This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Quincy Brown: My name's Quincy.

[0:03] Kevin Bianchi: And my name's Kevin. And this is Sentimental Men.

[0:06] Quincy Brown: We're here to talk, and maybe scream, about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:14] Kevin Bianchi: But I've got brains and I've got guts and I am using that.

[0:19] Quincy Brown: You didn't see Queen of Versailles.

[0:21] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-mm.

[0:22] Quincy Brown: And now it's too late.

[0:23] Kevin Bianchi: And now it's too late, unfortunately.

[0:25] Quincy Brown: At the time of recording, it's not like necessarily too late, but it's pretty close to being too late.

[0:29] Kevin Bianchi: Pretty close. I would say it's likely too late.

[0:33] Quincy Brown: Can I just say, before we get into our wicked adventures, can I just say that Queen of Versailles does not deserve the amount of hate and vitriol that it is receiving slash received.

[0:44] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[0:45] Quincy Brown: I went and saw it with Kristen and like thoroughly enjoyed it. And there's some bops in it. It's a very expensive looking production.

[0:52] Kevin Bianchi: I really liked it to the point that I was like, damn, I really want to see Sherry in this.

[0:56] Quincy Brown: And then I did have the opportunity to also see Sherry in it, which was like a thrilling experience and a very different experience.

[1:02] Kevin Bianchi: And if you missed it, you should be sad. And if you've been talking shit about it, you should stop doing that.

[1:07] Quincy Brown: Like you said, I have not seen it, but I do agree with the sentiment that it's easy to forget that it's not just a show, like an amorphous cast recording that lives in the ether.

[1:18] Kevin Bianchi: Right.

[1:19] Quincy Brown: It's a real show, real people who are losing their jobs the week before Christmas.

[1:23] Kevin Bianchi: It's also just like, I don't know, even with the Idina Redwood of it all, it's like, I think we should be applauding these women for lending their star power to new musicals and not just coming back and like a concert or a revival.

[1:38] Quincy Brown: I think it's like good that they're doing that. And I think it's bad when we all poo poo them for putting themselves out there like that and is going to lead to a not fruitful Broadway environment.

[1:51] Kevin Bianchi: Look at this season.

[1:53] Quincy Brown: A famine of original musicals.

[1:56] Kevin Bianchi: A famine.

[1:58] Quincy Brown: A drought.

[1:59] Kevin Bianchi: I mean, boy, do we have celebs in plays, but like, where are the new musicals?

[2:04] Quincy Brown: That's not new. The new is that there's, right, there's no new musicals.

[2:08] Kevin Bianchi: What is it? It's Queen of Versailles.

[2:10] Quincy Brown: Schmigadoon, Titanic, Beaches.

[2:13] Kevin Bianchi: Does Schmigadoon count? Because it was a TV show.

[2:16] Quincy Brown: Yeah, like Smash. Smash was a new musical.

[2:18] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Duh.

[2:19] Quincy Brown: Schmigadoon, Queen of Versailles, Titanic, Beaches, Lost Boys. Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York.

[2:29] Kevin Bianchi: I mean, the fact that like Titanic.

[2:31] Quincy Brown: The fact that Titanic is playing the St. James.

[2:34] Kevin Bianchi: You know what I was thinking about Titanic, though? The way to do Titanic on Broadway is put Ariana Grande.

[2:40] Quincy Brown: Yes, I was thinking about that too. If it was a stuntier thing.

[2:44] Kevin Bianchi: I mean, what's so amazing is I think Marla Mendel could really win Best Actress in a Musical this season.

[2:49] Quincy Brown: All for it.

[2:50] Kevin Bianchi: Because that performance in that show is stellar.

[2:54] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I don't know. This is like a really kooky and weird and like unsettling Broadway season. Do you feel that as well?

[3:01] Kevin Bianchi: I do feel that. It feels unbalanced or like out of balance, off its center.

[3:07] Quincy Brown: I guess the last two seasons we had so many new musicals, but I don't know. Spun them out, guys.

[3:12] Kevin Bianchi: Do you think there's going to be a little surge of announcements for the spring?

[3:17] Quincy Brown: Like literally no. And that's the depressing part of it all.

[3:22] Kevin Bianchi: Beaches. If ever something called to be a jukebox musical and not new songs.

[3:29] Quincy Brown: You know what I mean? Like, I just want to hear Jessica Vosk sing the song.

[3:33] Kevin Bianchi: Did you ever know that you're my hero?

[3:37] Quincy Brown: I do think that's in it, though. I don't think it was always in it, but I do think it's in it.

[3:41] Kevin Bianchi: It is in it. That's what the press release said.

[3:43] Quincy Brown: Of course I remember when they remade it with Idina. That's the only Beaches I've ever seen.

[3:47] Kevin Bianchi: You're everything I was meant to be.

[3:52] Quincy Brown: There's also another good song in Beaches. Cause you're extraordinary.

[3:56] Kevin Bianchi: And they're like writing letters to each other.

[3:58] Quincy Brown: I'm excited that we get Jessica Vosk originating a role on Broadway.

[4:01] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe Jessica Vosk will win Best Actress in a Musical.

[4:04] Quincy Brown: It's going to be her, Christopher Le.

