This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Heather Bedor: The 100th Episode is a production of the Broadway Comedy Club of New York.

[0:05] Amber Brzezinski: The program is based on a true story.

[0:10] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:15] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:20] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:25] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:30] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:35] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:40] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:45] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:50] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[0:55] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:00] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:05] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:10] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:15] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:20] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:25] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:30] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:35] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:40] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:45] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:50] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[1:55] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:00] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:05] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:10] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:15] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:18] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:20] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:23] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:26] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:30] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:33] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:34] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:39] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:44] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:50] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:55] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[2:59] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:06] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:11] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:16] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:21] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:24] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:27] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:33] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:36] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:39] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:41] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:43] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:46] Amber Brzezinski: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:48] Heather Bedor: Some characters and events in this program are fictitious.

[3:50] Amber Brzezinski: Others were created from hello, May.

[3:52] Heather Bedor: Characters and events in this program were created from a other character.

[4:25] Amber Brzezinski: They decided no.

[4:28] Heather Bedor: We don't think that's going to really run.

[4:31] Amber Brzezinski: But I loved the poster art for it.

[4:34] Heather Bedor: So I went to Triton.

[4:37] Amber Brzezinski: Back when you could go to Triton.

[4:39] Heather Bedor: I'm going to make this bigger so everyone can enjoy that beautiful artwork.

[4:41] Amber Brzezinski: It's beautiful here.

[4:45] Heather Bedor: And the best part is in the corner here where it says, original cast recording available on Sony Masterworks.

[4:53] Amber Brzezinski: That was a recording that never happened.

[4:56] Heather Bedor: Well, maybe one of these days.

[4:59] Amber Brzezinski: If you're a cast out person, you remember it did get recorded, but it got recorded with Kerry Butler on Ghostlight.

[5:05] Heather Bedor: That makes sense.

[5:07] Amber Brzezinski: Well, you know, it's the 40th anniversary of Little Shop. Again, one of my favorite shows.

[5:12] Heather Bedor: Ellen Green has been touring around doing a film screening.

[5:16] Amber Brzezinski: Actually, it's the 44th anniversary of Little Shop of Horrors.

[5:19] Heather Bedor: No.

[5:22] Amber Brzezinski: When did it open?

[5:24] Heather Bedor: Okay.

[5:25] Amber Brzezinski: The movie came out in 1986.

[5:27] Heather Bedor: The film.

[5:28] Amber Brzezinski: Okay.

[5:31] Heather Bedor: Yes.

[5:32] Amber Brzezinski: I was talking about Ellen Green.

[5:34] Heather Bedor: Who was in the original 44 years ago.

[5:36] Amber Brzezinski: Yes.

[5:37] Heather Bedor: Before I was born.

[5:39] Amber Brzezinski: But not by much.

[5:41] Heather Bedor: But I was talking about Ellen doing her tour.

[5:43] Amber Brzezinski: Not Ellen DeGeneres, but Ellen Green, who's the original Audrey.

[5:47] Heather Bedor: She's been doing this really incredible tour. Very similar to our friends with the Hedwig Tour, where they're doing a film screening with Ellen doing a talkback.

[5:55] Amber Brzezinski: So very cool stuff.

[5:57] Heather Bedor: Love that.

[5:59] Amber Brzezinski: I would pay for that.

[6:01] Heather Bedor: I'm sorry?

[6:03] Amber Brzezinski: I said I would pay for that.

[6:05] Heather Bedor: And for our listeners and viewers this evening, Heather and I were talking last evening about the Hedwig Tour.

[6:11] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah.

[6:12] Heather Bedor: And I thought, oh, people are paying all that money to go see it.

[6:16] Amber Brzezinski: Because John Cameron's there.

[6:18] Heather Bedor: I just saw him in O'Mary.

[6:20] Amber Brzezinski: Not flexing, I'm just saying.

[6:23] Heather Bedor: It's a flex.

[6:25] Amber Brzezinski: But I would absolutely pay that kind of money to go see it with Ellen Green in the room.

[6:29] Heather Bedor: Right.

[6:30] Amber Brzezinski: Wait, Hedwig with Ellen Green? Because that would be kind of interesting.

[6:33] Heather Bedor: Oh, yeah. She can play Phyllis Stein.

[6:36] Amber Brzezinski: The Andrea Martin role.

[6:38] Heather Bedor: That would be great.

[6:41] Amber Brzezinski: So many things I want to do if I had a million dollars.

[6:45] Heather Bedor: Or more.

[6:46] Amber Brzezinski: I would definitely need more.

[6:47] Heather Bedor: But we have so much news to get through before our first special guest arrives.

[6:52] Amber Brzezinski: So do you want to get right into it? Because I know that we have a list of things.

[6:57] Heather Bedor: I have so many songs. I've told you most of them, and I almost feel like I should say, Heather, prioritize for me.

[7:06] Amber Brzezinski: No.

[7:07] Heather Bedor: But I will try to brief.

[7:09] Amber Brzezinski: Okay, from the top of my list, Paranormal Activity began performances on my birthday.

[7:14] Heather Bedor: Yes, sold out performances.

[7:16] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, and they have announced Digital Rush will be available in the TodayTix app beginning at 9 a.m. each performance day.

[7:25] Heather Bedor: Lucky Seat is running a digital lottery.

[7:28] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, we love our friends at Lucky Seat.

[7:30] Heather Bedor: And Same Day Performance box office will have in-person Rush tickets.

