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[0:00] Jayke Workman: Girl, somebody tell me why. I could spend four hours making a TikTok for it to get, I don't know, 500 views, and then I make one 45-second TikTok on a whim, willy-nilly, and it has 2.4 million views. What is the truth, Ellen?

[0:29] Jayke Workman: Oh my god, did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear? Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, oh my god, you guys. What is up, everybody? My name is Jayke Workman, and this is Oh My Pod U Guys, a musical theater and pop culture podcast. You guys, this week has been absolutely crazy. As we say in the biz, I have been doing what we call double duty, which is I have to just preface by saying I am so beyond grateful to be doing not one but two things at once. But I've been standing by for Mary Sunshine on Broadway while I have been rehearsing for a new musical, a new version of A Wrinkle in Time, which is gonna be produced at Arena Stage in Washington, DC this summer, and I'm so, so excited about it. But you guys, doing both at the same time, learning new music while then being on standby for a Broadway show, and also going on was cuckoo bananas.

[0:53] Jayke Workman: You guys, this week I found out at half hour that I was going to be going on for the role of Mary Sunshine, and of course, you know, my crazy Virgo brain means that I was absolutely prepared with all of my things in my backpack. I had literally everything I could possibly need to go on for Mary Sunshine. But I did not anticipate going on at all. So I had my full mustache. I was like, I am chilling. I am here if they need me, but otherwise, you know, it's not gonna happen. And of course, it happened. So at half hour, I shaved my mustache, threw on a lash. Look at that, I'm a poet. It was a whirlwind of a day, and I cannot say enough thank yous and I love you's to everyone at the Ambassador Theater for making it so special.

And for everyone then in rehearsals at A Wrinkle in Time for lifting me up and being like, "You got this. It's okay that you're a little tie-tie. You got a lot of shit going on." It was just a whirlwind of a day when I went on, and then a whirlwind of a week, you know, being in rehearsals, but it was such a beautiful reminder of how lucky I am to get to do what I love surrounded by people who I adore and look up to. I mean, I was in the rehearsal room with Mary Testa and Amber Gray. Like, what are we talking about here, ladies? It was nuts.

[3:16] Jayke Workman: So, all of that is to say, Hi, how are you? Miss you, love you. Welcome to the pod. And if you're new here, you are in for a whack-a-doodle treat. And if you are not new here, welcome back. You are in for a whack-a-doodle treat because she is on one after a week of the Broadway and a week of A Wrinkle in Time. And you guys, I am so, so grateful. And with that, we of course have to dive into this week's Broadway World recap, brought to you by my amazing pals at Broadwayworld.com. First of all, you guys, Broadway World shared photos of the first look at Andy Miantis, Larry Owens, and Christina Alabado starring in Tick, Tick... Boom! at the Cape Playhouse, which I was so fortunate enough to go to the final run-through of here in New York City.

You guys, these photos are amazing. I was, of course, blown away by this run-through, and it was so special and intimate to see it done, you know, just these three people and the music director on the piano in a rehearsal studio, just bare bones doing it for a very small group of people. But then to see these production photos and to see what the actors get to do on stage with the lights and the costumes, it just looks so beautiful. So congratulations to everyone involved in this stunning production of Tick, Tick... Boom! at the Cape Playhouse. And of course, friend of the pod, Mr. Eric Rosen on his directorial debut at the Cape Playhouse. It looks absolutely beautiful. You guys, you have to check out these photos on BroadwayWorld.com.

[5:00] Jayke Workman: Next, you guys, we got the thrilling announcement that Dolly Parton has written an autobiographical musical for Broadway, and it is coming in 2026. The show is titled Hello, I'm Dolly, and it is inspired by her life and trailblazing career. And you guys, I just am over the moon for this. Dolly Parton herself said, "Hello, I'm Dolly, and I've lived my whole life to see this show on stage. I've written many original songs for the show and included all your favorites in it as well. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll clap, you'll stomp. It is truly a grand old opera." Pun and fun intended. Don't miss it. You guys, my little gay heart. I just, Dolly is so beloved, and she really is a person who embraces the Broadway community, the queer community, so the fact that we get to bring her story to life on a Broadway stage, I'm just obsessed, and I absolutely demand to be a part of it. So they have an official website for the show already up and running, but of course, you must stay tuned to Oh My Pod U Guys for all of the updates on Hello, I'm Dolly coming to Broadway very soon.

[6:19] Jayke Workman: And lastly, you guys, in a very exciting announcement, Broadway World shared the list of the performers for the 77th Annual Tony Awards, which include Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club with nominees Gail Rankin and Eddie Redmayne, Hell's Kitchen, featuring the music of producer Alicia Keys, with nominees Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Keisha Lewis, and Malia Joy Moon. Illinois, featuring the music of Sufjan Stevens, directed and choreographed by the iconic Justin Peck. Merrily We Roll Along, a Stephen Sondheim classic with nominees Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe. Sups, a new musical, whose producers include Hillary Clinton, with nominees Nikki M. James and Shana Taub. The Outsiders, based on the book and the film, whose producers include Angelina Jolie, with nominees Joshua Boone, Brody Grant, and Sky Lakota Lynch.

The Who's Tommy, featuring music of Pete Townshend and The Who. And Water for Elephants, based on the best-selling book and film, featuring Grant Gustin and the astonishing acrobatic cast. You guys, I am so excited for this year's Tonys. It has been truly such a crazy whirlwind, overwhelming, saturated, exciting, expensive, beautiful season on Broadway. And, you know, say what you want, say what you will about the Tonys and everything, I'm just so thrilled to see so many artists be nominated and celebrated, and I live for the Tony Awards performances. So I cannot wait. Congrats to everyone who gets to perform on the Tonys this year. It is just such an amazing honor. I cannot wait to see you shine. And you guys, this has been the BroadwayWorld Recap.

