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[0:06] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, beautiful people. Welcome to the Art of Kindness, where we have compassionate conversations with artists from all areas of the entertainment industry who are using their voice to spread joy and make this big spinning planet in the sky a better place to be. I'm Robert Peterpaul, and I'm so glad you're here.

[0:36] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, friends. Happy April. Did anyone else get pranked on April 1st? I love a good prank. And recently, my friends at kindness.org shared some kind pranks that you can do. Like telling your loved one you'll be out early, but then surprising them with breakfast. Or covering your coworkers' desk with balloons. I work from home a lot, so I guess I could cover my own desk with balloons. Maybe some green ones. I love green. Anyway, there's no fooling you today. I have another untraditional episode of the Art of Kindness Podcast for you because I had the complete honor, thanks to the Broadway Podcast Network, of hosting at opening night of Life of Pi on Broadway. What a magical show. We got to speak with the whole cast and creative team, and I'll share those interviews with you soon.

But first, I wanted to bring you the chats I had with some of the special red carpet guests, from Brian d'Arcy James to the iconic musical composing duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman. I mean, mind blown! If you listen to our last episode, which was also red carpet coverage, you'll know that this is gonna be very exciting, unhinged, fast moving, and you'll also know that you can find some clips and possible photos from our time here on social media at Art of Kindness Pod. Without further ado, please join me on the opening night red carpet for Life of Pi on Broadway.

[2:13] Robert Peterpaul: This is the Broadway Podcast Network, so people can't see you. So please, mysteriously introduce yourself and tell everybody a little bit about whatever you want to say.

[2:27] Nikhil Saboo: Hi, I'm Nikhil Saboo. I was most recently in Dear Evan Hansen on tour and Hamilton and Mean Girls. I just kind of swiped those three shows. A fun fact about myself, I love dumplings.

[2:43] Robert Peterpaul: Ooh, don't we all? What's your favorite kind of dumpling?

[2:44] Nikhil Saboo: Oh, Trader Joe's dumplings.

[2:46] Robert Peterpaul: Trader Joe's is the best!

[2:47] Nikhil Saboo: Yeah, just Trader Joe's and just have your own little sauce on it. You gotta put them in a pan. You can't put them in the microwave, otherwise they're not as good, I feel like. Sorry, I'm getting very specific with the Trader Joe's dumplings.

[2:57] Robert Peterpaul: I've never heard someone put it in a microwave before.

[3:00] Nikhil Saboo: You can't. This is great content for the podcast.

[3:03] Robert Peterpaul: Great to see you. Okay, wait. So you mentioned Mean Girls. I mean, are you trying to bop into the movie at all? Like I keep getting notices to be featured high school members or something.

[3:12] Nikhil Saboo: No, it's about like I feel like there was a time where every week there was like some celebrity star trying to get in it. But um, no, I'm gonna sit back and I'm just gonna enjoy and read these people out. I'm so excited. Ashley just got into it.

[3:26] Nikhil Saboo: Oh, yeah. I mean, Renee. So there's some people that are repping from the show, they're gonna be in there, which I'm really really excited for.

[3:31] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. So excited. How excited are you to see Life of Pi tonight?

[3:35] Nikhil Saboo: I am incredibly excited. This is like a homecoming for me, not only just because, you know, I read it as a kid, but also in my culture from my family in Rajasthan, puppetry is the way of storytelling since over a thousand years ago. It's called Gutputli. And it's their beginning ways of storytelling. So this is kind of a really cool homecoming, and I'm really excited to see this masterful execution of this form on this big Broadway stage. And yes, also the South Asian representation is one thing, but I kinda want to come to a place and a space where I can just sit back and enjoy and not be in this place where I'm fighting for representation all the time. So we have these other shows as Monsoon Wedding and Bangin' It and DDLJ and Life of Pi, all these like incredible South Asian artists that are gonna be on the stage.

So, yes, hurrah for representation, and yes, hurrah for this form of puppetry that I'm so excited to see, you know, and sit back and relax and enjoy it. The puppets are mind blowing. I mean, we just had the beautiful tiger Richard walk the carpet and it blew my mind.

[4:50] Robert Peterpaul: Grace this carpet?