[7:36] Amber Brzezinski: So there's all kinds of ways. You have no excuse for not getting to see Paranormal Activity.

[7:41] Heather Bedor: Unless you don't like scary stuff and you want a musical.

[7:44] Amber Brzezinski: Those are the only reasons.

[7:45] Heather Bedor: That's true. But I will say, I was talking to Larry, because Larry is part of the production team, and it is so wonderful and so sold out. And it has been on the top of my list for the fall season. That and Galileo are the top of my list.

[8:01] Amber Brzezinski: So when I come up for Flea Weekend, I know Olivia is going to start chatting about that. But I'm going to be going to see Paranormal Activity come hell or high water, because I don't get scared at horror movies.

[8:14] Heather Bedor: But Paranormal Activity was the first movie in a really long time that gave me the chills.

[8:20] Amber Brzezinski: It was a little spooky.

[8:21] Heather Bedor: And from what I've heard with the illusions and everything from the show, oh, my God, I'm so excited.

[8:26] Amber Brzezinski: The illusions just in the trailer are kind of knockout.

[8:29] Heather Bedor: Oh, yeah. It looks amazing. I'm excited. I kind of feel like it's like the wind from swept away, but so much more.

[8:36] Amber Brzezinski: Mm-hmm.

[8:37] Heather Bedor: And then one year from this very evening.

[8:41] Amber Brzezinski: Who does this? Amazing, by the way.

[8:43] Heather Bedor: Right. I thought that was great timing on the part of their marketing team.

[8:47] Amber Brzezinski: Ten Things I Hate About You.

[8:49] Heather Bedor: Yes.

[8:51] Amber Brzezinski: Lena Dunham wrote the book, and Carly Rae Jepsen said, hey, Lena, I just met you, and this is crazy, but call me maybe. I want to write a musical.

[9:01] Heather Bedor: A musical with you.

[9:02] Amber Brzezinski: And she did.

[9:04] Heather Bedor: Yes.

[9:05] Amber Brzezinski: So Carly Rae Jepsen, that'll be a very interesting score.

[9:09] Heather Bedor: I'm excited. She seems to be taking the Sara Bareilles track, so I'm here for it.

[9:14] Amber Brzezinski: So maybe she'll be in it as well at some point.

[9:17] Heather Bedor: I don't know. A year from now, we will know.

[9:20] Amber Brzezinski: She'll do the pro shot.

[9:22] Heather Bedor: It's going to be really cool. I'm excited for it. Ten Things I Hate About You is one of my favorite movies.

[9:27] Amber Brzezinski: It's the retelling of Taming of the Shrew.

[9:30] Heather Bedor: It was very 90s, early 2000s. It had Heath Ledger in it. I'm freaking here for it. I've been looking forward to that.

[9:35] Amber Brzezinski: Me, by the way. We just created our fan group for it today.

[9:40] Heather Bedor: What did you say, Chris?

[9:41] Amber Brzezinski: And Julia Stiles, right?

[9:42] Heather Bedor: And Julia Stiles, and Larissa Olenek, and every single person you could ever imagine from that time frame, all in one movie.

[9:52] Amber Brzezinski: Julia Stiles had sort of a cottage industry playing annoyed teenage girls.

[9:57] Heather Bedor: Yeah, very true.

[9:58] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was always the nerd.

[10:02] Heather Bedor: Great cast. I love that movie. I'm so excited. One year from today is first preview.

[10:08] Amber Brzezinski: That is how you get a jump on marketing, for sure.

[10:12] Heather Bedor: Now they have to just tell us, like, when does the box office open?

[10:15] Amber Brzezinski: Right.

[10:16] Heather Bedor: How's the rush policy? Can you please tell me how the rush is right now?

[10:19] Amber Brzezinski: Or, you know, who's in it? Because they haven't had any casting yet.

[10:23] Heather Bedor: Not yet. And they don't have a theater yet, but they know it's going to open.

[10:28] Amber Brzezinski: Which means it's probably going to be one of the big theaters.

[10:31] Heather Bedor: They might know something that they just can't say yet.

[10:34] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, I'm sure. Something that's going to close, and we're all going to be very sad, and then they'll go, but we're going in, and we'll still be sad.

[10:41] Heather Bedor: I don't know. I could see it at the Broadway theater.

[10:48] Amber Brzezinski: But it hasn't been written yet.

[10:50] Heather Bedor: How could you see it there?

[10:51] Amber Brzezinski: I'm just saying. It's not like a revival where we know, oh, this show would fit really well into here or there. I'm just trying to think of how the theater layouts are and what's still here.

[11:03] Heather Bedor: Yeah, but we don't know what style of show it is.

[11:05] Amber Brzezinski: That's true. But it'll be really interesting to figure it out.

[11:08] Heather Bedor: Yeah. Did I tell you what I did? Well, I guess I did kind of tell you a little bit about what I did this past weekend in Orlando.

[11:18] Amber Brzezinski: A lot.

[11:19] Heather Bedor: I did a lot. Let's be real.

[11:22] Amber Brzezinski: But I got to go over to Animate Orlando, which is another Comic-Con, because it's Comic-Con season, everybody.

[11:28] Heather Bedor: And if you did not get a chance to check out our Instagram video, I got a few minutes, the lovely Jessica Vosk. So check out that interview talking about shows that are not going anywhere for a long time.

[11:40] Amber Brzezinski: We talked a little bit about Wicked and some new and exciting things coming up, so make sure you check out the Instagram.

[11:46] Heather Bedor: I'm excited to find out what she can't talk about.

