This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Quincy Brown: When she went up that thing and went ah was like, "Hoes!"

[0:06] Kevin Bianchi: Well, no wonder. Well, no wonder. My name's Quincy.

[0:14] Kevin Bianchi: My name's Kevin.

[0:15] Quincy Brown: And this is Sentimental Men.

[0:17] Kevin Bianchi: But keep your thumb away from that skip button.

[0:20] Quincy Brown: Because we're here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:30] Kevin Bianchi: It's been a minute since we've done this, I feel like.

[0:32] Quincy Brown: I know.

[0:32] Kevin Bianchi: I'm a little rusty, like Bach when Dorothy finds him.

[0:37] Quincy Brown: That was a combining of worlds.

[0:40] Kevin Bianchi: Wait a minute. Speaking of a combining of worlds, somebody said to us in the DMs, a German bootleg of the melting scene in the Hamburg production.

[0:51] Quincy Brown: Oh, did you watch that when they sent it?

[0:53] Kevin Bianchi: No.

[0:55] Quincy Brown: Okay, I will.

[0:57] Kevin Bianchi: It is um so drastically different than the Broadway production.

[1:02] Quincy Brown: Is it cool?

[1:03] Kevin Bianchi: It like duplicates the scene from The Wizard of Oz. Like Fiero and Bach and somebody in a lion suit and somebody dressed as Darthy, like come out, no scrim.

[1:14] Quincy Brown: It's not like in shadow. They like come out with the water bucket, they throw it, Alphabet goes down, and then they walk off stage.

[1:23] Kevin Bianchi: It kind of feels like Wicked Broadway should have done that.

[1:26] Quincy Brown: Well, at first it was really jarring, but then I thought about it and I was like, oh no, that actually makes the Fiero It Worked moment like work a lot better, I think.

[1:37] Kevin Bianchi: Like if we see Fiero like there as like part of the plan, and then he comes back in and knows to like knock and bring Alpha up.

[1:48] Quincy Brown: Well, doesn't isn't that what that little note scene is for in Wicked where she reads that note in two seconds?

[1:53] Kevin Bianchi: Which I have grievances about that scene because I don't feel like Alphabet's ever read long enough to like that's a pretty complicated plan to communicate and lay out to someone, and I feel like in the musical they read it for like three seconds and then move on.

[1:53] Quincy Brown: And I feel like they really need to read that note longer. Like I always thought that that was like Chistery can't talk, so he like somehow wrote something to Alphabet that said like they're coming, they're on their way to kill you or whatever.

[2:22] Kevin Bianchi: That feels universal. That feels like something we all went through as kids.

[2:26] Quincy Brown: But now that I realize that that is what happens, I do agree that it should be a slightly longer beat.

[2:31] Kevin Bianchi: It's just like very quick for that.

[2:34] Quincy Brown: But anyway, so that's the difference with Hamburg.

[2:37] Kevin Bianchi: I think it'll transfer. It's gonna play New World Stages.

[2:43] Quincy Brown: We are here today for a very, very exciting episode.

[2:48] Kevin Bianchi: I agree.

[2:50] Quincy Brown: Before we do that, actually, Kevin, tell me about your recent theater going experience because I also had a pretty great week of theater going that I was...

[2:57] Kevin Bianchi: You sure did, yeah.

[2:58] Kevin Bianchi: Well, so okay, so this week I saw Into the Woods at New York City Center, and I continuing on the theme of Sondheim, I saw Company on Broadway last night.

[3:11] Quincy Brown: Oh wait, that's kind of a special week for you.

[3:13] Kevin Bianchi: At City Center, I went on uh opening night and they made a little speech before where they were like, this is the first time that Steve isn't here to see our presentation of his work, and like from that point on, I was like, no, I can't do this.

[3:28] Quincy Brown: A lot of that particular show just like hits different now that he's not here.

[3:33] Kevin Bianchi: I saw it on Thursday, and I was like watching Act Two, which is famously the de the de The Depressing act.

[3:39] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and I was saw bing during Children Will Listen right when the Lights Come Up.

[3:46] Kevin Bianchi: The rudest thing to do, City Center.

[3:48] Quincy Brown: I went on a journey when that happened because the door I was sitting right by a door.

[3:53] Kevin Bianchi: And so the doors open, and I'm like, listeners, for those who don't for those who didn't see it, this New York City Center production of Into the Woods, during Children Will Listen, they bring the lights up and bring out like community choir of children and grown adults to help the cast sing.

[4:09] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[4:10] Kevin Bianchi: The rest of children will listen.

[4:11] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[4:11] Kevin Bianchi: And it was very confusing. They were wearing all black, and I'm sitting by the door.

[4:16] Quincy Brown: And at first I'm thinking, oh, it's the ushers coming in to get ready for the end of the show.

[4:22] Kevin Bianchi: And then they started singing, and I was like, can you all stop? Like and then I realized that it was like a thing.

[4:29] Quincy Brown: Well, I was in the balcony, and the choir was like off from the people singing on stage.

[4:34] Kevin Bianchi: So it was very like dissonant to be here.

[4:36] Quincy Brown: I wish they would have just put them on the risers.

[4:39] Kevin Bianchi: I agree. I was like, all of these people should have just come out behind the cast on stage. Like, I don't know why we needed.

[4:44] Quincy Brown: I guess it like brings you into the world of it all.

[4:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[4:46] Quincy Brown: It sounds like we didn't enjoy the production.

[4:48] Kevin Bianchi: I loved this production.

[4:50] Quincy Brown: I loved it.

[4:50] Kevin Bianchi: But that that as the last moment of the show was really jarring.

[4:55] Quincy Brown: It was just jarring because I was fully crying, and then all the house lights come up, and I just like looked around and everyone was like quickly wiping tears off of their face because we'd all been exposed.

[5:02] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[5:03] Quincy Brown: Um, but I was thinking this show hit so hard as you like go through life, like certain songs and the grief of it all was hitting a lot harder than it ever has.

[5:11] Kevin Bianchi: And then I was thinking, oh, this isn't even the hardest it's gonna hit, probably in my lifetime, like as things continue to happen.

[5:17] Quincy Brown: I was like, oh, I don't know if I can do it to the woods as I get older.

[5:21] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, I agree. And I think this moment in history, the like theme that really hit for me was like their world being turned upside down, and like that all hit really hard.

[5:33] Quincy Brown: It was a treat, a delight, a gift, uh, a wonder to see Heather Headlee's witch.

[5:42] Kevin Bianchi: She found like nuances to that role that I've never seen before.

[5:48] Quincy Brown: Also, Miss Sarah Borealis as the baker's wife, I was really, really impressed by her.

[5:55] Kevin Bianchi: Blew me away.

[5:56] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[5:57] Kevin Bianchi: I feel like we as a society have gotten really used to hearing Sarah Borealis. We all know she's so talented, has a beautiful, beautiful voice.

[6:04] Quincy Brown: But my takeaway was like it was so cool to see Sarah Borealis sing material that wasn't written for her voice and like watch her navigate that because I feel like everything we've seen from Sarah Borellis has been written, obviously, for her voice, kind of in her own music and in Waitress.

[6:20] Kevin Bianchi: She does have a way of making everything she sings sound like a Sarah Borella song, if that makes sense.

[6:28] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Especially in moments in the woods. I feel like usually often a baker's wife sings like part of that song in a more chesty place and then like flips up into a mixier place on like um but the moment go again though.

[6:49] Kevin Bianchi: And Sarah kind of like did the opposite of that. Like she like went into her belt on those higher parts, and I just thought that it was so cool.

[6:56] Quincy Brown: It was I was so so impressed with her.

[6:58] Kevin Bianchi: More Sarah we said Sarah Borelis Bobby company.

[7:01] Quincy Brown: Uh yes.

[7:02] Kevin Bianchi: I literally was about to say that to you.

[7:04] Quincy Brown: She would be so good.

[7:06] Kevin Bianchi: Speaking of Bobby and Company, how was company?

[7:09] Quincy Brown: Company was really, really fun. I had a great time, and I think company is going to like dominate all of the best supporting nominations this year.

[7:20] Kevin Bianchi: I think we're I think we're in for like at least two nominations for each category.

[7:26] Quincy Brown: I think it'll be Matt Doyle and Chris Fitzgerald and Patty and Jen Samard.

[7:32] Kevin Bianchi: See, I disagree only because I think the featured categories are so uh crowded this year. I think company will get one in each. I don't imagine it would get more than one just because there's so many other shows that have shown featured performances.

[7:46] Quincy Brown: I think it's like that's kind of the category that's gonna be stacked this year.

[7:52] Kevin Bianchi: Um speaking of which Tony and Noms are on Monday, very excited and nervous for myself.

[7:59] Quincy Brown: Excited and scared.

[8:00] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[8:03] Quincy Brown: Um can I just breeze through the things I saw this week? Because I think you should see them as well.