[4:06] Kevin Bianchi: Jessica Vosk, Lea Michele, Casey Levy, Shoshana Bean.

[4:10] Quincy Brown: I mean, Best Actress is kind of a slay category this year.

[4:13] Kevin Bianchi: I'm hot.

[4:15] Quincy Brown: I do have that to look forward to.

[4:17] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my god. Okay, that's going to get me to June.

[4:19] Quincy Brown: What new musical are you most excited to see in the season?

[4:21] Kevin Bianchi: I am most excited to see Lost Boys.

[4:23] Quincy Brown: I'm just like invested in the journey. I am excited that it's Shoshana.

[4:27] Kevin Bianchi: I'm excited to have all the girlies back on Broadway at the same time.

[4:31] Quincy Brown: I'm excited for Lost Boys, too.

[4:33] Kevin Bianchi: What are my other options of what's left?

[4:35] Quincy Brown: I do want to see Two Strangers carry a cake.

[4:37] Kevin Bianchi: Me too. It seems charming.

[4:39] Quincy Brown: It's giving me In Transit vibes, which I say complimentary because I loved In Transit.

[4:45] Kevin Bianchi: Amazing.

[4:47] Quincy Brown: A map of New York, baby.

[4:49] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, it's been a minute since we've gotten on mic.

[4:51] Quincy Brown: Yeah, no big deal.

[4:53] Kevin Bianchi: A lot has happened.

[4:55] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[4:57] Kevin Bianchi: Where shall we begin?

[4:59] Quincy Brown: Obviously the big green talking elephant in the room is that we have not made an episode yet about our non-spoiler film reaction.

[5:07] Kevin Bianchi: How dare you speak about Alphabet that way.

[5:09] Quincy Brown: I would never. You brought that up.

[5:11] Kevin Bianchi: No, I was trying to say because, you know, the animals, they talk.

[5:13] Quincy Brown: Since there's already lots of discourse out there, you had, I think...

[5:19] Kevin Bianchi: Should we discourse on the discourse?

[5:21] Quincy Brown: Well, let's do our thing and then we'll discourse on the discourse.

[5:23] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[5:25] Quincy Brown: You had the great idea to do just like a top five.

[5:29] Kevin Bianchi: And then for the Patreon, we're going to do not a bottom five, but like five question marks.

[5:35] Quincy Brown: Five questions that we have.

[5:37] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[5:39] Quincy Brown: For public episode, we will talk about the top five things that we loved about this movie.

[5:41] Kevin Bianchi: Right.

[5:43] Quincy Brown: And then it'll just skip to what we are going to talk about after.

[5:45] Kevin Bianchi: My first thing that I wrote down is I loved Elphaba's flight vocabulary.

[5:51] Quincy Brown: Like I loved all the different ways that she flew.

[5:53] Kevin Bianchi: Which you've been looking forward to.

[5:55] Quincy Brown: Yes, I have been.

[5:57] Kevin Bianchi: And it even exceeded my expectations.

[5:59] Quincy Brown: At some times it made her look very strong, at other times it made her look very cool.

[6:05] Kevin Bianchi: Like it was very motivated.

[6:07] Quincy Brown: I mean, the whole opening of the movie, when she flies in and she's whacking the guards and surfing on her broom.

[6:13] Kevin Bianchi: I do think the opening of the movie is pretty stellar.

[6:15] Quincy Brown: I agree.

[6:17] Kevin Bianchi: I really liked how they brought us back in.

[6:19] Quincy Brown: I loved, speaking of the opening, right after that, the new opening sequence that they orchestrated and scored.

[6:25] Kevin Bianchi: I thought was really, really exciting and well done.

[6:27] Quincy Brown: It's like, here's where we are with everyone. We're popping in.

[6:31] Kevin Bianchi: You get some Wizard and I reprise, which was really gaggy the first time I saw it.

[6:35] Quincy Brown: And I loved.

[6:37] Kevin Bianchi: I loved the Glinda walking out into the crowd.

[6:39] Quincy Brown: La, la, la.

[6:41] Kevin Bianchi: And then everyone sings it back to her.

[6:43] Quincy Brown: So it shows the spell that she's had over Oz.

[6:45] Kevin Bianchi: It was like a really exciting entry back into the world.

[6:47] Quincy Brown: And I think it was good that we didn't just jump into Thank Goodness.

[6:49] Kevin Bianchi: It did set the stage well and bring us back in, in a nice way, before getting into the drama of it all.

[6:51] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[6:53] Kevin Bianchi: I love that it was essentially an on-track.

[6:55] Quincy Brown: It was a little recap of the musical themes from the first part.

[6:57] Kevin Bianchi: Like you said, a little catch-up to where the characters are now.

[6:59] Quincy Brown: 10 out of 10.

[7:01] Kevin Bianchi: A little overture.

[7:03] Quincy Brown: We believe in Glinda.

[7:05] Kevin Bianchi: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:07] Quincy Brown: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:09] Kevin Bianchi: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:11] Quincy Brown: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:13] Kevin Bianchi: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:15] Quincy Brown: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:17] Kevin Bianchi: Do you believe in Glinda?

[7:19] Quincy Brown: Do-de-do.

[7:21] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so that was my number one.

