This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Jayke Workman: Does anyone still wear a hat?

[0:04] Anthony Murphy: Well, I'm bald, so yeah.

[0:14] Jayke Workman: Oh my god, did you hear? Did you hear? Did you hear? Oh my god, guys. Oh my god, I thought you'd have to be God, oh my god, you guys. What's up, everybody? My name is Jayke Workman, and this is Oh My Pod U Guys, a musical theater and pop culture podcast.

[0:37] Jayke Workman: You guys, this week has been a crazy kooky whirlwind. I am back standing by for the role of Mary Sunshine in Chicago on Broadway, and I actually had the immense pleasure of going on not once but twice this week, which was so thrilling. It was the first time I had been back on stage in like seven months. Back on stage with this show and this role. I hadn't gone on for Mary in about seven months. So when I got the text from our PSM that I was going on in the evening, it was very thrilling and sort of an immediate, like, you know, heart drop moment where I'm like, oh my god, do I remember what I'm doing? Do I know this? Do I know this play? Girl, I've done it a million times. I could probably do it in my sleep, but I will be nervous every single time I go on because I love it so much.

But it had been quite some time, so I was extra anxious, extra nervous. But as soon as I got out on stage, that entire cast just lifted me up and made me feel so celebrated and comfortable. And it was thrilling. We have amazing audiences right now. They're so full and so excited to be there. And so then when I had the opportunity to go on again for the second time, I felt already just so much more comfortable and at ease, and I felt more on my voice, and so it was just thrilling. It's uh it never ever is lost on me how incredible this job is and how lucky I am to get to do it, even if it's you know few and far between. Anytime I get to go on, it's just magical. So sending a huge thank you to everyone at the ambassador, everyone who came to see the show.

It is just so, so much fun. And I feel so pretty as Miss Mary. I feel so pretty. Shout out to Barry, our wig designer who makes me look like a lady. I love you all. And with that, you guys, we have to dive right into this week's Broadway World recap, brought to you by my amazing pals at Broadwayworld.com.

[2:34] Jayke Workman: First, you guys, Broadway World shared some very beautiful first look photos at Soleia Pfeiffer and John Cardoza in the Broadway production of Moulin Rouge. You guys, they have both taken over, and it looks unbelievable. I mean, this show is just such a spectacle. The visuals are just so, so stunning. But Soleia and John, two absolute beauty queens. I cannot wait to see them in the show. They look gorgeous. I mean, John Cardoza. Hello. Hi, hello or hi. Soleia Pfeiffer, absolutely beautiful. The costumes look just superb on her. I cannot wait to hear her sing this score down. So, guys, please be sure to check out these amazing photos on Broadwayworld.com.

[3:21] Jayke Workman: Next, you guys, Broadway World shared the very exciting casting announcement that Jessica Vosk is set to star as Jersey in the hit musical Hell's Kitchen on Broadway. It was previously announced that Shoshana Bean, who originated and received a Tony Nom for her role, is gonna play her final performance on Sunday, December 1st. But um, Broadway World shared that Donna Vivino, who is the current standby for Jersey, is gonna play the role full-time from December 3rd to December 11th, and then Miss Jessica Vosk will begin her reign as Jersey on December 12th. I honestly know very, very little about this show. However, I do know that Jessica Vosk is a force, and she's taking over a role originated by Shoshana Bean and which is being stood by for by Donna Vivino.

All of these women have been Elphaba. So if we know anything, we know it's going to be giving vocals down, and I cannot wait to see it. I have to go see Jessica Vosk. I saw her as Elphaba, and it was one of the most flawless vocal performances I have ever heard live. So I cannot wait for this. And you guys, congrats to Jessica Vosk.

[4:31] Jayke Workman: Okay, next, you guys, we have to talk about the hilarity that has ensued this week with one Cynthia Erivo. Broadway World shared an article about how Cynthia has responded to quote unquote offensive fan edits of the Wicked movie poster. You guys, this is ridiculous. This is my opinion. This is how I feel about it, but I think it is so ridiculous for her to be so up in arms and so appalled by fan edits making like the movie poster look more like the original Broadway poster. It's for fun. She basically took to social media and was like, all of these fan edits where you guys are editing out my eyes and putting the hat over my face to look more like the original Broadway poster is just so offensive, and I can't believe that anyone is doing this and blah blah blah.

And I she said to do that is to erase me. And girl, it's not that deep. You're on the actual poster for the movie. People are just having fun seeing the similarities between the original poster and the movie poster. It's not that deep, darling. Like what it this is all for fun. It's comedy. It's light. Like, I don't know. It's just uh I think this is a huge overreaction, but what are your thoughts? Let me know. Comment below.

[6:00] Jayke Workman: And lastly, you guys, Broadway World shared some very beautiful first look production photos for the new production of A Wonderful World playing at Studio 54 on Broadway. James Monroe Iglehart as Louis Armstrong, you guys. It looks unbelievable. A lovely friend of mine, Mr. DeWitt Fleming Jr. is playing Lincoln Perry in A Wonderful World, and he has a gorgeous photo on Broadwayworld.com. You guys, all of these photos look absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to see this show. It has a cast of 26 people. The production looks exquisite. The lighting, the costumes, the set. I mean, I can only imagine what the orchestrations are gonna be like. This looks so so beyond, and I can't wait to see it. And you guys, you have to check out these photos on Broadway World.com. And you guys, this has been the BroadwayWorld Recap.

[6:53] Jayke Workman: Oh my pod, you guys! I am so excited to welcome my next guest to the show. He is a star of Broadway, off-Broadway, a choreographer, performer. You can currently see him on stage at Off-Broadway's smash hit Titanique. Please welcome Anthony Murphy.

[7:10] Anthony Murphy: Hello everyone.

[7:16] Anthony Murphy: Hello. Hello. The crowd goes down.

