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[0:00] Eli Tokash: Hello everyone and welcome to episode 99 of Take A Bow.

[0:05] Eli Tokash: I'm your host, Eli Tokash, and I am so excited, not only for this episode, because it's our 99th episode and we're one away from 100 episodes, but I am so, so excited for next week, which is our 100th episode.

[0:18] Eli Tokash: And for those of you who did not know or do not know yet, we're doing our 100th episode live at the Green Room 42.

[0:27] Eli Tokash: So come check us out. It's gonna be on Monday at 9:30 at the Green Room 42.

[0:32] Eli Tokash: We're gonna be talking to Broadway stars, and we're gonna have performances from those Broadway stars as well.

[0:38] Eli Tokash: We're having a little podcast cabaret, and I could not be more excited.

[0:42] Eli Tokash: We have an incredible night planned. If you are interested in coming to that, go check out the link in our social media bios.

[0:48] Eli Tokash: You go to the Green Room 42 website and then search Take A Bow at the Green Room 42 website, and then it's gonna be Monday at 9:30.

[0:57] Eli Tokash: Please, please, please come check us out. You'll be able to hang out with all of these wonderful performers that are gonna be there.

[1:03] Eli Tokash: Sierra Renee, we have Presley Ryan, we have JJ Neiman, we have Max Vaughn Essen, and we have Anthony Rosenthal, as well as myself and many, many others.

[1:12] Eli Tokash: Previous Take A Bow guests that are gonna be popping in and out that are gonna be in the audience. It's gonna be amazing. I could not be more excited.

[1:21] Eli Tokash: Anyways, let's move on and let's focus on episode 99, shall we? Because this week's episode, I'm very excited about because I saw SUFs, and I told you all what I thought about SUFs when I saw it at the Public Theater right before it closed down due to COVID.

[1:36] Eli Tokash: I saw it and I fell in love with the show. I fell in love with a particular performance, and I am so excited that I was able to get that performer.

[1:46] Eli Tokash: So we have Hannah Cruz on the podcast this week, who plays Rusa in SUFs at the Public Theater right now. And she was on the Hamilton Tour, she was on the Legally Blonde Tours, she was on Bullets Over Broadway tour.

[1:59] Eli Tokash: So she's done a bunch of stuff, she got discovered online. Funny enough, we'll get into that story. It's a great episode. We have so much going on.

[2:06] Eli Tokash: But first, as always, let's talk about some Broadway news, shall we? As per last episode, I mentioned that I was going to the opening night of Beetlejuice.

[2:15] Eli Tokash: Beetlejuice was awesome, it lived up to all of its hype. I saw it when it was on Broadway originally, and I fell in love with it.

[2:23] Eli Tokash: And now, now that it's reopened on Broadway, I fell in love with it again. And the work that the performers are putting into it.

[2:30] Eli Tokash: Elizabeth Teeter, who was a Take A Bow friend of the pod, she was on the podcast before. She was in a couple episodes, she was in an earlier episode.

[2:39] Eli Tokash: Was fantastic. She's really, really gonna go into the role. I'm so excited to continue to watch her grow as Lydia in Beetlejuice and everyone.

[2:47] Eli Tokash: I mean, Alex Brightman is just ridiculous. It was fun because I was there with the Broadway Podcast Network, which is the network that Take A Bow is with.

[2:55] Eli Tokash: And we were able to get some incredible content for the network and for Take A Bow. We did not do any red carpet stuff, but we talked to audience members after the shows, and just listening to what audience members had to say about how Beetlejuice has affected them and how much joy it's brought them and got them through the pandemic and everything like that.

[3:16] Eli Tokash: It was just incredible to hear, and it added to such an incredible experience watching the show to hear the feedback after the show and just what other people thought and how this show means and what the story means and how they can relate to literally every single character in the show.

[3:34] Eli Tokash: Like it was great stuff, and I can't wait to push out that content very, very, very soon. I mean, welcome back to Broadway Beetlejuice. We're so glad to have you back.

[3:41] Eli Tokash: Alex Brightman did a great little speech, did a wonderful job with it. Yeah, it was just a great night. And if you didn't know, Beetlejuice is back on Broadway at the Marriott Marquee Theater, so check it out while you can.

[3:55] Eli Tokash: Happy opening, and speaking of openings, to The Little Prince, which opened this week, and American Buffalo that opens tonight, Thursday, if you're listening to this the day that it releases.

[4:09] Eli Tokash: Very exciting for both of those shows. I'm going to American Buffalo. So excited for it. Can't wait to see the opening.

[4:14] Eli Tokash: I'll have a review on TikTok tomorrow night or tonight when you folks are listening to this. So keep an eye out for that, or I'll have a full review on the podcast next week. So stay tuned for that.

[4:28] Eli Tokash: That cast is ridiculous. Don't know much about the story, so I'm very, very excited to go see it and to witness this story for the first time. I know it's gonna be amazing with a cast like that.

[4:42] Eli Tokash: Moving on. Speaking of casts, Moulin Rouge announced their new leads for their new cast that they're going to be bringing in. I'm so excited.

[4:51] Eli Tokash: There was some speculation in the Broadway world that it was gonna be Derek Klena taking over. And then it was like Derek Klena and Vanessa Hudgens, and then I was going crazy and I was losing my mind, and I was like, just take all my money, I'll go see every show.

[5:11] Eli Tokash: But it was announced that it was officially announced that Derek Klena was in fact going to be in the show, which was awesome. So excited for that. He's gonna be taking over Aaron Tveit.

[5:23] Eli Tokash: And then of course, Ashley Loren is going to be coming in to play Satine. Very excited for that, and then other leads coming in include Declan Bennett and Caleb Marshall Villarreal, so they will be leading Moulin Rouge. So excited for that, can't wait to see this new cast, can't wait to see what they do to the show and kind of how they differ to the current cast and everything like that.

[5:28] Eli Tokash: Very excited. I actually haven't even seen Eric Anderson, who came in for Danny Bernstein, so I'm gonna be seeing a full new cast when they all come in, and I'm so, so excited for that.

[5:28] Eli Tokash: And then of course, we can see Take A Bow friends Julius Rubio and Fred Odgaard, so can't go wrong.