[8:07] Kevin Bianchi: I saw which way is the stage at MCC.

[8:11] Quincy Brown: I can't wait to see it.

[8:13] Kevin Bianchi: So funny. Everyone who listens to this podcast needs to see this play at MCC because you will love it.

[8:18] Quincy Brown: It does feel like it's gonna give big sentimental energy.

[8:21] Kevin Bianchi: It is it it was like written by Quincy and Kevin. It's just so so funny and so specific.

[8:27] Quincy Brown: Um then I saw Into the Woods, then I saw A Strange Loop, which everyone should see. Run to buy tickets.

[8:35] Kevin Bianchi: And then oh, I saw POTUS, which also everyone should see.

[8:40] Quincy Brown: There's a lot of good theater happening right now.

[8:42] Kevin Bianchi: And it feels like usually like right before Tony season, like when you're talking to people, it's usually like, oh yeah, like it's good, but like if you don't see it, it's like no big deal. Like, it's fine.

[8:53] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[8:54] Kevin Bianchi: And then there's ones that are like, no, no, no, no, you have to see this. And I feel like that is not a balanced thing this year. I feel like people are really saying, like, this is a must see for like across the board, everything that's opening.

[9:07] Quincy Brown: Well, and it feels like a lot of good things came out right before the Tony cutoff. So it's like all these great stuff are coming out only now and all at once.

[9:18] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Definitely see which way is the stage.

[9:21] Quincy Brown: Which way's the party?

[9:22] Kevin Bianchi: Which way is the stage?

[9:23] Quincy Brown: I kept doing that.

[9:24] Kevin Bianchi: Which is the party.

[9:26] Quincy Brown: The cut song from See a Strange Loop, please.

[9:31] Kevin Bianchi: And see POTUS.

[9:33] Quincy Brown: Yeah. I'm so excited for today's guest.

[9:36] Kevin Bianchi: Me too. Kevin, why don't you take us through her resume?

[9:40] Quincy Brown: I love that we do this thing where we don't say the guest's name. Like even though it's in the episode title.

[9:44] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[9:45] Quincy Brown: Which they do in which way is the stage. The whole play is essentially about Adina Menzel, but they only refer to her as her and she.

[9:51] Kevin Bianchi: It's like she would never do this.

[9:53] Quincy Brown: Her, what do you think she would think about?

[9:54] Kevin Bianchi: Which I kind of love.

[9:56] Quincy Brown: I love that.

[9:57] Kevin Bianchi: Anyways, we're talking to Beth Leavel today.

[10:00] Quincy Brown: I'm so excited. Kevin, I think we need to start going through her resume because it's gonna take us.

[10:05] Kevin Bianchi: It's long and we don't have much time.

[10:07] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[10:08] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, Quincy. So Beth Leavel's journey to this episode of Sentimental Men started when she attended Meredith College and earned a degree in social work.

[10:19] Quincy Brown: Minored in theater.

[10:20] Kevin Bianchi: Minored in theater. She got a graduate degree in theater from UNC Greensboro.

[10:26] Quincy Brown: After graduating from UNC Greensboro, she was in 42nd Street, both on the national tour and on Broadway as Annie, which like powerhouse role and also like what a fabulous debut.

[10:40] Kevin Bianchi: After that, in 1988, she was on the national tour of Greece as Rizzo.

[10:45] Quincy Brown: I was like, Anyone has audio of her.

[10:48] Kevin Bianchi: There are worse things I could do.

[10:50] Quincy Brown: I cannot imagine.

[10:52] Kevin Bianchi: Can we ask how good?

[10:55] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I would.

[10:57] Kevin Bianchi: Hi, Beth.

[10:57] Quincy Brown: Hi, Beth.

[10:58] Kevin Bianchi: Welcome to Sentimental Men.

[10:59] Quincy Brown: Can I get a 16 real quick?

[11:02] Kevin Bianchi: After that, in 1992, she was back on Broadway in the original Broadway cast of Crazy for You, where she played Tess and understudied Polly Baker.

[11:13] Quincy Brown: In 1994, she was at the Gershwin in Showboat on Broadway as Ellie.

[11:19] Kevin Bianchi: There's her wicked touch point.

[11:22] Quincy Brown: After that, in 1999, she was in the original Broadway cast of the Civil War as Mrs. Bigsby and Mabel.

[11:30] Kevin Bianchi: In 2001, I am obsessed with this.

[11:33] Quincy Brown: She was back in 42nd Street, but in the 42nd Street revival on Broadway.

[11:38] Kevin Bianchi: Who else can say that?

[11:40] Quincy Brown: Who else can say that?

[11:41] Kevin Bianchi: In 2006, Beth Leavel opened the Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway in the titular role of the drowsy chaperone, Beatrice Stockwell.

[11:54] Quincy Brown: For which for which she earned the drama desk, outer critic circle, and Tony Award.

[12:02] Kevin Bianchi: The triple cards.

[12:03] Quincy Brown: I love me including the drama desk and OCC.

[12:06] Kevin Bianchi: That's like, but that's like a clean sweep.

[12:09] Quincy Brown: It is, no, it is.

[12:11] Kevin Bianchi: She was the darling of New York in that moment.

[12:14] Quincy Brown: That was like such a that was her star moment.

[12:17] Kevin Bianchi: She was that was her Beth Leavel is here Bullet.

[12:20] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and it's crazy because she had like a full career before that moment and continues to have a full career to this day.

[12:27] Kevin Bianchi: So, like, yeah, I'm I'm obsessed.

[12:30] Quincy Brown: Then two years later, in 2008, she replaced Andrea Martin in Young Frankenstein on Broadway, which is such a fun overlap because it's like then I think of her in every other role that Andrea Martin has done.

[12:44] Kevin Bianchi: Sure.

[12:45] Quincy Brown: Oh, it's time to start living.

[12:49] Kevin Bianchi: She'd be good at that.

[12:50] Quincy Brown: Yeah. I'm telling you.

[12:53] Kevin Bianchi: In 2009, this feels very important for the two of us, Quincy.

[12:57] Quincy Brown: She was uh back on Broadway as Donna in Mama Murphy.

[12:57] Kevin Bianchi: As Donna in Mama Mia.

[13:04] Quincy Brown: Donna in Mama Murphy.

[13:08] Kevin Bianchi: In 2010, she was in Elf the Musical on Broadway as Emily, the the mom, the main mom character.

[13:15] Quincy Brown: In 2011, she led the company of Baby It's You on Broadway, for which she earned her second Tony nomination.

[13:23] Kevin Bianchi: She did the workshops and readings of Something Rotten as B, which now all I did not know that.

[13:29] Quincy Brown: I need to hear right hand man.

[13:32] Kevin Bianchi: In 2017, she was in Bandstand on Broadway as June Adams. And then in 2018, back on Broadway, I feel like I've said back on Broadway like 12 times in this because she's always here. Um, back on Broadway in The Prom playing Dee Dee Allen, for which she earned her third and most recent Tony nomination. And then this summer, she will be in Chicago doing the out-of-town production of The Devil Wears Prada as Miranda Priestly, which is just like it's like you have to hire a legend to play a legend like that. I'm so excited for this musical. I'm so curious about this musical. I want to know what she can talk about this musical. I know, I hope she can. Yeah. I feel like she has been talking about this musical.

I'm debating going to Chicago to see this musical. Mm-hmm. And to top off this resume portion, mere days ago, literally yesterday, from when we're recording this, Beth received an honorary doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. So, Quincy, we're talking to our second Tony winner and our very first ever doctor.

[14:44] Quincy Brown: Dr. Beth Leavel. This is a scholar that we're having on the podcast today. A woman of education and seriousness.

[15:03] Kevin Bianchi: Which I think is a great segue to my choices, options, and bootleg.

[15:08] Quincy Brown: Lay it on me. And I think this one is gonna throw you for a whirl. But what I will say about this COB that I have for Beth Leavel is that this is what made me fall in love with Beth Leavel.

[15:23] Kevin Bianchi: Okay. And it is a video that young Quincy stumbled across. Not even a video, it was a bootleg. So back when Quincy was young and like in his bootleg phase, he traded for a bootleg of Elf the Musical.

[15:38] Quincy Brown: Why?

[15:39] Kevin Bianchi: I know because Stephanie J. Block's husband, Sebastian Arcelus, was starring as Buddy the Elf. And I was doing my due diligence and seeing what Sebastian was all about.

[15:49] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[15:50] Kevin Bianchi: And I watched it front, like I sat down and watched that bootleg, which I feel like I at least I don't do that anymore. Like I don't sit down and watch the whole two-hour bootleg, I'll skip it.

[15:56] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[15:58] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm watching it, and then we get to this song called There Is a Santa Claus.

[16:06] Quincy Brown: Oh, you know it?

[16:07] Kevin Bianchi: Quincy, I saw her do this live.

[16:10] Quincy Brown: Oh, okay. Because this felt like a niche choice for me. Keep going.

