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[0:00] Eli Tokash: Hello everyone and welcome to episode 117 of Take A Bow. I'm your host Eli Tokash, and this week we have another exciting episode for all of you this week, and I'm so excited to share it with you all. So our guest this week is going to be Samantha Pollino, who currently is in Hamilton, who you may also know from Head Over Heels or Hot Feet as a Broadway baby, which you know I love to talk about. Um and then, of course, she's currently in rehearsal for a brand new show that's premiering at the MCC Theater called Only Gold. So very exciting stuff, and we talk all about all the things. Uh she also has a bunch of little other tidbits of her career that we'll get into. Uh, and I love it all, and it's a great episode, lots to learn, lots to love about this episode. So I cannot wait to share it with you. But first, we gotta talk about some Broadway news, shall we?

[0:52] Eli Tokash: This week there hasn't been like a crazy amount of Broadway news like some weeks have, but there have been some eye-catching moments that I've seen throughout this week for Broadway. For those of you who don't know, if you haven't heard about this yet, it's kind of a shock, or maybe you just don't have social media or don't really go on the internet a lot. But there was a production of Hamilton performed in a church in Texas, in McGellan, Texas, and it was a completely unauthorized version of Hamilton. You know, it kind of reminds me of the whole Bridgerton fiasco that's happening. They didn't advertise it as the unauthorized Hamilton production or whatever. They kind of just said, hey, we're performing Hamilton tonight, and it was like super different, but like also all the same melodies. It literally was like Hamilton, and then they changed a few words here and there, and it was wild.

[1:46] Eli Tokash: And there's a ton of videos of it. It's actually hard to watch, but it also at the same time is very entertaining. So if you haven't seen it yet, I don't even know if I recommend giving it a watch because like I don't even want to encourage it, but like it's fun stuff. It's good stuff. But even better, and more of a reason of why just literally everyone falls in love with Hamilton, they didn't sue like Netflix did with Bridgerton, but there have been damages done and they did have some copyright infringement that the church, I guess, that they have to pay for. The production company, I guess, has to pay for it. So they are donating all the damages that happened from that unlicensed performance to a Texas-based LGBTQIA plus advocacy group.

[2:34] Eli Tokash: Now, obviously, this production did take place in Texas, so it's cool that they're kind of giving back to that community, but like in a really good way and a really powerful way within that community. It's really, really special what they're doing. Uh, shocker that a classy show like Hamilton and the producers and creators such as Lynn Manuel Miranda and Tommy Kail and all these wonderful people decided to do that and donate all of that and just basically say, listen, we're making enough money off this production and the show. We don't need that money. We're gonna donate it to further the LGBTQIA plus community in Texas and kind of really show our support for that community in that kind of environment that may be a little harsher than a place like here in New York City where I am. It's definitely not as accepting there. So it's great to see what they're doing. I could go on and on about this for literally the entire episode, but I'm gonna move on.

[3:31] Eli Tokash: Uh I have I saw okay, I don't know what's going on with Broadway lately, but like there are rumors galore coming out, and like I don't know if I like it. It's um it's great and all, but like at the same time, it's like if it doesn't happen, it's kind of heartbreaking. And also it's just like why? Like the production and like how Broadway works is so special because nobody knows about anything, and everything is so secretive that once it happens, fans go crazy for it. Um so the way that these things are working now is kind of bizarre, but I saw a eye-catching little tidbit this week in the news that Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford are set to lead the upcoming Sweeney Todd revival that is coming to the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, which I'm so excited for.

[4:22] Eli Tokash: Now, once again, this is a rumor. The article that I read did say that Sweeney Todd is not officially like it it's still in the works to come back to Broadway. I have it on good authority that this show will be a revival and it will be back on Broadway in the 2023 season. So that's happening, the show is happening. Uh, I don't know if Josh Groban again, this is a rumor. So Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford are rumored to lead it. I think it'll happen. Uh, but once again, they're still in the works of finding a theater and figuring that whole thing out and when you can open and all that. So they're not gonna cast the show until they have those dates set so that they can tell their leading people what dates they'll be working.

[5:08] Eli Tokash: Um, so that's what's going on right now. It's so bizarre. The past couple weeks, I mean, all of this information is being leaked and like rumored, and I don't know. I don't know if I like it, and it's kind of like odd that like all of a sudden, literally within the past couple weeks, we're like seeing headlines of rumors, and I'm just like, that's not how news works. Um, anyways, I'm getting a little too biased here. Um, more biased than I usually like to my intro and outro, but I needed to say my piece, okay? Um, and I'm so excited that Sweeney Todd is in fact coming back to Broadway.

[5:41] Eli Tokash: Uh, when and where, we'll find out, but very exciting stuff nonetheless, and I'll keep you all posted when I hear more about it and kind of for sure things that the news is kind of broken. Speaking of news being broken, I'm so excited that it's finally come out that Ethan Slater is going to be playing Bach in the upcoming Wicked movie. Ethan Slater is a Take A Bow fam, a family member here at Take A Bow. So I'm so excited for him. This role is literally perfect for him. I didn't realize it was something I needed. It's like one of those things. I have a lot of those, but like him being cast in that makes so much sense. And with this cast, I just feel like it's just gonna be like so unbelievable. His talent and his voice is just unbelievable.

[6:24] Eli Tokash: So huge congratulations to Ethan Slater. So thrilled we have some Take A Bow family members in the upcoming Wicked movie. This has I I've kind of heard about this for quite some time, but I'm so excited that it's finally come out and that I can actually like talk about it. So huge congrats, Ethan. So happy for you, and hopefully we'll have him back on once he's done with filming and we can kind of talk about that process. It's so exciting, seriously. Uh this Wicked movie is gonna be so good. I'm really excited for it. But it sucks that we have to wait till next Christmas. But hey, all good things are worth the wait.

[6:58] Eli Tokash: That is not the saying, but we're gonna make it a saying. Um, okay, that's kind of like all of the major news that I had seen this week that was worth sharing. There's a couple things like New York New York, which is a musical adaptation that John Kander from Kander and Ebb and Lynn Manuel Miranda are writing. Uh that's coming to Broadway and that's being directed by Susan Stroman. K-pop did a really cool thing where for just yesterday, actually, Thursday, August 25th, when I usually release, they did something special where they had $19 tickets to honor the 19 performers making their Broadway debut in the show, which I thought was so awesome and so great.

[7:41] Eli Tokash: And they did that literally for that day. They had a limited amount of tickets. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they only had like 19 tickets because of like they were keeping with that theme. So you were able to see like the first preview of the show for $19. Or I think it was any preview, you could choose any preview. Uh, but a lot of the people that I saw that were able to get tickets for that day. If you went to the box office, you got a $19 ticket. You were able to pick any preview performance. A lot of them picked the first preview, which is why wouldn't you? I mean, it's their first show. It's so cool to be there for that.

[8:13] Eli Tokash: So, yeah, there's been like other things going on, and I wanted to highlight those fun things because it's worth it. But you know what else is worth it? Listening to this upcoming interview that I have with Samantha Pollino, I'm so excited to bring it to you all. So, without further ado, let's turn it over to Samantha Pollino.

