This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Quincy Brown: I remember the day I was announced that you were doing it full time, and I was like, finally.

[0:05] Kevin Bianchi: Me too.

[0:09] Quincy Brown: My name's Quincy.

[0:11] Kevin Bianchi: My name's Kevin.

[0:12] Quincy Brown: And this is Sentimental Men.

[0:14] Kevin Bianchi: But keep your thumb away from that skip button.

[0:17] Quincy Brown: We're here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:24] Kevin Bianchi: I was kind of thinking about like future plans for Sentimental Men, and I was like, okay, we kind of have a plan-ish through the end of October, and then I was like, we take a break for the holidays, and then I was like, wait, the holidays are coming up.

[0:35] Quincy Brown: Yeah, we're in 2024 already.

[0:37] Kevin Bianchi: Isn't that funny?

[0:37] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it's kind of crazy.

[0:39] Kevin Bianchi: Um, I don't really feel like I've done much this year.

[0:42] Quincy Brown: That's not true.

[0:43] Kevin Bianchi: That's not giving myself credit, I think.

[0:45] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I mean, we all re-entered the world this year, so we might be re-exiting it, yeah.

[0:52] Kevin Bianchi: Quarantine soon.

[0:55] Quincy Brown: I mean, we could start another podcast if we ever go into shutdown again.

[1:00] Kevin Bianchi: What a great way to start this episode.

[1:02] Quincy Brown: This guest today does have a long, long, long, long, long resume.

[1:06] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, okay.

[1:07] Quincy Brown: So, guys, theme of summer with Sentimental Men, if you didn't pick up on it already for our Alphabet guests, is Alphabas who have done a million contracts.

[1:16] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[1:17] Quincy Brown: The summer of a million contracts.

[1:19] Kevin Bianchi: And for this final Alphabet interview that you're getting in Summer with Sentimental Men, we are bringing in the Elphaba, who has the actress who has performed Elphaba more times than any other actress on this good old planet that we live on.

[1:34] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[1:34] Quincy Brown: Jennifer DiNoia.

[1:35] Kevin Bianchi: Jennifer DiNoia.

[1:36] Quincy Brown: I mean, this has truly been a summer of legends.

[1:39] Kevin Bianchi: Are you excited enough to read through her entire resume?

[1:41] Quincy Brown: I was assuming you were going to ask me to, and so yes, I am prepared to do that.

[1:47] Kevin Bianchi: But quick detour before we start is that Miss Jenny DiNoia went to Point Park University for a period of time, which is where I went also.

[1:57] Quincy Brown: Uh, very cute.

[1:58] Kevin Bianchi: So in 2003, she went out on the Mamma Mia National Tour in the Ensemble Understudying Ali.

[2:05] Quincy Brown: 2004, she was in the Las Vegas cast of We Will Rock You in the Ensemble and Understudying Scaramouche.

[2:12] Kevin Bianchi: In 2007, she made, and get used to hearing this name, her Wicked debut in the Chicago Company as a swing.

[2:21] Quincy Brown: And then sometime into her contract, they added the emergency Elphaba cover to her track.

[2:28] Kevin Bianchi: Then also in 2007, she was bumped up to the Elphaba Standby, which she did for over a year and she closed the show in that track.

[2:38] Quincy Brown: 2009, she made her Broadway debut as the Elphaba standby, which she did until August 2011, except for when she went to Australia for one month as an emergency Elphaba standby for the Australian company.

[2:54] Kevin Bianchi: Jet Setter.

[2:55] Quincy Brown: Jet Setter.

[2:56] Kevin Bianchi: So she comes back from Australia. We're fast forwarding until August 2011 when she exits the Broadway company.

[3:03] Quincy Brown: Then in 2012, she joins the company of the Asian Tour of Wicked, stepping in as Elphaba for Gemma Ricks for, you know, in another kind of emergency replacement situation.

[3:15] Kevin Bianchi: Then she comes back to Wicked on Broadway as the Elphaba Standby.

[3:19] Quincy Brown: Whoo, I'm out of breath.

[3:20] Kevin Bianchi: Then uh in 2013, she's back out on the road with Wicked in the second national tour, making her principal Elphaba debut, which must have felt so cool.

[3:30] Quincy Brown: I mean, that's what, like six years in the making.

[3:33] Kevin Bianchi: And we're only halfway through this journey with Wicked.

[3:36] Quincy Brown: I remember sitting in high school, scrolling on probably Broadway.com at the time and seeing that she was finally getting a principal contract and losing my mind.

[3:47] Kevin Bianchi: I love that for you.

[3:48] Quincy Brown: That's very cute, Kevin.

[3:49] Kevin Bianchi: So after she was out on the second national tour as principal Elphaba, she goes back into the Broadway company as standby, as kind of an in-between girl before Lily Cooper came in.

[4:00] Quincy Brown: Uh, and then jumps across the pond over to the West End, where she does another principal contract as Elphaba.

[4:06] Kevin Bianchi: The only other American to play Elphaba on the West End, except for Miss Idina Menzel.

[4:11] Quincy Brown: A distinct privilege and honor, I would say.

[4:14] Kevin Bianchi: After her time in the West End, she comes back to the States and joins the first national tour as the principal Elphaba.

[4:22] Quincy Brown: And she was the closing cast of the first national tour.

[4:26] Kevin Bianchi: So that's a big deal.

[4:27] Quincy Brown: Again, 2015, she was a temporary principal Elphaba.

[4:32] Kevin Bianchi: I get, I think again, in kind of an in-between situation.

[4:34] Quincy Brown: Guys, Wicked had her on speed dial.

[4:37] Kevin Bianchi: Speed dial, mama.

[4:38] Quincy Brown: Do you know the amount of time she got like a "you up" text from Wicked?

[4:42] Kevin Bianchi: Like.

[4:44] Quincy Brown: So then 2016, our girl does Principal Elphaba on Broadway for a year.

[4:51] Kevin Bianchi: And then in 2019, rejoins the Broadway company as the standby, where she is the current Elphaba standby to friend of the pod, Lindsay Pierce.

[5:03] Quincy Brown: Like we started this Wicked journey in 2007, and she is literally in the current Broadway cast of Wicked in 2021.

[5:11] Kevin Bianchi: That's nutso.

[5:13] Quincy Brown: Chords of Steel.

[5:15] Kevin Bianchi: Chords of Steel, baby.

[5:16] Quincy Brown: We've talked so much about her wickedness. Can we get a choices options in bootleg?

[5:21] Kevin Bianchi: We sure can.

[5:25] Quincy Brown: I'm very excited for this. I would like to start by saying that searching Jennifer DiNoia on YouTube gives you a treasure trove of Wicked.

[5:35] Kevin Bianchi: So sifting through it to find something that was not Wicked was a lot of fun.

[5:40] Quincy Brown: And where I landed, Kevin, was at the Women of Wicked concert in 2011.