[7:20] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[7:21] Anthony Murphy: Thank you. And you and you and you and you and you and you and you.

[7:25] Anthony Murphy: I'm a mess. I am a mess.

[7:28] Anthony Murphy: How are you?

[7:29] Jayke Workman: I'm wonderful. Thank you so much for having me. It's so good to see your shining, gleaming face.

[7:39] Anthony Murphy: Can you tell us where are you calling in from on this fine day?

[7:42] Anthony Murphy: I am calling in from my lovely apartment in Inwood.

[7:46] Jayke Workman: Inwood.

[7:48] Anthony Murphy: Inwood. Honey, she's an uptown girl.

[7:50] Jayke Workman: She's an uptown girl. How long have you been there?

[7:54] Anthony Murphy: Um, two years, just signed another lease for year number three.

[7:59] Jayke Workman: Fabulous. Okay, so you're loving it up there.

[8:01] Anthony Murphy: Oh, I literally live for it. It's like it has the hustle and bustle of New York, but it's more like residential. You know, there's families, there's like old people, there's kids, there's you know regular parks.

[8:14] Anthony Murphy: Oh my god. So like, and like the streets are wider up here, wider up here.

[8:19] Jayke Workman: And you have a dog.

[8:20] Anthony Murphy: I do have a baby. He's over. I would show you him in my room. You need the the Yeah, we need the open air. We've gotta go outside. He's like, I need to be outside. Love so yeah.

[8:32] Jayke Workman: Oh my god. Well, thank you so so much for being here. We have so much to chat about. But I think we have to first talk about how we met, which was doing a little off-Broadway showcase code production called Fowl Play. I've spoken about it many times on the pod. I had Miss Salmonilla on the pod. I had Yoni on the pod.

[8:54] Anthony Murphy: Yes, yes.

[8:57] Jayke Workman: But um, I would love to know. I mean, we will of course talk about your endeavors as a performer, of which there are many, but um, I would love to know about the sort of switch for you going from you know being the performer to being behind the table and having all of the creative license and working alongside Mr. Tye Blue to choreograph this show. What this was your New York choreography debut, right?

[9:27] Anthony Murphy: It was. It was my NYC choreography debut. It was amazing. Um so we gotta go back a little bit. So fun fact, my degree is actually in directing. Um dance minor in choreography. Uh Otterbein University, a little small, a little small thing. Like it's we're starting to make a little name for ourselves. We got a few people um doing some good things. My roommate actually is on Broadway, my roommate from college is on Broadway in O'Meary, um, James Cully.

[9:57] Anthony Murphy: Work! Um yeah, I was like, he better work. Yeah. He's also like a TV film star, so we're just like, you better. Um, but yeah, so I was doing that, but then I always knew that I would perform first. So I was like, okay, let me go live this performer life, make a little name, you know, meet some people. Because there's like one way you could two ways you could do like the director-choreographer route. You could either like start as a director choreographer, be everyone's associate, you know, really work at the ground, go do some rinky dink community theaters, you know, do some rinky dink regionals, work your way up, blah, blah, blah, blah. Which I will also eventually do, but I wanted to first make myself like a presence in the theater community.

[10:38] Anthony Murphy: Of course. Um, so I did that, and then when I did Titanic the first time a year ago, I met with Tye Blue, and I was like, Ty, I would love to like grab drinks one day and like talk about directing and choreography. Because I'm like, that's my real tea, what I'm trying to do. And he's like, oh my god, of course. So we um spoke about it, and I sent him like, you know, all my reels and things like that. And I was like, I would love to work with you, and you know, anything you need, let me know. He's like, sounds great. Listen, the next thing I'd work on, if it's a good fit, I'll let you know. Period. So he called me for Fowl Play. I said, grab, let's do this thing. Um, and it was amazing. It was so much fun. The cast, y'all were amazing. We were so lucky to have all of you. Um, yeah, and it was it was super amazing. And I'm excited to, you know, see what else happens.

[11:32] Jayke Workman: Yes. I mean, I have to say, I was so uh excited to get to work with you and to um see you dive into that sort of like creative capacity in like a leadership position because you were also doing double duty covering multiple roles in the Broadway revival of The Wiz at the same time.

[11:54] Anthony Murphy: I was doing that. I'm crazy. You would literally come into rehearsal and you'd be like, okay, guys, I have 30 minutes, we have to set this number because then I have to go do two shows on Broadway.

[12:04] Anthony Murphy: Literally, there were days like that. It was like, alright, we're gonna hit this. Please remember this, because I'm never gonna see you again. Um, yes, that was wild. For some reason, I love doing double duty. Fun fact, when I started The Wiz, I was doing double duty with Titanic. So I would do The Wiz from 10 to 6 all day, and then go do Titanic at night. There were like a few of us who did that. There were like some people in Moulin Rouge. I was like, what's crazy? For like two weeks I did that. I was like, I'm at today. But no, yes, it was so much fun doing that. And, you know, living both of those lives because every time people often say you have to like choose one. You have to be a performer and then retire and become a director.

It's like, no, no, no, I'm not gonna retire. I will still be performing. I will still be doing my jazz, twirling on the stage, you know, singing a five, six, seven, eight. But I also will be, you know, directing and choreographing more. So um I'm excited to I will definitely back away from the acting just a little bit so that I can focus a little bit more on directing choreography. But um I'm excited to do both, you know.

[13:10] Jayke Workman: Is there a um sort of style or uh like dream vein that you would love to work in as a director choreographer? Like what would be your like perfect niche?

[13:24] Anthony Murphy: My perfect niche is like it's so it's hilarious because we joke about it in um Fowl Play.

[13:34] Anthony Murphy: Whatever you need, just let me know.