[8:33] Eli Tokash: Samantha Pollino, curtain up. This week's guest is coming fresh off of her birthday on Tuesday. So, everyone go wish her a happy belated birthday, first of all. Um, literally stop listening to the episode and just go wish her happy birthday. Uh, anyways, not only is she coming off of a birthday celebration, she is also coming directly out of rehearsal for her brand new show, Only Gold, premiering at the MCC Theater off Broadway, and she just finished a stint of performances in the Broadway production of Hamilton. She's a busy woman, everyone. Everyone, welcome to Take A Bow, Samantha Pollino.

[9:12] Samantha Pollino: Hello.

[9:13] Eli Tokash: Hi.

[9:14] Samantha Pollino: Oh my goodness. Busy busy. All the things so many going on.

[9:19] Eli Tokash: You made me sound so exciting.

[9:21] Samantha Pollino: Oh my god, I'm so excited to have you on this week and chat about all the fun things that you've been up to. I mean, you've got so many great things going on. So thank you. Kudos to you, and thanks for coming on here. Um cool. So the way I usually like to start my episode is starting at the beginning, um, and kind of asking each performer what inspired them to get in the industry, what kind of wanted to make you become a performer, a storyteller, all the things.

[9:51] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. Um, so I actually started, I started in this industry really young. Um, I made my Broadway debut when I was 11. Um, but I the way that I got into all of that was, you know, I was like three years old, and my parents signed me up at like the local rec center for like just dance class. Like they were like, this girl needs something to do with her time, and I wasn't really showing much interest with like sports or anything. So they were like, maybe she'll like to dance. Like she dances around the house all the time. So I went and I started dancing and had a knack for it.

[10:28] Samantha Pollino: And I was an am, like generally speaking, very shy. Um to the point where, like, when I would be like learning routines, I like didn't want to perform them because I was so scared. But then once I was on stage, I was fine. And I was like 5,000%. And my mom was like, okay, so she's good at it. And she also liked this is a way to like bring her out of her shell a little bit. So when I was six, I started competing, like doing dance competitions. Um I was at a dance competition when I was, I think, eight, and an agent from New York scouted me at the competition and was like, have you ever done musical theater?

[11:15] Samantha Pollino: Like, you have very good stage presence. Do you sing? And I was like, I don't know what any of this is about. Right. You know, but I I'm from Baltimore, Maryland, so it's like three, four hours away from the city. And this agent, her name's Nancy Carson, and she's still a huge agent in the industry, was like, look, if you want to like take voice lessons and you want to do this, I think you'd be great at it. And I was like, okay. So I started, I signed with her and started auditioning, and I literally I could not sing.

[11:48] Samantha Pollino: I mean, like, still I mean, I probably wasn't as bad as I now say that I was, but I was also like a dancer, and like dancers always have a complex about singing. So I just like there was a lot, there was like it was a lot. Anyway, audition for some new show. Like, I knew nothing about it. Um and it was like it's a workshop, and I didn't know what I didn't know what any of this meant. So I went, I auditioned for this workshop, and I got it. I ended up getting it.

[12:20] Samantha Pollino: And like it was uh Maurice Hines, Gregory Hines' brother, was running the audition, and it it was his show, and like there was no singing, it was just dancing. Like it was just I danced we danced for hours at Alvin Ailey on 55th Street. Oh my god. And I got I got the role. I like didn't know what any of it meant. And I just like showed up to rehearsal in summer of 2020. Um and just got thrown into a musical.

[12:50] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. I just had I like, but um, but that was that was my first taste of the industry, really. Before that, I like played Chip in Beauty and the Beast at like a community theater, you know, things like that. But this was kind of like I had no idea what was going on. And Nancy was like, you should do it. So I did this workshop, and then that was in the summer of 2005, in like late 2005, early 2006. I got a call that was like, hey, so the show's going to Broadway.

[13:19] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. Um, would you like to do it? And so I did that.

[13:32] Samantha Pollino: I didn't realize it at the time. When the show went to Broadway, it was called Hot Feet, by the way, and it didn't run for very long, but some of the best dancers in the world were in this show. I was cast as the understudy for the role that I had created. And there was no real like legitimate rhyme or reason for it. I think it was just a situation, like they were like, you didn't do anything wrong. We just want to like try something else out. Would you like to be an understudy? And I was like, Yeah, of course, like, of course. Of course, I want to be involved. So I went through the whole rehearsal process, kind of sitting and watching everything. And we were doing an out-of-town run in Washington, DC, before we went to Broadway.

And we went to the National Theater in DC for tech rehearsal. And I was sitting in the house, and they were like, Can we get all the principals up on stage? And the girl that had been cast went up on stage. And over the God Mike, they were like, No, we need Sam up on stage. Oh. And basically what had happened was the role had been switched back. Oh, wow. But nobody told me. So I showed up and I like hadn't rehearsed. I mean, like, I had rehearsed, but like I hadn't been like used in rehearsal. Yeah. And I was like thrown right into it. And then I ended up having the role that I had created. It was switched back so that the other girl was the understudy, and I was like the one who was like the full-time, the full-time part, I guess.

But it was funny because like at the time I was like, wow, what a funny thing. And now like I feel like my adult career pretty much now has like been about understudying, understudying, swinging, yeah, taking on things like that. Like, that's been like the last four-ish years of my life as like an adult performer. So that was where I started. And then, like, if we like fast forward now.

[15:28] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[15:33] Samantha Pollino: Now, like, that's like that's all I do. It's crazy, right?

[15:36] Eli Tokash: Full circle moment.

[15:38] Samantha Pollino: Yeah.

[15:40] Eli Tokash: Yeah. But that's cool. I can't believe that it's like kudos for first of all, for you and your family being able to like, you know, just come to New York for a Broadway run or a workshop for a couple weeks being from Maryland. I can't imagine at like 11 years old in like being a dancer. Like when I moved to New York when I was 11, like I'm not a dancer, so I had no clue what Alvin Ailey was. So like I can't imagine being 11 years old as a dancer and like being asked to, you know, go dance at Alvin Ailey. You know, I bet that was such a cool experience, right?

[16:15] Samantha Pollino: It was cool, and I have the most supportive family in the world. Like both of my parents I mean, it's I mean, like my dad like always held the fort down at home, and my mom was like, I'll take her wherever she needs to go. And you know, like the literal rule was that I had to do well in school. Yeah, and if I did well in school, I could do anything that I wanted to. Like they, you know, and it was it was as long as I have good grades and I'm like excelling in my academics, I don't see why she can't go to this dance convention. I don't see why she can't go to New York and take dance class. And my parents were really they really stuck to that, which was really awesome.

[16:53] Eli Tokash: Yeah, that's awesome. That's so cool though. What a cool story. Um, and then just like how everything came to be. I mean, you're you're on Broadway as an 11, 12 year old. I mean, that that doesn't happen. And I always say you can't be like a Broadway baby without a uh amazingly supportive family. Um so yeah, that that's so cool. Talk to me about like what it was like the first time you took your like Broadway bow.

[17:21] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. Um so what was what was so special about that experience was that the out-of-town run of the show, we had already this the Broadway theater was already secured. They just wanted to get word. I mean, it's it's what most shows do. They do an out-of-town run or try out. This one was in DC, and I'm from Maryland. So, like I everyone that I've ever known came down to Washington, DC and saw the show. And that was really awesome. But that you know, it the show was such a dance show. I didn't sing, I also was a principal. But when I say principal, I mean like I did a couple scenes and then I danced at the end. Like it was in, I wasn't in the ensemble. I wasn't like that it was it was a yes, it was it was a dance show.

