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[0:01] Salisha Thomas: Hey there, listeners. Welcome to The Broadway Exclusive. I'm your host for this episode, Salisha Thomas, and I'll be bringing you along to Broadway's biggest events. From opening nights and celebrations to exclusive deep dives. This is your one-of-a-kind red carpet ticket.

[0:24] Salisha Thomas: Hello, what's up? It's me, Salisha, and we are here live with Broadway Podcast Network. This is The Broadway Exclusive here on the red carpet for opening night of TEETH at New World Stages. Y'all, this show is wild. It is so wild, and I cannot wait to introduce you to the cast and creatives. Stay tuned.

[0:43] Will Connolly: My name is Will Connolly. I'm playing Brad O'Keefe.

[0:45] Salisha Thomas: Well, it's so nice to meet you.

[0:49] Will Connolly: Nice to meet you too. I saw the show last night. It is wild.

[0:53] Salisha Thomas: Yeah, it's and congratulations, you are excellent.

[0:56] Will Connolly: Thank you very much. Are you ready for tonight?

[0:58] Will Connolly: I hope so. I sure hope so. Yeah, it's gonna the vibes are good. Everyone's really excited.

[1:01] Salisha Thomas: How would you describe this show in three words?

[1:05] Will Connolly: Oh god. I know. I know. Um violent, funny, and insane.

[1:12] Salisha Thomas: Can you see any reactions from the stage?

[1:14] Will Connolly: I can see a lot of people covered in blood in the first two rows.

[1:18] Salisha Thomas: Really?

[1:18] Will Connolly: Yes, that definitely is visible.

[1:20] Salisha Thomas: Okay, if you could choose anybody from Broadway to go trick-or-treating with, who would it be?

[1:24] Will Connolly: Oh god. Mandy Patinkin.

[1:28] Salisha Thomas: You're incredible.

[1:29] Will Connolly: Thank you. Congratulations on tonight.

[1:31] Will Connolly: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

[1:37] Salisha Thomas: Y'all, I am with Alyse right now. I just saw this show last night.

[1:44] Alyse Alan Louis: Oh my gosh, it was a great night last night. That was wild. That was an electric audience. That made me feel so good. It was really great. I knew where it was gonna end up.

[1:53] Salisha Thomas: Wow. From where it started. How long have you been working on this show?

[1:57] Alyse Alan Louis: I've been working on this show since 2011. I've been part of the development almost the whole time. They started writing it in 2009. And I sang from TEETH at a New Works conference concert at Cap 21 in 2011. Teeth was a duet between Brad and Dawn, and that was my first time singing from the show.

[2:15] Salisha Thomas: Yes. Wait, 2011? That's more than 10 years.

[2:18] Alyse Alan Louis: It's wild.

[2:19] Salisha Thomas: Yes. Were you ever afraid to be a part of like this is a daring show?

[2:24] Alyse Alan Louis: This is exactly the kind of material I want to be a part of. If I could have thought of what I wanted to be a part of in this business when I was 12 years old singing in my mirror, this is exactly it.

[2:36] Salisha Thomas: Your voice is so incredible.

[2:38] Alyse Alan Louis: Thank you. I was sitting there, I was like, work, work. I love to sing the score so much. Anna K. Jacobs wrote this score. She's incredible. Michael wrote the lyrics and co-book, Anna's music and co-book. And they have really talked about me in rooms I'm not in. So I love to say and sing this material. I am like truly in awe.

[2:57] Salisha Thomas: Who are you studying? Are you studying with anybody right now?

[3:00] Alyse Alan Louis: Yes, I'm studying with Amanda Flynn, and Amanda Flynn is the vocal coach also for TEETH as a whole. So it's pretty incredible because I just saw her yesterday for a little tune-up before I came in. Um, it felt kind of full circle for us too.

[3:15] Salisha Thomas: Okay, so I was sitting there last night, not in the first two rows.

