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[0:00] Quincy Brown: I was like, great. No, I haven't slept. Like, I'm nervous. I don't know where I am. It was just MD's like, oh, she's edgy. She has such a good tone. She's like, ooh, love that group, that rasp, that grasp. I love the noise.

[0:23] Quincy Brown: My name's Quincy.

[0:25] Kevin Bianchi: And my name's Kevin.

[0:26] Quincy Brown: And this is Sentimental Men from Broadway Podcast Network. We are here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:37] Kevin Bianchi: I don't know why I'm fighting. Quincy, this is now the third episode.

[0:47] Quincy Brown: Oh, you guys, we saw Sunset Boulevard starring Stephanie J. Block at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Quincy, I'm excited to talk about this with you because we kind of purposefully like haven't really talked about it since we saw it. So this is all gonna be fresh. So Kevin and I saw it on different nights. Kevin saw it on Friday, and I saw it on Saturday night because that's how scheduling played out. And we did have a second on Saturday to kind of like touch base, but just the spark notes.

[1:16] Kevin Bianchi: Just the spark notes, yeah. And because you hadn't seen it yet, I was kind of just like prepping you. I wasn't really sharing opinions.

[1:29] Quincy Brown: Okay, where do we begin? Let's begin with Derek Klenna.

[1:33] Kevin Bianchi: Who you told me, Kevin, you told you were like he sings it really well, which I thought was an interesting, not because he's a bad singer or anything, I just thought it was like an interesting thing to point out about like the production. And then sitting in the audience, I was like, oh no, he sings it very well. Very weird.

[1:48] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. And I was even surprised because it's like, obviously, I know he's a good singer. Like that's not what was surprising, but it was just kind of like, I don't know, like a part of his voice that I hadn't really heard. I've never heard him sing that way before.

[2:01] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and it was such like a different kind of leading man. Like it was a little more grown up, a little more adult, as opposed to like the young, charming Fiero prince of it all.

[2:12] Kevin Bianchi: Well, and I was kind of thinking that exact thought during the performance. I was like, this was kind of a brilliant thing for him to do in his career because we know Derek Klenna as playing the teenager in Jagged Little Pill, as a Fiero type, as a my Petersburg type in Anastasia, even a Christian in Moulin Rouge, like this kind of set him. This was his way of saying in my mind, hello world, look at me. I am a leading man in Capital L, Capital M.

[2:39] Quincy Brown: I agree. I agree. It was a very smart career move for him. And I think like even just the esteem of saying, Oh yeah, I did Sunset Boulevard at the Kennedy Center with Stephanie J. Block. That's like such a huge, that's like three, one, two, three, impressive, impressive, impressive.

[2:59] Kevin Bianchi: This was a theatrical event. Like, let's just say that. This felt so special.

[3:03] Quincy Brown: It was. It's definitely gonna be one of those things that like for decades the gays are gonna be like, Well, did you see Stephanie J. at the Kennedy Center?

[3:12] Kevin Bianchi: It's gonna be like, And listeners, I've been seeing bootleg clips floating around. If someone has a full video, just send it to us because that we'd need to have on record.

[3:21] Quincy Brown: Yeah, yeah. It was well, okay. We can't get to her yet. We can't get to her yet. Um, no, Derek Klenna, he sang it really well. He looked amazing, obviously. I thought the acting was all there. And here's the thing. Joe is such Joe is the type of part that I feel like you could just slot in any musical theater guy, and it would be fine enough.

[3:39] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, any tenor.

[3:40] Quincy Brown: Yeah, but I feel like Derek really brought an energy to it and a point of view to it that made him engaging to watch in a way that I have not always clocked Joe's in productions of Sunset Boulevard. Something else I loved about Derek is he knew the show was about Norma and about Stephanie J. Block. Because as excellent as he was, when he was not supposed to be the focus, he wasn't. Like he really knew when to like give energy instead of receive it, kind of thing.

[4:11] Kevin Bianchi: I don't know. I thought it was it's always nice to see kind of like Fiero in that it's like you need a leading man, even though it's not the leading man of the show.

[4:22] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and I thought he struck that balance really well. Do you have general things you want to say about the production? I know we're just like edging to talk about Miss SJB.

[4:32] Kevin Bianchi: The set was cool. I love the projections. Uh Stephanie's costumes were exquisite. I thought the car situation that was happening, the like lights with the cars. I was like, you know what? This is working for me in a way that I don't think I would have thought it worked if you had described it to me.

[4:46] Quincy Brown: Yeah. That was fun. A little blinding, but fun.

[4:49] Kevin Bianchi: You mentioned Stephanie's costumes. Do you want to share your thesis about the wig?

[4:53] Quincy Brown: I would love to okay. Well, first I just want to say the gowns, the capes, the robes, each one the hair, the hair, yeah, literally, eyes, hair, mouth, figure. Um the robes were great. Every time she came out on stage, it got a little from me because it was each one was so beautiful. The New Year's one when he was twirling her. Stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. Perfect.

[5:23] Kevin Bianchi: The last thing I'll say about costumes, and then we'll get into it. I believe in my heart of hearts, and maybe this is the equivalent of saying she did an alphabet in Into the Woods, but I believe in my heart of hearts that Stephanie J. Block was wearing her Reno Sweeney wig at the Kennedy Center.

[5:43] Quincy Brown: I don't believe that because when I saw the photos, that was the first thing I thought of.

[5:48] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Do you genuinely think it is the actual wig though, or is it kind of a similar wig?

[5:54] Quincy Brown: I think it is, and here's why because they were not gonna make a wig for this production. Like they were not gonna make her a fresh wig to be worn for eight performances. And so I would bet that they called whatever shop made the wig last time because you know if they're gonna be.

[6:26] Kevin Bianchi: I mean, I think we'll find out. I think we post this on social and then she'll let us know.

[6:30] Quincy Brown: It was a really great wig. It was a beautiful wig. It is not a wig that I would have imagined for Norma Desmond, but it worked perfectly when I saw it.

[6:38] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I agree. I mean, ugh, she just looked so good. Quincy, the two light cues, the first one at the end of with one look coming straight down. Stunning. But when he said, Let's get a better look at you and turn that spotlight on, first of all, I had only ever seen it done where she's like, you know, talking to somebody up there, saying, like, who are you? And then it's like a front and spotlight. But for her, that like over the shoulder backlit. Oh, oh my god. Fully like it was stunning.

[7:11] Quincy Brown: It was stunning. It was, it was a whole three act play in and of itself. It was such a beautiful moment. Gorgeous picture. Which she was so good at the like gazing hands, flowing. And slowly moves. It was relishing in the moment. It was beautiful.

[7:29] Kevin Bianchi: It was great. Okay, so let's get into let's get into it.

[7:32] Quincy Brown: Okay. There's a lot of show before Norma Desmond enters.

[7:35] Kevin Bianchi: There's a lot of show.

[7:36] Quincy Brown: And boys. Which I was living for. And then she, how is the applause on your night? Because entrance applause for everyone, first of all. But then when she came on stage, it was like applause all the time.

[7:48] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was big, big entrance applause. Which is I think is fun because like in the context of that moment, like the punchline of that whole moment is that it's the monkey. And so like the bigger and more like over the top, sad and dramatic and like mourning she is, the funnier that joke ends up being. And so like when she came down, I mean, she was just like throwing, draping herself on the banister and like touching the sunglasses and like all this crazy, you know, not milking it, but really like leaning into it, and people were just going nuts every time she like did a new beat.

[8:25] Quincy Brown: You know what I loved about seeing it with such a raucous audience is it kind of added this meta layer. And you're either gonna love this because it feels up your dramaturgical alley, or I already know what you're gonna say, and I agree. It added this meta layer of like, okay, when she comes down the staircase and gets entrance applause, like that is what's in her head right now, and that is her fantasy that she's living in.

[8:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[8:47] Quincy Brown: Do you love that?

