This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Eli Tokash: Hello everyone and welcome to episode 94 of Take A Bow.

[0:03] Eli Tokash: I'm your host, Eli Tokash, and this week is an incredible episode coming at you all today. I'm very excited for this one.

[0:11] Eli Tokash: It was very cool for me to talk to one of my childhood like superstars, you know. I grew up watching Jessie, and if you haven't guessed it already, we have Kevin Chamberlin on the podcast today who played Bertram in Jessie, and then he's been in like over 15 Broadway shows. He's done it all. He's done films, TV, Broadway, all the things, and we talk all about his career and the different scopes of the entertainment industry. Um, it's just an incredible episode today. He has some incredible stories to talk about and just some personal things that he went through throughout his career, which was really cool. He was very open, and of course we talk about his TikTok because that's what he's up to now. He's got about like over 8 million followers on TikTok, and he has some of the funniest content and some of the best content on TikTok.

[1:05] Eli Tokash: Before we turn it over to Kevin Chamberlin, let's talk about some Broadway news. As always, it was announced that the Tony Awards are going to be returning in June, which is very exciting when they usually are. Uh obviously last year things were crazy, so it couldn't be in June, but that's okay, because this year it is. It's gonna be from 8 to 11 on June 12th on CBS, or you could stream it live on Paramount Plus. Nominations should come out late April, early May, I want to say we're gonna talk all about it. I'll break it down when those do come out. So I'm excited for it. Tony Awards are back, baby, and it's gonna be a crazy fun season.

[1:43] Eli Tokash: So moving on. We got some star-studded names joining or rejoining the Broadway community. Uh Pamela Anderson will be making her Broadway debut in Chicago, the musical, as Roxy Hart. Uh she's going to be in Chicago from April 12th to June 5th. So everyone who's a big fan of Pamela Anderson, go check her out on Broadway. Go check her out live as Roxy Hart in Chicago from April 12th to June 5th.

[2:13] Eli Tokash: Will Swenson is going to be leading a brand new Neil Diamond musical that's called A Beautiful Noise. So I'm a big fan of Will Swenson. I saw him in Waitress. I saw him in Assassins. I mentioned him in my little Assassins review. He's amazing. So I can't wait to see him playing Neil Diamond, essentially in the Broadway bound A Beautiful Noise. It's going to be a limited run. It's gonna be a six-week engagement from June 21st to July 31st. So really it's only about like a month. Uh, but everyone should go check that one out. It's uh it tells the story of Neil Diamond.

[2:54] Eli Tokash: Daniel Radcliffe is actually currently leading Merrily We Roll Along at the New York Theater Workshop. So that should be fun. I'm excited for that. It will complete the New York Theater Workshop's 2022-23 season. Uh additional dates and the additional cast will be announced at a later date. But uh Daniel Radcliffe and Merrily We Roll Along back in a musical and all the things. Sign me up.

[3:19] Eli Tokash: There was a new show that announced that they're coming to Broadway. It's gonna be it's it's kind of based on a movie, kind of not. It's part of the Griswold's family vacation trilogy. Uh, but this one is gonna be a Broadway show about the Griswolds coming to Broadway. So the Griswold's Broadway vacation. Uh, so excited. I don't know why. Uh there's been some back and forth on this one, uh, which I understand, but at the same time, I don't know why. I'm excited for this one, and uh hopefully uh I can I want to audition for it, to be honest, because I think it would be a ton of fun. Uh it should be hilarious, and uh I don't know, it'll be interesting to see. They're gonna be doing some out-of-town tryouts in Houston and in Seattle. So uh exciting stuff. Keep your eye out for that one because that may be an interesting one. It may be one of those things that like surprise people. I don't know. I have that feeling at least.

[4:16] Eli Tokash: We have some news out of the cast of Six. Abby Mueller is going to be taking a medical leave of absence now through April 10th. Hopefully, Abby everything is okay with Abby, and hopefully she has a speedy recovery on whatever it is. Um, I don't believe it's been announced yet. So the cast of Six will welcome two cast members to the show to play Jane Summore. Uh Carrie Renee Fuller will play the role and they'll have an alternate for her. It will be played by Hannah Stewart. So congratulations to everyone involved. And we have another casting news out of Six. Joy Woods will be taking over the role of Catherine Parr in Six on Broadway. Uh, where Joy actually currently is in the off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, and uh she will be stepping into the role on March 13th.

So very exciting stuff. I actually loved her in Little Shop of Horrors. I thought she was amazing, and now she's gonna be making her Broadway debut in Six. So congratulations to all of the wonderful women who are gonna be stepping into this wonderful show.

[5:20] Eli Tokash: And speaking of women and just uh women-empowering show, I want to take a moment to thank all of the incredible women involved in the Take A Bow process. My sister who edits the podcast and uh all the content and everything. She is amazing. Tessie, thank you all so much. You inspire me every day. Thanks to my mom for birthing me, and also um just everything that you've done in supporting me. Uh especially with this podcast here, because none of us knew what we were getting into, and uh now here we are with the name Take A Bow, which was created by my mom, and that kind of uh led the layout of our show here that we have. And uh, of course, Dori Berenstein and Kimberly Garris with the Broadway Podcast Network, and of course Katie Rosen as well.

Um, and I just want to take a moment to also thank Liz Scholar and her PR team who has helped me get a bunch of guests on the uh a bunch of her clients on our show uh to talk about some Broadway. Obviously, there's a ton more, and I want to thank everyone involved and thank you for everyone who's listening. Uh women's month is uh is amazing and definitely something that should be celebrated, and uh I'm very very happy that we were able to kick off Women's History Month and International Women's Day with uh a rising star on Broadway, Annalise Carpaci. So if you haven't yet, go check out that episode. It's it's wonderful, seriously, and she's wonderful, and she's gonna be uh a huge Broadway star one day. So thanks to everyone involved once again, and this month is really for you all, and we're celebrating you today and every day.

