now. Like, I'm doing visuals and everything. I love doing visuals. I'm working on—even I do my short films, my filmmaking. Yeah, short just got into a second indie film festival.

[25:06] Alan Workman: Come on!

[25:07] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, yeah. It just—and both qualify are IMDb pages. So both it has its own IMDb page, but now it has two IMDb credits. Everyone that's part of it now can have their own page. So friends, colleagues that worked on it, whether they're in the industry or looking to get into the industry, kind of have a little bit of a jump start. I'm working on a new short film that I'm submitting for next year's festival. I'm just keeping everything going. I'm working on my scripts and everything. I'm looking to—once the strike is over, I'm looking to pitch to an agency so I can get a literary agent and everything like that.

[25:47] Alan Workman: Yes, fantastic. And I was going to ask you how the strike has affected your work because luckily, obviously, you know, as a musical theater performer, we're not directly affected by the writer's guild strike and now the SAG-AFTRA strike in solidarity. But that must throw a wrench in your sort of extracurricular activities.

[26:15] Jamaal Fields-Green: Big wrench. It's a big wrench because, I mean, a big thing for me really is actually TV and film. I actually got into all of this to do TV. I mean, you know, I've always been vocal about it. TV and film has always been the focal point for me. Yeah, but acting coach is so—which is so traditional and was so traditional in the sense where he was like, if you're going to go to school for theater, even if you do TV and film, well, if you're going to go to school for this, you need to go to school and get the traditional training in theater. And the thing is that people told me to just do theater because I didn't have the training in dance or singing, but I'm like, but I love singing and dancing, and I knew at some point that I wanted to do my own music and dance when I would perform it.

So I took a chance, and it worked out. But yes, it's been a little bit of a wrench. But for me, it just goes back to creating. I mean, at the end of the day, create the work that you want to see, create the change you want to see, totally. And it all starts with yourself. I mean, a lot of the people that I look up to, a lot of people that we look up to are just people that we watch constantly that have their own companies or that are doing their own stuff. They all started doing it on a lower indie base, and that's kind of just what I'm doing. So I'm kind of just doing that right now, just kind of sharpening my pen, sharpening my tools, getting my scripts and everything together for when everything's up and running.

But for me at least, it's the music, doing my music videos, and doing my short films and planning for that. That's kind of the work that I'm doing that's kind of keeping me somewhat sane outside of that realm of wanting to do multiple things. But, you know, solidarity, hopefully.

[28:02] Alan Workman: Yep, period. We—hopefully everyone just smartens up and just does what's necessary and the easy thing, and we'll get back to the easy thing, like paying these people. Just pay the people.

[28:14] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's that easy.

[28:15] Alan Workman: Yes. Well, you touched on it a little bit, but I would love to hear about your experience with TV and film because I do know that, like, since knowing you, that that has been something that you've talked very fondly of. So tell me about what it's like to perform for a live audience in a show as huge as MJ versus being on set with one camera and a director and one scene partner. Like, it's so—it must be so different.

[28:47] Jamaal Fields-Green: It is. It really, really is. And the thing is, I love both. I'm the type of person that's like that will always advocate for any...

[29:03] Jamaal Fields-Green: Artists are just persons to maximize their potential or just what they can do. We're not one, we don't just do one thing, we're capable of doing multiple things. So I love theater and I love TV and film, I love music, I love writing, I love directing. But with that, it's just different, you get different, you get different, I don't know, they give different things. With theater, you have the immediate excitement and everything with the crowd and everything, and you can't trade that. Live audience, live theater, there's nothing like it. With TV and film, I don't know, there's just something about TV film, like camera magic, that's just so cool. When you're in front of a, like you said, it's just a camera, a set of however many is part of the crew and you're with other people, you have a certain amount of takes, you can keep going, but you don't wanna keep going and it's just a waste of film.