[8:48] Kevin Bianchi: I do love that. We are kind of experiencing her strictly as spectators when she comes in, and so it's kind of a meta layer for the audience too, because it's like, oh, we're those 30,000 fans who were who were screaming and cheering. There's this kind of the people in the dark. But there's this weird like blurring of the lines between Norma and Stephanie in those moments entrance applause or the standing ovation after as if we never said goodbye. If we're watching this musical about diva worship as we are actively partaking in diva worship.

[9:22] Quincy Brown: In diva worship. Oh my god. That bring it to Broadway. Sorry. With that framing, and you just put in Divas. Come on, like, let's do it. Maybe some people have feelings about this, but I love the model of like quick little stints. In this economy too, let's do it.

[9:41] Kevin Bianchi: Well, and it's like, wouldn't you love Sunset Boulevard? Where like you get Stephanie J, and then you get like Daphne Rubin Vega, and then you get like just all the ladies. Alice Ripley. Anyone who's ever been on this podcast, Julia Murney, put her in.

[9:55] Quincy Brown: Julia Murney. Sorry, let's get back to the witch at hand though. So she sings. The first thing she sings is Surrender, which is the ode to the monkey. And it was beautiful.

[10:08] Kevin Bianchi: Well, I loved about her vocal performance in the show. Like overall, is she was so to me at least, it felt so like deliberate and intentional, like when she was using the head voice and when she was using the mix and when she was using the chest. And it was like the access she has to her head voice is very impressive.

[10:27] Quincy Brown: It's stunning. I mean, we knew she had a soprano red. Like we've heard her sing like that before, but hearing it in the arc of a show and like hearing her use it as storytelling and not just because it's a song written in that range, and like the way that her weakest moments were in that head voice, and then she was so selective of when we got the Stephanie J belt. I mean, it was a masterclass.

[10:52] Kevin Bianchi: It was, it was the Stephanie J belt. It was great. I have no notes. I have nothing but nice things to say. It was kind of thrilling to see.

[11:00] Quincy Brown: I have a thought that I'm not sure I know how to articulate. It was thrilling to see an actress of her stature in a role that required her to work so hard. Not that it was evident that she was working, but just that role is such a beast. And I feel like it's such a treat to get these big divas in roles like that, and not maybe like Park and Bark, like easier roles. I don't know if easy's the right word. What am I saying? Less taxing.

[11:27] Kevin Bianchi: I know what you're saying. It's like gypsy or hello dolly. It's like a big stake, as L Morgan would put it.

[11:30] Quincy Brown: A big stake.

[11:35] Kevin Bianchi: Another callback. That you just you get the fork and the knife, you chew a little piece, then you move on to the next piece.

[11:41] Quincy Brown: That's what I'm trying to say. It was thrilling to see Stephanie J. Block eat her steak on stage.

[11:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. And eat her steak. Because like the baker's wife is obviously very demanding, but she's not carrying that whole show.

[11:54] Quincy Brown: Right? That's what I mean. Where like the Baker's wife is like this iconic role, but it didn't feel like this.

[11:59] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I agree. It was so great to see her in a true like leading lady moment. Doing it. Doing what we all know she can do. We all knew she could do it.

[12:10] Quincy Brown: I have a take.

[12:11] Kevin Bianchi: Tell it to me.

[12:12] Quincy Brown: I think for me, with one look did more for me than as if we never said goodbye.

[12:18] Kevin Bianchi: Ooh.

[12:19] Quincy Brown: Which is not a take I would have expected to have, but her performance of With One Look was is sensational.

[12:25] Kevin Bianchi: It was beautiful.

[12:26] Quincy Brown: It was so it was lovely to tie in with that take. I think that Stephanie gave us a Norma who was perhaps easier to empathize with than usual, or like then what's kind of the norm.

[12:42] Kevin Bianchi: And I think she set that groundwork in with one look.

[12:47] Quincy Brown: Because it was the mental illness of it all in her portrayal, I agree was much more empathizable than in other portraits. Like there was it felt very real.

[12:57] Kevin Bianchi: I think there was no joke. It can become very heightened very quickly, which is so funny because we haven't even talked about it yet. But she was such a funny Norma.

[13:08] Quincy Brown: So for you to say there's no joke about it, it's that's true, but she also was so so hilarious and making such interesting choices that I don't think have been done before, at least in my purview, that made the character so funny and fresh and modern in a way.

[13:22] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Before we talk about her being funny, I want to say another moment that hit me the same way with one look did is when they're watching Joan of Arc and the what she's watching is happening behind her, like staging-wise, what she's watching is happening behind her. And so we're just like watching Stephanie act out into the ether, like quote unquote watching this movie, and it was like seeing her reaction to her younger self and then like the moments where she was being like, you know, told she had to lose weight, and like subject to all this stuff from the studio execs, it was like it brought like um almost like a Judy Garland layer to it where it was like, oh, like this, this is a sad, sad person who's doing her best to remember the good stuff.

[14:09] Quincy Brown: It's funny you bring that Joan of Arc scene up because after my friends were talking about that like weight thing that happened where they weighed her or something.

[14:16] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[14:17] Quincy Brown: And that happened on the with the young Stephanie J. Block behind as she's watching the screen.

[14:21] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[14:22] Quincy Brown: See, I think I was like focusing so hardly on SJB that I literally had no idea what happened.

[14:28] Kevin Bianchi: So they were talking about, oh yeah, like they added that like her getting weighed thing.

[14:31] Quincy Brown: And I was like, what are you even talking about? When?

[14:33] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[14:33] Quincy Brown: They did so they had like she was doing a scene from Joan of Arc was happening back here.

[14:39] Kevin Bianchi: It was like two ensemble actors doing kind of like a pantomime of a Joan of Arc scene.

[14:44] Quincy Brown: And then they cut, and like the director came out, and like they're taking her out of her costume and putting her back in like her street clothes, and then somebody comes out with a scale and they measure it and they do the whole like do dun dun. And like, and then they kind of like yell at her.

[15:02] Kevin Bianchi: Wow, that's a lot going on for that little pantomime back there.

[15:05] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it was a but it was obviously it wasn't distracting because like it didn't pull your focus at all. It was so impressive to watch her react in time with something that she couldn't see in such a beautiful way.

[15:22] Kevin Bianchi: It was just it was it was great.

[15:24] Quincy Brown: I agree. I thought her quiet moments were so lovely. Another one of those moments is um when Joe is like, I'm I'm leaving, like I'm packing a bag, I'm leaving. And I think it's New Year's Eve, and she's like, You can't leave. And she like tries to get him not to leave. She had a moment where she was like on his chest, and you saw in her face, like all like, please don't go, I'm desperate not to have you go, then like the crazy angry, then the like masking of that crazy angry, then the desperation again. And I was like, Oh my god, she's an actress.

[15:54] Kevin Bianchi: She is an actress. I thought she built the overall like descent into madness, like descent into the worst of it. I thought she timed that and built it so beautifully because it snuck up on you where it was like, oh, now she's got a gun. Like she she like built, which is funny to say, like she built the decline in such a way that it was like you didn't clock it happening until it was too late to fix it, which is like just what Joe goes through. You know what I mean?

[16:26] Quincy Brown: Oh, that's another thing I liked about this production directed by Sammy Connold, is they didn't start it with Joe being dead in the pool. And so by the time Joe actually gets killed, like there were audible gasps in the audience. And I was like, oh yeah, I guess you do kind of lose that shock moment if the play starts with you know he's dead, right? Like if you had never seen it and you didn't know he was dead. I thought that was a really cool choice that paid off.

[16:49] Kevin Bianchi: I will also say, I think that Derek and Stephanie had chemistry together.

[16:54] Quincy Brown: Mm-hmm.

[16:55] Kevin Bianchi: Like the super toxic part after she tries to slit her wrists, and that somehow gets Joe to love her or whatever. Which was like so unbelievably toxic, I forgot how bad.

[17:04] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[17:05] Kevin Bianchi: It's a different conversation. But still, once they got Lovey Dovey, I was like, oh shit, they have chemistry.