[5:45] Kevin Bianchi: Sure.

[5:46] Quincy Brown: Where our guest, Jennifer DiNoia, sings "The Chain" by Ingrid Michaelson, accompanied by Katie Rose Clark and Dee Rossioli.

[5:55] Kevin Bianchi: Wow.

[5:56] Quincy Brown: First of all, that's my Sun Moon rising. Second of all, like talk about three of the clearest voices that you've ever heard.

[6:04] Kevin Bianchi: It sounds so good.

[6:06] Quincy Brown: Why I like this song for Ms. Jennifer DiNoia is because she gets to use like that kind of like nice, light, floaty part, which is like obviously different than what we are accustomed to hearing her singing.

[6:21] Kevin Bianchi: Um, but she does bring the belt in on the chorus for anybody who's missing it.

[6:25] Quincy Brown: You're unfamiliar with the song, but at the end there's this kind of like a round where it's like she sings the chorus, and then a measure later she comes in again singing the chorus and then a measure.

[6:35] Kevin Bianchi: But so Jenny, Katie, and Dee do that effect.

[6:39] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[6:40] Kevin Bianchi: It's so good because it's just these three like great, beautiful voices, all just like floating around each other.

[6:47] Quincy Brown: Oh, it's so yummy.

[6:49] Kevin Bianchi: Interesting.

[6:49] Quincy Brown: I know.

[6:49] Kevin Bianchi: I need to look at it.

[6:50] Quincy Brown: You have to, you have to go watch it.

[6:52] Kevin Bianchi: It's so good.

[6:53] Quincy Brown: It's so good.

[6:54] Kevin Bianchi: And I love that song too.

[6:56] Quincy Brown: Ingrid Michaelson.

[6:57] Kevin Bianchi: Wasn't she in Great Comet?

[6:58] Quincy Brown: Yes, and that's when she like kind of really came on my radar, and then she like performed at LCFest, and she's like writing the notebook musical, so that's where like she really kind of came in.

[7:07] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[7:07] Quincy Brown: I forgot.

[7:08] Kevin Bianchi: Ooh, fun.

[7:09] Quincy Brown: What is like her mainstream hit?

[7:11] Kevin Bianchi: She sings "Call Me Maybe."

[7:19] Quincy Brown: I do love those like Women of Wicked divas concerts because there's something so thrilling about seeing like because it's always like women who have done Wicked but weren't necessarily paired together in the show.

[7:31] Kevin Bianchi: So it's fun to see them together outside of the show, and then to also see them sing non-Wicked songs, but also get some Wicked songs.

[7:38] Quincy Brown: They're very fun.

[7:39] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I mean, it's like watching an all-star season of a TV show.

[7:43] Quincy Brown: Sure, they're super fun.

[7:44] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe they'll do it, maybe they'll jump a new one after the shutdown.

[7:49] Quincy Brown: I feel like they kind of fell off for a little bit.

[7:51] Kevin Bianchi: Should we just do it, Quincy-ish?

[7:52] Quincy Brown: No, I want to do a 54 Below thing where we just bring in all of our former guests and make them sing well to sing.

[7:58] Kevin Bianchi: Alpha Baroulette.

[8:01] Quincy Brown: We just have a wheel of like 11 o'clock numbers, and it's like Caroline Bowman, you'll be singing "Meadow Lark."

[8:09] Kevin Bianchi: I envisioned it as we would send every guest a list of songs in like customized, personalized to them.

[8:16] Quincy Brown: List of songs that we would like them to sing, and be like, you can choose three of these.

[8:16] Kevin Bianchi: Choose three.

[8:21] Quincy Brown: All 18 of them are gonna do three.

[8:25] Kevin Bianchi: That's what I want.

[8:27] Quincy Brown: It's a day, it's like seeing Angels in America.

[8:30] Kevin Bianchi: There, there's four intermissions.

[8:32] Quincy Brown: A festival, Sentimental Men festival.

[8:37] Kevin Bianchi: It's just in that weird parking lot on Eighth Avenue.

[8:40] Quincy Brown: The empty lot next to the Imperial Theater.

[8:42] Kevin Bianchi: That's where we'll have it.

[8:43] Quincy Brown: Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

[8:45] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[8:48] Quincy Brown: Okay, guys, before we get into our interview with Jenny, we have to tell you about this podcast that we think you'll love because we love it.

[8:56] Kevin Bianchi: And Kevin, please tell me more about this podcast we're talking about.

[9:00] Kevin Bianchi: This podcast is called Backstage With, and it's hosted by our good friend and fellow Sent Man, Mikey. And he it's a podcast kind of like ours where he just like sits and has great conversations with theater folk.

[9:13] Quincy Brown: Yeah, a little broader than us right now. But he does have a lot of Wicked episodes.

[9:17] Kevin Bianchi: He's got Alphabas, Glindas, Wizards, Marbles, like he's got them all.

[9:22] Quincy Brown: Talk to like Kerry Ellis, talk to Stephen Schwartz.

[9:24] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm. Lots of good bonus Wicked content.

[9:29] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[9:29] Kevin Bianchi: So check it out. Uh anywhere you listen to your podcasts or follow him at @BackstageWith.

[9:35] Quincy Brown: Um, and yeah, tell him we sent you.

[9:39] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, go spam his comments.

[9:41] Quincy Brown: Sentimental Men sent me.

[9:47] Quincy Brown: Jennifer DiNoia, thank you so much for joining us.

[9:50] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, welcome to the pod.

[9:51] Jennifer DiNoia: Thank you for having me.

[9:53] Quincy Brown: This feels a long time coming. We've been wanting to talk to you for a while now.

[9:56] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh, I'm really, really excited to be here. I've been geeking out watching your podcast for quite some time.

[10:02] Kevin Bianchi: Before we start, I want to say, Jenny, we both went to Point Park.

[10:06] Jennifer DiNoia: You went to Point Park.

[10:08] Kevin Bianchi: I did.

[10:09] Jennifer DiNoia: And you were you were a dance major, right?

[10:11] Kevin Bianchi: I was a dance major, yeah.

[10:12] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah, I was a musical theater major.

[10:13] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, good for you.

[10:14] Jennifer DiNoia: I really should have gone for music school theater. I just at that time in my life I I wasn't like comfortable with that. I was more comfortable with dancing.

[10:20] Kevin Bianchi: But um, it's really changed since I've been there.

[10:26] Jennifer DiNoia: Like it's now even since I've been there too, yeah.

[10:29] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it's like a university. It's beautiful.

[10:31] Jennifer DiNoia: Like when I was there, like our dorm rooms. I don't know if the dorms are still like above like that old hotel vibe.

[10:37] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, Lawrence Hall.

[10:38] Jennifer DiNoia: Yes.

[10:39] Kevin Bianchi: Haunted with the shuffler.

[10:41] Jennifer DiNoia: I heard the shuffler.

