This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:05] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hello everyone. Welcome to Survival Jobs, a podcast in collaboration with Broadway World. My name is Samantha Dawn Tutzalo.

[0:14] Jason A. Coombs: And this is my amazing co-host, Jason A. Coombs. Hi, James.

[0:20] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hello, Survivors.

[0:21] Jason A. Coombs: Hello, Samantha.

[0:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hello, survivors.

[0:23] Jason A. Coombs: Hello, survivors.

[0:24] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hello, Jason.

[0:25] Jason A. Coombs: Yes.

[0:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: Hello, Dolly.

[0:30] Jason A. Coombs: That was good, Jay.

[0:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: I'm not my toes.

[0:34] Jason A. Coombs: Wow.

[0:35] Samantha Tuozzolo: Jason, it's been a minute.

[0:37] Jason A. Coombs: It's been a minute, but we've seen each other.

[0:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: We just haven't gotten a chance to record.

[0:42] Jason A. Coombs: This is true.

[0:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: What's your temperature check today?

[0:45] Jason A. Coombs: My temperature check today is a little bit like a hurricane. You know, it's like, but like not a like not like a category five, like a category like two. It's like growing a little bit, a lot of stuff's happening. I'm starting a new job this week, but it's just been it's like a slow start, but it's super cool, and I'm super thankful for the opportunity to work in entertainment. So here we go. How about you?

[1:07] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's amazing. I'm good. I'm in the same boat of like a million things are happening at once, and I'm just trying to stay calm and navigate it and you know, go with the flow.

[1:18] Jason A. Coombs: Trying to take things day by day.

[1:20] Samantha Tuozzolo: Trying to just think about what's tomorrow, and then maybe the next day, and then that's it. Because if I go even a week so, I get overwhelmed.

[1:30] Jason A. Coombs: Um, yeah.

[1:33] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[1:33] Jason A. Coombs: So we just gotta go day by day.

[1:35] Samantha Tuozzolo: Day by day, day by day.

[1:37] Jason A. Coombs: I love God's bow.

[1:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: Thank you. Um, I do want to chat a little bit about the Boston Gay Men's Chorus.

[1:46] Jason A. Coombs: Uh I just want to chat about that real quick.

[1:48] Samantha Tuozzolo: I went a few weeks ago to see one of my closest friends, Johnny Vento. He is a member of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, and they did a show called A Peacock Amongst Pigeons, which is a book. By the way, the book is banned in Florida, which makes no sense.

[2:07] Jason A. Coombs: So let's just say that.

[2:09] Samantha Tuozzolo: Um, I can't even give that any of my breath. But the show was amazing. These men were so talented, and Johnny was Peter the Peacock.

[2:20] Jason A. Coombs: There's not a thing that I can for say.

[2:28] Samantha Tuozzolo: This is a new soul. I see just was so good and talented, and this choir is filled with I don't even know how many men, but ranges of so many different ages, so diverse, so many gay men, and I thought it was so beautiful.

[3:05] Jason A. Coombs: Um, all of the performances.

[3:07] Samantha Tuozzolo: So I just want to give that a big shout out. I want to link it. If you can donate to the Boston Gay Men's Chorus, please go donate. These guys were so talented, and the show is just so well done. I saw it both nights, so I was really excited to do that.

[3:21] Jason A. Coombs: And then we did a little afterparty.

[3:25] Samantha Tuozzolo: Me?

[3:25] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, double nights, two nights in a row.

[3:28] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love that.

[3:28] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, that's my boy, and he was Peter Peacock, you know.

[3:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: I gotta show up.

[3:33] Jason A. Coombs: He was Peter Peacock.

[3:34] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh the only peacock in the show with his rainbow feathers.

[3:38] Jason A. Coombs: Saw it, yeah.

[3:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: I think he posted something on Instagram. I loved it.

[3:41] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, he was so good.

[3:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love him too. And we had a really nice little afterparty at this restaurant right near where the show was called the Westland.

[3:50] Jason A. Coombs: So if you guys are in Boston, run to this place and check it out.

[3:54] Samantha Tuozzolo: Great food, get great drinks.

[3:56] Jason A. Coombs: The manager was so great and accommodated a group of like 20 of us.

[4:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: So it was just a nice time.

[4:03] Jason A. Coombs: And I love seeing performances that are meaningful and important.

[4:09] Samantha Tuozzolo: And this was got a little shower.

[4:14] Jason A. Coombs: We always talk about um, but you can be a performer anywhere.

[4:18] Samantha Tuozzolo: Like it, like I know we focus a lot on like you know, people who are on Broadway or in and or in film and TV, but like you don't have to be in New York or LA to be a performer.

[4:29] Jason A. Coombs: It doesn't have to be your full-time job, you know.

[4:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: Like so many people are so talented, but they have they're different they're leading a different life, but they still bring the arts into that life of theirs.

[4:38] Jason A. Coombs: The composer, yeah.

[4:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: The composer of this show was a Broadway composer, and the choreographer worked on Broadway.

[4:46] Jason A. Coombs: Like, you know, you can bring Broadway anywhere, it doesn't only have to exist in New York, y'all.

[4:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: Big effects.

[4:53] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, Jason.

[4:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: I want to ask you something because I saw you running around town with Usher.

[5:00] Jason A. Coombs: I don't even know how I'm so lucky to talk to you, but you're pretty famous these days, and I just don't even know what to keep up.

[5:08] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, I was very fortunate to get to go to my friend Kabir. Shout out to my friend Kabir, who invited me to Las Vegas to see Usher's residency.

[5:19] Jason A. Coombs: Uh, and it was quite the time, and I think the whole week was great. I had a great time. I'd never been to Vegas before, so that was super exciting. One of my goals is to see all 50 states, so like Nevada's checked off.

[5:34] Samantha Tuozzolo: But um, I think the just really cool thing was we were invited to have dinner with Usher.

[5:40] Jason A. Coombs: I sound so pretentious saying that, but um how wonderful that was to speak with someone who's so accomplished and so iconic and to have dinner with them and get to talk to him in a small setting, and we got to really just um this vibe, you know, it was it was no pretense.

[5:58] Jason A. Coombs: He's such a humble, humble person, and I was just blown away by that. And we've been fortunate to be allowed into these spaces that we keep like pinching ourselves about being in, and I always think of you in my head, like we belong there, we belong there.

[6:16] Samantha Tuozzolo: So I am very fortunate and very happy that I got that experience, and you know, he shared so much knowledge. I was just taking notes like mentally the whole time, and then I had to journal about it after because it was incredible, he's incredible.

[6:30] Jason A. Coombs: That's all I really said.

[6:31] Samantha Tuozzolo: Amazing, congratulations. I mean, what an iconic like weekend, I'm pretty sure I'm having dinner with Usher, and I was like, huh?

[6:41] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[6:42] Samantha Tuozzolo: I know I'm the kind of person where I like I don't like to jinx things, which is stupid because like you can't really jinx things, but I'm just like I just want to wait till it's like happening.