[17:12] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and then I loved like seeing her Norma become more playful once they were like in whatever relationship they're in. Like when she would like do the little like butt bump and like yeah, so cute.

[17:27] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, poor Norman. The lady is paying.

[17:29] Quincy Brown: Ugh. I was waiting for that final on a man line. And I know you got it.

[17:35] Kevin Bianchi: No, I mean, it was really, really sensational. Congratulations to everyone involved with that production. And the kind of congratulations to Miss SJB.

[17:46] Quincy Brown: Five seconds. Thrilled that you did this. Maybe Hello Dolly in like next season.

[17:52] Kevin Bianchi: I would love to. That could be fun. I would love for the Kennedy Center to have like one SJB passion project every season.

[17:57] Quincy Brown: I think that's great. An SJB residency at the Kennedy Center. She's just doing her dream roles. I love it.

[18:05] Kevin Bianchi: I would also just like, I would like her and Sebastian to do Hello Dolly when they're the right age for it. Because I think he would be great as Horace. Obviously, she was it you that told me you wanted to see SJB as Love It, or was that someone else this weekend?

[18:19] Quincy Brown: I don't know if that was me, but I'll take it. My last sunset thought is the night I saw it, Stephanie J got at I'm gonna say at least 45 seconds to a minute standing ovation mid-show after as if we never said goodbye. And if I could have, I would have done that about four other times during the show, four or five other times. That's how brilliant she was.

[18:43] Kevin Bianchi: And I need to know if she's a with one look Norma. And if we never said goodbye, we never said or uh what would the third one be? Surrender, maybe we start with the code.

[18:53] Quincy Brown: Surrender, a surrender Norma, a with one look Norma. Also, wait, that's a good one. Or a monologue Norma at the end. It's her no good deed moment. The fact that she does surrender like straight into with one look, that's a lot.

[19:11] Kevin Bianchi: Surrender feels like a nice warmup though. It feels it feels chilly.

[19:13] Quincy Brown: It is, but emotionally, that's a lot off the bat. That's the emotional wizard and I.

[19:22] Kevin Bianchi: I love Sansa Boulevard so so much. Was this so great for you? Do you feel like I felt after Into the Woods?

[19:30] Quincy Brown: That's what I kept thinking as I was watching it. I was like, I can't believe we got these two performances in the top half of the year, no less. I said the fact that Stephanie J. Block has given us Baker's wife already on Broadway and has already given us Norma Desmond and is now about to hit the road and into the woods on tour.

[19:48] Kevin Bianchi: I know. We remember 2023 as if your Stephanie J. Block went back to work.

[19:54] Quincy Brown: She is she's here. She said, I'm here, I'm available, and I have a Tony Award. It's gonna do it. Special shout out to the fact that she is going back into the woods, into into the woods, like directly. They're already rehearsing, and she has her first performance as the Baker's wife nine days after she closes Sunset Boulevard.

[20:17] Kevin Bianchi: That Baker's wife is gonna be dark. Because you can't just shake off, you know what I mean? Like that moment's in the woods, I would like to see it.

[20:28] Quincy Brown: Also, Queen and Android Weber and a Sondheim show in the same season.

[20:32] Kevin Bianchi: No, seriously. It's really wild.

[20:34] Quincy Brown: It's really, really wild. No, it's so funny because she likes post stories of like people, her casting into the woods rehearsing, and she's like, I'll be there soon. And I'm like, girl, take a break.

[20:45] Kevin Bianchi: I hope she has a day off. And it's not just like a travel day.

[20:49] Quincy Brown: Oh, I wanted our last thought to be that super sweet listener that we met outside of the Kennedy Center. Bill. He was it was so nice talking to him. I have been thinking about Bill and how kind he was and what nice things he said to us. So it was so sweet.

[21:08] Kevin Bianchi: And yeah, I mean, Bill, if you're I think you're probably listening because you said you listened, but if thank you. You really you made our day. So thank you very much. Shout out, Bill.

[21:17] Quincy Brown: Bill's the best. My boy Bill.

[21:20] Kevin Bianchi: All right. Should we get to the matter at hand today?

[21:25] Quincy Brown: Yes. Because on top of Sunset Boulevard, we have a terrific episode to do today.

[21:29] Kevin Bianchi: Who would have thunk? Jam-packed episode.

[21:32] Quincy Brown: We have a jam-packed episode today because with us today is Miss Lissa DeGuzman from the National Tour of Wicked, current Alphaba. I feel like Lissa has been making waves online. Everyone is chitter chattering about her and how excited they are to see her portrayal in the role and the things that she's doing in this portrayal. You all have really been asking us for a while to talk with her. And here we are. We're doing it. And the time has come. I'm excited, Quincy, to hear her answer to the Wizard and I Define Gravity No Good Deed question. Because from the outside, I couldn't tell you, because they're all great. You know what I mean?

[22:13] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, should we guess? If I had to guess, I would put her as a wizard and I alphabet because of that inspired option that we must talk about her with that she does in the end of it.

[22:23] Quincy Brown: I'm gonna say no good deed because it sounds the most fun. Like she sounds like she has the most fun when she's singing that. It sounds like that's her moment where she's like, fuck yeah, I'm Lissa and I am playing Alphabet. Green girls just wanna have fun.

[22:37] Kevin Bianchi: Um do you want to read through the resume?

[22:40] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I would love to learn a little bit more. In 2017, Lissa joined the National Tour of Aladdin swinging and understudying Jasmine. So that was in 2017, and then by 2018, they said, Oh, this bitch, bump her up to full-time Jasmine, Aladdin National Tour. In 2001, she's on Broadway in the ensemble of King Kong, understudying the leading role of Anne Darrow.

[23:07] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my god, Quincy, that ensemble were like Olympians. They worked so hard.

[23:12] Quincy Brown: They were swinging, they're throwing big puppets around. The choreography was like every beat was choreographed. Like they were working so hard. Alphabet must be a breeze after that.

[23:27] Kevin Bianchi: After the pandemic in 2021, Lissa was in the reopening cast of Aladdin on Broadway in the ensemble and understudying Jasmine. In addition to all of those credits, regionally, Miss Lissa has done Maria in West Side Story. I need the boot. She also was in like Fiddler at the Muni. She did the Judy Garland musical at Good Speed. She was in Bliss at the Fifth Avenue, which is like a cult classic favorite obsession of mine. Niche baby. So she's working, she's busy, and now she's Alphabah. God bless.

[23:58] Quincy Brown: And this tour cast really does feel like it has some sort of special Geneseiqua to it. So I'm very excited that we're finally getting the opportunity to talk to Lissa. It has been on the docket for a while.

[24:10] Kevin Bianchi: I know. I really like this cast too. And I think it I like that they're coming in like in groups. Like I like, well, obviously, because with the reopening, like they all got to rehearse together, and now like this unit came in all around the same time. I wonder if they'll keep that.

[24:25] Quincy Brown: I think it is beneficial to the whole cast when they do it.

[24:28] Kevin Bianchi: Because they're kind of doing it on Broadway too, right?

[24:30] Quincy Brown: Oh, that's kind of cool if we lean more a little West End now.

[24:33] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Well, I guess because like with the reopening, everybody's contracts kind of like, yeah, like are now like ending right around the same time.

[24:41] Quincy Brown: Yeah. That's exciting. Because I think it helps with the chemistry.

[24:44] Kevin Bianchi: Did I say that already?

[24:45] Quincy Brown: You did, but uh thank you for saying it again.

[24:49] Kevin Bianchi: Should we get into this interview with Miss Lissa?

[24:51] Quincy Brown: Yes, please. I'm excited. Let's do it.

[24:57] Lissa deGuzman: Thank you so much for joining us on Sentimental End today.

[25:02] Lissa deGuzman: Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.

[25:04] Lissa deGuzman: Feels like this has been a long time coming.

[25:06] Quincy Brown: I was gonna say, we've wanted to have you, and it's just like now the timing is perfect.

[25:10] Lissa deGuzman: It is perfect.