[10:43] Kevin Bianchi: Me too.

[10:44] Jennifer DiNoia: Real.

[10:44] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[10:45] Jennifer DiNoia: What is going on?

[10:45] Quincy Brown: Quincy, the shuffler is a ghost that haunts the dorms at Point Park.

[10:49] Kevin Bianchi: And because it sounds like someone walking but dragging their feet.

[10:53] Jennifer DiNoia: It's so scary.

[10:54] Quincy Brown: It's good to know that these stories were not just like isolated to my ears there.

[10:59] Jennifer DiNoia: Nope, they weren't.

[11:00] Kevin Bianchi: No, that was really cute.

[11:02] Quincy Brown: Oh my goodness. Okay, so we start every interview by asking, when did Wicked the Musical come into your life?

[11:09] Jennifer DiNoia: So the first like real solid memory I have of Wicked is um I was on tour with Mamma Mia, and I was at the National Theater doing the show, and somebody started playing the cast album of Wicked, and I was like, oh, like what is this?

[11:24] Jennifer DiNoia: Um I was already like a massive fan of Idina from Rent. So just listening to a show, obviously, like led by two women, but like this music, the music is just it's so beautiful. And hearing her just like wail through these songs.

[11:39] Jennifer DiNoia: And I I never actually saw the show until I booked the show. I obviously I knew the story. There weren't like a million bootlegs online that you could watch at the time. Cause this is a long time ago.

[11:52] Kevin Bianchi: Which we were talking.

[11:53] Jennifer DiNoia: You are like a very bootlegged Elphaba.

[11:55] Kevin Bianchi: Am I really?

[11:56] Jennifer DiNoia: I stopped, I had to stop looking at stuff online because it was just too like mentally draining.

[12:02] Kevin Bianchi: Well, people have had the most opportunities.

[12:04] Jennifer DiNoia: I know I've been in the show for long enough.

[12:07] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so you were at in Mamma Mia, you heard the music. At this point, were you did you consider yourself like a belter? This is a role I could do, or were you just like obsessed with the show?

[12:16] Jennifer DiNoia: I was obsessed with the show. I don't know if I considered myself a belter. I think I like naively was like, I want to do that. Like and didn't really think about any of the things that you have to do to actually do that. More like, you know, like being a kid and dreaming about being on Broadway, you know, is that kind of like, oh, I could get there.

[12:36] Quincy Brown: You were talking about how you started off as a dancer. So at what point did you kind of transition into the musical theater track?

[12:42] Jennifer DiNoia: Uh when I started understudying Elphaba.

[12:44] Kevin Bianchi: Really?

[12:45] Jennifer DiNoia: I mean, I so the show I did before Wicked, I did We Will Rock You in Las Vegas. And I was hired in the ensemble as a dancer. I didn't understudy anybody. And then um, this is like my pattern, I guess. But like as the time went on in the show, uh, an understudy position for Scaramouche opened up. And so I was like, Oh, I want to try out, I'll try out. And so they they ended up giving it to me. So that was my first taste of like carrying a role, you know, doing something that was more than just like saying a few lines or and like singing a song by myself uh on stage.

[13:21] Kevin Bianchi: And had you been doing any vocal training, or was it all just natural?

[13:24] Jennifer DiNoia: So when I joined Mamma Mia, maybe the second week of performances, I completely lost my voice.

[13:30] Kevin Bianchi: Really?

[13:31] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah. Uh before then, no voice lessons. Um, you know, because in Mamma Mia, all that booth singing happens backstage. So you do a lot of like these straight-toned, like just backup singing, backup vocals. And I lost my voice completely, and we were headed to LA, and the musical director was like, You should maybe take a voice lesson.

[13:53] Jennifer DiNoia: And I was like, Okay, I should probably do that now. This is what I'm doing. Um, and I took like two or three voice lessons from a Seth Riggs associate who's a vocal teacher out in LA. And so I had those like vocal warmups. So I just didn't take any voice lessons until I started doing Wicked and wanting to play Elphaba. Because I was like, This is not a role. Like, unlike Scaramouche, you know, you can kind of, you know, screech your way through it because it's like rock and roll and um but Elphaba's obviously not that type of role. You can maybe play it once and like blow your voice out, but to sustain an eight show week is a completely different story and for any amount of time. So I heavily started back into voice lessons once I got that.

[14:39] Kevin Bianchi: Interesting. What was your process like of getting from that swing track into the standby track? What was that journey like?

[14:46] Jennifer DiNoia: Gosh, you know, thinking about it, it's like I don't know how many months it was or like it's been so long. But um, I think it was about around the six-month marker where I was fully just a swing. I had finally like learned and you know, quote unquote mastered all of my tracks, which I feel like as a swing, you know, it takes a really long time to master tracks, uh, which yeah, I did not master by six months. And was covering that many roles, was that the most you've taken on in your career at that point?

[15:15] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah, like I was I I remember the first time I watched the show. Obviously, I was like, oh my god, the show is beautiful. But my immediate thought afterwards was what did I get myself into? What did I sign up for? Yeah. Being a swing is I personally think it's one of the scariest, hardest. It's not like glorified enough, you know. Um, the swings really they save the day all the time, and they have to know so much, and it's hard. So I had finished learning all of my tracks by six months, and one of the or the understudy in the show hurt herself. And at this time it was 2006, so the show had really only been open for a couple years, and they didn't really have like a massive pool of people like they do now to be like hey you know can you fly out from New York and you know right right exactly so they kind of wanted to cover it internally because she really wasn't gonna be out for very long she just needed like a six week to eight week break so I recorded myself with the musical director on a cassette tape and we sent it to New York to um Steven Oremus and I I think they just kind of said sure you know she can be the emergency cover. So that was kind of the way that my Elphaba you know started.

[16:35] Kevin Bianchi: How did that happen internally though? Because I have to imagine if you're a swing in the Chicago company to kind of work up the Hutzpa to be like okay I'm gonna put myself out there to be this cover. How did that all happen?

[16:47] Jennifer DiNoia: Going into the show, I just wanted to be in the show, right? Like I I knew that if I could get into this show I could at least be a fly in the wall, be able to observe I'm a great observer. I like to watch and that's how I learn the best. Um that's I think how I learned how to play Elphaba obviously because I was a standby for so so long. Yeah. I just kind of kept a conversation going with our musical director just saying I really am interested in this. I want to understudy more I want to learn how to do this you know and I would ask to work on the music with him and I would work on the music on my own. I'd work on it in voice lessons and then I would you know mention it to creatives when they came into town just saying you know I'm interested in this if you know, just putting the seat out there, right? Like, yeah, I would like to do this. Tell me what I need to do to get there. You know, self-advocacy.

[17:41] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it's hard.