[8:18] Jayke Workman: Oh my pod, you guys. I am so excited to welcome my next guest to the show. He is a Broadway performer, a star of the stage and the screen, darling. Please welcome Mr. Danny Quadrino. Danny, welcome to the pod.

[8:35] Danny Quadrino: Oh my god, I'm so, oh my pod, I am so excited. Oh my god! She said on brand. Thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited to chat with you. I have followed your career for so long now, and I always ask my guests when we first begin, would you tell us where are you calling in from on this fine day?

[8:53] Danny Quadrino: I am calling in from New York City, New York, BB New York City. Ever heard of her? I don't know. She's a cute little girly. She's hot right now. It's nasty. I literally went out to get a coffee and I was like, this is not it. I don't remember moving to Florida, but here we are.

[9:13] Jayke Workman: Yeah, not it. Well, thank you so much for being here. I, of course, we have to do a deep dive of your incredible career and endeavors in the theatre, but I most recently had the pleasure of seeing you in The Who's Tommy on Broadway. Girl, we gotta talk about this show because I went in not knowing anything on purpose. I was like, I don't want to do any research. I know of The Who, and I knew that this show was gonna be a rock concert basically. I knew nothing else, and darling Diva Dear, you guys are huffing it on that teeny tiny stage of the Neil Simon Theatre. Tell me, okay, so where do we even begin? What was your road to this show? It was different than some because you worked on the show pre-Broadway.

[10:04] Danny Quadrino: Yes. So tell me, when developing a show like this that's essentially sung through, it's a rock opera basically with tons of moving parts, where do you begin in your creative process as an ensemble and as a cover for the lead for Tommy and other principals?

[10:24] Danny Quadrino: Yeah. You know, I kind of had the same experience as you when I booked the show. I was like, I knew of The Who. My college, I went to Pace University for musical theater. And the year before I transferred in, they did Tommy, so I saw it. But that was like many moons ago, so I hadn't really remembered it, but I was like, obviously I knew "Pinball Wizard," I knew "The Acid Queen," and I knew like two other songs, like "Sensation." And I was like, okay, so I went in, whatever. I went to this dance call that was said to be a mover's call. Blink blink. And we got like three eights through this call, and I have a panic attack, and I pull the casting director aside and I said, "Hey, I gotta go. So sorry.

Thank you for having me." And I literally was like, "I'm really sorry, I can dance, but this is not my bag." And she's like, "Uh, okay, are you sure? What about a movement call?" I was like, "I would slay a movement call. Like, give me a great fine, give me a kick kick, like I'm there." And then I was like, "And I can sing the shit out of it." Like, I never really advocate for myself that way. So it's the first time I did that.

[11:34] Danny Quadrino: So then, like, weeks go by, right? And I'm like, okay, definitely did bug that, you know, whatever. And then weeks go by and I get a call to come into a movement call. And it's like me and like every Broadway heavy hitter in this room. And I was like, definitely, they're not gonna have one ensemble member, like being like even step touched in the back. I get through the movement call, whatever. I get a call out that I get it wild. And I was like, oh, cool. There's obviously gonna be mover tracks and dancer tracks. To my surprise, like, we're learning "Sensation," like the first couple of days of rehearsal in Chicago. And they're like, "Oh, what? You can do it." And I was like, "Cool." And then like, "Can I? Can I?" And then like from there I got put into like every dance number, which I'm so thankful for.

Oh yeah. I think people are always like, "You read Newsies, you're a ballerina." I was like, "No, you don't understand that I auditioned for Newsies like over 20 times before I booked it." So like, she can dance, she just needs a little bit more time with the choreo. Sure, sure, sure. But that's the tea. I feel like so many, so many times I've been in for things where it's like either the dance call is absolutely insane, and then I book the show and we're doing step touches, and I'm like, "So what was the point of all of that, ma'am?"

[12:55] Danny Quadrino: Or it's the opposite, where they're like, it's just a mover, it's solo stakes. We're just gonna see how you move and see how it fits on your body. And then you get into the rehearsal room and they're like, a five, six, like, what it's insane. I prefer the second. I prefer the second one, I think. Because at least I'm like, I don't have the anxiety of booking this job.

[13:14] Right.

[13:14] Danny Quadrino: I'm like, well, I got it. But at the same time, and to your credit, you are moving, girl. Like, I mean, I've seen you in multiple shows, but this this one is bonkers. Like the choreography is not there. I mean, there are moments of like pure dance technique in this show, but there is movement that I'm like, how do you even warm up for a show like this? Like you it's so physical in a way that's like outside of the world of dance. It's just crazy.

[13:42] A hundred percent.

[13:43] Danny Quadrino: It's giving like activated form up, it's not giving like a lot of stretch. Like, yes, I'm stretching, but you can't overstretch because then you'll be like literally dead.

[13:52] Start.

[13:52] Right.

[13:53] Danny Quadrino: So and like thankfully, we have PT three times a week, and you know, it is so athletic, and I think that's where like my strengths as a dancer come into play because like I am not really I don't consider myself like a technical dancer. Like sure, yes, I can do a double, yes, I can do you know, like I know the things, but like I'm like Jody Sawyer, I do not have the feet you said but let me do a front walkover real quick let me do a front hand spring I can throw that for you Tarla I really wanted a transfer you're gonna take me to Broadway come hell or high water and just to be clear I am the hell and I am the high water so thank you.

[14:35] I had sweat dreams every night in Chicago because I also played the harmonica in the show and I found I found out day one of rehearsal that I had to learn.

[14:44] Okay but you killed it like every also Danny we just got I mean I I'm like I guess this is just like a blow smoke podcast now because I'm obsessed with you. You your vocals in that feature harmonica player bitch.

[14:58] You're in the rafters squabbling for the lady did you know when you booked it that that was gonna be a feature that you had in the show?

[15:08] No.

[15:09] Danny Quadrino: So like I auditioned and I had a few of the ensemble sides and in Chicago I only covered cousin Kevin. So I and now here I cover both of them.

[15:19] Right.