So the plot was kind of loose. There was a plot, but it was kind of loose. Like, like it was it was a different experience. It felt um different than what I would say, like making a musical any other show feels like. Just it was different. But going out on a Broadway stage, we were at what's what's now the lyric theater. At the time it was the Hilton Theater. This was in 2006. The first time I like stepped out on stage, and there were people in the audience, like it's so cliche, but there I was just like because there was still like this little girl in me that was like really shy and had a really hard time like opening up. But but the second I was on stage and there were lights on me, I was fine.

And it was just really special to feel that not in a dance recital or competition. Like it, like you know, I was I was experiencing that like in the midst of another world on stage, and I felt really I just I was like that that was the moment that I was like, okay, yeah. I like I wasn't really sure what this was. I still don't really know a lot of this, but I have to do this for the rest of my life. And like I mean, like, give or take, like a couple hard days where I'm like, I'm done. Like that that feeling, that feeling has remained constant.

[19:23] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[19:24] Samantha Pollino: Sixteen years later.

[19:25] Eli Tokash: Oh my god. You've been in each 16 years, that's crazy.

[19:29] Samantha Pollino: Yes.

[19:30] Eli Tokash: Good for you. That's that's amazing. That's a feature itself.

[19:34] Samantha Pollino: Couple little breaks here and there, but you know.

[19:36] Eli Tokash: Sure.

[19:37] Samantha Pollino: Hey, we need it. We gotta treat ourselves every once in a while, right? Um well, you mentioned like fast forward like today, and you you do the whole swinging and everything now for the past few few years, four years, you said, right? Um you are a I don't know. Are you still a universal swing for Hamilton?

[19:57] Samantha Pollino: No, I played my last show a couple weeks ago because I'm full-time doing Only Gold now.

[20:03] Eli Tokash: Oh my god. Amazing.

[20:05] Samantha Pollino: Yes.

[20:06] Eli Tokash: Um I can't imagine. Okay, let's get into it. I can't imagine being a universal swing, period, let alone in a show such as Hamilton. Um for those of you listening, uh, Universal Swing is like it's actually the hardest working performer in a company because like if you thought swinging was tough, it's this is literally swinging on steroids because you have to know like all the productions, and all the productions kind of vary in in the slightest ways, but it's also like those slight adjustments are major to uh your cast members on the stage, just set pieces. So for everybody's safety, the slightest changes are major. Um so you basically uh you've you've had a long history with Hamilton. You've been in several productions. Um you you just finished a stint in Broadway. Uh talk to me about your relationship with Hamilton, how it kind of started, and then what it's been like doing this universal swing thing and kind of being readily available when they need you.

[21:13] Samantha Pollino: Sure. So like long story long. Yeah. I fell in love with musical theater. And I after Hot Feet closed, I moved back home and I would come back and I would audition for things. Okay. But and I and I got to the I got to finals for everything. And then I got nothing. And at the end of the day, the short change was that my vocals just weren't there. Um I had great stage presence. I was a great storyteller. I I had I was like such a charismatic, hardworking dancer, but like at the end of the day, there were there was always, and all of the girls that always beat me out for all of the roles are still friends of mine today. But there was always somebody that just had a little bit more of a vocal gift and training than I did. And so I went to a performing arts high school in Baltimore, Maryland. Um I on a whim auditioned for the vocal department.

[22:09] Eli Tokash: Oh.

[22:10] Samantha Pollino: Because I was like, I have to get over this. Like I I need to make sure that there's that I can let I I need that to be like a stronger foundation for me so that the next time I go in for something, that's not what's holding me back. So I I got in and I studied opera and vocal performance in high school. And then I knew that I wanted to go to college for musical theater. Also, like I wouldn't change it any of it. I was just talking about this yesterday. I wouldn't change any of my childhood. It was amazing. But I also like didn't really have a traditional childhood.

[22:47] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[22:48] Samantha Pollino: And going to a performing arts high school, I never went to homecoming. I missed out, like all of those things were things I never really had that experience. So I was like, okay, I want to go to school for musical theater, but I want to go somewhere that gives me four years of consistency and gives me the chance to do those things in some capacity. So I went to school in Cincinnati.

[23:13] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[23:14] Samantha Pollino: I went to CCM. I was lucky they were they were gracious enough to accept me because I was an absolute mess when I auditioned. I had no idea what was going on. I think I was just so like unprepared. But they but they saw something in me and they let me in.

[23:30] Eli Tokash: Um I went there.

[23:31] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, I went there, had a great time. I loved my time there. I did everything that I could. I was just like a sponge. Uh I took everything in.

[23:40] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[23:41] Samantha Pollino: Moved to New York in 2016 when I graduated, and uh every agent meeting after my senior showcase, they were, you know, one of the general questions is like, what shows are running on Broadway right now that you see yourself in? And I was like, Hamilton. Like I I Hamilton and Wicked. I was like, those are the shows that I can I can dance and I can sing, and if you get me in the room, I will get I will book them. Very uh really ambitious of me, but I would but uh funny enough, most agencies were kind of hesitant when I said Hamilton.

[24:17] Eli Tokash: Uh mostly probably because when I did my senior showcase in college, I sang two golden age songs and did like uh I did I sang I'm a brass band from Sweet Charity and did like a Fossy dance break.

[24:30] Samantha Pollino: So they were like, what does this girl think she's what does this girl think she's doing? Like Hamilton is like a hip hop show. Like, right. Okay, great. So anyway, um, I ended up getting a direct message on Instagram from Michael Baldarama, who was in Hot Feet with me.

[24:50] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[24:50] Samantha Pollino: Um, and is one of the most major big like he's a huge deal, but also the most wonderful human. He's worked with everyone. He was in In the Heights, he was in Movin' Out, he was in Hot Feet. Um he has worked with Michael Jackson, he's the associate on MJ. He's like, he is he's literally a huge deal. Um direct message me on Instagram. I hadn't seen him in like 12 years. And he was like, Are you in New York? Do you still dance? Would you like to come audition for Hamilton?

[25:15] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[25:15] Samantha Pollino: And he was like, I can get you in. It's gonna be like an invited call, but there are going to be like hundreds of people there. So this is like with no agent or anything.

[25:31] Eli Tokash: No, I had just signed with a new, I had just signed with a new agent. I um when I was like growing up, I kind of I was like freelancing with one agency and I still had Nancy, and then there kind of came a point when I graduated from college where I was like, I'm gonna start with someone new, um, just because I'm an adult and I want to be seen that way.

[25:49] Samantha Pollino: And I had signed with my agents who I'm still with and I love them very much. And I was like, hey, uh I think you might get a heads up. Like, I just I think I'm gonna get an audition for Hamilton. Um through this connection that I have because of Hot Feet. Like, yeah, um, and long story short, he got me in. I went and auditioned. There were hundreds of people in the room, and uh I got a call back.

[26:10] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[26:19] Samantha Pollino: I went back and did the second combination, and then I was getting drinks with my roommate at the time, and she got a callback email, and I did not get one.

[26:27] Eli Tokash: Oh.