[7:23] Quincy Brown: What is your number one?

[7:25] Kevin Bianchi: That was my number one.

[7:27] Quincy Brown: Oh, that was your number one.

[7:29] Kevin Bianchi: These aren't in any order, by the way.

[7:31] Quincy Brown: I just kind of like...

[7:33] Kevin Bianchi: My number two.

[7:35] Quincy Brown: This is actually maybe a discourse on the discourse in a positive way.

[7:37] Kevin Bianchi: I really loved the as long as you're mine blocking.

[7:39] Quincy Brown: That's on my list as well.

[7:41] Kevin Bianchi: God, bitch, we should start a podcast.

[7:43] Quincy Brown: Here's like an old school Kevin's Glinda corner take for you.

[7:47] Kevin Bianchi: Oh wow, I forgot about that. Retro.

[7:49] Quincy Brown: So I think that...

[7:51] Kevin Bianchi: Why are you talking about Glinda in as long as you're mine?

[7:53] Quincy Brown: It's not about Glinda, but I just mean like the way I'm thinking.

[7:55] Kevin Bianchi: Nerdy and dramaturgically.

[7:57] Quincy Brown: Yes, yes.

[7:59] Kevin Bianchi: So I think that I've seen some people saying that they miss the like closeness of the two of them like kneeling downstage facing each other.

[8:09] Quincy Brown: And I think that that is missing the point a little bit.

[8:13] Kevin Bianchi: Because in a musical only once can the lovers come together and sing the love ballad.

[8:19] Quincy Brown: And that's for good.

[8:21] Kevin Bianchi: That's not as long as you're mine.

[8:23] Quincy Brown: And so I think that no, no, no, no, no. It's not because it's not a love story between Elphaba and Fiyero. That's like a little side quest.

[8:31] Kevin Bianchi: So I think that had it been them as close as she and Glinda are in For Good, it would have weakened the impact for good.

[8:43] Quincy Brown: I mean, I come from it from a different perspective because I do believe that like we can have the hetero love story and the friendship love story happening in tandem.

[8:51] Kevin Bianchi: I like it because it like shifted my perspective on that song and Elphaba as a character where like they're alone for the first time and it's obviously leading to like an intimate moment.

[9:01] Quincy Brown: Elphaba probably hasn't had many intimate moments in her life.

[9:05] Kevin Bianchi: So she starts at a distance and it's like essentially telling Fiyero how she wants to go about this encounter.

[9:11] Quincy Brown: Kiss me too fiercely. Hold me too tight. I'm gonna need some help. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. She's like setting boundaries.

[9:19] Kevin Bianchi: It's like healthy, pre-sexual conversation and boundary setting. And I actually thought it was very realistic for Elphaba's character to be engaging in that way and not just immediately being all over each other.

[9:35] Quincy Brown: Yeah, definitely. I agree with that. I also think that it was an important moment. So much of the first movie is about Elphaba being loved for the first time by Galinda.

[9:47] Kevin Bianchi: And I think that in this scene, something important that it accomplishes when she picks him up and they fly is that then she is in that moment, I think, realizing that she is capable of being the one doing the loving.

[10:01] Quincy Brown: How about that Actors on Actors clip where David Cornswatt is like, good on you, bro, for maintaining your masculinity while being lifted by a woman.

[10:13] Kevin Bianchi: I think that it was a poor choice of words. I don't think that he meant it to be the way people are taking it, but I do love Jonathan Bailey's reaction.

[10:21] Quincy Brown: It's like, who even thinks about that? And I think it's the important context is that he's comparing to Superman.

[10:31] Kevin Bianchi: Right. I think that that Actors on Actors, whoever paired those two up together, bravo to you. Give them a raise.

[10:39] Quincy Brown: Yeah, you're excellent at your job.

[10:41] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, I really, really, really, really think that No Good Deed was perfectly done.

[10:45] Quincy Brown: And there's also been some discourse about this, but to me, that is like peak cinema, the way that they bring her to the flashback and she's at the school when she's one question haunts and hurts, too much, too much to mention, and she's reliving her life and really coming to terms with and realizing, or kind of gaslighting herself, I guess, into thinking that she's wicked.

[11:09] Kevin Bianchi: I really, really thought it was well done. It was kind of exhilarating to witness.

[11:13] Quincy Brown: I agree. I think that it matched the energy of what happens on stage so well.

[11:21] Kevin Bianchi: It all builds to No Good Deed, and I think Defying Gravity set the bar so high that then No Good Deed had to surpass that, and I really, I do think that it did. It was so exciting from start to finish.

[11:35] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I thought it was amazing.

[11:37] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, you go. What am I on? Three?

[11:39] Quincy Brown: I loved the cinematography of Girl in the Bubble. It was so dizzying and like you never knew if you were in the mirror world or the real world, and there were so many, I think, clever interpretations of putting her in a bubble within that song. It was really so fun to watch, and it was one, after we saw it the first time, that I was looking forward to watching a second time.

[12:11] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it is like, how are they doing this? I was trying to spot the scene cuts, and it's, you can't really, it's really well done.

[12:17] Quincy Brown: I thought the catfight scene was brilliantly done.

[12:19] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, I have that too.