[13:36] Anthony Murphy: All I need is 40 million for the set, you know. Period. And I'm like, I love a big splashy musical. You know, I love a big gay fantasia, like anything that's like super flashy and sparkly or high drama, like my favorite musical is Andrew Lippa's Wild Party. So, like, you know, like soap opera, like we are in a drama. The stakes are up. So, like, that's like really where I live. Um, you know, I also love a good musical comedy. Um, I think comedy is something that I'm very good at as an actor.

[14:16] Jayke Workman: See, I don't see that for you.

[14:17] Anthony Murphy: I don't see that. No, no, no. No, it's never never played a comedic role in my life. Not one. Not everything I've ever done. I was like, please gotta sing a ballad. I just wanna take a ballad. I'm gonna do it. Let me fucking bark and bark, bitch. Right. No, they're like, go do this dance and now tell a joke, and now do a split. I'm like, God help me. Um but yeah, so uh I'm excited to add that and do, you know, some comedy, musical comedy stuff. I'm doing Dream Girls in uh the spring.

[14:42] Anthony Murphy: I'm choreographing Dream Girls.

[14:46] Jayke Workman: Where?

[14:47] Anthony Murphy: At White Plains Performing Arts Center.

[14:49] Jayke Workman: You better work.

[14:51] Anthony Murphy: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh my god. That's gonna be super fun. Okay, talk about some high drama. Right. And that's where I'm like, we're about to go in.

[14:58] Anthony Murphy: Oh my god. Okay, well, I'm coming back. Turn my back and find myself on the line. You can pull me.

[15:07] Anthony Murphy: Oh my god. Wow, that's gonna be insane. Okay, so so tell me about your sort of road to the world of arts in general. Like before you went to Otterbine, did you always know that you were a performer, director, choreographer? Like, was that something that was in your childhood? Was it just always in your bones? Or like how did you end up here?

[15:29] Anthony Murphy: Yeah, I've told this story so many times. It's hilarious. So, yes, I started um I learned about the arts when I was six years old. Um, so I in first grade, I was at this other school, and the teachers like pulled my parents in and they were like, listen, we love Anthony. He's wonderful, but he's very active, very hyper. You know, she's doing shows in the classroom, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We think maybe we should put him on a little medication. Just calm him down a little bit, you know. My parents said, Girl, I do not show my child. And they said, come here. And then they moved me to Perkins Elementary, which was a performing arts school, a performing arts elementary school.

[16:13] Anthony Murphy: And I got there and I started taking all the arts classes, the singing and the dancing and the acting and all of that. And then the teachers were like, oh my God, Anthony's amazing. He's excelling in all of his classes. And it's like, duh. My classes are all fucking singing and acting and dancing and arts all day. Um so literally from that it was just it was history, you know. Period. I started doing theater in the second grade, and then went to the middle school for the performing arts, and then the high school for the performing arts. And then college, and you know, I have never stopped.

[16:48] Anthony Murphy: It was always very much like a oh, Anthony's gonna be on Broadway in some capacity. Like literally in high school, I won most likely to be seen on Broadway. But like it was like there was me and another girl, those a male and a female for each of them. It was hilarious. Um so yeah, no, it was very written in the stars that this was gonna be my life. Love it. Now the directing and choreography thing didn't come till I got to college because like I was very because I had grown up in musical theater, I knew so much about all the colleges and things like that.

[17:25] Anthony Murphy: So I knew that I didn't want to just go to any old college for musical theater, so I only applied to like four schools. Right. And I was like, we were like the baby, Carnegie Mellon, CCM, uh, Boston Conservatory, and I don't even know what the other one was. We not no, I didn't do Michigan. Because when I was applying for schools, Michigan literally was like, if you don't have a 4.0 average, don't even apply. And we were like, Yeah. Thank you. Say my application money will be saved. You ain't got to worry about that. Like a four-point nine, honey. She did not have now listen. She was good. You know, we got good grades, but no damn. We're doing all of that.

[18:04] Anthony Murphy: We ain't doing all that. I have rehearsal. Okay. I'm sorry. It's how we're in tech. You'll be fine. You'll get it when you get it. Um, take them three points off. Um, so yeah, so I ended up actually not getting into any schools for musical theater. And then uh I stayed home for a year and I went to a local school. And then uh my friend who had gone to Audubine, um, my best friend Hannah, uh, she had gone to Audubine for a year, and she's like, babe, you just have to come just apply again.

[18:34] Anthony Murphy: Sorry, I applied again, got into the school and went to the school, but not wasn't in the musical theater program, but got into like the general theater program. So I was there and I was just taking classes, and I as an elective, I took this choreography class taught by the head of the dance department. And literally she was just like, Mitch, you're fierce, you have a great eye. I think you should apply to the directing program. Um, because she knew I was reapplying to the musical theater program. She's like, I think you should apply to the directing program. And I did, and I got in, and then so I did that.

[19:09] Anthony Murphy: But I also did shows while I was at school too, which is crazy. And isn't it such a testament to to like your own uh ability and and your own like belief in yourself that like okay, um I applied, I auditioned, no one could understand me or or saw how it was supposed to fit. So I'm gonna forge my own path. I I had a similar experience where I um I either didn't get into programs or I got waitlisted for programs because they were like even just the feedback that I was getting from them was like we just don't quite know where we would put you.

[19:42] Anthony Murphy: And I'm like I don't really know what that means. Like I I'm coming to you for training not to be in your shows. So like if you're if you're only like selection that's the thing they'd be doing they'd be like trying to cast shows and I'm like yah you trying you need to educate me. That's what your job is right. Shouldn't you be selecting shows uh for me so that I learned after you've already after you have your students you have oh these are my students. Now what are we gonna do?

[20:08] Jayke Workman: Right yes and I feel like it's also kind of the thing where it's like regardless of which students you have outside of the world of like doing something like hairspray where it's like okay we need a lot of black people or something like that. But like when you when you are in an educational setting I feel like it should be like you could take any musical and any group of people and it's up to them to learn how to put on this musical.