[25:10] Quincy Brown: And the stars are aligning. We're so happy to have you.

[25:13] Lissa deGuzman: Yes. I know. I feel like you're not officially in Wicked until you're like sitting in this doing this.

[25:17] Quincy Brown: So now I feel official.

[25:18] Lissa deGuzman: Wow, put that on a t-shirt.

[25:23] Quincy Brown: All right. So we start every interview with how did Wicked come into your life as a person. So not necessarily as an actress, but what was your first touch point with Wicked?

[25:32] Lissa deGuzman: Great question. Yes. My first interaction with Wicked was I think I was in second grade. And my oldest brother, who's about nine years older than I am, he had just come back from New York. He had seen the show and brought back the soundtrack.

[25:46] Lissa deGuzman: Because your brother's a performer too, right?

[25:47] Lissa deGuzman: He is, yes, yes.

[25:48] Quincy Brown: Gotcha. So yeah, he was like, what is this new musical? When stop, brought back the soundtrack. He was like, you have to listen to this.

[25:53] Lissa deGuzman: And I listened to the whole thing all the way through and was in love. And I was obsessed with popular, obsessed with like obsessed with the ones you would of course assume that everyone was obsessed with. Popular and defined gravity, I listened to nonstop. Yeah, so that was my first exposure, and I was like, this is amazing.

[26:12] Quincy Brown: And then you wanted to be a performer. Like it wasn't this wasn't a thing that randomly came out of nowhere, right?

[26:17] Lissa deGuzman: Correct. You had a dentist era.

[26:21] Quincy Brown: Yes. Yes.

[26:22] Lissa deGuzman: You done your research.

[26:24] Quincy Brown: Did my research. Um yes. Yes, I actually, yes. So I was really in, I wasn't like full throttle theater right away. I was exposed to the world because my brother did it, and he knew from the age of like nine, he knew he wanted to go into theater. But I played soccer and basketball, and I was, you know, academically smart. So I just had a lot of other things going on. I wasn't focused on theater. And yeah, in high school, I was, you know, when everyone is starting to think about college and what they want to do. And I was I wanted to be a dermatologist. So like, you know, dermatologist.

[26:56] Lissa deGuzman: You were you're right, like doctor starting with a D, you got it. Um a dermatologist, and my parents were super excited. My dad would drive me past like our dermatologist's house and be like, look at what you could have. Like, all of these I know, I know. I know. I still I still remember the house vividly too. Like, if I were to go home, I could drive past it and point it out and be like, that's Dr. Zerbel. Shout out, Dr. Zerbel. Look at me now. Uh, yes, and then it was like junior year. I was doing Suzical the musical, and my director after the show are you into nice. I was Gertrude McFuzz. And and at that point, like I hadn't decided I wanted to go into it, so I was like going all out. I had created this whole character, every moment had like something going on.

Like I was living my life. The craft, you know, you know, it lived within me. And my uh director pulled me aside after the show and was like, you have the talent to do this if you really buckle down and you know, in in all the disciplines, singing, dancing, and acting, and yeah, buckle down and work on those. You could really make this a career.

[27:59] Lissa deGuzman: And I was like, okay, that's really all I needed. I just needed one person to be like, you can do this if you work hard. Um, validate you. Yeah. And so I remember at parent teacher conferences, like the next parent teacher conference, he helped me tell my parents that that's what I wanted to do. And they were not, they weren't too keen on it. I literally, and I was so nervous. Mom, I was so nervous because like they were like, not another one. Because my brother had gone into it. Exactly. Because they already had one. Exactly. They were like, and they had five kids, so they were like, let's hope these other four, let's hope these other four are good. And they weren't. But yeah, so that's when I really decided to go for it.

It was like junior year. Yep, I had my dermatology phase and then decided to go theater. So once you set your sights on the musical theater track in life, was Elphaba always in the back of your head, or were we not thinking that far ahead yet? Oh, it was always in the back of my head, but I was just way too afraid to say it out loud for multiple reasons because it's so iconic and amazing, and also every girl in musical theater says they want to be Elphaba. And I was like, I can't just like, you know, go along with that. So I kept it to myself when you know exactly. I didn't want to be a basic girly, but I am a basic girly. So yeah, I always wanted it, never really spoke it out loud until like I want to say maybe right before the pandemic or during the pandemic is when I really started to like tell my friends.

I was like, I'm gonna be this, like I will because it just, oh wow, it was I was finally like this is actually something that is not just something I want, but something I can do and will do and do and gotta manifest. So then when the pandemic hit, obviously, like wha wah for everybody, but did you feel any kind of like special halt because you had just like reached that new point where you were like, okay, I'm ready to go for the next thing? Kind of. I am a very optimistic person, so I'm always like it was trying to see the positives in that time. And I feel like it sort of reset everyone who is in theater. It just sort of reset our basis for an understanding of what we do and why we do it and why we want it to come back and how we feel about it and how special it is.

So yeah, it was obviously want-wah, but then it also was like we're all at the same level again, and we all get to come back like guns a-blazin'. We're saying what we want, like we're standing up for what we think is right and how we should be treated and all this. Like it just sort of reset the standard for where theater was gonna go. And so yeah, I felt like I kind of had a clean slate to come back to from the pandemic, being like, not like this is a new me. Yeah, but be like, I'm standing in my power this time instead of being like, I just moved to New York. Okay. Yeah. Especially because at that point you had covered two leading lady roles on Broadway. Right, yeah. So I imagine you had built your confidence up.

Right. I was like, yeah, I'm coming back with like credits and like good work that I've done, making, you know, making a good name for myself. And standing in my power more to say no to things that I don't necessarily want and need. Which we just had Lena Hall on, and she talked about how that can be difficult as an actress to try and craft a career for yourself, but also there's a very real like financial side of life that like sometimes you just need to do a job. Oh, yeah. And along with that financial side is at the end of the day, if we all want to be wanted, we all want to have that affirmation no matter what it is, of being like, I'm doing something at all times when that's not necessarily the best thing to do.

Sometimes you do have to set a standard for yourself, which for me is really hard. So, how did we begin working towards Elphaba? Were we whispering in our agent's ear post-pandemic? Walk us through that. What brought you to your first audition? Yes, we my agents are amazing. I love them so much. And they already were totally on the bandwagon. They were like, Yes, you will be. Well, let's get you in there. So they had already thought about that during the pandemic, and right after, I think is when they were doing a sort of required call for self-tapes, of course, because it was everything was only self-tapes. Oh. Yeah. And so I think it was like November of 2021. So Broadway just came back, everything was sort of coming back to life, and there was a required call for self-tapes.

And I remember doing those self-tapes, and my agent and I would talk about them and then I would redo them too because he knows Wicked so well. He has many, many clients in Wicked. And so he knows. And you're in Aladdin at this point too, right? Yes. Yep. I was swinging in Aladdin at this point. And so yeah, he knew exactly what the Wicked people would want. So he had me redo some tapes, which is amazing. And I was like, I trust you. So yes. What were you doing in the tapes specifically? I was doing um the end of "Wizard and I," end of "Defying Gravity," and the um cub scene with Fiero. Yeah, okay. So just those three. Yeah. Wait, can I pause for a question about the self-tape of it all? Because this is kind of a unique Elphaba journey.

So, okay, I am curious how much of a perfectionist are you with a self-tape? I feel like we hear a lot of the girls say, I went into the room, like I didn't care. I was wearing jeans, whatever, because it's like a moment in time. But are you like sitting, like obsessing over every detail of watching yourself belt like that too on tape? That's right. Yeah, like how talk about that because nobody's ever had to do that on our podcast before. Well, this is a great question. Ooh. And anyone who knows me and listening to this is like, oh yeah, buckle up. Yes, I am a perfectionist, and I essentially say any friendship or relationship that has survived a self-tape with me is so much stronger because of it.