[5:28] Eli Tokash: Anyways, this week COVID hit Broadway pretty rough. A lot of shows were struggling, a lot of shows are struggling to stay open. Book of Mormon had like 17 swings on, or 11 swings on, it was like some crazy number. JJ Neiman had posted that on his Instagram.

[5:28] Eli Tokash: And then a couple shows actually had to close. Plaza Suite had to close, that's returning today. A Strange Loop had to push back their first performance, and that's gonna be resuming today. SUFs had to push back their first performance as well, however that resumed this week already.

[5:28] Eli Tokash: And then Paradise Square is going to be returning on Sunday. Craziness, a lot to keep track of, craziness stuff going on.

[7:00] Eli Tokash: And then just yesterday on Wednesday, Barry Manilow had announced that he's actually gonna have to sit out the opening of his show, Harmony, which is a new musical that's coming to Broadway. It's doing a production here in New York and then at like a smaller theater and then making its way to Broadway.

[7:23] Eli Tokash: Can't wait for that. But it was crazy to see what Barry Manilow had to say. He said he came out with a statement and said, "I am heartbroken to say that I have just tested positive for COVID-19 and won't be able to attend tonight's opening night performance of my new musical, Harmony. This just might be the cruelest thing that has ever happened to me. Twenty-five years waiting for this show to premiere in New York, and I can't even attend, even in the face of the pandemic. We New Yorkers remain the toughest, staunchest people on the planet. So put on a mask and go see a show."

[7:58] Eli Tokash: I thought that was just an incredible little statement there.

[8:02] Eli Tokash: Anyways, we'll move on. Pamela Anderson made her Broadway debut in Chicago this week. The pro photos looked great. She looked great in it. The little videos and clips that I've seen, awesome.

[8:15] Eli Tokash: I'm curious, it actually raised the question for me of I wonder if that show has given the most amount of Broadway debuts out. Because I mean, granted, it's one of the longest shows running on Broadway, but it seems like every month they have a new celebrity making their Broadway debut. It's crazy.

[8:31] Eli Tokash: I would love to know if that's like an actual fun stat or not. Okay, so next, we're actually gonna be talking a little sad for me at least. Andre De Shields, currently playing Hermes, originated it in Hadestown. He is set to depart from the award-winning production on May 29th.

[8:52] Eli Tokash: I'm so sad about this because I feel like it's just the beginning of the departures from all the original casts, the leads, of course, because I know a lot of the original casts in the original ensemble have actually left already.

[9:08] Eli Tokash: But I don't know if his departure is the beginning of Eva and Reeve or Patrick Page. Granted, he took a little leave. Amber's already gone, so it'll be interesting to see this. End of an era for Hadestown for sure. He was amazing.

[9:25] Eli Tokash: I'm gonna be completely honest, I have no clue who they're gonna bring in for Hermes. It's gonna be interesting to see who they bring in, and then of course, watching the performance with someone else.

[9:37] Eli Tokash: Nonetheless, I'm sure they will be amazing. In happier casting news, Skylar Astin is going to be taking over Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors starting on May 15th. I'm so excited for that. Big Skylar Astin fan.

[9:52] Eli Tokash: Would love to have him on the podcast while he's in New York doing shows. It'll be interesting. I'm excited to see it. And I've seen Little Shop like three times already, and I'm a hundred percent going back because it's worth seeing it that many times, and seeing him in it, I think is just gonna be fantastic.

[10:10] Eli Tokash: Seriously, so excited for that. So as I cry about Andre De Shields, I can remember that Skylar Astin will be up here playing Seymour, and it balances out, I guess, a little bit.

[10:24] Eli Tokash: All right. So that's all the news I have for you folks this week. I do have a drama dictionary word of the week, so let's turn it over to that. This week's drama dictionary word of the week is going to be "dark."

[10:36] Eli Tokash: So we would use it in a sentence such as, "Oh, on Mondays, we are dark." So that means like we have no scheduled performances. There's no performance going on. It would mean like the theater's closed or like we're shutting down for the day. Like that's our day off almost is when a theater is dark.

[10:56] Eli Tokash: So we're dark Sunday nights. If we have like one show at three o'clock on Sundays, and then we're also dark on Monday. And actually in the theater world, that has more of a positive connotation to it because we're like, "Oh great, yes, we're dark this day. This is our day off. This is when we can plan to relax or have a night to ourselves or be able to hang out with friends or whatever it is."

[11:20] Eli Tokash: So when you hear a show is dark or you hear that my theater's dark or something like that, it's not a bad thing. It's a great thing. And like for all of these shows that are experiencing obstacles with COVID, they can say, "Oh, we're dark for the next week."

[11:39] Eli Tokash: So you may be hearing that word a lot right now, and you may not completely understand what that means. Like, "Oh, are they like shutting down for a week?" And essentially yes, but it's a good thing in a performer's eye. That's what dark means. Hope that helps.

[11:56] Eli Tokash: I've been seeing it a lot lately just in articles that I've been reading and talking to friends and everything like that. And I was like, "Oh, I wonder if the people listening happen to know what that means, if they're hearing that, and they're seeing that in the articles." So just wanted to bring that to y'all's attention, and there you go. It's pretty simple.

[12:15] Eli Tokash: Let's turn it over to our incredible interview. This is a great interview. We have so many fun conversations, not only about her career, but also the industry itself. We have a very thought-provoking chat, and I really think that a lot of you will enjoy it. So without further ado, let's turn it over to Hannah Cruz.

[12:33] Eli Tokash: Hannah Cruz, curtain up.

[12:51] Eli Tokash: This week's guest is currently starring in SUFs at the Public Theater. She has been in two national tours, including Hamilton and Bullets Over Broadway. Everyone, welcome to the show, the incredibly talented Hannah Cruz.

[13:06] Hannah Cruz: Hi.

[13:07] Hannah Cruz: Hello.

[13:07] Hannah Cruz: Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for doing this.

[13:10] Hannah Cruz: I'm so excited. I wanna, the way I usually like to start my interviews, I guess, is asking my guests, you know, how they kind of got involved in the entertainment industry and what inspired them to tell stories, you know, in the first place.