[11:49] Amber Brzezinski: There's a lot she can't talk about.

[11:51] Heather Bedor: We've got things coming up, but she can't tell us yet.

[11:54] Amber Brzezinski: Not yet, but she will. Down the road when she's allowed, but there's no NDA sign.

[12:02] Heather Bedor: But yeah, so that's that. And then across the way in the west coast of things, D23 happened this past weekend.

[12:10] Amber Brzezinski: Yes.

[12:11] Heather Bedor: Lovely friend Jim Abbott was over there doing some musical directing stuff.

[12:17] Amber Brzezinski: He composed this beautiful orchestration of the Four Bells for Susan Egan's Disney Legends Lifetime Legacy Awards.

[12:27] Heather Bedor: It was incredible.

[12:29] Amber Brzezinski: Samantha Barks, because they just officially announced the Greatest Showman opening, which we already knew.

[12:37] Amber Brzezinski: Neil Patrick Harris hosted, Darren Criss came in, Skylar Astin came in, and Megan Hilty asked us to please go check them out. They have some incredible music; you'll see their journey and how "The Lost Boys" is such an incredible feat, but it's so perfect for them. My favorite song that they created is called "Haunted." Please go check them out. I'm hoping to be covering at LPR on that day, but we'll keep you guys posted. I love LPR; it's a great venue and super intimate, like Joe's Pub style.

[16:59] Heather Bedor: Oh gosh, so we had to say farewell to "Ragtime." So long, farewell. Yeah, I was really— we talked about this last week. I would really have been hoping they would somehow find a way to transfer it to run at least another year somewhere. I mean, I would say never say never, and maybe "Ragtime" will do what "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" has done, which is a jellicle ball. Today, they announced that there is a closing day commemorative t-shirt that you can pre-order until the end of the month. You're right, and all the details are over at "Cats: The Jellicle Ball."

[17:40] Amber Brzezinski: I can't even think of another transition because we have our first guest! I was hoping that you were gonna have a thing because phone rings, door chimes in the company.

[17:45] Heather Bedor: No, but I do have Chris McNeil. Hi, buddy! How you doing?

[17:55] Chris McNeil: Good! How are you?

[18:00] Heather Bedor: I am good! I'm so glad to have you back on the show, Chris.

[18:05] Chris McNeil: No, no, Chris. I believe you guys have met in the past.

[18:08] Amber Brzezinski: We met once, like many, many, many years ago at Megaplex. As I said, I have his book with you being in Orlando and not being able to hang out. It was a tight schedule, like between trying to squeeze time in with my son.

[18:25] Chris McNeil: I saw that, but you enjoyed the parks and everything.

[18:32] Chris McNeil: We did! Yeah, it was nice. We got to hang out because he's going back to college next month, so I got to spend some time before he did.

[18:43] Chris McNeil: And then the con was wonderful, like House-and-Mouse Expo. People could not have been nicer. Oh, I have already been invited back! Shocking!

[18:54] Amber Brzezinski: Everybody loves you!

[18:59] Chris McNeil: But I saw the video—somebody posted the video that you and Bear sang a song at the end of the big expo.

[19:07] Heather Bedor: Yes, the goodbye song! What was it like?

[19:10] Chris McNeil: Because one of the creators did a panel, and at the end of the panel, somebody asked, "Could we sing the goodbye song?" It was not like, you know, that's what I'm there for. But then she missed it, and she was—Michelle.

[19:27] Chris McNeil: Yeah, it was Michelle. And so I said, "Well, you know, I did this at another con. I did this at a con in Pensacola like three years ago where they were telling everybody, 'Thanks for attending, thanks, goodbye,' and they asked, 'Would you sing the goodbye song?'" I was like, "Sure." So I suggested to her, like, you know, while we're wrapping up, I could sing the goodbye song, and she was just like, "Yeah." So then I yet again sang the goodbye song, and this time she didn't—she was standing right there. I'm happy for her!

[20:00] Heather Bedor: Yeah, you've been doing a lot of cons in Florida and Central Florida too.

[20:05] Chris McNeil: Yeah, January was in Lakeland.

[20:08] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I know that was the last time I actually saw you in person.

[20:13] Chris McNeil: Yeah, and then this just like two weeks ago was in actually on Disney property at Disney Springs, yep, Mouse at Mouse Expo, which was great.

[20:19] Chris McNeil: And yeah, so now I have, because of that, a con in Evansville, Indiana, asked if I could come, so I'm going to Rapture Con.

[20:27] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, cool! The con world seems to really love you.

[20:36] Chris McNeil: It's great! Are you gonna make your way back to a stage near us soon?

[20:40] Chris McNeil: Oh, I don't know. I mean, the closest I'm getting is in February. There's gonna be a formal announcement, but I've been allowed to say the Center for Puppetry Arts, the huge museum in Atlanta, they have named me their puppetry artist for 2027.

[21:04] Chris McNeil: Cool! So from February through May of next year, there's going to be an exhibition of my career, including puppets that I have performed.

[21:11] Amber Brzezinski: That's so cool and so well-deserved! No, seriously!

[21:27] Chris McNeil: Thanks! And that opening weekend is February 5th and 6th, and the cabaret show that I did last year at 54 Below, we're going to do it again that weekend as a fundraiser for the Center.

[21:40] Amber Brzezinski: Please send me information on that so I can send it out to all of our group members and so I can come visit you, Chris, and I'll make a road trip up!

[21:43] Chris McNeil: Right! Chris Noel has a hell of a voice; you really do, but you put on a great show!