I don't know, it's just, I guess apples and oranges, really, apples and oranges, but both are just, I think, are both gratifying for me as an actor, as a performer. It just depends which palette I'm trying to cleanse or give more attention to at the time. But I guess with TV and film, for me, it's just the medium is, it's more accessible, you can push it out more, whereas theater, we have ways to go, whether it's the price of admission or just depending on what theatergoers want to see, whereas film and TV, you can branch out and keep going. And theater's like that, but it just depends on what is being produced, I guess.

[30:48] Jayke Workman: Well, I have never really tried my hand on a TV show or anything like that. I think I would like the opportunity, but I do think that it would probably be a culture shock for me because it's just not something that I've done and we've had little bits of training in working for the camera and everything in school, but you're running with the big dogs, honey. You're doing the actual TV shows.

[31:09] Jamaal Fields-Green: You would kill TV and film.

[31:15] Jayke Workman: I'm ready. Jake Workman, 2023, 2024, TV film campaign. Let's get it started. I'm so down. Well, I would love to hear about your experience playing John Lawrence and Philip Hamilton in the-

[31:33] Jamaal Fields-Green: There's a glass of freedom.

[31:35] Jayke Workman: Yes! Because you got to play both those roles in the resident company of Hamilton in Chicago. And you did it for quite some time. You fully moved from New York City to Chicago, lived your life out there. I had the absolute pleasure of getting to see you in the show in Chicago. That was the first huge, big, famous show that I had a good friend in. And I was over the moon. I mean, it was the first time that I had seen Hamilton. And I was like, well, I don't know what's going on because I'm only watching Jamal. But you were so good and engaging. And spoiler alert for those who don't know Hamilton, he dies twice.

[32:22] Jamaal Fields-Green: Twice, twice.

[32:26] Jayke Workman: I was like, not my Jamal.

[32:28] Jamaal Fields-Green: I know, everyone was like, you died twice, man, twice. But tell me, what was it like to be in such a giant show?

[32:37] Jamaal Fields-Green: It was a dream come true. I mean, you know about people. I mean, we were in school when Hamilton came out. So the hype of Hamilton was at the height of the hype. That's when it came out and everyone wanted to be in it. And I was getting ready to graduate. And I just remember telling myself at some point, I remember getting ready to graduate, I was very realistic with myself. I was like, I know what I'm capable of, but I also know that reality is reality. I most likely probably won't book right out of school, which is okay, you know? But the dream would be to play this role sometime, you know, at some point down the line. Life ended up happening a little quicker. I booked it out of school, which was great, which was a dream come true.

I mean, it's unfathomable. I mean, I get goosebumps kind of talking about it still, just talking about it now. I mean, it was a dream come true. I mean, I'm in this beautiful city. I mean, I had no time. I remember I was doing, I was in the Ensemble for Grease at Iverton Playhouse up in Connecticut. It closed on a Sunday. I had to leave. I left that Sunday night and drove home to New York. That Monday, we flew out. That Tuesday was my first rehearsal, and I just started. And I'm in this vibrant city of Chicago. For the first, I remember I was a broke college kid, had no money, now having money. I'm taking care of myself. I have a place of my own. Shout out to my mom. She helped me find my place. Moms rule the world. Paying my own rent. Everything that I do out here is on me, which is great, but-

[34:27] Jayke Workman: A huge life shift.

[34:29] Jamaal Fields-Green: A huge life shift, but I mean, and then you're working with some of the best in the industry. It's a great show. It was super fun. I was a kid in a candy store. I was a kid in a candy store, just having the time of my life and playing John Lawrence, Phil Hamilton. That role was so much fun. I mean, it's also kind of me, so it was, except for the dying part, but it was just such a fun role. I learned so much about myself. I learned so much about the business firsthand, just getting to do this role, you know, and it was just, it was life-changing. It was life-changing. It definitely opened a lot of doors for me. It helped me, I would say, maybe skip a few levels or a few things quicker. I was able to do TV and film out here because of it.

[35:27] Jayke Workman: Totally.