[3:18] Alyse Alan Louis: Yes, not in the splash zone.

[3:20] Salisha Thomas: Why they got ponchos on?

[3:22] Alyse Alan Louis: What's about the hell? Some people aren't even wearing ponchos at this point. They like it, they get it on their arms, they get on their face, they love it.

[3:29] Salisha Thomas: Your hair, is that a wig on the stage, or is that yours?

[3:31] Alyse Alan Louis: Yes, it is.

[3:32] Salisha Thomas: It is gorgeous.

[3:33] Alyse Alan Louis: Rob Pickens and Katie Gale did the wigs for this show.

[3:35] Salisha Thomas: And like an eyebrow of that?

[3:37] Alyse Alan Louis: They truly feel that that feels like my own hair. It feels so very the character.

[3:42] Salisha Thomas: So good. Oh my goodness, I love that wig so much.

[3:45] Alyse Alan Louis: She feels like a part of me, Rob Pickens and Katie Gale. It is so beautiful. And we're not giving anything away. Yes. But like you do get it wet for a little bit.

[3:50] Salisha Thomas: And I'm like, I do.

[3:52] Alyse Alan Louis: Absolutely. In the lake.

[3:55] Salisha Thomas: Yes. And your mic okay?

[3:58] Alyse Alan Louis: My packs are in there, yes. And they're totally okay. Like I'm like the actor in me. I'm like, yeah. What about this? Yeah, I'm really lucky. Caitlin, our A2 has them all like safe back there, Palmer and Sound made it possible, along with wigs to have my mic in my head. Um, so I don't need to worry about it.

[4:14] Salisha Thomas: What a bang-up job. I'm so excited for you before I let you go. I know you've got to get a lot tonight. Listen, opening night, I'm excited. If you could pick any Broadway person to go trick-or-treating with, who would it be?

[4:27] Alyse Alan Louis: I pick one of my besties, Sam Pinkleton, who directed O'Marry. So I would definitely pick him. I feel like we would really have a lot of fun too. And the costumes would be. We've seen each other in a lot of costumes these how many years. So definitely it would be him.

[4:41] Salisha Thomas: Thank you for talking tonight.

[4:42] Alyse Alan Louis: Thank you so much. So excellent. Thank you. So excited for you.

[4:45] Salisha Thomas: Oh, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. Congratulations.

[4:48] Jason Gotay: My name is Jason Gotay, and I play Toby in TEETH.

[4:52] Salisha Thomas: Okay, y'all. I've seen him last night when I saw the show. Welcome. Welcome to the madness. How would you describe this show in three words?

[4:59] Jason Gotay: Ooh, hilarious, heartbreaking, terrifying.

[5:02] Salisha Thomas: How long has your journey been with this show?

[5:05] Jason Gotay: About seven years. 2017 was when I worked on this for the first time.

[5:10] Salisha Thomas: Pre-pandemic.

[5:11] Jason Gotay: Oh yeah, way pre-pandemic.

[5:13] Salisha Thomas: When you realized what the show was, were you scared? Were you like, uh, can I invite my parents to this? Like, were you ever like so?

[5:21] Jason Gotay: Was I scared? Yes. I was scared because what I'm required to do in the show is extremely vulnerable and intense, and the show deals with some really heavy things. But you do it so I mean you gotta commit, right? It's like if you're asked to do something insane, you're either gonna do it all the way or you're not gonna do it at all. So the piece really asks every actor in this to commit so fully and to give all of yourself to it.

[5:44] Salisha Thomas: Which you do.

[5:45] Jason Gotay: Thank you, thank you. That's the challenge. That's what I was scared of. But it's that good kind of scare that actors love, you know what I mean? So I was thrilled to be a part of it, and I still love doing it every night.

[5:54] Salisha Thomas: I love that. Okay, so can you see audience reactions from uh yes, and I live for it. Like last night. I just was sitting there like this.

