This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:15] Quincy Brown: My name's Quincy. And my name's Kevin. And this is Sentimental Men from Theaterly. We are here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:31] Kevin Bianchi: Happy Wicked Day, everyone. Happy Wicked Day, but also happy second birthday to Sentimental Men, the podcast. Did we launch on Wicked Day? We did. It was Wicked Day 2020. Oh, wow. Happy birthday, Kevin.

[0:43] Quincy Brown: Thank you. I'm so I'm not in the mood to be sappy today.

[0:48] Kevin Bianchi: That's okay. I don't need to be sappy. But I will just say it's been a fun two years and I'm excited for this next upcoming chapter because I think we're going to be doing some really cool stuff with Auntie Theaterly.

[0:59] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it has been a very fun two years. How are you celebrating Wicked Day? Are you going to do anything on? We're recording this before Wicked Day, obviously.

[1:08] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, we do need to go back and see Wicked. I know. Let's do that before we leave for the holidays. As far as I know here a week out, I do not have any Wicked Day plans. Do you?

[1:15] Quincy Brown: I mean, I really am hankering to see Wicked and I've been holding off because I feel like I've seen it too many times without you. Not that that's a rule that we have.

[1:25] Kevin Bianchi: That's cute. No, make it a rule. Do I think it should be a rule that we have? Yeah. Well, it just feels like if I go too many times seeing Wicked without Kevin, it feels a little cheater vibes. But if you're not committed to seeing it with me before Christmas, then I guess I will have to make do and go with someone else.

[1:38] Quincy Brown: I was going to say that I am going on a trip next month and I'm going to be in London and I'm like, do I like DM Lucy Jones and be like, hey girl?

[1:51] Kevin Bianchi: Well, yeah, you totally should. Lucy Jones, if you're listening to this. Which she may be. Kevin's going to come and see you, Lucy. That'd be super fun. You should have to see it while it's in London.

[2:00] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I hope to. How was your week? Did you do anything fun?

[2:05] Kevin Bianchi: Bad and no. How was yours?

[2:09] Quincy Brown: It was fun. I went to Rhode Island for the weekend. There are a couple of things I want to hit on with these listeners. I went to Rhode Island for the weekend. It so happened that I had this fall weekend planned. And also then Taylor Swift announced an album and it was perfect. I had this great Taylor Swift weekend. Listen to the album. If you haven't listened to Midnight's yet, please do. But on this Wicked day, I would like to talk about Wicked's next door neighbor, K-pop the musical on Broadway.

[2:28] Kevin Bianchi: Everyone, I went to the first preview of K-pop, which and I met friend of the pod Bri is working on K-pop. Oh my God. Forgive me. I forget what specifically she's doing on K-pop, but she was at the first preview and we finally got to meet in real life, which was so fun. But K-pop is so good and you'll love it, Kevin. I think I know. I can't wait. I can't wait. It's on my list for between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[2:49] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I saw it a bunch of times when it was off Broadway five years ago at Ars Nova because I was ushering there at the time and I fell in love with it. Then this Broadway iteration is very different than it was off Broadway. Very different. A lot of the same songs are there. The best song, arguably in the show, they have changed so that it's now played on a stereo in the Broadway iteration and it's not performed live.

[3:09] Kevin Bianchi: That is criminal. If anyone involved with K-pop is listening to this, there's still time. You're still in previews. Please change that because wind up doll is the name of the song should be performed live. It can't be reduced to just being played on a stereo. It's just such a good song and deserves a live performance. And I really hope that when I go back to K-pop on November 11th, because I already have tickets to go again, that that song is being performed live. But the whole thing is so great. Luna was really impressive. She's the K-pop star who's leading in it. I didn't really have any expectations going in, but walked out blown away by her performance. I'm very excited. After you see Wicked, see a matinee of Wicked and then...

[3:50] Quincy Brown: Oh my god, a double feature. That would be fun.

[3:54] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Who are we talking to today, Kevin?

[3:59] Quincy Brown: Quincy, we're talking to Alyssa Joy Fox today. This has been a long time coming. I think that Alyssa was one of the first few green girls that started interacting with us like on social back when we launched the podcast like two years ago. I feel like pretty early on is when we started interacting with her. And so it feels really cool to have her on the pod, especially now that she is currently the Broadway standby. She has been with Wicked for over a decade.

[4:25] Kevin Bianchi: A long time. A long time, which Kevin will break down for us.

[4:29] Quincy Brown: All right. So Ms. Fox first joined the Wicked family in 2010 in the San Francisco company. She was the Elphaba understudy in the closing cast. After the San Francisco production closed from 2012 to 2015, Alyssa was going in and out of the second national tour as the Elphaba standby. Before in 2015, when she made her principal debut on the second national tour from 2016 to 2017, she was in the Wicked Broadway company as the Elphaba standby. And then from 2018 to 2020, she was in Frozen on Broadway as the Elsa standby. The second Elsa we've had on the pod.

[5:14] Kevin Bianchi: The second Elsa. Yeah. After the Broadway shut down in 2021, Ms. Fox was back on the second national tour of Wicked as an emergency cover.

[5:22] Quincy Brown: So she did the whole run of Frozen Broadway?

[5:27] Kevin Bianchi: She did the whole run. Yeah. So she was in the second national tour as an emergency cover December 2021. And then from July 2022 until right now, which is October 2022, Alyssa has been back in the Broadway company of Wicked as the Elphaba standby, which honestly, I love the transition of power from Jenny Denoya to Alyssa Joy Fox.

[5:51] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. The transition of the cushy gig from Jenny Denoya to Alyssa Fox. When one supreme leaves, the other supreme rises. Like that's such a powerful handoff. I also love that we've had the current Elphaba principal and the current Elphaba standby now on our little pod.

[6:03] Quincy Brown: Yes. And we also we had Lindsay and Jenny.

[6:10] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, yeah. Is this going to be a thing that we start doing? I guess that makes sense.

[6:15] Quincy Brown: Yeah. And that brings us to today, October 2022. I saw her like a month ago, probably at this point.

[6:22] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, I'm very excited to talk to her after seeing her so fresh. Before we get into that, in these Wicked Epps, we do Stuck on SJB, right? Do you have one?

[6:32] Quincy Brown: Oh, do I have one? Yes. So this Stuck on SJB, I'm happy because as I have mentioned before, there are a finite amount of videos of Stephanie J. Block on YouTube. And so sometimes finding the Stuck on SJB is like a very deep dive, which I obviously love. But since the last time we recorded, Ms. Block is back on Broadway. And so she has been doing press.

[6:52] Kevin Bianchi: Well, that is literally the first bullet point on my discussion is if there's if yes, if there's one thing Stephanie J. Block is going to do, it's nail it at a press event. She is so good at press. She's good at soundbites. She's good at like the banter of it all. She's so good.

[7:11] Quincy Brown: Sure, I do. Yeah, she is one of those that it comes across that they genuinely enjoy doing those kinds of press moments. Yeah, sometimes which is fun because you don't want to watch someone who doesn't want to be there do an interview or something, you know? Yeah, she's a joy to watch. I should just say because I didn't say right now I'm referencing the Into the Woods revival cast performance on the Today Show is the amazing that we get Stephanie J. Block on the Today Show in 2022. I'm so thankful. And I love that it was like Sarah Bareilles opened this this musical who is like a global opening cast.

[7:54] Kevin Bianchi: Well, no, because it was like Broadway week, I think. So like all that's why all the Broadway shows were on that week. But I just love that like Stephanie J. Block as the leading lady or one of the two leading ladies in Into the Woods is getting to like, carry the show through its press tour. I think it's great.

[8:11] Quincy Brown: The second thing that I noticed when watching this video is they show a production photo of Stephanie and Sebastian and like they're facing each other and she's kind of like grabbing his face. Kind of like teasingly almost. And it's just such a cute picture. And I feel like it really encapsulates the energy of watching them as like real husband and wife do the show together. Last night was Sebastian's last performance in Into the Woods. He's a baker no more.

[8:40] Kevin Bianchi: I know. And Brian Darcy James is coming back, right?