[7:00] Eli Tokash: So that's about all the Broadway news we have for you all this week. We're gonna do a drama dictionary after the episode. Um so check that out if you want to stay for that because I know some of you all really, really like that segment. And uh shout out by the way to Diana Damore who created that name, who's one of our Patreons. Shout out to you. Uh shout out to all the Patreons, honestly, and all the supporters. So without further ado, let's turn it over to none other than Kevin Chamberlin.

[7:33] Eli Tokash: Kevin Chamberlin, curtain up.

[7:36] Eli Tokash: That was so cool. Today's episode, we have a three-time Tony nominee for his roles in Seussical, The Addams Family, and Dirty Blonde. In his incredible prolonged career, he's shown people around the world that he can do it all. From publicists in The Prom and chef in Ratatouille to Horton the Elephant in Seussical and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Wicked. You may also know him as Bertram in Disney Channel's's Jessie. So everyone, welcome to Take A Bow, Kevin Chamberlin.

[8:24] Kevin Chamberlin: Welcome.

[8:24] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh thanks, Eli. It's good to be here.

[8:26] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. This is this is really cool for for me and for everybody listening. I know for sure.

[8:33] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, I want to talk to you. You have such an incredible career and uh one that is very unique. Um you've you have a lot of different like audiences, I guess I could say.

[8:46] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, but before we get into all of that, I kinda like to start out my episodes and asking my guests who like how they got started in an industry and kind of what inspired them to want to be an entertainer and tell stories.

[9:00] Kevin Chamberlin: Right. Well, um, I grew up in South Jersey in a little town called Moore, and um they had an active uh parks and recreation summer theater, and I got cast as Huck Finn in Tom Sawyer and because we'd just moved to town and I didn't have any friends, and my mom was like, You should go, you know, you like I was sort of obsessed with the movie Oliver when I was a kid.

[9:23] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh yes. It was the reason I started um learning how to play the piano, um, which came in handy, you know, uh when you're going into musical theater. And so I just started doing musical after musical with my um towns parks and recreation summer theater, and then in high school, and I went to Rutgers University and got a uh BFA in acting there.

[9:46] Kevin Chamberlin: And by the time I got out of college, I was I felt like I had this real good um technique. It was you know, m they teach Meisner at uh Rutgers, and I was ready to hit New York and I I moved well to Jersey City because I couldn't afford New York.

[10:07] Kevin Chamberlin: Sure. And uh in nineteen eighty-five. And um to I had all these jobs. I was Santa Claus at Macy's.

[10:16] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh wow. And uh um and then I got my first Broadway show. Well, it I did a um a lot of regional theater, and one musical that I did. Have you ever heard of Smoke on the Mountain?

[10:28] Kevin Chamberlin: I have not. It's a bluegrass gospel musical. Um, that uh the people from Pump Boys and Dinette's were involved. And it was one of those musicals where everyone plays on stage.

[10:41] Kevin Chamberlin: Sure. An instrument, and it's about a bluegrass gospel family in 1938, and we were at the Lambs Theater, which is now a hotel and restaurant on 44th Street, and we had a year-long run there, and that was my first big show in New York, and that was off Broadway.

[10:59] Kevin Chamberlin: And then I got the chorus of uh my favorite year, uh, with your friend Andrea Martin from Pittsburgh.

[11:06] Kevin Chamberlin: Yes, and uh I was I started in the chorus, and boy, if you look at the names in that chorus, it's just uh like uh Michael McGraw, Rob Ashford, um Normae Ling, who is no longer with us, and um Alan Marocca, um, who's on Sesame Street now, right?

[11:25] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, and so many people, and it was just a great cast, and but a flop.

[11:31] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah, so that was my first taste of New York uh uh Broadway was a big flop musical. And I would have many more, but yeah, that's okay.

[11:42] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, so uh then I I started getting into TV and film, and I my birth first big movie was Die Hard with a Vengeance, yes, as the bomb bomb squad um guy diffusing the big bomb and in the school, and um and then I started doing a lot of workshops, and I and I did this one workshop, um, it's kind of infamous, it's uh called Muscle, and it was originally a Sondheim musical that was supposed to be the second act of Passion.

[12:15] Kevin Chamberlin: Wow, and uh Sondheim gave it up and gave it to Bill Finn to do. And Bill Finn and Ellen Fitzhugh wrote the score, and James Lepine directed it, and James and I hit it off, and we just became good friends. And he was like, I really want to work with you. And so, and I was just in the chorus of that. Right. And he was in development uh with um this idea about a play about Mae West, um, the old uh movie star. And he had commissioned uh Claudia Scheer, who wrote a wonderful one-woman play called Blown Sideways Through Life. And um he commissioned Claudia to write a piece about Mae West, and he said, and I want you to write it for you and Kevin Chamberlin. So we started working on this thing, and you know, two years later, after the first readings and workshop, it's on Broadway.

And we open the night before the Tony nominations come out. Oh yeah, and and we're all nominated. It's nominated for Best Play, the posters behind me there. Yeah. Um and uh so that was my real big splash. I had done a couple uh flops, Triumph of Love, which was um a big flop with Betty Buckley. I'd done in '97. Sure. And um, but Dirty Blonde, you know, there's the stages of an actor's life. Have you ever heard this where it's who's Kevin Chamberlin? So you're Kevin Chamberlin, get me Kevin Chamberlin, whatever happened to Kevin Chamberlin, who's Kevin Chamberlin. Right. So that was the So You're Kevin Chamberlin moment. Yes. And uh, and but I had also been doing workshops of Suzical, and Suzakle was slated for Broadway the next season, and I had to leave Dirty Blonde three months after it opened.