[12:21] Quincy Brown: And done in a way that made it ownable for the stage version. It felt unique, but had enough of like the essence and the one-liners from the stage version.

[12:31] Kevin Bianchi: I thought they're fighting, and the little quips they were doing when they were fighting, it's a little insane that Glinda calls her Greenie.

[12:39] Quincy Brown: Greenie.

[12:41] Kevin Bianchi: Pretty intense slur.

[12:43] Quincy Brown: Yeah, it's a little charged.

[12:49] Kevin Bianchi: If you ever really come on Blackie, that would be crazy.

[12:53] Quincy Brown: Oh my god.

[12:55] Kevin Bianchi: But it was funny, and her oshes, and Ariana's fake cackle at her, it was all really great. And an excellent addition of flight in that scene as well.

[13:07] Quincy Brown: And Ariana did this, right?

[13:09] Kevin Bianchi: She did. Yeah, she did do this.

[13:11] Quincy Brown: Very well, as a matter of fact.

[13:13] Kevin Bianchi: And then following up, I think the scene after that where Fiora comes in, and Ariana walks up to the gun, and they take him away, that was all very well done, I thought.

[13:21] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I agree. I thought it was well done, and I like seeing Fiora that moment of choice where he decides to officially abandon ship with the wizard.

[13:31] Kevin Bianchi: Ariana's acting down in that scene too. I mean, the whole movie, she's acting down, but that clip that I feel like is getting posted a lot, where she hands the hat over, and the eyebrow, and then the lip twitches, insane.

[13:47] Quincy Brown: I loved the Tin Man transformation scene. Thoughtful, very thoughtful.

[13:51] Kevin Bianchi: So thoughtful. The teacups and everything turn into him.

[13:53] Quincy Brown: Yes, and like the visual clues that they laid leading up to it, and then the action of him chopping through the door. Spooky!

[14:03] Kevin Bianchi: Spooky! I was like, ooh! I was like, when did this become a horror movie?

[14:09] Quincy Brown: Yes! I thought this Wicked Witch of the East really sets Bach up for March of the Witch Hunters emotionally, because it's a little bit more about the consequences for him.

[14:21] Kevin Bianchi: What I'd like to, on that note, is the addition of when Bach first leaves Nessa, and he's like, I'll see you soon, or I'm sure we'll see each other or something, and she goes, oh, I know. Cut to him trying to get onto the train station. He's like, where's your permit? No munchkins allowed. That, I thought, really helped to paint the picture of what was actually happening in Oz in a way that the stage show doesn't.

[14:45] Quincy Brown: This is like, oh, right, this is a very intense thing that is happening to everyone.

[14:49] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, and to see the moving parts of what the wizard is up to at the same time as Nessa Rose is putting all the whatever into effect.

[15:01] Quincy Brown: We talked about it in the reaction episode, but now we can talk about it actually. The diabolical shot of Ariana and Cynthia on both sides of the door that has since come out that that was improvised. Crazy!

[15:11] Kevin Bianchi: Insane! I mean, that was an audible gasp, and I think the first time I watched it, I think that was the only time that I cried, like that I got a tear. They're both so in it, too.

[15:23] Quincy Brown: They're both so in it, and the one-two punch of I love you, I love you, too, and then the hands on the door.

[15:31] Kevin Bianchi: In a shot that feels like it lasts forever.

[15:33] Quincy Brown: It lingers there just the perfect amount of time.

[15:37] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, oh, it was so good, and it's like the perfect button to for good.

[15:41] Quincy Brown: I think it's easy to get swept up in the romanticism of for good, because it's, you know, this poetic language, and it's big, and it's sweeping, but it is a goodbye song, and so to see like a physical barrier between them was really lovely.

[15:57] Kevin Bianchi: Well, and I mean, and then you watch Glinda watch Elphaba die from the closet, which is also really paying some major stakes.

[16:05] Quincy Brown: I loved how isolated she was in that moment, because on stage it's such a big effect, like it's more about the melting, and she's kind of like down by the trap door, so to focus that moment on Glinda.

[16:19] Kevin Bianchi: Did you go through all five?

[16:21] Quincy Brown: I did go through all five. I don't know how many I've gone through, but I have one more.

[16:23] Kevin Bianchi: Okay.

[16:25] Quincy Brown: It's Ariana's, when she's like talking about a morible, like have you ever considered how do you fare in captivity?

[16:31] Kevin Bianchi: Yes.

[16:33] Quincy Brown: And she does like a look outside, over there, and she like points back.

[16:35] Kevin Bianchi: She's like so locked in and serious and is like, I'm handling business now, but still.

[16:41] Quincy Brown: It's like a little moment of physical comedy that has been on pause for two thirds of the movie.

[16:49] Kevin Bianchi: She's like, still got it.

[16:51] Quincy Brown: I did really like this movie.

[16:53] Kevin Bianchi: I did too, but it does feel, it feels nice to address the question marks.

[16:57] Quincy Brown: It truly is such an impressive feat, what the entire Wicked team pulled off with this whole endeavor.

[17:05] Kevin Bianchi: To commit to this long of a journey that far in advance and to be so successful in carrying it out is really congratulations and bravo and thank you.