[16:13] Kevin Bianchi: It's so good. First of all, that song, the melody.

[16:26] Beth Leavel: Beth Leavel is here with us today.

[16:30] Quincy Brown: Not just Beth Leavel, Quincy, Dr. Beth Leavel is here with us today. Are you gonna require people to call you doctor moving forward?

[16:37] Beth Leavel: Yes.

[16:38] Quincy Brown: Not Tony Award winner, Beth Leavel.

[16:40] Beth Leavel: Doctor No, no, I'm suddenly I'm gonna mesh the two, Tony Doctor Leavel or Dr. Tony Leavel.

[16:45] Quincy Brown: Wait, so talk to us about that. How did that happen?

[16:48] Beth Leavel: So random and and such a delight and a gift. I literally a month ago, I get this email from the Powers That Be at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro going, Congratulations.

[17:00] Beth Leavel: Your alma mater.

[17:01] Beth Leavel: You're my alma mater, where I got my MFA. And they said we would love to bestow an honorary doctorate degree on you. And I literally tell Adam, my fiancé, it's like, have I been hacked? Is this spam?

[17:12] Beth Leavel: Yeah. I mean, is this spam? Is this like for real? And indeed it was. And what they also asked me to do was to write the commencement speech.

[17:24] Quincy Brown: Oh my god, pressure.

[17:25] Beth Leavel: For like 4,000 people.

[17:28] Kevin Bianchi: You're very qualified though.

[17:30] Beth Leavel: Oh, I don't know. I'm not a writer, you know, so it was very colloquial. Let's try to say that again. And funny, and I hope, you know, they say right what you know. So that's what I did. And I got back last night at midnight because there was tornadoes in Greensboro, North Carolina.

[17:45] Quincy Brown: I love to fly.

[17:46] Beth Leavel: Yeah, no, it was gone. It's all good. It was really it was a life experience. And uh it really indeed was an honor for Dr. Tony Leavel.

[17:53] Quincy Brown: That makes sense, Dr. Tony Leavel.

[17:55] Kevin Bianchi: Well, it is interesting because you know, a doctorate degree is something that people study for and everything. And to think about it in terms of your career, you have been studying and learning and training. Like you are deserving of a doctorate. You know what I mean?

[18:08] Quincy Brown: That's how I can justify it.

[18:11] Beth Leavel: Thank you.

[18:13] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Because I know all these people have been like, no, but it's an honorary doctorate degree. It's not like I can accept patients, but maybe I can.

[18:22] Beth Leavel: Do you need theater acting healing? Well, visit Dr. Tony Leavel because she can fix it.

[18:32] Kevin Bianchi: She's very impressive.

[18:33] Quincy Brown: Congratulations.

[18:34] Beth Leavel: Thank you.

[18:35] Kevin Bianchi: Wow.

[18:36] Quincy Brown: Yeah, that's incredible. Okay, so I don't know if you know the shtick of our podcast, but we started as a Wicked-centric podcast where we interview different actresses who have played Elphaba, and we are slowly branching out to other favorite women in musical theater who maybe haven't been in Wicked.

[18:51] Beth Leavel: I'm so honored.

[18:52] Beth Leavel: I have not been in Wicked.

[18:53] Quincy Brown: However, I'm sorry, I literally think I just wet the chair.

[19:03] Beth Leavel: That's the doctorate at work.

[19:04] Quincy Brown: That's the doctorate, yeah.

[19:06] Beth Leavel: So you can wake up.

[19:08] Quincy Brown: Oh Lord, have mercy. I don't know why I've never done Elphaba.

[19:13] Kevin Bianchi: Well, what we have been noticing through our conversations with non-Wicked actresses, is that every actress in New York City has a Wicked touch point. So a fun question we like to ask is what is your Wicked touch point? It can be anything.

[19:27] Beth Leavel: I saw Wicked when I was seven. Just kidding. Um my relationship. I will say this. I was gifted tickets for doing a charity event for someone famous, and the gift was a ticket to Wicked.

[19:45] Beth Leavel: And I just absolutely it had been running for maybe two or three years, and I had never seen it. Because sometimes you know, when you're actually working, your schedules conflict and you don't have time. And I remember I was totally unemployed and was able to go with a friend of mine, and we saw Wicked, and it's this empowering story for women, and there she is flying and belting.

[20:08] Beth Leavel: What is that? Like a the P note is so high, it's off the scale, the music scale.

[20:14] Quincy Brown: Yo, it's ridiculous.

[20:16] Beth Leavel: Literally, I'd have to have surgery.

[20:17] Quincy Brown: Okay, but you are a Broadway beltrist.

[20:19] Beth Leavel: I am a Broadway beltrist, but not like I know.

[20:22] Quincy Brown: I know my top note is not a P.

[20:26] Beth Leavel: So what's great too is the older I get, you know, the people know me, and when they're writing music for me, they can write for like don't go above a C sharp or a D. Just don't, because don't. Because I have to do eight shows a week. So they know my power notes, which is a again a privilege.

[20:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, when we had Julia Murney on a little while ago, and she was saying about The Wild Party.

[20:53] Beth Leavel: Yeah, right. But she was saying with The Wild Party, it was like um she said it was like a couture dress that was like made for her voice because it fit her rather than her trying to like sing what was written for somebody else.

[21:06] Beth Leavel: Exactly, and that indeed is a privilege.

[21:09] Quincy Brown: So speaking of roles being written for you. What are you talking about? Let's zero in on The Drowsy Chaperone.

[21:16] Beth Leavel: Because we know the story that you initially didn't think that you were gonna book it and then they went and maybe auditioned some other people and it wasn't fitting so then they came back to you.

[21:27] Quincy Brown: But our understanding is that once they came back to you is when the role really started being fleshed out and the characters started being built.

[21:33] Beth Leavel: Yeah I think that's they never really from my understanding knew what this character was. They had an idea, they had a glimpse of her DNA, but they needed from my understanding as in a lot of original shows and original roles, you have to find the right fit, the right voice to bring that character off the page and this character was really on the page meaning what is her birth process? What makes her funny? What makes her tick, what's her history?

[21:59] Beth Leavel: And I think they were really just trying to find out that they auditioned a lot of people literally my second I had a call back when I initially auditioned it I came back and you know they didn't I don't think they'd even written Stumble Along then.

[22:12] Quincy Brown: Okay.

[22:12] Beth Leavel: So Stumble Along was written on you?

[22:14] Beth Leavel: Kind of I think it was developed on me.

[22:17] Quincy Brown: Gotcha.

[22:18] Beth Leavel: Okay. So and I remember singing of a hundred way easy ways to lose a man because I just didn't know what to sing. And I auditioned and it was a lot of her back then it was a lot of one liners like but on bumps but if you don't know who's going but on bump it doesn't really make sense and I remember Casey Nicholaw the director called me which doesn't really happen but he's a friend of mine and said um thank you so much for auditioning but you didn't get the part and I I remember saying, You're absolutely right. I I don't feel like I'm the person to, you know, put oxygen into this woman.

[22:52] Beth Leavel: And they just went to Los Angeles and auditioned like stars, like Eartha Kitt. Did you know that?

[22:56] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[22:58] Beth Leavel: Oh, you did. Anyway, and uh I'm not telling y'all anything you don't know. Um like Tina Louise and just nothing was fitting. And I believe they offered it to some women and the women it they said they turned it down. And I really do believe that out of desperation, Casey went, Just give it to Beth. Hurry up. We gotta go.

[23:17] Beth Leavel: We have to go. We have to go to Los Angeles, you know, for a three-month out of town. And I think out of desperation they gave it to me. And when I was there, it's like uh being in the room, you know, where everybody's been playing in the sandbox but you. So it's like, I don't know what I'm doing here.

[23:34] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[23:34] Beth Leavel: And uh to Casey's credit, we would spend when we went to LA, we would spend ev two hours every morning doing character development.

[23:43] Kevin Bianchi: Which is really kind of fun.

[23:46] Beth Leavel: Um did you hear but the story? Uh you could probably quote it about the improv game that I did. Just say yes, you know the story about hot seats.

[23:54] Quincy Brown: Oh my god, I'm telling you something you don't know.

[23:57] Beth Leavel: Um so we had to write a bio for our character, which mine was just totally crap because I didn't know who she was. You know, Beatrice Stockwell, so I would write things like sh her parents were famous British royalty just like the work bullshit, 'cause I really didn't know who sorry, just didn't know who she was.

[24:19] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[24:20] Beth Leavel: So towards the end of the week, w uh we did an exercise and I remember going, We're gonna play some theater games and I was I remember thinking, Oh boy, theater games. But it it was kind of a turning point.

[24:34] Beth Leavel: We did uh for a couple of mornings we did the theater game called Hot Seat, where all the creatives and all the cast and anyone else who happened to be in the neighborhood sat behind the the desk and you would walk in and they would fire questions at you and you had to answer in your character.