[20:33] Anthony Murphy: Absolutely absolutely and you should be creating diverse worlds that look like because another thing issue that I had is like like holy shit I'm gonna talk about Carnegie Mellon, you know yes. They are like the le they or at least when I was in school they've changed a little bit. But when I was applying it was very much like only leading men and leading women go to Carnegie Mellon. You know and like also what does that look like right? 'Cause I'm a leading man. I played leads in many shows. Yep.

[21:03] Anthony Murphy: Um so what is that? What does that look like? You know, and to them it was the old school, you know, Steven Pasqual and fucking yeah, Sutton Foster. If you weren't those two types. Um so that was also like a fucked up thing. I was like, Y'all, they didn't like I was always like, Oh, we already have our character actor, or you know, and it's usually a white guy. And I was like, All right, sounds fun, have fun. Um so yes, I but I'm thankful that I did have to forge my own path.

[21:35] Anthony Murphy: Even through my directing program, I did like because they didn't have like a directing choreography program, they just had directing. So then I also added a dance minor and then I added uh emphasis in choreography. Come on. I did like four or five independent studies in choreography with the head of the dance department, and she would, you know, I would just make up these 15, 20 minute pieces, and she would come in and watch and rehearsal and critique and blah blah blah blah.

[22:00] Anthony Murphy: Um, and then I was her assistant on all the musicals that I wasn't in. Um, and her assistant for the dance concert, and and I also assisted the bat ass sister the ballet teacher for some reason on his piece, which was I was like, why are you asking me to assist you on this piece? I'm not no ballet dancer, but sure. He's like, Yeah, I just want you to make sure all the technique is great. I'm like, okay, point your feet. What do you need? Nice lines.

[22:24] Jayke Workman: Right.

[22:24] Anthony Murphy: Well, switching gears a little bit. Well, I guess I would love to know how your queerness has impacted your artistry. Because I find that a lot of times people put themselves into boxes, you know, in in thinking of like auditioning for programs and stuff like that. Right where they do, you know, that that is an element that comes into play of like, am I a leading man? Well, I'm I'm queer, so does that apply to me or not? And I would love to know like how your experience

[22:54] Anthony Murphy: You know what's so funny? I feel like nowadays being queer is such is actually like an additive. It's an a a good thing. Like if I were to audition for a musical theater program right now, I probably sing like my up tempo would probably be like Land of Lola from Kinky Boots, right? And I'd be gay as fuck, and I would and then my contrasting would be some ballad, but it'd probably also be some gay love song. It'd probably be like 50% from ballroom.

[23:28] Anthony Murphy: Oh my god, my favorite song. Oh my god, ever. I sang that for my um Snatch Callback. What Susan Strowman? She was like, We need a musical theater that shows range, and I was auditioning for the director, and he's in this like he wants to be in love with this chorus boy, but he can't be in love with him because he's the director and this whole thing. I was like, Oh, I'm gonna sing 50% from mom. Hell yes.

[23:51] Anthony Murphy: Um, she loved it. But yeah, so you know, but when I loved it. She sure loved it. She didn't book it, that's okay. Um But when I was auditioning, you know, I sang Let Me Drown from Andrew Luppa's Wild Party.

[24:04] Anthony Murphy: Yeah.

[24:06] Anthony Murphy: But very straight Brian, you know, Brian Dr. James, excuse me. Um, and then I sang like almost like being in love from Brigadou. So very like trying to be this leading man, what I thought I needed to be. And it wasn't really me. Like the songs were me stylistically, Let Me Drown is very, you know, soulful and almost like being in love is uh I one thing that I I pride myself on is leading with joy, even through my performance.

[24:33] Anthony Murphy: Like joy is at the center of it, so it just radiates out of me. So that's what I wanted to showcase through. That's what almost like being a love is a great song for that. But there's again so many other songs, like I said. So uh for me, my queerness only recently started to play a part in anything. Um it was so funny. For so many years, I always said that I wanted to be in a show where I could just like strut on stage, you know, I could just be like a gay homosexual and just march on the stage.

[25:08] Anthony Murphy: Um, and thankfully I got to do Titanic, which is you know, I'm just uh the gayest fan base you've ever seen. There are no straight characters in the show. Everyone is gay. So, or everyone's queer, at least in some way, shape, or form. Right. Um, so being able to just live that freely was so beautiful.

[25:29] Anthony Murphy: Um I will say I've had moments in my career where my queerness or my gayness has not necessarily uh for me it's never gotten in the way, but it's definitely been called out. Do you know what I'm saying? Oh, you're a little gay right now. And I'm like, oh god, what does that mean? Especially on characters that I've done where the character has no sexuality, right?

[25:57] Anthony Murphy: Like, there's no uh I played some magical characters, right? And I'm like, this character doesn't have sexuality. Right. Now I will say that when dealing with that conversation, that was it was handled very well. I was very pleased the way they handled that conversation. They took out all the straight people in the room, literally. It's like everyone who's not gay, get out. It was like me, the director, the music director, no, the music director, the music supervisor had to leave because he was straight.

[26:31] Anthony Murphy: The music director stayed. The associate director stayed and the director stayed. There's like three of us. It's three gay men and me. And they were actually very sweet about it. They were like, listen. It's okay to be gay, but you just can't be gay the whole time. And I was like, All right. I'll be good. I can work with that. I can work with that. They were like, have moments, have moments. They were like, girl, you are doing a drag show right now. I guess I'll pull it back a little bit. That's the only time my queerness has ever really come into question in my career.

[27:02] Anthony Murphy: Um Well, I just think there's such an interesting like dynamic between honoring one's self on stage, obviously.

[27:12] Anthony Murphy: Right. And also being able to be a chameleon and slip into a million different people's shoes. And I think it's sort of naive to uh naive on their part to um assume that you couldn't turn it off or make a different choice to show different sides and different colors.