[35:28] Jamaal Fields-Green: I got into voiceover work because of it.

[35:33] Jayke Workman: Yes, come on, Doritos.

[35:35] Jamaal Fields-Green: Doritos, Doritos. Doritos commercial. It was awesome. Yeah, no, it was, I mean, in playing that role, John Lawrence, Philip Hamilton, so much energy, so much, there was so much to play with. You kind of keep the show going, in a way. He's the hype man of the show. He's the young guy, which I was. I was one of the youngest in the cast at the time, 21, 22.

[36:02] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[36:02] Jamaal Fields-Green: And just doing it out here in Chicago and just doing this jumping out of a show, there was, of course, a lot of pressure, but I learned a lot about myself. And I think it also told me that that was one of the moments, not the first, but it was one of those moments that taught me if you just really work hard, also just, you gotta position yourself properly. But if you really just work hard and keep that tonal vision, it's only a matter of time.

[36:30] Jayke Workman: Hell, yeah.

[36:31] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's only a matter of time.

[36:32] Jayke Workman: Totally. And you did it for quite some time. I mean, I have to wonder, when they did announce that that resident Chicago company was gonna close, were you ready?

[36:39] Jamaal Fields-Green: I've done it?

[36:48] Jamaal Fields-Green: Both. Actually, 50-50, 50-50, 50-50, because I could have very well, at the time, I would have been fine staying for one more year in Chicago, or just even another six months. But at the same time, I was ready to go, because of how I am, too. I like to jump from show to show. I like to challenge myself. I really like to challenge myself. I like to try on different roles, different skin, different challenges, and different atmospheres and environments. So it was a bit of 50-50, where I was like, it was bittersweet, like, oh, I don't wanna go, I'm gonna miss it. This is so great, but also like, yeah, because at the time, I mean, it was the top of my career, and I was honestly, I was like, I've done this, I've conquered Chicago, I've conquered this show, respectively, so to speak. I'm ready to go back to New York now, and conquer New York, and let New York know who the F. Jamal Fields Green is, basically. Period.

[37:46] Jayke Workman: And I mean, you had so many experiences in Chicago, you met the person who is now your fiance. Congratulations.

[37:56] Jamaal Fields-Green: What's up, what's up, what's up? Put a ring on it, baby.

[38:01] Jayke Workman: And you proposed at the CIBC Theater, which you played Hamilton in, which is like, so special.

[38:09] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, it was magical. It was magical. I'm super happy, super thankful. Shout out to CIBC, shout out to Broadway World in Chicago, everyone else that, Leah Volek, our producer, our head producer for MJ, everyone that helped me make that possible. Yeah, that was awesome. That was truly a moment in time, and yeah, Amber, Tiara Jackson, my fiance, we met, she was the bullet. I think I can say this, one of the best bullets, hands down, in Hamilton history. Yeah, I mean, I'm always thankful to that show because I have family from that show. A lot of my friends, I mean, a lot of, I feel like Vin Diesel from Fast and Furious, like, I don't have friends, I got family. I got family. I got family. But a lot of people from that show are actually, like, my family to this day, and we're all scattered doing other shows now and stuff, but yeah, that show is special. That show, it connected me with a lot of beautiful people and a lot of beautiful life experiences and just a lot of beautiful memories, one of the best moments of my life so far.

[39:19] Jayke Workman: Amazing, that's so sweet. And I must say, I think it is really incredible, and I'm sure that you feel so fortunate that these shows that you have worked on, MJ, Hamilton, you got to do Choir Boys. These are all shows that so beautifully celebrate Black people, Black performers, people of color. And I would love to know just sort of, I guess, if you can put it in a nutshell, how important it is for your personal experience in doing shows to feel safe and celebrated in your Blackness.