Wow to go start Suzical. Which, which you know, if I had to do it all over again, I I mean, I guess I would because it's it's brought a lot of joy and uh but it was a very traumatic experience too. Really? Uh Suzical, yeah. It was a huge flop. Yeah. Uh but now it's you know, it's one of the most produced musicals in America. Right. I always say like the flops on Broadway is really just like audiences not ready for the show. Right. Like I like there's always incredible art being produced at any time. As long as the show is getting to Broadway, like it should be on Broadway. It's just like, are the audiences ready for it? Well, we were at it was the first show that um suffered the internet uh reviewing and and and the chat boards.

Yeah. That was the for the beginning of chat boards in in two thousand two thousand. And so that kind of killed us out of town. We were being reviewed on the very first performance and uh online, and no one knew how to deal with it. It was sort of unprecedented. Yeah, we were we were pioneers in that regard. And now when you sign a Broadway contract, you have to sign an NDA, and you know, you're not allowed to go on those boards and and you never know. You know, I I remember us all we were all reading it so like every night. You'd go home to your hotel room and and read uh how badly Suzical was doing out of town. Oh gosh. And then one day someone introduced themselves at the stage door, like, oh, I'm crumbling number seven, my hand on you know, or something like that.

And I'm like, and it's this 14 year old kid. No way, and and we had all been like, Oh, I can't believe you didn't like the show. Oh no. So you never know the the source of these words. Yeah. But Suzical was a was quite a journey. And and uh and then right after Suzical happened, 9 11 happened. Right. And I was like, uh my husband and I are like, let's let's let's go to LA because he was doing well in in uh television. Uh he's a television writer. Wow. And uh so we moved to LA in 2002. So I mean that's just like in insane. Like that that those three years. So you're you're first of all, you're getting a Tony Nom for Dirty Blonde, then the following year you're getting a Tony Nom for Horton in Susical, and then 9 11 happens and you're leaving.

Like oh my I can't imagine what what is life like in that Tony season? Like, especially like I know you did it in 2001, 2002 or 2000, 2001 area. Yeah, and then you did it again in like 2011 for the Adams family. Like, how did that kind of change with like media and stuff like that? Um, well, again, the the internet was was a big uh deal in the beginning. It's interesting when Suzical when Tony Awards came around, Suzical had closed already, and it was the year of the producers, right? And so, you know, it's just sweeped everything, so it's kind of fun knowing you're gonna lose. Yeah, going and you can just go with some friends and party it up and and the year before with Dirty Blonde, I didn't think I was gonna win because I was up against these big hitters.

Right. And and then the New York Times, the Sunday before the Tony's predicted that I would win. Really? And so I was like, Oh, I better write a speech. But luckily, luckily the uh the uh Roy Dotrice, who was um you know 82 years old, and he he had uh done Moon for the Misbegotten, and he he got it, and I'm so glad he did, you know. Um but it was it's one of those things where it's like and then when Adam's family with the Tony Awards, it was I was I felt like a a seasoned professional going through those oh yeah that whole month of the parties and the and and all the awards, you know, there's so many the drama leagues and the right the drama desks and uh outer critic circle and it's all these parties and all the schmoozing, yeah.

You kind of have a perspective. I had more of a perspective on it being an older guy. Yeah, it's just cool to be recognized for all of the hard work that you're putting into something, you know. Like even if you don't win, it's just like wow, I'm being recognized. And you really and you run into people going, oh yeah, you're a Tony winner, and I just go, Yeah, and I never tell you that's okay, that's okay. You can take credit, yeah. Why not? Yeah, right. Take advantage of that, whatever you want to believe. Yeah, I didn't tell you I was a I didn't offer that. You kind of offered that to me, I'll let you think that. Oh my god, that's incredible. Well, I so then you're you go into more of a television route.

So you start out Broadway, yeah. Was that kind of like your goal? It was. I got a television show in '95 while I was in New York. It was an amazing cast. It was Mary Tyler Moore, Madeline Kahn, um, Chris Maloney. Yeah, um, Harold Perrineau Jr., George C. Scott, um, all these incredible actors. And uh it was uh based on the daily news, it was a newspaper, a one-hour drama. Sure. And um, but it it flopped, you know. Again, seven, I think we ran six episodes, and I was the slow, uh mentally handicapped male clerk. Oh, okay. And uh it was you know, it was funny shot a block from where I lived and had uh over where the Chelsea market is now. Yeah, where I guess Food Network is up in those that building now, but we were sort of pioneers in that building, and uh and then so that was my first big television thing, and then so when I came out here, um my husband was uh in the television world, and and we got to know a couple people and and they cast me in their shows.

And there was one casting director out here who was a big New York theater fan, and he would cast Frazier and a couple other shows, and so I I did a lot of uh episodics of and some one hours and um and then um I did a couple a series for lifetime with Lily Taylor called State of Mind. And but I really was missing Broadway. Really? I was really missing Broadway a lot, and uh they'd called to to do Dirty Blonde in the West End. Ah, and so we went and did uh the original cast. We went and did Dirty Blonde there, and it flopped. Yeah. Um and because we opened in the summer and it's a bad time uh to open. And then um I came and did Chicago. Yes, played Amos in Chicago. I just couldn't stay away. So I was flying back and forth all the time doing workshops.