[13:25] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, I was always like a really excitable child. And my parents put me into like every sport imaginable, just trying to like do something with all of my energy, and I wasn't like great at them, and I also just would get so upset and just like be on the free throw line and crying because just the drama of it all. I just couldn't stand it.

[13:53] Hannah Cruz: And so they were like, okay, well, maybe not sports, maybe musicals. Let's try that. So I quickly became very obsessed. It was like all I cared about. I had like understudy slips taped all on my door, front and back, and just like posters all over my room, which is funny now because some of my best friends now are people whose signatures I had on my wall as a child, which I think is really wild.

[14:25] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, and it just, I once I started doing it, it became clear quite quickly to me that like it was what I wanted to do with my life, and it was never, there was never really any question in my mind. I was never going to do anything else. So yeah, I feel very lucky that like my career path in life was very clear to me because I know a lot of people who that journey takes them a lot longer, and I know how frustrating it can be to not know what you want to do, and so I consider myself lucky to have always kind of known.

[15:05] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, for sure.

[15:06] Eli Tokash: So how did you end up getting started? Like where did you first do your first show? Like what was it? Talk to me about like all of that.

[15:23] Hannah Cruz: Um, I think the first one that I did like auditioned for in middle school was Suzucole. And um oh no, actually not so it was Charlie Brown. I forgot it was Charlie Brown, then super cool. But it was Charlie Brown, and it was in middle school. So you know, they like add a lot of parts so everyone can be involved. And so I was the little red-headed girl that Charlie Brown had a crush on, and they put me in this like party city horrible red wig. I had my braces, and I just sat on the side of the stage the entire show and I didn't say a word. I just sat there and was there for Charlie Brown to have a crush on. It was great. And I was like, I'm hooked after that. Yes. They're cheering for me, I swear.

[16:11] Eli Tokash: Exactly. That's amazing.

[16:13] Hannah Cruz: Yeah. Um, so then when did Mama Rose come in to the scene? Because I know that was in high school, right?

[16:20] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, so that was my senior year. Uh, I think that year we had been taken on a field trip to go see Gypsy and with Patty Lupone, and I remember exactly where I was sitting in the St. James Theater, and I remember watching her do Rose's Turn and being like more inspired in a grounded way than ever before because I was like, oh, I didn't know that like you could do that on stage. I knew you could like sparkle and like smile and do all, but I didn't know you could like transcend this like it was it was wild to me, and it was a feeling that I then tried to emulate when I played the role in high school after we saw it, and it's just like this strange I watched those videos back, and they're like god 11, 12 years old now.

Um, and I don't really remember doing the show because there's like this strange threshold you kind of cross over that I don't remember doing that show at all. And there are certain roles that I don't remember a lot of my time on stage because it's like kind of this weird crossing over thing that happens, and it's a feeling I've been chasing ever since. Um it's like the best part of acting for me. It's like a strange high. It it's it's it's really amazing. So yeah, that that was the first time I like caught that feeling, and I've truly been chasing it ever since.

[17:53] Eli Tokash: So would you say that like that was the one that was like, oh yeah, this is the performance that I know that this is literally what I'm doing for the rest of my life?

[18:01] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, no doubt. Amazing.

[18:03] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[18:04] Hannah Cruz: And thank God whoever you had that video. So talk to me about like how you got discovered.

[18:09] Hannah Cruz: Yeah. So we filmed like all of our productions. I have videos of like every show, and um, they really went all out. I forget the kid who used to do it, but he got like multiple angles and like all this. It was really cool. Um and so I I would put all the videos on YouTube all the time, and I had like a small following at the time, thanks to uh Andrew Keenan Bolger because I was obsessed with all those Michigan kids, that class of Michigan kids. And he had found like another video of me doing Charlie Brown and another time I did Charlie Brown to that show twice, and um he kind of got like that to go like teeny tiny viral, and then the Mama Rose thing happened, and like kind of overnight, um, it was like tens of thousands of views.

I think like in today's viral standards, it's very low, it's like maybe 50 grand. Right. But in like 2009, 10 viral standards, that was like a lot. And yeah, so then like Playbill did an article about me, and um, and then Joy doing casting, which no longer exists, but Joy is wonderful. They reached out to me and asked me to audition for the Legally Blonde Tour because of the video. And so I've actually done three tours. So I went and auditioned for the Legally Blonde Tour and got it and then did that instead of going. I was supposed to go to Ithaca College, but um I deferred and instead went on tour and then booked it busy. And then just kept going. I was gonna go back to college, but I talked to my director at the time, Mark Bruni, who directed Legally Blonde.

[19:50] Eli Tokash: What do you know Mark?

[19:51] Hannah Cruz: Oh my god, I love Mark.

[19:52] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[19:53] Hannah Cruz: I just did I well, not just did, uh I did Trevor with him in Chicago.

[19:56] Eli Tokash: Oh my god, Mark is he was like my first professional director. He directed that tour.

[20:01] Hannah Cruz: My god, I'm obsessed with him.

[20:03] Eli Tokash: Yeah and I was like, what do I do? Do I go to college? Do I move to New York? And he was like, I mean, move to New York.

[20:09] Hannah Cruz: And so I did, and I've been here ever since 2011. I moved here.

[20:13] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[20:15] Hannah Cruz: Wow, that's insane. I love that.

[20:17] Eli Tokash: Okay. Mark Bruni, come on, King. He knew talent when he saw it. Come on.

[20:22] Hannah Cruz: Um, I love that. So, yeah, it's just like, did you know that Andrew Keenan Bolger was like kind of gonna like post about it? Like, could you have ever dreamed that like you at your professional theater, like at like a high school theater would like just like lead to so many opportunities?

[20:39] Hannah Cruz: No, I didn't think it was like it was an actual dream come true for like little 17-year-old Hannah. She like that was all I wanted. Um to be like written up by Playbill and have all these people that I admired, like because like I'm an actor, I need validation, I need it. Um to receive that from people that I admired was like, okay, like I am good. Okay, good. Right. Because sometimes you can feel like you're absolutely insane. Um in believing in yourself, and so you need the validation of others to like let you know one that you're real and two that you're doing something that's not just like completely narcissistic and only about yourself. Um so yeah, I I didn't I don't know if I expected it, and I didn't I didn't yeah, I didn't expect it, but I felt proud of it, and it wasn't like it didn't feel undeserved because I did work really hard.