[4:51] Nikhil Saboo: It graced this very carpet if you want to give the carpet a kiss because it was there. There you go. He did a little foot tap. I like that. You don't have to actually kiss it. Speaking of puppetry, which you like you so beautifully described it, and we have a silly social media question, which is a little different, but we just want to know who is your favorite puppet of all time? If you had an iconic puppet glued to your hand, or a Muppet even, who would you pick?

[5:12] Nikhil Saboo: I was a really big fan. Is Pinocchio a puppet? No, but he's not a puppet. Well, he's a real boy now.

[5:18] Nikhil Saboo: A real puppet. You know, at the Museum of the Moving Image in Brooklyn, there was, I mean, everything from Kermit to all of them. I'm gonna put this a big one, but a big bird.

[5:36] Robert Peterpaul: You're like the third person to say that, honestly.

[5:38] Nikhil Saboo: No, you're kidding me. It was wild. He literally had his hand above his head to move the mouth and had the words here. It's incredible to see what they actually did to make that show happen. So yeah, we're gonna say big bird from Sesame Street.

[5:55] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. I'm like scared there's someone in there, but also fascinated by it.

[5:58] Nikhil Saboo: Oh yeah, it's incredible. Um yeah, and I guess the last question would be my podcast is the Art of Kindness, so I would love if you could just leave us with a kindness tip or something tangible you think people should do to make the world a better place.

[6:11] Nikhil Saboo: I think that at the core of kindness, it is one of the most contagious things on earth. You know, when you don't actually have to have it done to you, the act. You can actually perceive kindness and you feel it inside of you, you know. So I love that it takes on shapes and forms in that way that kindness is so contagious and I think that when you offer kindness to someone, and when you embody kindness, know that if you're giving kindness to just one person, know that there are other people around you that will also feel that kindness as well. It really compounds, it really is contagious in that way.

[7:03] Robert Peterpaul: You're so right. I love that. I don't know, I say that kind of made me a little emotional. I'm like, ooh, okay. No, I love it. That's beautiful. It's real, that's so real. I so appreciate your time. It was great to meet you, and I hope you have fun tonight.

[7:16] Nikhil Saboo: Thank you. I appreciate it.

[7:17] Nikhil Saboo: Thank you.

[7:18] Robert Peterpaul: Hi, hello, how are you?

[7:20] Matthew Hoffman: Good, Matthew, nice to meet you.

[7:22] Robert Peterpaul: Good to meet you. I'm Robert.

[7:23] Matthew Hoffman: Hi, Robert.

[7:24] Robert Peterpaul: So obviously, we're the Broadway Podcast Network. We can't see you. So would you please just introduce yourself to everybody?

[7:42] Matthew Hoffman: Yes, Matthew Hoffman at Life of Pi.

[7:45] Robert Peterpaul: Woo! How excited are you to open tonight?

[7:47] Matthew Hoffman: I am so excited. We've been waiting for this show for so long. It was killed in London. It was so beautiful in London. So to see it here, I mean, come on. It's the most beautiful book, it's the most beautiful movie, and now for it to be hopefully I'm sure the most beautiful Broadway show is amazing.

[8:05] Robert Peterpaul: So amazing. You know, coming from London, it kind of parallels the book, this journey you all had. I would love to know what sticks out to you as a major lesson or something you learned from the journey from London to here on Broadway.

[8:17] Matthew Hoffman: Perseverance, right? I mean, that's it, and I think everyone can take that away in whatever part they can incorporate in their own lives. But um, yeah, it's a show about will and strength, and everyone needs that.

[8:33] Robert Peterpaul: I so agree. And last random funny question is if you were an animal, what animal would you be? What do you feel like you are at heart?

[8:40] Matthew Hoffman: Oh man, I think I'm 90% hyena, clearly, but then by the way I've been eating lately, I think I'm full-blown elephant, too.

[8:49] Robert Peterpaul: No. Going back and you know, things are happening.

[8:52] Matthew Hoffman: Exactly. Listen, you're doing great. You look great, and I so thank you for stopping here. Congratulations.

[8:57] Matthew Hoffman: Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.

[9:01] Robert Peterpaul: Have a good time.