[40:03] Jamaal Fields-Green: Oh, that's a really good question. It's super important, it's super dope, because I'll start off with this. I mean, you know, like many collegiate programs and stuff, I mean, we have about three, four Black artists, a class, maybe even the entire program, all four years with that, you know? Especially, you know, and especially our time and heart, you know, you can count them all, at least on one hand, maybe two, but definitely after the older classes ahead of us, it was, you know, but, and with that, the work that's usually available with that, it's usually far and near, you know, you take what you can, you know, I always took what I could, because you have to grind, you know, you have to just grind it out and play the game, as I like to say, because this is a game, it's a big game.

Yeah, but I've been very fortunate as of late, and actually, the craziest thing, Jake, is that you saying that, actually, like, I've always been aware, but I've never been so aware, like, you saying that, I'm like, huh? Like, the last few shows that I've done, like, actually have, it's really beautiful, it's beautiful. And I will say, like, for me, at least with these last few shows that I've done, even like with MJ, being in spaces with just a lot of black artists and black faces, it's, you can't trade that. It's something that a lot, that we don't, we always talk about in these spaces, but we don't take for granted, because you don't get that all the time. There's a certain type of weight that is just lifted when you're in these rooms, because we're always ourselves, but we can really be ourselves, and just, you don't always have to explain things, if that makes sense.

You know what I mean? Even things that go on in the industry and stuff, but for me, it's super important for that, to be seen and to feel seen, but it's also important for me, it's important to me to have been and be a part of these shows, because they give an outlook on what the industry could be, in terms of inclusion, because this is only like maybe just a tiny speck of inclusion, because we can even, we can broaden that out to multiple communities, not just the black community, but just every other community that require more attention, but also more representation. It's dope, it's dope. I think that's the best way to put it. It's dope, it's awesome, but it's also, it's inspiring, impactful, but also pushing, that's the best word. I'm gonna come up with all the best words once we get off of this, but it pushes me to, it pushes me or pushes one, to want to make space for more.

[44:05] Jamaal Fields-Green: Specifically working with black hair. And I think that's just one tiny element of the theater industry as a whole, where you start to see the holes in it. You start to see the cracks in the plaster a little bit of like, uh-oh, uh-oh, this person doesn't know how to work with black hair. How is this person going to wig someone or time and time again? You meet a lot of stories like that. I mean, I've even dealt with stories like that in theater and film. Right. Yeah, by folks. And it's just like, it's just an eye roll and just looking around like, uh, okay. Right. It's like these things, which I guess you could term as microaggressions, honestly, like racism, is these things are so preventable.

If we would just teach each other, if we would just talk about things more and be like, no, no, this is what it is. So learn it and do it so that everyone in this cast feels safe and included in something as simple as having their wig put on. Bing, bang, boom. Because then it's like, why am I here? Right. What am I doing here? What's the point of this?

[44:40] Jayke Workman: Exactly. But I'm so glad that you have had great experiences in both Hamilton and now obviously MJ, and I'm so excited that the entire country will now get to experience your performance as MJ.

[44:54] Jamaal Fields-Green: I myself will be coming—

[44:56] Jayke Workman: Twice a week.

[44:57] Jamaal Fields-Green: Twice a week, baby. Twice a week. I'm on twice a week. I have guaranteed dates twice a week.

[45:05] Jayke Workman: When you're not doing those two performances, are you also on standby in case they need you to go on?

[45:11] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah. I believe, and don't quote me on this, but I believe I'm probably the first line of defense.

[45:17] Jayke Workman: Gotcha.

[45:18] Jamaal Fields-Green: Which I have been only once so far. So when I'm not on, I'm usually just, you know me, I keep the work going. Working on my scripts, working on something, keep myself busy.

[45:30] Jayke Workman: Well, I do have a segment where I ask a series of musical theater rapid fire questions, which I will be asking you. But first, before I do that, I do just want to ask you one last question about MJ, which is about sharing a role, because it's not as common as we would think. There aren't necessarily alternates or understudies for every huge role like this. And I think it's really cool that, I mean, you guys are so open about it, both on social media and just in actual life, that you guys are sharing this role. It's not like there's the lead and then wah, wah, there's the understudy or something. You guys are equally doing this crazy role. What is it like to, I would imagine, have almost like a brotherhood of MJs?