[8:48] Quincy Brown: Yeah. That's an interesting combination. I would like to hear him and Stephanie J. Block sing together. Have they done something together before? Why do I think they have? Was it like a city center thing? No, maybe it's just because she sings What Is It About Her that I'm thinking that because in my head when I read that, I was like, oh, that's gonna be cute. They're gonna like reunite. But now I'm like, wait, I don't think they actually have at least that I know of done anything together.

[9:09] Kevin Bianchi: Another thing that I love about this video is Stephanie J. Block, I feel like has a very decidedly wide and grounded stance as the baker's wife. I just like love the physical choice that she makes, because it's so opposite of like, I feel like the way she kind of like stands and moves in real life. And it's like, of course, Miss Stephanie J. Block has like a movement vocabulary for this character. I mean, that whole performance was so thrilling. I don't know, there was such an energy because those morning show performances don't always I think translate very well when you watch them online later. But that performance really stood out as like being very there was just something about the buzz of the cast together and they were all in sync. It was really great.

[9:58] Quincy Brown: Yeah. And especially with like this show, like cutting down the prologue into like a little capsule performance for a TV show is really hard. And I thought that it like they did such a good job with it. Anyways, all of this is to say one of my favorite it's like right up there with justifies the beans for me. One of my favorite moments and into the woods is when the baker's wife goes the hair, because it's such like a throwaway line. But it's always fun to hear how the baker's wife places it because it's like kind of just like it's like right in a lot of people's like mixy place. And I am happy to say that Miss block Miss J block gives us a solid mix and a healthy spin in a way that it's like she has no business putting all of that into a tiny little throwaway two word line, but she does. It's never a throwaway when it's Stephanie J.

[10:55] Kevin Bianchi: That's exactly right. It's never a throwaway. She is like, you know, I'm gonna butcher this, which is bad. But you know, when they say like, this is sensitive because of into the woods, but like, isn't it like when you kill a cow, you use every part of it? Am I making this up?

[11:05] Quincy Brown: I mean, I've never heard that. But sure, terrible analogy. Anyway, that's Stephanie J. block when you hand her a script that is Stephanie J. block. She says I have to use every single part of this script to tell this story. And that's the way to do it. That's that Virgo energy.

[11:20] Kevin Bianchi: I know. She's using every single part of the cow, the cow, the cape, the slipper and the hair. Okay, should we go talk to Alyssa Joy Fox? I think we should.

[11:40] Quincy Brown: Alyssa Fox is here with us today. Thank you so much for joining.

[11:46] Alyssa Joy Fox: It's my pleasure. I know finally after all this time. Yeah, this has been in the works for a while. We've been circling each other and you sent us in a two truths and a lie for an episode a while back. Right. Do you remember?

[11:55] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, which we will get to. Yeah. Because we have yeah, because we need the stories behind the truth. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay, so we start every interview with how did Wicked come into your life as a real person? Not as actress Alyssa Fox.

[12:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: I'm trying to remember the first time it was definitely the the cast album. And I wasn't really a theater person before Wicked actually. Really?

[12:19] Alyssa Joy Fox: Kind of. Um, in a way, I grew up singing in church. And I knew that I wanted to be a singer, but I didn't really know how that would translate to like a career. But I heard the cast album for the first time. And I was just like, I heard Idina sing. And they had to define gravity. And I was just like, this is what I want to do. It was like immediate, like, I'm gonna do this kind of thing.

[12:43] Quincy Brown: Do you remember what juncture of your life you're at?

[12:48] Alyssa Joy Fox: I was I think in my I had just left high school. I just graduated high school. Okay. And I got it maybe like a year or two late from when it came out. You know, I was behind not being a theater person. I don't even know how I came across I don't remember if it was a friend that shared it with me and was like, check this out. You should sing this. Yeah, whatever. How does a Broadway cast album get in your orbit? If you're not a theater?

[13:09] Alyssa Joy Fox: Exactly. And it was very much like, what is this world? I like I always knew Broadway is a thing. But Wicked and specifically like was like, I felt a very strong pathway into that world.

[13:21] Quincy Brown: Yeah. And where did you grow up?

[13:26] Alyssa Joy Fox: Dallas or a suburb of Dallas. I was born in Dallas, but I grew up in Garland, Texas.

[13:31] Quincy Brown: Okay, so when did theater become a thing? If you weren't a theater person? When did you decide to pursue it?

[13:34] Alyssa Joy Fox: I was always a performer. I always wanted to sing. And I was kind of trying to figure out how to do that after I was, you know, getting out of high school going into college. And I thought maybe I would do like vocal performance or choir something or other like, I really enjoyed that kind of singing with other people and the way that that feels live with an audience. And so I always knew Broadway was a thing. But I didn't know I thought maybe, oh, you have to like dance and I've never done that. And I was terrible at that. So I never knew that it would be a popular alphabet response.

[14:08] Alyssa Joy Fox: Tell you, it's that's rough. She's not a dancer. So it was kind of like I went to school and I went to Oklahoma City University. And at that point, I was like, Oh, I want to I want to do musical theater because I then I was just like, really absorbing every piece of musical theater that I could get my hands on. And when I first started college, so it was really.

[14:46] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah. And I was just listening to musicals. My friend Neil and I had this thing where we would basically listen to a new musical that we had never heard every week. That's very theater kid of you. It's very. And I was like a late bloomer with the theater kid thing. But so it was just like all at once. I was just kind of like, this is my life. But like Millie, Millie was big, built on to that a whole cast album. Yeah, sure. That was big. Yeah. Anything like Sutton Foster was so fun, because I was just like, this is so like, joyful and exciting. And then of course, like, Jekyll and Hyde, you know, so you knew you were a belcher from the start parade, like we're going through all the things you know, exactly.

I was most drawn to the things that I just enjoyed singing, and especially like in the car. I would just go balls to the wall in the car, driving from Oklahoma City to Dallas every weekend, but just like belting out any possible random obscure musical theater song that I found. So were you studying theater in school? It was a music major. So it was a little different, but I was supposed to learn dancing there. And I did not. I was just not a good student. I eventually dropped out. And we'll get to that because the reason was that I wanted to audition for other things outside of school.

[16:01] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, well, that's a natural segue, because then we want to know the first audition for Wicked. How did it even come about? And what was the thought process then?

[16:14] Alyssa Joy Fox: I have a really interesting story, because I got cast initially from a non-equity cattle call. Right. And I had never. Okay, so I was I had already, I knew that I wanted to go and do Broadway and audition for Broadway and get into that world. But I was in was that the thought when you initially went to school for music? Or what did you think you were going to do? That's it. Eventually, I went to community college for a year, and I didn't really know what I was going to do. And then I got really like, into musical theater then. And I was like, Okay, well, I would like to go to a university for this, you know, took out way too much in loans to go to a private school that I eventually dropped out of because I wanted to like work.

So I was just kind of like, I learned by doing in a way that I was just like, this is not for me. So I kind of I didn't have a lot of money at all. And I had never been to New York City before, but I saw on claybill.com. Ever heard of it? That's exactly what it was. Yeah. And that's how I found the first like the non-equity cattle call. And it was just kind of like a general blanket come this day to tell see casting when it was right there. And yeah, come and audition. And I guess I had no frame of reference for any of that. I semi done one Rocky Horror Picture Show that was technically like an equity show. I was in the ensemble. I danced Time Warp. That's the cat. That's about the dancing that I could.

[17:49] Kevin Bianchi: Instructions in the song is...

[17:51] Alyssa Joy Fox: Instructions in the song. Yes, yes. So when you were going into the non-equity call, were you like, I'm dead set on booking this? Or were you just well, I'll try and see what happens.

[18:03] Alyssa Joy Fox: It was like it was gonna happen. Like I knew it's like I knew like I and I didn't have a lot of money. So I was like, Okay, I'm gonna fly up to New York for the first time. My best friend lived there at the time. I lived here at the time on St. Mark's. And I flew in. It was like, you know, like a $500 plane ticket in the fall of 2008.

[18:23] Kevin Bianchi: Wow. Yeah.

[18:24] Alyssa Joy Fox: What a time.

[18:24] Kevin Bianchi: What a time to be alive.

[18:26] Alyssa Joy Fox: Probably Elphaba on Broadway.

[18:27] Kevin Bianchi: She probably was but I couldn't afford a ticket to go see the show.

[18:31] Alyssa Joy Fox: So the first show I ever saw was Miss Allie Trim and 13 the musical. Because they had a rush and I was like, I can afford that. Let's go there. And so does she know that story now?