[21:36] Eli Tokash: For sure.

[21:37] Hannah Cruz: Yeah. So so talk to me about tour life then. I mean, you're you're very familiar with it.

[21:43] Eli Tokash: Yeah, I didn't realize you're in three tours. It's amazing.

[21:45] Hannah Cruz: Um, yeah, dude, what what is that like? And now that you're doing like a show here in New York that's kind of just like stationed. Talk to me about like the differences too.

[21:55] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, I love this is my first time, like, other than I think I've done a couple of nymph shows. Um so those are like really quick sit-downs. I don't consider those to be like working in New York, but I I really enjoy first of all, like my favorite thing in the entire world is my apartment. I don't I never leave here, I don't leave. So the fact that like I get to come back here every night after work is very nice to me. Um, I hate hotels, I hate them. So I like my own space. So working in New York thus far has been great. My commute is not my favorite, but that's fine. But touring is just I don't dislike it once you figure it out, it's great. My first couple years of tour, or my first year uh uh legally blonde was difficult. One because the schedule was insane. We were in a different city every like basically every single day. I think we've played over 280 cities.

[22:58] Eli Tokash: Oh my god.

[22:59] Hannah Cruz: Yeah insane and um like no layoffs or anything like that it was really it was that was a wild schedule um did you say 280 cities in like a six month contract?

[22:59] Hannah Cruz: It was nine months okay I think maybe it was a full year interesting that's wild it was a it was just nonstop I have like the list of cities somewhere in the list of miles traveled and I think we bust like every single time and said no and I think we would drive into matinees but I was 18 at the time so I was like this is amazing I was tired but I thought it was amazing making five hundred dollars I was like totally it was I was a child that's the only way to do one of those tours is to be a child and um so and we had to live in hotels we didn't have an option and so then when I did bullets over Broadway they give you an option you could find your own Airbnb with your per diem or stay in a hotel and Airbnbs changed the game for me.

[24:00] Hannah Cruz: Um bullets was a great schedule because it was first national so like we had sit downs and we went to great cities um and I figured out like how to live like how to get an Airbnb make it a home go grocery shopping not have to I don't really enjoy eating out unless it's like a special thing um because it just stresses me out to eat out and so cooking for myself and like having some semblance of a life outside of the show I did really enjoy like seeing cities. I would go to botanical gardens in every city I went to I love flowers and I didn't do that much as much on Hamilton just because the self-care on Hamilton was so much more work than bullets.

[24:41] Hannah Cruz: So I didn't do anything really which um was kind of sad because we went to some really cool places but um yeah it's just finding the balance of like work and social life that is really difficult in this career in general um because our work takes up so much of our life um right so it's about finding that balance that makes tour life bearable I think I don't know it's fascinating that you that like Airbnb's was like change the game for you because I figured you would have been like I figured you would have been like oh I love hotels that's why I do tours you know three tours I'm used to it oh my god that's hilarious.

[25:21] Hannah Cruz: I I there's something about them unless they're like I have very expensive tastes which is not great for me. But unless it's like a really nice hotel I don't want to be there. Because I don't know the non descriptiveness of it all I don't like. I don't like chains and like not understanding where I am and I don't like not having a kitchen. I need a kitchen to like feel like a person. I need to make my own coffee in the morning and like do all that my boyfriend is uh he's Hamilton on the tour that I was on the tour. And so when I'm not working right now it's difficult but before stuff started I was visiting him all the time and he loves staying hotels. And so it's just like finding that oh my God. I don't he he like really likes it. I don't so when I come out he tries to get a place with a kitchen at least how would that work?

[26:15] Eli Tokash: Like w when you're on well on tour, like would you guys like share an Airbnb or would you guys like

[26:15] Hannah Cruz: Well, we weren't together when we were doing the show.

[26:24] Eli Tokash: Oh wow.

[26:26] Hannah Cruz: So we didn't get together until after.

[26:26] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[26:28] Hannah Cruz: Um keeping it professional.

[26:31] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[26:31] Hannah Cruz: No showmances. Um, but we you know, we connected so much during the show, and uh there's he was like one of the best he is the best scene partner I've ever had. And so like building that intimacy before building our relationship, I think was super important to uh create like this spot the strong, very strong foundation that we have now. So I'm really grateful we got to do the show together. Um I think the way our path worked out was was the perfect the perfect way because we're super solid now.

[27:02] Eli Tokash: That's awesome.

[27:03] Hannah Cruz: Yeah.

[27:04] Eli Tokash: So how when did you get off that tour?

[27:07] Hannah Cruz: I left Hamilton uh September 2019, I believe.

[27:12] Eli Tokash: Uh-huh.

[27:13] Hannah Cruz: Um good timing.

[27:14] Eli Tokash: Yes, I know.

[27:17] Hannah Cruz: Great, good call. I it's actually wild to me how it all it's cause I left and I was like, you know what? I need a break. I need a break from the business and the universe really hurt me.

[27:30] Hannah Cruz: Um not saying COVID was my fault, it was not my fault. But um, yeah, I l I left the tour, I like shaved my head. I was like, I need a break. I went to Puerto Rico and like hid for a while, and then I went and visited the tour out in my they were in Miami. I went and visited just to like to see everybody because I missed them, and then I left Miami and the whole world shut down right after that.

[27:57] Eli Tokash: Wow.

[27:58] Hannah Cruz: Um, yeah. Isn't that wild?

[28:01] Eli Tokash: Yeah, it's wild. Good on you though, for like, because I mean it's it's a scary like feeling, you know, just like what do I do? I'm done, blah blah blah. Like yeah, it it's good on you for realizing that and being able to go through that process.

[28:17] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, I mean, I've almost quit this business like 17 times. So it was just one of those, one of those times. That was a big one. I was like, I think I'm done. Um and I remember like telling my agents, and they were like, Okay, but what about this audition? And I was like, No, I said I'm done.

[28:36] Eli Tokash: Right.

