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[0:00] Eli Tokash: Hey everyone and welcome to episode 53 of Take A Bow Podcast.

[0:05] Eli Tokash: I'm your host, Eli Tokash, and oh my goodness, what I just have to say, it's been an incredible week. We've literally launched three episodes in the last seven days. It's been pretty insane. It's been pretty amazing and fun. Um for those of you who missed it and may be unsure of what I'm talking about. I released a bonus episode for Take A Bow on Monday where we did BPN did a whole like little press thing for In the Heights. And so you'll hear from me and you'll hear from four other podcasts who also got the uh pleasure of interviewing some of the stars of the new In the Heights film. Um and it's a bunch of like mini episodes put into one. Mine was 10 minutes and I did it with Gregory Diaz. So if you didn't check that out yet, go check it out if you're interested.

It we talk all things in the heights and careers before that and all kinds of fun things with all of the stars of In the Heights, and you'll hear from other podcasts on the Broadway Podcast Network. But that's not what today is about. Today is about episode 53 with none other than the Natalie Weiss. And I am so excited because this episode has been a long time in the making, and today is the day that you all get to hear it, and I'm couldn't be more excited. But before we turn it over to the interview portion, let's get into some Broadway news.

[1:32] Eli Tokash: Um, so like I said, lots of content for Take A Bow, but there's also been a lot of things happening surrounding Broadway. Of course, we I say I feel like I say that every week, but it's true. I mean we we're reopening, things are starting to get to get crazy, things are opening back up, and there's a lot of fun new information coming out. So with that being said, this fun new information starts from like Thursday, of course. Great timing again on the release date. Take a bow, thank you. Um but no, Hades Town released on Thursday, I think. Like it was literally like as soon as I released it. It was like out, I feel like the next day. Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was a little bit after. Hades Town pulled the oh I don't think so card, and they were just like, no, we're gonna be the first Broadway show to reopen, and we're reopening on September 2nd.

You think Broadway's reopening on September 14th? Think again. Um, and that's right, guys. Like, I don't know, like if you if you kind of miss that little punchline there, Hades Town's gonna be the first Broadway show to reopen, and Broadway is going to be reopening even sooner than we all thought on September 2nd with Hades Town starting up Broadway. Um I'm so excited. Hades Town is one of my favorite shows, and another show also announced that they will be opening up on October 13th, and that is the Girl from the North Country. So that is gonna be reopening with most of the original cast, but some of it uh will be different. And there was also another show that announced its opening like ever.

Um, one of the first new shows post-pandemic, and that's Thoughts of a Colored Man. And one of our past Take A Bow guests, who literally was doing everything at the time with stage managing, doing scholarships, all of the things. Um, you probably may know who I'm talking about from just saying that. Um, but now he's gonna be co-producing this show. It's his first time producing. He's so excited. Cody Renard Richard is going to be co-producing this brand new show, and this is the first play in Broadway history to be written, directed, lead produced, and led by a cast of black men. How incredible is that? It needs to happen. It this needs to be normalized. This shouldn't even be a news like headline that you see.

Like it's such a big deal that that's the case. Like this should be a thing already. You know, like I can't believe it's taken until 2021 to be like, oh, this is the first play in Broadway history to be written, directed, led lead produced, and led by a cast of black men. Like, this is gonna be amazing. It's gonna be it's it has an amazing cast. The tickets go on sale June 18th, and they're gonna open up on Broadway. They're gonna open previews, that is, on Broadway, on October 1st. So I it's so exciting just to see all of these new shows. That's one of the first um new shows post-pandemic that announced that it's going to be reopening when Broadway returns. So it's happening. Another show that is one of the first shows that is going to be opening up post-pandemic is actually coming from off Broadway.

That's right, we're getting some off Broadway news, and that's great to hear, but we still don't have all of it yet. There's still a lot of question marks surrounding off Broadway. But I have to say, I think this one came sort of out of left field, especially for me. Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh will be opening off Broadway sometime this fall. I didn't even know they were making a mu a musical out of that. So Winnie the Pooh's heading off Broadway. We have some shows opening up, and it's gonna be insane. It doesn't have a release date yet, it doesn't have a cast yet, but once we get that information, I'll definitely keep you all updated. Um, it's just exciting times. And speaking of even more exciting times, the Tony Awards.

[5:30] Eli Tokash: Okay, I have some beef with the Tony Awards though, and I'm gonna get into it right now. So the ceremony is going to be airing live on Paramount Plus and CBS on September twenty-sixth, and will be followed by a live concert event to celebrate Broadway's reopening. But yes, you heard that right. September twenty sixth, after Broadway's going to be reopened for three weeks. Broadway is still going to be having a virtual Tony Awards. I don't know. I don't know how to feel about it. Broadway's already gonna be reopening. I feel like people should just they should have it live, like not like I mean they are gonna have it live, but you know what I mean. Like they should have a Tony Awards. Maybe of just the nominees at the least.

Maybe not an audience, but people shouldn't be having to zoom in from home to accept their Tony Award. You know, I don't know. Maybe maybe that'll change. Maybe, um we'll maybe more will come out about that and they're kinda just figuring it all out still. But we have a date and it's gonna be on September twenty-sixth, and it's gonna be very, very exciting. It's the seventy-fourth annual Tony Award, and guess what? It's going to be a four hour celebration. Isn't that insane? It's gonna have a four hour celebration, it's gonna be two hours of awards, and then it's gonna be two hours of a concert to celebrate Broadway reopening. So very exciting things happening and we have to wait until September for all of it.

But that's okay because we're we're getting hope and we're getting good news, and why not share that good news to make people's days. Real like, come on. Um, but it's gonna be very interesting to see what to do and how this all goes about and working. They really haven't specified how it's going to work as far as like an audience and all of that, but I don't know. It seems like it's gonna be virtual right now. So, with that being said, we have one more thing to do before we go over to the interview, and we're gonna talk drama dictionary.

[7:37] Eli Tokash: So this week's drama dictionary word of the week is 11 o'clock number. And that's more of a phrase of the week, but like it's fine. You understand. So 11 o'clock number is like the best song in the show. You know, like it's like the showstopper. So, like in Side Show, it's like I Will Never Leave You is the 11 o'clock number. And in Finding Neverland, it's kinda hard to like pick out the 11 o'clock number because usually it's like halfway through act two, but like low-key, the 11 o'clock number in Finding Neverland is Stronger, but like I don't know. I guess the 11 o'clock number in Finding Neverland would be like Play or We're All Made of Stars. Um that to give examples, I don't know if that like helped.

In Wicked, it's like Defying Gravity. In Yeah, you you get what I'm saying. Like, in Dear Evan Hansen, it's Words Fail. Like, you know what I mean. It's like the show stopper that like everyone's like, oh my god, over. Literally could get a standing ovation every night. Um, that's their favorite song in the show, that's your favorite part, whatever it may be. Literally, uh, in The Color Purple, it's I'm Here. Literally, Cynthia Erivo would get standing ovations mid-performance. Like, that's what 11 o'clock number is. It's that number that is just outstanding from the rest. It's a showstopper. It's the one that everybody leaves the theater singing. It's like the best part of the show. And uh, if you didn't know, now you know, and our guest is no stranger from singing those 11 o'clock numbers.

[9:14] Eli Tokash: So, Natalie Weiss, if you don't know her yet, you you gotta look her up. She's her voice is absolutely insane. She's literally known for her voice for her singing abilities. She was an American Idol finalist. She has recorded songs for The Greatest Showman. She's recorded songs for Dear Evan Hansen that you hear in those productions. Um, she was in Emojiland, and now she's created this brand new Crash Course of singing. And that's Breaking Down the Riffs with Natalie Weiss. And we're gonna get into all of it in a second, but just a reminder it is out today. So go check it out. Today it's released. It was great timing. Um, it's released today, May 27th on a Thursday. Go check out natalieweissvoice.com to learn more about the um crash course that she's created, sign up, whatever it may be. But she's also gonna talk about it right now. So without further ado, Natalie Weiss, curtain up.

[10:39] Eli Tokash: On this week's episode, we have a vocal goddess in the house. So she's literally known for like her effortless singing ability. I mean, from her belt, her riffs, her effortless mix, the flips, everything in between. Um, she's also a Broadway star for those of you who didn't know, and she's an American Idol semifinalist, and she's one of the top vocal teachers in the industry. So everyone, welcome to Take A Bow, Natalie Weiss.

[11:08] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god, that is so kind. What? Oh my god, I'm so excited for you to be here.

[11:13] Eli Tokash: I at the end of me.

[11:15] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god, of course. At some point in this interview, if it's okay with you, because Caroline Carmelo has played my grandmother, and she's been on this podcast and everything like that. I saw in your resume that you could do like a vocal impression of her. So at some point I would love to hear a little snippet of that.