[6:51] Jason A. Coombs: So I think I only told like you and like the other people, and then like I was still like, is this gonna get cancelled or is he not gonna show up?

[6:58] Jason A. Coombs: Like literally until we saw him and I was like, okay, well, this is happening. But you know, it's like when you when you when you go into these spaces and and you meet these people, you begin to forget that they're superstars because like you're having a conversation, and like Kabir's mom was so so kind and thoughtful that she introduced us as artists because we are, you know.

[7:20] Jason A. Coombs: So like it was me, my friend and Anjali and Vijanthi, and she was like, These are artists, they're working artists, and like I think that really set the bar as well that like we're coming from obviously we're not like eight-time Grammy winners selling millions of records yet, but there was this kind of like understanding that like we're all in this together, and I think Usher really um really was so uh into that, you know.

[7:46] Jason A. Coombs: He really was like respectful of that. He didn't just like brush us off, he really took the time and we talked to him for a long time, so that was great.

[7:54] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's amazing, G. Congrats onward, on to the next, on to the next question, you know.

[8:01] Jason A. Coombs: And then so Jason, I mean, we both I feel like have been doing a lot, so we did all these things. We were with the bus in Gaiman, we were with Usher, and then we saw Parade.

[8:12] Samantha Tuozzolo: Wow, yeah, wow, we sure did.

[8:16] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, um, how incredible is that show, Samantha.

[8:20] Samantha Tuozzolo: You've seen it more than once.

[8:21] Jason A. Coombs: I have seen it now three times, and I would see it three more.

[8:25] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, because yeah, so our guest today, Alex Joseph Grayson, who plays Jim Connolly, like we'll talk a lot more about how Jason and I are feeling about this production, um, with him, but this was just so you know, uh by the way, lots of spoilers in this episode.

[8:43] Jason A. Coombs: If you don't know anything about and you're thinking about going to see it, just know we talk a lot about fake spoilers of major plot points.

[8:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: Because it is a true story, um, it's it's uh adaptation of a historical event that happened in the Jim Crow era in Marietta, Georgia.

[9:00] Jason A. Coombs: So it is a true story, and yeah, we we really couldn't talk about we couldn't really beat around, especially because his character is so integral to the whole narrative of what happened as well.

[9:12] Samantha Tuozzolo: So we have to kind of just like ask the questions and talk about it.

[9:15] Jason A. Coombs: So if you don't want any spoilers, maybe see the show or or read the show or read about the the case first and then come back and listen.

[9:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, if not, then just enjoy the episode because it's a great episode.

[9:27] Jason A. Coombs: And then go see the show.

[9:28] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, it's a great episode.

[9:30] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, what what I was gonna say is that you know, I'm not running back to this show because I love the story, like the story is you know dark, it's heavy.

[9:41] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, I was gonna say effed up, like it's just so effed up, like that's the first thing that comes that's the way I feel.

[9:47] Jason A. Coombs: But the performances, the direction, the love, you know.

[9:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: I leave feeling sick and filled with love, which I say with Alex, but yeah, I don't know.

[9:59] Jason A. Coombs: I think Michael Arden directed this in such a perfect way.

[10:04] Samantha Tuozzolo: The direction I feel is perfect, and it's tough, it's a tough story.

[10:08] Jason A. Coombs: How do you tell this story in a respectful way, in a way that's going to capture audiences to come?

[10:17] Samantha Tuozzolo: And I think they just did an excellent job.

[10:19] Jason A. Coombs: And the cast is excellent.

[10:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, it's just uh uh yeah, seriously.

[10:25] Jason A. Coombs: And um you'll hear more about it, but there is like just the projections that that they use because it is a historical show, so there's like these projections are happening that help you follow along with the story, which I which I appreciated.

[10:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: I feel like a lot of those, like uh I guess it's like mostly a s mostly sung show.

[10:43] Jason A. Coombs: It's like sometimes hard to follow everything that's happening, so that was really helpful for me, and then like the way it was staged and the way like the the actors kind of come in, like we they bring us into their world so well.

[10:56] Samantha Tuozzolo: I was blown away by the direction that you said, and it's just a stage production as well, and every person up there obviously it's Broadway, so everybody's gonna be super talented, but like I didn't feel like anybody was phoning it in at all, like any in it from the first freaking note to the last to the vows for sure to the vows, and we were so excited and happy to see our past Survival Jobs guests, Michaela Diamond, who is such a star, and the girl is 23.

[11:29] Jason A. Coombs: Which I was like, How are you 23?

[11:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: And this I don't know, sophisticated so mature, like her performance is like not a 23-year-old, you know, she's iconic and Douglas Lions, Douglas.

[11:44] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, we have two, two, two past guests, and now we have Alex too.

[11:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: We have Alex, so today's guest is Alex, and so we're watching the show, and I kept saying, Oh my god, Jason, that's our podcast guest.

[11:56] Jason A. Coombs: Like, he's so unbelievable.

[12:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: Like, he sings through the house, like his voice fills every inch of the house.

[12:07] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, you felt that like, yeah, it's crazy.

[12:10] Samantha Tuozzolo: And he, yeah, he his voice is incredible. His acting, I told him, I was like, You were kind of scary, like, yeah, without giving too much away.

[12:12] Jason A. Coombs: You were kind of scary.

[12:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: So, so and I think he appreciated that.

[12:24] Jason A. Coombs: I think he did his job.

[12:25] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's his job, right?

[12:26] Jason A. Coombs: It's like I don't know, Samantha was that weird to say.

[12:32] Samantha Tuozzolo: I mean, it's when you felt, right?

[12:34] Jason A. Coombs: So, no, yeah.

[12:35] Samantha Tuozzolo: I guess whatever that was your takeaway.

[12:39] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, and I and I think I say this in episode two, the show just like lived in me.

[12:44] Samantha Tuozzolo: I couldn't like shake it off, you know.

[12:45] Jason A. Coombs: Like, I feel like I just felt so many emotions because like people are kind of phrases about like being too plug and correct, but you know, sometimes the police don't always solve crimes, and they frame like people get framed who didn't commit a murder.

[13:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: And although there's talk if like you if Leo did it or not, but um this happens still to this day, it happens all the time.

[13:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: I listen to a lot of true crime documentaries, and there's so many men, black men too, like especially that are like that are charged for crimes they didn't commit, and like they don't want to like look at the evidence, or like you try to get they try to get appeals, and like the court, like the court system won't give them appeals, like it's just like so shitty, you know.

[13:30] Alex Joseph Grayson: The justice is so shitty sometimes, and so that I think that was like in my head and my body for a lot of it, and I was like, Wow, this is like 2023, and this is still like a concert thing that happens.

[13:42] Alex Joseph Grayson: It's wild.

[13:43] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, it really is.

[13:45] Jason A. Coombs: We highly recommend that you guys run and get a ticket.

[13:49] Jason A. Coombs: It's a limited run until August 6th, so the classic chicken, y'all.