[28:36] Hannah Cruz: And then what was it like to be in Hamilton? Like, Hamilton is such like a revolutionary piece of art, and like it just did so much for like the theater just world, really. Um, and it has all this buzz, and now you're on tour with it, and you're playing Eliza, like you're just like killing it. What was that like?

[28:57] Hannah Cruz: Um, it was really wild. I had never ever experienced anything like that before. I you know, up until that point in my career, I had been going in for like big things for quite a while, but the thing I would always get back is that like I was too green, I was too young, and that they couldn't like they didn't know if they could trust me with like a big responsibility. And I was always like, what, like I can do it, and blah blah blah blah. And then I got the big responsibility out of the blue, like I did not expect to book the show even a little bit, and I understood what they meant by that, because the responsibility of leading a show and shouldering that much responsibility on being and being on stage that much. Up until that point, I had played roles that were on stage for 15 minutes, saying a really high song, and like left.

[29:58] Hannah Cruz: Um, and so this was like brand new territory for me, but it was exactly what I wanted because it was incredibly acting heavy, which is what I've been like, I've been trying to steer away from singing and more to acting for years, just because that's that's like where my true passion and like bedrock for my love of this art lies is in the acting. The singing for me has like lost a lot of its joy just because it's the way scores are written nowadays is so unsustainable. I like I really just the stress of it all is not worth it, and it's not fun to me anymore. Um so it was Hamilton was difficult because the singing responsibility was so much, and I got an injury like four or five months in. Um yeah, and it was really scary.

I thought I was done. And then I learned that like if you talk to anyone in this business, most people have had injuries, and it's like it's sustainable and it is like manageable, you just need to figure out how to work around it. And um thankfully my polyp was super super super small, so it wasn't like no surgery was needed, it was just like maintenance, and um, but it was really difficult and very like waking up every day and not knowing if I could sing the show was really hard, and like Eliza's um I blame Pippa for this now that we're in the show together and we can talk about it. It it's I blame her for how hard that role is to sing because Pippa's range is wild and crazy, like I don't understand her voice.

Um and so the the range of that role is so vast that like if you don't have just one section of your voice, you can't do the show, and that is so frustrating to me. Um, because you just want to tell the story, but you also have to sound pretty, and it's it just seems antithetical to it's very frustrating. So I that that time in my life was incredibly stressful. Um and I also took on the show too much. I didn't like understand how to shut off the lines between me and Eliza were way too blurred, and it was like very difficult. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't like eating a lot. It was like wow, because the trauma of the second act was like very much bleeding into my real life, and uh it was rough. So while it was one of the greatest experiences of my life, still one of my favorite roles to date, I'm really proud of what I did.

Um, and I met obviously my best friends and my partner, and so I'm very grateful for it. But it was like definitely one of the hardest years of my entire life. Um, yeah, and I don't know if I'd ever go back to the show, just but like I'm really glad that I did it. I'm really glad that I did it because I proved a lot to myself, yeah.

[33:01] Eli Tokash: So when you say like injury, is that like physical or is that vocal?

[33:05] Hannah Cruz: Vocal. So I had a teeny little polyp, I think it's probably still there, um, on my right vocal fold. Um, and it's just, you know, it's what comes from singing the same score eight times a week. It's just like totally that's what happens, and also there's that scream in Act Two with Eliza, and no matter how like s you can wanna do it healthily, but if you're dropped in to the show, you can't always like prepare yourself to scream healthily. I it's it's difficult. It's it's difficult to balance technique and being honest in the moment. That's something I totally struggle with. Um and I usually sacrifice technique for being for honesty, and it's uh bitten me in the Am I allowed to swear.

[33:54] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[33:55] Hannah Cruz: Oh my god. That's crazy.

[33:57] Eli Tokash: Yeah, it's okay. You can say it.

[33:59] Hannah Cruz: We're all going to it's okay. Uh we're doing great. Um everyone listening has definitely heard it before.

[34:05] Eli Tokash: So um anyways, that's crazy. And that's crazy that you had to go through that and like I don't know. That's I don't know. That's just a crazy, crazy thing. I don't know, like I know people who have like had to stop doing shows because of like they developed nodes or stuff like that. Like I'd never it's it's just a crazy, crazy time. I couldn't imagine experiencing that. But I mean like low-key I can because like, you know, as a teenage male, like in this industry, like now trying with my voice just changing, like it's only like tenors if you want to be a lead and you have to sing during Hanson and it's like what? And so like I I totally understand what you're saying and just like the I understand like it sounds great and it's really fun to listen to on a recording, but it's not what eight shows a week can be. And like we just need to come to terms with that. Like maybe like some crazy people like Ben Platt can do that ish eight times a week.

[35:04] Hannah Cruz: Exactly.

[35:05] Eli Tokash: But not everyone, it's just not uh yeah, it's not the way. And it and that can be a thing if there's also other things to balance it out, but that can't be the only thing we're producing.

[35:15] Hannah Cruz: Right. And I think that that's totally something that needs to be worked on in the industry. That people need to be okay with like lowering a score. Like it doesn't have to be the same for everyone.

[35:26] Eli Tokash: No.

[35:26] Hannah Cruz: Each individual is a different artist. They can tell the story in a different way. They can sing it in a different way. Like if you want them to t if you enjoy the way that they're telling the story, then let them have that option.

[35:37] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[35:38] Hannah Cruz: Don't make it be like they can still sound perfect without killing themselves.

[35:44] Eli Tokash: Yep, exactly. Um, and I think that that's something that just should be normalized because it doesn't need to be that high.

[35:50] Hannah Cruz: I agree. Um, anyways, uh, do you have like a favorite, like everyone is obsessed with Hamilton and everyone has like their favorites and everyone's changes every week. Do you have like a favorite like character like that you would play other than Eliza or like a song like anything that you'd be willing to like share?

[36:07] Hannah Cruz: Um, I think I mean before I ever went in for Eliza, the only song I knew from Hamilton was say no to this.

[36:15] Eli Tokash: Um No way.

[36:16] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, I love that song. It's still my favorite. I used to like when I first booked it, I would watch it and then I quickly was like, I can't watch this. It like messed up my it messed up my show. So I was like, I can't watch this number. But um I would love to just like play Mariah Reynolds for like a week.