[21:56] Chris McNeil: Thank you! But didn't you just—you were like one of the—I don't know what they officially called it—you were like the guest artist for Jim Henson for one of the exhibits recently too, right?

[22:03] Chris McNeil: Oh yeah, the Jim Henson Company, the Jim Henson Creature Shop is now doing tours for the New York shop, and I'm one of the people who give puppetry demonstrations of like what we do with puppets built here.

[22:14] Chris McNeil: So it's either me or sometimes it's Stephanie DiBruzzo, or sometimes it's Tyler Bunch, or sometimes it's Jen Barnhart, and we give puppetry demos. And because we're four different people, it's four different ways of doing it.

[22:30] Amber Brzezinski: Right, so people have to come for different times to get some different experience.

[22:36] Chris McNeil: So yeah, exactly! It's like riding "Gardens of the Galaxy." You never know what song you're going to hear!

[22:45] Amber Brzezinski: You are a Disney boy, and we love it!

[22:51] Chris McNeil: And the tours, but now I've been extended until mid-December. So if you're in the area through mid-December, because I'll be up there for flea weekend, and I want to go check it out.

[23:05] Amber Brzezinski: So I don't know if we'll be giving the tours then, but we'll come find you out.

[23:08] Chris McNeil: Oh, you want me to say? Yeah, it'll be good. It's still gonna be hot though.

[23:16] Chris McNeil: That's fine! Oh yeah, I mean, I gotta say when I was down two weeks ago in Orlando, it wasn't that bad. I mean, it was like, you know, as horrific as I remember it.

[23:29] Amber Brzezinski: So Chris, what did you say today about being outside in Florida?

[23:36] Chris McNeil: I did! I don't know what possessed me to think, "Oh, Florida's gonna be a nice place to live." I left New England for this!

[23:40] Chris McNeil: Well, there was that rude awakening in mid-January when I was down there when you had like the sub-zero of like freezing windchill. I was just like, you know, Jean Jean Jack in that t-shirt, and I'm freezing! It's a windchill! I left windchill! I didn't fly down for more windchill!

[24:06] Amber Brzezinski: But palm trees!

[24:13] Chris McNeil: I mean, yes! I was talking to friends over at Six Ravens, the new restaurant at Disney Springs, and we were talking yesterday about this, of all things, because it's a hundred and fifteen degree real feel, but it's the hottest we remember. But then it was also the coldest that we remember, so I don't know—global warming or something like that?

[24:26] Amber Brzezinski: Something El Niño too, right? El Niño, La Niña, all the fun stuff!

[24:33] Chris McNeil: Well, no, you know we love having you here! I cannot wait to see what happens when you start doing this residency you said in February.

[24:45] Chris McNeil: Well, yeah, it's an exhibition, so I won't be there all the time in the window. Like, just things were for six months, you live in a box!

[24:59] Chris McNeil: Yes, exactly! Well, they did have the guy in LA that lived in the billboard for a couple of days.

[25:07] Chris McNeil: Yes, that's right! Yeah, I'm only there for that opening weekend. I'll be doing...

[25:12] Heather Bedor: Welcome to the 100th episode of The Broadway Fan Club! We’re so excited to celebrate this milestone with all of you.

[25:42] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, it’s been an incredible journey, and we can’t wait to share some of our favorite memories with you.

[26:12] Heather Bedor: I could have sworn I just thought unless they dreamed of it, the puppeteers doing the intro for Bear, like for the opening number.

[26:31] Amber Brzezinski: I saw somebody must have posted it. It was either all the algorithm or somehow you. Okay.

[26:41] Heather Bedor: Um, no, it wasn't me. It was like somebody else. I mean, there's a lot of people who've been posting stuff. There's this great Instagram page called Bear with Friends, and it showed the difference between like the full suit compared to like just the close-up bear, like the one that you travel with.

[26:57] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, so I thought I've seen this. I will find it. I could have sworn like I was like, oh, that's cool, but no, and I guess it wasn't. You know, I feel dumb, but no, I'll send it.

[27:10] Heather Bedor: That's fine. No, there's this really cool video on YouTube. I don't know how many years ago they did it, but they did the goodbye song first in English, and then they showed all the dubbed versions of the goodbye song, which was really cool.

[27:23] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, it was really neat. It was like, oh, okay. Does it surprise you, like the cult following that Bear has? Like at this point in your career, are you still surprised when people...

[27:39] Heather Bedor: Yeah, somebody asked actually at the panel I did at House of Mouse Expo. They asked, like, did you know it was going to have this kind of long-lasting legacy? And I said no, none of us did. We were just having fun. This was our show, and it was that rare opportunity where we got to create these characters. We weren't inheriting them; we weren't trying to do, you know, as close as possible impressions. We actually got to create them, and so we were just having fun.

[28:04] Amber Brzezinski: And then as we progressed with seasons, we would have kids come and visit and realize like, oh yeah, this is great. This is really cool having kids come here. But we had no idea that, you know, decades later, these same kids would grow up and then be introducing their kids to Bear as well.

[28:21] Heather Bedor: As the fact that, you know, I always said to people, it's like you laughed at the screaming hysterical mouse when you were little; now you relate to the screaming hysterical mouse as an adult.

[28:39] Amber Brzezinski: That's true. I miss the Bear in the Big Blue House age group, but I've definitely watched episodes since meeting you and knowing you. Because I watch it as an adult, and I think that it's almost cathartic as an adult to watch children's shows you go back to.