[11:32] Natalie Weiss: Oh my goodness. I mean, look, she's an icon, so like Is it a it's not like in it's like in the best spirit because she's an icon.

[11:40] Eli Tokash: Right.

[11:41] Natalie Weiss: Of course. I mean, anyone who ever gets impersonated is an icon.

[11:45] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[11:45] Natalie Weiss: Um, okay, so let's start out with who is Natalie and what kinda got you interested in musical theater.

[11:54] Natalie Weiss: Um, okay. I basically started out with classical piano lessons very early on. That's kind of like my intro to music, and then my parents took me to pop concerts really early, so like Madonna at age five, and very inappropriate, and Billy Joel and Janet Jackson, and they took me to Les Mis when I was seven, and I was like in the balcony, like, what's going on? Where's On My Own? I had no idea about the plot. I just wanted to hear On My Own. Oh my god. And then like Phantom, you know, but none of my family is like mu they're musical, but they're not in musical theater. So the life that I lead is so weird. They're like this life movie just so weird. Because they're like in the medical field. So anyway.

[12:36] Natalie Weiss: Right. So I went to performing arts high school half a day. Um, I started, you know, my coaching career for free, I guess, in college and in high school, because my friends would be like, play this song for me, like let's sit around and harmonize. And then they would like sing a performance and come back and be like, Was that pitchy? So it's sort of started there. And I had this like, I don't know, interest in teaching. So I did apply for music ed and musical theater. I chose musical theater. I went to Penn State for musical theater. Um, I thought theater people were just my people. You love that.

[13:08] Natalie Weiss: Yes. Um, so in college, I was like, you know, coaching my friends and singing in a practice room for fun. Um, I would sort of like organize group songs and like assign parts and like I sort of like thrived in that um space. So that was like always the side thing. My senior year of college, I was singing a Dreamgirls song at the head of the program's house, and I was like doing it like an opera joke, and one of the freshmen filmed it, and he was like, Yeah, girl, and he put it on this thing called YouTube.com. And that was 15 years ago. So you were two years old.

[13:40] Eli Tokash: Stop it. Wait, when were you born?

[13:42] Natalie Weiss: I was three.

[13:43] Eli Tokash: When were you 2003?

[13:45] Natalie Weiss: Okay, 2006 is when YouTube, right?

[13:48] Natalie Weiss: So the musical theater YouTube world was just happening. So this person put it on YouTube and called it, and I am telling you, White Girl Can Blow. And then the video got a lot of hits. I mean, viral in the terms of like, you know, TikTok is billions. This was like a couple thousand, you know, at the time. Uh-huh. So then it just sort of built, and then like my showcase video went viral in a musical theater sense, so viral back then. Um, and then it just kind of built from there, and then was doing concerts, concerts and like auditioning, doing some shows, did a tour, um, getting known in like the concert recording world.

[14:26] Natalie Weiss: So at the time, like all the new musical theater writers were happening at the same time, and I had just graduated, so I was like this fresh face.

[14:33] Natalie Weiss: Um, and then fast forward to 2012, I was on tour with Lay Miz for like three and a half years, two and a half years, and I was a swing, so I was, you know, I had a lot of offstage time.

[14:44] Natalie Weiss: I was understudying roles like Crazy Whore and Bloody Whore, and I wasn't necessarily creatively fulfilled, but making the most money of my career. So I was like, I guess I'm gonna stay here. So, you know, I found the time to like teach across the country and you know, work on little passion side projects. So um, Beyoncé's Halo had come out probably a few years prior, and one of my friends was listening to Halo, and she was like, How many notes are in the riff on the word night? And I was like, Let me listen. So I listened to the notes, and I was like, Okay, if you it's like seven notes, if you tilt your head on the fifth note, you can land it better. And she was like, Cool, that works. So I like remembered that, and then I was about to do one video with like a bunch of riffs, like, hi everyone, it's Natalie here with some riffs.

Like, I was just gonna do it on photo booth. Then I was like, you know what? Let me do one for now, and then okay, you count in order. So, like, I'm not gonna count backwards, it's you hit seven notes and then like you tilt your head, and then I was like, let me like cast my friend as like a very good singer, but a medium riffer, so it's not like so advanced and like not so tone-deaf, you know. So I basically was trying to create this like pop singing for dummies mentality. My friend had a good camera and a good, you know, was a good editor, and then it just turned into this 35-episode thing that I just was doing lingo where people could just walk on the street and be like half step and tilt and uh that's it, uh-huh. You know what I mean? Like recite the lingo fast. That was the goal, and then it just like kind of took off, and then the rest is history.

[16:15] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god. First of all, it was never like calculated, it's very weird. Yeah, I mean, I don't even know where to start because there are so many branches of questions that I could branch off to. Um, I guess we'll start with Lame is so you saw you said that that was like one of your first shows that you saw, and then you were now that was like your first professional show after going to college for musical theater. So, first of all, what was that like to see like your first broad like first like show?

[16:46] Natalie Weiss: Oh, like full circle for yeah. Right, so I done a few shows before Lay Miz. It was my longest run of like a show. I had I did wicked for a very, very short time. Oh everyday rapture for limited run on Broadway, um, which was awesome. Um which was like 11 years ago now. Oh my god. Then on and then um I did Lay Miz for the I was I remember getting cast as a swing, and I was like, a swing. I didn't audition for a swing. I'm not capable of this. I thought I was going in for the Fontaine cover, and so I was like, Oh, I'll be on tour six months, and then like when you're on tour, I mean, you know, right? You did Funny Neverland tour here or in New York.

[17:22] Eli Tokash: No, I did it in New York, but I did the Mary Poppins tour, so I do know okay.

[17:27] Natalie Weiss: Mary Poppin' store. So you see, like, I remember thinking like you sign up for housing so far in advance that it's like I guess I could ride this out. Like, okay. And I just was like, I guess I'm staying on this whole tour, and then the show was doing so well. So, yeah, doing the show that I first saw. I think everyone's first show was like missed growing up. Um but yeah, it was kind of like a full circle moment. But um, I don't know, being on tour, I just loved moving always, and like I always was like, how do you just go on the same set? And like you always have like the you have like signs everywhere, you know where everything is and you get used to it, and then you have amazing food on tour, and like you can sightsee for free, you know.

[18:06] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[18:06] Natalie Weiss: I liked being able to not be static. It always keeps you on your toes.

[18:10] Eli Tokash: Yes, and you know, socially it's important too. I loved my cast, I had a really good friend. I think socially on tour, if you're uncomfortable, it's not ideal. So in New York, if you're like, oh my god, I go to a job, you go to a job and then you go home on tour. It's like your tour family, you know.

[18:26] Eli Tokash: Exactly.

[18:26] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, comfortable, yeah.

[18:28] Eli Tokash: Absolutely. And wait, so was Wicked your first professional show that you did?

[18:34] Natalie Weiss: What was your first professional show?

[18:35] Natalie Weiss: No, I got my equity card at Pittsburgh CLO the summer before my June senior summer before my June senior year. Um I did Beauty and the Beast, Greece and 42nd Street, and then the next summer I did another season. Yes, so that's actually that was like my first one. That's what we bonded over.

[18:52] Eli Tokash: Okay, so oh my god, so many things to talk about it. Um that's what we bonded over when we first met each other at the greatest showman readings because that's where I got my start, because that's where I'm from.

[19:04] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god, I don't remember.

[19:06] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, yes.

[19:07] Natalie Weiss: So yeah, so I was like for you saying we had like our first little like whole like I guess company read through.

[19:15] Eli Tokash: Um and you were two thousand years for four years.

[19:20] Natalie Weiss: I don't know. I I still had a vo It might have been yeah, it w I don't know. I I don't think it was 2014 because I like moved that here then. Um so I think it was like 2015 or 2016.

[19:32] Eli Tokash: But like in that vicinity.

[19:33] Natalie Weiss: Oh god in that area.

[19:35] Eli Tokash: So yeah, so I like heard your voice and I was like, oh my God, I have to like go over and talk to her.

[19:40] Natalie Weiss: It was you. It was Lauren and it was Ben Thompson.

[19:44] Eli Tokash: And um I was like, oh my God, hi, I'm Eli. It's so nice to meet you.

[19:47] Natalie Weiss: Um I'm like this new kid, right? In New York.

[19:51] Eli Tokash: Um and then you were like, oh my God.

[19:53] Natalie Weiss: No, you were like, hi and I was like oh yes.

[19:56] Eli Tokash: And you were like, oh my God, wait, where are you from?

[19:58] Natalie Weiss: And I was like, I'm from Pittsburgh and she was like Oh you know that I think I have sorry I think I have your voice memo of a million dreams on the I I wouldn't do anything to hear that again.

[20:10] Natalie Weiss: That is that I love that song so much in the show is okay.

[20:15] Eli Tokash: Anything anyways that was such a it was a good time.