And then when I was doing Chicago, they started workshops for Addams Family. Wow. And so I was from in the very first workshops of them. So is it like you know, when you're missing Broadway, is it more of like I miss performing live, I miss the city? What is it? All above all the above. I miss, you know, when you're sitting in a trailer for 18 hours, yeah, waiting to do your one or two lines. You're like, is this what acting is about? Is this why I got into this thing? Right. And I just missed that grind, that eight show week thing and uh the community, yes, uh, my friends. I mean, New York I can take it or leave it. I I do like the lifestyle out in LA better. I like having I I have a I had a dog, she just passed away.

But um I had a dog, and and it's so much different, it's so much easier with a backyard. Yeah, and so we have this, we had found this beautiful house, and so I always wanted to come back here and make this my home base. Wow, okay. And but you you just liked the eight shows a week, plus the workshops, plus the auditions, all of the things going on all at the same time. I mean, come on, I mean, you've done it, it's it's a great life, it's fun being in a Broadway show, right? Never boring, right? Never boring, yeah. It was interesting because I was doing originating roles up until when I did Chicago, and then Chicago was such a machine, it's been running for so long, and they do this stunt casting, and so with the stunt casting, you're always rehearsing, yeah.

So that was a little different experience and then wicked too is all also I think I had six alphabas and and seven Glindas in the year that I was at it in the year oh my gosh. Well just because people were on vacation and sure you always gotta put people in right we put in Brittany Johnson um yes uh during during that year and it was also the 15th anniversary so we had to rehearse for you know television sure appearances and stuff so that that gets exhausting when you're when you have to be there during the day sure your days are so precious when you're in a Broadway show. Yeah I know it's like can I please sleep I got home at 2 a.m. Yeah yeah I can't imagine doing it in masks I don't know how people are doing it yeah right rehearsing in masks now I mean hopefully things are starting to lighten up a little bit here they are yeah um so I I gotta talk to you about Jesse I mean just an iconic role you're in all of these iconic roles you know you're you have Uncle Vesner you have a Horton like all of these things um I have to talk to you about Bertram though because that seems like just like as an outsider's perspective and like being an actor at the same time and having that like watching it just seems like craziness nonstop with a bunch of kids running around you got seven foot lizards like all these crazy things zebras ostriches right I mean, every week there was a different animal.

[24:32] Kevin Chamberlin: I bet. It's it was it was wild. I didn't know the Disney Channel's at all. Oh, have any really concept. And it was the first thing I d I auditioned for when I got home from Adams Fam's family. Really? And and after like six callbacks, all of a sudden I'm now on a on a sitcom acting with um five people under the age of eighteen.

[24:56] Eli Tokash: Right.

[24:57] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh my gosh. And uh with various acting experience, you know. I mean, Debbie had been on Sweet Life and um uh and and was a real professional and she kind of led the cast. But these four kids, you know, they were they were very young. They were all under the age of 13. They were eight eight to twelve, I think. And so uh it took a lot of patience.

[25:24] Eli Tokash: Yeah, but they taught me something too, you know.

[25:28] Kevin Chamberlin: They taught me how to um how to play. And you know, you when you we try to get back to that childhood imagination and uh and being playful and fun, and it doesn't really mean as much to you. It's just we we kept trying to keep it fun for them as opposed to you know, they were working eight hour days. You know that very well as being a child actor. You have to do the school stuff and and uh their their schoolroom was in this on the second floor of the sound stage.

[26:00] Eli Tokash: And um, so when they weren't rehearsing, they were up there.

[26:05] Kevin Chamberlin: Um it's not a great education.

[26:09] Eli Tokash: No.

[26:09] Kevin Chamberlin: It's not. But it's cool, like you know why you're saying like with TV and film and everything, you're kind of like waiting in your trailer nonstop. For us, it's kind of like, oh no, go to school. Like, so it's never like waiting around too much for us, which is good because kids get too impatient very quickly.

[26:25] Kevin Chamberlin: Well, the great thing is I was on a kid's uh rehearsal schedule, so you know it was we were out by 2:30 or 3 every day. So it's a it was a great job. It's probably the best job I've ever had because you're doing um theater every week for a live audience.

[26:44] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[26:44] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, and then and you get to rehearse as opposed to arriving, you know, most movies, you know, you arrive, you block, and you shoot.

[26:53] Eli Tokash: Right.

[26:54] Kevin Chamberlin: There really is very little rehearsal. So we got to fine-tune comedy bits and um, but after the first when it started to air, I started getting recognized in you know, I'd go to the mall or something, and wow, everyone has a phone and everyone has a camera, and it changed my life completely.

[27:15] Eli Tokash: Really, you know, in in in New York, in those 10 blocks, you run into some theater fans, you know, and you're like, Oh, I saw you in Wicked, blah blah blah. Take a picture. I went into Times Square at when Jesse was running and was literally mobbed.

[27:30] Kevin Chamberlin: No, mobbed by school groups.

[27:33] Eli Tokash: Oh god, you know, that were it was crazy. It really it it gave me a totally new perspective, and the way the kids had to deal with it. And they were traveling around the world, um, and and we're all sort of world famous now, right?

[27:51] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, because of that show, and and it's now on 12 years.

[27:55] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[27:55] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, it's crazy. I've never never expected that. I never expected that kind of change in my life. It's it it it is it's kind of a at the height of it, it kind of made you agoraphobic. You didn't really want to go out in public.

[28:10] Eli Tokash: Sure.

[28:12] Kevin Chamberlin: I can't imagine.