[6:03] Jason Gotay: No, well, no, two people last night in the audience were their jaws were on the floor, and at the end of the show, I'm wearing like my little VR headset. So I can see them, but they don't know that I'm looking, but they don't know that I'm looking at them, you know what I mean?

[6:14] Salisha Thomas: I wanna be a CS.

[6:15] Jason Gotay: Oh, I'm staring right at you, baby. I'm staring right at the jaws on the floor. It's amazing to watch everyone freaking out. It's the best. I mean, that's what you want. People have such visceral reactions to it. It's so fun.

[6:27] Salisha Thomas: I'm so excited for you. And if you could choose anybody from the Broadway industry to go trick-or-treating with, who would it be?

[6:32] Jason Gotay: Oh my gosh, this is such a good question. There's so many people I want to go trick-or-treating with. They could be dead. Who's on um uh Judy Garland?

[6:42] Jason Gotay: Is she even a part of the Broadway community? Yeah, she is the Broadway community. I want to go trick-or-treating with Dorothy, and she could be Dorothy, and I would dress up as her scarecrow, and my heart would just melt all over the floor.

[6:52] Salisha Thomas: Yeah, that's what I want. Thank you for talking. You're awesome. Congratulations.

[6:55] Jason Gotay: Thank you so much.

[6:56] Courtney Bassett: Hi, I'm Courtney Bassett, and I'm in TEETH the Musical.

[7:00] Kira Kennedy: Hello, I am Kira Kennedy, and I'm also in TEETH the Musical.

[7:04] Salisha Thomas: How are you feeling about tonight?

[7:07] Kira Kennedy: Excited, scared, horny, yes, so full of energy, full of happiness, horniness, rageness. Just like a ready. Ready.

[7:19] Andy Karl: I am Andy Karl and I am in TEETH the Musical playing Pastor Bill, Dr. Godfrey, and a few other choice characters.

[7:29] Salisha Thomas: Okay, Andy, this show is crazy, and you are incredible.

[7:34] Andy Karl: Thank you. Thank you. You're incredible. Let's go. Let's go crazy.

[7:37] Andy Karl: I knew when I read the script the first time. This is like maybe a month or two ago. I was like, oh yeah, let's do this. This is crazy.

[7:42] Salisha Thomas: You got into this project only a couple of months ago?

[7:47] Andy Karl: Yeah, yeah. I read the script and then started rehearsals maybe three and a half weeks ago, and here we are, opening night.

[7:54] Salisha Thomas: What? I work fast.

[7:55] Andy Karl: You do. People are like, I've been in here since 11 years.

[7:59] Salisha Thomas: I know, I know. People have been with it. That's the great thing about it, is that there are there's a there's people who are so good at this. Elise Louis, she's right over there. Playing Dawn. She's so good. She carries this show so well on her shoulders. I'm just coming in to like be a little bit crazy.

[8:16] Salisha Thomas: You are so crazy. Can I ask you an odd question that I was not planning on asking you?

[8:19] Andy Karl: Yes.

[8:19] Salisha Thomas: Did you do you have a church background?

[8:22] Andy Karl: I uh let's let's go to church right now. I grew up Episcopalian. Uh, but I also at the New World Stages at stage five was in Altar Boys as Luke OG cast, where we praised, and now I'm doing that in a different way with this character as well.

[8:39] Salisha Thomas: Because you a different way, like the conviction that you bring to this character. I'm like, I feel so many things.

[8:45] Andy Karl: I know I gotta I got some shout-outs from uh the congregation when I started the show the other day. They were like, amen. I was like, hey man.

[8:54] Salisha Thomas: I love uh bring it on. So if you got something to say.

[8:56] Andy Karl: Being the audience or your casting?

[8:58] Salisha Thomas: The audience.

[9:01] Andy Karl: If you want to hear some preaching from me and want a shout out to God, let's go for it.

[9:07] Salisha Thomas: I mean, but honestly though, three words. How would you describe this show?