[27:32] Anthony Murphy: Right. Like many times I I've gone into audition rooms, um, worried that uh you know, what I'm auditioning for will be out of the realm of their imagination because they can't see past my facial hair or whatever. And I'm like Absolutely, Yes. I love 'em. Free and mind exactly. But uh truly, as of late, it it really has um become so much more even just like talked about of you know, like what I'm what I'm being called in for and whatever.

[28:08] Anthony Murphy: So Yeah, same. No, it was f I'm I'm actually I love my agents so much. They're the best agents in the world they really talk with their clients get to understand their clients and then only send you in for stuff that you really want to be in for. Now listen, they'll send you for a job. They'll be like, but they'll say this is a job. I know you don't want to do this, but if you need a job, you want to go in for this? We need money, but like most of the characters that they send me in for are gay characters, which I love. I love that there is also a bountiful amount of gay characters being written now.

[28:40] Anthony Murphy: Yes. Um most of the TV film stuff that I go in for is queer characters, mostly drag queens or non-binary characters. Um uh you know, theater it's all over the place. We do a lot of things. But like I love like I when I first signed with my agents eight years ago, one of the things that we said that I wanted to do was I wanted to play uh Major Mama Morton. Yeah Chicago on Broadway. Like that is like a dream role of mine. And at the time we were like, we don't know, they're not ready yet, you know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And now that Jinx is done it and stuff like that, I'm like, bitch, bring me in. Let me in. I got the titties already. They'll be perked up to the heart, just put a murder tail on the chin. Come on. Got a lot of favors.

[29:35] Anthony Murphy: Oh, we are manifesting this. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Hell yeah. So like things like that and breaking breaking the barriers of what what we can do. Um and in my on the other side of the table, I'm excited to do that. Um, um, you know, choreographing foul play, which is a huge queer fantasia. Um, I'm currently writing another musical with a friend that um is includes a lot of uh uh a very diverse world. Let's just say that. We're trying to, it's a show about the industry actually that we're writing. Love. But we're really trying to highlight actually I'm gonna talk to you about that because we need to do some market, we need to do some research and talk to you about some stuff.

Um, but it's it's we're really trying to showcase the many aspects of the different actors in our industry and like the things that they go through. And like listen, this is a queer industry. This is, you know, this is uh if we won't pretend like it's not, that's crazy. So I'm excited to showcase my queerness in that side now and be like, what does that look like on the other side of the table? Love it.

[30:52] Jayke Workman: Well, switching gears a little bit, I would love to ask about uh not only your experience as being, you know, the quote unquote leading man as the mystical magical genie in Aladdin, but also about um working on a show like Diana, which was really, really special. It was unlike anything I think that New York had seen in quite some time. It was met with like a really strange level of like scrutiny and like judgment even before anything was seen about it.

[31:29] Anthony Murphy: It really was. And then it was it became this like queer cult following show that had the ability to be like professionally filmed and recorded, and we could watch it on Netflix. Like, tell me about the sort of um experience from like creating it to then like seeing the longevity of it getting getting filmed.

[31:52] Anthony Murphy: Gorge. So um first I did so back to Aladdin. So Aladdin was first, and that was my like introduction to the world. It really was. It was the first thing I booked when I moved to New York. I moved here. It's crazy. Yeah, I moved well, I had done this like off Broadway show called Pirate Ladida. It's like children's musical that was directed by Kristen Hang Hengy. How did it say your last name? Oh. She likes created and directed Rock of Ages. Anyways, she's amazing. Um, but so I did that, and that was like pretty much it. And then literally I'd been in New York for like ten months, and then I booked Aladdin and it was amazing. Um and I did that for three years.

[32:36] Anthony Murphy: First national. The first national, yes, I opened the first national with Adam Jacobs. Wow. Um I did the first year uh in America on the first national, and then I ended up moving to the Australian company. Um I actually suffered a vocal issue. I had a vocal lesion on my cords, and um Disney was actually very sweet because I had I I literally was like, I need to leave the show for like three months and like go on a medical leave. Or I needed to go to like a reduced, like if I didn't, the doctor literally says you either can do four shows a week for like six months, or you can take three months off, right?

[33:14] Anthony Murphy: Wow. And Disney was very sweet, and they were like, so we want to offer you an option of going to Australia and being the standby for the genie over there, which means you can rest, you know, you'll go on when you go on, but you don't have to worry about doing eight shows a week. Sure. Um it was amazing. And I was like, absolutely, you're gonna go pay me to go to Australia. Fucking still do the show. And I had already done the show for a year. Yeah. So I was like, I did the eight shows a week, baby. I'm good. Now let me just get this check. Right? Let me get this money. I've got the credit, it's not about that anymore. See another part of the world. See another part, and it was a tour, so we toured Australia. So yeah, I started in Melbourne, and I was there for three months, and then we did Perth, Adelaide. We did Auckland, New Zealand, and uh we finished in Singapore.

[34:08] Anthony Murphy: Oh my god. Yeah, it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. One of the best experiences of my life. I was there for two years. I lived in Australia, which is crazy to say. Um, so yes, it was amazing. I'm so thankful to Aladdin and the genie. It also introduced me to the industry and to the community. Um, and then I was able to come back to uh America, and I had this amazing credit on my resume, and through that I was able to get Diana, which was a crazy process. I was visiting my best friend uh who was in uh Hamilton at the time, still is, and I was visiting him in Atlanta, and my agents emailed me, and they're like, hey, so Diana needs somebody to play Paul Barrel, and they need an audition tape. This is Thursday. He's like, they need it by Friday. I needed a next day. What? And you just sing these two songs. I mean, sing this one song and do these two scenes.