[28:13] Eli Tokash: Kind of enjoyed the mask and in the

[28:13] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah. Sure, I bet. You're probably recognized last. You could put some sunglasses on, no one would know.

[28:22] Kevin Chamberlin: But it's fun now. You know, I always uh when people are like, does it bother you at all? And I'm like, well, what's the alternative? Not being special.

[28:29] Eli Tokash: Right.

[28:31] Kevin Chamberlin: Totally. But it's fun. It's fun. And you know, I'm almost 60 years old. It's great that little kids are, you know, running up and going, Oh, can I take a picture? It's it's sweet.

[28:43] Eli Tokash: It's sweet.

[28:44] Kevin Chamberlin: But we had a lot of fun on that. There was a lot of craziness too. And we, you know, it's very sad we lost Cameron.

[28:50] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[28:50] Kevin Chamberlin: Um to epilepsy. And so we're working a lot with uh the his foundation, the Cameron Boyce Foundation.

[28:58] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[28:59] Kevin Chamberlin: Um raising money for them uh to find a cure for epilepsy. And um, but yeah, that show changed my life.

[29:07] Eli Tokash: Well, how can we uh support that foundation and kind of like check out what you all yeah, just look up Cameron Boyce Foundation and um if you're ever looking, you know, around the holidays to give or or whatever and and they're they are a grassroots organization.

[29:22] Kevin Chamberlin: They give to actors the actors fund, right um a lot of different uh charities.

[29:27] Eli Tokash: Yeah, it's amazing what you all are doing over there for sure.

[29:30] Kevin Chamberlin: They're raising a lot of money.

[29:31] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[29:32] Kevin Chamberlin: So um I I gotta talk to you about like the difference of the acting, you know, because as an actor I noticed a bit of a difference between theater acting and like on screen acting.

[29:42] Eli Tokash: Um did that kind of did you see that shift with this show, like with Jesse, or was it kind of like theater acting was kind of the acting you could do for Jesse?

[29:53] Kevin Chamberlin: Well, you know, i when I I teach a lot now, and and I always say you have to look at the the style of the show dictates how you're going to um or the content of the show dictates the style that you're gonna act in.

[30:07] Eli Tokash: Right.

[30:07] Kevin Chamberlin: And you wouldn't act the same way in a Disney Channel's show that you would in Law and Order.

[30:12] Eli Tokash: Sure.

[30:12] Kevin Chamberlin: So and that's the fun part of acting is and you know, if you're if you have to hit the back of a 2,000 seat auditorium, you you speak different than when you have a microphone attached to your chest.

[30:28] Eli Tokash: Right.

[30:28] Kevin Chamberlin: So um you just have to be malleable and and learn how to um act in the right style that that the content uh demands. It's it's it's hard uh it's harder than it's easier than it sounds and harder than it looks.

[30:44] Eli Tokash: Right.

[30:45] Kevin Chamberlin: But um I had great training. I really did. And and most training, I think most theater actors can tone it down.

[30:55] Eli Tokash: Interesting.

[30:55] Kevin Chamberlin: It's when you get the people who've done TV and film their whole life that when they get on stage and they have this tiny voice.

[31:02] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[31:02] Kevin Chamberlin: You know, and they just can't go past the fifth row.

[31:06] Eli Tokash: Interesting.

[31:06] Kevin Chamberlin: That's what separates the men from the boys, I think.

[31:09] Eli Tokash: Yeah, that's interesting.

[31:10] Kevin Chamberlin: I never really thought of it like that, you know, because like we kind of just tone it up and then like our normal lives we can kind of tone it down.

[31:16] Eli Tokash: So we have that experience of doing both just naturally.

[31:19] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah. Interesting. Um can you still do the Bertram Cry, or does that something that's like do you know where that's from?

[31:27] Eli Tokash: What is that from?

[31:28] Kevin Chamberlin: The the cowardly lion in Wizard of Oz.

[31:32] Eli Tokash: Oh, yeah.

[31:34] Kevin Chamberlin: And you know, it's funny because I've I've met a lot of kids and or you know, adults in your generation, yeah, have never seen Wizard of Oz.

[31:44] Eli Tokash: Really?

[31:45] Kevin Chamberlin: They've seen Wicked and has haven't seen Wizard of Oz.

[31:47] Eli Tokash: Oh my gosh.

[31:49] Kevin Chamberlin: So they didn't know, you know. But um yeah, it's oh my god.

[31:54] Kevin Chamberlin: I love it. That is by far one of the like best things that Disney Channel's has ever done is had that like cry in a show. It's so funny.

[32:03] Eli Tokash: Well, I think I did it once for the writers, and they're like, oh my gosh, we're putting that in.

[32:07] Kevin Chamberlin: Yes.

[32:08] Eli Tokash: It works perfectly.

[32:10] Kevin Chamberlin: It was amazing. It was great. They take a lot of stuff from your own life. They're they'll you know, they'll interview in you and and do past stuff like um I was a wrestler in high school.

[32:19] Eli Tokash: No way.

[32:22] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah. So there was an episode about wrestling where I teach the kids how to wrestle.

[32:28] Eli Tokash: Hilarious.

[32:31] Kevin Chamberlin: Um I have a you know, and so they wrote in that Bertram loves opera, and you know, he's always singing around the guy, the apartment.

[32:39] Eli Tokash: Amazing.

[32:41] Kevin Chamberlin: It was fun. It was fun.

[32:42] Eli Tokash: Amazing.

[32:43] Kevin Chamberlin: And then that audience, you know, I noticed the kids were on Instagram all the time and Twitter. And so after the show was over, I was like, Oh, maybe I'll start doing the social media thing.