[24:49] Quincy Brown: Oh my god.

[24:50] Beth Leavel: That is very theater school.

[24:52] Beth Leavel: It's very theater school, but I never did it. So it was like, okay, what? So towards the last of this game, Casey said, and for the first time he said to the group, he said, Oh, ladies and gentlemen, may I please present Dame Beatrice Stockwell?

[25:05] Beth Leavel: And he'd never used the word dame. So I remember that changes you physically. It's like, oh, I'm a dame.

[25:10] Quincy Brown: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[25:11] Beth Leavel: And then the whole cast and creative team stood up and started applauding like I was Barbara Streisand, like I was the biggest star on the planet.

[25:20] Quincy Brown: And I remember going, thank you to oh no, no, please sit down.

[25:23] Beth Leavel: Oh no, no, really, and doing, you know, my all my be. And I that in that moment I went, ah, there she is.

[25:29] Quincy Brown: And from that moment on, you know, knowing that tone and that point of view, we started good doing Stumble Along, and that changed, and then it was like, how high can you hold that belt? And then it was just all a delicious process of discovery.

[25:45] Kevin Bianchi: It's really interesting because we Quincy and I always say that like our podcast is like um a celebration or like a love letter to women in theater.

[25:53] Beth Leavel: Thank you.

[25:54] Kevin Bianchi: And it feels like your portrayal of Beatrice is also kind of like a love letter to those grand dames.

[26:00] Beth Leavel: Absolutely.

[26:01] Beth Leavel: That paved the way.

[26:02] Quincy Brown: Paved the way, and it's so severely flawed.

[26:06] Beth Leavel: Yes.

[26:06] Quincy Brown: So severely flawed, which gives her even more interest because she's just the biggest narcissistic, drowsy person ever.

[26:14] Beth Leavel: And that's why you love her.

[26:16] Quincy Brown: I just saw Which Way Is the Stage at MCC Theater.

[26:20] Beth Leavel: It's this new play.

[26:21] Quincy Brown: Oh, cool. And they were talking about how only in the theater are leading ladies so weird and bizarre and flawed, and we love them for it.

[26:32] Beth Leavel: Go figure.

[26:33] Quincy Brown: Like you have to be that to be one of those like legendary leading ladies on Broadway, you know?

[26:39] Beth Leavel: And if you're lucky enough, you get to play parts.

[26:41] Beth Leavel: Like Beatrice Stockwell and Dee Dee Allen, who are the epitome of that flawed delicious diva.

[26:50] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. We were talking about Casey Nicholaw, something that I've always wondered because he started as a performer, and you were both in the ensemble of 42nd Street, is that right?

[26:59] Beth Leavel: No, you are so wrong. Um I am not good enough to be in the ensemble. I we met actually in a regional theater doing a show at North Carolina Theater doing Showboat. And I met him, and my agents at the time, during Showboat, sent me the script to Crazy For You. God to audition for the lead. And I was reading it and we were just on a break or something, and Casey was sitting next to me because we kind of hit it off, and I went, Why don't you audition for this? So I feel totally responsible for his career and his success. Thank you. So I went, and then he was cast as Junior in the ensemble of Crazy for You, which was like such a featured ensemble. Really, everyone was a principal. And I did I was uh seven auditions for Crazy for You.

Wow. Wow. Seven auditions. And they gave the lead to Jody Benson, and she was fantastic, and they wrote a role for me called Tess. And that's where we really got to know each other. So what was what is that transition from we're peers, we're both actors doing the grinds, to now he's a director and I'm an actor. I have to imagine there are dynamics and relationship dynamics at play there. That's a great question because we do have such a history, but when we're working, it's Casey Nicolaw, the director and Beth Leavel, the actor. It's when we stop working, we can have that relationship again. But when he's working, he's such he's so driven and so good at what he does that I don't really think he has a personal life at all.

He just is lost in the process. You have to be. You know, a Broadway show is an incredible responsibility and privilege. And so when we're in the room, it's just Beth as my character and Casey is the director. And that took a couple of hot minutes to figure that out. You know, I don't know. Just we yeah, just because that's only way we can get the work done. But you know, we have private language with each other because we've known each other for so long. But we respect the room and its boundaries because we know we want the best for the show, and that's what's gonna serve that.

[29:02] Quincy Brown: Your friendship with him probably um I would imagine that there's a base level of trust there that he's not gonna steer you wrong and you're not gonna steer him wrong in the room like that. And that's really cool.

[29:14] Beth Leavel: He always says to me, I will always take care of you. And so I do. I just sit back and you know, let him criticize me and let him give me terrible notes, and I go, Okay. But you know, I want to it's interesting. One of the dynamics that I don't have with other well, that may not be true, but I never want to disappoint him. I always want to serve him and make him happy. And sometimes that's not as intense with other directors I don't have such a personal relationship with. It's like auditioning for directors, I know. Like when I go in on audition for Susan Stroman, it's like the I even add more pressure because I want to make sure I do the best I can for her, much less booking a job.

[29:58] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. So you had such a career before Drowsy, and you've had such a career since Drowsy. That role still feels like a defining moment in the timeline of Beth Leavel's career.

[30:09] Beth Leavel: Absolutely. There was, yeah, absolutely. If I if that role hadn't come along, um, you know, I think eventually something maybe would have come along, but that I was lucky enough, because so many actors I know are so ginormously talented. But there there comes a moment when you have that opportunity because that role has been written for you, so you're able to show that. I think it was the same with Danny, Danny Burstein, you know, his Aldolfo. I just think blew his career up because he was so and is so brilliant. So I'm very, very grateful for Beatrice Stockwell.

[30:46] Quincy Brown: So, what do you think the perception of you in the industry was prior to Drowsy? And how do you think that Drowsy changed the perception of you?

[30:53] Beth Leavel: I think oh let me just tell you this quick story. When I was nominated for a a Tony Award for Drowsy, uh, you know, uh it's a lovely moment, a couple of days before the actual Tony uh broadcast. There's a luncheon at the Rainbow Room where all the nominees are invited, and so I was up there sitting at my table, and literally at my table was Angela Lansbury. And you know, Drowsy was it, you know, it was it was in the industry, people just love that show so much. It was just uh uh a gift for those of us who love all of our man in chair, our inside man in chairs were in that room. Right. So people were coming up to me and like going, oh, we love the show, blah, blah, blah. And they would laugh, and there was a quiet moment, and Angela Lansbury leans over and she goes, I'm so sorry, Dalike.

I have no earthly idea who you are. So I was like, Well, of course you don't. And I was like, when I get nervous, I was like, oh no, no, no. I'm just you know, just a storyteller and storyteller. Call the Drowsy Chaperone. So that's what changed. I think Angela Lansbury would now go, Oh, Dolly, we loved you in The Prom, and I hear you're doing Miranda Priestly. I could be wrong. She was so sweet, and she was so it was so precious that moment. Her honesty, and we had a lovely conversation. But I don't remember it because I was so starstruck. Yeah. But that's what changed. That's what changed. I think people went happy. Oh.

[32:21] Kevin Bianchi: I think so. Yeah.

[32:22] Beth Leavel: Yeah. That's so interesting. Because you've been working before.

[32:25] Quincy Brown: Oh, constantly.

[32:26] Beth Leavel: Yeah. But this changes this changes everything. I'm holding a Tony Award. Not sitting right next to you. Maybe it is. Because when I when I do uh coaching, I always like to tell the kids they win a Tony Award because they're so good. That's right. It goes with me everywhere, like a brooch. Too much? Hello. I would like the chicken pom pow.

[32:48] Kevin Bianchi: Did you were you gonna say something?

[32:50] Kevin Bianchi: Well, I was just gonna say, um, in terms of like the kind of roles that you were being seen for and considered for, did you see a shift pre and post Drowsy Chaperone?

[33:00] Beth Leavel: I saw a shift in pretty much everything. Um I think it was an opportunity was an opportunity for people to see what I do best, which is that uh the comedy and belt that all come together in a character like Beatrice Stockwell. So I still had to audition, like I had to audition for Donna in Mamma Mia, but I came in with a cachet and um a history that I didn't have before. And I think some of the things became a little easier with the Tony Award. Well, duh, you know. Yeah, because you have a little more weight to your a little more, a little more gravitas to my uh my Beth Leavel brand.

[33:38] Kevin Bianchi: And would you say that comedy was always what you wanted to be known for?

[33:41] Beth Leavel: Yeah, it becomes I just speak I speak the language. And I don't know how else to explain comedy. People go, how do I learn comedy? I'm like, oh I don't know. You just born with it. I don't you're born with it and then you can develop it. So it gives me great joy to make an audience laugh. Conversely, every once in a while I was able to do Melin and Steel Magnolias, and to have that felt great too to be able to show that other side of you. You know, because to be a great comedian, I think you have to be a great dramatic actor.