[26:27] Samantha Pollino: I was like, okay, I guess I didn't get it, like bummed, but whatever. Two days later, I get a final callback email. Um and I was like, that was when I was like, okay. And like anyone who you talk to who has ever been in Hamilton, like everyone's journeys getting to the show are just so different.

[26:44] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[26:45] Samantha Pollino: Um, and that was mine. And so I I it just I happened to be in the right place at the right time and vocally and like type wise with my like the way that I danced and performed. I fit one of the tracks that they were looking for for the original Chicago production.

[26:59] Samantha Pollino: So I got cast in that. I moved to Chicago, lived in Chicago for a year and a half, did the show there. And then, you know, I kind of got to the point where I love the show. Like, I think the show is just the best. Um, but I did kind of get to the point where I was like, I want to go home. I want to do something new. At the time, uh I had gotten an audition for Head Over Heels on Broadway. Yes, which I ended up getting. Um, and I was very much hired to cover. I was hired to understudy for Head Over Heels. Yes, yes. So I was like in the ensemble, there were four dancers in the there were four, four and four, like four male identifying, four female identifying. I was one of the four, but also like they were like, you know, you are you are here to cover Phil O'Clea, the young princess.

And I was like, okay, great. So I left Hamilton, moved back to New York and did Head Over Heels. Um, and then I went on for my understudy track on the second preview. Oh my God. Uh so it's just like no, I bet no rehearsal, right? Uh yeah, I mean, like, we had had a couple understudy rehearsals. But um, but yeah, and and um, yeah, I crazy. I went on, and and that again, I was just like, you know, there was something in me. I was like, I'm not gonna not know this. I'm gonna be ready. Cause because things like this have happened to me before. Like, I'm just gonna be ready. Um, and then when Head Over Heels posted their closing notice, I was filming Fossey Verden with the Hamilton team, and they knew that the show was closing, and so they offered for me to go on the Philip Tour because there was a track opening up.

So I went on tour, um, which is where I met Tyler McKenzie and Phil Colgan, who are also two Hamilton Universal Swings, but they started on the Philip Tour, or Tyler, like, you know, I guess like Tyler had been on Broadway, but he started the Philip Tour. They were there together. I was on the Philip Tour for a year and then COVID happened. Um and then so we shut down, and then I went back to the Philip Tour in the relaunch. But I was like, I love this show and I want to go back, but I think I'm gonna leave after six months just because I want to add more skills to my skill set, and I I wanna I also want to be back home in New York.

[29:29] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. So I signed for six months, went back, and right when my contract was ending, um Stephanie Clemens, who is like the boss of Hamilton, she's um Andy's associate's associate on the show, um was like wanted to gauge your like your interest on like universal swinging. I had I had expressed interest in swinging Hamilton before. And she was like, you know, it bases you in New York, but you will be traveling. But like if you're interested in that, let me know. And I was like, you know what? I would love to. Like, you know, swing swinging, swinging isn't for everyone, and universal swinging is not for everyone. But I was like, the the bet I've never I had never swung a show before. And I was like, let me start with a show that I'm really comfortable with and that I know.

Yep. And love. Yes. And at the end of the day, if I don't like it, I can leave. But but like I'm not gonna know if I don't if I don't say yes. So I became a universal swing. That was in March of 2022, this year.

[30:36] Samantha Pollino: Jesus. Oh. And I since then have performed with all four companies of Hamilton.

[30:44] Eli Tokash: In the United States, right?

[30:46] Samantha Pollino: Yes. And yeah, yeah. I've been all over the place.

[30:49] Eli Tokash: Oh yeah, God.

[30:50] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. Insane.

[30:52] Eli Tokash: Yes. Are you like the only one? Or is it just like craziness for the.

[30:58] Samantha Pollino: No, there's there is a crew of us.

[31:00] Eli Tokash: Um.

[31:01] Samantha Pollino: No, like, are you the only one that did all four productions?

[31:05] Samantha Pollino: Uh no.

[31:07] Samantha Pollino: No. There have been other people that have gone everywhere.

[31:10] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[31:10] Samantha Pollino: Um, I started at the Philip Tour, which is where I was full-time, and then I went to the Angelica Tour, and then I went to the Anne Peggy tour, and then I went back to the Angelica Tour, and then I went back to the Philip Tour, and then I came to Broadway.

[31:23] Eli Tokash: What a way to finish your journey though with the show.

[31:26] Samantha Pollino: Yeah.

[31:27] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. I mean, I um I actually I liked the job so much, so much more than I thought I was going to. I don't mean that I thought I was gonna hate it, but especially being a universal swing in the time of COVID. Any swing, any vacation swing, standby, understudy, like in this pandemic world is just like there's literally nothing that's off the table when it comes to like what could happen. And I was just like, I'm really taking on this job in like a crazy era. Um but I actually I loved it. Um I learned a lot, and I'm still learning a lot, and I got to perform with so many different people.

[32:08] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, I got to go to so many cool places, and then um I had signed my contract through the end of December, but then I ended up getting an offer to do Only Gold to swing Only Gold.

[32:21] Eli Tokash: Right.

[32:21] Samantha Pollino: And I was like, you know, I love Hamilton, but it would be a lie if I said that I didn't want to go create something new with Andy Blankenbuehler, you know, and Kate Nash and Tom Kitt. And, you know, like it's just like the room and the the creatives and the designers are just like so major. And I was like, you know, I it doesn't take away from my experience in Hamilton, but I was I was like, I I do think I need to go do this.

[32:50] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[32:50] Samantha Pollino: And Hamilton was like, yes, you do need to go do it. And so they let me out to go do it. So and you know, so I played my last performance as a universal swing in Hamilton on August 14th. And that last week, I was doing rehearsals for Only Gold during the day and Hamilton at nights, and now I'm just doing all Only Gold all the time.

[33:15] Eli Tokash: So I like I'm curious with Hamilton, like when you were at your senior showcase, and you were like, okay, the the Hamilton, the style of the show is like a dream of mine. Is it kind of like Andy Blankenbuehler's uh choreography?

[33:34] Samantha Pollino: Like, because now that you're like going into Only Gold, is that kind of like your style of dance that you're just so comfortable with, which kind of attracted you to the show?

[33:42] Samantha Pollino: Kind of. I uh, you know, I grew up as a competition and convention dancer, and so and like, you know, I I always had a knack for like contemporary and hip hop movement. I'll be the first person to say that I am not technically like you don't you don't need to ask me to do like fouette turns and like gorgeous tilts. Like that's not my bread and butter. My bread and butter is like musicality. I also think that because I studied music so intensely for so long, I can hear music very well, and especially like with a choreographer like Andy, who like everything that he creates is in the DNA of the music. It's it's on all of the layers, it's on all of the accents. I think that I do well with that kind of movement for that reason.

[34:26] Samantha Pollino: Um interesting. And so yeah, I mean, like, I to overgeneralize it, people would say that Hamilton is a hip hop show, but there's every genre of dance, every style of dance is in Hamilton. There's swing dancing, there's Fossey-esque, you know, dancing, there's hip-hop, there's stepping, there's popping, there's there's everything. And um I do think that I'm good at I do think I not even I'm good at it. I I really like taking on Andy's movement because it's really hard.