Like if we can survive that, we can survive anything. No, it's so true. Um so yes, I am a perfectionist, especially with stuff that I want, like stuff that I know is right, know that I'm right for, and stuff I want. And so, yes, I was definitely a perfectionist. And yes, imagine watching yourself sing the end of "Defying Gravity" standing in your bedroom with a ring light on you, uh, like trying to act like it's a little bit more. Deciding the difference between two tiny things, you know what I mean? Like with the case, and like trying to sound a certain way. Yes. Right. Also, you're trying to give an on-camera performance while you're belting a Z. And and while singing with accompaniment that's already recorded because they pre-record it and give it to you.

You have to be with their timing. They're not following you. You have to be listening to your computer speaker while trying to stay in time and act in it's in a New York apartment. On your one day off. Your neighbors are banging on the wall. Oh, neighbors were pissed. My roommates were pissed. I was living with my brother and my best friend Olivia, and they were like, I remember I remember asking them, I was like, okay, I have to do an Elphaba self-tape on Monday. Um, if you need to go somewhere, I'll pay for your coffee. Like, I will I understand. But they were like, you gotta do what you gotta do, so do it. Um, yeah, they listened to me singing that way too many times. Yeah, and then you get to a point you get to a point where you've sang "Wizard and I," you know, nine times, and you're like, okay, it's almost perfect.

I can do that one thing perfectly, I'll try it again. And then it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse because you've done it so many times. So when in the room, it's like, okay, I did it, and it was what it was, and you don't get a chance to make it better. It's like such a mm-hmm. Yeah, and in the room, you at least like in the room you have like, I think it's good adrenaline because you're like feeding off of energies and like the piano, piano players with you, and like the readers giving you good energy. Like, there's just a lot of good things that help you present yourself in a in a room, and you get to then sort of like leave it alone and not watch it, not have to watch it and pick it.

Right. So, yeah, self-tapes for Elphaba. Yeah, exactly. See if it's been downloaded, if you how many downloaded exactly. Now I'm sure it's a nice relic to have. They're really, really funny to rewatch. Oh, and then you have to send it to your agents and have like, you know, that middle person watch it and be like, oh tell me what you think. So, what was the feedback you were getting from your agents as you were going back and forth with the self-tape? It was mainly just uh specific moments and how to sing them. Like, I think I was trying to show that I could belt and mix and like act at the same time when he was like, it like at this point, just show them that you can sing it. So uh it was made specifics on yeah, how to sing certain moments.

Yeah, so not not huge fixes. And I personally love getting feedback on self-tapes because you know your agents know what they're doing. Okay, so we submit the self-tape. Yeah, we submit the self-tape, just two songs in a scene, and don't hear anything until January-ish. So that was in November. So yeah, you know, Christmas time, no one's responding to anything. So, you know, you agonize over the self-tape, and then you don't hear anything, and you're like, Well, that was fun. Yeah, but heard in January um that they're interested and they would like me to record one more scene. And it was the scene with Glinda, the uh we call it the foul fallen house scene, but it's like the cat fight scene between them, which I love that scene.

So that was really fun to do. And so you know, that got me excited again, like, oh, they're interested. At least it's not a no at this point. And then after I had submitted that scene, they came back and they said we'd love to have two work sessions the next week on a Tuesday and a Wednesday. What were you thinking when you got that? Was that exciting or was that nerve-wracking? Both, both. Okay, very exciting because it was like the it was the first time I was actually going to be seen in a room for Elphaba, which again, we all prefer over self-tapes. I guess I shouldn't speak for everyone. I prefer over self-tapes. I think it's a fair I I think it's fair as well, but yeah. So I was really excited, and of and you know, luckily I already knew all the material, so it wasn't like I had to hurry up and learn material, it was maybe just brushing it off and calming myself down.

Yeah, so it's really exciting. It was a Tuesday and a Wednesday. The Tuesday was with the associate director, and then the Wednesday was with the associate director and the music director on Broadway. And they called them work sessions, and I was like, You can call them whatever you want, these are definitely auditions, yeah. Yeah, yeah. And Tuesday was I did all the material, and then she sort of gave me all the information on what should be happening in each moment, like what's the journey, what Elphaba is for the first act versus the second act, and you know, uh where the scene should go and how she should be, you know, just sort of giving you all the information on the character and what they want for these songs.

And then the second day I went in and did all the material and they didn't say anything. They just, I think they just said, thank you. Or she said, she said, Oh, you kept all my notes. Thank you. And I was like, Yes. Bye. I guess that's affirming to hear that you succeeded in doing all the notes. Right, right. And I was like, you know what? If that's the only thing I did right, then find me. Um and I remember texting my agent, and I was like, either it went well or they are not interested in any way, shape, or form. Um, because it was just so quick. I just did all the material once and then left. Um so it was I had nothing to say. And wait, when you're auditioning now, did you know it was for lead on tour, or was it kind of just to be in the Elphaba universe?

Good question. It will I did know that there was um an opening on tour, and I knew that it had to start in February. And so this is in January. So it's quick. Yeah, but they did they said all I knew is that was that that was the opening. They never really specified if like this audition was to fill that role or if it was for files or whatever. I just knew that there was an opening to for Elphaba on tour in February. Gotcha. And did you want to jump right into principal? Because sometimes we hear from the other ladies that they enjoyed standing by first and learning the ropes and then moving up to principal. I did. I um had understudied in previous shows and had an amazing time, but I just was ready to not understudy.

So yeah, I was ready to jump into the role. Yeah. So did that second work session and didn't hear anything for the rest of the week. I knew my agent said that he knew that they were interested and to wait to hear about the next steps. And so I was like, okay, this is gonna be the beginning of like, you know, maybe a three-week journey, a three-year journey. Like this couldn't just could be at least at least it's not a no, is that what I remember telling myself. So yeah, that week went by, and then the next Friday is when my agent called me and told me that I was gonna be Elphaba on the tour. So it came out of nowhere. No next step. This feels like a super unique process. We normally hear a lot of back and forth and time.

This feels like it happened very quickly for you. Yes, it happened all very quickly because that Friday was February fourth, and I had to be in on tour with them on February 20th. Wow. And were you mentally prepared for that because you knew that opening was there, or it was still a lot? It was still a lot. It was still a lot. And I had a job at the time too. A job where you're supposed to give many weeks in advance. So it was a lot, a lot, a lot all at once. And while I knew it would be quick and I knew there was the opening in February, I didn't they didn't tell exact dates, so I did not know how quick it would be. So it was a lot. Yeah. Okay. So now what was the rehearsal process? Because you were brand spanking new to Wicked.

There was like no prior context. Yes. I had four weeks of rehearsal, two weeks were completely by myself, occasionally weaving in my Glinda and Fiero, but mainly by myself. And then the next two weeks were when we all did you rehearse in New York at all, or do you only rehearse on the road?

[41:59] Lissa deGuzman: Went straight to they were in Costa Mesa at the time. So I rehearsed for two weeks with them in Costa Mesa and then, uh, two weeks in Spokane, Washington. Yeah, and the first two weeks were completely by myself, occasionally with Glenda and Fiero, and then the second two weeks were when we added in the new wizard and Nessa and Bach and Dillamond, um, and sort of pieced the show together. It was the first two weeks were very, very intimidating.

[42:28] Lissa deGuzman: Yes, yes. What was going on? Also, my I had, you know, on whatever that Sunday is was my last day at Aladdin, and then the next day is when I hopped on a flight to go to meet the people at Wicked, and my flight got canceled. So I had to, this is crazy. I had to like get on standby for the next flight. And this is from New York to LA, so couldn't be farther. Um, my flight got canceled. I had to get go on standby for the next flight, and then that luckily I did end up getting on that flight, and so I didn't land in LA until I want to say like 2 a.m. And then had to get a rental car to drive down to Costa Mesa. So I didn't really get into my Airbnb at the time until like 3 a.m.

[43:14] Lissa deGuzman: No. And start rehearsal the next day singing all of the Elphaba stuff. I do remember being like, oh, this is gonna be, well, at least I'll know what it's like to sing when I'm really tired.

[43:26] Quincy Brown: Right at the bottom.

[43:28] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, it's only the job already.