[20:18] Natalie Weiss: And it was yeah Pittsburgh and that's what we like bonded over and then like each time we had like those little readings that we did I was like oh my god that's my friend from Pittsburgh.

[20:28] Natalie Weiss: Like she knows she was doing the CLO because that's where I did my first show as well.

[20:33] Eli Tokash: Um so that's so that's where I got my it's so funny how many people like start out there and you don't even realize.

[20:33] Natalie Weiss: Oh yes.

[20:41] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god go Pittsburgh go CLO go everything. Um so then of course so like did you always know that you like had this voice so you said you were in high school and you like knew that you were like so good and you had like this great ear.

[20:56] Natalie Weiss: I knew I was did I always know I was so good? No. I think honestly, I'm just kidding. I think like I did the talent show in like fourth grade as a piano player. So like my skill was piano. Yeah, no. So I sang at like eight and nine, like there's a video of me singing on my own, like poorly. I think I'm good, but it's like uh like vibrato was all over the place. Like I was not a child star. It was like shaky vibrato, trying to riff, like literally it was like every day. Like imagine if it was like, uh uh love him, but be like, um, every day I'm like imagine I wanted to do that now. Uh huh. It would be like, uh like it was like trying to do it then. Right.

[21:42] Natalie Weiss: I could see that I like wanted to imitate like Mariah and Whitney. But um so basically I would sing around the house and do like really bad riffs, but I didn't know what like clean riffs until I did the talent show in fifth grade, and I sang The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston, and I like can't find the video, but I distinctly remember like being Peter Pan as a 10-year-old. Oh with like nodules, like fully nodule ten-year-old and like tank tank, like screaming and like no vibrato, like pitch, I guess. Then I sang I believe the child no stage presence. Like literally like like swaying.

[22:19] Natalie Weiss: And I'd be like, I believe the children are huge. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Like tone riffs and vibrato. Obviously, my tone is changed and I've my voice has deepened and I didn't really finesse myself as an artist, but I remember as an 11-year-old that I could riff at some to some degree. And my parents were like, wait, what? You know what I mean? Like they kind of knew I could match pitch. They tell me I was musical early, but like nobody knew I was gonna be a singer because nobody in my family is like a singer. Uh-huh. So I think that started it, and then you know, singing and then doing shows and finding that I had this voice that has been improved I mean like I learned so much I mean I was not the person who just could sing it I used to calculate like what voice I didn't know how to really sing until college.

[23:13] Eli Tokash: No but you were a natural like you knew like there was definitely something.

[23:13] Natalie Weiss: I I was a natural at 11.

[23:18] Eli Tokash: Yeah wow not like a five year old who has vibrato you know like uh you know those.

[23:18] Natalie Weiss: Oh yeah absolutely I don't know when your vibrato came in but it still hasn't definitely oh perfect um it was there and then my voice changed voice change navigating voice change it's you gotta whole you gotta whole do a whole new uh relearn of it and it's uh it's cute so then like you had to have known like at some point like as you continue to find your voice and you're just like doing all of these amazing riffs and you're starting to like really like learn your voice and learn how to belt and everything like that.

[23:56] Natalie Weiss: Let's talk about the the what you did most recently before like the pandemic uh emoji land.

[24:03] Eli Tokash: Yeah okay first of all did you ever think I didn't but my dear friend Josh Laman was in it.

[24:09] Natalie Weiss: Oh him oh Finding Neverland him playing that part oh my god comedy goals I gotta tell you about a moment of sorry I'm just reapplying lipstick no I love it just for you thank you um I I gotta tell you about a comedic moment that like I just I need I need footage of to see because continue oh okay there's this part that apparently off Broadway, I'm sorry, a nymph, because this is off Broadway. At Nymph, he improvised a line that got later on added to the script because he's that much of a community.

[24:40] Natalie Weiss: Of course. So I do this big song where I'm like, I'm gonna build a wall. It's like a a firewall, it has to do with a phone, and it's like a it's a very um, it was very apropos to like the wall of building the wall and the trump, you know. It was very into that. So I do think it's like I don't want to stand for big Belty song, lots of riffs and belts. Yes, yes, and then it finishes and it's like this, and then his line is wait, hold on. Construction worker, that was so loud. Uh and literally his delivery of it was that was so loud, and I'm like, like, the line is so genius.

[25:17] Natalie Weiss: So one day he was like, and I had to go like this, right? And just not break. Right. One day, I'm not joking. I think it was 90 seconds of him like fully crying, and me deadpan, the audience dying, the moment was not, it's supposed to be another line that interrupts. It was like a minute and a half of construction worker, that was so loud. And then I was like, and like nobody broke. It was so funny though.

[25:40] Eli Tokash: It was only Josh Lehman, only Josh Lehman.

[25:45] Natalie Weiss: No, literally amazing.

[25:47] Natalie Weiss: He's everything that you want to like be on a stage, you know.

[25:51] Natalie Weiss: And he's so he's so supportive.

[25:52] Eli Tokash: Oh my god.

[25:53] Natalie Weiss: He's just always so kind to me. It's like if I ever was like worried about something, he was like, You got this.

[25:58] Yes.

[25:59] Natalie Weiss: He literally he puts everyone before himself. It's like he's he's a gift from God, literally.

[26:06] Natalie Weiss: He's an angel. Um, but did you ever like ever like think that you would be playing an emoji in a show on stage?

[26:14] Natalie Weiss: No, yeah, no, right? No, it happened. No, I didn't even know about the construction worker emoji.

[26:19] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[26:20] Natalie Weiss: Definitely not. And I found out about it very last minute. I was like on a solo tour, like having a really fulfilling like doing my solo show in Vegas and Utah and LA. And then I got this email out of nowhere. I was like, would you be interested in this show? And I was like, Hello. So I like wasn't even planning on doing a show. I didn't even know the writers. Turns out we had a lot of mutual friends, and um, yeah, it happened.

[26:44] Eli Tokash: And of course they wanted you to belt your face off.

[26:48] Natalie Weiss: Well, um, yeah, but I was like, you know, I've never played a role in New York, nobody's ever seen me play a role, and I was like, I gotta prove everyone I'm an actor too. You know, so you know, I had played Molly and Ghost like outside the city, but I was like, No, this is my chance to play a role right in New York where everyone can see it.

[27:06] Eli Tokash: Right.

[27:07] Natalie Weiss: So is the construction worker now your favorite emoji?

[27:12] Natalie Weiss: Oh I do this is really random. I do use the pregnant woman a lot when I'm feeling really bloated and full.

[27:18] Eli Tokash: Amazing.

[27:19] Natalie Weiss: I love that. That's it, that's a great time to use it.

[27:22] Eli Tokash: Um I always use laugh and cry all the time.

[27:25] Natalie Weiss: Oh, always always.

[27:27] Eli Tokash: Well, I'm gonna have to start using the constructor worker.

[27:29] Natalie Weiss: I actually never have used it before.

[27:32] Eli Tokash: I will admit that.

[27:33] Natalie Weiss: Oh, like why would you?

[27:34] Eli Tokash: Yeah, exactly.

[27:34] Natalie Weiss: Like it's not like I've had like an actual excuse to use it, but like no, yeah, yeah, it's I love it.

[27:39] Natalie Weiss: I love the fact that that was turned into a musical.

[27:42] Natalie Weiss: And I actually like went backstage, Josh showed me the shit set and everything, because he actually when I was playing that was incredible.

[27:49] Eli Tokash: Oh my god.

[27:51] Natalie Weiss: That whole like backstage, I've never been into that theater before.

[27:55] Natalie Weiss: Um, so just like going through the theater in the lobby, and like it was just so like unique and just not your like normal Broadway stage or like New York theater, I guess.

[28:04] Eli Tokash: Um, but it was so neat when Josh showed me it, and because I was coming to him because he had a podcast already, so I was like, what's going on with like the whole podcast game?

[28:14] Natalie Weiss: And he was like, Come back on emoji land, I'll take you backstage and talk to you about it.

[28:18] Eli Tokash: I was like, Okay, great.

[28:21] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, he's he's a saint.

[28:23] Eli Tokash: Um so let's talk about what you're doing now.

[28:26] Natalie Weiss: You have now, as we mentioned, you went viral for breaking down the riffs, and it kind of turned into this series and everything like that. And now you've started this um like online class for it.

[28:38] Eli Tokash: So tell yeah, tell us what it is exactly is and like what how do you get involved in yes.

[28:45] Natalie Weiss: Okay, so basically it's my first digital product where it's a buy once, use at your own pace, like actually don't have to be in a time zone, a fully produced product with 15 modules, do at your own pace, like met my methodology of like how I basically break down riffs, but like also nuanced pop tools that I add to how to approach a pop song, whether it be you know, I am a musical theater singer, I don't know how to do pop tools, or um, I am an advanced riffer and I want more tools to hear music a different way and add other things to my toolbox.