[17:15] Quincy Brown: Yes, and thank you. Something I liked overall about this movie is I think it felt obviously like act two of the show, but it felt like its own sequel to.

[17:25] Kevin Bianchi: I think that a lot of the changes that they made made this movie feel like its own movie not like we just cut one movie in half.

[17:37] Quincy Brown: Oh, my family all went to see it and they said they liked this movie better than the first one.

[17:41] Kevin Bianchi: That's interesting. I wonder if that is a common opinion in like non-normies.

[17:45] Quincy Brown: Yeah, like in non-musical. Well, my sister was like, it has the best song it has for good.

[17:51] Kevin Bianchi: And I was like, is that what is seen as the best song of Wicked? But then I was like, yeah, I guess, because that's the song that's like done at graduations.

[17:57] Quincy Brown: Right, that's the song people know. It's so interesting.

[18:01] Kevin Bianchi: But then she also did feel like she knew more songs in act one than she did in act two, but for good as in act two.

[18:07] Quincy Brown: Interesting. Well, I do trust your sister and her taste.

[18:11] Kevin Bianchi: So.

[18:13] Quincy Brown: It was a shocking take. We've also been up to a lot of Wicked shenanigans. So first time we saw Wicked, we went to the Friends and Family Broadway screening. That was really special.

[18:21] Kevin Bianchi: Second time, we went to the premiere at Lincoln Center. That was really special for other reasons.

[18:25] Quincy Brown: Third time, I saw Wicked. Have you seen it again since the premiere?

[18:29] Kevin Bianchi: Uh-uh, not yet. I'm going to see it again over Christmas.

[18:31] Quincy Brown: I probably will, too. Third time that I saw Wicked was at a rowdy screening hosted by my friends Nick Rizzo and Sam Gold that they did last year.

[18:41] Kevin Bianchi: I did not attend, but I was like, I must attend this year.

[18:43] Quincy Brown: Yeah. And we've posted videos on social. I just need to say, obviously, that was a private screening where the entire theater was bought out. It was there for that.

[18:57] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, there's so many angry comments about people ruining the movie, blah, blah, blah. You know what that means? There is a famine, a shortage, of Rocky Horror shadow casts left in this country.

[19:07] Quincy Brown: If people are not familiar with the idea of a rowdy screening of something, we're failing.

[19:11] Kevin Bianchi: And it was incredible. They had the thing fully casted, full costumes, they had props, they had sets, blah, blah, blah. It made the viewing experience, I think, really fun. For the third time, really fun. Obviously, that's not going to be your first time seeing it. It was no one in that theater's first time seeing it. Everyone at that theater bought a ticket for that experience.

[19:27] Quincy Brown: And I would encourage everyone to do something similar in their towns, because it was like community. It was really special and fun and exciting and a great way to experience the movie.

[19:49] Kevin Bianchi: I hope that when the movie's available at home, not even at a movie theater, do it at your gay bar.

[19:57] Quincy Brown: You know what I mean? Because I'm not sure how they did it. I think the tickets were like $50, so that insinuates some sort of rental fee for the theater, plus all of the props and stuff.

[20:07] Kevin Bianchi: But that was a great experience for $50. It was amazing.

[20:11] Quincy Brown: Yeah. So fun.

[20:13] Kevin Bianchi: What did you do today? Speaking of seeing Wicked at home, today, at the day of recording, I went to an event celebrating the release of Wicked Viewable at Home.

[20:27] Quincy Brown: So this event that I went to today was at the Art Museum at Chelsea Piers, and it was closed just for us Osgurlys today.

[20:35] Kevin Bianchi: And they adapted, if you're listening, it's like an interactive museum, like a sensory interactive museum, where each room has kind of like a theme. And they adapted each room to relate to Wicked in a way.

[20:51] Quincy Brown: So they have one room that has kind of like a twister in it, like a tornado in it. And so they did that, and they played No Good Deed in that room, and they added lightning effects to it.

[21:07] Kevin Bianchi: And then there's a room that is like, activate your sense of scent, and it all smells like roses. And so that was kind of like the Glinda's Wedding room, and they had the wedding dress out so you could see and the whole room kind of smelled like roses.

[21:23] Quincy Brown: The actual wedding dress?

[21:25] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. I never know if like when they say the costumes, I'm like, is it?

[21:29] Quincy Brown: Is Ariana Grande's costume at the AMC at Lincoln Center? I don't know. It seems to be a lot of places.

[21:35] Kevin Bianchi: But it was beautiful, and a lot of the rooms were really cool. Especially, they have this room that's kind of like Instagram famous, where it's like mirrors on all walls, and there's ceiling in the floor, and it's kind of like galaxy looking.

[21:49] Quincy Brown: And in that room, they turned them into these kind of like hanging gems that looked like hot air balloons.

[21:57] Kevin Bianchi: And in that room, they were playing Wonderful.

[22:01] Quincy Brown: Then they recreated the broom, the double broom for you to sit on and swing.

[22:05] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, it was really cool. All of that was after we watched the making of For Good documentary.

[22:15] Quincy Brown: How long? Like a full length documentary?

[22:17] Kevin Bianchi: Well, it's like an hour, I would say.

[22:19] Quincy Brown: Which I wish they would have told us we were going to like sit and watch a movie for an hour, because that was a surprise.