[43:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah, exactly. So when you were doing it, because had you seen Wicked prior, I'm assuming.

[43:35] Lissa deGuzman: Yes, yeah. I've seen, I saw Hannah Cornell, I saw, uh, Jenny De Noya. Um, those are like the two recent ones that I've seen. And then I think back in the day I saw, um, D Bassioli and Shoshana Bean.

[43:53] Quincy Brown: But you kind of look like Dee, and everyone tells me that, yes.

[43:58] Lissa deGuzman: Um, yeah, everyone. And I do, there are sometimes like some pictures that I can see side by side and totally see that we look like. And I have messaged her and be like, hey, everyone tells me like I look like you and I think it's really awesome. And thank you. So I take it as a compliment.

[44:17] Quincy Brown: So as you were rehearsing, what were you anticipating was going to be difficult as you got into the role? And did that end up being the most difficult thing as you were actually learning it?

[44:27] Lissa deGuzman: I, uh, didn't know how specific the blocking is, I guess. You go from a certain number to a certain number and there's certain tracks on the floor too for depth that you go to just throughout one song, like throughout Wizard and I. And then you're also dealing with a suitcase and when you're holding that, when you're putting that on the ground, when you're holding it and walking upstage. So there were a lot of, along with learning like the music, there was a lot of specifics to just meld together right away. Because they do, they do a good job. I think it's a really good system of how they like you sing all the music the first day and then literally the next day you learn the blocking.

[45:10] Lissa deGuzman: So you gotta be on it, number one. You gotta like know your stuff. And so it's a really good way to just mend both of them together right away so that it's not like we know the song now and now we're gonna learn how to move through it. It's like nope, you're gonna learn everything all at once which I think is really was helpful for me at least, um, but yeah, the specifics of all the aura like the broomography and the suitcasography and all of that surprised me.

[45:34] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Do you shadow Talia at all?

[45:37] Lissa deGuzman: Yes.

[45:37] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, yeah.

[45:38] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, I shadowed Talia, um, a bunch of times, which was awesome and super helpful. And in that like third and fourth week is when you would start shadowing.

[45:46] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[45:47] Lissa deGuzman: And that's a whole other thing too is, um, learning the very specifics about the backstage stuff too, because just, you know, every change she has is a quick change, and so it goes very specifically and in a specific spot backstage, and imagine it changes from city to city.

[46:02] Quincy Brown: I was just gonna say, I think it's so important.

[46:04] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, I shadowed in Costa Mesa, and then I shadowed again in Spokane to see what actually stays the same and what changes and, um, you know, what has the space to change and all that. So, and Talia was amazing and super helpful, and I remember that I do remember the first time I shadowed though, I was like watching the show because you know it's hard to not watch the show when you love the show and you're standing like who should be walking.

[46:29] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, I'm like, ooh, I love from this angle. And they're like, oh yes, I love you and the problem. Where is she?

[46:33] Quincy Brown: Exactly.

[46:36] Lissa deGuzman: Exactly. That's why you have to walk multiple times.

[46:39] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, what was your question?

[46:41] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, um, no, so I was gonna ask as part of your put in is you find yourself flying, like doing like perhaps dangerous things in a lot of roles that you step into, like King Kong, Aladdin, this. Is that like fun for you? Like, do you get adrenaline from that or is that scary?

[47:02] Lissa deGuzman: That is so funny. Um, I love it. I am a thrill seeker, so like heights don't bother me. I, lots of my friends and myself make a joke. They're like, I have to fly in everything I do, I have to do like something crazy in everything I do. Gotta be in a harness at some point. So can't wait to see what I do next. So yeah, I love it. I personally am always like, how can we push the boundaries? I'm like, I wanna be able to sing and be in a harness at the same time, or you know, sing and do the choreography and then also run into a monkey's hand at the same time.

[47:36] Lissa deGuzman: Like I, it's also because I, uh, was in the ensemble and am a dancer and was a swing and understudies. So I've had to do it all. And now that I have done all of that, I'm sort of like have all these skills, I guess, that I like to utilize them all, which yeah, I'm a crazy person, I just like to do a lot all at once. But, uh, so yes, the answer is I am a thrill seeker. I do love flying and being in a harness and doing all sorts of crazy difficult things, um, while also trying to sing.

[48:10] Kevin Bianchi: And so then, like being a thrill seeker and like having really wanted to play Elphaba when you then flew for the first time, was that like enjoyable, or are you like, okay, so I'm like on zero, I'm getting in like the th, like were you able to enjoy that moment, or was it so technical?

[48:27] Lissa deGuzman: The very first time it was very technical. Yeah. There's a lot of things that have to happen in a very short amount of time. And it's, it's you're the only new person and everyone else knows what they're doing. So all eyes are on you. And if something goes wrong, everyone knows it's you. So yeah, the very first time, and luckily the, like my first fly, um, rehearsal, they let you do it multiple times in a row. So the very first time I was like, I just need to make sure all the dots are connected and it works and everything.

[48:55] Lissa deGuzman: And then the second time I got to do it, I remember I really like actually got to enjoy it. And while I was up there is I was like, Woohoo! I was, I was loving it. So yeah, the first time was strictly technical, and then after that is when I got to settle into it.

[49:10] Kevin Bianchi: Lissa, your vocals in this role are incredibly, incredibly strong in a very standout way, I think. Is this a difficult thing for you?

[49:20] Lissa deGuzman: Wow. You know, I don't want to say no. It yes, like it is it is a hard thing no matter what. Jackie Burns said no.

[49:27] Lissa deGuzman: Okay, well, if Jackie Burns said no, then I'm also gonna say no. I don't want to be that girl.

[49:36] Lissa deGuzman: You can tell the truth.

[49:40] Lissa deGuzman: The clips, you're gonna have such good clips. Um, most of the time, no. It is not, it is not a difficult thing for me. But that's also because I when I booked it, I also, you know, we all know it's hard, and we've heard people have gotten injured in the past. And I knew I did not want that to be me.

[50:01] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, I knew I was that was not gonna be me. So I, the second I got the call, my amazing friend Michael James Scott put me in touch with two former Elphabas so that I could ask them questions and advice, and one of them was Jackie Burns. I got to talk to Julia Murney and Jackie Burns and asked them a bunch of questions and they're a dream. Really?

[50:20] Kevin Bianchi: Julia Murney is like Auntie Elphaba, like at all the new things.

[50:25] Lissa deGuzman: So she'll say it too. I think she said that to me. We talked for an hour on FaceTime and she was like, Yes, please, let me tell you everything. And I think she called herself Auntie Elphaba or Auntie Elfie. It was amazing.

[50:36] Lissa deGuzman: So very, I'm so grateful for both of those women because, yeah, they told me, um, the like the gosh darn truth. They told me what's gonna be hard and, um, and how to make things less hard and the things that they had to ask for, and you know, and the most important thing that I think every, uh, Elphaba will tell you is that everything you feel is not new.

[51:02] Lissa deGuzman: Everything you feel a former Elphaba has felt before, which is just comforting and nice to know that it was a really good, it was really good knowledge to go into the job with, uh, and a really good mindset to be like anything I encounter is not gonna be new, and I have people that I can reach out to and affirm that.

[51:19] Lissa deGuzman: So yeah, anyway, I had, uh, already started the job knowing that I wanted to be really smart and know my voice really well. Like Jackie Burns told me to go and go to the ENT in every city, and which I have done not in every city, but I've done routinely, just like for my peace of mind and to make sure everything's good.

[51:37] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[51:38] Lissa deGuzman: But yeah, when I was crafting my show, and you know, in that first music rehearsal, I knew I wanted my show to be strong. I knew I wanted it to be sustainable and efficient, and what like, you know, what people expect.

[51:52] Lissa deGuzman: So I already knew I wanted to do the show in a way that was gonna be comfortable for me eight times a week, sometimes nine times, ten times, depending on the holiday. God, I knew I wanted to be strong, I guess.