[35:05] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, and then there's never gonna be a day where I'm gonna do something and be like, I nailed that, and it's never gonna get better. Which is why I think so many people stay in shows. I mean, of course, like how many times in your life do you get to say, like, I've been in this show for so long? You know, like, but you don't ever really master his stuff. You can never get bored. There's always something that you can be better at. Um, and I like I think I'm drawn to working with him because I feel that way. I feel like I'm always I'm just like constantly learning.

[35:38] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[35:40] Samantha Pollino: And I say this after I spent uh 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in a room with him today. It's like learning a brand new show of his that's never been done full production before. But it true, it truly is like, I mean, he's brilliant. The people that he's he also like surrounds himself with associates and dancers that he trusts, and so like the room is just buzzing, and there's so much to take out of that.

[36:06] Eli Tokash: Um my god, so cool.

[36:11] Samantha Pollino: Um, it's interesting that you mentioned like the whole like fuertes and the tilt and everything because that kind of reminded me of the style of Head Over Heels dancing. Um and Head Over Heels is is why I know you, like what kind of introduced me to you. I loved Head Over Heels.

[36:27] Eli Tokash: Okay, I saw it with um my school, actually. We like went on like a field trip and we had like a talk back afterwards, too, and everything.

[36:36] Samantha Pollino: Like, so it like put all of you like you and Martellino and um who else was it?

[36:43] Eli Tokash: What was it Justin Prescott?

[36:45] Samantha Pollino: Was Justin Prescott, Ari Hoover.

[36:49] Samantha Pollino: Yes. Oh my gosh. Like, yeah, it was it was a really fantastic, fantastic cast of people.

[36:54] Eli Tokash: Yeah, and and like it seemed like all of you, I mean, I mean, you had already been on Broadway and everything, but like you guys were like younger performers in the industry that like I don't know, like it I felt like to me like you're like coming out party, because now all of you like are starring in all these shows, you know, like Hamilton, Funny Girl, uh, Tina, and like there's all these great, great things going on for all that cast, you know, that cast was just so talented.

[37:20] Samantha Pollino: Um, but yeah, I I loved Head Over Heels, and and I just had to talk to you about the show. Like, how long were you in the show? Were you in the show from like the beginning? Did you come during the Broadway production? What was that process?

[37:34] Samantha Pollino: I had heard a lot about Head Over Heels. Like, you know, they were doing labs, they were doing readings. Um the show has a long history. I was not a part of it. Okay. Um until the Broadway production, which, you know, I joined it in early 2018. So I did the show in San Francisco, and then I did it on Broadway.

[37:57] Samantha Pollino: I had known Spencer Liff. Um, I met him doing Broadway Dreams Foundation when I was like 17 years old. And he was like, You sing really well and you sing classically, which I do because I studied voice for such a long time. Uh, and this this princess that we need someone in the ensemble to understudy sings opera, like for like a couple bars at the end of her song, and we need somebody who can do that. And I was like, I'll audition. So I flew in and like, yeah, you know, that show was super technical. Um I really, you know, I I did it. I did it. It it was way out of my comfort zone.

[38:41] Samantha Pollino: And it was a really good, it was a really good practice of like vulnerability for me, you know. Like I can whack my leg up in the air, but like it's not, I wouldn't say that's my specialty. Um but you know, like Spencer also casts people that he really trusts. And I was able to create a lot of what my track did in that production. So like there were moments where like, you know, Tanya and Amber were like tilting on the staircase, and I was like waving my arms or doing something a little like or like voting or doing something else because like I wasn't replace because I wasn't replacing somebody, like there were parts where we all had to do the same thing, but there were also parts where like I could be like, I think I'm actually gonna do this instead. And he liked it because he trusted us.

[39:32] Samantha Pollino: So um, but that show was I mean, like some of the best times of my life were spent with that cast doing that show.

[39:42] Samantha Pollino: Um, we had such a great time. Uh yeah, we just like it was it was so fun and like the show was fun. It was hard, but it was fun.

[39:55] Eli Tokash: Well, I'm curious, like in the rehearsal process, like it's so it's such a unique show with like, you know, having a show already having the the music kind of there in in place from the Go-Go's um and then kind of like creating the story around that. Like I just feel like the the rehearsal process of that must have been like crazy and kind of always shifting to make sure that the the story kind of flowed with the music and it all kind of made sense. Like it was so cool the way that you guys were able to to really pull it all together.

[40:27] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, I mean, that's that's the team like I mean that we because there were some things that were set and then there were some things that were like we're gonna have to figure this out and like you know there were some songs that like Tom Kitt rearranged like multiple times to make work or you know the transitions were like what what do we use what's the underscoring of this how do we do this does this dance break need to be here does this song need to be this you know um but they the Michael Mayer and Spencer and Tom and Kim our music director Kimberly Grigsby like they like they had it down and we really figured it out I think I thought it and also Bonnie Milligan who's a legend legend is the only person who had been with the production since the beginning at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

[41:20] Samantha Pollino: So like when there was ever a doubt of what to do Bonnie's voice was trusted because she was she was like I watched the show get created the show was written for her um and she was still there and she was so passionate about it and took such good care of it that like between those people and then also the rest of the cast which was just brilliant like things kind of things kind of made their way to the stage oh my god I mean it was so special you could see that like on the stage like how yeah how cool and like how talented everyone kind everyone was and just like I don't know how how much of a collaborative piece that really was to really pull together.

[42:01] Samantha Pollino: I mean, that it was not an easy feat.

[42:04] Samantha Pollino: Uh you literally try to explain someone like the the whole idea around it of like the plot and then the go go's music. It's like, what are they what are you talking about?

[42:12] Samantha Pollino: Like it's crazy. It's like one of those, like when you say it, it's like, oh my God, someone totally had this thought process when they were like hi at like 3 a.m. kind of thing.

[42:21] Samantha Pollino: Like, you know, it's crazy.

[42:23] Samantha Pollino: Absolutely. But it but it it it does work. It just like it was like you didn't want.

[42:30] Samantha Pollino: Yeah.

[42:31] Samantha Pollino: Yeah.

[42:31] Samantha Pollino: But it was it was so so good to see see like it all together in just the final project.

[42:37] Eli Tokash: You guys are awesome in the show. I love it.

[42:39] Samantha Pollino: Oh, thank you.

[42:40] Samantha Pollino: Oh my god, of course.

[42:41] Eli Tokash: Um, so yeah, so I want to talk to you about now only gold, uh which is what you're currently working on. I mean, I don't know I don't know how much you can talk about it.

[42:52] Eli Tokash: I don't want to, I don't want you to spoil anything. Are you able to say like what the show is about and kind of like give a little tease for those listening and get everyone excited about it?

[43:01] Samantha Pollino: Absolutely, yeah. So Andy has been Andy and Kate Nash have been working on this show for like 12 years.

[43:09] Samantha Pollino: Um Andy found Kate's music and was like, I see a show.

[43:13] Samantha Pollino: And like I if someone is listening to this and they and I'm wrong, they can they can correct me.

[43:19] Samantha Pollino: But I'm pretty sure Andy like emailed Kate Nash and was like, I want to write a musical with your music, and like I think there's something really special here.