[29:02] Heather Bedor: Yes, Sesame Street was by far like every day all day for me, but you go back and you watch that now or Eureka's Castle, or like you watch all these shows, and you're just like, I understand. Like I don't have kids, but I understand why a parent could sit and watch it with their kid, and it made sense for both of them. And I think that's really special.

[29:39] Amber Brzezinski: Oh yeah, Bear was designed that way. Bear was designed to be a show where kids and their caregiver could sit and watch and then afterwards possibly continue with whatever adventure Bear and his friends had, and either like, you know, doing what they did or talk about what they did. But it was that time together.

[30:02] Heather Bedor: It was also, you know, parents also admitted that it was great because they could actually turn it on and then actually start to like do something else, like go to the bathroom in peace for like five minutes.

[30:16] Amber Brzezinski: Sure, or check on like, you know, lunch in the kitchen, or just sit down and just close their eyes. It was designed for everybody.

[30:30] Heather Bedor: Yeah, it's not like what they have now. It's like some crazy social media YouTube stuff. I don't know, maybe there's hope for Bear to come back one day.

[30:40] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I mean, next year is actually the 30th anniversary.

[30:46] Heather Bedor: Is it really? Yes, congratulations!

[30:52] Amber Brzezinski: Holy Bear, thank you! And next week, I have a meeting with the Muppets to talk about how to possibly commemorate it.

[31:05] Heather Bedor: That's so exciting! Have a birthday party!

[31:09] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, there you go! I'm here! I'll be... I'm here!

[31:14] Heather Bedor: That would be October 20th of next year because we're gonna throw a birthday party.

[31:19] Amber Brzezinski: Done! How do you feel before I let you go? Because I know you're taking so much of your time tonight to hang out with us, so thank you.

[31:27] Heather Bedor: That's okay. How do you feel with the new Muppets attraction at Disney?

[31:34] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, we rode it! It was great! My son and I rode it. It was awesome! We got the song "Born to Be Wild," which is really cool.

[31:46] Heather Bedor: It's the same ride I remember riding when it was Aerosmith, but it's the whole pre-show and all the Easter eggs. That's what you're really standing in line for.

[32:02] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, it's like how Scooter, like to get that movement of him being a puppet, and the fact that they also added the arm rod to the animatronic is genius.

[32:11] Heather Bedor: Oh yeah, it was great because the Muppets are supposed to be irreverent, so of course, they're making fun of themselves. So of course, we're gonna add Scooter's arm rod onto the animatronic. It makes sense.

[32:24] Amber Brzezinski: There was a girl that did a cosplay at D23 this past weekend. Did you see it?

[32:30] Heather Bedor: I saw a lot of them. I'm gonna find this picture as we talk and let Chris talk for a moment because I know that he has so much to say.

[32:36] Amber Brzezinski: I'm actually part of two of the Easter eggs on the line at the Rock and Roller Coaster.

[32:42] Heather Bedor: Wait, how did I miss that?

[32:45] Amber Brzezinski: It's like with Gonzo's stuff. There's this little burnt jumpsuit that's hanging, and that's from the very short-lived "Rob Lake Magic with Special Guests: The Muppets on Broadway," so it's having a longer run than the actual show did.

[32:57] Heather Bedor: Well, yeah, and the other one is...

[33:06] Amber Brzezinski: The other Easter egg is there's this barrel that says, you know, "Fish delivered to Nicky Napoleon and the Emperor Penguins," which is from like the 3D movie. That's actually a callback to a 1987 Saturday morning show called "Little Muppet Monsters" that I got to puppeteer on, and the house band was Nicky Napoleon and his Emperor Penguins.

[33:45] Heather Bedor: I love Nicky Napoleon! Let me just like... There's Sabrina Carpenter's whole special thing, and all of the characters showing up was by far like some of the coolest stuff I've seen in a long time.

[34:03] Amber Brzezinski: Oh yeah, it blows my mind. Hold on, I'm still finding you this picture, but in the interim, you know what? I'm gonna just send it to you directly so you can see.

[34:17] Heather Bedor: Okay.

[34:25] Amber Brzezinski: Because it's ridiculous amazingness. But there's a lot of cosplays that I saw because I'm still seeing all the D23 footage, and some of the costumes were great. Even like the non-Muppet ones, there was this great couple who did the whole Pirates of the Caribbean where he's dunking himself in and out of the well, and she's got the shutters. It was great!

[34:48] Heather Bedor: And there was like a princess that was Jessie and like a prince as Buzz. Yes, very cool!

[35:00] Amber Brzezinski: And then they had the full panel that was like with, you know, Patrick Harris and Skylar Astin and all those guys. That was so much fun to watch.

[35:16] Heather Bedor: All right, I don't know if you've had the pleasure of meeting Mark, but I'm gonna bring him in, and then you can meet Mark.

[35:22] Amber Brzezinski: No, no, Mark! Chris!

[35:29] Heather Bedor: Mark dressed for the occasion! I figured 100th show, you gotta dress up!

[35:36] Amber Brzezinski: And you can wear that for your 100th episode coming up!

[35:44] Heather Bedor: Yeah, it's coming up! I think that you need a Noel McNeil category, so Mark is the creator of Broadway Jeopardy and has this awesome YouTube episode. Was it bi-weekly Fridays?

[35:56] Amber Brzezinski: Yep! So I think that I'm gonna petition to have a Noel McNeil category, and he'll do it! He'll come in and do like the daily double!

[36:05] Heather Bedor: Yeah, the daily double! This is where you go! You just take the question like, "Hey, all right, I think I'm making magic happen here."