[15:20] Danny Quadrino: Uh both Kevin and Tommy and so I only sang yeah I've heard of them I I only sang cousin Kevin music and pinball wizard.

[15:30] Okay.

[15:30] Danny Quadrino: And then from there they decided and like when we were in the finals they were like okay let's sing pinball wizard and then like Ron the music uh supervisor Ron Melrose yeah music supervisor of the gods said okay now let's take pinball wizard half up half a step. So like that's how they were testing how people could screen.

[15:48] Sure.

[15:49] Danny Quadrino: And Lord, Abby screaming.

[15:52] Screaming.

[15:53] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[15:54] I love it though. I I real I really do. I've I and when I'm feeling good, I'm feeling good. You know what I mean? And then there's other days that it's work, like a little bit more work, but you know.

[16:04] Of course.

[16:04] Danny Quadrino: I mean, that's just the nature of this fucking beast. But this show is one. I'm so so glad that you guys are nominated in categories at the Tonies because this show is one. I mean, say what you want, say what you will. Tonies aside, this show needed to be recognized for the artistry that is on stage.

[16:25] I mean, I had I was so lucky to have David Corins, the um designer of the show. Um and you know, hearing him talk about the experience doing this show versus others. It was just it's so thrilling to see actual art on stage because this is unlike anything I've ever seen.

[16:43] And you guys get to perform at the Tony.

[16:46] I know.

[16:46] Danny Quadrino: I have chills just thinking about that. I've never is that your first time?

[16:49] Yeah.

[16:50] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[16:51] I know.

[16:52] Oh my god.

[16:53] Danny Quadrino: I know. It's pretty freaking wild. And my partner is in the show with me.

[16:58] Yes.

[16:59] Danny Quadrino: Like making his Broadway debut, which is so exciting, and he's gonna be on the Tonies too. And so, like, that's like a first that we get to share together, which is really, really, really together before you did the show.

[17:13] Yeah, we've been together uh almost six years.

[17:16] Oh my goodness.

[17:17] Danny Quadrino: Yeah, we met on the road.

[17:19] So special that you guys get to share this show.

[17:22] Yeah.

[17:22] Danny Quadrino: When he booked it, we would like we were just like walking around our apartment being like, what the fuck? Because we like we met doing um Charlie and the Chalk Factory on the road.

[17:32] Yes.

[17:33] Danny Quadrino: And we were like the first national baby. And I was like, okay, that one.

[17:38] No, um, uh, I will have that one. Thank you.

[17:41] I'll have that.

[17:42] Danny Quadrino: Um, but we were like, oh, we worked together, but we met while we were working together, so like we never thought that we would do a show together again. So, like the fact that we get to do a show together is unreal.

[17:54] It's so funny. A few of people, like our Mordrobe supervisor and like a few other people just this week after doing the show for this long, were like, I didn't realize that you and Dave would together, and we're like, that's professionalism, baby.

[18:07] We keep it out of the office.

[18:08] Exactly.

[18:09] Danny Quadrino: We keep our mouths closed until we're behind closed doors. Thank you very much.

[18:15] I love it.

[18:16] Jayke Workman: Well, okay, we have to talk about I mean, you've done so many shows, but uh before we talk about you know the the sort of lore of the wicked and all of that.

[18:25] Oh my god.

[18:26] Jayke Workman: We have to talk about your road to your first Broadway show because you are uh one of the rare cases where you you did this before you even went to school for it.

[18:37] Like, tell me what was like what was it like making your Broadway debut at 18 years old?

[18:44] Danny Quadrino: Yeah, it was pretty freaking crazy. I mean, like I I remember looking up, I took music theory, my junior year of high school, which was pretty cool. Like we had and there's like six of us in the class, and it was in like this like new Mac lab and the newing of the high school, and I was like not paying attention and like on play though, looking at auditions. Of course, like like literally just whatever. And I saw one for Bye Bye Birdie, and it was an open call, and I was like, okay, they're probably gonna cast like 25, 30 year olds as teens. And I was like, but I'll go.

[19:13] So I go to this like cattle call. Um, and I'm from Long Island originally, so I took the train in, and I went in with a friend, and their line, and we got there at like 9 30 for the call starting at 10, like rookie mistake.

[19:30] Yeah, yeah.

[19:32] Danny Quadrino: Um, so then I we get there, and the line is like wrapped around the block twice. And so we're like, the audition was like, I forget if it was 44th or 45th, but all I could hear on the line for two hours before it started moving was the nine to five theme because we were like on the Broadway side of the block, and 9 to 5 was playing at the uh at the marquee at the time, I believe.

[19:54] So like I was hearing, not too fast, and so we finally get up to this line, and then they're like, they give us a a number, and they're like, come back at 6 30 p.m. And we're like, huh?

[20:06] So I went all the way back to Long Island, and then my angel father drove me back in, drove me like up to the door, walked in, and then we go upstairs and they type us all.

[20:19] And they're like typing us all in. I was like, what the hell is this? I had no clue what this was.

[20:24] Yeah, I was like, the only professional audition I went to was like a wicked open call before that, because I was like, what an idiot. Like at like 14. Like anyway, um, so I go up, whatever, they type us in, and I literally sang my odd my first audition for About Everty in the Coke Closet, because that is where we put our bags.

[20:44] Are you kidding me?

[20:45] Danny Quadrino: No, but it was amazing because I'm like literally screaming those magic changes from Greece, like, like literally at this casting actor. And she was like, Do you dance? I was like, sure. And then like 12 auditions later, I got it.

[21:00] There she was.

[21:01] Danny Quadrino: And there she was on Broadway, and when I got it, I was doing bye-bye birdie in a community theater.

[21:06] Oh my god.

[21:07] Danny Quadrino: Close to my home. I was playing Albert, and then I did not play Albert Albert.

[21:12] Perfect, perfect.

[21:15] Wow.