[52:04] Kevin Bianchi: So while we're on the topic of the vocals, we have the question: Are you a "Wizard and I," "Defying Gravity," or "No Good Deed" Elphaba? It can mean whatever you want it to mean. All we ask is that you explain why. And then we have some follow-up questions because there's a lot of, we have a list.

[52:21] Lissa deGuzman: Continue. This is the question.

[52:25] Lissa deGuzman: Um, I would say, and I have, I will like asterisks on the bottom. I've been influenced with about the answer of this question because my music director, one of the first weeks of that I was Elphaba, came into my dressing room. And before I even knew that like this was a question, he was like, Oh, you're a "No Good Deed" Elphaba.

[52:41] Lissa deGuzman: You're a "No Good Deed" Elphaba. And I was like, what? And Jimia was like, does that mean does that mean the other two are bad? I was like offended.

[52:56] Lissa deGuzman: Um, decided for you.

[52:59] Lissa deGuzman: Anyway, he, that's what I'm saying. Is like I've been influenced. Um, he decided for me, so I will say I'm a "No Good Deed" Elphaba because I love the song, number one.

[53:11] Lissa deGuzman: I think where it is in the show is it's like my last checkpoint. So it's sort of freeing. I mean, just the way this song is written is freeing, but like in the course of the show and the journey of the show, it's sort of freeing to be like, oh, this is, we've made it to this, I've made it to this, and now it's like smooth sailing from here on out.

[53:31] Kevin Bianchi: Of the three, where does that rank vocally for you?

[53:35] Lissa deGuzman: "No Good Deed."

[53:36] Kevin Bianchi: Uh, in um difficulty.

[53:37] Lissa deGuzman: Difficulty.

[53:38] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, like or ease.

[53:40] Lissa deGuzman: I would say nice.

[53:43] Lissa deGuzman: Uh, I would say it's the easiest for me.

[53:45] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[53:46] Lissa deGuzman: So that, that's also what makes it one of my favorites. And also it's out of the three, I would say it's the one that they are the, there's more space to have it be individually you.

[53:57] Kevin Bianchi: Which we had listeners want us to ask you about your "Never Again" riff that you do and the riffs and options that you do particularly in "No Good Deed."

[54:06] Lissa deGuzman: Ha ha, whoa. Um, are these Lissa inventions that were approved? Were there any that you're not allowed to do?

[54:18] Lissa deGuzman: There, yeah, there were some other ones that I'm not allowed to do. So this is, this is like the approved version.

[54:24] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, I sort of let it, I, I when I was learning it, I didn't want to dictate things too much. I wanted it to, I feel like you can fight for an option more if it is based in storytelling. So I sort of let like those two weeks that I was alone rehearsing, and what's cool is, uh, every day, my at least my stage manager and my music director had me sing "Wizard and I," "No Good Deed," and "Defying Gravity" every day to like build up endurance and, yeah, exactly all that.

[54:53] Lissa deGuzman: So every time I got to do that, I sort of just let whatever storytelling thing happen happen, and then got to settle on, uh, picking and choosing from each time I got to do it. Um, and what was approved, what my music director was like, yeah, you can do that.

[55:08] Lissa deGuzman: Right. So yeah, it was all sort of, uh, came naturally and agreed upon.

[55:13] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so on that same note, your "I've Never Felt" option, I think is inspired and unique and has never been done before, and I hope they teach it to the other girls forever and ever.

[55:27] Lissa deGuzman: Amen.

[55:28] Lissa deGuzman: Talk to me about it.

[55:30] Lissa deGuzman: Forever and forever, amen.

[55:31] Lissa deGuzman: Yeah, that one I am, I am not allowed to do very often. That one's a very special.

[55:46] Lissa deGuzman: She's never felt, she's emphasizing the never.

[55:50] Lissa deGuzman: And I had, I talked about, okay. Kimmy Emmanuel, I'm about to shout you out. Um, I talked, talked like kind of in depth with Kimmy about this.

[56:00] Lissa deGuzman: When we were just because Kimmy and I are nerds about it, especially when we first started and we would live together and we would talk about the show and just like you know how our shows went and then just the show in general. And I remember talking to her, and I was like, I have this option that I wanted to ask her if it's like if it was too much, essentially, because you know sometimes options can just be all about the, you know, all about Lissa instead of about the story and Elphaba and whatever and all that. So I was sort of asking her if this option was too much because of the words. I was like, the important word to me for the character would be never. So like that would be the end of the thing.

The one that's taught is the things I've never felt, and yes, yes, is an interesting emphasis, I think. Right, exactly. Which I'm like, things I've never felt. We're like, great, you've said I the whole song, but that line is things I've never felt. Like I she's never felt joy, she's never felt like there's hope for her. She's never felt like confided in, or she's never felt happy. And so to me, never was the important word, which is why I thought it should be the crest of the line of the phrase. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so yeah, I asked Kimmy that, and she was like, No, that totally makes sense. That makes so much sense. Like, you should talk to the music director about it and try it. And so I did, and he let me try it. And so now it's just a little special thing that sometimes I get to do. But yeah, thank you for saying that, even unprompted, because I agree. Justice for things I've never felt. Justice for never.

[57:42] Lissa deGuzman: Um, we had several listeners ask us to ask you about your cinnamon roll quest. Yes. Um, this, you know, I didn't mean for it to be as pleased enlighten us, as big of a thing as it is, but I kind of love it. When I the first tour I did was the Aladdin Tour, and my brother was on that tour with me, and it was an amazing time, and we were you know, if you've ever seen Aladdin or seen pictures of the show, you see the costumes are pretty revealing, not revealing, they're just you know, your skin is showing. And we had just started this joke, my brother and I, that we would get each other a cinnamon roll at the end of every city just to be like a little treat to ourselves, you know. Um and he would always joke, he's like, I don't want to have it because like I have to be naked, and so it just then of course, because I'm an annoying little sister, I would continue to do it.

So yeah, it started on the Aladdin tour. We would get each other cinnamon rolls at the end of every city. And when I joined the Wicked tour, I was talking to Kimmy Emanuel and Jake Peterson, my Nessa and my Bach, and I was like, Man, my brother and I used to do this thing where we get cinnamon rolls, and they were like, let's continue that. They were so into it, and we're like, if you need someone to get a cinnamon roll, please get me a cinnamon roll. So and we were in Sacramento, and I knew nothing about Sacramento, so I just asked Instagram, like, where can I get the best cinnamon roll? And it's the best thing I ever did. Now people I think are more invested in the cinnamon rolls than they are in like in Elphaba, which you know, say lovey.

Um I was surprised at how many people asked about it. I was like, Oh my goodness. You'd be surprised at how many people at the stage door are always like, and your cinnamon rolls. Have you found the best one yet? And I'm like, not yet. But I'll let you know. Um but did you like the show? I did my performance. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[59:34] Lissa deGuzman: Um exactly. So yeah, that's how that sort of came about. And it's also a nice, like our I usually do it on our last week in every city, and that week is really hard, and it's usually hard on the crew because we have to load out and everyone's packing and it's sort of stressful. So it's just a nice little like treat to bring everyone to be like, let's finish out this hard weekend with a little sugar. Yeah. One last great question that I think came in from a listener is being a person of color in this world, has that informed how you play the role or your experience playing the role? Because there's not a lot of POC Elphabas in America. Yes, I think it definitely has. And I also remember back in college, I think I was listening to a casting director speak about Elphaba, the character, and speaking about being misunderstood and not having a place.

And I remember especially being not just a person of color but a mixed person of color. I think there are or I have experienced a lot of like identity issues essentially. I don't fit into one box, I don't necessarily look like what I'm mixed with. So I get the question of like, what are you a lot? And especially in casting in our industry, it's I because I don't fit in a box, it's like I don't know where I fit. And so I remember first hearing the description of Elphaba being like I really I understand this misunderstood person. And so yeah, I think being mixed in a person of color has really, really influenced how I identify with the character and how I play the character and the experience she goes through.