[29:22] Natalie Weiss: Um, and just to like add fun and ease to the world of pop singing, where I think there's like this big anomaly with riffing, and it's like it's not as hard as you make it. And I've been working on it for the past year 24 hours a day, like seven days a week, I have no life, and I'm you know, launching it this month. Um I'm very excited, and they have unlimited access to it. Yes, so it's not like a Zoom or anything like that, right? No, it's a fully, fully produced product that they learn from me at their own pace. I love that. Um, yes, and they can just practice tools they can use, um, song reference guide for anything I reference in the course. Um, there's all these goodies that they get at the end of it. Really? It's just like a very cumulative, comprehensive thing that I've like basically my life's work into one project.

[30:11] Eli Tokash: That's awesome. So is it kind of just a course solely for riffing or is it like everything?

[30:16] Natalie Weiss: So it's basically it's not so it's definitely a course on pop technique and riffing. Okay. Whereas like all the stuff you see in my coachings, like placement and tone and belting, that's not this course. That's maybe in the future, like when I'm actually working with students. This is like your pop toolbox riffing technique, um, the mechanics of riffing and how to implement it and like pop tools. Um that's that's the gist of the course.

[30:43] Eli Tokash: Gotcha, gotcha. So let's get into your what you do as a vocal teacher. So, like, how are you adjusting to this teaching online kind of pandemic thing?

[30:51] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, well, you know, before the pandemic, I had done, you know, a few um Zoom coachings. I never preferred it unless I had met them in person, but like honestly, I'm so used to it now. Yeah. That I'm almost like I can't imagine in person coaching. Almost like, you know, I've made crazy breakthroughs with students this year. Really that I have never met, which is so crazy to me. Like this, for example, like this one girl who I like just have bonded with and like I have really felt like I've changed her voice with her and like discovering things that I was like, I cannot believe we've never met. Yeah. Like it's possible on Zoom. Yeah. I never thought it was. So that was crazy. And then the crazy thing about my business online that like was like thriving in September was when I did this belting for classical and legit singers and pop technique for legit singers back in September.

[31:45] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[31:45] Natalie Weiss: I normally in New York would be like, okay, I'm doing a class, and then like I don't know, 10 singers, and then like who wants to observe? It's like what two teachers observe. I had like 150 teachers apply to just watch from all over the world. It was so crazy.

[32:00] Eli Tokash: That's incredible.

[32:01] Natalie Weiss: So that was like they weren't even trying to sing, they were just like, I just want to watch the series. It was like a three-week series. So that was a crazy. I know. I feel like everyone like doesn't even know. Like, I feel like as we slowly open back up, everyone's kind of like, what do you mean? Like, I can just like continue doing what I'm doing. I can sit in my sweatpants every day. I don't want to change that. Right. Everyone's kind of just every day. Can you even tolerate that? No, you can't. You can. You look great.

[32:28] Eli Tokash: Um, so do you think like I I don't know, especially for me. I feel like I tend to like fill my head with like myths and superstitions and everything like that about like my voice. Do you feel like there are like myths and stuff out there like about people's voices?

[32:47] Natalie Weiss: That's a good question. I mean, look, yes, of course there are, and yes, there are literally like Pisagios and breaks. Right. But I it in my school of teaching, I don't believe in them in terms of mental blocks. You love that. You know what I mean? Like, yes, there are, but like when people come to me, they're like, okay, you might break the energy. I'm like, stop talking. Uh-huh. Stop. I basically just like a part of my whole thing is breaking down the mental block. Yes. So trademark. No, um trademark. Excuse me. Um, hold on. Yeah, so much of what I do is mental, and like I have so many singers who have unbelievable ability and huge confidence problems. Yeah. And when I can like break that for them, that's huge.

You know what I mean? Like, oh my god, I love the moments of wait, you know, and honestly, as a teacher, I'm making up shit all the time. Like, oh wait, this visual helps me. What if we did this? And they're like, I love like the light bulb faces and like finding new things all the time, and I'm finding things about my voice all the time. Like I teach differently, I sing differently than I did.

[33:53] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[33:53] Natalie Weiss: Um, even when I have to find a place when I'm like, what am I doing? You know.

[33:57] Eli Tokash: Yeah, I mean, it's a real thing. I feel like your voice is a lot to do with your brain, like in your head and like the way that you like think.

[34:06] Natalie Weiss: It's so and your body, yeah. Yeah, it's it's it's crazy how it's literally connected to like your whole being. Uh your just your voice in like that one muscle is just like it's it's incredible. Um, but what you do and like literally if anyone watches their videos or her videos um and just like watches from like literally the time it starts to like literally like two or three minutes later, it's like just hearing the difference and what you can find and how you can hear it and how you can help. It's it's amazing, it's brilliant.

[34:36] Natalie Weiss: Oh, yes, it's very my favorite thing to do is like tweak and finesse. Like, I'm not a builder, I'm not gonna take you from can't match pitch to uh you know prodigy, right? I love making small changes, but the small changes make a big difference, I believe.

[34:51] Eli Tokash: Yeah, okay. I want to talk to you about Dear Evan Hansen, okay, because I I I don't know, like, do you kinda go to Dear Evan Hansen? So for those of you who don't know, Natalie is like in the Dear Evan Hansen album because she's like sings like you will be found, right?

[35:10] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, and and waving.

[35:12] Eli Tokash: And waving, okay. So, like, do you go to the show and you're like, wow, I'm seeing a show that like I'm in, but like not? Like, I don't know. Like, what's that like?

[35:20] Natalie Weiss: Um, well, the good news is not in pandemic, but you get that residual check when you're uh being played on tour and on Broadway. So that is a sweet couch paycheck. Um I think it is so cool. I think honestly, I I feel like we recorded all the parts of people there's a voice that sounds like me that's like a spoken line, and everyone's like, that's you on like on the album, and I'm like, it's not. It's not. Right. It's literally not. I didn't have a spoken line as far as I can remember.

[35:47] Eli Tokash: Okay.

[35:48] Natalie Weiss: So yeah, we we sang all the parts, I think. It's like twelve of us. Can you like hear your voice? Like, can you like pick it out?

[35:56] Natalie Weiss: Okay. Certain parts, yes. Wow. But like barely. I feel like I can hear my voice on the Greatest Showman soundtrack.

[36:02] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, wait, let's talk about that. So which song do we have to do that?

[36:05] Natalie Weiss: On the one part. So I recorded on the Greatest Show. This is me, come alive, and from now on. Uh-huh. The part you can hear me, I think I I think it's like three three twenty something on Come Alive. It's like me and Lauren going, Yeah.

[36:21] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, of course.

[36:22] Natalie Weiss: Other than that, we sang every part. We tripled every part. I know Lauren. Oh, you tripled every part, so it's just like you guys.

[36:31] Eli Tokash: No, not us. I meant all the singers saying every part.

[36:35] Natalie Weiss: I was gonna say, just you two. Oh my god. No, no, no, no, no. I mean like the reason I can't really hear myself on on ensemble is because I really believe we stacked a lot of vocals. Yeah. You know, just everyone's screaming.

[36:48] Eli Tokash: Right, of course. And does that happen like often, like, you know, from like movie musicals or like even on Broadway with like what Dear Evan Hansen did and everything like that? Like, does that stuff happen?

[36:59] Natalie Weiss: Like basically I think for something I did recently, we sang our specific parts and then we stacked them. So we definitely had separate parts. Sometimes all the females are gonna sing all the parts. Okay. And all the males are gonna, you know, it depends on what they want. Um the funny part about Dear not Dear Evan Hansen, Greatest Showman is the the end of the Greatest Show opening number, which you've seen change so many times. Yeah. There were so many versions of the opening number. I mean I have audios of like this is a ticket to the greatest on my voice memos. Yes. I was obsessed with that. Yes that one and Oddities do you remember Oddities?

[37:39] Eli Tokash: Oh my yes of course I loved that song but like that was like the original This is me so I'm happy with this is me but like Oh my yes.

[37:49] Natalie Weiss: So it's been so interesting being a part of a process seeing all the changes. Oh my god So were you in like the Dear Evan Hansen readings and stuff like that? Were you able to watch that change or like I was never there but it's funny enough I was doing this recording with Justin and Bent the other day for a different purpose of course I can't talk about and they were reminiscing with me about they were like how many demos have we done together since college? I mean since right because we graduated separate colleges same year. We were doing this thing in 2009 and we were reminiscing about how it went we were singing it and then I was like what about that other thing? And they were like that's what Evan Hansen became and I was like what this demo I did for them in like 2008 or nine was the story of a boy finding his true passion and I was playing this part on this demo and it was Evan Hansen, and I had no idea.

[38:39] Eli Tokash: Unbelievable.

[38:40] Natalie Weiss: So that's how long people work on shows you know yeah, that's crazy. Wait, so 2008, they probably opened in what? 2015?

[38:46] Eli Tokash: Probably.