[18:44] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, it was like the first thing I said to her I was like, you are my first Broadway show. So it's like full circle. So I had no idea what I was getting into. So I was gonna I just came in town for maybe two days was gonna fly back the next day or like a cocktail dress and it was like raining outside and they made you line up outside of the street. And there was like a line. This was just a general call. You didn't know you weren't like Elphaba, right? No, it was general. So there were there were maybe I don't feel like I'm exaggerating by saying that there were about 500 people there, waiting in the rain out in the line out on the street. Yeah, going around the corner. You know, going to the bathroom at the McDonald's across the street.

So dedication, real dedication. And so I get in there finally, you know, after being freezing in the cold in this cocktail dress, and I go up and it's a bunch of different rooms. And each one has like a casting associate, I guess, in it. I don't remember I had I just was like, I don't know what this is. I'm just gonna do whatever they tell me.

[19:47] Kevin Bianchi: I imagine it was probably pretty cool to be in like a real audition.

[19:50] Alyssa Joy Fox: It was it was because I just was just like, what is this? And for a few years, I was like, this is how auditions go. And I got in there and they're like, can you sing like we'd like you all to like sing eight bars acapella of anything you want? Yeah, what'd you think?

[20:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: I say I had just done Little Women at OCU. And I did The End of Astonishing. And they were like, Okay, that's good. We'll send you to the other room with Craig Burns, the casting director. And so I sang for him. And he was like, Can you sing some of this Elphaba stuff for me? And I was like, sure. And then I went, he saw that in you. Yeah. Yeah. It was cool. But it was one of those things where I was like, my mom was like, are you sure you want to spend your money and go up there and do this audition? I was like, Mom, if I do this, I'm going to play Elphaba. She was like, Okay, great.

[20:40] Kevin Bianchi: Wow. I love it.

[20:41] Alyssa Joy Fox: There was like a very, it was a very sure thing. In my head. And you had known the show at this point already. So I'm assuming I was incredibly attached. Yes. And I had seen it on tour in Dallas at that point. I'm just like, so obsessed with the fact that like, there wasn't even a doubt in your mind. And then like, not only did it come true, like, eventually, it came true like that day, kind of, it took me about a year and a half to actually get the job back a few times. But yeah, that was the initial one, though.

[21:11] Kevin Bianchi: Okay. So what was the journey after that initial audition? Like, did you get any feedback or anything after that audition?

[21:16] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, they were like, we would love to call you back at a later time. You know, they were kind of at one point, they they kind of put the Nesero's material in front of me was like, Can you sing this? And I think I was too, like, quirky for that, or something or loud. Which might be the delineation, because I feel like we hear a lot from Elphaba's where when they are auditioning, they kind of get put in this Nesero's or Elphaba zone.

[21:38] Kevin Bianchi: Right, right.

[21:40] Alyssa Joy Fox: Is being quirky what brings you to Elphaba? I don't know. But there's something there. Yeah, because I understand like singing wise, if you can sing Elphaba, you can sing Nesero. Yes. And I feel like Nesero is just a little bit chiller. You know what I mean? And I guess some of the Elphaba's, we're loud. Nesero's is more buttoned up, I feel like.

[22:01] Kevin Bianchi: She is more buttoned up. She is more like, I know the rules, I'm going to follow them.

[22:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: And Elphaba is more like, and I feel very, I've always felt very so. And thus, they were like, Oh, I did the Nesero's material. Like they were just like, go out there and read it for a second, and then come back in here and do the material. And I did it. And they were like, Okay, no, the pick up the Elphaba material. So it was, oh, yeah. And I was like, Well, I knew that. I was like, I don't want to be Nesero. I want to sing the Elphaba songs. Like, that's my character. She was bullied too. I want to be her.

[22:44] Kevin Bianchi: For being quirky.

[22:45] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah. So what was the next phase of auditions that brought you to Elphaba?

[22:50] Alyssa Joy Fox: So I was working at a Teavana in the Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City.

[22:56] Kevin Bianchi: Wow, that's a throwback Teavana.

[22:58] Alyssa Joy Fox: I'm telling you, Starbucks bought them and now they do not exist, basically. But yes, I was working at the mall at the time. But I was they every time that Craig Birdsman would call me personally on my cell phone being like, Hey, can you be here next week to sing for the team again, or to read and sing for the team? And I was like, Yeah, of course. Were you auditioning for other things at this time?

[23:22] Alyssa Joy Fox: No, this was it. The eggs were in the basket. That was it. And that and that was after that first initial audition, the open call, I had like got a taste and like Craig Burns was like, we're gonna call you back at a later date. I didn't he was like, it could be an Yeah. And I was just like, Okay, I'm out of school now. I just like immediately was just like, I'm done with school. I'm just gonna like, put my eggs in this basket and make sure it happens. So it was really.

[23:46] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so you dropped out of school after that audition?

[23:50] Alyssa Joy Fox: I dropped out of school after that initial open call audition. And then I worked at the Teavana in the mall for a year and a half. And then I finally like maybe my like fifth or sixth time flying back and forth to New York, they had me do some dancing and I did some dancing, dancing. And, and they were like, Okay, and I booked that same day, I think Craig called me and was like, Hey, congratulations, we would like you to be Elphaba understudy in the ensemble in San Francisco. And that was 2010. And they said you have two days to move to San Francisco.

[24:28] Kevin Bianchi: They always seem to say that.

[24:30] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, you would think you'd have a little bit more time.

[24:35] Kevin Bianchi: It's crazy, because we keep hearing stories like this. And it's crazy to me that actors are just like, yeah, okay, sounds good.

[24:40] Alyssa Joy Fox: You're just expected to do and they do because like, nobody's gonna like pass up that.

[24:45] Kevin Bianchi: It's wicked. Yeah.

[24:46] Alyssa Joy Fox: It's wicked. It was like my eggs were there. Like, gotta go get them back.

[24:51] Kevin Bianchi: Let's watch them hatch, right?

[24:55] Alyssa Joy Fox: Chickens. Okay, so you had two days, you fly to San Francisco. Is this your first? So Rocky Horror happened. Would you say this was your first like big leagues job?

[25:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh, yeah.

[25:07] Kevin Bianchi: Gotcha.

[25:07] Alyssa Joy Fox: I was extremely green versus reality. I was so green. And I had no idea what I was doing. I had to like learn the rules. Nobody like gives you like a rule sheet or like this is etiquette, theater etiquette. I had just never done that. I wasn't like a theater kid, like a theater kid kid. And so I kind of had to learn it later. While everyone else is a lot of like, there was a lot exactly like warm up in the dressing rooms. And like you literally will get written up and fined if you relate this many times or, you know, just like so many things.

[25:40] Kevin Bianchi: Did you have a mentor in that cast that kind of took you under their wing?

[25:44] Alyssa Joy Fox: I think some of them were super irritated with me. Because I came in and like I said, I danced. And so they were kind of trying to teach me the ensemble track. And they were like, Oh, this girl has no idea what she's doing. Why? They were probably like, Why the hell did she get hired?

[26:04] Alyssa Joy Fox: So I was being taught and I didn't know what a Sine turn was. And so how do you put a person into an ensemble that doesn't even know what that is? So I think they they switched some of the ensemble tracks around. Really? And I don't think some of the ensemble members enjoyed that because it was just like, Oh, this girl can't dance. Let's make everyone else do the harder work. You're special enough to make accommodations for yes, I think back about it now. And I'm like, well, I would be upset if that were me too. Like, those girls were right. And now one of my one of my best friends, Lauren Houghton, who is she was out in San Francisco with me. And we were also on the tour that whole time. She didn't like me at first. And I think we got really close after she was like, Oh, you just did it. She just didn't know. I just didn't know anything. Just a kid.

[26:50] Alyssa Joy Fox: I was just a kid, a bright eyed, bushy tailed kid with, you know, very brave. You know, very brave. But it was and you went on as Elphaba while you were understudy. And I went on the day after my put in. Oh, my God. Yeah. I went on the day after my put it my Elphaba put in. It's always so chaotic. There's never like an Elphaba debut story. No, it was crazy. And at least I had to put in you know what I mean? Because later on, you know, I didn't really have many put ins. But um, yeah, so so that was, that was kind of my journey getting into it. And the first person I the first Elphaba I understudied for was Eden Espinosa. And she was amazing. And that was just incredible. Because like, how many times did I listen to Once Upon a Time from Brooklyn? Right? Like at that point, as a theater kid, I'm sure Eden was a thing for you.