[35:10] Anthony Murphy: Um, and I need it by tomorrow. So I was like, okay, sounds great. So I went to my friend's hotel room, borrowed some equipment from the girl that was playing Eliza at the time. Oh my god. And set up this thing, did this. Luckily, they sent me a track with the lines for the scene. So like I didn't need a reader. Like I just had to hit play on the and it would it would read the other lines. There was space for me to say the lines in between. So like they made it very easy for me, which was really great. Like they were like, you can be anywhere. We we'll just get the tape in. Wednesday they sent it in. Thursday, I sent the tape in, flew back Friday, went in Monday for the callback, because I got a callback. Monday morning at 3 p.m. on Monday, they told me I got the job, and I started rehearsal at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

[36:00] Jayke Workman: Good lord. Was this like immediate replacement vibes?

[36:05] Anthony Murphy: It was immediate replacement. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy who was doing Paul Barrel. So I'm not in the Netflix duck in the Netflix uh filming of it because I I joined after that. Uh-huh. Um, so the guy who was in that, oh my god, I forgot his name. Uh, fortunately, he had to leave for whatever reasons. I don't even actually remember what it was. Uh, but he couldn't continue with the production. Um, so they needed an immediate replacement. Um, and I joined on that Tuesday. We did a two-week studio run, a two-week studio rehearsal, and then we did uh we didn't even do a week of tech. We did three days of tech, and then we did 16 previews and 32 performances.

[36:44] Anthony Murphy: Wow. And that was it. It was like a month total. Like every with rehearsals. Well, maybe two months. It was two months everything with audition, rehearsals, and shows, previews, and shows. It was a two-month world win. It's just in and out. And uh, was that your debut?

[37:00] Anthony Murphy: That was my Broadway debut. And that's also, you know, why we took it because it did have that negative review already. The Netflix had already come out before we reopened on Broadway. And it was already terribly reviewed. And I was like, oh God, do I want to join in a flop? Uh-huh. And with talking with my agents, we were like, bitch, take the credit. You know, once because then once you have it, it changes everything. You're just always in forever Broadways fill in the blank, you know.

[37:27] Jayke Workman: Yes.

[37:27] Anthony Murphy: So we did it. It was amazing. I'm very glad I did it. I got to work with Judy K. Insane. A star who I saw in the national tour of Sweeney Todd and did a talk back with her when I was in high school. Yeah. And then now I'm fucking doing scene work with her, which was amazing. Um I got to work with some of the creative team, Christopher Ashley, um, Ian, I forgot his last name, but Ian, our music supervisor is one of the best. Honey, he had us uh singing like we would literally do these random sound checks for the vocals in the middle of like tech. He'd be like, stop, stop all of all of tech, and be like, no, the sound's not right. He'd like balance and EQ all the vote. We would just sing like 12 bars over and over again.

Just like uh huh. I was like, okay, we breathe one more time. It was great warm up. We were always warm though. Um yeah, Diana was amazing. And fun and fun fact, it is literally my most talked about credit on my resume. I've done Diana, I've done the out of town triad of Devil West Prada. I did the Wiz, I've done Titanic. Diana is the most talked. When I they see that on my resume, you ruined Diana. Tell me everything. Period. First of all, I was there for two days. I doesn't tell, you know. But it was it was fun. We had a good time.

[38:52] Jayke Workman: No, it was incredible. I I got to see it. I saw you guys do it the night before it closed.

[38:59] Anthony Murphy: Oh, yeah. And I was there because um, I mean, of course, because I wanted to see it, but also my friend Austin Bomer was making a project debut in the show. Yes, love us. I was like, I have to see it before it closes. She's a star now fucking. A star. She's Glenda on the tour. You better be Glenda with a Mollet. Come on. Seriously? Molly Glenda. But she I I got to see her at the stage door after. And we, I mean, I I've been friends with her since I was 12 years old. So it was so such a like crazy full circle moment to see her like come out the stage door and hug her and um and everything. And then um two days later, I found out that I was making my Broadway debut. And so it was like this crazy, like, I was like so emotionally just like overwhelmed by getting to see my friend make her Broadway debut. And then cut to like three days later, and I was like, okay, my turn. I was just like, Hey, let's go on freaking Ray Z.

[39:53] Jayke Workman: But I love that. Um tell me, was there ever I mean, I I just had Joaquez on the pod who plays Fred Casey right now in Chicago, and um he has been in quite a few shows that have been met with just like crazy uh reviews and scrutiny, and that he did Bad Cinderella and King Kong and Mrs. Doubtfire and all these shows that like I loved King Kong. I know, but so good. What is your what are your thoughts on like the the ideology of there being this thing called a flop? Like what when when you are talking about taking a job with your agents or whatever, you know, and you're like, well, we we all know that like this isn't very good or whatever.

[40:35] Anthony Murphy: It's like at the end of the day, a job is a job. A job is a job on Broadway. Like what is right. I hate flop.

[40:44] Jayke Workman: I know.

[40:45] Anthony Murphy: It's very interesting. In my opinion, we're using that term too early. I think there are flops in musical theater, but I think you don't know that for 20 years after a show is closed. If the show has never been reproduced ever again after it's closed on Broadway for, you know, 50 years later, and you've never seen a remounting of that show. Probably a flop, probably not a good show. You know, no one wants to do it. No, but you know, fucking everybody and their mama is doing what are they doing that's like terrible or was considered terrible.

[41:16] Jayke Workman: I don't know.

[41:17] Anthony Murphy: Regionally, yeah, regionally.

[41:19] Jayke Workman: What's something that's like terrible like that's being done regionally that's like I mean, I don't even know.

[41:24] Anthony Murphy: All of them. Everyone's doing Beautiful.

[41:27] Jayke Workman: Right.

[41:29] Anthony Murphy: Everyone is doing Beautiful. It's so funny. They go into these cycles where like everyone, every theater does the same shows on the city. Jersey Boys and Beautiful.

[41:34] Jayke Workman: Jersey Boys and Beautiful right now.