[34:13] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Great.

[34:13] Beth Leavel: Sorry, I'm using that word, but you know what I mean? Yeah. Comedy is it's you I don't think you could do one without the other. I think Mama Rose could be really fun.

[34:22] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my god, that felt so good. I did it at a very small theater called the Muni. Tiny little intimate house. Very tiny little intimate, I don't know, eleven thousand people. And that was very air conditioned. No, you know, small, small, tiny role. Not so that I you know. No, no. That was satisfying. That was satisfying. Because it was kind of all of the above with what I do. There's comedy and there's belting, and then there's that. That heavy, heavy dramatic. Stick your teeth in. Would you want to do a long run of that?

[35:00] Beth Leavel: I think so. You better hurry up before I get too old. But because it is not kidding. It is the King Lear of you know female roles. Or so yeah, I'd like to do it again. Uh yeah.

[35:12] Quincy Brown: We would like you to do it again.

[35:13] Beth Leavel: Thank you. I mean, are people sick of it by now? It's like, oh god, here comes another Gypsy.

[35:18] Kevin Bianchi: It's kind of feeling like we're due for another revival soon.

[35:21] Beth Leavel: I feel like it's been a little long. Because Patti LuPone was the last Broadway revival?

[35:26] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[35:26] Beth Leavel: In '08.

[35:27] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[35:28] Beth Leavel: Is that right? Yeah. Yeah, it's 2022. It's time, I think. And that was only Patti's was only a couple years after Bernadette's. And so it was like that kind of set the precedent of the city. It has to be done every yeah. Fascinating.

[35:41] Quincy Brown: So how did Drowsy lead to The Prom?

[35:44] Beth Leavel: Because in a lot of ways The Prom feels like the Drowsy for a new age, like just kind of a fun comedic, has heart but bringing joy to audiences, you know. I feel like Broadway kind of lost that style of show.

[35:58] Quincy Brown: I agree. Uh how what was your question, sweet pea?

[36:01] Kevin Bianchi: How did Drowsy lead to The Prom?

[36:02] Beth Leavel: Because the same creative team, right? Same creative team. Yeah. I like to I like to think I'm in Nicolaw Repertory Company. I I like to think I'm in Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin, Matt Sklar Repertory Company, and that is one of the greatest things of my life that they are and continue to write roles for Beth Leavel's voice. Voice. I'm using quotation marks. And that's how I was on the street doing something, and Casey says, Can you just come over? And we just want to. This was eight years ago. Yeah. We just want to table read of something that we're we've been working on. We just want to know if what's happening to it. And me, uh, Brooks Ashmanskas, Chris Sieber, and Angie Schworer sat down and read The Prom and oh, it was you four from the beginning.

From the very beginning. It's now been almost ten years. Wow. Since we, you know, birthed our DNA all over these delicious characters. So and it, you know, it's it's finally we did a reading and a workshop, and there was just something magical to the show. And then there was a break because Casey's so busy, and then we went to the Alliance. We went to the Alliance Theater in Atlanta for a summer uh four or five years ago. And then Casey had had to do, oh my, I have to do Mean Girls. So he did Mean Girls, which was a huge success. And then when that settled, The Prom came back. But The Prom is like Drowsy. It's a show that doesn't have a brand. No one knows about it. So trying to find the exact marketing to get butts in the seat is sh what a lot of show business is about because it's a business. We are for profit.

[37:47] Kevin Bianchi: It was interesting trying to s for lack of a better word, struggle to explain what The Drowsy Chaperone is and to struggle, quote unquote, to explain what The Prom was.

[37:56] Beth Leavel: So was it I guess from like a marketing perspective? Was Drowsy also a struggle to establish as a brand? Because I feel like Broadway has transitioned now where we're very like movie properties and like book remakes and all this stuff. So like original stuff is really hard to market, especially now. Was it like that when Drowsy was happening?

[38:15] Beth Leavel: Absolutely. Because it people were going, what it what in the world is The Drowsy, Droopy, Droppy Chaperone? What you know, my family was like, What is it? The drought? What does that mean? The Drowsy. I was like, just come and see it. And once you got the people in the seats, they got it. They kept they got it. And they came back. And they came back. And they asked their family and they asked their friends to come see it. It just wasn't. Oh, there was a was it an AEA or a musician strike? There was like a two-week strike in there. And that we couldn't uh sustain it after that. But it is so time for a Drowsy revival, is it not?

[39:08] Quincy Brown: Exactly.

[39:09] Beth Leavel: Well done, you.

[39:11] Quincy Brown: Thank you. You are on.

[39:12] Beth Leavel: I'm so cross-stitching that in an envelope.

[39:18] Quincy Brown: Yeah, then so it is interesting because it both shows feel like they should be top five for every theater lover. But you're saying it's like it's hard to explain that to somebody to get past the like, oh, it's about two teenagers going to the prom. It's like, no, but it's about these show people who like come and make a mess of everything and it's hijinks and it's farce and it's like all of the things that you want. And I absolutely do not envy any marketing company that has to try to brand that in one poster.

[39:48] Beth Leavel: Right.

[39:49] Quincy Brown: In a tagline. How in the world do you do that? And with Drowsy too, even though um it's a comedy within a musical. I thought that was kind of clever. But again, your tourists that are coming in from Ohio, if you're going to see a Hello Dolly or Droopy Sherparoon, I mean, what would you choose? You you choose because it's not cheap to go to the theaters, so you don't want to necessarily take a risk on it.

[39:56] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Wow.

[39:57] Beth Leavel: So it's because both I mean, both The Prom and Drowsy are both kind of like good old-fashioned golden age musical comedies in an envelope of something that isn't that.

[40:13] Beth Leavel: Exactly. Drowsy has such a life now in colleges and high schools. I mean, it is so beloved. It's like the high school show.

[40:20] Beth Leavel: Because you can expand it to have a ginormous ensemble, or you can keep it as written. The show has such heart, and those of us who have done it just have this connection.

[40:33] Beth Leavel: So, what is it like to be if we're talking about The Prom, what is it like to be in a show that you know is so special, and you know audiences are loving, but maybe you know isn't being communicated well to the masses? Are you aware of that as you're performing, or are you kind of just doing the show and not as we're performing at all?

[40:53] Beth Leavel: Uh, because the audience that were in there every night were 100% invested in the show. If they weren't, by the time they got to the third number, they were like, "Oh, I see what this is." Uh remind me to tell you the story about the director of Prada and The Prom. Just put a if you want away you better put a pin in it.

[41:14] Beth Leavel: Um I don't know where that comes from. Yeah, but what you know, I've been around for a while, so all of us would look at the numbers and go, are we is this show becoming profitable? How much longer am I going to get a paycheck? What do we have to do to bring this show? Because people need to see this show, because it really changed lives. It really did. Not only for you know, uh LGBTQ that were able to see two women as the heroes successfully of a love story, but for their parents, especially women too.

[41:50] Beth Leavel: Because I feel like we get a lot of gay male representation, but you know, uh, and we would go through the line outside and we would hear things like, "I'm getting ready to come out to my mother," and the mother was back there, and I'm like going, "Go for it." I mean, we it and the letters, oh, particularly the letters the girls got, Caitlin and Izzy. Uh is just uh when people go, "Oh, you just do musical comedy," I'm like, "Oh nay nay."

[42:13] Beth Leavel: Yeah, we have the ability to change people's lives because they see themselves on stage, and uh The Prom particularly was life-changing to me in that way. And to not again, not be branded and to just be an original, original piece that came from you know, it's based on true stories, but that we have this brilliant creative team that brought it off the page and changed the world, and then they made it a movie, and that changed the world.

[42:42] Beth Leavel: So that's really it's I'm very proud of The Prom. And I miss it. Yeah, I really miss it. I think it should have run a lot longer.

[42:51] Kevin Bianchi: I agree.

[42:51] Quincy Brown: I agree.

[42:52] Beth Leavel: It was such such a special show.

[42:54] Kevin Bianchi: Agreed.

[42:54] Kevin Bianchi: You mentioned Prada.

[42:56] Beth Leavel: Yes.

[42:56] Kevin Bianchi: And we are very excited about Prada. Tell us your story about the director, and then we'll answer our questions.

[43:03] Beth Leavel: So uh Anna Shapiro, she's an amazing director. She used to be the uh artistic director of Steppenwolf. She just directed The Minutes. She won a Tony Award for August: Osage County, and the producers whom or whomever makes decisions like this cast her as the director.

[43:24] Beth Leavel: That's not what you say, but hired her. Hired her, whatever. I'm not really sure how that process works. But Anna doesn't do a lot of musicals, and this will be her Broadway debut in a musical that is probably gonna be one of the hugest musicals ever because it's The Devil Wears Prada and talk about branding.

[43:45] Beth Leavel: So before The Prom closed, she decided she and Shayna Taub, who is our fabulous lyricist and is this you know superstar on her own, yeah, came and went and saw, she just wanted to live in every Broadway musical, off Broadway musical. So she came down and she just spent a week seeing musical after musical after musical.