[27:47] Alyssa Joy Fox: Absolutely. And she had already done like a few runs as Elphaba. So I was just like, yeah, I can like learn things from her. And I did. She was like a masterclass. And like, this is how you can do Elphaba without Yeah, completely. Do you have like one Eden memory that sticks out to you? I know I'm putting on the spot.

[28:04] Alyssa Joy Fox: No, I remember the first week I was there. And I think I was shadowing backstage for my new ensemble track that I was coming into. And they had me watch right there on the side. And you can kind of see during Defying Gravity, they were like, Okay, you're going to watch for the ensemble members to come out at the end. And I was like, Okay, but I got to watch the entire Defying Gravity from the side during the show. And when she just seeing the way she got up and got into the lift, and just sang her soul out was so incredible. And I was like, absolutely moved to tears, just like sitting there, like, trying to hide from the stage hands like sobbing, you know, especially at that stage in your career. I imagine.

[28:46] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh yeah. And I was just like, I can't believe that I'm here right now. It was very much like, I mean, this is almost 13 years later, but I'm yeah, I'm still like, it's still emotional for me, you know, somehow, somehow, that's so emotional for me.

[29:01] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so that's a good segue, because this happened, you were understudying in San Francisco in 2010.

[29:07] Alyssa Joy Fox: 2010. That's right.

[29:10] Kevin Bianchi: It is now 2022, Alyssa Fox, and you are the current Elphaba Standby on Broadway.

[29:15] Alyssa Joy Fox: I am. It has been such a long journey.

[30:31] Alyssa Joy Fox: It's only from like, that's gonna be your second act. You're gonna open a tea shop.

[30:37] Kevin Bianchi: I would actually love that. I mean, I'm not much of a business person but uh...

[30:46] Alyssa Joy Fox: Okay, so there's two years you were actively auditioning, yes, and doing like day jobs, you know.

[30:51] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[30:53] Alyssa Joy Fox: But I wasn't, and I think I was doing so much. I was doing the grind and I was auditioning and nothing was hitting. Nothing was hitting after coming off of Wicked.

[31:00] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, because it was like I was at a hundred and then I had to go back down and then kind of figure out what this pathway looked like for me without money, without time, you know, without guidance. I kind of was just doing it like an artistic fulfillment too, and I really missed that because that was so like doing Elphaba but so meaty. And I'm sure you've heard so many girls say this, but it's like once you do that, everything else is easy. But I am so addicted to the challenge, and you've said before that you're addicted to playing Elphaba.

[31:36] Alyssa Joy Fox: I am. It's like a drug. It's like upsetting how much I still love it after—like that is not a common take that we get from the Elphaba buzz.

[31:52] Kevin Bianchi: I love it. I love it. I don't know why, but I love it. I feel like I'm built for it. Like my voice is built for it, and I've seen the crazy stuff that happens to these Elphaba's, and it's difficult. And I'm kind of like, okay, I know what the job entails.

[32:09] Kevin Bianchi: So how did you get back to the tour after?

[32:16] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh, right, so we're kind of going all over the place here, but oh, you're good. I'm just trying to think of theater Lee, auntie theater Lee. We know that's great. We love you, auntie. I believe she gives a good Christmas present.

[32:33] Alyssa Joy Fox: But okay, so I did a couple auditions. One time I went in for them as like a callback, and they were like, okay, we'll call you back for—I think it was for the national tour.

[32:44] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, for because there were two at this point, right?

[32:49] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yes. Yeah. I'm not sure which one it was for, but it was for an ensemble member again and understudy. And I went in, and there was another dance call, and there was like a partnering because I think they were at that point, they were like, we're not gonna move around the tracks again. So it was a partnering thing. So I go into this dance call trying to do these partnering lifts, and I have my leg up. I thought it was in the air, but they were like, okay. They're like, okay. Um, that's it. Can you just put your leg a little bit further? And I was like, it's as far as it goes.

[33:20] Alyssa Joy Fox: And they're like, great. We'll call you back when a standby position opens up so you can stretch while you're backstage.

[33:33] Alyssa Joy Fox: I've kind of resigned myself to being like, okay, one of them is not to put my leg up in the air while being lifted, you know? Like there are so many other girls who do those amazing things with dance. And but also I don't know when I think of like a career trajectory, I think kind of being put in that, oh, she's not gonna be ensemble understudy. We're gonna put her in this standby bucket is kind of an elevation on a career.

[34:00] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, my goal was to have like a principal contract, and standby is a principal contract. I wanted to do that. My goal was not to be an ensemble member. I knew that that was not like what I was good at. You know, like that is not what I was good at, and I have so much deep respect for anyone who could do anything more than me. Dancers are—yeah, blow my mind.

[34:27] Alyssa Joy Fox: So the very minimal stuff I could do didn't really work in that audition. So I did you have to re-audition for standby or did they just call you?

[34:38] Alyssa Joy Fox: I had to re-audition. I think every time they had me re-audition every time until—I'm assuming that stopped at some point.

[34:45] Alyssa Joy Fox: It stopped after I didn't have to like audition when I was on tour and I was the standby. I was a standby for two and a half years. Then they bumped me to lead out there on tour, but it took a while. Two and a half years I was there, and I really wanted—

[35:03] Kevin Bianchi: And were you like ad? Because Jenny Denoya told us that while she was standby for a long time, she started kind of internally advocating, being like, hey, I would love to be bumped up to lead.

[35:08] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yes, okay. And to this day I'm still doing it.

[35:13] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, right? Like it's end goal. Like do you want to do this principal on Broadway, you think?

[35:19] Alyssa Joy Fox: I can't tell you how much I want it. Oh, really?

[35:22] Alyssa Joy Fox: Like I said, I still love it. Like if the second I stop loving it, I'll be like, I'm out. Bye.

[35:28] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah. I still—there's something in me that is still—it's so close to my heart.

[35:35] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, and I think you and Jenny are alike in that way.

[35:39] Kevin Bianchi: We are, and we kind of both moved up the ranks, you know, over more than a decade. You know, and I stood by for her three times.

[35:45] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh my God, and then you two were like trading places.

[35:50] Kevin Bianchi: Yes. I know. So crazy. So yeah, I think there's all these Elphaba girls too that you're just like, yeah, I know you or I've understudied you or you know, we were all kind of very like we knew each other's journeys. So it was neat looking at Jenny like, oh, she has advocated for herself in a way and has achieved those goals that she wanted to achieve for herself.

[36:15] Alyssa Joy Fox: And so it was a wonderful example of like, oh, I can do this. I am able to achieve those goals that I put myself forward for. So I did get bumped to lead on tour, and that was it.

[36:27] Kevin Bianchi: How long after you had decided as standby on tour, I want to do lead and I'm gonna start advocating for myself? Was it a struggle to get bumped up to lead or did it happen kind of naturally and organically?

[36:39] Alyssa Joy Fox: It was a struggle.

[36:39] Alyssa Joy Fox: Okay. I mean, I had stood by for a few girls, and because standby on tour is harder than it is on Broadway just because—just like psychologically I feel like because there's not a glint of standby out there. There's only an Elphaba. And so—and then if you don't go on for a while, you're just kind of isolated traveling from city to city, not really having a purpose because you're not like actively in the show. So all the experiences of everyone else that you're traveling around with, you're not participating actively in the things that are happening, the whole reason that we're on the tour, you know? So it's just like kind of messes with your head. I was just like if I don't do this, you know, I'm going to lose it. And so there was—it was hard for a while being a standby on the tour. Now I'm kind of like I know, like I enjoy being a standby. I actually do. I really like—especially in New York if you live here, it's great.

[37:35] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, not bad at all, and sharing the dressing room with the girls is so wonderful.

[37:41] Alyssa Joy Fox: And it is different on Broadway than it's on tour. So, how did you find out that you got bumped up on tour?