[38:47] Natalie Weiss: Jeez, seven years. Probably been five. Yeah. Unbelievable. That's so cool, though. Like, I feel like that's that's the coolest part of like what we do is just like watching like the progression of each project, you know, like path and what they go on and what they do. Uh it's just so cool. Um, speaking of like past and everything, I want to talk about the process of American Idol. Where would where did that like intense?

[39:18] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, here's the thing about like I'm very big on like path, and like I wanted that more than anything. Like it was my dream. And like the funny thing about like dreams changing, I watch all the shows. Like, I'm obsessed with them. I'm a huge fangirl, I watch them, I do reacts. I have a desire to coach on that show, not to be on that anymore. Yeah, yeah. It's just so interesting how it's just like, oh god, I can't believe that. And then I always think, what if I made it on the show? What if my video didn't go viral in 2006? What you never know. And I was like crushed when that happened. I was like, my life is over. My life isn't over, you know. Um, my experience was what it was, you know. I got put with the group with annoying stage parents, and um, I was known for the girl in the yellow shirt with the group with the parents that were intense.

Right. And um, maybe I got a lot of screen time. Maybe if I was with a different group, I would have made it. Maybe if I chose a different song, I would have gotten put with the different. No idea. Yeah. And the funny thing is now, Michael Orland, who's like, you know, a vocal coach on the show, he like loves my videos, and he's like, Oh my god, I'm like, Michael, I was like cut and destroyed from that show. But I'm like, he's like, oh. Right. Oh my god, did we know? Like, wait, I mean, I'm a different person. I've improved since then. Like, my performance was like fine. Right. You know.

[40:36] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, it was fantastic.

[40:37] Natalie Weiss: It blew up. I mean, I was 19. I'm so right, right. No, you're not. No, you're not. You're not old. Trust me. Oh my god, I was still older than you.

[40:46] Eli Tokash: Stop it.

[40:47] Natalie Weiss: Don't mean it. We don't need to talk about it. Wait, wait, wait. So let me get this right. Is your like, are you saying that you would be interested in judging it or like being like a vocal coach on?

[40:57] Natalie Weiss: Vocal coach. Okay, okay. Oh my god. I could see both. I mean, I was just I just wanted that clearance. Um, okay, but like I have to ask, golden ticket or like getting a call that you're like in a Broadway show.

[41:11] Natalie Weiss: Now I have no interest in being on those shows in terms of golden ticket. I think honestly, now there's very few roles that I have like a real desire to play. There, I think like if a waitress situation came back, I really would love to do that. Oh my god. Um or a new a new role that was like that I felt really passionate about that I felt like I could connect to, and not, you know, there's not a lot of roles I connect to, so I really would want to make sure it was right. And also my confidence level, like I'm just like, I just have to, you know, it has to be the right fit.

[41:39] Eli Tokash: Sure.

[41:45] Natalie Weiss: So is it like more like you're just kind of gonna focus on like being a vocal teacher?

[41:51] Natalie Weiss: Uh right now, yes, I'm really focusing on that with other opportunities happening. Okay, you know, whatever happens, happens. I'm not, I would love to also be on an Amy Schumer show. Like, you know, there's like a world where I could be on a sitcom, I just haven't had Natalie. We need to make this happen. Come on.

[42:11] Eli Tokash: Yeah, like come on. Manifest it.

[42:24] Natalie Weiss: Just give me a good deadpan roll. I got just right.

[42:26] Eli Tokash: Oh my god. And then it turns into a series regular, you know?

[42:31] Natalie Weiss: Yes. Oh my god. That's that's iconic. I would I'm here for that. Um, but okay, you may not have been able to like be a coach on American Idol, but you have been a coach for the Jimmy Awards, and we've had a couple Jimmy Award contestants on the show. Um, and we've talked about kind of like that whole like process and week. I would love to hear what it's like at uh from a a coaches and judge perspective, I guess. Like how cool that is that process.

[43:00] Natalie Weiss: I mean, that was my dream because I had watched the Jimmies and I'd also attended them and like attended the party and just am so blown away by the talent. It's just like not to be believed. So to be around like such young talent is like, oh my god, I was not like that. I can't imagine like these like nuanced performances as a 17-year-old is just they're crazy. So it was just such a proud moment because they're already amazing and just like fine-tuning it and like watching all the people and like I don't even know how they pick because they're like 90 amazing people, you know.

[43:33] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, it's insane. And like just to like see the talent that's come from the awards themselves, like it's just been incredible who how who they've been to like bring like showcase really and just like showcase their talent.

[43:49] Eli Tokash: Um but that's so cool, I feel like to be a part of that.

[43:52] Natalie Weiss: Oh, it definitely was.

[43:53] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, yes.

[43:54] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god, I love it.

[43:55] Eli Tokash: Um okay, so we you mentioned you you love all the TV.

[43:55] Natalie Weiss: You love all the reality TV.

[44:02] Eli Tokash: Well, not all of them, but like my specific ones.

[44:04] Natalie Weiss: I'm not a housewife watch.

[44:05] Eli Tokash: No, no, no.

[44:06] Natalie Weiss: No, no, no.

[44:07] Eli Tokash: We don't like the housewives.

[44:08] Natalie Weiss: No, no, no.

[44:08] Eli Tokash: Uh we we like the mass singers.

[44:10] Natalie Weiss: We do like the mass singers, I think.

[44:13] Eli Tokash: Um and we like The Bachelor.

[44:15] Natalie Weiss: We have to talk about and I and we just need to talk about it, okay, because the bachelor has been kind of like crazy lately.

[44:22] Eli Tokash: Um so first of all, what is like who is your favorite like bachelor or bachelorette?

[44:28] Natalie Weiss: Like either one.

[44:29] Eli Tokash: Well, definitely think Taysha was like an unbelievable bachelorette, and like, you know, I gotta I'm crushing on Ivan.

[44:36] Natalie Weiss: Do you watch those?

[44:37] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[44:38] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god.

[44:39] Eli Tokash: Okay, so like he plays tennis, and I'm a tennis player, and I was watching his tennis videos, and I was like, like what?

[44:48] Natalie Weiss: And also their conversation about the Black Lives Matter date was one of the most unbelievable, raw, unscripted date. Like, it just was unbelievable.

[44:57] Eli Tokash: Television.

[45:00] Natalie Weiss: I don't mean in a dramatic way, I just mean like real.

[45:02] Eli Tokash: Right.

[45:03] Natalie Weiss: So, you know, they broke up because of religious differences, which later on came out, but I mean he was such an amazing contestant, and her she just had an amazing season.

[45:11] Eli Tokash: Um I really thought he was gonna be like the bachelor.

[45:15] Natalie Weiss: I thought they were like gonna announce it.

[45:16] Eli Tokash: I know.

[45:17] Natalie Weiss: I was kind of bummed, but now they're doing like two bachelorettes in a row, right?

[45:24] Eli Tokash: Oh my god.

[45:25] Natalie Weiss: Um so what are your thoughts on like the whole like Matt season? Like, was he like one of your favorites?

[45:30] Eli Tokash: I mean, look, people were like, This is the m I I didn't mind it as much as other people because I'm always entertained by it.

[45:36] Natalie Weiss: Yeah.

[45:37] Eli Tokash: I think people were like, I'm so over this, I'm so bored.

[45:40] Natalie Weiss: I mean, they were like, I honestly am never bored.

[45:43] Eli Tokash: I was so bored by Fantasy Suite's week.

[45:45] Natalie Weiss: I was like, hmm.

[45:47] Eli Tokash: I, you know, it's really tough.

[45:50] Natalie Weiss: I think the whole Rachel Kirkinell, Kirkonnell, it's really tough to navigate.

[45:55] Eli Tokash: I think they're maybe back together.

[45:57] Natalie Weiss: Maybe she did some work, maybe.

[46:00] Eli Tokash: Um, I don't know.

[46:02] Natalie Weiss: I think he needs to know what he wants also.

[46:04] Eli Tokash: Oops.

[46:05] Natalie Weiss: And I think that conversation with his dad. Um happening on live TV after never talking about it.

[46:14] Eli Tokash: I was like, Right.

[46:18] Natalie Weiss: Like mind blown.

[46:20] Eli Tokash: That is airing outside.

[46:22] Natalie Weiss: It's intense.

[46:22] Eli Tokash: Really deep stuff, you know.

[46:24] Natalie Weiss: Right.

[46:25] Eli Tokash: Right.

[46:26] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, I know.

[46:27] Eli Tokash: It's you know, I am a new, I mean it's so funny because like The Bachelor, like, when you think about it, okay.

[46:35] Natalie Weiss: I've been an outsider for too long.

[46:36] Eli Tokash: My mom has always watched it, right?

[46:38] Natalie Weiss: And like literally always watched it, like from the first season.

[46:43] Eli Tokash: And like I kind of started getting into it in the Colton season, which is a whole nother story that we could talk about.