[36:35] Eli Tokash: Yeah, and then be done.

[36:36] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, and then be done. Cause one, I want to wear the red dress and like walk on the turntable because iconic is so fun. And that song is just like it would just be fun. And come on.

[36:46] Eli Tokash: So that would be off the stage.

[36:48] Hannah Cruz: Those are the that was the track I was used to. Was that track?

[36:52] Eli Tokash: Yes.

[36:53] Hannah Cruz: Yeah. Obsessed. That's hilarious. I'm I would so I would so be down to see that. Um I will I will sign. I'll sign the petition. Um I wanna ask you as an actor, I find it fascinating that you you love um, you know, the acting side of it and the singing is I don't know. It's like it's a lot. And so the acting side, like with a role like Eliza in Hamilton and a role like Rusa in in SUFs, what is that whole preparation process like considering it's a real historical person, but you're still making it your own?

[37:31] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, it Eliza and Ruiza was interesting because I had other people's performance I had seen other people's performances.

[37:41] Eli Tokash: Sure, sure.

[37:43] Hannah Cruz: I have seen Eliza done before by multiple people, and so I can't help but have some of that blend in, plus the soundtrack. Um I read some historical fiction about her. I also read some some actual uh historical fact about her, and like it all kind of amalgamated into a thing, and then really it just became like I think everything I do thus far is is like an extension of myself. I don't know if I've played anyone so far who's been like not not a facet of me. Um so Eliza was like a very like exposed nerve part of Hannah. And then uh I'm also thinking about I'm gonna bring Rujia in, but I'm also thinking about um before I did SUFs, I did Inga at uh in Young Frank at the Algonquin Playhouse, and that was like also a section of me.

I haven't explored in a really long time. Like just like m I call it the little girl. That's how I talk about it with my friends, and um they will know what I'm talking about. And so that was that side of me. And then Ruja is this like very she is like childhood Hannah in like a lot of senses, as like which is very interesting to me and a thing I haven't accessed in a really long time, so it's been super fascinating to me. So while I've read I've read Jailed for Freedom and I've read a bunch of stuff about Ruja Online and Um Lee Silverman, my director, and I have like worked through a lot of things with her and like who she is, because it was it's been really difficult for them to like figure out Ruja, and so I was happy to come in and like be a part of that process, and um like I don't know if you noticed when you saw it, like Rouja has a handkerchief the whole show.

[39:37] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[39:37] Hannah Cruz: Um, and that was something Lee and I like just something to like anchor her down, and the only time she doesn't have it is when she's in prison, and then the vaudeville man who opens Act One and Act Two. Um it's just uh silly. That's like it so discovering it is like a quarter historical research, and then like the rest is like a weird unearthed portion of myself um that I like dig out of my psyche and then like explore. And I I can like kind I can feel when it starts to click and when it is like fully fleshed out, and it's a really exciting thing. Um so I don't really like even understand my own process. I kind of just like trust myself that I will get there and I haven't let myself down yet. Um no but Ruja was really fun and and continues to be really fun. Um because I I feel like I find like teeny little things every night still.

[40:48] Eli Tokash: Yeah.

[40:48] Hannah Cruz: Um and it's cool because no one's ever done it before. So I like this is like entirely me. There's nothing else bleeding into it. I think Vera Farmiga played her in the movie and that's like the only teeny little thing I have Ruja to to pull off of and I and I I think I maybe use a teeny tiny bit of that but but barely.

[41:08] Eli Tokash: Sure.

[41:09] Hannah Cruz: Well I mean like I said I I think everything that you just said translates to s the stage because like you can totally watch the show and you can totally see like you're in a natural like habitat like in some way. Like it's it seems so natural to you and such a character that's so diverse and so unique and has like a whole other accent that you make so like natural and I was like what is heaven? Like it literally like it totally it wasn't like okay this is someone playing a Polish woman or something like that. It was totally like no I'm I'm I'm watching Ruja or yeah so like it was like it was fascinating and I was like blown away by your performance. I wanna ask you because I brought up the Polish accent what in the world was that process like is that something you knew how to do is it something you learned.

[42:02] Hannah Cruz: Again I don't I w in the odd for the audition I definitely like looked up like just like basic rules like vowels and and consonant sounds and um listen to some Polish and then so I just kinda went off of a bedrock there and then I was telling the girls this actually the dressing room for some reason I don't I don't anymore pull from this but for some reason I was pulling from Patty Lupone in war paint oh and I don't understand like where I got that from but she I think she was Hungarian in that and but the the vowel shape she made I was like I think that I need to like focus it on this and it's the thing is like I don't listen to that soundtrack. I've never once listened to the war paint soundtrack I saw it once but I could still kind of hear her voice in my head and so I kind of pulled from that and then when we got into rehearsals they got us a dialect coach and um she really helped Dawn and now I'm forgetting her last name and I'm gonna regret that Don but she was um Don Egan Elan Egan. Yes you know I think do you know Don?

[43:24] Eli Tokash: I'm pretty sure she was our dialect coach for fighting Neverland.

[43:28] Hannah Cruz: Wait she probably was she's incredible Yeah she's oh my god she's amazing and we would uh like they would pull me out of rehearsal and I would sit in a in an office in the public and FaceTime with her and we would talk through some things and she you know I felt back I feel like I didn't utilize her as much as I I should have. And um, she was always there for me, and I really appreciated that. Um, and she was also like very affirming to me, like when I felt like I was crazy and I wasn't doing it. Cause it is a weird accent. It's so bizarre. And the thing is, like it's gotten to the point now, which is where I wanted it to be, where I kind of just slip into it and I don't think about it. Um like at all.

Um but I sometimes I I doubt my own process because I feel like I don't do enough prep work, but sometimes things just like sit and and they're good, you know? And so I felt like I got to a place where I was like, I know the sounds. The the the thing to negotiate is the singing and when to lean back on the accent for the sake of understanding what everyone's saying, especially in group stuff. I can't always be like heavy on the Polish accent. So it's about negotiating where to do it and when not to do it, so the audience still believes it, but also can understand you. Um my favorite word to say in the Polish accent is gnus.