[22:25] Kevin Bianchi: I thought we were going to watch like a clip, but it was kind of like the screening we went to for the first movie, like couches, everybody was very like loungy. It was really fun.

[22:35] Quincy Brown: The documentary itself was so good. I like cried twice watching it.

[22:41] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, wow.

[22:43] Quincy Brown: It's very much like it's exactly what people who love the musical are going to want to see behind the scenes.

[22:49] Kevin Bianchi: Most importantly, it has the footage of shirtless Jonathan Bailey chopping wood that was cut from the Friendship montage.

[22:57] Quincy Brown: And that is an image I will remember for the rest of my life. It is so hot.

[23:01] Kevin Bianchi: I understand why they had to cut it. We didn't even get a nipple in As Long As You're Mine. The movie would have become about that.

[23:13] Quincy Brown: It is so hot. Wow.

[23:17] Kevin Bianchi: And then they also have I should have gone to this. I'm like now kind of remembering reading the screenplay. They have the shot then of Bach.

[23:25] Quincy Brown: Is he shirtless too?

[23:27] Kevin Bianchi: Not shirtless, but he's in kind of like a tight like Henley shirt.

[23:29] Quincy Brown: So it's like kind of like open.

[23:31] Kevin Bianchi: And he also hot. His body's insane.

[23:37] Quincy Brown: If I was Jonathan Bailey and or Ethan, I would be so mad that that got cut because the body is so tea like you like he had to have been killing himself. No carbs. No water.

[23:45] Kevin Bianchi: She looked like a like a marvel.

[23:51] Quincy Brown: Did you take a picture of it?

[23:53] Kevin Bianchi: No, I mean you'll see it.

[23:55] Quincy Brown: I know, but I want to see it now.

[23:57] Kevin Bianchi: I'll see. I'll ask around and see if anybody got a picture.

[24:01] Quincy Brown: It was a really cool event and it was a really fun special thing to kind of like cherry on top this two year experience with the movie.

[24:11] Kevin Bianchi: When does it come out?

[24:13] Quincy Brown: The movie is going to be you can watch it at home on December 26th and the doc. I don't even think the doc is like officially announced yet.

[24:21] Kevin Bianchi: I was getting the vibe that maybe it's going to be like dropped with the like an extra.

[24:27] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[24:29] Kevin Bianchi: Wow.

[24:31] Quincy Brown: And they're also releasing on the 26th a singalong version of it and they said there's going to be like hella bonus like deleted scenes and stuff.

[24:39] Kevin Bianchi: I hope a deleted scene is that for a scene.

[24:41] Quincy Brown: I hope so. It'll become the most re-recorded clip in America.

[24:45] Kevin Bianchi: It was insane Quincy. I'm getting hot thinking about it.

[24:51] Quincy Brown: Okay. I saw my first non-replica production of Wicked last month.

[24:55] Kevin Bianchi: I'm so jealous and what a non-replica you saw.

[24:57] Quincy Brown: Well first of all it was my first like professional theatrical going experience in Madrid which was just kind of cool to see because what's so interesting about Madrid is like they do really have a theater scene or it sounds it feels like and from what I've heard they're like it's like becoming a thing and it's a little bit being looked at in the way that we view like out of town where it's like you build your show in Madrid before sending it to London so that because it's like cheaper to do it but they do have like a Times Square.

[25:41] Kevin Bianchi: It's so funny. I've been to Madrid so many times at this point and I still I can't tell you the name of the Times Square area but it's like where all the tourists are all the stores and they have all the theaters and it's like Book of Mormon, Come From Away, Prima Fatsi's playing like it is very and like buses are driving around and there's like Gypsy and Cabaret and it's like there's much more of a scene there than I think people realize and I definitely realize and so Wicked there is produced by ATG which is a big theater producer here and theater owner here but it's a non-replica production at this stunning, stunning theater where they have so you walk into the theater, it's gorgeous they have bars in the lobby but there's also bars on both sides inside of the orchestra on either side of the orchestra so you can like walk from your seat to a bar.

[26:19] Quincy Brown: That's the first thing.

[26:21] Kevin Bianchi: Great experience. You can drink during the show. But it's like and it was so cheap too like and it's fancy like they sell cocktails in glasses and they sell you popcorn in like a wicked like fake metal bucket and it's like it just feels like much more lush experience.

[26:37] Quincy Brown: It was all in Spanish which doesn't matter for me because you know what's happening. I'm with my boyfriend and my boyfriend's kids the youngest kid is very wicked pilled because of me and he isn't also taking Spanish he's like five and in the opening scene he turns to me and he goes she just said she didn't eat grass as a kid and I was like that's pretty good but also like the kids have seen the first movie we haven't taken them to the second movie yet and so they know act one act two obviously is in Spanish and a lot happens.

[27:07] Kevin Bianchi: So during Wonderful he leaned over and he goes what's happening and so I started to live sing Wonderful in English in his ear it's wonderful what's happening on stage and then I just started doing that like live translation for the rest of act two and I was like yeah I know this book.

[27:29] Quincy Brown: Wow could we be the swings at the Gershwin?