[37:50] Alyssa Joy Fox: How did I find you back? Yeah, I know. I think my agent at the time called me and was like, hey, so, uh, do you want to stick around that tour a little longer? I was like, oh, yeah, sure. And I knew that it was—I knew that it was opening up, and I was like, oh, yeah, sure, you know, hypothetically. Yeah, I absolutely like, you know that I want this. And he was like, okay, so there—so how do you feel about playing Elphaba eight times a week? And I was like, I want to do it. Give me that.

[38:17] Alyssa Joy Fox: To deliver news sometimes they're just like, who—how can I say this in the most dramatically possible? And I—nobody's ever like—camera phones weren't as much of a thing in 2008, but if somebody like recorded you—if somebody recorded me while I got those calls, it would have been like, yeah, you know, the sobbing, the falling down, the laughing, the screaming. It would be all that stuff.

[38:42] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[38:45] Alyssa Joy Fox: Did you notice like what was the difference between now having to do it eight times a week as opposed to being a standby? And was it an easy transition for you?

[38:53] Alyssa Joy Fox: It was because I already had a relationship with the cast. The stamina was something that you obviously have to work up to. It's different doing like a one-off every week or two shows, you know, and to doing it eight times a week. That's—it's just so much more energy for Elphaba. But you have to—for playing in lead Elphaba, but you have to give up your entire life. Like that is what you're doing to me. It just takes every bit of energy from you.

[39:22] Kevin Bianchi: And was it because Jackie Byrnes told us that it took her until her second or third contract to feel totally comfortable and be able to have fun doing it? What was your experience like from early on to from doing it as lead?

[39:37] Alyssa Joy Fox: I think I don't remember that as much. I think I was a little—I think I was pretty comfortable at that time. Like I—it was kind of like I wanted this to happen. Now it's happening, and now I'm enjoying it, and I did enjoy it. And sometimes, you know, Wicked's crazy in the way that, you know, it just is. We just go a little nuts, you know, Elphaba but crazy, and you either lose your voice or your body or your brain.

[40:04] Alyssa Joy Fox: I feel like the standby to principal journey is very special in a way that is different from like the tour to Broadway journey.

[40:13] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, and did you feel like any kind of way now having a standby?

[40:19] Alyssa Joy Fox: I think being a standby for so long before being a principal or before being lead taught me what that track goes through. And so I hope that I kind of took the torch and was like I know where this person's coming from. I'm going to try to let them know when I'm calling out because, you know, like it's hard to do those eight shows a week, and sometimes you need a rest. Like I know that you guys always say let the Elphaba's rest.

[40:50] Kevin Bianchi: Like on a t-shirt, anti-theater Lee.

[40:56] Alyssa Joy Fox: Same, same. I would absolutely wear it. Absolutely wear that. Let the Elphaba's rest. I think you can really like—first you can like really—

[41:15] Kevin Bianchi: I think so.

[41:20] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yes.

[41:27] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, yeah, so it's exhausting. And so every time I was kind of like, you know, I want to let my standby know. I want them to feel appreciated. I want to feel like that they're not like the second fiddle. Like this is a team thing. Like we are actually—with a role like Elphaba, the standby is so important, I think, yes, because if there's not like a cover that can help you out, you feel so much pressure anyway. It just goes through the roof if you're like, well, I now I have to do this no matter what, and it's exhausting. And so it does feel kind of like a team. At least that's what it felt like in my experience depending on who the—I was very lucky to stand by for some really wonderful girls.

Nobody ever treated me like trash, you know, but I know that it happens. I know that it happens. I know that people get scared of their cover, you know, territorial or whatever. But I always had a wonderful, wonderful experience with the girls I understudied or stood by for, and that kind of showed me too how to live as the lead with other standbys and covers.

[42:32] Alyssa Joy Fox: Your first time, but I feel like we should know this. I think it was Mary Kate Morrissey. It was either Mary Kate Morrissey or Emily Cook. I don't remember which came first.

[42:40] Kevin Bianchi: Terrific.

[42:43] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, and they were lovely, you know? And so it always to me it felt—I wanted it to feel more like we're on the same team kind of thing.

[42:49] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, right. That's such a good attitude. It's like such an—it takes a village attitude as opposed to the whole show too. It's not just Elphaba's show. It's not just Glinda's show. Like there's a whole cast of—literally a cast of people and the people backstage, you know, that are making the magic happen. Like this is a lot to do, especially when you compare Wicked to like contemporary Broadway musicals. The ensemble has so much to do in Wicked as opposed to like what's currently playing on Broadway, you know, in the new seasons.

[43:21] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, it's like every time I go back to Wicked, I'm shocked by how much they do. They make the story come to life along with the rest of the characters. But without the ensemble, like it would be like Elphaba doesn't dance. Like I need to see some dancing. Yeah, Broadway, come on.

[43:40] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, so for everything, I like to feel like it's more of like we're all on a team, not like I'm the lead of this, but it's just like, wow, what a privilege to get to be with these people on stage all making this story happen and sharing it with everyone.

[43:55] Kevin Bianchi: So talk us through that first time you got asked to come standby on Broadway because I imagine that was like a big moment for you.

[44:05] Alyssa Joy Fox: It was a big moment. I obviously had never been on Broadway before. This would be my Broadway debut, and it would be doing this role that I really loved very much and committed to for so long.

[44:17] Alyssa Joy Fox: Already at that point, a very long time, that was 2015, 16, something like that.

[44:23] Kevin Bianchi: 16.

[44:24] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[44:25] Alyssa Joy Fox: There you go.

[44:26] Kevin Bianchi: That's what our notes say.

[44:28] Alyssa Joy Fox: You know.

[44:29] Quincy Brown: No, I think you're right.

[44:30] Alyssa Joy Fox: I think that's, I think your notes are correct. So I moved from the tour to Broadway, and that's kind of, you know, that's what I wanted. I wanted to move to Broadway after that. And I think, again, it was my agents who were like, hey, they would like to move you to Broadway. And I was like, okay. Yeah, sure. And so I went and I was transferring with other people, you know, that were moving to Broadway too. And this has been a pattern in my life, but I would go in and they would, because I'm the standby, they would want to rehearse the leads, which makes sense to me. So I would like watch a lot. And this happened with both. I was in Frozen as well.

[45:03] Quincy Brown: Standing By For Cases, maybe.

[45:05] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, we know.

[45:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh, we know. Which we want to talk about.

[45:08] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, we'll talk about that later. I came in and it was my Broadway debut, and I had not really had a rehearsal. Definitely not a put in. On Broadway, but the show's different on Broadway than it is on tour.

[45:22] Quincy Brown: Yeah, sure is.

[45:23] Alyssa Joy Fox: And I was terrified, terrified. And so I was, you know, I was very nervous and people were like, well, you've done this before. I'm like, it's not the same. So it's my Broadway debut, terrifying, doing that without a rehearsal and without a put in. On the biggest stage in the world. Way more stairs. There's so many stairs. Why are there so many stairs? I also love Kevin referring to the Gershwin as the biggest stage in the world.

[45:53] Quincy Brown: I mean, like physically, that stage is humongous.

[45:55] Alyssa Joy Fox: It's like a football field. It's so big. And it's raked. There's lots of running, there's lots of screaming. It's raked. So we're on, all of our bodies are sideways, you know? It's really bonkers. And just the different, you come through a trap door and stuff. The differences between tour, I would feel like, warrant a put in rehearsal. We had done like some of the technical elements. Like I went up into the levitator, not while singing or anything, just as like a technical thing. And they're like, okay, and then you do exactly safety things. You're going to do this run up, run down, but I never had done it like all consecutively as a show. I had never done the full show on the Gershwin stage until I had my Broadway debut and basically blacked out the whole time because I was just like, this is the craziest thing ever.

[46:41] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[46:42] Alyssa Joy Fox: So that's how I made my Broadway debut. And I did not enjoy it. I didn't. I wish that I had, but I did not enjoy it. I think I freaked myself out.

[46:53] Quincy Brown: And luckily you've had a lot of time since then to do it.

[46:56] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah. Luckily, yes. Yes. We've come back around. And now I'm like, okay, yeah, now I definitely don't need rehearsal. You want me to come when? You want me to come when? You need me to have a rehearsal now?

[47:10] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[47:11] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah. We had a listener ask, what is your difference between Elphaba and the way that you play Elphaba pre-pandemic and post-pandemic? Has that informed anything in this most recent era of you playing Elphaba because it does feel like different time periods. And I feel like I'm a different person also.