[41:37] Anthony Murphy: I know. Um, but yes, I think that's what we determine a flop is. Listen, I I am not crazy. I understand that theatrically speaking, Diana had its flaws.

[41:49] Jayke Workman: Sure.

[41:50] Anthony Murphy: Um, but I also think that there was just a misunderstanding. I think it needed more time to really find its life. By the time we closed, we found a good rhythm of the show. We found what it was, which was a telenovela. It's a soap opera. Yeah. It's high drama. It's, you know, camp. It needed to be campier. Um. So we we really found that eventually, but that show had gone through so many iterations that I think it was just a little it's fun and we were so talented, and that's one thing that does happiness. Sometimes talent can, you know, cover up a lot of things. Yeah. You know, we had Gina DeVall. Come on. We had Judy K. We had Ro, we had Aaron. So like the girlies were giving performances. Giving. Even though what they may have been giving it on top of wasn't all that in a bag of chips.

[42:54] Jayke Workman: Right.

[42:55] Anthony Murphy: You know what I'm saying?

[42:55] Jayke Workman: Right, right, right.

[42:55] Anthony Murphy: Now I will say that they made a lot of changes from the Netflix to when we opened on Broadway post-pandemic. So the Netflix is in my opinion a shittier version than what we did.

[43:06] Jayke Workman: Yeah.

[43:07] Anthony Murphy: Um, because they just updated. They realized some things didn't work. Some of the lines were weren't as weren't as good. So they made a lot of updates. Um for us being in it, we didn't really give a fuck. We just kept doing our shows and the audiences loved it. So that's that's all that really mattered. It wasn't like you're it because there are shows where you're in where the audience is like, mm-mm, mm-mm, you know, and then you're like, oh, this is bad, right? But this wasn't that. This was like, oh, the critics just don't understand us. Yes. It's not for them. It's very niche. It's very, you know, I think if Diana had been done like Titanic, it'd run forever.

[43:50] Jayke Workman: Yes.

[43:50] Anthony Murphy: Right. If it had been done like in like an off-Broadway, campy style, um, I think it would have had a much longer and successful life and been seen for what it really is, which is that telenovela soap opera style camp drama. And I think it's just it was it was uh given a disservice that it got cut so short because like you said, even just the jump from like that Netflix recorded production to post pandemic, there were changes made and it flowed better. So it's just like I wonder what it would have been like if it had gotten to transfer to off Broadway and get to that niche market. And we were also in the first round of shows post pandemic, you know.

[44:34] Jayke Workman: Yes.

[44:34] Anthony Murphy: We were literally one of the first shows that opened after the pandemic, and all of those shows closed immediately. We were not the first to close. We were actually like number six to announce our closing, which we felt kind of good about because everybody was talking shit about us, and the shows that were getting great reviews were announcing closing before us, right? And that we just, you know, timed it out a little bit, whatever. But yeah, I mean, within the month that we closed, I think like four other shows closed that month alone. Wild. Another show closed the day we closed, or like the day after we closed. We closed December 18th. I know another show closed the 19th. So like it was just also the time.

Theaters were just clearing out shows. They let you come in, do your little run, and then clear you out so they could bring in the new shows. Because we were trying to do any and everything to get the audiences back into the theaters. Yeah. We needed butts in the seats badly in order to get the machine rolling. As an industry, um, as an industry, and I respected that and understood it. So I was like, you know, if the show's gotta go and we need something new coming in, do what you gotta do so that I can make sure that I have a job in 10 years, you know? That we have something to come to, that we have an industry to come back to.

[45:49] Jayke Workman: What a great way to look at this. Wow. Well, Anthony, I just absolutely adore you. Before I let you go, I have a series of rapid fire musical theater questions that I asked.

[45:59] Anthony Murphy: Bumble Bumble Boom, yeah.

[46:01] Jayke Workman: Are you ready?

[46:02] Anthony Murphy: I'm ready.

[46:04] Jayke Workman: Sondheim or Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[46:06] Anthony Murphy: Sondheim.

[46:07] Jayke Workman: Sweatpants or jeans.

[46:09] Anthony Murphy: Sweats. You gotta be able for a combo. Ready anytime?

[46:12] Jayke Workman: Period. Do you have a favorite musical?

[46:15] Anthony Murphy: Uh Andrew Lippo's Wild Party. Or uh William Finn's uh New Brain.

[46:19] Jayke Workman: Oh, Bill Finn. Uh, do you have a least favorite musical?

[46:24] Anthony Murphy: Oh, you're trying to get me in trouble. You trying to get me in trouble. I I one of one of my least favorite musicals is The Prom.

[46:35] Jayke Workman: T.

[46:36] Anthony Murphy: I agree with that. I think it's actually bad for the gay community. It was yep, yep, yep.

[46:43] Jayke Workman: Uh would you ever like to do a Broadway play?

[46:47] Anthony Murphy: Yes. I want to do a play so bad. I want to do Shakespeare so bad. I love Shakespeare. I love language. I'm a very language is a huge part of my um acting. Um words are beautiful, and the way Shakespeare uses them is amazing. And the way we've been doing Shakespeare these days, I went and saw Mary Wines and Warrywise Windsor in the park. It was amazing. They said it in like Jamaica Queens. I was like, oh yeah. I want to go see the Romeo and Juliet. I'm interested. There's a DJ. I don't know what's going on, but there's a DJ. So, like, you know, yes, and let's go.

[47:22] Jayke Workman: Didn't he do Sunset Boulevard too? Isn't that the same director, Jamie Gold?

[47:25] Anthony Murphy: Yeah. I think so. So yeah.

[47:28] Jayke Workman: Um, are you a morning person or a night owl?

[47:31] Anthony Murphy: Oh, night owl, girl. This 12 o'clock was early for me, honey. I'm out. I'm up till five in the morning. 5 a.m. I mean, not really. More like two. But like, I'm up to like two. Everything I say is exaggerated. I'm up to like two and then work.