[13:54] Jason A. Coombs: You better run tick tock.

[13:56] Jason A. Coombs: Let's talk about Alex and then jump into this episode.

[14:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: What do you think?

[14:01] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah, it's a good one, y'all.

[14:03] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's a really it's like one of my favorites, honestly.

[14:05] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, it was good.

[14:06] Samantha Tuozzolo: Alex Joseph Grayson, who's currently playing Jim Conley in Parade on Broadway.

[14:12] Samantha Tuozzolo: Some of his other Broadway credits include Into the Woods, Girl from the North Country, and A Bronx Tale.

[14:18] Jason A. Coombs: Off Broadway, an off-Broadway credit includes Tony Stone, which one of our past guests, April Mathis, was also in.

[14:26] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love when worlds collide from our podcast guests.

[14:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: Makes me feel really happy.

[14:31] Jason A. Coombs: And his national tour credit of his is Once on This Island, which he tells us was directed by Michael Arden and full circle.

[14:38] Jason A. Coombs: He's right back with Michael Arden and enjoy this episode.

[14:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: Enjoy.

[14:44] Jason A. Coombs: Thanks, y'all.

[14:46] Samantha Tuozzolo: Awesome. Welcome to Survival Jobs a podcast, Alex.

[14:49] Alex Joseph Grayson: Thank you so much.

[14:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: Thank you for having me.

[14:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, we are so excited to talk to you about survival jobs, about Parade, about cast recordings, but give us all the tea today.

[15:00] Alex Joseph Grayson: So thank you for being here.

[15:01] Alex Joseph Grayson: I have so much tea.

[15:03] Alex Joseph Grayson: Thank you.

[15:04] Alex Joseph Grayson: I will I will sign off on everything Jason said.

[15:06] Alex Joseph Grayson: Thank you for being here.

[15:08] Samantha Tuozzolo: We saw Parade last week, and I was telling you before we were recording that we are still in recovery.

[15:16] Samantha Tuozzolo: The show is iconic.

[15:17] Samantha Tuozzolo: The cast is iconic.

[15:18] Samantha Tuozzolo: You bring the house down, and we're so excited to talk all about it and and and learn about the process and how you're feeling, and everybody needs to go see it, but we'll talk way more about that later.

[15:30] Samantha Tuozzolo: Um, but to kick it off, we're here on Survival Jobs.

[15:34] Samantha Tuozzolo: So let's start with a survival job question.

[15:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: Um, do you think that there's a certain judgment that surrounds the term survival jobs?

[15:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh I I do, and you know, it's it's funny uh in our our small little um you know multi-billion dollar industry that is entertainment uh we we throw that term around but for people outside of the industry it's just going to work.

[16:06] Alex Joseph Grayson: It's a it's a normal thing.

[16:08] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh I'm the I'm the only performer in my immediate family, so it a job is a job, and I think that there are efficient ways to make money when there's when you have another passion that you're you're working your way towards uh in a career, and there are less efficient ways to make money, and it's as simple as that.

[16:32] Alex Joseph Grayson: And can you can you enjoy um the experience or is it um is it survivable enough for you to uh utilize as a survival job?

[16:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: That's sort of where I put it mentally.

[16:49] Samantha Tuozzolo: I dig that.

[16:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: Do you have like a favorite survival job in your past?

[16:53] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um yes.

[16:55] Alex Joseph Grayson: I recently, actually last summer, uh, shortly before I started doing Into the Woods on Broadway, I was working at Ellen's Stardust Diner.

[17:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yes!

[17:09] Alex Joseph Grayson: And iconic.

[17:11] Alex Joseph Grayson: It is it is iconic, and some of the most incredible performers are working there.

[17:20] Alex Joseph Grayson: And uh I mean, these are these are people who uh actively are auditioning for theater and TV and film, and people leave and they come back because believe it or not, you can make more money doing that than you can on Broadway in some situations.

[17:36] Jason A. Coombs: Actually, though.

[17:37] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah.

[17:38] Alex Joseph Grayson: All these servers bring in that dough.

[17:41] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, and it's it's also one of those things.

[17:43] Alex Joseph Grayson: I I've worked at a bunch of different restaurants.

[17:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh, but it's my first restaurant job where I felt like people were really happy about being at work.

[17:54] Alex Joseph Grayson: And it's this strange combination of, you know, you're checking off the box of being a performer, people are there, everyone loves the performances.

[18:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: The people that that come to eat, you know, they they forget about the menu in front of them, and they never know what they're gonna order after you sing a song and you go to the table, they're like, Oh, you're amazing, you're amazing.

[18:18] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um, oh my god, can we take a picture?

[18:20] Alex Joseph Grayson: Oh, this is my daughter, this is my son.

[18:22] Alex Joseph Grayson: They sing blah blah blah blah.

[18:24] Alex Joseph Grayson: And you you have to get through all of that before you ask, uh, you know, what would you like to eat this afternoon or morning or whatever?

[18:32] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh, and it's you know, it's a bit of a struggle too because you you're you're singing a song or maybe two songs every hour, and you know you might be there for six and a half hours, and you know, you have to pace yourself because you don't want to lose your voice and you're talking to people, so that's a whole technical side of things that you have to figure out and navigate.

[18:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: But it's it's that instant gratification of live performance of people just showing you right away that they appreciate the the work that you're doing, your artistry, and then you go do the the business side of waiting tables, and then you make really really good money, and then there are there's an environment of people who seem to really enjoy what they're doing, and it's you know, it's not a a job that people are it it it sucks to show up at work and have a bunch of people in a bad mood, and um I I am fortunate enough to not be in a situation where where that's the case, but I know that's normal for a lot of people, so um that was a really really great gig and I just started working there for the first time this past summer and what a what a gift and if you're a if you're a singer uh or an actor that's trying to break into the industry or you you have dreams of Broadway or or just do pursuing uh your art as a performer try and get in there right away because it's a great great game and it's it's a great Ellen's Stardust Diner.

[18:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: How long did you work there?

[20:22] Alex Joseph Grayson: I don't want to age myself but yes because nobody else is singing that one for some reason.

[20:23] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um I was there for I think I was there for like two months or a month and a half before I left and then the book and then book yes.

[20:28] Samantha Tuozzolo: Weren't you the understudy for Jack in Into the Woods?

[20:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: What was your go-to song? Sorry, I'm asking like all these off script questions. Go-to song at the diner?

[20:33] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um my favorite song to sing is "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder.

[20:33] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh yes well I was I was one of one of the understudies for for Jack.

[20:37] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah isn't well I think one of the like go-to songs at Ellen's correct me if I'm wrong is "Giants in the Sky."

[20:43] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yes I've heard "Giants in the Sky" there and Ellen's I've heard I've heard many things there.

[20:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: Anything under the weather you'll yes I feel like every time I step foot into Ellen's it's "Giants in the Sky" like instantly I'm like where am I.

[20:43] Alex Joseph Grayson: I do, by the way, to sidebar, I love going to Ellen's.