[47:28] Quincy Brown: Mm hmm.

[47:29] Alyssa Joy Fox: Right. You know, it's so different. I think I've come to I feel like during the pandemic, I had no choice but to look internally at my own self and learning things about myself and kind of looking at these characters that I've played, both Elphaba and Elsa, and how they've kind of all their lives felt a certain way and trying to cover up this power that they have. And I feel like during the pandemic, I kind of looked internally and I was like, what is holding me back? You know, how can I go on this same journey? What can I learn from these roles I've already played? And then can I play them again, but in with a different context as the actor, but then wait, talk us through the Omicron because we were a little confused of like, how everything lined up with all the Avenger squad that they brought in, right?

It was like the perfect storm of like, um, sick people getting sick people getting injured. Just it was a crazy time COVID like ripping through these companies like, yeah, like, I think I came in five different times.

[48:40] Kevin Bianchi: During that COVID period before I got on this contract for standby, and was it always a last minute ask?

[48:46] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so they'd be like, I'd be sitting on my couch here where I'm sitting right now. And I'd be like, you know, I like to embroider I was embroidering and like watching television. And Mary Beth, the stage manager will just she'd just call me and she'd be like, Hey, are you in town? I'd be like, Yeah, what's going on? She's like, um, could you possibly like come in to cover to stand by? And I was like, Oh, yeah, uh, when do you when do you need me to come in? She was like, now? Oh, my God. That's what happened like numerous times.

[49:21] Quincy Brown: And by the fifth time, are you just like, Oh, Mary Beth's calling it like, get my shoes on?

[49:27] Alyssa Joy Fox: Like I was like, Look, I'm unemployed right now. I love doing this. I love these people in this building. If you need me, please call me because I love to do it. It's not you're not I'm not I don't feel like put out by that. I was happy.

[49:42] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[49:43] Alyssa Joy Fox: Good. It was exciting. Was it easy to do? Or? Because even though you've been doing it for so long, I imagine it's still hard to jump into.

[49:51] Alyssa Joy Fox: But exactly because I had left in 2017. I had left Wicked in 2017 to open Frozen. And so I hadn't done it since 2017. And then when I got called back after the pandemic, or after the shutdown, you know, I it had been five years since I had done Elphaba. And I was like, I don't even for this. No. I didn't have a put in for Frozen either. It was it was during previews.

[50:19] Kevin Bianchi: Like, Oh, my God.

[50:21] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh, my God. That's just a history there with put ins like, all right, I guess put ins are for other people. Alyssa Fox. She doesn't need a put in.

[50:29] Kevin Bianchi: I mean, I probably should have one just for safety reasons.

[50:33] Alyssa Joy Fox: But no, I but I did it but I did not. And when we got into the rehearsal, we I had, you know, they rehearsed me for maybe three days or something like that, because they were like, how much do you know? I was like, I actually don't know. So let's get in the room and see how much I remember.

[50:48] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah.

[50:49] Alyssa Joy Fox: So we went into like the rehearsal hall that's at the Gershwin and there and I was like, OK, FYI, don't know how much I know of this. And she was like, OK, we'll just take it. And I did the whole show. And I was just it just like my body started to move. I started to like speak and sing the words and I was like, oh, my God, something and it's in there. It like stayed in there. And then I'm just like, what else is in there that I remember? So like, like, maybe I like remember all kinds of stuff from school. I just don't know how to tap into it. So it's just kind of like it just came out of me. So I guess after all those years and then hearing it eight times a week, it's going to stay with you in some sort of way. Plus, emotionally, it's important to me. And so I think I just was stored away for safekeeping for later back there.

[51:36] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Do you feel like all of your experience, like standing by and on principle, allowed you to kind of find like a reliable alphabet within yourself, like what your show is and how the show you can do at the drop of a hat like that?

[51:54] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah. I saw you like a month ago and you are so comfortable in this role.

[52:00] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. And it's still exciting and exhilarating. But you can tell that you are just kind of chilling through it, which is nice to see.

[52:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: Living in it. Trying to.

[52:09] Kevin Bianchi: I'm glad. I'm glad that it came off that way. Yeah, I think I thought I think it is like I've done it so long that it feels comfortable. Like I'm not nervous before the show. Of course, you get nervous if you have like a like a cold or something. That's so hard to do this particular show and this particular role feeling any little bit under the weather. So I think after doing it so many times, I kind of learned how to navigate both my voice and got to know the character so well, being like, what can I play with, you know, with this new actor or with this new actor or what? What are the new things that I'm getting out of this? I will say I used to be in No Good Deed Alphaba.

[52:49] Alyssa Joy Fox: And now you're jumping the gun.

[52:51] Kevin Bianchi: I love it. Oh, man.

[52:52] Alyssa Joy Fox: I love it. That's right.

[52:54] Kevin Bianchi: That's right. Oh, I'm so sorry.

[52:58] Alyssa Joy Fox: I just this was like a very like pre post pandemic. It was pre pandemic.

[53:02] Kevin Bianchi: OK, yeah. Pre pandemic felt very No Good Deed Alphaba like balls to the wall. Pissed off, whatever. That's like I like lived in that. And now after after we came back, I was finding so many new things in Defying Gravity that I I don't think you're a quintessential Defying Gravity alphabet to me. I mean, oh, I love that.

[53:24] Alyssa Joy Fox: OK, well, good, because I identify with that now and I did it before. But now I do.

[53:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Talk a little bit more about that.

[53:31] Alyssa Joy Fox: I think the way I have kind of adjusted myself free and post-ish pandemic is very it's a lot about is about presence and being fully present wherever you are and not being like in in your head or having some sort of like ego experience of like, this is my show. I'm just going to impress everyone with my voice. You know, I'm going to riff as much as possible and then blow everyone away. And they'll never forget me. It was more like, let's be present and let's figure out what we can learn from this personally or what I can learn from this personally by doing it and learning from the people around me, whoever that those people may be. So it's very much like I was finding so many new things in Defying Gravity because that is the song where she finds her power or she owns her power.

It's not the song where she finds her power. It's the song where she owns her power. And it's if you think about it in terms of me as the actress getting to play that as Elphaba outside of Alyssa Fox teaches, teaches Alyssa Fox how to do it for herself. Right. So it's like a lesson every time I feel like now something is much deeper there within myself with the character. So I'm glad that I'm glad that it comes off grounded because, yeah, it feels it feels it feels grounded.

[54:51] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it was. I was just like, she is so comfy right now. I just love it. I think that's really what guides it. I just I just love it. You know.

[54:59] Alyssa Joy Fox: Right.

[55:00] Kevin Bianchi: Which I think is coming through and just talking to you. I'm really I think you are the most enthusiastic actress we have had.

[55:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: Really? Well, I'm kind of an enthusiastic person in general. So that tracks that tracks.

[55:13] Kevin Bianchi: OK, so I remember from your two truths and a lie that Idina Menzel has seen your performance as Elphaba, which I think is something very few people can say.

[55:24] Alyssa Joy Fox: Right. Yeah. And I didn't really believe it. My mother was there that night and I had a few friends there because I think they were planned performances. I think they were planned performances. And I was just backstage and I came back to the dressing room for intermission. I checked my phone. My mom was like, Idina Menzel's here. And I was like, that's funny. There's no way my mom knows like what she looks like. But I was like, OK, cool. Sure. And then my friend Maddie texted me. He was like, um, Idina's here with her son. And I was like, stage manager didn't tell you ahead of time.

[56:06] Alyssa Joy Fox: No, nobody told me. It was like it was like they want it was like they wanted to keep it a secret, you know, and so there was never any like, absolutely. She's here. You're going to see her after, you know, like whatever. Like and I had never met her before. Cool. And so when we came off stage, like she was just standing there backstage. Like we got off from BOWS and here's Idina with her son who's like asleep. And she was and she was so kind and she was like, that was it was the first time since I've been here that I've watched the whole show.

[56:32] Kevin Bianchi: Right. Well, there was another instance, I think, where she went, where she left at intermission. I don't think it was you, though.

[56:38] Alyssa Joy Fox: She did not leave because she was there at the end of the show. I have picture proof with Carolyn.