[33:00] Eli Tokash: Yes, and that what a great segue.

[33:03] Kevin Chamberlin: Because now let's talk about TikTok. What you're doing there is hilarious. Uh you're doing so many incredible videos, and you're actually writing a lot of stuff I've seen, like writing songs and stuff like that.

[33:16] Eli Tokash: All for uh uh all to like create the content for TikTok. Now, is that like stuff that you like to do, like with the whole creating videos, like how much time and effort puts into creating it, writing it, filming it a lot of effort and it it it kind of started right when Biden and Harris won the in the election and I made a a quick video use singing to the tune of Jesse.

[33:41] Kevin Chamberlin: Yes hey buy it in and it it just exploded in in in a day yeah uh I have a good friend Sam Kite who is in digital advertising and he um he basically got me on TikTok and and now he produces and directs and films all of my uh videos and he was the one who saw the ratatouille trend got it and and he said you gotta write a song for Ratatouille and I hadn't seen the movie in years and I watched it and anyone can cook just jumps out at you sure right away and I was like oh this is and I wrote it in like 20 minutes really and posted it the next morning I woke up and it had 1.5 million views.

[34:23] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[34:23] Kevin Chamberlin: And then the next day I got a call from the producers saying we want to do this as a social media event sure and boy it was within six weeks it was cast it was orchestrated it was unprecedented it's never been done before um and we created a musical uh crowdsourced musical yeah so you didn't even like you didn't even know that it was gonna be a musical like you didn't write it for it to be in a musical no that's crazy and it just blew up, and they were just like yours blew up.

[35:03] Eli Tokash: You we want you to sing your song.

[35:05] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah, it was me and um and Andrew Barth Feldman were the yeah were the first.

[35:11] Eli Tokash: Right.

[35:11] Kevin Chamberlin: We were the two Broadway people who had posted right and I think because we had gotten such a big response, the producers were like, Oh my god.

[35:20] Eli Tokash: We gotta do this.

[35:21] Kevin Chamberlin: And they got you know, amazing names, Wayne Brady and Yeah, um it was an incredible cast, and Titus Burgess, and right it was fun.

[35:30] Eli Tokash: It was fun, and we raised two million dollars for the actors' fund, right?

[35:34] Kevin Chamberlin: And it's very important time for a lot of actors.

[35:38] Eli Tokash: Um yeah, I mean, it just it was incredible.

[35:41] Kevin Chamberlin: I mean, there was about what like two million people watching it.

[35:46] Eli Tokash: Yeah, um, I I don't know.

[35:48] Kevin Chamberlin: Uh it was it's five, it was five bucks a pop.

[35:50] Eli Tokash: So um four four four hundred thousand would be two million.

[35:55] Kevin Chamberlin: Boy, my math. Look at that. Insane, yeah.

[35:58] Kevin Chamberlin: So it was really um impressive, and then people have watched it since it's on YouTube, right?

[36:04] Eli Tokash: Um, and it's just and what a great score.

[36:08] Kevin Chamberlin: It's a it's a s I've always said I told Disney, I was like, you guys need to like do a Hollywood bowl concert, yeah, of all the songs, and for charity or do Carnegie Hall concert with a full orchestra because the orchestrations are are there, right?

[36:24] Kevin Chamberlin: It would be so much fun.

[36:26] Eli Tokash: It's a great, great score.

[36:28] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah, oh my god, great score.

[36:30] Eli Tokash: And it was with a bunch of young artists too.

[36:32] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah, I mean, that was the coolest thing. I was the old guy, yeah.

[36:34] Eli Tokash: I mean, you were the veteran, you know, you were teaching all these young guys.

[36:39] Kevin Chamberlin: I loved it. Um, but it was just so cool to see like how you know, especially with the writers and everything, kind of just get discovered during that process.

[36:50] Eli Tokash: I mean, you had a star-studded cast, of course, but like everyone involved kind of was just like blew up because of it.

[36:56] Kevin Chamberlin: It was just a fascinating project, and I'm so glad that it like worked out because you know you go into this pandemic and you're just like oh great now we can't art has to go on pause you know like we can't create and you all were able to figure out how to do it with no scene partners in the room like you had to do it by yourself in your home.

[36:56] Eli Tokash: Yeah like it's oh I was filming on Christmas Eve.

[37:18] Kevin Chamberlin: Really um yeah with two friends in there in a in a friend of mine's kitchen.

[37:23] Eli Tokash: Oh my gosh I it was and I had to have a my uh you know an airpod in one ear to hear the um accompaniment yeah because they sent me the orchestration and said you have to do this today and you have to use these TikTok filters and it was all and it was directed by um Lucy um you know from um six um Lucy gotcha yeah so it was pretty pretty uh and we got a nom emmy nom right we're not nominated it was it was it was being considered but they had like huge billboards in Times Square yeah like for your consideration ratatouille the TikTok music it was all over the place yeah it was like one of the hottest things like anytime I opened my phone it was like ratatouille musical whether it's on TikTok whether it's on Instagram whatever.

[37:23] Eli Tokash: I mean like is there hopes of making it like a live version?

[37:23] Kevin Chamberlin: We're hoping we're hoping a concert but Disney said no to uh um actually doing it but then it didn't it inspired other writers like the someone did a Bridgerton right musical and uh yeah there's a couple now and then I've been writing my own stuff like I I uh my friend Sam um inspired me he's a big Marvel um geek so he was like yo you gotta um watch uh I wanna be in you have to write uh like a I Wanna Be in a Marvel movie for Chris uh Kevin Feige you know like so he'll see it they watch TikTok so you know we created this I wrote this song and uh we wrote it together and and uh and then we just got um a little branding deal so I can't really speak anything about it no no no uh for a store but um but that came from the musical writing and the jingle writing and that's so cool.