[21:16] Jayke Workman: So I mean, you you mentioned your your dad, but I would love to know too, like, when you are that young, often if you don't have parents who are in the know, in the biz, you know, are artistic people.

[21:29] Yeah.

[21:30] Danny Quadrino: It it is more often than not, I would say that like parents are like, uh, I don't know if this is a viable career path for you. I think you should do something else. I think you should go to college.

[21:41] Like, what did you always have an artistic family and and household, or were they just like, go ahead and do it?

[21:48] I I wanted I yes. We were we grew up listening to like, you know, like I grew up listening to like Celine Cher, Whitney, like the be like the be like all like amazing like musicians and like vocalists.

[22:01] So they they made me gay.

[22:05] It's their fault.

[22:06] Danny Quadrino: No, um but like I so I felt very like I always knew I wanted to do something with music as a kid. Um, but my brother was a figure skater growing up, and both figure skating and musical theater are not only gay, but um they are also very hard careers, and they were nothing but supportive, like truly nothing but supportive.

[22:27] Like wow.

[22:27] Danny Quadrino: I start I started dancing first. I had a neighbor who lived across the street from us, like her grandmother was a rocket, so then she like saw like my brother and I like you know, like rollerblading to music on our driveway or like putting on shows on our front lawn, and she signed like you do, and she signed me up for a dance class, so I and it was an all-boys jazz class, and I like bitched the entire way to the class.

[22:51] The entire 10-minute drive.

[22:52] I was like, I don't want to do this, whatever. I left and I signed up for like five more classes and ended up taking like six dance classes a week. And my parents like knew that there was something special about what I was doing.

[23:03] Yeah.

[23:03] Danny Quadrino: But they but they never pushed it. They never forced me to do anything, you know. But if I started something, I had to finish it. I was never allowed to like k quit like halfway through.

[23:13] Like I always had to like finish like, you know.

[23:16] Which was awesome.

[23:17] Jayke Workman: And college was never off the table. They said you can do whatever you want, but you have to go to school.

[23:21] Love that.

[23:22] Danny Quadrino: Which I I of course didn't want to, and I'm so happy I didn't.

[23:27] Well, yeah, so so in talking about that, I I mean, I would imagine because my my experience was such that I was doing theater when I was very little. So I was working with all of these, you know, Broadway vets and whatever in in regional houses in Kansas City as a kid, but I wasn't I wasn't ready, you know.

[23:48] I I thought that I was, and I was like, I have built a career in Kansas Hall.

[23:53] I'm a big star.

[23:54] Danny Quadrino: The Kansas City Circuit.

[23:55] Yeah, literally, exactly.

[23:57] Jayke Workman: On the RM circuit. So I was like, I don't you know, in in planning my life as a 12 or 14-year-old person, I was like, I'm gonna, you know, be on Broadway, and then that's that. I don't need to go to college.

[24:10] Obviously, cut to uh me going to a four-year BFA program before I made my Broadway debut, but it's like, so did you have any reservations or um f uh feelings about going to school for musical theater after having said I I have been on Broadway, I've been in the Broadway show.

[24:32] Danny Quadrino: You know, I think that that's I mean, okay, so I took the Sill the T then.

[24:38] Yeah, I was like, how do I say this? I I took the SETs like a week after I booked Five I Birdie.

[24:46] So I was like, fuck school. I am like set. Like I do not need this shit.

[24:49] Right.

[24:52] No.

[24:53] Danny Quadrino: No. Miss Ma'am.

[24:55] Yeah.

[24:56] Little baby girls, sit down and study.

[24:59] Um I did not do well in that CT.

[25:03] So I got the points for my name.

[25:04] Um, like I literally.

[25:08] So I had like I academically had trouble getting into schools. Pace I got into on the spot for musical theater, and then I didn't get in academically, so I ended up transferring in my sophomore year.

[25:21] So it was like I was ready to go to school for musical theater with the body of work that I was giving, but I didn't know what the fuck I was doing.

[25:30] Danny Quadrino: I had to sing two contrasting songs for my audition, and I sang "Lost in the Wilderness" because I riff in that one, and I sang "Take a Chance on Me" from Little Women because I had Barbado and the other.

[25:40] Danny Quadrino: Like that is not contrasting.

[25:42] Danny Quadrino: That is not contrasting.

[25:46] Danny Quadrino: But you live, you learn.

[25:47] Danny Quadrino: But I got into this, you know, so like I was ready, but academically I wasn't.

[25:52] Danny Quadrino: And I needed that step back, I think.

[25:55] Danny Quadrino: Not step back, but like side step to be like, you need to prioritize you as a human.

[26:01] Danny Quadrino: A person and a person, yes, and not as what your artistry is, because I was continuing to work on my artistry, just not in an academic set, like in a BFA setting, but then I transferred in if that makes like yes, so I and I made sure I got like straight A's in my other school because I was like, I want to get out, I want to get a scholarship, I want to do this, yeah.

[26:22] Danny Quadrino: And it was really ended, it was a hard pill to swallow at first because all my friends were at Pace, like and then I transferred in and it was like I was never not there.

[26:31] Danny Quadrino: Just always there.

[26:32] Danny Quadrino: Yeah, yeah.

[26:33] Danny Quadrino: Well, I feel like that's yeah, it's just so I mean, there are so many different opinions about college and whatever and what it means to go to college, I think is so different for an artist because having the piece of paper and having the letters BFA really count in some rooms.

[26:51] Danny Quadrino: Um, but I am so grateful that I was fortunate enough to go to college because it set me up with the structure for those four years to know who I was on the day-to-day, separate from what I like to think I can do on a stage.

[27:09] Danny Quadrino: I was like, I have to do laundry.

[27:13] Danny Quadrino: I have to, you know, make sure that I'm eating because no one is saying, "Here's your food."

[27:20] Danny Quadrino: Uh-huh.

[27:21] Danny Quadrino: All those things.

[27:22] Danny Quadrino: And I was not in New York City at school, but where did you go?