[21:03] Alex Joseph Grayson: If it's like late night in the city, I'm like, hello, because I have a couple of friends that work.

[21:07] Alex Joseph Grayson: I'm like, are you there? I'll come up a milkshake it's just fun.

[21:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: It's so much fun.

[21:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: My first professional performing gig was uh for Disney Cruise Line.

[21:18] Alex Joseph Grayson: So I work for the Walt Disney Company uh and I was the the Lion King singer, and that was right out of college.

[21:25] Alex Joseph Grayson: And I think the Walt Disney Company, as we all know, they have mastered the art of uh entertainment, uh monetizing art's entertainment and and bringing it to audiences efficiently in a in a big way.

[21:42] Alex Joseph Grayson: They've figured it out, and um also just how to how to run that operation, how to put it on a on a cruise ship, put it in park, put it on a stage.

[21:51] Alex Joseph Grayson: There Disney's everywhere.

[21:53] Alex Joseph Grayson: We all know Disney, and that experience was very formative for me because it sort of taught me about standards of you know, operating like a theater contract or working with performers, and as far as like the if that is the measuring stick compared to Ellen's, they have really figured out that operation because it's a great experience.

[22:18] Alex Joseph Grayson: No matter no matter where you're coming from, walk in there, wait in the line.

[22:22] Alex Joseph Grayson: It's like going to a theme park.

[22:24] Alex Joseph Grayson: It it is it is that kind of experience.

[22:26] Alex Joseph Grayson: So uh I I don't work at Ellen's currently.

[22:29] Alex Joseph Grayson: I've I mean I might still be on the roster, but you know, they didn't pay me for this ad.

[22:36] Jason A. Coombs: You're a little busy to just a little, yeah.

[22:39] Alex Joseph Grayson: I mean, but by the way, not to continue the Ellen's talk, but that line is always wrapped around.

[22:44] Jason A. Coombs: Always.

[22:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: I'm like, my goodness, always sometimes earned that reputation.

[22:50] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[22:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: Okay, so Ellen's was your favorite survival job for a lot of amazing reasons.

[22:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: Do you have a least favorite survival job?

[22:57] Alex Joseph Grayson: One maybe with not so fun stories.

[23:00] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um the worst job that I ever had was at um a restaurant.

[23:09] Alex Joseph Grayson: I'm not gonna name names.

[23:11] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um a restaurant that at the time was right across the street from New York City Center.

[23:19] Alex Joseph Grayson: And I will just say that a combination of personalities, management, um uh lack of support for new employees, uh, bad attitudes, it it was not great.

[23:35] Alex Joseph Grayson: And the money wasn't good either.

[23:36] Alex Joseph Grayson: How about that?

[23:37] Jason A. Coombs: How about the food was just so so yeah, a lot of negatives don't make a positive.

[23:43] Alex Joseph Grayson: And this is New York City.

[23:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, we need good food and we need good everything.

[23:48] Jason A. Coombs: Shame, shame, shame.

[23:49] Samantha Tuozzolo: How iconic then you were at City Center.

[23:53] Samantha Tuozzolo: Did that feel crazy?

[23:54] Samantha Tuozzolo: Like, oh my god, I used to have my worst survival job across the street, and now I'm performing at City Center?

[23:59] Alex Joseph Grayson: It it did, it did feel strange.

[24:02] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um, and I I have also seen a show at City Center, and I I just remember being in the audience and thinking, wow, everything they're so far away on that stage.

[24:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh, and then having the experience being on stage and like looking out there and trying to see the people you can't see the people.

[24:20] Alex Joseph Grayson: It's it's just it's ridiculously large.

[24:22] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh yeah, it's it's really, really cool.

[24:25] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um this whole past year has been very it's been very surprising how quickly uh a bunch of things have lined up and connected into other wonderful opportunities, and I I just feel very very fortunate.

[24:44] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love that for you.

[24:45] Samantha Tuozzolo: That's amazing.

[24:46] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, congratulations.

[24:48] Jason A. Coombs: By the way, well deserved again.

[24:49] Jason A. Coombs: You bring the house.

[24:56] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah.

[24:57] Jason A. Coombs: Thank you.

[24:59] Alex Joseph Grayson: Oh my Jason, we get him on the podcast.

[25:02] Jason A. Coombs: I know, I know.

[25:03] Alex Joseph Grayson: It was wild.

[25:05] Jason A. Coombs: And you were kind of scary to be honest.

[25:07] Alex Joseph Grayson: I won't say that.

[25:08] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, okay.

[25:11] Alex Joseph Grayson: I don't want to give any spoilers in case that people don't know, but I was like a little like, ooh.

[25:15] Jason A. Coombs: That means you're incredibly good at your job.

[25:18] Alex Joseph Grayson: Thank you.

[25:19] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah.

[25:20] Alex Joseph Grayson: And you know, my and that's the thing.

[25:22] Alex Joseph Grayson: My uh my intention in my process in uh playing Jim Conley.

[25:26] Alex Joseph Grayson: I never wrote down anywhere or thought be scary.

[25:31] Alex Joseph Grayson: So it's like a it's like a side effect of whatever I'm pursuing.

[25:37] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, yeah.

[25:38] Alex Joseph Grayson: Great.

[25:38] Samantha Tuozzolo: Love that.

[25:40] Samantha Tuozzolo: Can you take us a little bit into your audition process for Jim Conley?

[25:44] Alex Joseph Grayson: Like what was that like for you? And give us all the details. Do you have how many callbacks you had? Um, yeah, I it it was really I want to say it was like a it was like a two-step thing. Uh I submitted a video and then I had an in-person callback.

[26:06] Alex Joseph Grayson: And I was not sure at first whether or not I was going to be able to do the show because it was a direct conflict with Into the Woods. And you know, there's so many reasons historically why productions haven't gone with one actor and they went with somebody else. And a lot of times it's something as simple as they're on another contract and they can't get out for whatever reason. And they just they can't make it right now. And then you have a preliminary production of something. You don't know if it's gonna go to Broadway. Like we the hope, everyone, everyone was hoping, let's just fall in the footsteps of Into the Woods and let's have a direct, but there was no guarantee of that until we had those contracts in hand.

[27:00] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um and I just um remember before before even working on the audition and getting ready to like play this role, I had walked past uh City Center or I biked past it, and I saw a poster for Parade, uh, and that it was coming soon. And Michael Arden was directing, and I was like, oh, how cool. I I worked with Michael on the Once on This Island tour um in 2020. We we shut we were in Las Vegas and we shut down in March. That's when everything kind of changed. Three years ago. It's really really wild how that time has flown away.

[27:41] Alex Joseph Grayson: But uh I yeah, I saw Michael, and I was like, oh my gosh, Michael's doing Michael's doing Parade. And uh one of my one of my close friends, I had actually seen him in a production of Parade at what is now the Rev. Um, I think that was I'm I'm forgetting the old name of the theater, so I'm not even gonna try to say it, but it network they they did a production of Parade, and I was just blown away by the show, and I thought uh, you know, Jason's uh music was was so amazing in that show, and it's uh it's so heartbreaking, and it really um kind of it it feels risky to to tell a true story because that means that someone somewhere somewhere someone is still processing these events and whatever the trauma of that is.