[37:23] Eli Tokash: I was literally gonna ask you about that because like it's a great way as like an actor and a performer to like show your dream roles and get it out there to be like hey pitching myself here like why not I was wondering if that was like actually a dream role of yours or not.

[39:35] Kevin Chamberlin: I'm getting there.

[39:36] Eli Tokash: Yeah I'm catch I have a lot of catch it up to do.

[39:40] Kevin Chamberlin: I love it yeah there's a lot of movies a lot of them I I'm catching up too trust me it's okay.

[39:46] Eli Tokash: What are your dream roles like whether it's on like Broadway or TV and film?

[39:50] Kevin Chamberlin: I'd love to be in one of those movies.

[39:50] Kevin Chamberlin: I love doing original stuff.

[39:52] Eli Tokash: Yeah are you a big Marvel guy?

[39:52] Eli Tokash: So um and then you know I haven't really done a Shakespeare.

[39:56] Kevin Chamberlin: I mean I'd love to kind of growing into my fall staff yeah character now.

[40:02] Eli Tokash: So there's a lot of great old character actor roles that um I could do in the in the in the regionals.

[40:09] Kevin Chamberlin: And um yeah I think uh but I I love working on new plays and and uh new musicals.

[40:16] Eli Tokash: Yeah and writing I was just gonna say is writing in the future like writing directing like all of that?

[40:16] Kevin Chamberlin: I I was I just directed a workshop at Pasadena Playhouse of a new musical um last year two years well right before covet and uh so that's in the works and um yeah um I've got a couple irons in that fire as well wow amazing so but you want to do it all basically you want to continue just going grinding yeah I think I'm moving more towards the uh offstage you know okay um but you gotta stick with the tick tocks and everything because they're amazing yeah you don't have to do those eight times a week right that's crazy yeah I never thought of that I mean what you're doing with it is awesome and you've grown such you've grown such an amazing following.

[40:16] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh my god I have one who that's just now become an internet meme what the one of me throwing the pizza have you seen oh my god it's now a meme I loved it uh it's crazy what people make you know like you make your own videos and then it just catches on and people just take take it with the story and there's no rhyme or reason you know some of them you you post and they you get like a hundred thousand one one that took maybe five seconds yeah like I have one where I'm just putting ketchup on a French fry right in my car at 35 million views and it's partly because of the song it's a Reba McIntyre song so that song creates a different algorithm right that so here's an advice if you're posting a TikTok always attach a song to it always okay yeah it really changes the the algorithm a bit.

[40:16] Eli Tokash: I have to say, one of my favorite TikTok of yours is yours you responding to um these death rumors that were going around that was happening.

[42:13] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[42:14] Kevin Chamberlin: I was like, first of all, like it was I I'll never forget where I was.

[42:19] Kevin Chamberlin: My song I'm not dead now.

[42:19] Eli Tokash: I was actually at my performing arts school in my performing arts class, and one of my friends turned over and said, Bertram from Jesse just passed away.

[42:28] Kevin Chamberlin: And I was like, What?

[42:30] Eli Tokash: And then I mean, like, that's crazy. Like, whoever started that, like, what is that like in like figuring out how to respond to that?

[42:38] Kevin Chamberlin: And like well, you it's you you actually it was it was kind of moving because you hear from people or Michael heard from people, you know.

[42:48] Eli Tokash: It's actually you're living through your funeral.

[42:50] Kevin Chamberlin: Right. It's bizarre.

[42:51] Eli Tokash: It's very few people actually get to experience that.

[42:55] Kevin Chamberlin: I think it's it happens in Tom Sawyer, actually.

[42:58] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[42:58] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, where he attends his own funeral.

[43:01] Eli Tokash: But it was very um it you see the power of the media and now uh what it was one person commented on a TikTok.

[43:12] Kevin Chamberlin: I was teaching at Kristen Chenoweth's boot camp, and someone someone said, Oh, can you do your line from Jesse?

[43:18] Eli Tokash: And I'm like, Oh, it's too far.

[43:20] Kevin Chamberlin: And someone and a kid commented, Oh, I heard he just died.

[43:25] Eli Tokash: And that that was all it whoever wrote that first comment.

[43:28] Kevin Chamberlin: Wow, it exploded.

[43:31] Eli Tokash: And you handled it like a true pro with an amazing video response.

[43:35] Kevin Chamberlin: It was amazing.

[43:37] Eli Tokash: Well, Kevin, I gotta say, this has been amazing.

[43:44] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh, well, I hope we get to meet in person someday.

[43:47] Eli Tokash: Yes, and work together.

[43:48] Kevin Chamberlin: Absolutely, that would be amazing.

[43:50] Eli Tokash: Directing, writing you with you on that.

[43:52] Kevin Chamberlin: Like, I'm I'll be the TikTok video.

[43:55] Eli Tokash: Yeah, TikTok video.

[43:56] Kevin Chamberlin: I'll collab it anytime you want.

[43:58] Eli Tokash: It's awesome what you're doing.

[43:59] Kevin Chamberlin: I really appreciate it.

[44:01] Eli Tokash: It was a pleasure.

[44:01] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah, it was so nice meeting you.

[44:03] Eli Tokash: And I I wanted to say too, like the Adams family with Kara Lee and Terrence.

[44:08] Kevin Chamberlin: I love I love everyone involved in that show.

[44:11] Eli Tokash: Um, there's so many great friends of mine, Christo Rodriguez.