[27:26] Danny Quadrino: I went to the Hartt School.

[27:27] Danny Quadrino: So I was in Hartford, Connecticut.

[27:29] Danny Quadrino: So like not.

[27:29] Danny Quadrino: Was Marishka your voice teacher?

[27:31] Danny Quadrino: Oh my god, Miss Marishka was not my teacher, but she was surely there.

[27:35] Danny Quadrino: She was mine at Pace.

[27:37] Danny Quadrino: Oh my god.

[27:38] Danny Quadrino: Oh my god, that crazy broad.

[27:41] Danny Quadrino: I love her.

[27:42] Danny Quadrino: And look at the work.

[27:44] Danny Quadrino: Look at the material.

[27:48] Danny Quadrino: But yeah, I'm so lucky, and I think anybody who has the opportunity to go to a BFA program or just a collegiate program in general, where you get to hone in on your training, but also you get to learn who you are as a human and how you have interpersonal relationships, that's the T.

[28:05] Danny Quadrino: So it's amazing that then you graduated and then you said, "Okay, now I will go back to Broadway. Thank you very much."

[28:12] Danny Quadrino: I actually did my entire senior year of college while doing these things at the same time.

[28:20] Jayke Workman: Are you absolutely kidding me?

[28:22] Danny Quadrino: No.

[28:22] Danny Quadrino: Daniel Marie Quadrino.

[28:24] Jayke Workman: I love Marie.

[28:25] Danny Quadrino: I love Marie.

[28:27] Danny Quadrino: Daniel Elizabeth.

[28:34] Jayke Workman: You're back at the same theater which is wild.

[28:37] Danny Quadrino: Oh my god, back in the same theater that you did Bye Bye Birdie.

[28:41] Danny Quadrino: Uh no, the Nederlander is to do these and Tommy.

[28:45] Danny Quadrino: So it's so exciting.

[28:46] Jayke Workman: Yeah, I see.

[28:46] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[28:47] Jayke Workman: So you mentioned that you auditioned over 20 times.

[28:51] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[28:51] Danny Quadrino: Talk about it.

[28:52] Danny Quadrino: Specifically in the sort of lens of someone who may not be familiar with how auditioning even works.

[28:59] Danny Quadrino: Like you went in for a show and you got called back and then not and then called back again and then not like what the hell how is crazy that it was crazy.

[29:10] Danny Quadrino: Um, you know I went in for the Paper Mill production and I made it all the way to the end all the way to the end.

[29:18] Danny Quadrino: And I was like I never really get like feelings like I was like oh my god like I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna but that I had this weird like I was like I'm I I I need to be in the show I need to be in the show I need to be the show.

[29:33] Danny Quadrino: Like I I it's just like felt like my vibe.

[29:36] Jayke Workman: Sure.

[29:37] Danny Quadrino: Um so I go in and that was like eight auditions or whatever and then like I ended up not getting it and I know it was and the team was like, we loved him, but his dancing isn't strong enough.

[29:50] Danny Quadrino: So that was like the first time where I was like, oh, okay, cool.

[29:55] Danny Quadrino: So then like I just, you know, was in school, like taking dance classes at school, and like I would get called in, like, it went then it like from Paper Mill, it went to Broadway, and it went back in.

[30:07] Danny Quadrino: Same thing.

[30:09] Danny Quadrino: Hey, dancing, the technique is still not there, but they kept calling me in.

[30:13] Danny Quadrino: And so I like this little cycle happens like three or four more times.

[30:17] Danny Quadrino: And then the last time it happened, I was like, you know what?

[30:20] Danny Quadrino: Like, I have to put myself at peace that like I'm gonna go in, but if I don't get it this time, I don't know if I can put my heart through this again.

[30:29] Jayke Workman: Uh-huh.

[30:29] Danny Quadrino: Getting myself worked up, getting myself, oh my god, like it was also like I as a twenty-one year old, like you're so like my I I was so young.

[30:41] Danny Quadrino: I was lucky enough that like I did Broadway when I was 17 and 18 years old, and then I had that taste of it, and I wanted it again.

[30:48] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[30:48] Danny Quadrino: So I was like, I want this, I want this, I know what it's like, I know what it's like, I know I can handle it, blah blah blah.

[30:53] Danny Quadrino: So then I go in for the track that I ended up getting, and I go in, I go for my initial audition, and then they have me come back at the end of the week and they're like, Okay, we had to tap one by one.

[31:03] Danny Quadrino: I had to dance, like I and it was down to four by one.

[31:06] Jayke Workman: Are you kidding me?

[31:07] Danny Quadrino: Um, and that so I did it there was four of us left.

[31:10] Danny Quadrino: And then they called my agent and they were like, Okay, tell him to go take a week of ballet.

[31:16] Danny Quadrino: And we're having another final audition next week.

[31:19] Danny Quadrino: So they had another round of auditions, and it was me and three other guys the next week.

[31:25] Jayke Workman: Oh my god.

[31:26] Danny Quadrino: At good old Pearl Studios of course fourth floor, 400.

[31:30] Danny Quadrino: Yep.

[31:30] Danny Quadrino: And I'm walking, we finished the thing, and I was like, Well, it is what it is.

[31:35] Danny Quadrino: You know, I did the thing.

[31:37] Danny Quadrino: And if I don't get it, I'll just say, like, you know, thanks, but no thanks.

[31:41] Danny Quadrino: And I hope they're like, We're gonna cut this now, because we don't want to string you long into this.

[31:45] Jayke Workman: Right, right.

[31:45] Danny Quadrino: I'm walking to the elevator, and they're like, Danny, can you come back in?

[31:50] Danny Quadrino: They want to ask you a question.

[31:51] Jayke Workman: I'm like, Yeah, sure, what's up?

[31:52] Danny Quadrino: I go back in the room, and it's the entire team.

[31:55] Danny Quadrino: The entire team is in the song.