[46:06] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's awesome, honestly. It's awesome. We also, little thing, a lot of us are on a regiment of training and stuff. Myself specifically, because when I first joined, I was really muscular and MJ just wasn't buff. He just wasn't a muscle guy. So we all have a bond, kind of like a bonding of trauma, kind of, when it comes to the training and even the training with the brothers, because we all understand the work that it takes to put this show up, to do this role, the amount of respect that it... What's cool is that even us on the tour, but even the MJs on Broadway as well, every single one, from Miles all the way to me, we all do it differently. Every iteration, it's our own iteration. It's like us, it's like our own respectful interpretation of MJ. But what's really cool about it is just that, I mean, it's just... I think it's how this business should be. There's room for talent in the room.

[47:12] Jayke Workman: Oh, a hundred percent.

[47:13] Jamaal Fields-Green: My talent doesn't take away from your talent. Your talent doesn't take away from my talent. I do some things differently than you do. You do some things differently than I do. But at the end of the day, you're going to put up a show and I'm going to put up a show. People, they have some favorites. They might lean towards this one or lean toward this one, but at the end of the day, they're going to get a show. But it doesn't deter from the work or the integrity of our artistic integrity, and it shouldn't.

[47:38] Jayke Workman: Hell yeah.

[47:39] Jamaal Fields-Green: So I'm thankful for that.

[47:40] Jayke Workman: I love to hear that. I love that. And I think it's so true. And it doesn't need to be that way.

[47:47] Jamaal Fields-Green: It doesn't. And I love competition. I love competition. I love a good dance call.

[47:52] Jayke Workman: You love a dance call. Oh my God. I can't believe I got this far into the podcast without even telling this story. It's my claim to fame, everyone. I can confidently say that one time I did share a bed with Jamaal Fields-Green and I would never let him live it down ever because we auditioned.

[48:06] Jamaal Fields-Green: Very true. Very true.

[48:08] Jayke Workman: We flew all the way to Missouri with Queen Leslie Blake Walker and Chantel Vanturb. And we auditioned for the Muny together. We shared a bed. And I'll never forget the video of you in a trench coat and a hat looking like an ensemble member of Rent doing a ballet bar.

[48:24] Jamaal Fields-Green: Looking like I'm in my fifth callback for Collins.

[48:27] Jayke Workman: But yes, you do. You love a dance call.

[48:30] Jamaal Fields-Green: I do. I do now. They used to stress me out so much when I was auditioning for school, when I was getting used to everything. Because dancing was my weakest thing. And I worked my butt off to make sure that it is on par with everything else. I would still say in terms of everything.

[49:01] Jayke Workman: I mean, my God, it's just wild to see. It's truly wild to see where you came from and what you are capable of doing with your body now. It's just insane.

[49:10] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's crazy. We've come a long way.

[49:12] Jayke Workman: But I'm so proud of you. And you truly deserve it all. But okay, the time has come for me to ask you a series of musical theater rapid fire questions. Are you ready, Jamaal?

[49:22] Jamaal Fields-Green: No, but let's do it.

[49:24] Jayke Workman: It's not trivia. It's not trivia. These are your personal questions. Okay.

[49:28] Jamaal Fields-Green: Cool.

[49:30] Jayke Workman: Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[49:32] Jamaal Fields-Green: Sondheim.

[49:34] Jayke Workman: Sweatpants or jeans?

[49:36] Jamaal Fields-Green: Sweatpants.

[49:37] Jayke Workman: Do you have a favorite musical?

[49:40] Jamaal Fields-Green: Just top of my head right now, I'm going to say Sweeney Todd.

[49:44] Jayke Workman: Oh, work. I did not expect that one. Do you have a least favorite musical?

[49:49] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's okay. You can say. Nobody's listening to this except everyone.