[17:42] Jennifer DiNoia: It's really hard because it's a fine line, I think. You know, because you never want to be pushy. Also, like I wasn't coming from a place at that time where I was like, I had any kind of like background of being like, I can do this, because it was kind of like I don't know really what's gonna happen at this point because I really didn't have any experience. So it took me a very long time to play the role. So I I think that it was just me like making those very slow steps for myself, as well as you know, people kind of saying, okay, let's give her a chance.

[18:11] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. So did you have to do anything else besides sending the cassette in to get that emergency cover role?

[18:16] Jennifer DiNoia: I read, I read with um some understudies in our rehearsal room in Chicago, because this was when I was in the Chicago company. I think when one of the creatives came into town, because they would pop in every once in a while to do cleanup and notes and that kind of thing. So I probably read for our associate director at that time. Okay, but it didn't like match up completely. Like it was kind of strange. It was, I think that I got the emergency cover, and then they came out and they they had me read, and then they were like, okay, she can continue being the emergency cover.

[18:52] Kevin Bianchi: At that point in your career, when you got the cover, was that like a huge deal? Was it overwhelming?

[18:57] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh my god, it was the best thing that's ever happened ever. Like it was so magical. Like the fact that I got to do like a pudding, yeah, and painted green, nothing can take away your first time being green and doing it. I don't remember details of it whatsoever. But I just the feeling remember feeling that like crazy. I mean, I guess that's why you know, 15 years later I'm still doing the show, but yeah, it was really magical.

[19:27] Kevin Bianchi: So at that point, did you have your sights set on being full time Elphaba? Right. Like when did that ambition come in?

[19:34] Jennifer DiNoia: Once I had like a few shows under my belt, I was like, okay I'm learning this, you know, I you know another like six to eight months had passed and I was like, I want to be the standby. You know, like that was like the next step. I it wasn't like, you know, let's go straight full sports right away. Well especially in the early days. I think now they kind of bring in women and you're like you can do full time immediately. But back then it really was I feel like you started a standby and then you work your way up to full time. Yeah. Yeah and and I needed that. I'm very grateful that I had those years because I don't think if I had so much time as a standby, I don't think I would have had the career that I've had with the show.

I wouldn't have learned as much about myself as an actor or about Elphaba. She's a part of me at this point. Yeah. Like I can jump into the show and it's something that is in my my soul. It's like in my body somewhere. Yeah. So I'm grateful for that time. But yeah the next step was always the standby. Like that's like what I had my sights set on.

[20:33] Kevin Bianchi: And then after Chicago standby was Broadway standby, correct?

[20:37] Jennifer DiNoia: Yes. So Chicago closed and we found out that Chicago was becoming essentially not every single person, but it was becoming the second national tour. Oh interesting. Yeah that cast move to open the second national tour with obviously with a couple different leads, different ensemble members, but the core group was Chicago and I they gave me the standby on Broadway, which was my Broadway debut. So it was like amazing.

[21:04] Kevin Bianchi: From the time of Chicago, you really did the like buy the book, climbing up through the ranks.

[21:09] Jennifer DiNoia: I would say until Broadway, and that's when we went international.

[21:12] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, that's when everything started to like.

[21:15] Jennifer DiNoia: I'm very curious to how that was presented to you because that's not like a very normal thing that happens.

[21:21] Jennifer DiNoia: It was totally not normal. I'd been a standby, I think for about a year on Broadway, and it was a Friday. I remember this vividly. The lead Elphaba in Australia hurt herself. So they needed somebody to get out there. And the company there was fairly new. So the standby was now doing suddenly eight shows a week. But in Australia, they technically do the alternate. So the standby always does two shows a week. So she was now doing eight shows a week. The understudy had not had her put in yet. So they were just like they needed someone quickly. And our associate director said, Jenny, this is Friday. We were wondering if you could fly to Sydney, Australia on Monday. Um and get into the show. So I I was like, um, yes, like who doesn't say yes to I think the reason that they gave it to me was mostly because they knew I could like my swing background, they knew I could just kind of like jump in. I had that sure I'll do it kind of attitude.

[22:19] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[22:20] Jennifer DiNoia: And so I flew there on Monday, and I was in the show Wednesday evening in Australia. Um, but it was so it was crazy, it was fun. The way that it was presented to me was this is an emergency and we need somebody. Can you can you do it?

[22:36] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. I feel like looking at your kind of wicked resume, it's kind of marked with all of these opportunities that were that could potentially be really stressful, of like jumping in in like an emergency situation, but hearing you talk about it, it seems like they you had the point of view that they were more like exciting those kinds of opportunities and not stressful crises.

[22:57] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh yeah, I mean, I feel like I kind of live for those moments I don't I'm not much of a like daredevil type of human like in real life but I guess that's my like adrenaline junkie kind of rush like getting like pushed into those kind of positions and seeing if I can do it the masochist it was so fulfilling you know and it built it slowly built my confidence up because I was in a place where I was still like oh I'm the dancer that got really lucky as she's belting as Elphaba it would this was all in my own head of course I was gonna say it's got to feel pretty validating to be the woman that wicked LLC can be like hey can you go over and do this we trust you to like just slide in in an emergency you know I still can't believe it because there were years in there where I was like is this ever gonna happen for me? I don't know you know because I was a standby for six and a half, seven years before they gave me the role full time.

[23:57] Kevin Bianchi: So it wasn't all like easy going great like I mean I was always very grateful to be where I was and I would whenever Wicked calls I'm like if I'm not doing anything yes I'm there like this summer we've been talking to women who have like done multiple multiple multiple contracts of wicked over many years. At this point were you kind of thinking am I tired of this or were you still was the idea of doing it full time keeping you in the game?

[24:24] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh yeah full time because before I got a full time Elphaba contract that was the next goal. So after I became a standby, you know, obviously the opportunities that took me internationally were awesome that the two Sydney and Korea. Um, so like around after that time, it was I just want to play the role. I was like, I don't care where it is, I just want to get a full-time contract. And then the tour tour two came up. You know, it's always like the next goal, right? Because then after tour two, it's like, I just want to play the role on Broadway.

[24:56] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. And so what was it? How did the tour full-time happen? Did you have to go in and audition again? Or were they just like, hey, I did.

[25:05] Jennifer DiNoia: Shut up, the golf. I'm sure you probably heard this from some other Elphaba. It was interesting. I remember I was on Broadway and I had I was on for the weekend, and then I was on Tuesday and Wednesday as a standby, and I had an audition for Elphaba on Monday in a studio. Sorry, I have green in a hand.

[25:27] Kevin Bianchi: But okay, so did that give you a level of confidence going into the audition, or was it like greater pressure because you had been doing it?

[25:34] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah, it was greater pressure, not really. It's gonna give me more confidence.

[25:39] Kevin Bianchi: Really?

[25:40] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah, I mean, well, that it didn't, I mean, it happened multiple times, you know, while I was a standby.

[25:46] Kevin Bianchi: So when you took over full-time, that wasn't the first time you had gone into audition for full-time Elphaba.