[36:16] Amber Brzezinski: There you go! Noel, I love seeing you! I don't want to keep you from your Monday. Thank you!

[36:24] Heather Bedor: Happy 100th anniversary!

[36:29] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you! Yes, I mean, it's a feat in its own. I've been doing the show over two years, which is insane!

[36:36] Heather Bedor: Congratulations!

[36:40] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you! And to a thousand million more episodes, which you'll be on! I want to talk more about this thing starting next year, but I'll ask you more about September a little bit too.

[36:56] Heather Bedor: Yeah, once it's officially announced, I will be spreading the word, so of course!

[37:03] Amber Brzezinski: Oh no, but I'm gonna do the Henson tour thing too!

[37:08] Heather Bedor: Okay, cool! All right, have a good night, everybody! Bye!

[37:16] Amber Brzezinski: Cheers!

[37:22] Heather Bedor: Bye!

[37:36] Mark: Hi, Chris!

[37:44] Chris: Hey, how's it going?

[37:48] Mark: It's going! It's a hundredth episode of fun!

[37:56] Chris: Wow, congratulations!

[38:00] Mark: Thank you! It's been interesting. I think the last time that you were here, we had Amber, and now we've got Chris as our guest co-host. Well, he's more of the permanent co-host at this point.

[38:12] Chris: Until he decides he doesn't want to be!

[38:16] Mark: But now I got the job I've had for 20 years. I did one show; they said, "Will you do the next one?" I said, "Okay." They said, "Can you do the other two this year?"

[37:49] Heather Bedor: I hope it's still all working out because Patreon wrote to me and said, oh, I had a problem with my credit card and they had to reissue it. And they said, but don't worry, we'll transfer all your automatic payments over. And it didn't with Patreon. But they wrote to me and said, at like, 12 o'clock on Wednesday night, or 11 o'clock on Wednesday night, your card was declined and you need to update it. But by then, it had already, you know, by the time I got the email and everything done, it had clicked over to midnight and booted me. So I think it's still there, but well worth it. I encourage everyone to, I mean, at least watch Broadway Jeopardy. It's one of our highlights. And I've told you that. I've petitioned for a Broadway Fan Club category. I have yet to see it. Well, it's, you know, I've taken a few weeks off. I gotta get back into it. Mark was just in the West Coast for several weeks, way too long.

[38:46] Mark: Yes, yes. So once a year, gotta go visit all the family. Well, and your daughter was also performing a pretty big role.

[39:05] Heather Bedor: She performs every year out in California, where I grew up doing theater. So that was fun to see. I mean, it happens. You're a theater family. And I'm going to put pressure on you right now, Mark. You gotta come and start doing some more episodes with us, because we're going to talk about that, you know, amazing brain of yours and showing off a little bit.

[39:27] Mark: Yeah, I'm ready. I'm here. I'm back.

[39:31] Heather Bedor: I'm welcome back. Yeah, you and Chris are like battle of the minds when it comes to like, how much random, like, niche, I can't even think of the word for it, like so specific of a show that like, like Chris was talking about the little shop that never was. Like, there's so many great, it's a great window card with Hunter Foster and Alice Ripley and the original Seymour was going to play Mushnik. Yes, Lee Wilcox. Lee Wilcox. And but it didn't happen because his wife was the director of it, too, I believe, or involved in it somehow. So yeah, he's here somewhere. Yeah. And is that rocket there?

[40:15] Mark: Behind me. My rocket in bunny ears, which have fallen off and now look like wings. It's all right. I I'm in a mysterious location. Out of town. I have a small, small surgery tomorrow, but I'm in a weird dark hotel room, which is Heather keeps trying to compare some like I could never sit down and do an hour on draft the cat.

[40:41] Heather Bedor: Okay, but I can sing it. I just couldn't. I think I think I'm smelling a couple of specialty episodes where like you guys talk and I have you watched Mark's Broadway breakdowns.

[40:53] Mark: Yes, they're they're all you're better than Seth Rudetsky. And I love Seth, but Mark's are better. Yeah, I now that I'm back, I want to work finish up and get editing and film the next breakdown. You know, luckily, you also have a studio space that you can use in a platform to talk about that. So there you go. Just just just saying, I'm doing Greenwillow.

[41:21] Heather Bedor: Oh, it's the Tony Perkins and Frank Lesser. Yes, indeed. See, my brain needs to absorb all this gone. Let's see. Well, I don't want to give away too much now. But it was like give us for people that are tuning in and listening and watching possibly watching and not listening syndicated, which is fine, by the way. Give like a one minute, like a mini, tiny little breakdown just of something.

[41:48] Mark: Let's see. Well, it's it's based on a book by BJ shoot. It's it's a very it's not magical, like there's no real magic in it. But it has that kind of magical quality, sort of like mystical. Yeah, mystical Brigadoonian type feel. But it's about a young man who loves a girl in his town, but his all the men in his family have been cursed with the call to wander. So every get to be a certain age, they will get this call to wander. And even though they have a wife and family, they will walk off and go exploring the world and then come back a few years later to make another kid and then go back out and so doesn't want to get married and ruin this woman he loves life. And then there's two paths. They're not out starting like a new family.