[31:57] Danny Quadrino: And they're all just kind of looking at me, like just smiling, and I'm like, hey, like, still living on Long Island, I'm like, hey, look at that.

[32:05] Danny Quadrino: Like, nothing.

[32:06] Danny Quadrino: Like, I have to go make a train, but like, whatever.

[32:09] Danny Quadrino: Um, and they're like, we just want to thank you for your hard work and blah blah.

[32:13] Danny Quadrino: And I was waiting for like, but it's just like, you know, like it's not gonna happen.

[32:17] Danny Quadrino: We love you, whatever.

[32:18] Jayke Workman: Right.

[32:19] Danny Quadrino: And Jeff Calhoun, who's the director, said, I just have one more question.

[32:22] Danny Quadrino: How would you like to be a new?

[32:24] Danny Quadrino: And I fully fell on the floor, like sobbing.

[32:28] Danny Quadrino: Oh it felt like that doesn't happen, also.

[32:31] Danny Quadrino: No.

[32:32] Danny Quadrino: Listen to it.

[32:33] Danny Quadrino: This is the search for El Woods.

[32:35] Danny Quadrino: Literally.

[32:36] Danny Quadrino: Um, and it so like getting told in the room that I got it was like something I'll never forget.

[32:41] Danny Quadrino: And like I just my dog's crying.

[32:46] Danny Quadrino: And, you know, getting told in the room that I got it was something that I'll never forget because it does not happen to people.

[32:53] Danny Quadrino: Like, so like I count my lucky stars, and also I tell this to my students when I teach, I tell that story because it's like truly, and it's another lesson I learned from my dad, who said, It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when it's all about timing, and then it's like the motto that I kind of live by.

[33:11] Jayke Workman: Title of episode, baby.

[33:14] Danny Quadrino: Matter of what I got I got to live my dream, and I did it, and I got told in the room, and then I started rehearsals like the next week.

[33:24] Jayke Workman: That's insane!

[33:26] Jayke Workman: But then also you had the distinction of being in the closing company of the show.

[33:31] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[33:32] Danny Quadrino: Because you that's something I think too that often people forget is that you could be auditioning for a show time and time again while it's running.

[33:40] Danny Quadrino: Like there are people who have auditioned for the Newsies and the Wicked and the Chicago's and the Lion Kings, and the show is there and you want it, and it's just like you said, it's a matter of when because you just never know.

[33:55] Danny Quadrino: And then of course the getting to close the show as a company, I'm sure was just amazing.

[34:00] Danny Quadrino: It was sick, and then like I was told like, you know, I went from like thinking I'd never be in it, and then I got to do Newsies at the Muni and at Pittsburgh Cello.

[34:10] Danny Quadrino: Yes.

[34:10] Danny Quadrino: So I like got to do Crutchy, like kind of like, you know, all over the place.

[34:10] Danny Quadrino: All over.

[34:14] Danny Quadrino: So like it was really awesome that like I got to like do it.

[34:18] Danny Quadrino: And like I really got the experience of doing Newsies, and just a little fun fact.

[34:22] Danny Quadrino: I'm at my same station that I was at for Newsies.

[34:25] Jayke Workman: Oh my god.

[34:27] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[34:28] Danny Quadrino: When we got there, I was like, that's my corner.

[34:29] Danny Quadrino: That's my bitch.

[34:28] Danny Quadrino: Like, that's my corner.

[34:32] Jayke Workman: Oh my god.

[34:33] Danny Quadrino: That's so special.

[34:34] Danny Quadrino: Yeah, it's super special.

[34:35] Danny Quadrino: Wow.

[34:36] Jayke Workman: I mean, getting the other night when I came to see the show, I know you, and then I have a couple pals in the show, Ronnie and Aliyah, and so um Ronnie like brought me oh angels also and so so damn good in the show.

[34:49] Jayke Workman: But I was like, wait a second.

[34:51] Jayke Workman: I am on the stage, and I'm looking around and I was like, uh, there were about I don't know, 35 people on this stage all dancing at once.

[35:01] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[35:02] Jayke Workman: And then thinking about Newsies being on that stage.

[35:05] Danny Quadrino: Yeah.

[35:05] Jayke Workman: How do you do that?

[35:07] Jayke Workman: Where like the body awareness that you must have to just be like, I'm not gonna crash into Jack Kelly.

[35:14] Danny Quadrino: Literally.

[35:14] Danny Quadrino: Like the how you know, honestly, Tommy feels bigger than Newsies, even though we have the Newsies set had those giant ton towers that were like moving and coming around.

[35:26] Danny Quadrino: But we have 35 people and Tommy on stage, or I think.

[35:29] Danny Quadrino: Is that right, David?

[35:31] Danny Quadrino: No, it's not right.

[35:33] Danny Quadrino: 30.

[35:33] Danny Quadrino: That was five off.

[35:34] Danny Quadrino: Um, we have 30 copies.

[35:37] Danny Quadrino: Oh, okay.

[35:38] Danny Quadrino: Um, so we have a lot of fucking people, and it just feels but like it's organized and choreographed chaos on and off stage.

[35:45] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[35:46] Danny Quadrino: Because like it's insane.

[35:48] Danny Quadrino: Like tech technology was wild because like there's a the wardrobe supervisors.

[35:56] Danny Quadrino: I took over the Tony Ward's Instagram and I asked them for like fun wardrobe facts.

[36:01] Danny Quadrino: And one of the facts was that like they like time, they like calculated how many changes per how like whatever.

[36:07] Danny Quadrino: I don't know the exact thing per performance.

[36:10] Danny Quadrino: Yeah, but there was ended up being four, there's a costume change every four minutes in the show.

[36:16] Danny Quadrino: And it's I have 27 alone.

[36:18] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[36:19] Danny Quadrino: Like I was watching it and I was trying to keep my eyes on you and Ronnie and Aliyah beating with costume changes.

[36:28] Danny Quadrino: Aliyah is I I would say changing costumes more than she's on stage.