[44:05] Beth Leavel: And Shayna, who had seen The Prom a couple of times and was a big fan, said, "I want I really want you to see The Prom." And Anna went, "I'm really not interested." She said, "What is it like, High School Musical? It's really just not my thing." And here we get back to that branding issue.

[44:22] Beth Leavel: Right. And Shayna said, "You really need to go. Please just come with me." And she's like, "Fine." So begrudgingly, I believe Anna and Shayna come to the show and they're sitting there, and the show starts, goes and goes, and rumor has it that or I'm making it up, which whatever.

[44:39] Beth Leavel: Anna turns to Shayna and she says about me, she said, "I found her."

[44:45] Kevin Bianchi: Wow.

[44:46] Beth Leavel: So the next day-ish. It was Didi Allen that did it. God bless Didi. There's a call that goes out to my agents saying that could I please have a meeting with her? And I'm like, "Yeah."

[44:59] Beth Leavel: So I try to, you know, dress like Miranda-ish. And we went. And is this an odd did we audition for Prada? Or was it kind of just conversation?

[45:06] Beth Leavel: This is a meeting. So I go up. Love it. And it opened Jar Studio on 48th Street. We sit in the room for an hour and a half. And then I knew it was mine.

[45:20] Beth Leavel: Wow. And she is divine. And I think we're gonna have a good time. And you people go, "Oh my gosh, you gotta do it like the movie." I said, "That's the movie. This is the musical."

[45:31] Beth Leavel: And it is lifted in different ways.

[45:35] Kevin Bianchi: Well, that's interesting because in thinking about The Devil Wears Prada, the character of Miranda specifically, to me, doesn't necessarily feel like it's begging to sing in the movie. So talk about Beth's Miranda in this stage adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.

[45:53] Beth Leavel: I'm still discovering it. You know, we've done a couple of workshops, and of course, the last workshop we did was blunted because of COVID. So we never really got to do these presentations we were going to do.

[46:03] Beth Leavel: But it's interesting because Miranda's like the antithesis of all the other roles that I played. Right. Very much so. It's very subdued, at least in the movie, it's very subdued. That's that's who she is. So that's who my Miranda is going to be.

[46:17] Beth Leavel: Uh my songs come out of necessity, not like here's a belt number until the 11 o'clock number, which that's all I'm gonna tell you.

[46:27] Quincy Brown: Wow.

[46:27] Beth Leavel: That's all we need to know.

[46:29] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it's really, it's it's exciting. And our choreographer, I just haven't seen storytelling like this, even in the workshop. I'm like, "What's happening here?" You know, when you get that goosebumpy kind of things happening, it's just really exciting.

[46:45] Beth Leavel: And I'm just not even gonna try to explain the clothes I'm wearing.

[46:50] Beth Leavel: Uh sure. I'm like, "Who do you think you are?"

[46:58] Beth Leavel: Who is costume designing? Her name is Ariane Phillips. She is uh she was Madonna's designer, and she is working, particularly for my clothes, and I don't know if this is a secret, so please don't tell anybody.

[47:11] Beth Leavel: She's working hand in hand with the House of Prada.

[47:15] Quincy Brown: Wow.

[47:15] Beth Leavel: Wow. I'm just saying.

[47:18] Kevin Bianchi: She must.

[47:19] Beth Leavel: What? But like so, but she's brilliant. She's just brilliant.

[47:22] Beth Leavel: That's right. And just is just, you know, wise and has been around and knows all these things I'm learning about house of fashions and how they work.

[47:31] Beth Leavel: I'm really hoping that I can go be a fly on the wall in a couple of these ateliers that, you know, just so I won't get in anybody's ways just to feel the energy. I'm gonna call it research, but I just really want to go in there and just see what that feels like.

[47:47] Kevin Bianchi: Well, it's interesting because like when you were announced for Prada, I was like, this feels like, oh, we're turning a new chapter in Beth Leavel's career and we're entering like this new era.

[47:57] Beth Leavel: Oh.

[47:57] Kevin Bianchi: And then hearing you describe talking about Miranda being subdued and underplayed, and that's kind of who she is as a character, and that being something so different from what Broadway audiences have seen from you.

[48:08] Beth Leavel: It's very different. It does feel like this is gonna be a very big moment for you and your career.

[48:13] Beth Leavel: Tweety do, tweet to it too. We'll see. I'm just you know, I'm gonna just just gonna be as truthful and uh authentic and serve what uh they what Miranda needs to do in our musical.

[48:24] Quincy Brown: Because I'm sure at this point in your career, you are at a point where you can kind of pick and choose what avenues you want to go down and the career you want to build for yourself.

[48:34] Beth Leavel: Right. So what was it about Prada that made you want to do it?

[48:37] Beth Leavel: Who would ever say no to Miranda Priestly and Elton John and Anna Shapiro? It's it was really a no-brainer. Even if it's my last show ever, it's like y'all, I'm going out like this.

[48:52] Beth Leavel: Going out in Prada. In Prada in four inch pumps, clear, please.

[48:58] Quincy Brown: Come on, four inch pumps.

[49:01] Beth Leavel: What a fun perk to this role that is like obviously received as like behemoth legendary character.

[49:08] Beth Leavel: Yes, yes, yes. And I just can't wait for people to see how we've turned it into a musical so successfully. It's not the movie with songs. It's our musical.

[49:19] Beth Leavel: It really is our musical. Which I think is the way to do.

[49:24] Kevin Bianchi: Absolutely.

[49:26] Beth Leavel: All the creatives behind the table are uh identifying as women. So that changes the story as well. Except for Elton, but he's not behind the table. He's in London.

[49:33] Beth Leavel: So he's on Zoom.

[49:37] Kevin Bianchi: Can you tell him a little excited about it?

[49:41] Beth Leavel: I mean, we start rehearsal. We start rehearsal in uh 12 days or something like that.

[49:46] Beth Leavel: Or a month in.

[49:47] Kevin Bianchi: I was gonna say, post-shutdown, what has been the getting it back up on its feet process?

[49:51] Beth Leavel: Uh the last time we were shut down was December. So we start uh a month in May, like May something. I don't remember. I have to look at my calendar.

[50:00] Beth Leavel: And then So you haven't been rehearsing or doing anything January through now.

[50:04] Beth Leavel: Nope.

[50:05] Kevin Bianchi: Gotcha.

[50:05] Beth Leavel: Except some costume fittings and discussions and shoe fittings and wig fittings and glasses, sunglasses fittings.

[50:11] Quincy Brown: What?

[50:12] Beth Leavel: Oh, we're not kidding on this show. We are not kidding in this show.

[50:16] Beth Leavel: And then we go to Chicago because the tech's gonna be intense because I've never seen such a fabulous dynamic, huge set that that's almost a scene partner.

[50:28] Beth Leavel: Yeah. We tech tech tech tech tech preview rehearse preview rehearse, and then the actual run in Chicago. I think it's about four weeks, and then we'll see what happens after that.

[50:39] Quincy Brown: We're so excited.

[50:40] Kevin Bianchi: I want to plan it too.

[50:41] Quincy Brown: We are pleased to Quincy and I are debating coming to Chicago.

[50:45] Beth Leavel: Chicago. It's beautiful this summer right here.

[50:47] Quincy Brown: As if I'm gonna see any Chicago. I'm gonna go from the theater back to the hotel.

[50:51] Beth Leavel: It's very glamorous.

[50:53] Quincy Brown: It'll be deep in the work.

[50:55] Beth Leavel: There you go.

[50:55] Beth Leavel: Deep in my improv games.

[50:57] Kevin Bianchi: Your process.

[50:59] Kevin Bianchi: So we like to ask every non-Wicked guest to round out these interviews. What is a road not taken in your career?

[51:09] Beth Leavel: So this could be a role you were almost close to getting, but then didn't get a role you decided not to take.

[51:16] Beth Leavel: Do you know what? I just really could I have asked for any other more satisfying trajectory of my career. I remember one of the what I thought was gonna be my Broadway debut when I moved to the city was a musical called Maryland.

[51:32] Beth Leavel: Based on Maryland and I was gonna be like a uh I was down to the wire to be one of the there was like a singing group that was kind of a Greek chorus for the show.

[51:44] Beth Leavel: Oh, okay. And I was devastated that I didn't get it. If I had gotten Maryland, Crazy for You wouldn't have happened.

[51:53] Kevin Bianchi: Right.

[51:54] Beth Leavel: And Maryland, I think, ran a week. It was yeah.

[51:57] Kevin Bianchi: So as heartbreaking as that was, sometimes it's like, okay, well, worked out the right.

[52:03] Beth Leavel: Yeah. And you know, I really like to think of moments when I turn something down, and if I was disappointed, there was there's just a reason. And if I didn't get it, and I believe me, there's roles that I really wish I had gotten.