[25:51] Jennifer DiNoia: No, no, do you remember previous instances?

[25:54] Jennifer DiNoia: There were three others before that. So that was my fourth time auditioning as a standby, and it was all of the times the tour two Elphaba came up because I didn't audition for tour two for the original, but then all the replacements afterwards I auditioned for.

[26:12] Kevin Bianchi: How did you not lose determination through all of that?

[26:17] Jennifer DiNoia: Well, I did. Like, I'm not gonna lie. So I was the standby on Broadway. So after Chicago closed and I went to Broadway, I was a standby for two and a half years there. In the middle of it, I traveled to Sydney, Australia. Uh-huh. And then I came back and I stood by for five or six women on Broadway and wonderful, incredible, awesome women that I learned so much from.

[26:42] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[26:43] Jennifer DiNoia: But it was very hard. You know, it was hard watching women come in and out of the Broadway company, go in and out of the tours. And I was also standing by for really powerful women that were strong eight shows a week. There would be two months that would go by where I wasn't even in the show. And that was hard too, because I was like, what am I doing with my life? You know what I mean?

[27:05] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[27:06] Jennifer DiNoia: So when I left Broadway as the standby, I was I knew I needed a break. I needed to step away from the show. I really needed to like find myself again because I had been such a go go Wicked, you know. Like Wicked was your life.

[27:21] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah. Yeah. And that's all it was. And that's like what mattered. I only mattered if I was doing well in what and I kind of reset and did other things and saw my family and like, you know, reconnected to the race.

[27:37] Jennifer DiNoia: Yes, I knew that I would want to come back, but I kind of made a decision that I would only come back if it felt right. I mean, it always did. You know, when it ended up coming up, it did feel right. But I knew that for me at that moment, leaving the show was like I need to take care of myself and reevaluate what is important to me. And yeah, the first time I came back to the show, I filled in on Broadway, but it was for an ensemble track. I filled in for the Alphabet Understudy track and wore the Frankenstein wave.

[28:12] Kevin Bianchi: We didn't know that.

[28:13] Jennifer DiNoia: I didn't know that. Yeah, it was 2012 because I remember I was there in New Year's. There's something to be said. I think it's really commendable that you were able to kind of swallow your ego in that regard and come back in that track after having worked your way up the ranks, you know.

[28:18] Jennifer DiNoia: There's something to be said, you know, like I and to each his own. Like I think everybody needs to make the decisions that are right for them. But for me, it was like I haven't worked in eight months. This is good for me. This will be good for my soul, it'll be good for my bank account. It'll be good for my health insurance weeks. Like, I mean, yeah, yeah. It's not beneath me.

[28:47] Quincy Brown: So when you took that kind of break and you were seeing family connecting with yourself, like what difference did you see when you did come back into the show?

[28:56] Jennifer DiNoia: It was just a perspective that there's more than just the job or the need to keep hitting those goals, you know. Those restorative breaks, and I've had many over the years since that first big one. It's always good for me to take a step back because I remember what's more important, very similar to what's happened in the last, you know, year plus, right? Like, you know, I think it's just it's a nice reset to kind of remember, okay. It's not, you know, because when you get into the audition mode and the like, I gotta, I want to go on, or I wanna like sing that note. Like you just you get into this weird bubble, like you create this bubble for yourself and you forget about it. It's like I just want to enjoy myself, I want to be on stage.

And once I had that restorative break, like coming back into the show, I felt more free. I felt like I could breathe and I could like be myself and really enjoy it. You know, you go through this pattern in your contract, you get into this mode where you're like oh I gotta get into mode and then you're like smooth sailing, smooth sailing, then it's like something like, you know, happens where you're either like I can't remember my lines or you know you get this mental block about a note and like those things are real and you get so wrapped up in this thing and I and after my like maybe like eight or nine year mark of being a part of the show I feel like I'm now confidently able to be like oh that note sounded bad okay on to the next you know like yeah I'm a human I'm not a robot put it in the past that's fine.

[29:55] Quincy Brown: So what was that first contract on tour? Did you have moments where you were like oh this isn't everything I thought it was gonna be doing your first contract full time?

[29:55] Jennifer DiNoia: Yes, oh for sure because when you're an understudy in a standby you're like you watch it all the time and you're like I could do that I could do that I could do that and then you get there and you're like oh no I get it now I get it now I get it not that it wasn't all it's cracked up to be it was just more like oh this is a lot different a lot more different than I expected.

[29:55] Quincy Brown: And how did the West End come about?

[29:55] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh the West End. So I did my contract on the road, I did a year and then I had a restorative break again. Did you think I've done it full time I'm done now I'm satisfied?

[29:55] Jennifer DiNoia: That was the first time I left the show where I was like you know what I really did what I wanted to do. Like I played the role. If I don't ever play the role on Broadway, that kind of stinks, but you know what? I played the role. I played off buttons so I was like, I stepped away from the show being like, I can move forward. I can close that book a little bit. And then like I don't know, seven months later they said, can you fill in on Broadway? And I was like, okay. If the check is clearing, I will help.

[31:52] Jennifer DiNoia: Exactly. So I filled in for Donna Vivino because she got a play and I was standby there for maybe five weeks. Like a week after I left they asked if I wanted to go to London and I was like yes. Like that was it. It was like do you want to do it in the West End? Yeah. Like I had no like I didn't know that it was available to Americans. I never asked for that was on the platter, but okay.

[32:23] Quincy Brown: Yeah I didn't know it was on the platter.

[32:25] Jennifer DiNoia: I didn't know it was a voice. I would have been asking in Chicago if I knew. I know I didn't check the hocks. I didn't check the box been willing to yeah so that one came kind of out of nowhere and it was probably the most magical Wicked experience I had.

[32:34] Quincy Brown: And wait were you doing an American accent speaking accent in London?

[32:49] Jennifer DiNoia: Yes. I was doing a s American speaking accent in London and then I was singing when I had to sing with other people in a British accent. So I had to like hit really hard T's and like what is this feeling so sudden and neat only when you were singing with other people.

[32:58] Jennifer DiNoia: Only when I was singing with other people. Wizard and I you could do an American accent you can just do your thing.

[33:12] Quincy Brown: Yeah I just did my thing.

[33:14] Jennifer DiNoia: That's tricky.

[33:15] Quincy Brown: It was weird. I think I found London though to be the most freeing because I was like, I don't know anyone here. Like it no one.

[33:24] Jennifer DiNoia: Well, you've talked about in interviews how London is when the first time you felt like you really like owned the role.

[33:30] Quincy Brown: And I think that's interesting because you had done it full-time on tour already. What made London so different?

[33:35] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah. Again, it was all me creating this story in my head, but you know, I always felt like I was looked at like the dancer that got moved up and slowly moved up. So when I stepped into the London company, nobody knew my history. Nobody knew anything about me. They just knew I was an American Elphaba, like that just played it on tour.