They're just going exploring and coming back or they're like, no, they are I mean, they're they're marrying and like starting a family and then peacing out, abandoning and then like the wife is supposed to wait at home and but do they like create like, do they have like a girl in every port? No, no, it's just the one family. Okay. But it's a very it doesn't have a ton of plot to it. It's the music is really beloved. It's Frank Lesser. It was his only flop. It's the only time he had a co or he brought he was going to do the book. And besides the score, he's gonna do the book himself. And he brought on another guy called Lesser Samuel. So it's Frank Lesser and Lesser Samuels did this. So this show sounds like a Broadway Jeopardy. The answer is Frank Lesser Samuels.

[43:37] Heather Bedor: Exactly. Yeah. So this show was nicknamed the evil of two lessers. I could just sit listen to you and Chris talk because I learned so much because like, growing up, I appreciated theater, but I wasn't in the theater world until like, senior year of high school, I kind of dabbled with it. But I was always on the production side. But I never really got into the history and like, until much later in my life. Well, that makes me sound really old. But, um, you know, I could talk about shows probably within the last 10 to 15 years, much more, but I want to learn all of these really historical shows that they may have been a flop, but they were so influential. Yeah, we're just fun sometimes.

[44:23] Mark: Yeah. Yeah. I think you can also have a whole category of nasty things people called shows.

[44:29] Heather Bedor: Yeah, that is true. I've seen a few of those. Starfish Express. Like an audience of Amoeba style. Or Close a Little Sooner.

[44:42] Mark: Yeah, Close a Little Sooner. Paint Never Dries for Love Never Died.

[44:47] Heather Bedor: Yeah. Really? I mean...

[44:50] Mark: Oh, Old Show Queens in New York can be brutal and hysterical at the same time.

[44:58] Heather Bedor: Is that a window card or a LP for Peace? Is that the show I'm seeing?

[45:03] Mark: That's an LP for Peace.

[45:04] Heather Bedor: Ah, okay. Who else would know? Who else would recognize the Peace guy? Peter Pulisic would, which is why I just read his post about the other version of Peace. And I said, oh my God, I'm going to pull that one out. Peter is a wonderful man and a friend and a mentor and inspiration.

[45:23] Mark: You just know everybody, Mark.

[45:26] Mark: You know, I'm like a virus. I'll just get in. If you're involved in theater, I'll get in there somehow.

[45:33] Heather Bedor: Oh, I don't know if that would be a great way to market yourself as a publicist.

[45:38] Mark: Probably not the best way to do that. Probably not. Probably not.

[45:42] Heather Bedor: No, now I'm just thinking of you as a virus, but you look like coronavirus. But instead of the little balls at the end, you're like Playbills.

[45:50] Mark: There you go. Yeah. Theatrical virus.

[45:54] Heather Bedor: My goodness. Yeah, so Chris has been saying that you guys should be doing coffee any time. So one of these days, I think the three of you should sit down. One of my trips, it'll all line up. And I'll be up there for NAMT again this year. I have a few hours off, and Mark has a few hours off.

[46:11] Mark: Who has a few hours off when they're in Manhattan?

[46:13] Heather Bedor: Well, rarely, because Michael Levine takes most of my time up when I'm up there.

[46:18] Mark: Oh, Michael Levine, I bet. That would be an apartment I'd like to go see sometimes.

[46:24] Heather Bedor: Oh, I just spent six hours a day for two days in a row just helping him work on stuff. And at one point, he said, oh, I have to go play a show. I'm like, I'm sorry, I'll get it. He said, no, stay. Just when you're done, close the two shades, turn off the lights. Don't worry about that. So I have been alone with all of that.

[46:49] Mark: Oh, my goodness.

[46:50] Heather Bedor: Again, I don't know. Michael is the preeminent collector of show sheet music.

[47:00] Mark: Yeah, you were saying he's got a lot.

[47:03] Heather Bedor: He told me a story once. It was Charlie Strauss or Cy Coleman at one point called him up years ago and said, you remember that song I wrote? I can't find my copy. Do you have a copy? He says, why, yes, I do. So composers go to him to get their own.

[47:18] Mark: So he's like the library, like the library of Alexandria.

[47:22] Heather Bedor: But for-

[47:23] Mark: Yes.

[47:23] Heather Bedor: He really is.

[47:24] Mark: Yeah.

[47:25] Heather Bedor: Yeah, I think, I don't know. Chris, that's, well, I guess that's more of like Mark's mecca of like, we're to be left alone for several hours. Me, it's the Broadway Cares closet.

[47:36] Mark: I don't think I would be able to-

[47:38] Heather Bedor: I have gone through some Broadway Cares closets and it's amazing stuff. I have been threatening Fran that I'm going to have to go into that closet sooner rather than later because I was promised a birthday present last year and it didn't happen.

[47:57] Mark: But I'll be up for Flea if you're around.

[48:01] Heather Bedor: Flea is a high holy day for me, so I will-

[48:03] Mark: It's a high holy day for me too.

[48:04] Heather Bedor: We've talked about this. I get in there usually about, I don't like getting there early, but unfortunately, that's what you have to do nowadays if you want to get anything good.

[48:15] Mark: It's just like stage door, you know, back in my day, it wasn't this crazy mob.

[48:23] Heather Bedor: It's gotten a little too much for me. I'm usually out by 11 a.m. and I'm just, I leave.

[48:30] Mark: Yeah, I'll be there pretty much all day unless they get a matinee. Last year, my buddy Ray was able to join and we like ran around the year before he had taken Amber for her first time. But my friend Shauna had gotten me started on it, my god, 22 years ago? Like, that is my Mecca.

[48:53] Heather Bedor: But you are a thousand percent right. Nowadays, because it generally doesn't open up to like 9.30 or 10, people are getting there at like 6 a.m.