I understand how they would feel in that moment and how they would fuel a person to make their next step, no matter what that is, if that's anger, if that's being overly kind, if that's you know, shutting down. Yeah, it has definitely influenced me in many ways.

[1:01:28] Lissa deGuzman: And do you have ambitions of continuing your Elphaba journey post-tour? Do or do we feel like once we finish this tour contract, that's a nice little package for you and your career? I definitely have ambitions for once my tour time is over, I would love for my Wicked career to continue. I do not, and I hope that my journey with Wicked is not done because I love the show and I would love to continue doing it. And you're based in New York, right? Yeah. Nice. Love that for you. Thank you. So manifest.

[1:02:08] Quincy Brown: Well, Lissa, this has been so much fun. Thank you for joining us on Sentimental Men.

[1:02:13] Lissa deGuzman: Yes, thank you for having me. Now I'm official.

[1:02:16] Kevin Bianchi: Yes. Yeah, Lissa is such a cool girly pop. I had so much fun talking to her, especially because she was sitting on like a beautiful balcony of some kind.

[1:02:35] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and had like a sunset glow. I loved hearing her perspective about the self-tape of it all.

[1:02:43] Kevin Bianchi: Oh yeah. That really jazzed you up.

[1:02:45] Quincy Brown: Well, she's like right in the sweet spot where she'll probably only be one of a couple Elphabas or like who has people who are like booking these huge roles initially, like from their bedroom and an iPhone.

[1:02:57] Kevin Bianchi: Well, I don't know. Do you feel like the pandemic of it all changed the industry where like a lot of things now are self-taped first, regardless of the fact that we're kind of back in the swing of things?

[1:03:05] Quincy Brown: I think that it is still what I observe is that there are still a lot of self-tapes happening, but in-person things are starting to come back a little more frequently than even you know last summer or whatever.

[1:03:19] Kevin Bianchi: I was like, how do we get her to send us that self-tape video?

[1:03:23] Quincy Brown: I knew she wouldn't, so I didn't even ask.

[1:03:26] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe when she's done.

[1:03:27] Quincy Brown: I don't think she's ever gonna be done because she said it's an easy thing. She is about she's gonna be the she's Jackie Burns. Jackie Jenny, Alyssa Joy, yeah, girly for life. She lives down the street. She'll leave to do other gigs and then she'll come back and do like short little six-month stints.

[1:03:45] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[1:03:46] Quincy Brown: Between girl, I'm down the street. Everyone's sick. We're gonna watch her mature in this role, like Jackie Burns.

[1:03:52] Kevin Bianchi: Oh. I want that for her.

[1:03:53] Quincy Brown: I love that she was nervous to admit that it wasn't a difficult thing for her. Own it! Are you kidding? If that was an easy thing for me, that would be like how I meet people. I'd be like, hi, I'm Lissa, and Elphaba's an easy sing for me.

[1:04:05] Kevin Bianchi: I also feel like it's very evident that it's an easy thing for her when you listen to her do it. Like she is just chilling.

[1:04:11] Quincy Brown: It's flies out of her. You made a very astute observation in that she's swinging and flying in every theatrical role that she does.

[1:04:18] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, and not even as I was saying that, I feel like it was coming out in like a ha ha like jokey way, but I genuinely was serious. Like, did you see King Kong? That show was like those crazy, like tough mutter things that people run. Like, that's what the ensemble of this show was doing. And they were like puppets and they're like lifting heavy things, and then when she's on for Anne, she's getting like thrown around in the giant monkey hand. Like Aladdin like scares me, because I'm like, what are you that you like? What are you gripping on to?

[1:04:49] Quincy Brown: I meant to ask Magic carpet or defying gravity levitator. We should more stressful. We should ask her to send us something to answer that. Cause I would be so curious.

[1:05:00] Kevin Bianchi: But you know why I didn't ask? Because I didn't have context for what kind of swinging she was doing in King Kong. So I was like, what if that's the craziest one? That show, King Kong. Ooh, I hope they had a lot of physical therapy available to those ensemble members. I mean, it's crazy. Anyway, I digress. She does do a lot of dangerous stuff and physically demanding stuff in her roles.

[1:05:21] Quincy Brown: I mentioned it, it didn't get pickup during the interview. I think she'd be a great Satine in Moulin Rouge in the music.

[1:05:26] Kevin Bianchi: Ooh, I do too. I would love that. She could come down in that swing.

[1:05:29] Quincy Brown: And she would yes, I love that. Speak it into the ears of those who need to hear it.

[1:05:33] Kevin Bianchi: And with all of those kind of like stunty flying type things and like the physical demands of the ensemble. I am wondering what her feelings are. We always hear like, oh yeah, Elphaba's like always running. Like she's all I'm always out of breath because she's always running or she's late for something, she's yelling. I wonder if Lissa's time in these like very physically demanding ensembles kind of prepared her for that in a different way.

[1:06:01] Quincy Brown: I think it did because here's the thing. I feel like it would have come up if like the physicality of it all was difficult for her, because I think that conversation was opened up to her multiple times as we're talking to her, and she never talked about that. You know what I mean? Whereas I feel like a lot of Elphabas very quickly bring up how difficult the physicalness of it all.

[1:06:18] Kevin Bianchi: You know what else didn't come up that I was like, okay, work bitch, is everyone always says the yelling will kill you. The shouting. Not a peep about the yelling. And you know why? Because it comes, it's so supported. When she's doing the flight speech, ooh, it's so healthy. It's so direct. It doesn't sound like she's like screeching. It just sounds like a nice supported get away from my car yell.

[1:06:44] Quincy Brown: I also I loved Auntie Julia. I love that story. Also love, I also love Auntie Jackie, too. Auntie Jackie feels like the like the fun aunt. You know, like the real spicy chaotic one. Chewing her gum. I also feel like we got a taste of Auntie Julia. Because if you think back to her episode, one that was early on in our journey. Why was she needing to talk to us? Two, she really like cozied up in her living room and spilled with us. We talked to her for a long time.

[1:07:14] Kevin Bianchi: She did. Yeah, because those were that was back in the day when we like didn't set ourselves a time limit, and then we'd be like, No time limits.

[1:07:23] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I agree. I just love how many of the women we've spoken to have said, like, oh yeah, Julia Murney was the first one who reached out, or you know, Julia's the one who taught me this trick that has like saved me over and over. And I love to hear how generous. I really think Julia should write a book.

[1:07:39] Kevin Bianchi: She should write a manual to give to the girls on day one.

[1:07:43] Quincy Brown: That should be how she frames the book. I think that could sell, honestly. The right marketing be a smash. Julia, call us.

[1:07:50] Quincy Brown: Guys, we have an exciting couple of next episodes planned for you all. We're plunging back into the wild, wild world of Wicked the musical. And we couldn't be happier. Everybody, if you are listening, please go to whatever platform you're listening on. Leave us a rating, leave us a review. We appreciate it. It's the easiest way you can support the pod. Tell a friend. Recommend us to somebody, you know? Send one of our videos to someone. Spread the word. Whatever tickles your fancy. It all comes back to us as positivity. So do your thing, support the pod.

[1:08:28] Kevin Bianchi: Baby, not I can't do this. I had Lena Hall famously saying bad hell.

[1:08:34] Quincy Brown: Alright, that's it. Goodbye everybody.

[1:08:37] Kevin Bianchi: Bye.

[1:08:40] Quincy Brown: You've been listening to Sentimental Men from Theaterly. This episode was produced by Quincy Brown, Kevin Bianchi, and the team at Theater League. Thanks to Anthony Abitangelo, the most swankified podcast editor in town. And another thanks to Michael Reynolds for making us look downright osmopolitan in our new key art. And to Julia DeMarzo 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 Scentmenpod at theaterly dot 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 Scent Men Pod. Thanks for tuning in. Till next time I'm Quincy.

[1:09:22] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.

[1:09:33] Quincy Brown: I understand that Stephanie J. Block can sing. I understand that she is very talented. There was something about it that really caught me off guard though where I was like shit. Well she can sing. Not she can sing.