[28:31] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um but I I just felt like well, this will be a cool thing that happens that I won't be a part of because I'm I'm working, and uh I I got an email asking if I would come and audition, and I was like, I mean, I'll come and audition, but I I you know we'll it's gonna it's gonna be some begging to get out of the situation. But it worked out because you know, I was I was an understudy at the time, and to to not be able to do the show would mean that I was being held on to in order to really just be a support piece for another show, someone else's security policy and insurance policy, and that was not the case.

[29:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: Luckily, I they let me out, uh I did the show, and here we are. And I I knew that it was going to be magical when I saw that Michael was involved, uh, because he always puts together a great team of people. Um here we are. We're doing we're doing magic, and it's it's really it's a really great group of actors, and I love that we spend so much time watching each other because it's very, very for me.

[29:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, I used to see everybody's process and the little changes and things that they do. I'm I'm off stage a few times during the show, so I'm kind of like listening in and I'm not seeing everything, but for the most part, I get to see people's journey, it's amazing.

[30:00] Alex Joseph Grayson: Which is amazing. I mean, the direction of this show is just flawless. I was like, this is directed beautifully. He is incredible. Just to continue the Michael Arden conversation. And the stage design with the projections, like oof.

[30:17] Jason A. Coombs: We're Parade's biggest fans, I think.

[30:19] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, yeah. We were in a we were like we were in the like third row? I mean the stage was on top of us. We were so close.

[30:25] Jason A. Coombs: Oh yeah.

[30:26] Alex Joseph Grayson: I think you spit on me, actually.

[30:29] Jason A. Coombs: Oh sorry.

[30:31] Alex Joseph Grayson: You're pressing my my big face and my big hair. Like okay, so Jim Conley.

[30:40] Jason A. Coombs: Now Mr. Frank, he had a good time.

[30:56] Alex Joseph Grayson: Like lightning. He's a real life person. So what was your process like preparing for this role? Who's a real person that's different than you know any other parts you've played?

[31:22] Alex Joseph Grayson: Second part of that question is, you know, it's speculated that he is the guilty one. He committed this murder. Sorry, spoilers. How did how does that feel also playing this person who you who m probably did may have committed this crime?

[31:39] Alex Joseph Grayson: That's a two-part question.

[31:41] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, well, so first and foremost, um, this is all this the this case is is I mean, all the information is in the public domain. Right. So people come in with all sorts of research and everything, but uh, you know, I personally for me, my job as the actor is to only take the information that's in that book in that in that libretto and in the score and um and work from there.

[32:08] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh and the the rest of the information that's not there it is only to support how I live and breathe in that in that space because the it's there's the other the other information is that's that's within the minds of the audience, and I I I know this the story itself is is really doing a lot of work on its own.

[32:32] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um and and then you know there's the other tricky side of it is we are telling a story in that you know it this is not said in the play, but this is a story that takes place in the Jim Crow South, and uh navigating that for me personally as a as a black man, um I I have to keep this very much in a in a place of of play.

[32:59] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um uh and exploration with the other actors in the space. Uh because I don't think it's really going to serve me or anyone else to to try and explore the historical accuracies of that time period because I think I I think we we would need more time. I think that would be a different production to really explore that.

[33:24] Alex Joseph Grayson: And that while there are there are horrors um to this story in itself we're not really scratching the surface of what it truly means to to be in in that time period as a as a black person and if you noticed we're not the we're not the focus of this story the story couldn't happen without the black people in it but um it is it is not centered on on the black company members so it actually alleviates a lot of responsibility for me it actually frees me up to go in um and and really work with what's happening right in front of me and and work with these words and bring them to life in a in the way that I feel is most truthful.

[33:24] Jason A. Coombs: Wow, wow, yeah wow that's intense. I mean I mean transported back there because like watching it, you know like there are lots of confederate flags and I feel like um the way that staged is like you're you're in it at least I felt like I was in it because like the audience uh the the actors go into the audience.

[33:24] Alex Joseph Grayson: Oh yeah a little bit so it makes you really feel like you're in there and I had I had a lot of auto emotions after obviously I remember saying I was like oh I can't even process like it took me like until the next day to kind of shake it off you know and it doesn't always happen to see a show in general for me personally but like that was just so heavy on my whole body.

[34:40] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah they give you lots of kudos uh so you do that eight times a week yeah so wow Jason was like don't talk to me about this show until tomorrow it was like I can't talk about this anymore today.

[35:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh those flags were actually um we we replaced those confederate flags with um rainbow flags in the I saw yeah which was uh which was cool but I think it was also purposeful because uh for a lot of the company members the the pride that that flag represented I I know uh what Michael said and I'm giving away secrets but uh he said let that sense of pride be the same thing that appears on stage even when you have that other flag that that flag is really is really this and it means that and that's what that pride is to these people um yeah and and it was interesting and we you know we we joke and we laugh so much because I think it's it's actually important to almost uh do the work do more work to cultivate that that joyful uh present and presence while handling such a dark story about America I I think it's necessary.

[35:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um one thing I one thing I will say is we have done a lot of work um with our with our creative team to uh cultivate a space of of joy, especially in the rehearsal process.

[35:12] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah I don't know if if you didn't do that how you could get through doing this eight times a week yeah you know it's so heavy and it's not not too far off you know it's I I wish we could say that this happened this many years ago and things are so different but as we know it's not.

[36:47] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, and then to keep the heavy train for one more question and then we'll we'll lighten it up again. It's probably like our heaviest episode, I feel like.

[36:55] Jason A. Coombs: But um uh at the first preview, as as we all know, there was uh a neo-Nazi group. We're not gonna say the the name of the group, but they protested outside of the theater.

[37:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um I guess my question is without making without sounding stupid, I'm sorry, but like what did it feel like knowing that those people are out there and you're telling such an important story that's like so relevant to today still, and um why do you think the stories should be still told today in 2023?

[37:23] Alex Joseph Grayson: Well, you know, it's funny because I I walked past them on the way to work, and I don't know the name of the group, but I I think uh I I really felt myself go, huh? These people actually showed up because we had we had spoken about sort of in an ambiguous sense how this would affect people and how some people would be upset and there would be a lot of noise, but we never really talked about um how that would manifest specifically uh in a in like a tangible way.

[38:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: And when that happened, I was like, okay. I see this is this is a possibility with doing uh a show that people d you know don't feel good about like it it's it's something that I I think people kind of wanted brushed under the rug and left alone, and here we are digging it up because it's it's not resolved and you know, it and it's beautiful music, and people are gonna come pay the ticket price to come see it on Broadway and see Ben Platt and Michaela and and me and everybody else.