[9:03] Robert Peterpaul: Ryan! How are you?

[9:04] Brian d'Arcy James: Hi, I'm Robert. Nice to meet you.

[9:06] Robert Peterpaul: I'm such a big fan. I so admire your career and all you've done. So I'm excited to talk to you today. But we are a podcast, so nobody can see you. So please just introduce yourself to our listeners.

[9:14] Brian d'Arcy James: Hi, I'm Brian d'Arcy James. I'm here at the opening of Life of Pi.

[9:18] Robert Peterpaul: How excited are you to see Life of Pi tonight?

[9:20] Brian d'Arcy James: I'm very excited because as I've said before, I'm probably the only person in the world who hasn't read the book or seen the movie. So I know what the story's about, but I don't know, you know, just the intricacies of it and how I mean everyone says it's such an extraordinary thing. My wife has seen it two times. Or sorry, she's read the book two times. So yeah, this is um, it's all a revelation to me tonight.

[9:41] Robert Peterpaul: I think that's a great way to go in, though, you know, just going in, knowing nothing. Plus the theatricality of it is what I'm really interested in seeing because you know it seems like such an impossible thing to pull off on stage. And when that happens, there's nothing better.

[9:53] Brian d'Arcy James: Yeah, it's supposed to be so masterful. You know, looking at your story, my podcast is the Art of Kindness, so I would love to know if you have a story about kindness that you feel like changed your career, or if that's too big to think of right now, even just a kindness tip for listeners.

[10:06] Brian d'Arcy James: I don't have anything that's coming to mind that's specific that changed my life, but I will say that my parents are very, very kind people. You know, I was lucky to have that as an example. So I think, you know, you do in life what you get to see in the examples that are put in front of you. I'm really grateful for that, and I think that has a lot to do with maybe how I see the world and hopefully how I operate in it. You can always be kind.

[10:33] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. Well, obviously, something that's been circulating in the world now is the news of the Smash musical coming to Broadway.

[10:40] Brian d'Arcy James: That's right.

[10:40] Robert Peterpaul: What have you heard about that? I mean, is that something you've been down to do?

[10:44] Brian d'Arcy James: A couple of things online just saying that it's gonna happen. That's all I know.

[10:48] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah. I hope it does. It's exciting. I mean, it seems like it actually is. Like I think it's like a done deal, just a question of when.

[10:55] Brian d'Arcy James: Yeah, so that's really cool. So I'll play the smash.

[10:58] Robert Peterpaul: I'll smash.

[10:59] Brian d'Arcy James: Be the smash.

[11:00] Robert Peterpaul: That would be the smash. We would love to know a silly question we're asking for social media since the show so beautifully displays animals. We decided to distill it down to a weird question. What animal do you feel like you are at heart?

[11:13] Brian d'Arcy James: I'm probably a dog. I feel like I'm a dog. I have a dog, a dog named Josie, and I identify with my dog quite a bit. So I'm pretty sure that I probably was a dog in a former life.

[11:23] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. In all the good ways, let's you know, I just hope to make that clear. There are some connotations that might not be so good. But I think I was a pretty decent dog, maybe in a former life.

[11:34] Robert Peterpaul: I love that, a sweet dog. Last question since we're the podcast network, if you had a podcast, a new one coming out, what would you call it? What would you focus on, and who would your dream co-host be?

[11:44] Brian d'Arcy James: Oh my god. Oh god, that's a really tough question. I don't know.

[11:49] Robert Peterpaul: Hard hitting here.

[11:54] Brian d'Arcy James: What is the meaning of life? Yeah, that's let's do that. You've just given me the title of my podcast, The Meaning of Life with myself, and I don't know who it'd be a revolving door of co-pilots. I'm bailing on this answer.

[12:11] Robert Peterpaul: Well, listen, it's all good. I appreciate it. I appreciate your time. It was so good to meet you.

[12:13] Brian d'Arcy James: Nice to meet you too. Have fun tonight.

[12:16] Brian d'Arcy James: Thanks.

[12:17] Robert Peterpaul: Hi, how are you? I'm Robert, nice to meet you.

[12:20] Robert Peterpaul: This is the Broadway Podcast Network.