[45:07] Hannah Cruz: I have fun. Um, but it's also about the like the oral posture. Um, if you know Don, then she talks about oral posture a lot, and just about like the space in your mouth and where your tongue sits on certain uh it's very interesting. I found it all super interesting, and now I want her to teach me every accent because somehow I think I had to do something for an audition the other day in a British accent, and I was like, I don't know how to do this anymore. I used to be able to like do a good British accent, but now I feel like I sound horrible. So like now I just want Dawn to help me all the time. Okay, but like knowing how to do like a Polish accent, do you feel like you can do any accent in the world?

[45:49] Hannah Cruz: Like possibly. Yeah. Irish and Scottish really scare me. I don't know how people talk like that. Really? I don't get it. I don't get how people talk like that. Or Australian even feels wild to me. I don't know how people just listen to like some Hugh Jackman put some interviews on. But it's so I don't think that people, especially like people that are like audience members, like your average audience member of going to the theater and stuff like that. It's just totally something that they don't take into consideration that like, you know, this is a whole like other thing to add on to a performer's plate, you know, is just like the dialect and trying to learn it all and kind of having that um expectation that it's just gonna be amazing every night, and you have to put so the they don't realize the work that is put into all of it.

[46:40] Eli Tokash: Yeah, it's crazy.

[46:41] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, I have so much respect for people that do accents on stage, and part of the reason why I loved your performance so much. Um literally. So I want to talk about COVID with this whole subs thing because um you guys were supposed to open last week.

[46:58] Eli Tokash: Last week, yeah.

[46:59] Hannah Cruz: Week from the week from yesterday.

[47:01] Eli Tokash: Week before you know what I mean.

[47:02] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, that got halted due to COVID. What has that whole kind of just ordeal been like and just dealing with COVID, even when you're at the theater and like with all of the guidelines and you know, masks and all of that?

[47:19] Hannah Cruz: It's you know, I won't lie, it could be like super frustrating. I think we're all like really sick of all this COVID stuff. And um I but we have a great COVID safety team, like truly wonderful, and we test like right now we're testing every day. They provide us with all the things that we need. We have like I've never seen people with more masks in the public theater, they have them everywhere, and they are nice masks, they have nice masks for everyone all the time. And they learn they're like take a mask every day. It's amazing. Um so I've always felt like very, very safe. I had COVID right before we started, which um I'm actually kind of grateful that I got it out of the way. Um I yeah, it was a bum, it was a huge bummer.

[48:03] Hannah Cruz: Um I remember Tuesday was when we we canceled all of last last week and Tuesday. I was already having like I was really tired vocally doing the eight show week thing again is just rough, especially five show weekends, and um just getting back into the swing of that stamina wise, it's difficult. So I was worried about the upcoming week, and I got to the theater and like right when I got there, they canceled. And um Wow It was a huge bummer because I had people there, and but the girls bought some mochi ice cream and we just sat in the dressing room and ate some mochi ice cream and talked about it, and then um, which was nice because I love mochi. And um, and then yeah, my uh Edred, my boyfriend, he flew out for opening.

[48:49] Hannah Cruz: Um and kind of all day we like went to the gym. We were like, I was like, I don't know. We like had a day, but and I was like prepping for my days after we were gonna do the show, and then they canceled, um, which was a huge bummer. He had already seen he's already seen the show twice, so it I wasn't worried about that. But like, you know, we had our opening night outfits and all that stuff. Right. There's just so much anticipation over it. And also, like the hard work. I mean, for me, it's it's it's minimal. I've only been doing this this last incarnation, but there's so many people who have been doing the show for like six years. Um so just the build up to to the disappointment is really difficult.

[49:24] Hannah Cruz: But um I last night felt really weird because last night was like our first night back, and like we are technically open, but it didn't feel like an opening, but like we still had like opening presence and all that stuff. So it it was just like very it felt like kind of like a letdown. Um so and we're still like not all fully back. Our understudies and swings are killing it right now. It's very exciting to see people step up to the plate and like just soar. It's really amazing to see. Um, because I really I truly don't understand how understudies and swings do it. I could never do it. I nope, my brain does not work that way, and I I just admire it so much.

[50:05] Hannah Cruz: Um so much. So it's just like it's been a weird feeling. It feels like like we're kind of half cocked. I don't I but I was really grateful to be back at work yesterday. I'm really excited to go back to work tonight, um, and like continue this week because the way this like cast rallies and gets shit done is really cool, and um it's it's also cool to see the show, and it's like such a testament to the show itself and how good the show is. Like, yes, Shane is not in it right now because um she's still recovering, she'll be back in this weekend.

[50:44] Hannah Cruz: Um, but the show still stands. Do you know what I mean? It's not like, oh, well, Shannon's not in it. Like, what's the point? The show still like completely stands. Holly is incredible, her standby. Um. So it's cool to see the show like that because that's a really important part of it to that the show actually holds its own. Um I think if anything, this has proven that point.

[51:09] Eli Tokash: And um, and I think that's that's kind of an essential point to prove for the longevity.

[51:15] Hannah Cruz: Yeah.

[51:16] Eli Tokash: Well, hopefully you'll have a real opening night on Broadway very soon.

[51:21] Hannah Cruz: I see it in the near future for sure. For those listening, talk to like in your own words, what is SUFS? Like, how would you describe it to get like audiences to come check you guys out at the public?

[51:33] Hannah Cruz: Um, Suss is a really eye-opening, educational, but with a ton of bops. The music is incredible. Musical about Alice Paul's perspective for the most part, about the fight for women's right to vote. And it spans almost half a century, I believe. Um, and uses like different musical genres that I can't even quite pin down to tell this story in like a recitative, really amazing. Also, now I'm on a tangent, but a score score written by a woman for women to sing.

[52:14] Hannah Cruz: So you hear women singing in this healthy, wonderful, lush way that like you don't get to hear all the time. Oh, totally. And it's with a cast of like truly impeccable, incredible. Like the fact that I am on stage with Jen Kalela and Pippa is just like and Grace McLean. I like pinch myself every single day. It's it's a it's a group of actors telling a story directed by Lee Silverman, so it's like directed like a play. It's it's just like you were going to learn so much. You are going to be so moved. It's also a musical that is going to make you want to go out and do something about the things in our world and the problems in our world.