[46:49] Natalie Weiss: Um and now I've kind of like gotten more and more into it, but I always was like, how do people watch this show?

[46:56] Eli Tokash: You know, it's just like a bunch of people like dating this one person, they're all like kind of cheating on this one person and like kissing this one person.

[47:05] Natalie Weiss: It was so bizarre, but like when you start watching it, you kind of get like sucked in, and I don't know what it is about.

[47:13] Eli Tokash: And did you watch Bachelor in Paradise?

[47:15] Natalie Weiss: I don't really, but my mom does, so I wa like I don't watch it religiously like every episode like I did of Matt's season.

[47:22] Eli Tokash: But well, it hasn't been on in two years, and I think it's coming.

[47:25] Natalie Weiss: Yes, yes, I hear that's the people are waiting.

[47:27] Eli Tokash: The people are waiting.

[47:29] Natalie Weiss: I think I think too like the pandemic, like they didn't want to like rush everything and like do because usually it's like in between the Bachelorette and the Bachelor seasons and everything like that.

[47:41] Eli Tokash: So it it was a lot.

[47:42] Natalie Weiss: So I feel like that kind of had a role in it.

[47:45] Eli Tokash: And now that things are easing back up, I think they're able to get back into it.

[47:48] Natalie Weiss: But it's been it's been a crazy past couple of seasons for The Bachelor and this whole like franchise.

[47:54] Eli Tokash: Cause now with Colton coming out as gay and everything like that, like good for him.

[47:58] Natalie Weiss: I mean, first of all, he was like the first bachelor who like came on the show as a virgin.

[48:04] Eli Tokash: So like that was like what is happening.

[48:06] Natalie Weiss: That was like the talk of like the town, and then he like got engaged and I think it even married and like they seemed madly in love.

[48:14] Eli Tokash: Oh, okay, engaged.

[48:15] Natalie Weiss: And I think they seemed like madly in love, and then he was like And I met them at Junior's TV.

[48:21] Eli Tokash: Stop it.

[48:22] Natalie Weiss: I met them outside of Harry Potter's theater.

[48:25] Eli Tokash: They went to go see Harry Potter.

[48:27] Natalie Weiss: Like three years later after the season.

[48:29] Eli Tokash: And I was like, oh my god.

[48:32] Natalie Weiss: But like, yeah, it was just I I was in shock and what the Bachelor always seems to be like appearing in the headlines, but it it's a great show.

[48:41] Eli Tokash: And now like is do you tend to like the like the bachelors and like those kind of shows, or do you kinda prefer like the more singing shows to like watch?

[48:50] Natalie Weiss: I mean both on my D VRs, like all the singing shows and um This is a Right and I love Shark Tank.

[49:01] Eli Tokash: Uh huh.

[49:01] Natalie Weiss: That's on reruns and stuff.

[49:02] Eli Tokash: I love Shark Tank.

[49:03] Natalie Weiss: Um if I have time to watch D VR.

[49:07] Eli Tokash: Um, but yeah, then I watch like um Oh god, I mean I've been sh I I I hadn't I haven't finished in a while, but like I actually have to watch The Handmaid's Tale if the Handmaid's Tale's back.

[49:17] Natalie Weiss: I don't know that one.

[49:19] Eli Tokash: Hello?

[49:20] Natalie Weiss: What is that?

[49:21] Eli Tokash: What?

[49:22] Natalie Weiss: Eli Elizabeth Moss, hello is the f are you with us on Hulu?

[49:27] Eli Tokash: It's like the biggest show ever.

[49:28] Natalie Weiss: Oh really?

[49:29] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[49:31] Natalie Weiss: Elizabeth Moss.

[49:33] Eli Tokash: No, I don't know that one.

[49:34] Natalie Weiss: Very exciting.

[49:35] Eli Tokash: Honestly, I'm I've got on Hulu like nine times and it was solely to watch a teacher.

[49:42] Natalie Weiss: Did you watch that one with Kate Morrow?

[49:44] Eli Tokash: I watched a teacher.

[49:45] Natalie Weiss: Yes.

[49:46] Eli Tokash: No, that was like crazy.

[49:48] Natalie Weiss: It was solely to watch a teacher.

[49:50] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[49:51] Natalie Weiss: It was no, like, okay.

[49:52] Eli Tokash: Actually, it was really good.

[49:54] Natalie Weiss: I watched The Wild too.

[49:56] Eli Tokash: Did you watch that on Amazon?

[49:57] Natalie Weiss: I didn't.

[49:57] Eli Tokash: I've heard that I need to get into it too.

[50:00] Natalie Weiss: I've heard it's a good one.

[50:02] Eli Tokash: I heard that one and I heard of like the hundreds coming back.

[50:05] Natalie Weiss: Like it's starting to get more popular.

[50:07] Eli Tokash: What's that?

[50:08] Natalie Weiss: It was a show that was like popular on TV years ago, and then like now Amazon Prime or Hulu, one of them, like brought it back and now it's like getting popular again.

[50:18] Eli Tokash: I don't know.

[50:19] Natalie Weiss: It's it's been oh wow.

[50:21] Eli Tokash: It's one of those like futuristic shows that like, oh, there's like a hundred people left on the in the world and like they're just trying to survive and they're doing like everything they can.

[50:30] Natalie Weiss: It's kind of like do you have you heard of Snowpiercer?

[50:35] Eli Tokash: Heard of it.

[50:36] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, it's that one with the V Diggs, because he he Oh my god, a king.

[50:39] Eli Tokash: Talk about an amazing show.

[50:41] Natalie Weiss: Um that's so good.

[50:42] Eli Tokash: It's from what I've heard, I've been able to relate it to Snowpiercer.

[50:47] Natalie Weiss: Um, but it it seems very interesting.

[50:49] Eli Tokash: I just realized can you can I I have to charge my phone because I'm going to get a phone call after this and it's totally dead.

[50:54] Natalie Weiss: So can can I just hold on one sec?

[50:57] Eli Tokash: Hi.

[50:58] Natalie Weiss: So I mean we're gonna wrap it up here like any second now, anyway.

[51:02] Eli Tokash: So it's all good.

[51:04] Natalie Weiss: Um, but I do I do want to say we've talked about like talking to you, talking about how you like to watch all these TV shows and you like to post about it and everything like that.

[51:13] Eli Tokash: So how can people find you and kind of have these live reactions of you watching these TV shows?

[51:18] Natalie Weiss: Yes. Um on Instagram and Twitter, even though I don't really use the word TikTok.

[51:23] Eli Tokash: Amazing.

[51:24] Natalie Weiss: Um, the Natalie Weiss.

[51:25] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, TikTok, come on.

[51:27] Natalie Weiss: You've definitely seen her on your for you page, and if you're not following her, you're insane.

[51:32] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[51:33] Natalie Weiss: The Natalie Wise Natalie, I swear to God, you're I feel like you're like always on my for you page, just like belting your face up.

[51:39] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, I'm so really yes.

[51:41] Natalie Weiss: When you I'm not really a TikTok.

[51:43] Eli Tokash: Really?

[51:44] Natalie Weiss: I feel like it's something that like I don't understand how it works, and I don't have patience for it, but I literally just like repurpose that.

[51:50] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[51:51] Natalie Weiss: I'm more of an Instagrammer.

[51:52] Eli Tokash: I understand.

[51:53] Natalie Weiss: I feel like TikToks.

[51:54] Eli Tokash: But whatever works, right?

[51:55] Natalie Weiss: Yeah, exactly.

[51:56] Eli Tokash: Just to continue to grow your audience, you know.

[51:59] Natalie Weiss: Um, but didn't you do like a driver's license like cover on TikTok?

[52:03] Eli Tokash: I did driver's license cover, off key and a self-coaching of it.

[52:07] Natalie Weiss: Oh my god, you guys, that's another thing I forgot to mention. She's so good that she like is good at singing badly, if that makes sense.

[52:15] Eli Tokash: She can make herself-

[52:15] Natalie Weiss: I've been singing badly for like since like eighth grade.

[52:21] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, no, no, no, no, stop.

[52:21] Natalie Weiss: You like actually like I don't know how, because like I I don't even I I I honestly just don't even know how.

[52:28] Eli Tokash: She can like make herself just be off and like make the like the like when you hear it, your like ears like are like, what is happening?

[52:37] Natalie Weiss: People go, is everything okay?

[52:40] Eli Tokash: Right.

[52:43] Natalie Weiss: I'm like, It's on purpose.