[12:22] Robert Peterpaul: So unfortunately, people cannot see you, but they can hear you. So would you mind for that?

[12:27] Robert Peterpaul: You look great.

[12:29] Brian d'Arcy James: You know what? You're not the only one that said that, so you're not alone in the self-deprecating nature.

[12:33] Brian d'Arcy James: Would you mind just introducing yourself to our listeners?

[12:35] Sarita Choudhury: Yes, my name is Sarita Choudhury, and I'm on And Just Like That right now, second season.

[12:42] Robert Peterpaul: I know, we're so excited. Well, I mean, if you brought it up, I gotta ask you. What team are you on?

[12:47] Sarita Choudhury: Oh.

[12:48] Robert Peterpaul: Big?

[12:50] Sarita Choudhury: Oh, the boys.

[12:51] Robert Peterpaul: Or yeah.

[12:51] Sarita Choudhury: I don't even think that way, because SEMA's got so much. I cannot wait for you to see the season. It is insane what we're doing.

[12:58] Robert Peterpaul: Really?

[12:58] Sarita Choudhury: Yes.

[12:59] Robert Peterpaul: What can you tease for people?

[13:00] Sarita Choudhury: That was almost too much. I was like, pull it back.

[13:11] Unknown speaker: I just met um the lead actor two days ago. First of all, I was so proud of him and the whole team. I was in love with the film, and the actually my guest tonight is the guy who did the costumes for that film, Arjun. So I mean, look at the poster. It's like our it's our land and our history. It's amazing. Beautiful.

[13:35] Unknown speaker: Well, the show obviously deals with animals, so we have kind of a funny, silly social media question. What animal do you feel like you are at heart?

[13:43] Unknown speaker: A jaguar?

[13:44] Unknown speaker: Ooh, I was I was thinking that before you said and I don't even know you, but I got that vibe.

[13:51] Unknown speaker: Okay. Wow, I got that vibe. Um, my last question would just be if you would like a kindness tip to share for listeners, because my my podcast specifically is the art of kindness. What do you think people could do to make the world a little bit better?

[14:04] Unknown speaker: Um when someone tells you a story, just listen and don't tell your own.

[14:10] Unknown speaker: I love that. Listening. Thank you so much. Have so much fun tonight. It's great to meet you.

[14:15] Unknown speaker: Yes. Hello.

[14:18] Scott Wittman: Oh, you this is the Broadway podcast. We are, so no one can see you, but they can hear you. So I I'm literally bowing down because these two are icons, and I'm so honored to talk to you. Would you mind just introducing yourself for our listeners?

[14:31] Scott Wittman: I am Scott Wittman, uh co-lyricist of Some Like It Hot.

[14:35] Marc Shaiman: I'm Marc Shaiman, the composer and co-lyricist of Some Like It Hot.

[14:35] Scott Wittman: Some Like It Hot. You've done so many amazing things that I can't even can't even formulate a question right now. But with Life of Pi, what are you most excited to see tonight?

[14:46] Marc Shaiman: I love tigers, so I'll go anywhere there's a tiger, whether it's real or not. And the stagecraft, I mean, you know, anyone who loves theater, when when people create something that you just can't believe what you're seeing, just from their from their brains and their heart have created something new on on stage. There's just nothing more moving to me.

[15:07] Marc Shaiman: So I I'm sure I'm gonna be a puddle of tears. Just tiger earlier and it was so magical. I left my body. I was flying around, I was roaring. It was so weird.

[15:16] Scott Wittman: Yeah, I can't wait for you to see it. Speaking of animals, I'm asking everyone kind of a silly social media question. If you were an animal.

[15:26] Marc Shaiman: No, no, it's it's easy, it's actually easy. What animal do you feel like you are at heart?

[15:30] Marc Shaiman: Well, I love golden retrievers. I've been lucky enough to be the parent to two golden retrievers. So I would I guess I'm really not like a golden retriever. They always seem so happy.

[15:41] Scott Wittman: And I'm miserable.

[15:42] Marc Shaiman: You seem happy, you're smiling.

[15:44] Scott Wittman: Well, I'm acting. I'm more I'm like Tigger in uh Winnie the Pooh.