[56:44] Quincy Brown: Wait, we need the picture.

[56:45] Alyssa Joy Fox: I have the receipts, you know.

[56:48] Kevin Bianchi: Have you posted that picture online?

[56:50] Alyssa Joy Fox: Like a long time ago. I'm not very good at social media, but maybe I'll have to bring that one back.

[56:55] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Yeah. Or send it to us and we'll post it with this episode.

[56:59] Alyssa Joy Fox: You got it. I will. I will. But that was special. We're asking for clarity on that. She came to the show and she saw the whole thing. Her son was asleep, but she saw the whole thing.

[57:11] Quincy Brown: I swear to you.

[57:13] Kevin Bianchi: We believe you. We believe you. What an honor.

[57:17] Alyssa Joy Fox: OK, so switching gears to Frozen. You were standing by again for a former Elphaba. Something that came up to me was what did you notice a distinct difference between standing by and Frozen and standing by and Wicked?

[57:29] Alyssa Joy Fox: Well, I think character wise in general or like the the difficulty, I guess, of it. Right. Because Caroline Bowman was on the podcast too. And she told us that Elphaba was definitely harder than Elsa. If I'm remembering that correctly.

[57:45] Kevin Bianchi: Yes. Absolutely harder.

[57:48] Alyssa Joy Fox: Elsa gets to sit down. Elsa gets to leave the stage and like go sip on some tea in the dressing room. Elphaba's a little bit of a park and bark role. She is a park and bark. And I live for it. You get to wear like the most gorgeous costumes. And if you like, you get to basically run out, you have that moment. It's like very powerful and like awesome. But you basically come out. Sometimes you run a little bit, but then you like scream and then you go back to your dressing room. But there was time to go back to your dressing room. And like in Wicked, you're basically every change is a quick change, except for intermission. So like everything's just like it's like one after another. It's like running a marathon every show. And so Frozen was definitely different in that way, because even though it was difficult vocally, it was just not near as hard physically.

[58:35] Kevin Bianchi: Was it nice to be doing something different than Wicked at this point in your career?

[58:38] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yes. Yes. And I felt and I felt the calling to do that, too. When I saw that they were bringing Frozen, I told my agent, so I was like, can you get me in there? Can you give me an appointment? Sure. So I was very happy that I got to do that. And, you know, because I had basically only done Wicked up until that point, up until 2017. So it was like my entire career was.

[59:03] Alyssa Joy Fox: Wicked. And so I really did want to like branch out, but it was another Dina role.

[59:09] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, but that's okay.

[59:12] Quincy Brown: Yeah, look, I wouldn't mind if she did other things, and then I'd follow her and do those things.

[59:17] Alyssa Joy Fox: Right. And then just be, keep being employed, you know, that would be nice. That would be pretty cool.

[59:22] Alyssa Joy Fox: It was cool standing by for Kasey too, because I knew that she kind of knew what both of those were too. Did you guys have that moment where like we both played alpha, but I'm always curious.

[59:32] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, she's so, she's so kind. And I think there was always like a knowing and I had played it a lot more recently than she had. She's done so many things since then. So it was definitely like, I felt close to her, because we had both experienced that. And, and I think, you know, a lot of the girls that have played Elsa played Elphaba.

[59:54] Quincy Brown: It's kind of we talked about the Jenna Elphaba Jenna. It's also an Elphaba Elsa.

[59:59] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yes, Elphabas. We love Elphabas.

[1:00:05] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so since you answered our Elphaba question, let's do it for Frozen. Were you a dangerous to dream, let it go, or monster?

[1:00:14] Alyssa Joy Fox: Oh, come on.

[1:00:17] Alyssa Joy Fox: I love dangerous to dream.

[1:00:21] Kevin Bianchi: Not a question. Let it go.

[1:00:24] Alyssa Joy Fox: I could see an argument for monster.

[1:00:26] Alyssa Joy Fox: I can see an argument for monster. I'll give you that. I'll give you that. Because it's like, you know, you get to like, really like rock and roll sing and there are pans involved.

[1:00:36] Quincy Brown: Yeah, yeah.

[1:00:37] Alyssa Joy Fox: But for me, let it go. It was like the energy coming from the audience. There's something about live performance that really gets me. And that song in particular people go nuts over. And we had some pretty young audience a lot of the time. And sure, a lot of them was their first Broadway show, but they knew that song, you know, know that pretty much everyone in the audience knew that song. And so when that piano part at the beginning of let it go starts, you hear you hear the inhale and the whispers and not just from kids, but like from the gaze from the game.

[1:01:14] Kevin Bianchi: Very that from the parents trying to like keep their kids from singing along, you know, it's very exciting. And then like the whole journey of that song going the whole song is an arc, you know, like she starts off one way and then like goes into another thing kind of like defying gravity, even though she's a little bit further along at that point.

[1:01:32] Alyssa Joy Fox: Kind of like the wizard.

[1:01:33] Kevin Bianchi: There are very much parallels between the three songs in each actually, I think they like.

[1:01:38] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yeah, that's true, actually.

[1:01:39] Kevin Bianchi: Which is maybe just a musical structure, but.

[1:01:41] Alyssa Joy Fox: It probably is the I want song.

[1:01:45] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah, the climax.

[1:01:48] Alyssa Joy Fox: 11 o'clock number. Yep. Yeah. So Elsa was very cool, too. But it was definitely a let it go was and you did the entire Broadway run, right?

[1:01:56] Alyssa Joy Fox: I did. I did. Yeah. And the pre Broadway tryout. I didn't go on then. But I went on previews before Broadway Company opened. So Wow.

[1:02:08] Quincy Brown: Alyssa, this has been so fun. Thank you so much for joining us. Where can people find you online?

[1:02:14] Alyssa Joy Fox: They can find me at pretty much just an Instagram. I'm kind of a lurker on Twitter at Alyssa Fox, but Instagram I am at Alyssa joy Fox. So I post more stories than anything, but I'm not very good at that. But, but that's where you can.

[1:02:30] Kevin Bianchi: That's amazing. Awesome. Well, thank you for joining us, Alyssa for our Wicked Day episode. I don't know if you knew this, but I did not know that.

[1:02:36] Alyssa Joy Fox: Yes, it's Wicked Day. Happy Wicked Day, Alyssa.

[1:02:39] Alyssa Joy Fox: Happy Wicked Day! 19 years.

[1:02:42] Kevin Bianchi: And counting. Are you doing any fun promo stuff for Wicked Day?

[1:02:48] Alyssa Joy Fox: I think we're having some sort of a party but like that's I'm not actually sure what that will be.

[1:02:54] Quincy Brown: Like a sheet cake. Well, this is the celebration.

[1:02:57] Alyssa Joy Fox: This is my celebration. I will celebrate it with just you two. Online.

[1:03:03] Kevin Bianchi: Perfect. All right. Kevin, that was such a great interview. Alyssa Fox is so fun. Really, I'm like buzzing still. I'm trying to think because there's another interview that I felt similarly to this afterwards where I was just kind of like on a high of that was so incredible.

[1:03:15] Quincy Brown: Oh, yeah. Who was that? Oh, I can't remember. I mean, every interview has been great. Alyssa, thank you so much for joining.

[1:03:27] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, honestly, and thank you so much for being so giving with your energy on your night off, because honestly, we know how tired you are. How tired you must be.

[1:03:40] Quincy Brown: Which I think okay, let's just dive into it. That energy as she talked about she's addicted to playing Elphaba and I think and she's just a very enthusiastic person in real life. It's so I don't think admirable is the right word. It's so exciting to me, I think to talk to an actress who after playing Elphaba for over a decade is still so excited, so happy, still wants to go on to do principal on Broadway, like still has that in her sights. Like it was just so refreshing, I think, to talk to Alyssa Fox.

[1:04:10] Kevin Bianchi: I do too. And it's so funny because it's like for somebody who was not a theater kid, she has such theater kid energy about Wicked. Like it's so I mean, it's just like it's so charming because it's like you're speaking to somebody who's like actual literal gateway dream came true. Like, like what made her want to do this happen.

[1:04:35] Quincy Brown: And that was something that I thought was super interesting to where she was like, that first on equity call I went into I knew I was going to book Elphaba. That level of confidence, I think is so cool. And for that to be happening in 2010. And for her to be the current Elphaba standby in 2022 is just such an insane journey. There were a lot of parallels between her journey and Jenny Denoa's journey, which I thought was interesting.