[33:57] Quincy Brown: It was like the narrative shifted around you.

[33:59] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah. Yeah. And my family always they made fun of me because it was like when the press release came out, it was international superstar Elphaba.

[34:11] Kevin Bianchi: Not wrong.

[34:11] Jennifer DiNoia: I did not ask them the right. I love it I was like, okay, I'm an international superstar. That's how it was built when I was coming into the car.

[34:24] Quincy Brown: Okay, so we did West End full time, which to me at least feels like a major career achievement.

[34:31] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah, I felt like I was on fire. Like it was the first time in my career that I was like confident. Oh yeah. It felt like things were happening.

[34:40] Kevin Bianchi: Well, it's funny that you talk about like the narrative you build in your head because now when you look back at your resume, it's like Wicked clearly loves you, Jenny.

[34:49] Jennifer DiNoia: I know. And I still am like there is still like a small thing back there, but like, yes, I and I love them. Like I did. I do. It's I take nice restorative breaks and I come back and I find a whole new part of myself. It's really I've grown up playing this role, and it's intertwined in like a weird, wonderfully kind of messed up way, like into my own life, and it's uh I don't know, it's it's like a part of me at this point.

[35:22] Quincy Brown: It's weird. Well, so that's interesting. We've been talking to all these ladies who have done Wicked for a very, very long time and trying to pinpoint like the moment where they were like, Oh, I'm maybe growing tired of this, but because Broadway full time was kind of one of like towards the latter end of your Wicked journey. Was there a moment before you did it full time on Broadway where you kind of were like, maybe I need to hang up the towel on Elphaba? I'm getting tired of this.

[35:22] Jennifer DiNoia: No.

[35:22] Quincy Brown: Wow.

[35:50] Kevin Bianchi: We love to hear it.

[35:51] Jennifer DiNoia: I'm not gonna say there weren't moments I was tired or tired of it, but there was never a time where I was like, um no. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like full there was never like a fully like, I'm good, done. Really, you know. It was always just like, you know what, I need to step away. Yeah, I need to s we need some space. It was like uh we need to go on a break. Always think about Wicked and you know, going back in and out of the show. It's like it's like a weird relationship. Yeah, kind of like healthy boundaries messed up um healthy boundaries. We need we need to really figure that out. So like, yeah, we need to take breaks and then you know it moves back into a new a new relationship.

[36:32] Quincy Brown: Was there ever a point like physically or vocally where you hit a block with the show? Like did where like is it hard for you vocally, Jenny, or are you chilling?

[36:41] Jennifer DiNoia: It is. It's hard for me. Yeah. I go through moments though, like when I said like I felt like I was on fire in London for some reason in London vocally, I was like, it's flowing, but then I do get into ruts where I'm like struggling because when you're directed to play Elphaba, everything's so tense. Yeah, everything's yelling, everything is like really just like it's a 10, you know what I mean? You're always at a 10. So, like learning how to just speak vocally in the show, not even just not even just singing, but like just to like talk is it's a whole other skill that you have to like figure out for yourself. Everyone is always like yelling is what gets you as Elphaba, it is, and the tenseness, because like there's just so many parts of it that you don't like train for, or you really can't unless you're playing the role, right? So, yeah, the show can be vocally very difficult for me.

[37:37] Quincy Brown: Interesting. So, huh of the three full-time contracts you did, which was the most difficult and which was the most enjoyable?

[37:45] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh, that's a hard one, but I'm gonna just go with my answer that came right to my mind. The most difficult was my Broadway run, not because of anything with the show, mostly was because I had had my daughter and she was seven and a half months old when I went back. Yeah, uh so my body was still like what's happened. I can't that is superhuman I played the role while I was pregnant.

[38:11] Kevin Bianchi: You and Rachel Tucker, right?

[38:13] Jennifer DiNoia: It was crazy because I was in London for five months. I came home for a week, they told me, Oh, we need somebody on tour one to close door one. So I had a week off, and then I flew to LA and I did the show for five weeks, and while I was there, they were like, We need somebody on Broadway. So, right after LA, I went to Broadway and I filled in for um Caroline Bowman for five weeks. Uh-huh. But during that one week between London and LA, I got pregnant, and then in LA, I was like, something feels different. And I couldn't really tell anyone, but I played Elphaba until I was 11 weeks pregnant.

[38:13] Quincy Brown: Wow.

[38:51] Jennifer DiNoia: Wow. So yeah. So Broadway was the hardest.

[38:58] Quincy Brown: I think it's really interesting and cool that you had this entire journey with Wicked. You ended doing full-time Broadway and then you come back as standby. Which here's the thing. For me, I would love to be a standby in Wicked because it seems like a pretty cushy gig. And especially hearing you like juggling being a mother and everything, it seems like kind of the greatest gig for your juncture of life right now.

[39:26] Jennifer DiNoia: It is 100%. I had a very weird two years after my Broadway run. Um kind of a hard two years. And so I kind of stepped away from the business completely. And when I was like kind of getting ready to like reenter the business, we had our 15th anniversary. So I did that really fun anniversary special that all the Elphies and Glendas said. And I was like, oh my God. So after that, like I Laurel Harris, who was the standby in Broadway at the time, she was taking a like a two week vacation. And so they asked me to fill in for her, and I was like, yes, I would love to fill in. Um and while I was there, Laurel was like, I got Jagged Little Pill, so I'm going to do this. And I was like, something like maybe I could do it.

[40:19] Jennifer DiNoia: I was just like Jenny with the hand up. That's pretty much my Wicked.

[40:19] Quincy Brown: Jenny with the hand.

[40:22] Jennifer DiNoia: Jenny with the hand. Um it's true. I let the stage manager know. And you know, they were having new Elphaba come in, like people that hadn't done the show before. So I think they were like, well, let's keep that oldie around because you know I don't know. You know, the person that can jump in anywhere, right? It was one of those perfect for me at the right time in my life and exactly what I needed. And it's it is the cushiest role because it's fun, it's less stressful because you're not carrying the show.

[40:58] Quincy Brown: I know how hard that is.

[40:59] Jennifer DiNoia: Do you feel any kind of like mentorship at this point in your journey, like especially like you're saying with the new girls coming in who've never done the part before?

[41:08] Jennifer DiNoia: Yes, it's almost like I want to be around, like I wanna be the standby almost so that I can talk to them and be uh because I remember when Hannah was there, she had been there, I think for maybe like a month when I got there.

[41:23] Jennifer DiNoia: And I, you know, slowly kind of like tried to just say like, hey, you know, if you want to chat, like I'm here, like I get it. I know everything you're going through. Especially because she had never done it before, too. Her and Lindsay. Yeah, and Lindsay too. Lindsay the same. Like I c I did the same thing when she came in. I was like, if you want to talk, like I'm here. I mean, they are so great. That's why they booked this role. And however, there is there's a part of playing this role that is you can't prepare for it. It's all like a psychological, like something that you have to like figure out while you're in the show. And I'd love to be that person for any Elphaba.