[15:50] Marc Shaiman: Yes.

[15:51] Scott Wittman: I love that. The wonderful thing about Tigers, he calls me Eeyore.

[15:54] Marc Shaiman: So that's who I really am.

[15:56] Unknown speaker: That's so cute. You know, that's a show now, too. Maybe we could get you guys a cameo.

[16:02] Unknown speaker: Did you go see the slasher movie they made out of it?

[16:04] Scott Wittman: I saw that.

[16:05] Marc Shaiman: I didn't see the movie, but I saw it trending, you know, and I I got scared enough from that, so I went under the covers.

[16:11] Unknown speaker: My podcast with the Broadway Podcast Network is The Art of Kindness. So I would love to know if you could share a kindness tip, something actionable that you think people could do to make the arts or just the world a better place.

[16:21] Scott Wittman: Oh, be nice backstage.

[16:24] Marc Shaiman: Yes, right? It can get a little cray cray back there.

[16:27] Scott Wittman: Yeah, that's a good one. Um geez.

[16:31] Marc Shaiman: I could go on forever.

[16:33] Scott Wittman: Do it.

[16:33] Marc Shaiman: Here. Um return people's emails and texts right away. When you send when you send something.

[16:42] Marc Shaiman: Know that the people are out there with a little spittle coming out of the side of their mouth waiting for your response.

[16:48] Unknown speaker: Yes. You know, speaking of emails and responding, someone that's coming on my podcast is Megan Hilty, who has been so lovely via email. I want to really ask you just about Smash.

[16:54] Marc Shaiman: Can you tease anything about what's coming?

[16:59] Scott Wittman: Hysterically funny. That's what I'll tell you.

[17:01] Marc Shaiman: And so is Some Like It Hot, I hear.

[17:03] Scott Wittman: Yes, very involving with Miss Mariah Carey.

[17:05] Marc Shaiman: Yeah. I mean, come on, what's it been like to just have all this wonderful attention?

[17:10] Scott Wittman: An absolute hoot. She came to the show. She came out on stage at the end, which was glorious.

[17:15] Marc Shaiman: It's a lot of fun.

[17:17] Scott Wittman: It's one of the shows I haven't got to see her, but I can't wait.

[17:19] Marc Shaiman: That's the great part about it, is that she loves the show. She loves to tweet about it, which God bless her.

[17:24] Unknown speaker: I love how you've taken this iconic show and given it a whole new life in a whole new way and even bumped up the time a little bit. And thank you both so much. You're iconic. Great to meet you. I'll be listening. Have fun tonight.

[17:30] Unknown speaker: Thank you.

[17:34] Unknown speaker: Hi, how are you?

[17:35] Robert Peterpaul: You look so cozy.

[17:36] Diane Paulus: I need that.

[17:37] Robert Peterpaul: I know, it's cold. So, since this is the Broadway Podcast Network, nobody can see you. Would you mind just introducing yourself and sharing a fun fact or whatever you want to say?

[17:44] Diane Paulus: Yes, I'm Diane Paulus. I'm the artistic director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, where the Life of Pi made its North American premiere before it came here to Broadway.

[17:56] Robert Peterpaul: Wow, you know, as an actor and a creative, I look up to you so much in the work you're doing. My podcast is The Art of Kindness, so I would love to know if there's this is kind of a bigger question, but something that you're doing at your job day to day, or something you think people can do to make the arts a kinder, more positive place.

[18:14] Diane Paulus: Yes, I think first of all, I love that your podcast is the Art of Kindness. Where can I find it?

[18:21] Robert Peterpaul: We're everywhere.

[18:23] Diane Paulus: Um, I am thinking these last few days in particular about encouraging the people I work with to take the time every day for themselves. Uh, and I'm thinking particularly about anchoring your body, being present, making space and time for mindfulness, meditation practice. And um, I'm really excited because we're talking about using applied theater techniques to work with doctors at Harvard Medical School in these very same tools. Uh, and I think it's about being kind to yourself, taking the moment to say life is stressful. Being a doctor is stressful, working in the theater is stressful, not to put them side by side, but it's uh an intense environment. And uh those resets uh in the morning, in the middle of the day, getting off of Zoom and standing up for one minute every hour just to get your body going. Um, those are little acts of kindness that I think uh we can encourage each other to make time and space for.