[47:48] Jayke Workman: Uh, can you think of the craziest thing a director has ever asked you to do, either uh behind the table or as a performer?

[47:58] Anthony Murphy: Uh, the craziest thing a director has ever asked me to do is And was it put up Fowl Play in 10 days while doing the stuff? Right literally. Oh no, you know what craziest shit ever a director asked me to do? I was doing a production of Les Mis, and we had 10 days to do it as a winter or winter star, right? So they did it in December, and they hired basically all the college students that were on their like month-long break so that they could do the rehearsal and the shows. And and we had all just done Les Mis. Anyways, so we're doing tech, and Jean Valjean gets sick and can't sing. So I'm understood in Jean Valjean at the time. And the director says, Hey, here's the deal. I need you to sing Jean Valjean for this tech rehearsal, like a tech run.

But I need you to sing it from your spot. Like either if you're off stage, sing it off stage. If you're on stage, just wherever you are, sing it. Because I need him to go through all the blocking because we don't have enough time for him to not do the staging. Oh, okay. And also he was like behind on his acting. He's like, I need him to like do some scenework stuff. So I literally am singing. Bring him home. I was like, can I like at least sit up when I sing? Bring him home. Like, I'm supposed to be laying, sleeping on the ground. Like while she's asleep. He's like, yeah. So I'm like propped up on the thing, eyes closed. Oh no. No, nothing. From the fucking barricade sleeping. Oh, he's just like holding fucking, what's his name in his arms.

Oh my gosh. Just like staring at him, like acting with his eyes, not singing at all. I was like, what in the why are we in a barn in Ohio? Like, literally, we were. It was also like a weird, like we wore like skinny jeans, but with like time period appropriate tops. Sure. Yeah, you know. Very like, yeah. I love it.

[49:54] Jayke Workman: Um golden age or contemporary.

[50:00] Anthony Murphy: Contemporary from the 90s and early 2000s.

[50:04] Jayke Workman: Okay, work.

[50:05] Anthony Murphy: Not this contemporary. I'm not a big fan of current contemporary.

[50:09] Jayke Workman: Uh, do you have a favorite role you've ever played?

[50:12] Anthony Murphy: Shh. Uh it's a toss-up between the genie in Aladdin and uh Victor Garber in Titanic. Uh and you show damn well. It's just so much fun. That show is amazing. They are singing. Like the girls are singing. The ensemble parts that we sing are so hard to do and amazing. Um Nicholas, our music director and arranger. Oh, yeah. No, the girls, you don't see Titanic once. You just don't. Uh-uh. Like, people literally have seen a matinee and been like, I may come back to the ether. Yeah. I'm like literally. Live your truth, babe. Like, do what you gotta do. Yes. Um, so yeah, Victor Garber's definitely one of them, but the genie is so amazing. Like, to have that power on stage to make like fireworks happen. Yeah. You ain't never, it's crazy.

[51:02] Jayke Workman: That's wild. Um, are you a coffee or a tea girly?

[51:05] Anthony Murphy: Tea, I do not drink coffee. I don't drink it at all.

[51:09] Jayke Workman: Um, what's the hardest show you've ever done?

[51:11] Anthony Murphy: Genie in Aladdin. For sure. Absolutely. That shit will that 12 just that one 12 minute number is like getting hit by a truck. Because no one else says anything. For 12 minutes, no one else says a word. Aladdin doesn't have any lines. The ensemble doesn't have any lines throughout the song, except at the very end they go, wah, wah, wah, wah. There's no ensemble singing in the entire number. That is. So it's literally just you speaking and singing for 12 minutes straight. Wild.

[51:37] Jayke Workman: Yeah. Um, what is the favorite costume you've ever worn?

[51:42] Anthony Murphy: Uh, my genie costume. But actually the opening one from Arabian Nights. It's these big giant blue pants, but the corset be snatching me in. I would have to take that shit in. I'd be like, snatch me in and it's boned. Sit and shit, honey. So fierce, and the arms are like, I just felt so fierce in it. Like this mysterious man had this cape that I would throw around my neck and be like, oh, that's dragon. The drama. You know, maybe I was giving you Jennifer Lawrence in drag, you know. Drag on drag.

[52:12] Jayke Workman: My last question for you is a question I ask every single guest, which is what is one thing you would tell baby Anthony?

[52:20] Anthony Murphy: Um, oh, one thing I would tell baby Anthony is uh it's okay to be gay. It's okay. It's okay to be gay. Um, yes, you know, he was so afraid of being just being himself at the time. Luckily, I found my best friend when I was in high school, and he really, you know, was like, bitch, no, you gay. And I was like, Oh, I am. He's like, yeah, and I was like, okay, cool, cool, cool. And then, you know, and then we were just a little, he asked me the first day we met. He asked me if I was gay, and I said, no. But the way he asked me, he was, it really was like he was saying, like, you're gay, and it's okay. And then that night on Facebook, I was like, remember that thing you asked me earlier. Well, maybe. Oh my god. Wait, I just um, but yes, that's what I would tell baby Anthony. Is it it's okay to be, it's okay to be every part of you.

[53:16] Jayke Workman: Hell yeah. Well, Anthony, I just adore you. Thank you so so much for coming on the pod. Would you come and would you tell the listeners where they can find you on socials?

[53:26] Anthony Murphy: Oh my god, you can find me at St. Anthony Sings. That's S T Anthony Sings. Everyone thinks it's Anthony, but it's not. I'm a Anthony for Anthony. We're Stantony for Anthony, but no, St. Anthony Sings. Um, or my website, Anthony Murphy Inc.com. For any other information.

[53:45] Jayke Workman: Yay! Um 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 much for listening. Talk soon. Bye.

[54:02] ♪ Musical number ♪