[1:04:59] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. And I think well, if what's interesting too, is it's like, the two of them are in such a class of their own in terms of like their relationship to the show. Because there's just there are not many other Elphaba's that I can think of that have such a varied experience with the show. Like with so many contracts and so many companies and like such a committed experience.

[1:05:24] Quincy Brown: It's such a committed experience. And I think Alyssa really hit on it when she was like, like to do this show to do any show for that long. It either has to be like the most convenient, like perfectly balanced job or you have to love it so much.

[1:05:44] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, right, right. It's it's very much it is like a love for the show that carries these long running Elphaba's through, which is not to say it doesn't have ups and downs, of course, but like, or like good, good parts and bad. I do think that mentality and that outlook she has on the role does play a factor into why she has been asked back so many times because you want to work with people who genuinely are excited to be in the room and to do the job that you're asking them to do, you know?

[1:06:10] Quincy Brown: Yes. And I would imagine especially a role that is as taxing on the actor as Elphaba is that is like doubly as true because it's like when the work is that much harder, the attitude has to be that much better.

[1:06:23] Kevin Bianchi: I did think it was very interesting that she was not a theater person growing up. I agree. It's always the girlies who like, and even when she was like, Oh, yeah, like I mostly listened to like indie rock music. And I was like, and I bet that's why you can sing Elphaba willy nilly.

[1:06:38] Quincy Brown: If you were like, Kevin, we're doing our gay little podcast, but it's like we really are uncovering a lot of themes and common through lines between this role and the type of woman who plays this role.

[1:06:48] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. I don't think we give ourselves enough credit. I don't think we do. We are the official investigatory podcast of Wicked the Musical. A job. If you like the project, you'll love Sentimental Men. I love the Sunset Project.

[1:07:03] Quincy Brown: I do too. If you haven't listened to the Sunset Project by Broadway Bob, go listen to it.

[1:07:08] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, I'm going to re-listen to it before the Kennedy Center. We should talk about the Kennedy Center. So Stephanie J. Block is doing Norma Desmond and Sunset Boulevard at the Kennedy Center. We obviously want to go. Here's my question, Kevin, does Connor want to go as well?

[1:07:23] Quincy Brown: Probably. If he's here. Unless he's like working. Take us on sale early November. So we just need to figure that out. I do have another group that wants to go. I'm trying to figure out like, are we going to combine?

[1:07:36] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I know you want to do like a caravan. Yeah. And you shot it down. So I don't need to do the caravan.

[1:07:40] Quincy Brown: I didn't shoot it down. I texted Kevin and I said, listen.

[1:07:46] Kevin Bianchi: You do this to me in front of microphones and only in front of microphones. I cannot stand you. I don't want to do this podcast anymore. It's a neutral place. I can't stand you. I texted Kevin and I was like, hey, what are your thoughts? I feel like a lot of people want to go see Stephanie J. Block and Sunset Boulevard in D.C. What if we like got together this big group to like party bus down to D.C.? We all stay in the same hotel. We all get dinner before and then we all sit together for Sunset Boulevard. Kevin was not super enthusiastic about that idea, which I understand from like a logistics point where it is just a headache. And I do think if we do this, I think it'd be cute to like at least all go to the same restaurant before and like, yeah, even rent out a room and we can all just hang out and then go to the show together.

[1:08:34] Kevin Bianchi: My response was not I don't want to see the show with anybody. I took it as a I just meant I want to I want to go to sleep in my own bed that night. Like D.C. We all get a hotel.

[1:08:41] Quincy Brown: No, I don't want to stay.

[1:08:48] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, you want to come down, see the show and you want to see a matinee, though? I'm just thinking of the logistics. I don't know that I can figure the logistics out later. I just did not have it in my head when I was in a D.C. week when I was envisioning the the experience. I did not go to multiple days the way you did. But also it's like your birthday weekend, isn't it?

[1:09:11] Quincy Brown: Oh, wow. It's like the weekend before you. So if I requested you to be, of course, right. Like I'm not going to.

[1:09:16] Kevin Bianchi: Quincy, I went went all the way back uptown and back downtown for your birthday to get my ID. That did make me think, you know what we should ask Auntie Theodore Lee to do for us to set up time with SJB while she's at the Kennedy Center. We don't interview her backstage at the Kennedy Center and we spend the weekend there for my birthday. I never should have mentioned that it was the weekend. That's what I'm putting out now. I was trapped. Auntie Theodore Lee, please make that happen. That feels doable, actually, and would be so cute.

[1:09:53] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Anyway, Alyssa Fox was great. I loved her mentality of the whole company being a team. But like, really specifically, I love when the relationship between the lead Elphaba and the standby Elphaba or any role is like that of a partnership, because it's I think it's such a healthier attitude to say, like, this is my other half in in taking on this mammoth responsibility, as opposed to saying, like, this is the person who saves me when I'm in trouble. I think that's probably a very special perspective that is informed by the fact that she has been a standby to so many women. And as she said, she had such she had good relationships with all of them. So to pass that phone.

[1:10:35] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. And I did like how she was making a concerted effort to be good to her standbys having been a standby. It was really, I think spoke a lot about the type of person she is.

[1:10:46] Quincy Brown: I have a major crush on Alyssa Fox after this interview.

[1:10:52] Kevin Bianchi: I know. I love her bangs.

[1:10:58] Quincy Brown: I know. I love Alyssa Joy Fox. I'll say it. Honestly, thank you so much. I'm so glad this was our Wicked Day episode. It feels me too. I love talking to the the girls when they're in the show. Yeah. It's like a really special perspective. It was also nice to just do an Elphaba interview after so long.

[1:11:10] Kevin Bianchi: I know. Speaking of dusting it off and just doing it with no rehearsal. I feel like at this point, you could call me at 645 and say, Kevin, are you free to interview? I'm not going to say a real name. Are you free to interview Lindsay Heather Pierce in 15 minutes? And I would say, Quincy, I can do it. And I mean, yeah, I do feel like there is which I realized with this because I was a little bit stressed before we started this work and life has just been crazy for both of us. So we didn't have a ton of time to prep for this. So I was a little bit stressed. But there is something about just like doing just like Alyssa Joy Fox, not getting a put in rehearsal, just sitting down and interviewing an Elphaba. It's in us. It's in us. Some people are born to play Elphaba. Some people are born to talk to Elphaba. And neither of those groups need to dance.

[1:11:59] Quincy Brown: On that note, welcome to the new Auntie Theoderlea era. I'm realizing now we've recorded the next episode you all are going to hear from us before this episode. And the next episode is when we introduce the concept of Auntie Theoderlea. So that's a little bit of continuation for you all. But just know, we're excited to be in this era. Auntie Theoderlea is here to help. Auntie Theoderlea is going to get us backstage at the Kennedy Center for Sunset Boulevard.

[1:12:25] Kevin Bianchi: I love to imagine Auntie Theoderlea like listening to these episodes like I'm going to do what with the Kennedy Center?

[1:12:35] Quincy Brown: I'm waiting. I don't think we should bring it up to the powers that be at Auntie Theoderlea and wait to see when they bring it up to us.

[1:12:44] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, to make sure they're listening?

[1:12:49] Quincy Brown: Yeah, to make sure they're paying attention.

[1:12:53] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Okay. I think it'll probably be like the day after.

[1:12:57] Quincy Brown: But okay. Let's get let's see if we catch them.

[1:13:02] Kevin Bianchi: You've been listening to Sentimental Men from Theoderlea. This episode was produced by Quincy Brown, Kevin Bianchi and the team at Theoderlea. Thanks to Anthony Abitangelo, the most swankified podcast editor in town. And another thanks to Michaela Reynolds for making us look downright osmopolitan in our new key art and to Julia DiMarzo for our logo design. If you want to get in touch, send us an email. We love to hear from you all. You can reach us at sentmenpod at Theoderlea.com. That's T-H-E-A-T-R-E-L-Y. You can also connect with us across social media on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok at sentmenpod. Thanks for tuning in. Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[1:13:39] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.

[1:13:43] Quincy Brown: All right, everyone. Happy Wicked Day to all and to all a good night.