[43:27] Samantha Pollino: And I know that the actual plot of the story has shifted and changed a lot, but where we are at right now is um there is a royal family that is coming to Paris um because their daughter has an arranged marriage, and they get to Paris, they kind of like smack dab coincide with this like watchmaker and his wife, who are also like going through their real human marriage and relationship and human lives, and all of them kind of, you know, are navigating what they want, they're navigating their relationships, they're navigating what they need, and they all kind of weave and intermix with each other.

[44:08] Samantha Pollino: Um, and and and with that, it's all of the music of Kate Nash.

[44:13] Samantha Pollino: So it's like, you know, songs that a lot of us grew up listening to are in the show, but she's also written a bunch of brand new music for the show.

[44:22] Samantha Pollino: So it's it's and and you know, there was a time, I think, in the conception of it where it was a ballet or like a full dance piece, and now it's kind of fine, like it's found its way to like it is a musical, but the dancing is like non-stop, and then they're also like people singing and people are rapping, and it and it's this it's a very like uh it kind of we're sitting in the world of Paris in like 1928.

[44:49] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, but the idea is that the story could fit through the lens of any time period.

[44:55] Samantha Pollino: Um, because at the like, you know, Andy creates work about human beings with human problems and human wants, and like the hope is that you can look at like a royal family, you can look at a queen or a king and see yourself in them in some way.

[45:09] Eli Tokash: Oh wow.

[45:11] Samantha Pollino: So that's the show.

[45:13] Samantha Pollino: Um the cast is like so good.

[45:18] Samantha Pollino: I mean, Terrence Mann is the king.

[45:21] Eli Tokash: Terry Man!

[45:22] Samantha Pollino: Oh my god.

[45:23] Samantha Pollino: I was in Pippin and fighting never with Terry, and he's literally one of my favorite people in the entire world.

[45:29] Samantha Pollino: He is an angel.

[45:30] Samantha Pollino: He's a legend.

[45:30] Samantha Pollino: Oh my god.

[45:31] Samantha Pollino: He's a legend.

[45:33] Samantha Pollino: And then you have, I mean, there's like the entire company of people is.

[45:38] Samantha Pollino: Like I remember when I got the the cast face page, like I kind of just stared at it for a while because I was like.

[45:45] Samantha Pollino: Yeah.

[45:46] Samantha Pollino: How did I get in here?

[45:48] Samantha Pollino: Like it's just it there, there are so many people working on this show that I like completely respect with everything that I have.

[45:56] Samantha Pollino: And, you know, we're all just kind of now like in a room from 10 to 7 every day, like figuring out this show together.

[46:03] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[46:04] Samantha Pollino: Um, but it's been awesome.

[46:06] Samantha Pollino: And Tom Kitt is doing the vocal arrangements.

[46:10] Samantha Pollino: So after not seeing him since head over heels, like it's nice to be back in a room with him.

[46:16] Samantha Pollino: This is my first time creating something new with Andy, because I've worked with Andy on Hamilton for such a long time, and even on Fosse Vernon, like we were very much kind of like recreating or even reimagining, but recreating a lot of Fossey's iconic stuff.

[46:30] Samantha Pollino: So like getting to be in the room while he figures something out is just like an experience that I'm really thankful that I'm getting.

[46:37] Samantha Pollino: Um and Kate Nash is not only one of the most brilliant songwriters ever, but she's also the loveliest human alive.

[46:46] Samantha Pollino: Like she's just great, and she's so talented and wonderful.

[46:53] Samantha Pollino: Um so it's been a whirlwind.

[46:56] Samantha Pollino: Like I literally come home and sit on my iPad every night just like reviewing tracks.

[47:00] Samantha Pollino: Yeah.

[47:00] Samantha Pollino: Uh and I go to sleep exhausted.

[47:02] Samantha Pollino: But I love it.

[47:04] Samantha Pollino: And it's it's really, it's really awesome.

[47:06] Samantha Pollino: And I I'm very excited for the show to be put up and for people to be able to see it.

[47:12] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[47:12] Eli Tokash: Well, I I'm so excited about this.

[47:14] Eli Tokash: I know a lot of the people that like listen to this podcast are excited about it too.

[47:18] Eli Tokash: Cause like we've had Hannah Cruz on.

[47:21] Eli Tokash: Uh Terry all the time.

[47:23] Eli Tokash: Yeah, like Thane, uh Bradley Dean.

[47:26] Eli Tokash: Like, like I we we know a lot of people in this show that didn't that weren't on it when the cast uh or after the cast was announced.

[47:35] Eli Tokash: Uh so I was like, I have to get someone on.

[47:37] Eli Tokash: I know everyone is excited to to for the show.

[47:41] Eli Tokash: So uh I was like so excited that you were able to come on to talk a little bit about it.

[47:45] Samantha Pollino: I'm so excited for it.

[47:47] Samantha Pollino: Um it's awesome.

[47:49] Samantha Pollino: I have to I have to ask you.

[47:50] Samantha Pollino: I mean, now that you're like an adult and you really you're you're veteran in the industry, like you've done multiple Broadway shows, you're creating works, you're you've done TV and film, um and and then of course you're you were a Broadway uh performer and a Broadway baby, you know, as they say.

[48:08] Samantha Pollino: Um I'm curious, is there anything that uh you could say to either your younger self or someone who's young in the industry that uh you didn't that you may not have known uh until like now that you're an adult in the industry and that you wish you would have known when you were a child performer in the industry?

[48:28] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, I mean uh I I'm still I'm still learning this, but um but like it it's I don't mean it in the most extreme sense, but like it's not worth your time, it's not worth your time to try to force yourself to fit into boxes that you don't fit into.

[48:55] Samantha Pollino: Um like and I also feel like that goes with me. I've I've been so lucky to work so much, but I've also like never wanted to stop working.

[49:07] Samantha Pollino: And so if that means like, you know, I've gotten auditions for things that like would be amazing, but like it's not my it's not my bread and butter, it's not my juice.

[49:16] Samantha Pollino: And then I go in for the auditions and they don't go well, and it's not because I'm not talented, it's just because that's not what I'm supposed to be doing.

[49:24] Samantha Pollino: And that doesn't mean that I'm not talented.

[49:26] Samantha Pollino: It doesn't mean that I need to like, you know, go change who I am as a performer to fit a mold of a show or a piece.

[49:34] Samantha Pollino: It just means that like there's something else.

[49:37] Samantha Pollino: Like, you know, I I am not an overly technical dancer.

[49:42] Samantha Pollino: I will probably never be dancing on point in a Broadway show.

[49:48] Samantha Pollino: And that's okay.

[49:49] Samantha Pollino: It doesn't mean that I need to stop taking ballet classes.

[49:52] Samantha Pollino: I'll still train, but like instead of me like beating myself up over the fact that like I didn't do well in an audition, I could be focusing on another project that I'm absolutely perfect for.

[50:04] Samantha Pollino: And I think that there's like, you know, finding that finding that happy medium is really important.

[50:12] Samantha Pollino: Um I'm still working on it because, you know, of course, like as performers and as people in this industry, we want to do everything we can.

[50:19] Samantha Pollino: But and and that is so true and amazing.

[50:22] Samantha Pollino: But also like put your time and energy and effort into things that are right for you because there's always something that's right for you, and like what is meant for you truly will find its way to you.

[50:36] Samantha Pollino: Like, yeah, and it sounds so like uh like cliche and annoying, but it's true.