[49:54] Jamaal Fields-Green: I can't think of it. I can't think of it. I'm just gonna say Music Man.

[49:58] Jayke Workman: Would you ever like to do a Broadway play?

[50:01] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yes, I actually really want to do a Broadway play one day.

[50:05] Jayke Workman: Love that. I would love to see you in it. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

[50:10] Jamaal Fields-Green: Definitely a night owl. I hate mornings.

[50:13] Jayke Workman: Me too. Can you think of the craziest thing a director has ever asked you to do?

[50:19] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, actually. Basically, like a minstrel thing.

[50:23] Jayke Workman: No, not that.

[50:25] Jamaal Fields-Green: It was Summerstock and it was minstrel. And I remember they compared what I had to do. They compared it. They were like, do you know what you're embodying? And they were like, basically Aunt Jemima. Yeah, I'll never forget that.

[50:36] Jayke Workman: Oh, dear, dear, dear.

[50:38] Jamaal Fields-Green: Never forget that.

[50:39] Jayke Workman: Not that. Summerstock.

[50:41] Jamaal Fields-Green: Golden Age or contemporary?

[50:43] Jayke Workman: Contemporary all the way.

[50:45] Jamaal Fields-Green: Do you have a favorite role that you have ever played?

[50:48] Jayke Workman: Michael Jackson.

[50:50] Jamaal Fields-Green: You said it with such disdain.

[50:53] Jamaal Fields-Green: Michael Jackson.

[50:55] Jayke Workman: Coffee or tea?

[50:57] Jamaal Fields-Green: Before, after, during, all of it?

[51:01] Jayke Workman: All of it, but especially after.

[51:03] Jamaal Fields-Green: After.

[51:04] Jayke Workman: Especially after.

[51:06] Jamaal Fields-Green: After the show. Love it.

[51:08] Jayke Workman: After the show.

[51:09] Jamaal Fields-Green: What about the hardest show you've ever done? MJ, honey.

[51:14] Jayke Workman: What about the favorite costume that you've ever worn?

[51:18] Jamaal Fields-Green: I don't think I've ever worn a costume that I've ever worn.

[51:22] Jayke Workman: What about the favorite costume that you have ever worn?

[51:26] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's a tie.

[51:28] Jayke Workman: Yeah, because the costumes in Hamilton are great.

[51:30] Jamaal Fields-Green: But these MJ costumes that I have playing MJ, they're custom between the bad jacket. That's the picture that everyone loves of me with the thing off.

[51:38] Jayke Workman: Yes.

[51:39] Jamaal Fields-Green: The bad jacket, because it's real leather. I love the bad jacket. And it's between the bad jacket, the finale costume, and the opening costume with just the embroidered jackets.

[51:49] Jayke Workman: Beautiful.

[51:50] Jamaal Fields-Green: Gorgeous.

[51:51] Jayke Workman: So fashionable.

[51:52] Jamaal Fields-Green: So hot.

[51:53] Jayke Workman: And a wig and a hat.

[51:55] Jamaal Fields-Green: You look so good.

[51:57] Jayke Workman: Makeup, everything.

[51:59] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yeah, MJ.

[52:01] Jayke Workman: What is your favorite number to perform from that show?

[52:05] Jamaal Fields-Green: Smooth Criminal.

[52:07] Jayke Workman: That was so fast.

[52:09] Jamaal Fields-Green: The entire... I mean, because Billie Jean going to Smooth Criminal, we're on stage for 10 minutes, basically. But the entirety of Smooth Criminal with the dance inspirations. So from the dance off of the Nicholas Brothers, into Fred Astaire, into Fosse going into Smooth. Because you get all of... You get the tap, jazz, ballet, into the street dance.

[52:29] Jayke Workman: I love it.

[52:30] Jamaal Fields-Green: I love it.

[52:31] Jayke Workman: I love it too.

[52:32] Jamaal Fields-Green: I love it.

[52:33] Jayke Workman: Who is the silliest cast member in the show?