[42:04] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[42:04] Jennifer DiNoia: If there's anything I've learned from doing this podcast, it's that the mental journey of Elphaba is like almost the biggest challenge.

[42:11] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, it 100% is.

[42:13] Jennifer DiNoia: Nothing can prepare you for how it feels to be ridiculed in a show for three hours. Like I remember there were moments where I was like actually paranoid that people hated me.

[42:25] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[42:26] Jennifer DiNoia: Like you get to that place. It's so crazy. But it's made that's maybe around like the seven-month. It's maybe in that pocket for me.

[42:39] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, there we go.

[42:40] Quincy Brown: Here we go.

[42:42] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh my goodness.

[42:43] Quincy Brown: Six months and three weeks. Can't wait till next week.

[42:46] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh, I gotta go.

[42:49] Kevin Bianchi: All right. So we play a game with every guest that we have on. And we ask them if they're a Wizard and I or Defying Gravity Elphaba. It can mean whatever you want it to mean.

[43:02] Jennifer DiNoia: I'm gonna go with Wizard and I.

[43:04] Kevin Bianchi: Ooh, that's spicy.

[43:06] Quincy Brown: You and Stephanie J. Block, Jenny.

[43:09] Jennifer DiNoia: Really?

[43:10] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, you're the only two.

[43:14] Jennifer DiNoia: Love her. I love that. I love her so much. Um It's the Wizard and I, and it's because it's just so hopeful. It's just one of the songs that I feel like you get to meet Elphaba at her rawest moment before all the stuff, right? I just I love that song so much. It's probably the hardest song for me to sing because it's right now.

[43:36] Quincy Brown: Well that's why no one chooses it. They're like, it's so horrible that they make us do that.

[43:39] Jennifer DiNoia: It is stressful, but it's like that kind of that's the bar, right? Like that's where you kind of set your show, and you can kind of tell like how the show is gonna go. Cause like, is Elphaba gonna be maybe a little feisty today? Is she gonna be like super like hopeful and like I don't know. I there there's just so many parts of the Wizard and I that I feel like that song itself is like a whole show. It's like a third story. And I just I love watching, I love watching actors sing it as well. Because I feel like I can tell what kind of Elphaba they are by watching their Wizard and I.

[44:13] Quincy Brown: We said I think it was with Caroline Bowman. We said that that song seems like the song that you would do in like theater school where they make you act it out as a monologue.

[44:21] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah.

[44:22] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[44:25] Jennifer DiNoia: No, speak it. Make me believe it as text.

[44:29] Quincy Brown: Holy goodness. Jenny, this has been so amazing. Thank you so much for joining us. This has been so great.

[44:34] Jennifer DiNoia: I'm so honored I finally know we're honored.

[44:39] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my gosh. Uh, where can people find you online, Jenny?

[44:42] Jennifer DiNoia: Oh gosh. Well, they can find me at Jenny DiNoia on Instagram. And I did just make a website during the lockdown. I I I need to add stuff to it. I I made it myself, but it's jennydenoia.com.

[44:56] Quincy Brown: I have to visit.

[44:57] Jennifer DiNoia: Yeah.

[44:58] Quincy Brown: Oh, thank you for joining us, Jenny. This has been so great.

[45:01] Jennifer DiNoia: Thank you for having me. I hope I get to meet you guys in person soon.

[45:10] Kevin Bianchi: Kevin, that was like a really, really cute conversation. I'm like almost emotional after it.

[45:16] Quincy Brown: The conversation was so great because it was about like the themes of playing Elphaba and not so much about like the minutiae of her contract history. Jenny, thank you so much for joining us. That was an incredible conversation.

[45:29] Kevin Bianchi: That was amazing. Adding to the list of things that we didn't know the Chicago Company gave us.

[45:35] Quincy Brown: I guess it never clocked that the Chicago Company turned into the second national tour.

[45:39] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I never did either, but I guess it makes sense.

[45:42] Quincy Brown: Fully makes sense. It's like the first set stayed there. And then the second cast took it back out on the road.

[45:49] Kevin Bianchi: Second national tour. What was it? The Munchkin Land Tour?

[45:51] Quincy Brown: It was the Emerald City Tour in the Munchkin Land.

[45:53] Kevin Bianchi: Is that true?

[45:54] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[45:54] Kevin Bianchi: The non-actor is gonna be like the Kiamiko tour.

[45:58] Quincy Brown: Wow. Um, you know what I loved is when we asked, like, at what point did you get tired of the role? Because 2007 to 2021, you would assume a witch would get tired.

[46:11] Kevin Bianchi: Okay.

[46:13] Quincy Brown: But I really loved, and it wasn't like a canned answer either. She was like, no, like no, no, no. Genuinely really genuine.

[46:20] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, she was like, obviously, I had like human moments where I was like tired of my job, as any of us have, but like in general with the role, I didn't get tired of it. Clearly, as she is still in the current Broadway cast of Wicked.

[46:32] Quincy Brown: I liked what she said too about how for her the Wizard and I was not only like a vocal check-in, but kind of like an acting check-in about like where her Elphaba was gonna be living that night. I thought that was really interesting.

[46:44] Kevin Bianchi: Because I really only think that we had SJB, D. Rossioli. I think those are the only two that said they like the Wizard and I.

[46:52] Quincy Brown: Did Caroline Bowman like the Wizard and I, or was she just the Wizard and I episode?

[46:55] Kevin Bianchi: No, her answer was the battle cry in Defying Gravity.

[46:58] Quincy Brown: Defying Gravity, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I think those are only three Wizard and I Elphabas, D, SJB, and Jenny.

[47:04] Kevin Bianchi: Torrens gave us two. She said it's either the Wizard and I or De.

[47:08] Quincy Brown: Torns was a verse.

[47:08] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, she was verse, and Donna Vivino was verse.

[47:11] Quincy Brown: Oh, that's right. The verse Elphaba. Nothing scares me more than a verse Elphaba.

[47:16] Kevin Bianchi: No woman is more powerful than a verse Elphaba.

[47:20] Quincy Brown: That's crazy. Oh my god. I mean, okay, so one thing that I think found really interesting talking to Jenny is we've kind of been getting into this mental health journey of Elphaba with our later guests that we've had on. So when she talked about relaxing into the role, and it took time to kind of get out of that headspace of oh, I botched this note, I suck. Um, I think was just kind of in line with what we've been hearing from the other Elphaba and the mental health toll that it took on them playing this part.

[47:54] Kevin Bianchi: And I think too with that, it's like I don't know. Did you clock this that she was saying that London was her best mental health contract, and then she also said it was her best vocal contract.

[48:05] Quincy Brown: Oh wow, Kevin.