[50:44] Samantha Pollino: I think it is true.

[50:46] Samantha Pollino: Ever like, you know, I you you waste a lot of time when you start trying to jam yourself into places that are just not necessarily meant for you.

[50:57] Eli Tokash: Right.

[50:57] Samantha Pollino: And and I think that that that goes hand in hand with really understanding your craft and kind of knowing who you are as a performer and what you are as a performer.

[51:07] Samantha Pollino: Like I'm someone that like now I have to relearn because my voice changed.

[51:07] Samantha Pollino: I have to relearn who I am as a performer and what my strengths are and all of that.

[51:15] Samantha Pollino: So really it kind of goes with, you know, identify that for yourself and then be able to to kind of capitalize on your strengths, um, but like also like acknowledge your strengths and know what you know, walk into a room that you're gonna be comfortable in and not um and that you feel like you belong there instead of like, oh I I don't feel like I belong here, so I I'm gonna be like shy and in the corner and maybe not offer is offer all my talents the way that I usually could if I did feel confident in this room and all of that.

[51:49] Samantha Pollino: Um, two things.

[51:50] Samantha Pollino: I like just because I this is something I can talk about for hours, but like, you know, I also like your strengths are always changing.

[51:57] Samantha Pollino: So like, you know, acknowledging that as a human, you're never fully formed, you're malleable and and like, you know, and that's to say, like, you know, I in in like 10 years, I'm probably gonna want to sing more and dance less.

[52:12] Samantha Pollino: And that's okay.

[52:13] Samantha Pollino: And that and that I will work on that and and make sure that I feel really good about that.

[52:17] Samantha Pollino: But also, like, you know, when what listening to you talk about that kind of stuff makes me think of Ellery Ward, who is the principal standby of Only Gold, who a lot of people know because she has openly spoken about the fact that like she's auditioned and auditioned and auditioned and not gotten anything, and she like doesn't really feel like she fits in anywhere.

[52:39] Samantha Pollino: So she made an album of acoustic Sondheim covers.

[52:44] Samantha Pollino: And she like has blown up and Lemon like has been on tour with Josh Grovin and like people are obsessed with her album.

[52:52] Samantha Pollino: Album, and now she is Kate Nash's standby in OnlyGold.

[52:57] Samantha Pollino: She like, you know, she was like, I stopped trying to force myself into places that are that aren't really me.

[53:02] Samantha Pollino: And I just created my own thing.

[53:05] Samantha Pollino: And now I'm in a show that is perfect for me.

[53:09] Samantha Pollino: Um and I like, you know, you should have her on this podcast because she's just fantastic.

[53:15] Samantha Pollino: Um but she, yeah, like she just she was like, okay, I want to make my own journey then.

[53:20] Samantha Pollino: And like it ended up working out perfectly for her because she knew herself, you know.

[53:25] Eli Tokash: Yeah, that's awesome.

[53:26] Eli Tokash: Uh yeah, I definitely have to get her on.

[53:28] Eli Tokash: That's sick.

[53:29] Eli Tokash: Um thank you for for sharing that.

[53:32] Samantha Pollino: First of all, I know that that could be like a tricky or vulnerable question.

[53:36] Samantha Pollino: Uh, so I appreciate you kind of like going there with me because I love to have this kind of conversation because like I feel like every day I wake up and I'm like finding something new.

[53:46] Samantha Pollino: Like you said, like we you know, we're constantly learning, constantly shifting, and so we we can have time to reflect and be like, oh my god, like I wish I knew that.

[53:55] Samantha Pollino: Yeah. Yesterday, even like literally, like you, you know, you always learn, you're always learning. Um, so 100% for anyone listening, take that. I know it can be tricky, but like it is helpful in the short term, in the long run, all things. Um, so that I mean that's all I have today. I mean, we can talk about all kinds of things still, but I want to wrap this up because I didn't want you to leave without talking about Lazy Town, the Lazy Town tour, which I'm obsessed with. Those videos are hilarious. Um, but I don't want to go, we don't have to go there. Um, it's fine. No, it's fine. It's uh that's the one part of my journey that I left out. Not because I hated it. I noticed, but it's uh, you know, yeah, long like a short, short, short story.

I moved home, I moved home after Hot Feet closed, and I got a call that was like, Hey, um, so the girl Juliana Morello, who was Stephanie on Lazy Town on the TV show, was represented by Nancy Carson, and that show filmed in Iceland, and so she had spent years of her life in Iceland, and they were doing a tour in America, and she wanted time off, she wanted time to be a kid. And so they had called Nancy and they were like, Do you have anybody? Wow. So a couple of us went and auditioned, and I ended up getting it. So I flew to Iceland for a couple weeks, learned all about the role. I was 12. Learned all about the role, learned all of the music, learned all the choreography. And then I did the Lazy Town tour for about six months.

And funny enough, there are videos of me as Stephanie online. Um that was my dog that just snorted. I'm sorry. Um there's actually a comment on one of the YouTube videos that literally verbatim says, You guys, this is in Hamilton now. I'm screaming, and I was just like, they found me. I was like, oh my word. And you know, it's funny. I mean, like that that was also like an exceptional experience. Like, my family and I went to Iceland and I got to do this awesome show, and I got to tour, and I had the best time.

[56:17] But now it's like you don't really know me if you don't know, but I'm not gonna tell you. It's not that I'm embarrassed, but I'm it's not what I lead with. Right. So Nick Walker, who plays Aaron Burr on Broadway. We were on the fill, we were on the Philip Tour together. One day he came up to me and grabbed my shoulders. And I was like, hello. And he was like, You're you're Stephanie on the Tone. And I was like, Yeah. Um yeah, yeah, on the on the live one. And he was like, Oh my god, this changes everything. Like, and literally from that point on, like, it was game over. Like, I get Lazy Town texts. Oh yeah. He's made me, he's made me teach him the choreography. Uh it's just like, you know, I feel like my friendships and relationships like take a step forward when someone is like, wait, because it's in my bios.

Yeah, like I like I live, but like I don't I just like when people kind of are like, wait, you did that? No, I'm obsessed. Okay, like I remember growing up in love with Lazy Town. Like I thought the show, you know. So I was like, when you saw when I saw that, because it said like Lazy Town, and I didn't like quite catch, like I thought you were like on the TV show, and then I was like, oh, she did the live version of the national tour, like, and so I was like, oh my god, gotta be video somewhere. And I was like, oh my god, this is the best thing. You can thank my mother for those videos. She uploaded them like she uploaded them like over 10 years ago, and like just I don't I mean, she probably doesn't know the password to her YouTube account anymore, but they're just like up. They're just up.

[57:56] Yeah, well, thank you for not taking them down. I seriously thank you on behalf of all the Hamilton fans that are about to check this out. Oh my god. It's um but yeah, I wouldn't I want to kind of give everyone your social media so that they can wish you a happy belated birthday, first of all. Um and then of course to follow all of your incredible experiences that you may have after this, and then of course, during the experience of Only Gold. So what are your social medias? Give give them away.

[58:25] Samantha Pollino: Uh I think I think um my Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok are all at Peanut Pollino. Um, because Peanut's my nickname. It has been since I was a babe. Um, and that's just always stuck. So I'm those are those are I think my usernames are all the same on all those three platforms.