[38:40] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um but um I was just sort of like okay, this is this is how powerful this is. Also, it was like three people, or it was like three or four people, and they were surrounded by a few police officers here and there, and I didn't feel threatened, but I also felt like wow, everything is an opportunity for someone to get coverage somewhere. Uh and and what we found out later on when we had our safety meeting is uh these people, the leader of this group is on social media and he looks for situations like this to get his picture taken and get tagged in things because it's a business and he's uh he monetizes this stuff. He's a content creator, he's an influencer. You know, like so. I won't I would call myself an an influencer.

I'm sure I've influenced someone, but I'm not I I haven't taken on that title yet. But I you know, it was it was weird and it was very surreal because I've never been part of um something that had those implications, you know, and you're saying this is this is the heaviest episode. I mean, this is a it's a pretty heavy show, you know.

[40:02] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[40:02] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um and to speak to the relevance of the piece, the case is unresolved. There are people that uh you know, uh I I haven't read that information about Jim Conley, but I've many people have told me, Oh, it looks like he actually did it. That's out there. I was like, did I like drop that bomb to you? Oh no, I but I've heard that before. Uh and there are also people that are um still down there in Marietta that are think Leo Frank did it. There's there's publications on all these reasons that he was actually guilty. But we're we're just we're telling the truth of the fact that um two people died in this incident. A girl was murdered and uh and the man was murdered and they were both crimes and and we're we're putting that out there and and letting people process that information.

[41:10] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[41:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: Well thank you for sharing that putting in the it's it's being put out there in such a delicate way and with such taste that it's like I've never thought I would say like oh my god I want to see this show so many times because it is so heavy but I do I want to I will watch it every single night because it's just also filled with so much love and I think for me when I walked away from that I was like wow like I feel really crazy and sad and sick but also I I'm I'm filled with so much love because of the love of these two main characters.

[41:51] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah thank you so much for being so open about all of this. Can you uh can can we turn it a little bit and get off a little of the heavy train and talk so um do you want to add one more thing?

[42:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um well no, I was I was that the um thing that I I that I haven't said is you know what anti-Semitism has it never it never really declined and it's it's on the rise uh along with a lot of uh hate that's um towards our AIPI community members, but just hate crimes across the board uh against different groups of people uh are are just on the rise, and it's anytime you sort of shed a light on that specifically, uh you know, it the waking up from sort of just being complicit to those things, it's it's just jarring for people. And I I think what working working in the arts is like just a fast track to becoming aware of all the work that really needs to be done in the world, and not necessarily a lot of power to um to create change, but really just shed a light on these things, and it's um it's kind of a hard position to be in to just carry this carry this knowledge or or sort of uh trudge through all of this trauma, but not really have a solution, you know.

[43:30] Jason A. Coombs: Right.

[43:31] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um, but it's important, I think.

[43:33] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's definitely important.

[43:35] Jason A. Coombs: You said so important.

[43:37] Alex Joseph Grayson: You said something in that answer that triggered me to say, you know, Viola Davis, we love Viola, Jason Viola fan. She says something, Jason, jump in if I'm butchering this, but she's like, I'm an artist, and thank God I am, because it's the only career that knows how to live a life. So you're saying, you know, performing this puts you on a fast track, but it is true as an artist, you dig into so many different stories, whether true or made up, that teach you and help you grow and as a human and hopefully can spread it to everyone.

[44:14] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah.

[44:15] Samantha Tuozzolo: So thank you so much for triggering to talk about Viola. You're getting you guys are giving so many let like lessons, you know, because I didn't know much about the case, and then I spent the whole next day like reading everything I could and like, you know, the next morning, you know, and like really really diving in and just learning about the history of that time because I didn't even realize there was such a large population of of Jewish people in Georgia that fled after this happened, you know, like that was something that I didn't know. So like thank you. Thank you for just doing the work that you're doing. You know, it's important. You know, very important.

[44:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah. Of course. And to now get off the heavy train just a bit. Second try, second try. And we were grabbing a little bit about this before the show. So can you tell us? Because Jason and I were like, wait, what's up with the whole process of cast recordings? Like, can you tell us a little bit about it and what that was like recording it?

[45:16] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um, it was really cool. I mean, uh the the schedule of it all, and it's this is the way that it always is because it's uh Broadway is a is a big rush. Um hey producers, uh it's it's always a big rush because you know the it we're doing everything on a on a budget, whatever budget people come up with, and um luckily we we had a long day to try and get everything done it started off as like we're gonna try to get in get it done in two days and then it came down to one day uh but it was amazing uh really uh really amazing crew over there at uh at power station where we we recorded this thing uh jason uh jason robber brown was there uh tom our um who is in charge of all of our orchestration stuff vocal arranging he was there guiding and conducting us uh it was just really really cool and so it was like the whole orchestra there too singing it live yeah we had um we had two two floors that we were working on uh simultaneously so we had we had the band downstairs and um some of the soloists were singing downstairs in the same studio as the as the band and then we had ensemble vocalists upstairs it was really really cool it was great one day wow yeah so if you're listening to this right now people go and get the cast recording yeah or you can buy it everywhere I don't know do you know I think it's gonna be uh I think it's gonna be amazing and it will be available everywhere you can stream music boom on the twenty Thursday the 23rd Thursday the 23rd parade on Broadway cast album releases, check it out anywhere you stream music, you're gonna love it.

[47:20] Jason A. Coombs: I mean, you sure are. You gonna go see it, y'all. Wait to hear Alex, you know, sing for his life.

[47:30] Alex Joseph Grayson: If you're into that.

[47:31] Jason A. Coombs: If you're into that, if you're into that. Alex, this has been such a joy. I know it's your day off, and we're ecstatic that you took some time to chat with us on your only day off of the week. So Jason and I are so grateful, and it's been amazing. So, surprise, we always end the show with a super fun game, just because sometimes we get heavy, we don't get that heavy, but sometimes we get heavy. We like to bring it back to light and fun and keeping things joyful um and inspiring because that's what we love to preach here. Uh, but before we jump into the game, do you have any advice that you'd like to give to some of our listeners who are artists that may be feeling stuck in their survival jobs and are just struggling to feel inspired or get out of get out of their survival job, maybe?

[48:25] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um what I would say is don't be afraid to dream while you're awake and really be clear about what you want. Like you we're we're so capable of these incredible things as human beings. Uh, you know, it it we can do we can do so many amazing things if we put our mind to it. But I think the biggest barrier is fear or thinking that um it's uh it's out of reach. But I think we have to have the willingness to explore our wildest dreams and write those things down and really see what it would take to make those things come true.

[49:29] Samantha Tuozzolo: You're a manifester, huh?

[49:31] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yes.

[49:35] Jason A. Coombs: Love that.

[49:35] Alex Joseph Grayson: So are we?

[49:38] Jason A. Coombs: Incredible. Cool. And uh before we jump into the game, also I was just curious because I always just like to ask people this like what's inspiring you, like any kind of art movies, uh music, podcasts, anything that's like feeding your soul artistically, besides this big show that you're in eight times a week?