[44:15] Kevin Chamberlin: Um, I uh there's so many mutual friends, and I've heard so much about you.

[44:19] Eli Tokash: So to like actually be able to to chat with you and and kind of talk about your career has been a really cool experience for me.

[44:26] Kevin Chamberlin: So thank you.

[44:27] Eli Tokash: Uh pleasure.

[44:28] Kevin Chamberlin: It's always weird talking about my career because I feel like it's gone by in a blink.

[44:32] Eli Tokash: And oh I bet when I talk about you know going back so far, I'm like, wow, it's just really there's so much that I've done, but so much more to do.

[44:42] Kevin Chamberlin: Sure.

[44:42] Eli Tokash: Um and uh and and it just flies by.

[44:46] Kevin Chamberlin: Yeah.

[44:46] Eli Tokash: So so seize the day, as they say.

[44:49] Kevin Chamberlin: For sure.

[44:49] Eli Tokash: I like the newsies reference, the Peter references here.

[44:53] Kevin Chamberlin: I like it.

[44:54] Eli Tokash: Um well, seriously, thank you again.

[44:56] Kevin Chamberlin: And uh you have so much to to celebrate, and uh I'm grateful that you were able to take about a day on today's show.

[45:03] Eli Tokash: So thank you.

[45:04] Kevin Chamberlin: Thank you, you lot.

[45:06] Eli Tokash: Take about Kevin Chamberlin.

[45:08] Kevin Chamberlin: Oh my gosh.

[45:09] Eli Tokash: That was literally one of the coolest experiences for me.

[45:11] Kevin Chamberlin: I mean, watching someone uh growing up watching someone on my TV and now being able to talk to him today about his career and about just life and and the industry and everything like that.

[45:22] Kevin Chamberlin: It was just it was really cool experience, and uh I hope that you all enjoyed it.

[45:27] Eli Tokash: Uh I enjoyed talking about like his TikToks, you know, Jesse.

[45:30] Kevin Chamberlin: He had some really fun things to say, and he just has like an incredible career.

[45:35] Eli Tokash: Uh it was just a great time.

[45:36] Kevin Chamberlin: So thanks again, Kevin, for uh for coming on, checking us out, uh, and connecting with us.

[45:41] Eli Tokash: So uh it was uh it was a really cool experience.

[45:44] Eli Tokash: So thank you.

[45:45] Eli Tokash: All of this happened within this week, and it was just it was crazy.

[45:48] Eli Tokash: It was a whirlwind of a week.

[45:49] Eli Tokash: And uh that's this week's episode of Take A Bow.

[45:52] Eli Tokash: As always, be sure to check us out on our social medias at Take A Bow Podcast.

[45:57] Eli Tokash: Um, just straight through, no periods, no underscores, none of that.

[46:00] Eli Tokash: Uh, check us out on Patreon for exclusive content and exclusive kind of I I guess news.

[46:08] Eli Tokash: Um, you'll hear about it before anybody else does.

[46:11] Eli Tokash: So anybody that is on Patreon was able to know that Kevin was coming on the show.

[46:15] Eli Tokash: They had the ability to ask a question, um, and all of these great things are as well come through it with like discounts and all of that for our merch store tickets to our live show.

[46:26] Eli Tokash: Which if you haven't check it out, take a bow live at the Green Room 42.

[46:31] Eli Tokash: Check it out on the Green Room 42's website.

[46:34] Eli Tokash: Uh, I'll be posting it.

[46:36] Eli Tokash: It's also in the link of our take a bow bio, so you can go check it out there.

[46:39] Eli Tokash: And I'm gonna be posting, I'm gonna be making a post for our Instagram very shortly for it.

[46:45] Eli Tokash: And uh those special guests who are gonna be at the show are coming very soon.

[46:50] Eli Tokash: We're working on our lineup now, and it's just it's an incredible lineup.

[46:54] Eli Tokash: So I'm very excited for it.

[46:55] Eli Tokash: And uh, yeah, thanks for thanks for tuning in to another episode.

[47:00] Eli Tokash: And uh if you haven't uh go listen to last week's and catch up on the other episodes because we've got a lot of fun ones with a lot of your favorite people in the entertainment industry, whether it's Broadway, whether it's TV and film, whether it's SNL, whatever it is, go check them out.

[47:15] Eli Tokash: Uh, and hopefully we'll see you all back here next week.

[47:18] Eli Tokash: Bye everyone.

[47:19] Eli Tokash: Have a great week.

[47:21] Eli Tokash: For this episode's curtain call, I would like to recognize a few people who also deserve to take a bow.

[47:26] Eli Tokash: This podcast would not be possible without the help from Jory Barenstein, Brittany Bigelow, Katie Rosen, Alan Seals, and the team at the Broadway Podcast Network.

[47:34] Eli Tokash: Next in line to Take a Bow is Tessie Tokash, who edits the audio and all the visuals for this podcast.

[47:40] Eli Tokash: A special thanks to patrons Brian Thompson, Pat McNamara, the listeners at PCC, as well as all the other patrons for their continued support.

[47:48] Eli Tokash: If you're interested in becoming a patron, go to Patreon.com slash TAB.

[47:54] Eli Tokash: And if you enjoyed this week's episode, don't forget to subscribe on the platform that you're currently listening to this on.

[48:00] Eli Tokash: Also, feel free to give us a follow on Instagram at TakeABow Podcast.

[48:04] Eli Tokash: Take a Bow's logo is designed by Giselle Bustos, and the music is by Nikki Torsha and Cormac Collinon.

[48:11] Eli Tokash: Bye everyone.

[48:12] Eli Tokash: Hope to see you next week.