[58:48] Eli Tokash: Okay, perfect. Yeah, and that that's that. We'll be able to follow you along and do all the crazy things. Yeah, you actually also have a podcast too, don't you?

[58:58] Samantha Pollino: I do. My best friend and I, her name's Mia Gerakis.

[59:02] Eli Tokash: Yes, oh my god, Legend.

[59:04] Samantha Pollino: Yes, she's I mean, just the most talented and most wonderful person alive. For those listening, you may know her as like the board below.

[59:14] Eli Tokash: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[59:15] Samantha Pollino: So good. Yes, she is a literal legend, an icon and a legend. Um, we have a podcast, it's called Roof Talk, and we started it during the pandemic, during the shutdown, because we felt number one as though like we were just missing, like sitting at happy hour and meeting people, uh, and having fun conversations with people and getting to learn new things about people. And we also just uh we used to sit and just like casually like you know, have drinks together, and we would always get in these very deep conversations. And I was just like, there has to be some young child out there somewhere that like would benefit from hearing what we're talking about, as like 20-something women living in New York who are also musical theater people and actors, and you know, kind of just like navigating life.

So we started this podcast, and it's called Roof Talk, and we just have people on that we really respect from like a bunch of different areas of the world and like careers and stuff like that. And we basically just talk about whatever they want. There's no real prompt. Um, we just kind of go where the conversation takes us, and our hope was that whoever was listening to the podcast felt like at any moment they could like join into a conversation.

[1:00:35] Um, and our last episode that we published was a year ago because uh I was on tour, and Mia is like a core, she has a full-time corporate job. So we just kind of both got really busy. But our last episode was with Phil Colgin, who is not only was a male universal swing in Hamilton, but he is also a swing dance captain of Only Gold. Um Phil Phil and I are very close, and Phil and Mia are very close. They went to college together. Um, and we are starting our podcast up soon.

[1:01:11] Eli Tokash: No way!

[1:01:12] Samantha Pollino: Yeah, it just like we had to take a brief hiatus because we were like so busy, but um, yeah, it'll start back up soon.

[1:01:19] Eli Tokash: So yeah, go follow that too.

[1:01:21] Samantha Pollino: So follow all the things.

[1:01:22] Eli Tokash: That's how you catch up with Samantha and all the incredible adventures that she goes on next after taking a vow here on the podcast. Um Samantha, I seriously I can't thank you enough for coming on here and talking with me and giving everyone some entertainment for the week and um kind of letting them into your life and your story and all the things. It's been really cool to learn about, and I really enjoyed it, and I'm sure they did too. So thank you.

[1:01:30] Samantha Pollino: Thank you.

[1:01:52] Eli Tokash: It's been very fun.

[1:01:53] Samantha Pollino: Oh, good.

[1:01:54] Eli Tokash: I'm so happy. Well, thank you again and happy belated birthday.

[1:01:55] Samantha Pollino: Thank you.

[1:01:59] Eli Tokash: Take a bow, Samantha Pollino.

[1:02:01] Oh my god. What an episode.

[1:02:04] Eli Tokash: Okay, there's so much to be taken from this that wasn't even like directly talked about. Huge shout out to Nancy Carson, by the way. Nancy Carson is a huge talent agent here in New York for both musical theater and film and TV. Um, as you kind of know because she obviously represented Samantha while she was on Broadway and Hot Feet, and then of course the Lazy Town folks that were filming out in Iceland. Very exciting stuff. So it's very interesting. If you listen to Samantha's arc of her career and her journey in the industry, it's fascinating to really listen back to how much she worked with the same people, like Tom Kitt, Andy Blinken Bluer. I'm not even saying his name right. I'm sorry that I keep saying his name wrong.

Um then then you had like Amber Artolino, like she got Amber Artolino her first Broadway show because she brought her on to the cast of Head Over Heels because they were looking for another dancer that could do the whole like tilty leg crazy dancing type thing. And they were like, Do you know of anyone? And and then, of course, like she was like, Oh, yeah, I just did Hamilton with this girl, Amber Artolino, and uh she just finished her contract and all the things, and then they ended up hiring her, and that's how she made her Broadway debut.

[1:03:19] So, like it's crazy to think back and just realize like this industry is so hard to break into, but once you break into it, it's kind of a beautiful thing, and you it's it's definitely an advantage, I have to say, like to be blunt that you see the same people kind of working on Broadway and doing all the things because as Samantha mentioned, they can trust those people. Like Andy brings on people and associates and all dancers and all the things with people he knows that he can trust and that they know that they're gonna be a positive light in the collaborative effort of a piece, and that they are a talent and and all the things. Hearing all of that and kind of knowing the value of having those connections in the industry and being able to make friends, and that honestly, like that is what you kind of pay for to go to a musical theater college, like going to a highly esteemed college for musical theaters, such as like University of Michigan or uh CCM, where uh Samantha went, Carnegie Mellon's a great one, um, NYU's a popular one.

[1:04:28] So, all of those things, like it's so important in to even like go and take like a dance class or an acting class, or because you don't know who you're gonna meet, and like you don't know who they're gonna become, or if they're gonna write a piece and they're gonna remember you. Like, it's crazy how small this community is, and how important it is to really be able to kind of network yourself and be able to just you know go in every day and put your best effort up. Even if you can't give 100% that day, give your 70% that you can give. And I think that was kind of like my biggest takeaway from this episode. And I wanted to highlight that because I don't think it was directly said, but it was definitely implied a lot and kind of subtly made its way into the podcast. So I just wanted to really highlight that.

[1:05:16] So that's all I have for this week, and I really appreciate you all listening to this week's episode. And I hope that you gained something from it, because I really thought that this was a really educational podcast, but also very entertaining. Sam is a lovely speaker and a lovely storyteller. So it was great to have her on and chat about her career and be able to acknowledge all the incredible achievements that she's had in the industry.

[1:05:40] So, once again, thank you for listening to this week's episode. Be sure to follow Sam on all the things and give her a little happy belated birthday message and all the things and send her your love and whatever it may be. But she is killing it, and I'm so thankful that she was able to come on. So that's this week's episode, episode 117. Thank you all for coming in and tuning in on a Friday. Um, because you know, it didn't work out Thursday. But uh, I appreciate you all coming in and listening on a Friday, and hope you go check out Only Gold and follow that journey because it's gonna be sick.

[1:06:13] And uh, that's all I have. So, with that being said, stay well, and I hope to see you all next week. Bye, everyone. Have a great week.

[1:06:26] Eli Tokash: For this episode's current call, I would like to recognize a few people who also deserve to take a vow. This podcast would not be possible without the help from Dory Berenstein, Brittany Bigelow, Katie Rosen, Alan Seals, and the team at the Broadway Podcast Network. Next in line to take the vow is Tessie Tokash, who edits the audio and all the visuals for this podcast. A special thanks to patrons Brian Thompson, Pat McNamara, the listeners at PCC, as well as all of the other patrons for their continued support. If you're interested in becoming a patron, go to patreon.com/slash TAB. And if you enjoyed this week's episode, don't forget to subscribe on the platform that you're currently listening to this on. Also, feel free to give us a follow on Instagram at TakeABow Podcast. Take a Bow's logo is designed by Giselle Bustos and the music is by Nikki Torsha and Cormac Collinon. Bye everyone. Hope to see you next week.