[52:16] Beth Leavel: I give myself permission to grieve and go, uh, why didn't and then you gotta let it go because uh there's tomorrow knocking at your door, and there's The Drowsy Chaperone, and there's you know, The Prom and Miranda Priestly.

[52:29] Beth Leavel: So just let all that go.

[52:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[52:31] Beth Leavel: I try to make that real. Trust me, there's sometimes like I get it right, but and then you see who got cast, and you go, "Oh well, duh."

[52:39] Beth Leavel: I can't do that. That's not that wasn't meant for me. That's not my DNA. That's not, no, I can't authentically bring that. That's that's not my singularity at all.

[52:48] Quincy Brown: At this point in your career, do you still get upset when things when you lose out on things, or are you secure enough in being like, "I'm Beth Leavel. That's fine."

[52:56] Beth Leavel: No, I never that I was telling Adam, my fiance, the other day, it's and I don't know if you guys feel this, but you know, Beth Leavel's over here. Here's Beth Leavel. She's so confident and she's funny.

[53:07] Beth Leavel: Yeah. But then there's Beth who's sitting here in front of you in her pajamas.

[53:11] Quincy Brown: Right.

[53:13] Beth Leavel: So I have all of the above.

[53:16] Beth Leavel: Dr. Tony Beth.

[53:18] Quincy Brown: Right.

[53:18] Beth Leavel: Um I have all of those feelings.

[53:22] Beth Leavel: Uh you know.

[53:23] Beth Leavel: You're still human at the end of the day with inside.

[53:25] Beth Leavel: I hope so. If I'm not human, I'm like, oh, I, you know, somebody come and slap me. It's just like stop it.

[53:33] Beth Leavel: Uh the things I you know, I the things I get really disappointed in now. It's like I really really before I die.

[53:41] Beth Leavel: That's very dramatic. Before I die, before I die, children, I really would like to originate a television series and bring those qualities into that.

[53:52] Beth Leavel: But if that doesn't happen, fine. I'll be happy with whatever the path it is. I've been so fortunate and lucky, I cannot complain about one thing. I just really can't. I'm totally blessed.

[54:06] Quincy Brown: That's a really beautiful perspective to have.

[54:10] Beth Leavel: Yeah, and I try I try to make that. I try to remind myself if you go down that line. Why can't I do that role? He's like, uh uh, you you do not have permission.

[54:18] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, well, Beth Leavel, thank you so much. This has been such a great conversation.

[54:24] Beth Leavel: You guys are great, and I'm sorry I wasn't in Wicked.

[54:29] Quincy Brown: There's still time, Beth.

[54:30] Beth Leavel: I can't even I just missed that boat. I just missed it.

[54:33] Kevin Bianchi: And uh again.

[54:35] Quincy Brown: Oh we got it twice.

[54:43] Kevin Bianchi: You guys, this was so much, this was so joy filled. Thank you. This was so great.

[54:47] Beth Leavel: Oh, thank you.

[54:54] Quincy Brown: Kevin, what if The Devil Wears Prada was an Elton John jukebox musical?

[54:58] Kevin Bianchi: I'm not sure.

[54:59] Quincy Brown: It should be.

[55:05] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my god, the act two opening is "The Bitch Is Back."

[55:08] Quincy Brown: Honestly, wait, that's it. I'd be into that.

[55:12] Kevin Bianchi: Um, did you hear about that off-Broadway musical called Titanic?

[55:17] Quincy Brown: That's the story of Titanic told with Celine Dion music.

[55:19] Kevin Bianchi: Titanic with Marla Mendel.

[55:21] Quincy Brown: Has Celine Dion lived a life?

[55:24] Kevin Bianchi: She has an interesting story.

[55:26] Quincy Brown: Yeah, she's like Oh, does she?

[55:27] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I mean, she was like one of like 12 kids, I think. Like, she's from a huge family.

[55:31] Quincy Brown: Oh. Speaking of Canadian sensation, that And Juliet cast for Toronto.

[55:38] Kevin Bianchi: Should we take a trip?

[55:39] Quincy Brown: Oh my god, I thought of you immediately.

[55:42] Kevin Bianchi: I think this show has Quincy written all over it.

[55:45] Quincy Brown: I'm excited for it.

[55:46] Kevin Bianchi: Because it's like it's just pop music.

[55:48] Quincy Brown: Like it's yeah, and it's a good idea.

[55:53] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it is. It's so so fun.

[55:56] Quincy Brown: I can't wait to see it again.

[55:58] Kevin Bianchi: I'm excited. I'm excited to see Betsy Wolf back on a stage.

[56:01] Quincy Brown: Um, I'm obsessed with Beth Leavel.

[56:03] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, can we talk about Dr. Beth Leavel, please?

[56:07] Quincy Brown: That was such a fun zippity zappity doo-da-day interview.

[56:13] Kevin Bianchi: She, um, I feel like had a great rapport with us. Just really cool to talk to an actress who has had the career that Beth Leavel has had.

[56:22] Quincy Brown: And also, I might, if I may say, really cool to see that she's still so chilling grounded after having the career that she's had, you know, because I think she very well could be not that if she wanted to be, you know.

[56:37] Kevin Bianchi: She's a very grounded diva, yeah.

[56:39] Quincy Brown: I love it. I loved hearing her talk.

[56:41] Kevin Bianchi: Well, first of all, it made me really excited to hear about all of the like fittings and stuff she's doing for The Devil Wears Prada, because it reminds me of when Legally Blonde the Musical came out.

[56:52] Quincy Brown: Um, there were all of these like Playbill.com or like Broadway.com videos of Laura Bell Bundy getting fitted in like all of Elle's like designer everything.

[57:03] Kevin Bianchi: Um, and I remember her like there was one where she was like these like $800 sunglasses that I wear on the top of my head for like a crossover. Like so I just think that's such a fun perk for playing a role like that.

[57:16] Quincy Brown: I personally don't really pay attention to costumes and stuff when I see a Broadway production, so it was cool to hear her talk about it, and a lot of thought and attention it goes into costumes, especially on a show like that, obviously.

[57:28] Kevin Bianchi: Um, but it got me really excited.

[57:30] Quincy Brown: Well, okay, so this actually is a point that I wanted to make, a Wicked-related point. While she was talking about The Devil Wears Prada, I was making the connection of like Wicked is a musical based on a book that has a famous movie property associated with it, like The Wizard of Oz.

[57:49] Kevin Bianchi: I know it's not quite the same, but hearing her talk about how her Miranda is gonna be so different than maybe what we're used to because she has the book to draw from and she has like other source material, I think is kind of interesting.

[58:04] Quincy Brown: Cause we've been talking about is the Wicked movie the Wicked musical movie going to do that and pull from the book to kind of expand the world a little bit.

[58:14] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, definitely.

[58:16] Quincy Brown: Wait, is The Devil Wears Prada based off of a book?

[58:18] Kevin Bianchi: Did you just say that? Sorry, I tuned out for like a little bit of a little bit of a little second.

[58:20] Quincy Brown: The Devil Wears Prada is um based on a novel that was written by somebody who was an assistant.

[58:29] Kevin Bianchi: You know what this is bringing me back to now that you're saying this? Walking through Costco with my mother, and like during that era of the novel being out, and just like that book being on those like tables that they have of books.

[58:42] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it's a good it's very different than the movie.

[58:45] Kevin Bianchi: Oh I think it follows like the same general, like I wonder if Beth's read the book.

[58:51] Quincy Brown: I would imagine.

[58:51] Kevin Bianchi: And she has a doctorate for God's sake. I'm sure she read the book.

[58:57] Quincy Brown: When we were discussing the character of Miranda and how understated and how much she downplays everything, she always kind of has a lid on her, and how different that is from what we've traditionally seen from Beth Leavel.

[59:10] Kevin Bianchi: I am so excited to see her do that. You know?

[59:13] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and to see like like the character, yes, is simmering, but like Beth Leavel herself, like her vehicle for storytelling is gonna have that lid on it, and then just like full out, we get an 11 o'clock number.

[59:27] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, is gonna be so satisfying to like what is Miranda's 11 o'clock number.

[59:32] Quincy Brown: Well, sh I know she said it's not the movie with songs, but I would imagine it's like in that moment in the movie where she's like, "Don't be silly, Andrea, everyone wants to be us," and then Anne Hathaway quits. I feel like that's probably the.

[59:46] Kevin Bianchi: I'm very excited for this musical.

[59:48] Quincy Brown: Oh, you know what I loved to hear that I don't think I realized is that all four of those roles in The Prom were the four of them from the very beginning.

[59:58] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, which I guess like really sense.

[1:00:02] Quincy Brown: But yeah, I also didn't realize that.

[1:00:04] Kevin Bianchi: I kind of think I knew that Beth was doing it from the beginning, but I don't think I connected the dots that all four of them were.