[52:36] Jamaal Fields-Green: Me.

[52:38] Jayke Workman: Definitely me.

[52:40] Jamaal Fields-Green: Why am I not surprised?

[52:42] Jamaal Fields-Green: It's definitely me.

[52:44] Jayke Workman: Have you ever missed an entrance?

[52:47] Jamaal Fields-Green: Yes.

[52:48] Jayke Workman: What?

[52:49] Jamaal Fields-Green: I missed one of my last shows, actually.

[52:52] Jayke Workman: What?

[52:53] Jamaal Fields-Green: The audience couldn't tell, though. It was... I was just supposed to walk out and be out on stage while something was going on during the stage, in the middle of the stage. And we had a vacation swing come through, and it was our first time doing the show together, even though we shared a room together. And I hadn't seen him in a few days since he had gotten here. And I saw him backstage after we just performed the first number together. So we're talking, we're talking, we're talking. And then I was like, no one would have been able to tell, but I knew. But I was like, I missed my entrance.

[53:25] Jayke Workman: You're like, oh, one second.

[53:27] Jamaal Fields-Green: Do you have any pre-show rituals?

[53:30] Jayke Workman: Yes.

[53:31] Jamaal Fields-Green: Warming up.

[53:32] Jayke Workman: No, I'm just kidding.

[53:34] Jamaal Fields-Green: I like to play music from the time, from those days, from the 50s, 60s, 70s. I like to play music from the time I was a kid. The 50s, 60s, 70s. I play some James Brown, kind of to warm my feet up. I start warming up in my dressing room. I play MJ videos. I'll watch video footage of him, just start getting into the groove of everything.

[54:00] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[54:01] Jamaal Fields-Green: That's, yeah.

[54:02] Jayke Workman: That is so cool.

[54:03] Jamaal Fields-Green: And my last question for you is, what is one thing you would tell younger Jamaal?

[54:09] Jamaal Fields-Green: I'm just tearing up for a second. You just saying that like, I'm a simp. Keep going, man. Keep going. Be a little bit more confident in yourself. Trust yourself. You got this. Just keep, yeah, just keep going. Keep going. You'll be there. Just keep going.

[54:29] Jayke Workman: Yes. And look where it is now.

[54:32] Jamaal Fields-Green: Wow.

[54:33] Jayke Workman: Well, Jamaal, thank you so, so much for being on the pod. I just adore you. And I'm so, so proud of everything that you have achieved. Can you tell the listeners where they can find you on socials so they can keep up?

[54:47] Jamaal Fields-Green: So on Instagram, I am J underscore Hassan 22. That is J underscore H-A-S-S-A-N 22. Or you can just look up Jamal Fields Green. It'll pop up. My music, I go by J Hassan. Hassan is my middle name. J for Jamal. So it's still my name. Twitter, Mali 22. But I'm not going to tell y'all. I'm just going to have to find that one because I tweet when I want. If you find my Instagram, you'll be able to find everything else. Jamal Fields Green. I have my own website. Have at it. J Hassan is my music.

[55:29] Jayke Workman: Jake, I just want to say too, I am very proud of you. This podcast is amazing. Seeing it grow and seeing you grow. You're making your debut, your Broadway debut. You're doing shows. You're on SNL. You're on the podcast. You're everywhere. I love it.

[55:44] Jayke Workman: Oh my God, you are so sweet. Well, thank you.

[55:47] Jamaal Fields-Green: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[55:48] Jayke Workman: And I can't wait to see you in the show.

[55:51] Jamaal Fields-Green: I'll see you soon.

[55:52] Jayke Workman: I'll see you in a few months.

[55:55] Jayke Workman: You guys, that's it for another episode of Oh My Pod, you guys. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe anywhere you listen to the pod. And you can follow the show on Instagram at Oh My Pod, you guys. Thanks so much for listening. Talk soon.

[56:14] Jamaal Fields-Green: Bye.