[36:33] Danny Quadrino: She comes on and does a cute little kick and then she's like sprinting off to put on an afro wig.

[36:38] Danny Quadrino: I was like why what yeah, that is nuts.

[36:41] Danny Quadrino: I love I love Aliyah and I like have many moments behind like we we're in Fiddler about together, we're in the C behind the couch, so we're like getting dressed behind the couch, and we're like, Alright, you good, you good?

[36:53] Danny Quadrino: Like it's like there's no time to breathe.

[36:55] Danny Quadrino: Like, I mean, there is, but there's like no time to like stop and think, which I love.

[36:59] Danny Quadrino: I love it.

[37:00] Jayke Workman: Can you see through those scary masks?

[37:10] Danny Quadrino: Yes and no, but yes, yes, you can.

[37:12] Danny Quadrino: It's hard.

[37:13] Danny Quadrino: That is crazy.

[37:15] Danny Quadrino: And that's why I'm like, I gotta make sure my my bang is not in my eyes.

[37:18] Jayke Workman: Right.

[37:19] Danny Quadrino: So I can see bang bang into the room.

[37:22] Danny Quadrino: Literally.

[37:23] Danny Quadrino: Or into the wall.

[37:26] Jayke Workman: Correct.

[37:29] Jayke Workman: So tell me about the difference then in doing a show in a theater like The Nederlander, where you guys are, you know, so many of you, so many moving parts on this teeny teeny tiny stage, versus performing on the biggest stage on Broadway at the Gershwin Theater.

[37:49] Danny Quadrino: The time has come.

[37:50] Danny Quadrino: We must talk about Wicked because I everyone who listens to this podcast knows that I'm an absolute whore for Wicked the Musical.

[37:56] Jayke Workman: Girls.

[37:57] Jayke Workman: I had the pleasure of seeing you play Bacharina.

[38:01] Danny Quadrino: Which was so much fun.

[38:03] Danny Quadrino: Tell me, oh my god, and you did it with my pal Michaela Renfro, who is now in Chicago, the musical.

[38:11] Danny Quadrino: Michaela is an icon. Like getting to go back. So like I re so you saw it when I like went back. Yep. Um I that was such a surprise to get to go back. I had just gotten off the road with Waitress, and they're like, hey, can you come in for six weeks? I was like, sure, let's go. They're like, can you can you still sing the tenor one part? Like, like literally had to like voice memo me screaming the end of the Wicked. Yeah, literally. And they're like, okay, great. You start in an hour. I was like, okay, can I can I come see the show tonight? So I saw the show that night, and then the next day, I had an hour of rehearsal, and I'm up in the rehearsal studio just being like, it's so weird how Wicked does not leave your body.

Yes. Oh my god. My the stage manager, Mary Beth, who actually just retired. Um she was like, You're scaring me. Like how much you remember this. I was like, I'm scaring myself because I didn't realize that, like, oh, like it's crazy how you walk into a building like that, and you just immediately were like, whoop, oh yeah. I was like, everything's the same, but all the faces are different, you know, like it was wild. But that stage is crazy. Like just the fact that there's a rehearsal studio in the building. In the building. Wild. It's such a blessing. Yeah so like when I was learning the show, I'd be like, Okay, let me learn one short day, and they'd be like, Okay, now like let's time it so then you can go watch it in the mess.

So then I'd like to stand in the mess and be like, Okay, that's how he doesn't fall off the scooter. Great, got it, let's go back. Like, you know what I mean? Like crazy. So it was really cool. And I did that show for two and a half years, and I like I I definitely am. I'm not not that it's a contest. I definitely like am one of like the top like Wicked fans of all time. Like in eighth in eighth grade, my screen name is Tragically Green too. Like I was in the Wicked, I was in the Wicked singing contest online for the second Wicked day. Didn't quit. Didn't win, but I was in the show, so I can't. And she's not bitter about it at all. I'm not bitter about it at all. Um I have a core memory of like me recording that audition with my best friend Sam, and she would press play and I'd be like, and then you have to go stand in the classic because I can't look at you or I'm gonna laugh.

Like always, always. Always, always. Wait, and you also got to do it with your old pal, Miss Ally Trim. Oh my that was cool too. Like, that was really cool. That was yeah. I I love it, and then like also just getting to do like I had amazing like everyone's amazing, but like having like Christine Dwyer as one of my first Elphabas, Christine Dwyer because she was an angel. Literally. She was in for Caroline Bowman, who was out for an injury, and then like came back. And then I had Jenny Tenoya, and then Lily Cooper, and Rachel Tucker, like just all these like powerhouses. And then Kara Lindsay and Carrie St. Louis were my Glindas, and they're like happened to be like two of my very like close friends.

So like it's really exciting. Miss Carrie St. Louis, whackadoodle. I love that girl so much. We ran into each other on the subway two days ago. I was coming up the stairs and she was coming down, and I was like waving at her, and like I didn't say and I was like, Miss Miss and she like jumped because you know Second Street subway station is a terrifying place. Absolutely. But then we like pulled over and like got to catch up for it. Pull over to the side of the subway platform. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. Oh I have had so many. It's it's always so fun to talk about Wicked with people who have been in it, you know, both on the road and in the Broadway company and in the London company, because everybody has the same sort of like not there's not like the pretense or like the pride of it, but but being proud to be in one of those shows that just continues to sparkle.

And then you know, you see things like the Wicked movie come out and everything, and it's like you get to be part of that legacy. Like you get to say, I was there, I I have done that, I'm part of this family. It's just crazy. Yeah, it is. You know, and I did Wicked for two and a half years left, then six weeks turned into six months. So it ended up being like like altogether, I did Wicked for about like three years. Yeah. Um, with five and a half years of break in the middle, which is wild. But um I I loved doing the show and the track that I had, I didn't do not that I didn't do anything. I did a lot. I did a lot of like walking across, like saying a line, and then like going across and like just changing I didn't dance really at all.