[52:57] Hannah Cruz: It's not, it's gonna entertain you, but it's also going to incite you. Um I'm a huge fan, huge fan of the show. I love that it's led by women and it's an all-female cast. Like it's just it's iconic. So I'm very excited, and I'm sure it has a an incredible future.

[53:16] Eli Tokash: Um that's I mean, that's pretty much all I have. I must say, I'm obsessed with your pink teddy bear that you have that you're sitting on.

[53:25] Hannah Cruz: I I've just been so funny. Every time you're talking, I just like randomly look to the side and I'm like, oh, a giant teddy bear.

[53:31] Hannah Cruz: My boyfriend got this for me. Yes, it is seven feet tall, it's so heavy I can't move it. Um yeah, so I this is a shout out to Edrid. I literally told him I wanted a giant teddy bear once, like in passing, one time. And then for Valentine's Day, he really went all out.

[53:48] Eli Tokash: So stop that's so good.

[53:50] Hannah Cruz: It's just a body pillow at this point.

[53:51] Eli Tokash: Um does it say happy Valentine's Day.

[53:54] Hannah Cruz: It does say happy Valentine's Day.

[53:56] Eli Tokash: Oh my god.

[53:56] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, that's everything.

[53:58] Eli Tokash: Yeah, so good.

[53:59] Hannah Cruz: It's it's so good. It's so funny. I just keep like laughing while you're talking and I just feel so bad. I'm like, I swear I'm not laughing at you. It's just there's a giant pink teddy bear. Obsessed.

[54:12] Eli Tokash: Well, Hannah, I can't thank you enough. This has been a blast. And everyone, go check out SUFs at the public theater. You truly will not regret it. So thanks so much again for doing this. It was great to meet you.

[54:23] Hannah Cruz: Yeah, you too, darling. Thank you.

[54:26] Eli Tokash: Take a Val Hannah Cruz. She's literally like a sweetheart. It was so good to talk to her. She kept it so real with me, which I really appreciated. She was able to get in depth with some industry uh and thoughts about the industry. She was able to talk about some injuries that she's had in what shows. Um, you know, some people are uh often like a little shy to to share all of that, but she kept it so real and she kept so many personal experiences.

[54:54] Eli Tokash: She brought it all on onto the podcast, and I really appreciate it. And I thought it was a lovely chat. Um I really learned a lot from it in just um kind of seeing her point of view of her character preparation. Um, because a lot of people are like, Oh, you I mean, obviously everyone is different, everyone's a different artist, like we mentioned in the podcast. Um, however, uh, there's a lot of people that like focus their character preparation so much on being true to the character, and she was like, Oh, that's about twenty percent me, the r uh how I approach it, and then like the other eighty or seventy percent is me.

[55:34] Eli Tokash: And I loved that because you know, oftentimes in like I guess you're like traditionally taught to do the work uh before going on the stage and then on stage finding things that uh really relate to yourself. I mean, obviously you don't want to do it when it like three weeks in, you're finding things that relate to you. Like you obviously want to have some sort of idea, but the more and more you do it, um, in performances and the way that you're able to to get people in front of you seeing your performance, uh, is really when you're allowed to start playing with it to see what works and what doesn't.

[56:11] Eli Tokash: And uh to hear that she's kind of been doing that from the get-go uh as a way to prepare for for her character was really really cool to to hear and uh see that point of view. I j I thought it was just a great chat, uh talking about the industry, talking about Hamilton and and the notes and everything like that.

[56:32] Eli Tokash: Yeah, so I just really enjoyed this week's episode. I hope you all did too. A huge fan of Hannah, uh, especially after talking to her. If you haven't seen SUFs at the public theater, it's now uh open again. Go check it out. Highly recommend all female casts, Jen Kalela, Nikki and James, uh Pippasue, Hannah Cruz, um great literally great, great, great work on the stage every night.

[56:57] Eli Tokash: Hannah's amazing. You're gonna see it. When you go see SUFs, you're gonna be like, Oh, that's that's what drew Eli to to Hannah. That makes sense. Okay, she's amazing. Great, got it. Copy. Um, because honestly, god, it was she gives a a wonderful performance and uh your eyes literally gravitate towards her.

[57:20] Eli Tokash: Uh so everyone highly recommend SUFs. Go check it out. Thanks again, Hannah, for coming on and sharing all your wonderful stories and talking about sus with me. That's all I have for this week's episode. Come check us out at the Green Room 42 on Monday, April 18th at 9 30 p.m.

[57:36] Eli Tokash: Uh, if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, go get 'em. If you can't come to the performance, that's totally okay. We have a live streaming option. So if you live in a different state, if you live in New York and you honestly just want to chill in your PJs on a Monday night, do it. Watch it from your computer.

[57:53] Eli Tokash: Um if you're out of town, if you're doing something, uh, if you want to like do your chores and like have something to listen to in the background, do it. Get a live streaming ticket at the Green Room website. All the links are in my bios. Uh you could also go to Green Room website. There's a live streaming link. If you can't make it to the venue, highly recommend making it to the venue so that you can meet all of us and we can see all of your beautiful faces and have a wonderful audience to perform uh in front of.

[58:26] Eli Tokash: All of that being said, I really hope to see you there. Can't wait for the hundredth episode of Take A Bow. It's here, guys. It's freaking here. Crazy to think about.

[58:37] Eli Tokash: It seems like so far away. Um, like literally last week felt far away. Um, anyways, we're here, we're coming. Start the countdown, come check us out, and we hope to see you there.

[58:50] Eli Tokash: So, literally, when I say this, I hope to see you next week. I physically hope to see you next week. Alright, bye everyone. Have a great week.

[59:00] Eli Tokash: For this episode's curtain 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 Seals, and the team at the Broadway Podcast Network.

[59:13] 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. If you're interested in becoming a patron, go to Patreon.com slash T A B.

[59:33] 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. Also, feel free to give us a follow on Instagram at takeA Bow Podcast. Take a bow's logo is designed by Giselle Bustos and the music is by Nikki Torsha and Cormac Collinon.

[59:50] Eli Tokash: Bye everyone. Hope to see you next week.