[19:40] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. Everybody at home, this is a great reminder to just take a deep breath and maybe get up and shake your body out or something like that. You know, with Life of Pi, which we are so excited to see here tonight, I would love to know for you, after you saw the final version of the show, what's the biggest thing that you feel like you took away and you learned from now to working on it in the very beginning?

[20:00] Diane Paulus: Life of Pi has completely affirmed my belief in the power of theater. This is a story about uh human resilience uh in the most duress situation, being shipwrecked at sea. And uh it asks the questions, how do stories help us survive? And the production asks us, how do we use our imagination theatrically? This production is driven by the use of puppetry. So intellectually I know those aren't real animals, but I come to the theater and I watch those puppets, and I can even see the puppeteers. And yet I use my imagination and I completely endow those animals as real life. And there's something so beautiful about what the production does theatrically about the power of imagination that reinforces the theme of the show. So it's this beautiful reflection of form and content that I think makes it so powerful.

[21:04] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, and one of the themes of the show I felt like when I read it and saw the movie, even can't wait to see it tonight on the stage, was that wonderment of animals. And I feel like the puppetry almost adds to it. I mean, you're wondering even more of where's the person. The tiger just walks the carpet, and I saw two people. Oh, there's three. What?

[21:19] Diane Paulus: I know.

[21:19] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, so it's so beautiful in that regard. And this is not that beautiful, but a silly question we're asking people for social media is if you had one iconic puppet stuck to your hand for the rest of your life, what puppet would you pick?

[21:31] Diane Paulus: Not from this show, but just a Muppet or in general?

[21:34] Robert Peterpaul: Yes.

[21:35] Diane Paulus: I forget the Muppet's name. Is he called the monster on the Muppet Show? He's the percussionist. I think he's called Animal.

[21:41] Robert Peterpaul: Animal.

[21:42] Diane Paulus: Animal.

[21:43] Robert Peterpaul: Animal.

[21:43] Diane Paulus: I love Animal.

[21:44] Robert Peterpaul: I love Animal too. Oh, I love that. That's so exciting. Thank you so much. I want to get you inside. I appreciate your time. Great to meet you.

[21:49] Diane Paulus: Thank you, Robert.

[21:50] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you.

[21:52] Diane Paulus: Hi, how are you?

[21:54] Unknown speaker: I'm Robert, nice to meet you.

[21:55] Unknown speaker: Great to meet you. You guys look so fly.

[21:58] Unknown speaker: You look great.

[22:00] Unknown speaker: Likewise. Well, thank you. This is the Broadway Podcast Network, so it is, so we can't necessarily see you, but we can hear you. Would you both just mind introducing yourselves and telling everybody a little bit about your role in the show or your involvement in the show?

[22:12] Nick Dodani: Uh my name is Nick Dodani, and I'm a co-producer of Life of Pi on Broadway.

[22:15] Eric Kunan: And this is Eric Kunan, and I'm also a co-producer on Broadway.

[22:19] Unknown speaker: Congratulations! What a way to come into the producing world.

[22:22] Unknown speaker: I know this is your first time, right?

[22:24] Nick Dodani: Uh I'm gonna keep it moving and quick because our carpet is ever flowing.

[22:28] Unknown speaker: So we're gonna ask you kind of a funny question for social media. Since the show deals with animals, I would love to know for each of you what animal do you feel like you are at heart with your personality, whatever comes to mind.

[22:40] Nick Dodani: A wolf pup.

[22:41] Eric Kunan: Oh, that's very specific. I like that.

[22:45] Nick Dodani: Okay, ca can you do like your best impersonation of a wolf pup?

[22:48] Nick Dodani: I'm gonna politely pass on that one.

[22:50] Eric Kunan: Okay.

[22:51] Nick Dodani: I have no idea. What type of animal am I?

[22:55] Eric Kunan: Aren't we all tigers tonight?

[22:57] Nick Dodani: Sure.

[22:58] Eric Kunan: Or is that just a big one? Stole that from Broadway Show.