[27:31] Kevin Bianchi: I feel like yes I had like what would be an actor nightmare where I found out I had to go on as like a random ensemble track in Wicked and I wasn't even nervous and like I was literally like yeah where's my trench coat?

[27:45] Quincy Brown: Yeah I think we could do it. Throw me in. I would need like a put in day of and then I could do it.

[27:51] Kevin Bianchi: But it was very cool to see a non-replica production the like base set. It's interesting because on the one hand it's like you get so used to what Broadway looks like that you're like this could use an update and then you see something else and it really actually did make me realize kind of like all of the genius and machination that went into how Broadway looks and feels and is staged too.

[28:11] Quincy Brown: It just like all of it flows.

[28:13] Kevin Bianchi: Let's not just say this non-replica one didn't but it did like give me a greater appreciation for the Wicked that we know.

[28:21] Quincy Brown: That being said there were a lot of really cool things like when first of all Glinda comes down in a bubble. She's seated in a bubble like she has a throne in a bubble and comes down which I just kind of felt bad for the actress having to sing that high like seated but that was a change and then when Glinda like she had a father and a mother and they do the have another drink my dogeye beauty.

[28:43] Kevin Bianchi: It like turns into like almost like a Wizzomania like theater performance so they bring up like a fake backdrop and they come out and act out the like history of Elphaba's parents and all the come and sit at the lip of the stage and look upstage and are like watching the performance of Elphaba's past.

[29:01] Quincy Brown: I love that. That's really cool.

[29:03] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah it was interesting. The Elphaba is sick. Her name is Christina Picos. Her voice is insane. I posted her no good deed. She should come to Broadway but she's incredible.

[29:11] Quincy Brown: Interesting dramaturgical thing that I'm curious your take on. Thank goodness after Glinda and Fiyero go and have their little moment like you don't want this. You want this.

[29:21] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah yeah yeah.

[29:23] Quincy Brown: Fiyero leaves and then Glinda sings I couldn't be happier no cause getting your dreams is strange but it seems alone like in a supposed like offstage dressing room or something while Madame Morrible is still out there propagandizing the Aussie.

[29:39] Kevin Bianchi: So she's having like an introspective moment which I do understand the choice. Like when it first happened I was like brilliant. As it continued I was like I'm not sure it makes dramaturgical or it makes dramaturgical sense it's not the best dramaturgical choice I think cause I think having her communicate that to an audience like communicates the presentation versus reality a little bit heavier handed.

[30:05] Quincy Brown: But it was very cool to see that done as like this intimate moment with herself.

[30:09] Kevin Bianchi: It was almost like Girl in the Bubble coded. Like it had that energy but she was singing the second portion of Thank Goodness.

[30:11] Quincy Brown: Interesting. I mean I like that as an idea.

[30:13] Kevin Bianchi: And I do think that like something I like so much about part two of the movie is it like spells out plainly what is on stage something you kind of have to fill in for yourself which like is this like propaganda narrative morphing element.

[30:31] Quincy Brown: And so I like having that present on stage more.

[30:33] Kevin Bianchi: Cause she's singing that as Matt Amorable's like slow motion like talking to the crowd kind of a thing.

[30:39] Quincy Brown: Yeah I mean that sounds very cool.

[30:41] Kevin Bianchi: It was just cool to see like a different choice made in Wicked honestly.

[30:43] Quincy Brown: Another thing the wizard in this production is a flaming homosexual.

[30:47] Kevin Bianchi: Not the actor although probably but like even the costume is just like the most flamboyant thing.

[30:51] Quincy Brown: And it works so much better to the point at the end I was like oh every wizard should just be flaming flaming flaming.

[30:59] Kevin Bianchi: And then I was like I guess he does have to be Elphaba's dad so that like is a little.

[31:05] Quincy Brown: But I was like we can suspend disbelief for that.

[31:07] Kevin Bianchi: I feel like there is like a genre of middle-aged male character actor that is like thoppish is a better word than flaming.

[31:15] Quincy Brown: Like that just like think about what's his name who was in Mrs. Doubtfire as the.

[31:25] Kevin Bianchi: Ron McClure? Mark Evans? No no no no. As the like TV host and he's always like ah.

[31:31] Quincy Brown: Oh like on TV in the movie.

[31:33] Kevin Bianchi: Oh Mr. Saki.

[31:35] Quincy Brown: Yes. Someone like him who's just kind of like.

[31:37] Kevin Bianchi: Because I'm obsessed with him.

[31:39] Quincy Brown: I couldn't tell you his name but I'm obsessed.

[31:41] Kevin Bianchi: But okay what I will flag is the wizard in this production was like zaddy flamboyant gay.

[31:45] Quincy Brown: Oh.

[31:47] Kevin Bianchi: Like he was a zaddy in like this like fire flame coat and like not rainbow but like very colorful like tight tailored thing like he was a zaddy and he was flamboyant.

[31:57] Quincy Brown: I'm wondering if how flamboyant he was and how much of it is you thought he was hot.

[32:01] Kevin Bianchi: How much of this are you projecting onto this man?

[32:03] Quincy Brown: Yeah have I ever been attracted to a wizard before? I guess not now that we think of it.

[32:07] Kevin Bianchi: You're like this is great there's bars on each side of the orchestra and there's one more hot character in the show.