[9:11] Andy Karl: Wild, crazy, fun.

[9:17] Salisha Thomas: Did anything about the script scare you when you first read it?

[9:23] Andy Karl: Let's just say if you want to see Andy Karl being emasculated and set on fire, you've come to the right show. I'm sure there's some of you out there that want to see this. And uh when I read that, I actually I didn't run away. I ran two.

[9:39] Salisha Thomas: If you could choose anybody in the Broadway community to go trick-or-treating with, alive or dead, who would it be?

[9:46] Andy Karl: I'm gonna throw uh Kristen Chenoweth into a bag and let her just reach out. Like I'll have a bag around. She'll be like, check-a-treat, check-a-treat. Because I used to like do dumbbell lifts with her in a different show, so I can carry around in a little bag.

[10:00] Salisha Thomas: Thank you. Have fun tonight and congratulations.

[10:03] Madison McBride: Hi, my name is Madison McBride, and I'm playing Promise Keeper Girl Kiki.

[10:07] Ren Rivera: Hey everyone, my name is Ren Rivera, and I'm playing Stephanie.

[10:11] Salisha Thomas: How would you describe this show in three words?

[10:15] Madison McBride: I'm gonna say spooky, sexy, and chic.

[10:21] Ren Rivera: I would go intricate.

[10:25] Madison McBride: Can I say jaw-dropping?

[10:26] Ren Rivera: Yeah.

[10:27] Madison McBride: My jaw was on the floor.

[10:32] Ren Rivera: And uh dangerous.

[10:34] Madison McBride: Ooh. Have you invited your family to come?

[10:40] Ren Rivera: I have. My sister and her husband are coming tonight on opening.

[10:44] Madison McBride: So they're in for a treat.

[10:46] Ren Rivera: Oh, yes. I did it one time and I will not do it past that.

[10:51] Madison McBride: And if you could choose any Broadway star, living or dead, to go trick-or-treating with.

[10:56] Ren Rivera: Who would it be?

[10:58] Madison McBride: Oh my gosh. I'm gonna go Julie Andrews on this one because please narrate the whole evening for me, please.

[11:06] Ren Rivera: I'm gonna go Miss OG Josephine Baker.

[11:09] Madison McBride: Oh, because we would be dancing down the streets.

[11:12] Ren Rivera: Oh. And we would get a lot. Oh! Yes, yes, yes.

[11:19] Michael R. Jackson: Hello, my name is Michael R. Jackson. I am so excited to talk to you. My first question for you is, are you afraid of nothing? Oh, I have many fears, but I have to always confront them. That's the only way to deal with them. The things that you put on stage are so daring and also tiptoe on this line. How would you have you always done that? Not always, but I had a lot of teachers along the way who sort of pushed me out of the nest early. So I just sort of kept walking and running into the dark. Who inspires you? I mean, my collaborator Anna K. Jacobs is someone who I'm endlessly, endlessly inspired by. My director, Sarah Benson, my choreographer Raja. This is our third show together. Awesome.

And I learned so much from him. He's a visionary and a genius and a really dear friend. I learned from everyone. Everybody has something to offer, and so I'm always listening and taking notes. The list of shows that you're doing is starting to add up. Like you're starting to do like kind of like a lot of shows. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have a favorite? I know it's like trying to ask what your favorite child is. I love all of my children equally, but I think White Girl in Danger is sort of like my hardest birth and like the one who's needed the most from me. And so she's like the middle child, and the middle child needs a lot of attention. And so she's probably for if I had to name a favorite, she's that's my thing. How would you, the writer, describe this in three words? Big, bad, and bodacious. You are incredible, you were such a joy. Congratulations. Thank you so much. I mean so much. Thank you.

[13:05] Krista Marie Jackson: Hi, my name is Krista Marie Jackson. I am the intimacy director for TEETH. If you could describe this musical in three words, oh hilarious, bloody, I'm thrilling. We'll be right back with the Broadway Exclusive on the red carpet.