[49:58] Alex Joseph Grayson: Hmm. I I mean I love I love watching um other performances. I love I love watching actors and TV and movies. Okay, this is I just watched a movie last night. It was my like the night before my day off, so I I can stay away, right? Um but I watched this movie, it's on Shudder. This is a streaming app that has a bunch of horror movies. Or yes. I love horror movies. Same. There's a movie that's it's like kind of low budget. It's called Dead Stream. And it's this guy, he's playing and uh it's like a this is like a found footage movie, by the way. And I like I don't like those kinds of movies.

[50:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah. As a rule, but I watch this. This guy is uh a streamer on a made-up streaming platform, and he goes to a haunted house, and the whole movie is him, and I think there are some other actors that appear in there playing, you know, because there's ghosts and stuff that appear later on. But he's he's got all of his gear on, uh he's got a front-facing camera, he has a camera on him, he's got like little GoPros that he's that he's placing on things, and I was just watching this movie more watching the actor than watching the film, and I was just blown away by the amount of stuff that this person was responsible for that they did so seamlessly, and it it's like honestly, it was like it was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen on on camera.

[51:46] Alex Joseph Grayson: It was like this person's they're making this movie themselves, they've got all of their gear, they're doing all of the stuff, they're talking to people on a live stream on the film because people are talking, and he's engaging with the followers, he's doing ads for products, you know, you like you know dead. I was just blown away by this performance, and it's one of those things that maybe a lot of people won't pay attention to because it's on you know, it's on Shudder, it's the low budget horror movie or whatever. For me, as someone who loves the genre and loves actors, I think that's just incredible. I love seeing stuff like that. I love things that are sort of like out of the box, but really, really well done and made with care. And I like more stuff like that. It's called Deadstream, Dead Stream.

[52:43] Jason A. Coombs: Oh, yeah, I'll check it out.

[52:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: I will. You might hate it.

[52:47] Jason A. Coombs: Loves the horror.

[52:48] Alex Joseph Grayson: I love horror. Are you a Scream fan? Do you see Scream 6?

[52:51] Jason A. Coombs: I haven't seen Scream Six. I'm not a huge slasher movie fan, but I do plan to see the movie.

[53:00] Alex Joseph Grayson: All right, all right. We'll talk about it. We'll talk about it after you see it.

[53:03] Jason A. Coombs: Okay. Amazing. I can't wait to watch Dead Stream. Cool. Thank you for sharing that with us. Love a horror fan. Cool. Okay, so let's do our game. Are we ready? Am I explaining this one today? Are you gonna?

[53:24] Samantha Tuozzolo: Sure. I personally love this game. I think it's gonna be fun. The super fun game is since you've recently been in a Sondheim musical, and now my personal favorite Jason Robert Brown musical, we thought it'll be a really fun game to play. Sondheim lyric or JRB lyric.

[53:38] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay.

[53:45] Samantha Tuozzolo: So we're gonna read the lyric and then you're gonna say Sondheim or JRB.

[53:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay.

[53:52] Samantha Tuozzolo: Are you ready?

[53:54] Alex Joseph Grayson: Uh yeah, I mean, there's no penalty for losing, right? Or is there a prize?

[54:00] Samantha Tuozzolo: There might be a prize, but we'll only tell you at the end.

[54:03] Alex Joseph Grayson: Cool. I don't need a prize, I love games.

[54:05] Samantha Tuozzolo: Okay, what are we called?

[54:07] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, it's just fun. There's no stakes. You'll get the prize, I think, whether you win or lose. So don't worry.

[54:15] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, Broadway World will send it to our prize surprise note.

[54:20] Jason A. Coombs: Alright. Okay, Jason, I'll kick it off.

[54:23] Samantha Tuozzolo: Sure. Okay, Alex. Are you ready?

[54:26] Alex Joseph Grayson: I'm ready.

[54:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: Number one. And it's fun to deceive when you know you can leave, but you have to be wary.

[54:35] Alex Joseph Grayson: That's Into the Woods.

[54:36] Samantha Tuozzolo: Correct!

[54:41] Jason A. Coombs: Off to a great start.

[54:43] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, it's one for one. Okay. Second one. I had a house while you were gone, a house of silver shutters, and a driveway laden marble, and a thousands of rooms to fill.

[55:01] Alex Joseph Grayson: His camera frozen.

[55:04] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, is I frozen?

[55:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: No, no, I'm sorry. Um, I don't. Is it JRB?

[55:09] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes!

[55:10] Alex Joseph Grayson: It is. I'd give it all for you from Songs for a New World.

[55:14] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, okay. Right. I know, try not to sing it because I love that song so much.

[55:20] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, okay. Nice. So two for two, you still got it. Okay, number three. Most friends fade, or they don't make the grade. New ones are quickly made. Some of them worth something too.

[55:36] Samantha Tuozzolo: I think also like our delivery. It's like messing it up. That sounds like a Sondheim here, right?

[55:42] Alex Joseph Grayson: Correct. It's Merrily.

[55:44] Samantha Tuozzolo: It's Hey Old Friend, Merrily.

[55:46] Alex Joseph Grayson: Merrily, okay. In honor of an iconic production coming to Broadway.

[55:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes. And a movie.

[55:53] Alex Joseph Grayson: And the movie.

[55:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: That is true. Wow. Alright. Laughing and talking and holding hands, slipping all the way the first base, but everything Charlotte says is a lie. You better not believe her.

[56:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay. I'm dead. I don't know that one, but um I'm gonna go ahead and say Jason Robert Brown.

[56:21] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes.

[56:23] Alex Joseph Grayson: It can't be true from 13 the musical.

[56:26] Samantha Tuozzolo: I've never seen that.

[56:26] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay. I have never seen Third of the Speaker.

[56:30] Samantha Tuozzolo: Well, it's an uplifts. Yeah, that's one F like. Although that's my favorite of my favorite and like maybe the only song I know from 13. They're like, it's sh everything Charlotte says is a lie. It's actually a thought. Such a sassy.

[56:48] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah. I'm gonna have to check it out. Ariana Grande was just a child in that show, and now she is a superstar.

[56:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh yeah. I'm sure her performance was transcendent.

[57:00] Alex Joseph Grayson: I'm sure one can only imagine. Okay, next. Last question and then a bonus. Okay. She's a wicked one. She'll deceive you with her fancy gowns and her fancy airs and her mischief.

[57:15] Samantha Tuozzolo: Mischief.

[57:19] Alex Joseph Grayson: Hmm. She's a wicked one.

[57:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: Mm-hmm. She'll say can you say that again? She's a wicked one. She'll deceive you with her fancy gowns and her fancy airs and her beat. Mischief. Mischief.

[57:42] Alex Joseph Grayson: If you need a hint, I can give you a good hint.

[57:44] Samantha Tuozzolo: I think that that's Sondheim.