[1:00:10] Quincy Brown: I knew that the other three had done it out of town. But it's cool to know that that group got to build that together in that kind of process.

[1:00:20] Kevin Bianchi: It really adds to the specialness of The Prom.

[1:00:23] Quincy Brown: The Prom is such a cute little special package of a show, I feel like.

[1:00:27] Kevin Bianchi: I agree.

[1:00:28] Quincy Brown: She was talking about how, you know, she wanted to be, she always wanted to do comedy, and she's kind of known for being this comedy actress with a belt. But then when she got to do Mama Rose, sinking her teeth into something dramatic like that, it made me want to see her in a dramatic role, but maybe Miranda's going to be kind of that, you know.

[1:00:45] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I mean, it makes sense to build the role of Miranda to be like one of the roles that we hold as like a Mama Rose, a Joanne in Company roles that these like big heavy hitter musical theater legends step into.

[1:01:01] Quincy Brown: No, I just like am really in love with Beth Leavel after that interview. I want nothing but good things for her.

[1:01:05] Kevin Bianchi: She's like a really, really fantastic lady.

[1:01:09] Quincy Brown: It's nice to learn that somebody who is as uberly successful as she is is also like a genuinely kind person.

[1:01:19] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[1:01:19] Quincy Brown: Thanks so much for coming out with Beth.

[1:01:21] Kevin Bianchi: Thanks, Beth.

[1:01:22] Quincy Brown: Thanks, Dr. Tony Beth.

[1:01:24] Kevin Bianchi: Dr. Tony Beth.

[1:01:26] Quincy Brown: Um, should we do uh should we do a Kevsy and Quinsico, Kevin?

[1:01:31] Kevin Bianchi: A little dearest darlingist.

[1:01:33] Quincy Brown: Again, a moment of transition, and you put it on the city.

[1:01:35] Kevin Bianchi: I did that one on purpose. I was doing a callback to the joke we made.

[1:01:38] Quincy Brown: And we didn't pick up on it, so I let it slide.

[1:01:40] Kevin Bianchi: Well, because it always happens, so I didn't realize it was a joke.

[1:01:44] Quincy Brown: My dearest darlingist, Kevsy and Quincy call.

[1:01:52] Kevin Bianchi: What do you think the denizens of Oz get up to in their everyday lives?

[1:01:58] Quincy Brown: Like are there green 401ks? What does the ribbon dancer do when he's not ribbon dancing? Do you I just want to know? Is there anything canonical that supports life in the Emerald City when not in when one is not at the Ozdos ballroom?

[1:02:15] Kevin Bianchi: You know, Caitlin, to answer this question, I'm gonna sing you a song.

[1:02:22] Quincy Brown: Ha ha ha!

[1:02:23] Kevin Bianchi: Ho ho ho la chalala. That's how we laugh that day away in the merry old land of Oz.

[1:02:33] Quincy Brown: Canonically, I think the what did she say? The denizens of Oz.

[1:02:37] Kevin Bianchi: The denizens, yeah.

[1:02:39] Quincy Brown: I think the denizens of Oz.

[1:02:43] Kevin Bianchi: The Hoy Poloi.

[1:02:44] Quincy Brown: They get up at 12 and start to work at one, take an hour for lunch, and then at noon they're done.

[1:02:51] Kevin Bianchi: Is that the right lyrics?

[1:02:52] Quincy Brown: That does make sense.

[1:02:53] Kevin Bianchi: We get up at 12 and start to work at one.

[1:02:57] Quincy Brown: Take an hour for lunch, and then at two we're done, probably.

[1:03:01] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[1:03:01] Quincy Brown: Well, okay, so here's here's what we know.

[1:03:01] Kevin Bianchi: Here's what we know about the says the scholar.

[1:03:06] Quincy Brown: The occupations in the Emerald City.

[1:03:09] Kevin Bianchi: This is Dr. Kevin. We know that there are dress salons, libraries, museums, and Broadway shows.

[1:03:15] Quincy Brown: I wouldn't say Broadway.

[1:03:18] Kevin Bianchi: I don't know.

[1:03:19] Quincy Brown: Professional theatrical.

[1:03:21] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, there are actors in the Emerald City.

[1:03:24] Quincy Brown: I would imagine the ribbon dancer is in the Wizomania ensemble.

[1:03:29] Kevin Bianchi: Anyone who's ribbon dancing through the streets, you're right, is in the ensemble, actually.

[1:03:34] Quincy Brown: I was gonna say, yeah, that's an ensemble gay.

[1:03:36] Kevin Bianchi: That's ribbon dancing through the streets.

[1:03:40] Quincy Brown: Carry on.

[1:03:41] Kevin Bianchi: So what I do think is interesting though, Quincy, is like anything we know about the Emerald City is a very like not mundane. Like there's no bankers, there's no, it's all like dresses and libraries and museums and very culture heavy things.

[1:03:57] Quincy Brown: Value the arts in Oz.

[1:03:58] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I do get the vibe that it's a very like an opulent cultural society.

[1:04:05] Quincy Brown: Kind of like uh in the Hunger Games.

[1:04:09] Kevin Bianchi: In the Capitol.

[1:04:10] Quincy Brown: Sure, sure, sure.

[1:04:11] Kevin Bianchi: Met Gala vibes all the time.

[1:04:12] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[1:04:13] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[1:04:14] Quincy Brown: Do you think Cynthia and Ariana are gonna go to the Met Gala when the movie is dropping?

[1:04:18] Kevin Bianchi: I do, because they've both already been.

[1:04:20] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[1:04:21] Kevin Bianchi: If I were in charge of the Wicked movie, which famously I am not, I would be.

[1:04:27] Quincy Brown: Yet.

[1:04:28] Kevin Bianchi: Yet.

[1:04:29] Quincy Brown: I would be on the phone with Anna Wintour personally.

[1:04:34] Kevin Bianchi: I would call Beth Leavel and I would say, can you please connect me to Anna Wintour?

[1:04:34] Quincy Brown: And I would say, in the Met Gala between the two movies, the theme should be something that will that could tie in Ari and Cynthia's presence there.

[1:04:50] Kevin Bianchi: Emerald.

[1:04:53] Quincy Brown: Emerald.

[1:04:54] Kevin Bianchi: It could be like MGM, Golden Age Hollywood, like something that can tie them to being there.

[1:05:02] Quincy Brown: All of this is to say I just want to watch Ari and Cynthia walk up those stairs in like humongous dresses.

[1:05:09] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, that'd be great.

[1:05:10] Quincy Brown: So yeah, so that's what I think the Emerald City does. I think they just walk around looking fabulous.

[1:05:17] Kevin Bianchi: Do you think there's like the slums of the Emerald City?

[1:05:19] Quincy Brown: Oh, like Skid Row.

[1:05:21] Kevin Bianchi: The outcasts, yeah.

[1:05:23] Quincy Brown: I don't know.

[1:05:24] Kevin Bianchi: But Caitlin, thank you for giving me something new to think about at two o'clock in the morning.

[1:05:32] Quincy Brown: Oh, another great episode with you, Kevin.

[1:05:36] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, I'm doing it!

[1:05:41] Quincy Brown: Now I'm gonna be so self-conscious about when I use a British accent.

[1:05:45] Kevin Bianchi: Oh yeah.

[1:05:48] Quincy Brown: Um, see you soon.

[1:05:49] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, but Quincy, before we go, I would just like to mention to all of our listeners that uh we would love it if you could uh on your phone right now, since I know you're holding it, listening to us, uh getting ready to skip to the end of the episode.

[1:06:02] Quincy Brown: Right being a good idea.

[1:06:03] Kevin Bianchi: If you could if you if you could open up Apple Podcasts and give us a five-star rating and a glowing review, we would really, really appreciate it.

[1:06:12] Quincy Brown: Um, and if you're really feeling like supporting the pod, you can also join the Green Circle, which you will hear about in the credits.

[1:06:21] Kevin Bianchi: Bye.

[1:06:24] Quincy Brown: You've been listening to Sentimental Men.

[1:06:26] Kevin Bianchi: This episode was produced and edited by your hosts, Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi.

[1:06:32] Quincy Brown: You can reach us at sentimentalmenpod at gmail.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok at Scent MenPod.

[1:06:40] Kevin Bianchi: You can support the pod by leaving us a rating or a review, or by subscribing.

[1:06:45] Quincy Brown: Subscribers get early access to our regular episodes, monthly bonus episodes, and get added to the Scent Men Green Circle.

[1:06:53] Kevin Bianchi: Which is literally our close friends on Instagram.

[1:06:56] Quincy Brown: Thanks to Julia DiMarzo for our thrillifying artwork.

[1:06:59] Kevin Bianchi: And thanks to you for tuning in.

[1:07:01] Quincy Brown: Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[1:07:03] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.

[1:07:09] Quincy Brown: Not a deity.

[1:07:11] Kevin Bianchi: Get out of here.