[13:23] Raja Feather Kelly: And we're back with the Broadway Exclusive on the red carpet. My name is Raja Feather Kelly, and I'm the choreographer of TEETH the Musical. Woo! I got to see it last night. Oh my god. How would you describe this in three words? Oh, I'm so bad at that. But I don't know. I feel like I've said this before, so I have to come up with new adjectives. I would describe it as like a bait and switch. Can I say bait and switch? Yes. Like a bait and switch. That's like one word, one theme. Insidious. Okay. You know, and it's a riot. That's very spot on. Yeah. What was your inspiration for this show? Oh my well, I feel like each song has its own, like its own character and own inspiration. Yes. Um I also, this morning I was sending Anna.

I was like, Anna, like, just so you know, this was the inspiration for this song. I said I was sending her videos, and one thing I really love is thinking about Fiona Apple and Criminal. Okay. Do you know, have you seen this music video? And Fiona as I'm she's like on this like carpet, just kind of like writhing and just kind of like she's unsure of her body. But Dawn was like And it's Dawn when Dawn is like, I'm so ashamed, but also like so sexy. Yeah, it's that so there's that. She's sexy. Yes. What was your favorite scene to work on? Oh my my favorite scene? Okay, it's actually my favorite scene to work on was Modest is Hottest. I want to get that t-shirt. It's so subtle like all of the Choreo in Modest and Hottest is like about like doing nothing actually.

And so like to like get all of that like sexual tension and then they're like uh they do their things and they like scoot over and they get close and they scoop back like that kind of subtlety and joy takes the wonderful performers that Elise and Jason are but that for me was I love it was so thrilling love that scene and if you could go trick or treating with any Broadway star living or dead who would it be oh my god that is a hard one how come we don't get prepped if I could go trick or treating with any Broadway star. Who would it be? Oh my Bob Fossey would you go down the street like this? Yeah be like trick or treat or trick or treat trick or treat treat treat trick. He w Bob would give me both trick and a treat. This is why we don't give you prep questions. Thank you for this. Congratulations. I'm so excited for you.

[15:52] Anna K. Jacobs: Hi, I'm Anna K. Jacobs, and I am the composer and the co-book writer of TEETH. Okay, congratulations. Thank you, Salisha. Last night. Oh, you did? Yes. I was so gagged. It was literally, I was sitting there thinking, like, in terms of the music. I'm like, oh, can I sing that for an audition? Oh, like, is this gonna go into the Okay? My actual dream is for these songs to start showing up in auditions. I feel like when that happens, I will feel like we have really done our thing well. Listen, it's not every show where I'm sitting there thinking, is this gonna go into the canals of like, okay, this is the newest, biggest like song to audition with. Some of the lyrics are so funny. I love it. We'll be bringing Smut to Ripley Greer on a daily basis.

What was your inspiration for this? For the show? I mean, yeah. So Michael brought the film to me 15 years ago. I was like barely out of graduate school. And I guess in a place where I was really open to what could be a musical, I still am actually. And uh he showed me the film, and I was quite taken by the character of Dawn and her story arc, it being like a super heroine story. The way she finishes is so completely different than how she starts. That's a huge pivot. And as the music person in this collaboration, I was like, well, that screams musical to me. The fact that she would start in this sort of rigid, kind of repressed environment, and then like burst out of that. I just had so many ideas for how we could put that on stage with music.

I think you did an amazing job. And the music is memorable. Like, I keep like, I'm like, Maris is hard. I had so much fun because I think of the score as being quite a genre score as well. And like I'd say Michael and I are very clear on like what type of genre each song is. And then when we got to finally have our orchestrator Chris Cuckoo come on board and our band and to be able to like really flesh that out, we had so much fun with it. You can tell that you had so much fun. Have you worked on other things that are this daring? Um, I would say this is the most daring. Like my parents don't know how to describe it to their friends. Uh I still don't quite know how to describe it to people. I was gonna ask you for three words, how you would like if you could describe this in three words. You know.