[57:46] Alex Joseph Grayson: It is.

[57:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah.

[57:48] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yes. That's the beggar woman. Mischief. Mischief.

[57:51] Samantha Tuozzolo: City Empire.

[57:53] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay. I love this game.

[57:54] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, sweetie Todd.

[57:57] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yes. Can I just say, and I'm just sorry because I feel like I'm I'm delaying the game. Can I just want to say, like, there's a lot of um, I don't know a lot of musicals. I know, I know I should say it. Say it. There's just a lot of musicals that I don't know. And I've heard a lot of people singing stuff in New York.

[58:24] Samantha Tuozzolo: So some of these songs I've heard like piano bars and stuff, but 54 Below. I think I have uh like 54 Below the duplex. But I um I think I have a good idea of a way to figure out if we're talking about Sondheim or Jason Robert Brown. I think I know enough about it.

[58:40] Jason A. Coombs: I mean you've gotten them all already, and now there's a bonus.

[58:45] Samantha Tuozzolo: So you already have a hundred percent, and now you'll just take it to the next level to get the bonus. Which I think you will.

[58:53] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay, last one, bonus.

[58:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: Alright, but the minute I first met you, I could barely catch my breath. I've been standing for days with the phone in my hand, like an idiot, scared to death.

[59:08] Alex Joseph Grayson: I can give you an amazing hint.

[59:11] Samantha Tuozzolo: Give him a hint.

[59:12] Alex Joseph Grayson: I just saw you in an interview say that this was your one of your favorite songs. This is why it was the bonus.

[59:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh night, somebody interviewed you at night.

[59:25] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, this is Chick Sagata.

[59:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: Correct!

[59:28] Alex Joseph Grayson: Correct, correct. So the you know thing uh uh great. The reason great when it gets to that part where he's saying all this stuff really fast, that's sort of where I check out, but I really love the chorus.

[59:44] Samantha Tuozzolo: You know what? You got a 100 and plus percent MVP You get a big ol' invite to our season three premiere party, no idea when it is.

[59:57] Alex Joseph Grayson: Oh, amazing. VIP invite.

[1:00:01] Samantha Tuozzolo: Amazing. We'll put you on the VIP list.

[1:00:03] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah, we'll put you for you.

[1:00:05] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yes, for sure. Great. Congratulations on the game. Isn't that game fun?

[1:00:10] Alex Joseph Grayson: It is. It is. You killed it.

[1:00:12] Samantha Tuozzolo: You really did. You really I would have got one of those. Maybe two.

[1:00:17] Jason A. Coombs: No, Jason. I think you would have killed it.

[1:00:20] Alex Joseph Grayson: I love Songs for New World. That's my favorite. One of my favorite musicals.

[1:00:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: Me too, me too. Stars on the moon all day. That was my go-to singing song because it doesn't require a lot of singing talent. You know, it's just this multiple notes, and you're just telling a story, and so is my go-to. I was like, I can definitely do this one.

[1:00:37] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, uh King of the World.

[1:00:39] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh yes. Solid song too. Excellent one as well. Oh, I bet you've killed that. Is that you two?

[1:00:45] Alex Joseph Grayson: I'm I'm sure you've done that before, haven't you?

[1:00:48] Jason A. Coombs: I have not done that one.

[1:00:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: Oh my god.

[1:00:52] Jason A. Coombs: Too high.

[1:00:52] Alex Joseph Grayson: Got it. Wow. Well. We'll take it down on we'll take it down a little bit.

[1:01:04] Samantha Tuozzolo: Alex, this was so much fun. Thank you again. Thank you times a million. Jason and I are big Alex fans, so we've been touching over you, I feel like this whole episode. We're like, we think you're so good. We love Parade. Can you tell our listeners where they can follow you and keep up with you on any of the social medias?

[1:01:25] Alex Joseph Grayson: Um, yes. Oh, like where specifically?

[1:01:28] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yeah, what's your handles and who's gotta follow you?

[1:01:31] Alex Joseph Grayson: AlexJG sings. Or you can just type in Alex Joseph Grayson on Instagram. Um, that's pretty much like the only place that I'm really active. I think my Facebook is still alive for family.

[1:01:48] Samantha Tuozzolo: Uh everyone says that.

[1:01:50] Alex Joseph Grayson: Our last like five guests have said the same thing.

[1:01:53] Jason A. Coombs: Yeah. Well, look, it's 2023 and we're moving along, and soon we're all gonna be in the metaverse.

[1:02:01] Alex Joseph Grayson: So you did you see Ready Player One?

[1:02:05] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yes, yeah.

[1:02:07] Alex Joseph Grayson: I mean that's where we're well, that's where we're going. Everybody only life to live is on uh is gonna be a DR.

[1:02:16] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yikes. I don't know if I'll watch it. I think that will give me anxiety now that you said that.

[1:02:21] Alex Joseph Grayson: Steven Spielberg.

[1:02:22] Samantha Tuozzolo: Is that Steve?

[1:02:23] Alex Joseph Grayson: Yeah, Spielberg, Lena Waves in that too.

[1:02:26] Samantha Tuozzolo: I love her.

[1:02:26] Alex Joseph Grayson: We love Lena.

[1:02:27] Samantha Tuozzolo: Oh, yeah. Um Jason, want to drop our handles in case people are just tuning in because they're Alex fans, which obviously they should be.

[1:02:38] Jason A. Coombs: Sure. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter at Survival Jobs Pod. We're on Facebook for some reason. Survival Jobs and Podcast.

[1:02:47] Samantha Tuozzolo: For some reason.

[1:02:51] Jason A. Coombs: So then my mom can reshare the episodes. That's probably pretty much it.

[1:02:55] Samantha Tuozzolo: Queen Dawn.

[1:02:56] Jason A. Coombs: And then you can send us an email at survivaljobspod@gmail.com. And if you want to find me and Samantha personally, I'm Jason A. Coombs on all the things.

[1:03:05] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yay.

[1:03:15] Jason A. Coombs: And close to the parade. Run to see Parade at the Jacobs Theater until August 6th.

[1:03:24] Alex Joseph Grayson: Is that true?

[1:03:25] Jason A. Coombs: August 6th.

[1:03:25] Alex Joseph Grayson: That is 24 weeks only on Broadway Parade.

[1:03:30] Jason A. Coombs: On Broadway. The event of 2023.

[1:03:34] Alex Joseph Grayson: Thank you. That was excellent. Perfect promo right there, Alex.

[1:03:40] Jason A. Coombs: Perfect. We should also hire you to be on their PR team.

[1:03:44] Alex Joseph Grayson: Hello, Ellie. Any openings?

[1:03:50] Samantha Tuozzolo: Yay, thank you so much again. I'm obsessed.

[1:03:57] Alex Joseph Grayson: Okay. Well, have a wonderful evening. Let's do it all again soon.

[1:04:01] Samantha Tuozzolo: Let's do it at the season three premiere party.

[1:04:04] Alex Joseph Grayson: Great.