Um, so like going then leaving Wicked last year, two years ago. Was it last year? Two years, whatever it was, to then go right to the Goodman to do this to do Tommy. I was like, oh shit, I was wearing like I was wearing like literal like couches for costumes, and like now I'm wearing like sleek clothing and kicking my face again. I was like, I haven't done this in such a long time. So it felt like oh it felt like almost catching up, but like go like having like played catch up again, like kind of being like, okay, well, I'm a dancer again. Shit, let's go. Yeah. Yeah. That's nuts. Yeah. But then also covering someone like Bach. Yeah. I would imagine is similar to playing a role like Ogie in Waitress, where you have like this lovely featured, you know, character, but you're not huffing it the way that you are uh day in, day out at Tommy.

Yeah. Tell me like what what was your road to Waitress on the road? Okay, this is actually wild. I've had we very like odd experiences that don't happen to it. Okay, so it was right after the pandemic like the pandemic was still a thing. It was like and I did that tour that was like two really long sit-downs. So we went to Cleveland and Charlotte and I sent a tape in for Ogie. And I was like, they're gonna get somebody they already have. You know what I mean? Like they have a plethora of people. Mm-hmm. Months go by. I'm actually in f I'm in finals for another show, semi on hold for it, and we're about to go see a show at the signature theater, and my manager calls me and they're like, they're passing your tapes along to produce sister or Waitress, so it's like looking really good.

And I was like, what? Like I was like, do they need me to come in? Do they need me to do anything? They're like, we don't know, we don't do anything at all. The next day I get home from the day and my manager calls me, he's like, You got it. And I only sent in a tape. Like I sent in a tape for it, and I'm like, well, I'm gonna do what I want because they're you know, there's no guarantee that it's gonna be me. Cause they could, you know. Having to fill Chris Fitzgerald's shoes is impossible. So I just Well you did it once on broadcast. I did it again. Yeah. Um, he is a genius. So like getting getting to do that show was a dream come true. I mean like I saw Waitress like six times on Broadway, like I had so many friends in it, and I just love it.

That's my vibe as a musical. And my first rehearsal, I had an hour music session with Sara Bareilles, myself, and I know, and her dog fell asleep in my lap, and I was like, okay, this is cool. This is really cool. And what in the hell? I know. I was like, what the fuck is my life? And then seriously. And getting to play that part was I could have easily sat in that show forever. I'm playing that's like probably one of my favorite things I've ever done. Like, it's like Waitress and Tommy, I think are like the most not not showcasing, but like I I get to do like everything I love to do in both of these shows. So incredible. Yeah. Well, Danny, you are just such a damn treat to talk to. Before I let you go, I have a series of musical theater rapid fire questions that I asked every guest.

This is not not musical theater trivia, but questions just for you. Okay, great. Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Weber? Sondheim. Sweatpants or jeans? Jeans. Ooh, I love that. Do you have a favorite musical? Next to Normal. Oh my god, love. Do you have a least favorite musical? Hands on a Hard Body. Period. And that should be everyone's least favorite musical. Thank you very much. Uh would you ever like to do a Broadway play? Yes. I really would. I would love to see it. You're such a fucking good actor. Oh, thanks. Uh are you a morning person or a night owl? Uh ooh, I doing Tommy, I am not either. By the time I get home, I'm like Goodbye. Yeah. Yeah. And I need to sleep till like usually 10:30. So is that morning?

I guess morning. I that that counts. Yeah. Um, could you think of the craziest thing a director has ever asked you to do? Play the harmonica. Did you like did it take long for you to learn? Yes! There was like a solid six out of eight shows that it sounded good in Chicago. Are you gonna you're gonna probably play it on the cast recording too? I I hope we get one. I hope we get one. I'm waiting to hear. You will and you will have that fucking Grammy Award for your feature of a harmonica solo. Um Golden Age or Contemporary? Contemporary. I know that's but contemporary. No, and that this is this is just for you, Danny. Um do you have a favorite role that you've ever played? Ooh, yeah, Ogie. Like Ogie.

Uh coffee or tea? Coffee. Coffee love. It's gonna be Koffi. What about the hardest show you've ever done? Tommy, The Who's Tommy? The Who's Tommy? Uh, could you name all of the Broadway theaters that you've performed in? Oh. Um, yes, the Henry Miller now the Santime Theater. Um, the Nederlander, the Gushwin, and then the Nederlander again. Wow. We love it. Do you have a favorite costume that you've ever worn? Ooh, oh. Oh. I honestly, oh, so I had my Tommy put in and I love that costume because it's like not r i it's a costume, but I feel like I wear it in real life. Yes. And also, do you wear do you wear your own hair when you go on for Tommy? Yeah. Yeah. That's fierce. I mean, you have some face ass hair, so thank you.

Oh, and then I guess my Bach uh Bach Osdos costume is pretty, pretty iconic. The gold. Yeah. Work. Um, who is the silliest cast member in the company of The Who's Tommy? The silliest? Oh my god. I think it's me or like John or John Ambersino who plays on Polarnie. He's pretty silly. He is a silly one. I love him. Uh have you ever missed an entrance on Broadway? Uh have I missed an entrance? No. Maybe tonight. No, I'm just gonna get married. Yeah. Knocking on all of it. Literally I'm like well my last question for you is a question I ask every single guest which is what is one thing that you would tell baby Danny? Oh baby Danny keep being weird because it's all gonna work out. Oh you you little weirdo.

You little weirdo this is amazing. This is I loved it. I'm so glad you're here thank you so much. Can you tell the listeners where they can find you on socials and keep up with your shenanigans? Yes uh you can follow me at Danny Quadrino on Instagram and TikTok. Love still learning how to use TikTok and it's probably gonna get banned soon thank you just American uh government that is so thrilling I'm I'm just so excited but thank you for being here this was you are such a delight thank you so much for having me seriously it was so funny yay 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 mypod you guys thank you so so so much for listening talk soon bye bye bye bye valeu, cai.