[32:13] Quincy Brown: Javier Ibarra.

[32:15] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah he's dapper.

[32:17] Quincy Brown: The Mago de Oz.

[32:19] Kevin Bianchi: Bruja.

[32:21] Quincy Brown: That's what they call witches. That's such a good.

[32:23] Kevin Bianchi: Like you have to make such an ugly face to say that word.

[32:25] Quincy Brown: What I will say is like I don't know if anyone has apprehension of seeing an international production of Wicked. If you're this if you are a listener of this podcast you're probably fine because you know the show.

[32:37] Kevin Bianchi: So it's like.

[32:39] Quincy Brown: Even as I'm recounting it to you right now it's all in English in my head so it wasn't as like jarring of an experience as I thought it was going to be to see it in Spanish.

[32:49] Kevin Bianchi: And it makes me want to see more. I really want to see the Brazil production.

[32:53] Quincy Brown: Yeah I want to see it more.

[32:55] Kevin Bianchi: It was great. It was so cheap. It was like theater in Madrid. Check it out.

[33:01] Quincy Brown: Any other final comments?

[33:03] Kevin Bianchi: Oh the VR was really hot too.

[33:05] Quincy Brown: Oh Vanessa Rose was so good!

[33:07] Kevin Bianchi: Speaking of Wicked Witch of the East.

[33:09] Quincy Brown: It was like she sang it down and acted it down.

[33:11] Kevin Bianchi: It almost felt like a telenovela I was watching because it was like so big. It was amazing.

[33:15] Quincy Brown: I love the choice. It was really great.

[33:17] Kevin Bianchi: I think it's like funny because Wicked is like being treated like a new musical there in the sense where it's like if it does well it's going to like keep running but if it doesn't then it's going to stop.

[33:27] Quincy Brown: It's so fascinating.

[33:29] Kevin Bianchi: And this is co-signed by Schwartz. Schwartz was there like a week before I saw it to see it. It's like an official production it's just they green lit it to not be a replica.

[33:41] Quincy Brown: That's crazy.

[33:43] Kevin Bianchi: I'm so curious how those decisions get made too.

[33:45] Quincy Brown: I'm sure it has a lot to do with money.

[33:47] Kevin Bianchi: As in it's like cheaper to do it on replica?

[33:49] Quincy Brown: Well I'm sure they are making money.

[33:51] Kevin Bianchi: You know what I mean? Like I don't think they would mess with the brand of because like Wicked on Broadway and its replicas are so iconic that I would imagine it's a big risk to let other interpretations muddy that.

[34:05] Quincy Brown: That's why I'm like why do Madrid and Brazil get to do a non-replica? Like what about those markets?

[34:11] Kevin Bianchi: It's very interesting.

[34:13] Quincy Brown: Okay. That's the update. Happy New Year.

[34:15] Kevin Bianchi: Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. Happy 2026.

[34:19] Quincy Brown: Happy 2026.

[34:21] Kevin Bianchi: We did it.

[34:23] Quincy Brown: Next stop, the Academy Awards.

[34:25] Kevin Bianchi: For the girls.

[34:27] Quincy Brown: Fingers crossed.

[34:29] Kevin Bianchi: Do you think we'll get another live performance?

[34:31] Quincy Brown: Remember last year when I was like do you think we'll get a live performance and you and Marsha Marsha Marsha both jumped at me and were like no. Why would that happen?

[34:41] Kevin Bianchi: I genuinely I'm glad it happened. I still don't understand why it did though.

[34:45] Quincy Brown: Like I'm so happy we have that. They were nominated for Best Picture.

[34:49] Kevin Bianchi: So were five other movies.

[34:51] Quincy Brown: They don't have songs.

[34:53] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe it would have been.

[34:55] Quincy Brown: Anyway. I'm happy it happened. I'm happy I was wrong.

[34:59] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe we'll get No Good Deed and no, we'll probably get Girl in the Bubble and No Place Like Home at the Oscars.

[35:07] Quincy Brown: Yeah, we will.

[35:09] Kevin Bianchi: Great to catch up. Great to talk to you all. See you in the new year.

[35:15] Quincy Brown: Who can say if I've been changed for the better because...

[35:39] Kevin Bianchi: My favorite TikTok was that shot of Ariana on the balcony like looking for alphabet and someone posted on TikTok we just got to the scene and my mom asked she's not going to jump, is she?

[35:55] Quincy Brown: Okay, bye.

[35:59] Kevin Bianchi: You've been listening to Sentimental Man. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know by leaving a rating and a review on whatever platform you're using to listen.

[36:07] Quincy Brown: And to be sure you never miss a new episode subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.

[36:15] Kevin Bianchi: If you're looking for a way to support the pod, you should join us on Patreon at patreon.com/sentmenpod.

[36:23] Quincy Brown: Patreon members get early releases, extended episodes, and more exclusive content. Special thanks to Julia DiMarzo and Michaela Reynolds for our logo design and key art photography.

[36:33] Kevin Bianchi: To get in touch, find us on TikTok, Instagram, or X at sentmenpod or shoot us an email at sentmenpod at gmail.com.

[36:43] Quincy Brown: Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[36:45] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.