[18:10] Salisha Thomas: And that's the end of the interview. Congratulations. Like truly congratulations. You so cute and awesome. I'm like still dying over the riff that you did on the sunset. Let's hop and over here practice it. I'm like, that's the my friend who's with me, created it. That's who created it. Yes. Bubba, bubble. It exists. Okay, y'all. We're here with Jessica Vosk on the red carpet for the TEETH opening night at New World Stages. Do you have any idea what you're about to see? No, I don't because I have not seen the film based on TEETH. I do know sort of what we're dealing with here. That's crazy. I can't wait. I cannot literally wild. I mean, at sunset we had blood. Here, I feel like we're gonna have blah.

You're sitting in the first two rows, they have to wear ponchos. Oh, I only wish. I only oh, I hope they put me in there. Put me in, coach. And if you could choose any Broadway star, alive or dead, to go trick-or-treating with tonight, who would it be? Oh god. I would love to go trick-or-treating with Bette Midler. I really would. I want her to dress as Winifred Sanderson. And I would happily be the Sarah Jessica Parker to her. Shut up. Winifred Sanderson, and just, you know. Children, children. I literally love you. Also, when do you go into the Hell's Kitchen again? Hell's Kitchen December 12th, baby. Holy cannoli. You still have a little bit of time to check out. I do, I do. She's coming up fast. It's gonna, it's gonna be fast. Faster than I thought, but we're gonna, we're gonna try and slay. Y'all, Jessica Vosk, everybody!

[19:44] Eden Espinosa: Hi, I'm Eden Espinosa. Okay, this is me trying to be cool because everybody knows this is my favorite Broadway star. You are so cute. I feel like I saw you on the train one time and I was like, give her her privacy. Next time say hi. That's what the train's for. Is it? I mean saying hi. No one says that. You should say hi. Oh my gosh, you guys. She's just like us. Oh my goodness. 100. I totally love you. And also, happy Halloween. Thanks. You too. Thank you. If you could choose your favorite Broadway star to go trick-or-treating with, who would it be, Eden? I'm gonna choose Alice Ripley. Oh. I'm gonna choose Alice Ripley. Oh. Oh, I love that. She'll throw in the peppermint twist in there because we're gonna get some peppermint trick-or-treating.

Maybe. I will know. I mean, yeah, I think Alice would be a blast. Um, okay, so have you seen TEETH? No. Do you know anything about it? I know, I know what I need to know. Are you how shocked do you think you gonna be? I have no idea what I'm in for, but I'm super excited. There's this is an extraordinary cast, it's an extraordinary creative team. Yes. So I've heard nothing but great things, and um, I can't wait to take a bite out of the show. Do you know where you're sitting? Because the first two rows have to wear ponchos. Well, here's what I walked around the corner, I'm like, what's with this poncho? I don't know where I'm sitting. I don't know. On a scale flash zone. One to ten. How shocked do you think you're gonna be?

11. Hi. Okay, well, we'll see. All right, that's where we're gonna leave it for now. I wish we could check in after. Oh my god, that would be great. But thank you so much. And also, thank you for talking to us. You're awesome. Happy Halloween. Happy Halloween. That's a wrap here on the Red Carpet for TEETH the Musical at New World Stages. I'm Salisha Thomas. This is Broadway Podcast Network, the Broadway Exclusive.

[21:55] Salisha Thomas: Thanks for joining me, Salisha Thomas on the Broadway Exclusive, live from the red carpet. Be sure to follow Broadway Podcast Network on Instagram and TikTok for even more behind the scenes moments, including my hot takes on Red Carpet Fashion. And be sure to listen to my podcast, The Salisha Show at bpn.fm/slash the Salisha Show. And follow me on Instagram at The Salisha Show.