[48:06] Kevin Bianchi: It's like great that that happened for her. You know what I mean? That that but it goes hand in hand, it goes hand in hand, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[48:12] Quincy Brown: No, that's what I'm saying. But also, it's so interesting that from her point of view, she kept saying she was like, I'm the dancer that got moved up. Her point of view of it is so different than like our outside perspective where we're like, this bitch was in the ensemble and is now the record-breaking Elphaba. Like, no Tino Shade, but I have never thought of Jenny DiNoia as the dancer who moved up. I'm like, the Beltress Wicked Elphaba icon legend, blah blah blah. Never am I like, oh, she's just got she's lucky to be here.

[48:42] Kevin Bianchi: No, no, no, no, no. A legend in her own right.

[48:44] Quincy Brown: Yeah, just like I think a really great, interesting conversation that was very different than like conversations we've had with other Elphaba. Totally felt very special.

[48:51] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I'm real I I love this episode. I already know I'm gonna love it.

[48:57] Quincy Brown: Mr. Quincy.

[48:58] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[48:59] Quincy Brown: Ooh.

[49:00] Kevin Bianchi: Ooh, sorry.

[49:01] Quincy Brown: What is that?

[49:03] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, Kevin. I have been waiting all day. Before we did this episode, I texted Kevin and was like stuck on SJB as mine this week.

[49:11] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[49:12] Kevin Bianchi: So I have been waiting and waiting to know what it is.

[49:18] Quincy Brown: Okay, so for tonight's Stuck on SJB, which it feels like it's been a while since I've done one.

[49:26] Kevin Bianchi: It has been.

[49:26] Quincy Brown: But here's what I'll say I enjoy when you do it more, anyways.

[49:32] Kevin Bianchi: Thank you.

[49:32] Quincy Brown: Anyway. Someone tagged us in OMG Stephanie J. Block's Last Defying Gravity is back on YouTube and then tagged Sentman Pod, which thank you so much. I appreciated it. Thank you to this listener. And in honor of this listener and in honor of Stephanie J. Block, I went back and watched this video. I'll begin with The Witch is acting and like giving such genuine, authentic but interesting and unique choices to each line. Incredible masterclass in acting.

[50:05] Kevin Bianchi: She's also glassy eyed from the start.

[50:07] Quincy Brown: How could you not be?

[50:08] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, glassy eyed from the start, really appreciate it. Subtle touch. She was like, no one past the first six rows are gonna see this, but I'm still gonna do it.

[50:16] Quincy Brown: Kendrick Hasebaum is Glinda. I thought that was just worth noting. She goes into the second verse, which is my personal favorite verse of Defying Gravity. I whenever I watch a boot of Defying Gravity, I skip to the second verse and I skip straight to the flying portion.

[50:31] Kevin Bianchi: See, I skip right to Glinda, come with me, think of what we could do together.

[50:36] Quincy Brown: Wait, Kevin, that's what you watch when you watch a bootleg of Defying Gravity.

[50:39] Kevin Bianchi: That's where I start from day one.

[50:41] Quincy Brown: I have been like that section is an immediate skip.

[50:44] Kevin Bianchi: No, well, no, because I like to see that moment.

[50:47] Quincy Brown: No, it makes so much sense for you.

[50:49] Kevin Bianchi: I get it.

[50:49] Quincy Brown: Well, yeah, I mean, look at who we are, but I guess I just never thought, like, oh, Kevin probably watches this.

[50:56] Kevin Bianchi: Also, because I love that harmony. I hope you're happy in the end.

[51:02] Quincy Brown: I uh it's so pretty, and I love to hear how it sounds with the different combinations. The only time I hear it is when I see the show live. I can actually firmly say that. Um second verse, she speaks losing. I wouldn't even say speaks, I would say exclaims in an exasperated tone. Losing love, I guess I've lost, into kiss me goodbye straight tones on kiss me goodbye. It's beautiful. I obviously skip, we've established that I skip over the Glinda Elphaba stuff there, so didn't watch that. But I always get to the pre-flight speech. And here's the thing not to clock Miss SJB.

[51:41] Kevin Bianchi: Stephanie J. Clock her.

[51:43] Quincy Brown: So what did you Stephanie J. Clock?

[51:46] Kevin Bianchi: So Stephanie J. Clock. It's not her. She had nothing to do with it.

[51:49] Quincy Brown: Okay.

[51:55] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe it this is like a um there'll they'll be. Which have we talked about that on the pod.

[52:01] Quincy Brown: We have.

[52:02] Kevin Bianchi: We have. Sure. And that's the thing. Like, obviously it's a dumb thing to clock, but for the purpose of the podcast, I'm gonna clock it. She says she had nothing to do with it, which I found personally thrilling. She like yells and exclaims, everyone deserves the chance. She like yells and exclaims it. And I think it is perfect. First of all, I'm like, okay, she's a human, she's feeling real emotions in the moment. This is her last show in Wicked, a show that she, as we know, has such an emotional connection to.

[52:28] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[52:28] Kevin Bianchi: Secondly, works perfectly for the moment. I was like, oh my god, this is a great acting choice, regardless of if it was intentional or not. Um, so I would just implore everyone to go back and watch that video now that it's back on YouTube and hit me up if you want the full boot. Don't actually hit me up.

[52:45] Quincy Brown: Kevin, can I give you a little baby bonus stock on SJB?

[52:49] Kevin Bianchi: Only if I can give you a baby bonus, choices, options, and riffs.

[52:52] Quincy Brown: Okay, deal.

[52:53] Kevin Bianchi: Look at that. I love this segment. Stephanie J. Block and Kendra Cassenbaum and the company doing one short day on I think it's Leno. Stephanie gives the greatest line delivery I have ever heard of and it's all green.

[53:09] Quincy Brown: I love a line delivery.

[53:12] Kevin Bianchi: Jenny DiNoia, I believe Teal Wakes and Anne Braumole singing ding dong, the witch is dead. Jenny DiNoia is pregnant, which is topical now because we talked about her pregnancy in the episode. It's just like a great performance of vocals and like funny, like we're all friends just here having a good time. It's like a really fun, feel good video. Check it out. One more episode left in Summer with Scent Men. Who's it gonna be? The last of the summer.

[53:44] Quincy Brown: I'm really happy with this episode. I feel great after speaking.

[53:53] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, we're really mixing up the format here at Scent Men this summer. If you haven't yet, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. I actually just went through and looked at our podcast page and I was like, oh, there's new reviews here. This is cute. And it guys, it made me feel so good.

[54:08] Quincy Brown: So please did, it did. Validate me, please. See you in two weeks. Bye.

[54:19] Quincy Brown: You've been listening to Sentimental Men. This episode was produced, edited, and hosted by Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi. Thanks to Julia Diamarzo for our thrillifying artwork. And thanks to you for tuning in. You can reach us at sentimentalmenpod at gmail.com. Or on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Scent MenPod. That's S E N T M E N P O D. Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[54:43] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.