[52:43] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, it's it's so good those videos are like literally my favorite um and I can't believe I didn't mention it but yeah so the Natalie Weiss go check her out on social media all the things um and then check uh look for uh sh what actually yeah she'll be my new course yeah breaking down the riffs yeah the guide to breaking down the riffs by Natalie amazing and full guide and if you're listen if you're like following her on like her social media and everything you'll be getting all those updates about like her course and all of the all of the amazing things that she's up to and the videos of her like vocal lessons and everything that she like kind of drops in here and there um all the amazing and then also Natalieweissofficial.com and Natalieweissvoice.com there's like products on that that are coming oh my god wait wait wait products you're like a brand well the pro yeah the product of the course product is sold on Natalieweissvoice calm because we had to get another domain for the oh my god all of the things are happening I am so excited this is so exciting everyone who's listening to this go check her out and go follow her if you're not already um and Natalie thank you for joining us and ha coming on and giving us your time it was great to catch up with you.

[52:43] Natalie Weiss: Yeah of course see ya take about Natalie Weiss.

[52:43] Eli Tokash: Oh I I mean I don't even know what to say it's just she's one of the few voices in this industry that I was literally blown away. I mean, there are so many people whose voices blow me away, but like, you know, you have those people who like you'll never forget like the first time they sing and just your reaction to it.

[54:30] Natalie Weiss: It's literally, it was everything that you'd ever want.

[54:34] Eli Tokash: It was incredible. Um, and she still has an amazing voice. And now she shifted to, you know, really honing in on her voice and her singing ability, and has this career as a vocal teacher, and now breaking down the riffs.

[54:50] Natalie Weiss: So if you're interested in anything that we talked about today, go check her out.

[54:54] Eli Tokash: She's incredible. Um her crash course is going to be amazing, and it's out today. Reminder.

[55:02] Natalie Weiss: Um, so very exciting stuff happening.

[55:04] Eli Tokash: You have all that information of when it's coming out, how it's happening, uh, where to go shoe now. Um, to sign up for all of that.

[55:12] Natalie Weiss: And just Natalie, thank you for coming on and sharing your experiences.

[55:16] Eli Tokash: Um, she has had quite the unique experience. I mean, just with her voice and her following, like, you know, to be in one Broadway show and then emoji land and barely in wicked, like, it was just so unique, and now what she's doing to focus on her voice, and now she's doing Broadway shows, um, but like from a distance, like, she's the recorded tracks in Dear Evan Hansen, she's in greatest showman, the soundtrack and everything like that.

[55:46] Natalie Weiss: Like, it was very interesting uh just to see how you could have a career in this industry.

[55:53] Eli Tokash: Um, and we talk a lot about that on next week's episode as well.

[55:57] Natalie Weiss: So I am very excited for all that's to come.

[55:59] Eli Tokash: And uh, Natalie, thank you for coming on. It's been a fabulous week.

[56:03] Natalie Weiss: I never got my Caroline Carmelo vocal impression, but it's fine.

[56:08] Eli Tokash: I'm not mad about it, okay?

[56:09] Natalie Weiss: I'm not.

[56:10] Eli Tokash: I'm it's fine.

[56:11] Natalie Weiss: I'm handling it fine, I swear.

[56:14] Eli Tokash: Anyways, I digress.

[56:17] Natalie Weiss: Um so what are we doing?

[56:20] Eli Tokash: What are we doing? This week without Broadway. Let's talk about what we can do to kind of, you know, entertain ourselves while we don't have any shows to go see.

[56:30] Natalie Weiss: Well, you're already doing it by listening to this episode, which is one of the things you can do to get your Broadway fix in.

[56:39] Eli Tokash: But there's gonna be some cool events happening this week uh until our next episode.

[56:45] Natalie Weiss: So on Sunday, May 30th, that's like Memorial Day Eve.

[56:49] Eli Tokash: Is that like a thing?

[56:50] Natalie Weiss: Memorial Day Eve.

[56:52] Eli Tokash: I'm making it a thing.

[56:52] Natalie Weiss: We're making a Memorial Day a thing, y'all.

[56:55] Eli Tokash: No, we're Memorial Day is already a thing. We're making Memorial Day Eve a thing, y'all.

[57:01] Natalie Weiss: That's right. Um on Memorial Day Eve, we're having a National Memorial Day concert that is a night of remembrance. And that's at 8 p.m. and it's airing on PBS.

[57:14] Eli Tokash: And it's gonna be including some of our favorite performers, like Sarah Borellis.

[57:19] Natalie Weiss: It's gonna be having Brian Darcy James, it's gonna be having Bailey Madison, and so many more like actual like legends, like country legends, pop legends, and all those.

[57:29] Eli Tokash: But those are some of like the Broadway names and kind of the musical theater names that uh were attached to it.

[57:34] Natalie Weiss: And there of course there's there's plenty more, but those are uh some notable names that are gonna be performing then.

[57:42] Eli Tokash: And there's one more uh fun event to be excited about for my London listeners.

[57:49] Natalie Weiss: That is. I'm so sorry to everyone else. But this is for my London listeners in the UK.

[57:54] Eli Tokash: The show must go on, and they are quite literally making that happen.

[58:01] Natalie Weiss: A bunch of shows are coming together, and they're gonna be performing at the Palace Theatre in London on when starting Wednesday, June 2nd, which is next Wednesday.

[58:11] Eli Tokash: Um, and it goes until Sunday.

[58:13] Natalie Weiss: So literally, there's gonna be a week of performances. There are seven performances that they're gonna do. Um there's gonna be two on Sunday, two on Saturday, and then one from Wednesday through Friday.

[58:24] Eli Tokash: Those are all at seven, and two are the matinees on Saturday and Sunday.

[58:28] Eli Tokash: Um, very exciting shows like Come From Away, Jarvin Hanson, the Tina Turner musical, Wicked Six, all of these wonderful productions are coming together at the Palace Theater to benefit Acting for Others and the Fleabag Support Fund.

[58:42] Eli Tokash: So go check that out if you're in London. Go check it out, support those wonderful causes and organizations, and go see some live theater, y'all. Because live theater, I miss it. I can't wait to see it. Um, I gotta wait till September. You can go check it out next week. What what? That's insane. I'm so jealous, but it's fine. It's fine. I'm handling it well.

[59:03] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, too many outbreaks this episode. Before I leave you all, I want to give you all some triple E for episode 53. Um, let's talk about it. So, Natalie and I were talking, I know I talked about it a lot on here, but it's just a day that I'll never forget, and it's a day that I'll never stop talking about. So, as long as you all are listening, you're gonna be hearing about it.

[59:28] Eli Tokash: Um, so on, we talked literally, we stopped the episode and we were just like, can we just talk about that day? And we're gonna talk about The Greatest Showman. And we're gonna talk about each day for three years that we put on this presentation for producing companies, and it's literally, I mean, it's everything that you ever want to be a part of. Readings are some of the coolest things.

[1:00:02] Eli Tokash: Um, not to just say that like, oh, I was a part of that, but you're also able to listen and learn to see how it grows. Natalie and I talked about um, the beginning, the first ever opening of The Greatest Showman. It wasn't that um, ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for. It was never uh, The Greatest Show, but it was this is your ticket to The Greatest Show.

[1:00:25] Eli Tokash: Um, and it was this fun like craziness. Um, it was everything. And This Is Me wasn't in it. This Is Me didn't make it until like one of the final um versions of the show. They literally wrote a song and suddenly it was in the third presentation. We were like, whoa, that was incredible. That needs to be in the show.

[1:00:49] Eli Tokash: It was a bunch of other songs before that, and just to see, it's interesting, like to see the songs that do make it and the songs that didn't. So like Tight Rope, Million Dreams, and um, Tight Rope, Million Dreams, and Rewrite the Stars, I think were the only songs that actually made it from like the original original versions.

[1:01:12] Eli Tokash: Uh, Never Enough wasn't initially in it. It was actually sung, it was a song sung by Betsy Wolf, um, and that wasn't initially in it. Um, Tight Rope was from now on was not originally in it. It was a different show, which was the ending that it is now. Um, Come Alive was always in it.

[1:01:30] Eli Tokash: So Come Alive, Million Dreams, Tight Rope, and Rewrite the Stars were the only four songs in the 11th song soundtrack that actually made it from the first, like from the first reading that I did. There probably were like demos and everything before that, but from the first like reading that they actually presented it to a company, um, that was that, those were the only four songs that made it.

[1:01:55] Eli Tokash: So it's really cool to see, be a part of that, and just to um, I don't know if any of you have seen it, but Jeremy Jordan has this viral video on YouTube of his 54 Below concert and his story of how for the last presentation ever was casted to play Phillip, which is the role that Zach Efron plays in the movie.

[1:02:18] Eli Tokash: But he had to do to some minor difficulties. Hugh Jackman actually had skin cancer that he had to get removed for the last presentation, and so they were like, oh, well, Jeremy's an incredible singer. Why doesn't Hugh say Barnum's line and then just sing for him? Because he can talk, but he can't, it's harder to sing and scream and all of that.