[23:01] Nick Dodani: I feel like just a comment. What's a van or a bird bark energy? That's who I'm gonna be.

[23:08] Eric Kunan: Okay, I like that.

[23:09] Nick Dodani: I'm a meerkat.

[23:12] Eric Kunan: Meerkat.

[23:12] Nick Dodani: I like that.

[23:13] Eric Kunan: I dig that.

[23:14] Unknown speaker: My podcast with the Podcast Network is The Art of Kindness. And so I would love to know for each of you if you have a kindness tip or something you think people should do more of to make the arts a better place.

[23:25] Nick Dodani: Be kind to yourself.

[23:27] Eric Kunan: Bring a friend to see a show.

[23:29] Unknown speaker: Oh, I love that. And you got you guys are here and you're you're gonna have a great time tonight. I'm so excited for you.

[23:35] Unknown speaker: The last question I have is also a silly one, but since you know puppetry is so masterful and beautiful in this show, I'm just stilling it down to a corny weird question, which is what is your favorite puppet in general? If you had like a famous puppet glued to your hand, who would it be?

[23:48] Nick Dodani: It could be a Muppet. Do you know what? I recently went to the Marionette um in Central the like Marionette show in Central Park, and it was so cool.

[23:57] Nick Dodani: And I just think that, like I just think like being a kid and going to Central Park and going to the Marionette show, it's like puppet-esque is amazing.

[24:05] Unknown speaker: That's amazing.

[24:06] Nick Dodani: I think like a cute dog puppet would be nice.

[24:08] Unknown speaker: Cute dog puppet.

[24:10] Nick Dodani: I like that.

[24:10] Unknown speaker: Well, thank you so much. It was great to meet you both, and congratulations. This show is so beautiful.

[24:15] Unknown speaker: Thank you.

[24:16] Unknown speaker: So, as you know, since it's the Broadway Podcast Network, we can't necessarily see you, but we can hear you. So would you both if you want to be a part of it, you're more than welcome. Would you both just introduce yourselves really quickly?

[24:26] Carrie Butler: Sure. Hi, I'm Carrie Butler.

[24:30] Unknown speaker: And we are so pumped to be with both of you. How excited are you to see the show tonight?

[24:34] Carrie Butler: I'm really, really excited. Uh I love theater in London. I feel like they're so inventive. And I saw the puppet, and so I'm so excited to see it.

[24:42] Unknown speaker: The puppet is lit, and for both of you, I would love to know kind of a fun social media question. Who's your favorite puppet of all time? If you had a puppet glue to your hand, what puppet would you pick?

[24:55] Carrie Butler: He's Murray on Sesame Street, so we have to say he's our favorite.

[24:59] Unknown speaker: Nah, that's a good answer. I'll give you that one.

[25:01] Unknown speaker: Another kind of silly question that we're asking people since the show deals with animals. What animal do you feel like you are at heart?

[25:08] Carrie Butler: I'm not really sure.

[25:09] Unknown speaker: Yeah, I think you know.

[25:12] Unknown speaker: Aren't you like a lion or something?

[25:15] Carrie Butler: No.

[25:15] Unknown speaker: No.

[25:16] Unknown speaker: Oh, okay.

[25:17] Carrie Butler: I would say I'm I'm a monkey or a dog.

[25:22] Unknown speaker: I dig that. I feel like I'm a monkey too, like the energy, the vibes.

[25:25] Carrie Butler: Yeah, yeah, that's a good thing.

[25:26] Unknown speaker: Well, as you know, because I emailed you and you're so kind to give a quote to Rob McClure, which will be coming out in a future episode. I would love to know if you each have a kindness tip you could share, something you think people should do to make the world a little bit better.

[25:37] Carrie Butler: Um I would say look for uh people who maybe seem like they're alone. That's what I always tell Sumi. I'm like, check out, see if anybody seems like they don't have a lot of friends, and just try and be their friend.

[25:50] Unknown speaker: That's so sweet. You're such a great mom that she teaches you that.

[25:53] Carrie Butler: Yeah.

[25:54] Unknown speaker: Thank you both so much for stopping. I know it's cold, so I won't keep you, but it was great to see you.