[1:02:46] Eli Tokash: So Jeremy Jordan, the true professional he is, had a day to learn all of Hugh Jackman's songs, and he delivered it beautifully. And then on the last song, this from now on, he was told that, you know, like he was literally singing it, and then Hugh was like, I think I can do it.

[1:03:09] Eli Tokash: And he just begins to take over, and he's singing this song, and with skin cancer, he's prevailing through. And it's so emotional. Everybody's going crazy. Everyone's like, oh my god, this is our leader. We all gotta step it up. Oh my god, we're jamming out.

[1:03:26] Eli Tokash: And literally, it was like literally one of the most fun days. And this is just minutes after Kiala Settle saying This Is Me for the first time in front of a live audience. And it was like everything, like the room was insane. You can't imagine the environment the room was in.

[1:03:41] Eli Tokash: And literally everyone was in tears on their feet, smiling, like it was like happy tears, but also sad tears, just because like Kiala put us in a bag, and now Hugh is doing this incredible thing. And it was literally like a day I'll never forget.

[1:03:56] Eli Tokash: And I'll never forget I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I saw that it's The Greatest Showman, and I saw that Benj Pasek and Justin Paul were writing the music, and that's why I was interested in it. So when I go for my first day, obviously we had done A Christmas Story together, and so I go for the first day and I'm like, Ben, Justin, great to see you.

[1:04:16] Eli Tokash: I ha I have most of this song down and uh, I'm pretty prepared, so um, I can't wait to like sing it and uh hear how it goes and everything. And they're like, oh great, great, great. Well, we're gonna bring you in in like four minutes. It's okay. Uh, we're on a little break right now, and I was like, oh, okay, great.

[1:04:32] Eli Tokash: Um, well, I thought I was going into a room to learn the song with them and sing it the way that they wanted to, but no. I was brought into a room with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.

[1:04:46] Eli Tokash: And like, now I was not like the theater geek, I guess, that um, I guess I've grown into as I've begun to get more appreciation for theater. Um, I was just like blown away. Like I was like, I know these two, like I know these people. Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman, like they're stars.

[1:04:46] Eli Tokash: Like Hugh Jackman is a superhero literally, like he's like a superhero. He plays Wolverine, but like he's a real-life superhero. Like he's insane, like he's huge, muscular, like everything. Like, oh my god, I can't.

[1:04:46] Eli Tokash: Anyways, and then Sutton Foster is literally a queen, a goddess. Literally, I was listening to a podcast the other day and they were like, oh, well, it was actually Bowen Yang's, and they were like, you could put Sutton Foster in the like Audra McDonald, Bette Midler kind of icons of Broadway, and I was like, wow, that that's kind of true.

[1:04:46] Eli Tokash: Like I never really thought of that. And um, clearly, but then I was like, well, if I knew who Sutton Foster was, then of course you could because if I mean, I didn't know many Broadway people, so if I knew you, you were pretty famous.

[1:04:46] Eli Tokash: Um, and I was like blown away. And here I was singing this song for Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Hugh Jackman, and Sutton Foster, and I'll never forget the day because I walked into the room and my heart dropped and I didn't want to sing the song, and I was so freaking nervous.

[1:04:46] Eli Tokash: And um, I sing this song and all of a sudden they start singing along with me and I'm like, oh my god, I'm singing a trio with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, and it was just like mind-blowing. And like I walked out of the room and I was like, you'll never guess who I just sang with.

[1:06:37] Eli Tokash: And my dad was like, oh yeah, wait, why? And I was like, I just sang with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. He was like, oh, that's cool. I was like, Dad, this is a big deal.

[1:06:48] Eli Tokash: Um, and like ever since then, like literally going to um, the studio, the rehearsal space, wherever it was, with that project with those kind of people was just a dream. Like, I literally look forward to it every day.

[1:07:03] Eli Tokash: Like I was doing double duty and I would have to get up even earlier than I usually would to go to do another gig and do another job. But it was so fulfilling, and it was so, uh, the things I learned and just how nice everybody was.

[1:07:21] Eli Tokash: Um, Hugh Jackman, literally a couple months later, I went to go see him in The River, and afterwards I was like at the stage door, and he recognized me with all of these people just hanging out at the stage door to get his autograph and to meet him, and he recognizes me and says, oh Eli, like, uh, come here, like you should have told me that you were coming here, stand over here with the security guard, and uh, afterwards I'll come in and say hi.

[1:07:53] Eli Tokash: So I stand with the security guard, the security guard brings me into the theater again, and I'm like, oh my god, like what is happening? What is life? And Hugh Jackman comes back in and is like, oh, did you like this show? Like, how was it and everything?

[1:08:08] Eli Tokash: And I was like, oh my god, it was amazing. Um, now I'm like a forever Hugh Jackman fan, and I actually have a poster of The River hanging in my room with it signed saying for Eli to my mini me, Hugh Jackman, and it was like everything that I ever wanted in my life.

[1:08:27] Eli Tokash: It was like wow, and that experience, The Greatest Showman, is an experience that I'll never forget. And if those rooms, I mean, I can't even describe it. It was just incredible.

[1:08:38] Eli Tokash: If you watched YouTube videos, you're instantly moved. But just imagine being in the room and how much more of an impact it had on you just being in the room for that. It was an experience I'll never forget, and I'm so grateful that I was able to have that experience.

[1:08:52] Eli Tokash: So that was my fangirling moment about The Greatest Showman. I am not salty. A lot of people ask if I'm salty for like The Greatest Showman that I wasn't like in it. And I was just like, no.

[1:09:04] Eli Tokash: Like I was a part of it. The Greatest Showman, like the lines that are in The Greatest Showman, the way that Million Dreams is written is written because like I created that. Like, and I was in that developmental project of just being like, this needs to be how it goes, and maybe here we can raise it, and maybe here we could go down.

[1:09:29] Eli Tokash: Oh, maybe this key should be different. Like I was a part of that entire process, and like the role of young Barnum wouldn't be what it was if I wasn't a part of it.

[1:09:41] Eli Tokash: So like in a way, I'm grateful and I was still able to work with some of those people, obviously, like not Zach Efron and like stuff like that, but like it's okay. Like I was able to work with amazing people in more of my field of Broadway, with like Betsy Wolf and Kiala Settle, and then we had Andrew Keenan-Bolger playing Tom Thumb.

[1:10:01] Eli Tokash: Um, and all like there was just a bunch of Broadway stars just in a room together collaborating to make this movie musical come to life, and it was just everything that you'd ever want.

[1:10:13] Eli Tokash: And I am not salty that I wasn't a part of it. I understand it's the nature of the business, it's also the nature of men's bodies of how quickly they change, and somehow you just can't control it, and it's not their fault for not giving me the role that I couldn't sing.

[1:10:30] Eli Tokash: So, like it's good, it's okay. I understand, and uh yeah, I'm just forever grateful to say that I was somehow a part of that production, and um, yeah, it was just, it was incredible.

[1:10:41] Eli Tokash: If you haven't, go check out Jeremy Jordan's YouTube video from his 54 Below concert. And uh, Aaron Tveit was in it too. I think he has a YouTube video about his story as well. He was the original Jeremy Jordan, the original Zach Efron.

[1:10:55] Eli Tokash: Um, all of that. And um, yeah, it was just, it was an incredible experience, and um, it's definitely one that is unforgettable and one that everyone should check out all of the videos that are out there on the internet.

[1:11:09] Eli Tokash: Um, so yeah. That's this week's triple E segment, Eli's Entertainment Experience. And I literally could talk about The Greatest Showman for hours and hours, but um, I'm not gonna do that to you all because it's been a long episode and it's been a long outro and it's been a lot of, it's been a long segment, but it's over, it's over, and we're gonna see you next week, okay?

[1:11:14] Eli Tokash: We're gonna see you next week, and we're gonna have another amazing guest. And this guest is like no joke, and it's not like any of our other guests, and he has a lot of amazing messages, but he's not even a performer, and uh, he's not even a stage manager or a um, or a casting director or director or anything like that.

[1:11:51] Eli Tokash: You'll never guess what he is. Um, so I'm very excited to bring that episode to you all, and it's gonna be a fun one, and I can't wait to see you all next week. So, bye everyone, have a great week. Stay safe, stay well. See you all next week. Bye everyone.

[1:12:06] Eli Tokash: For this episode's current call, I would like to recognize a few people who also deserve to take a bow. This podcast would not be possible without the help from Dory Berenstein, Brittany Bigelow, Katie Rosen, Alan Seales, and the team at the Broadway Podcast Network.

[1:12:19] Eli Tokash: Next in line to take the bow 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 the other patrons for their continued support.

[1:12:33] Eli Tokash: 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.

[1:12:45] Eli Tokash: Also, feel free to give us a follow on Instagram at Take A Bow Podcast. Take A Bow's logo is designed by Giselle Bustos, and the music is by Nikki Torsha and Cormac Collinov.

[1:12:56] Eli Tokash: Bye everyone. Hope to see you next week.