[49:06] Mark: Which is insane.

[49:08] Heather Bedor: Yes. I remember a couple of years ago, it had to have been two or three fleas ago. Maybe it was two years ago. The Michael Crawford Foundation was there. But I was helping set up for like Broadway Makerspace and like, I was there early because I was staying right there. And I just wanted to see what they had. And there were all of the other vendors already shopping. And I'm like, it's 7.30 in the morning.

[49:37] Mark: I may have purchased something also, but...

[49:40] Heather Bedor: Be part of the problem, Heather.

[49:42] Mark: No, I know. It was really bad. It was for my mom.

[49:46] Heather Bedor: It was the Phantom Burby and Ken signed.

[49:50] Mark: Yeah.

[49:50] Heather Bedor: Technically, it was for my mom. She has them. But people are lining up like, I don't know if you've seen it recently, Mark, but like people are lining up for like Outsiders and Moulin Rouge. This year, it's going to be Lost Boys. We know it's going to be nuts. They're lining up down and around the block for like two hours.

[50:05] Mark: Yeah, it's insane.

[50:12] Heather Bedor: It was never...

[50:13] Mark: Never like that.

[50:25] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, or like when Wicked would do, I mean, I think they still do a little bit. Wicked would always do the baked goods. It's just a whole different animal now. I remember when it was just bins of dollar stuff like the doll. Oh, yeah. I found my change for peeps zipped bag from Newsies. That was definitely a press gift in one of those boxes. But like I'll be starting. So I've been doing pickups the last couple of years, too. I'll be starting that signup list for our members, but I limit it to like 20 people because I'm going gangbusters like going to each table, but it's so hard. And again, I'm so excited for, you know, how much Broadway Cares is bringing in to be able to help everybody. But I'm looking at, I would do it if I could, but I don't.

[52:52] Chris: The superfans of like Lost Boys, like our members, and we're running a new group right now, Mark. I don't know if you saw the rush line, which is helping people kind of gauge like what time people are getting there for rush at different shows. We have members and other people that are getting to the Palace Theatre at one o'clock in the morning to rush the show.

[53:14] Amber Brzezinski: First up there. It's, yes, but it's not safe.

[53:17] Chris: No, but it's not. But not like when they camped out literally 24 hours at Rent in the winter.

[53:26] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, that's fair. But yeah, that's very true, but I'm scared for Flea because if they're willing to do that for the show. Oh, yeah.

[53:38] Chris: Times, yeah. Flea, it's gonna be the lineup's gonna get there like the day or two before and that's all people are gonna do to get, you know, cool autograph stuff. And I'm excited for that, but also like it becomes like I'm concerned for people's safety. But all like it's just hard and it is very different. Do you remember the year? I don't know if Chris, if you were there that year, they had the upright pianos all over the city.

[54:08] Amber Brzezinski: Mm-hmm. Oh wait, was it there that I played?

[54:12] Chris: Where? And I don't remember.

[54:16] Amber Brzezinski: No, it was Denver. Okay. I had them in Denver when I was there, Mark. What was that? Like six or seven years ago?

[54:24] Chris: Something like that. I thought it was probably at the probably con too.

[54:28] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, but the one at Flea was cool because it was in the middle of Flea. But all you heard is a piano and that was nice.

[54:36] Chris: Mark, is that big like street market still set up out there on Broadway like north of TKTS?

[54:45] Amber Brzezinski: The street market? It was like a big street market taking up all of Broadway or 7th Avenue north of 47th when I was up there a couple of months ago.

[54:52] Chris: Oh, I'm sure it's all that stuff's usually pretty. I mean, there's a lot of permanent sort of booth places now in that Times Square Mall.

[55:05] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, but yeah, are you talking about like the little tiny like stands, Chris? It was, it looked like a fairway. There were kiosks set up on both sides of the street.

[55:18] Chris: Yep. But it wasn't like cool stuff like Flea. It was just no vendors.

[55:23] Amber Brzezinski: Yep. Yeah. No, that was probably just a street fair. Okay, I've been every so often it was in the city. Yeah.

[55:30] Chris: It's okay. Yeah, Flea's good. I'm just looking forward to after Flea closes and everything is sitting out in the street.

[55:39] Amber Brzezinski: That is a crazy time. You go. Do you set like a budget and just go till you filled it or do you have specific things you look for?

[55:49] Chris: I used to save at least a thousand dollars. Well, 'cause I only collect stage-used items. I collect props and costumes. Got to be stage-used. Yeah, and those. And I also used to collect books and window cards there and so I would get amazing pieces. And now, you know, even the small paper pieces are hundred fifty, two hundred dollars. That would normally have been twenty, twenty-five.

[56:20] Amber Brzezinski: It's purging for the good night and good luck. I had a member who had asked me for pickup. It was like the Bud Light squished Bud Light cans. You're charging $25 for a squished Bud Light can?

[56:32] Chris: Yeah, used so.

[56:36] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, I will say I paid $10 for it for a burned candle from Fiddler in 2004.

[56:43] Chris: See, that's a great deal. That is a great deal. I really wanted the candles from Phantom, but people were, and they were like a thousand dollars each. But years ago I bought, I mean granted it was the off-Broadway revival, but I bought one of like the actual Sweeney Todd razors from that off-Broadway production.

[57:01] Amber Brzezinski: Is that the pie shop?

[57:04] Chris: And so I got the razor I want to say for like $50. Like that's like a hero prop.

[57:09] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, collector language for $50. And now that would be like, yeah, I think I think the just a wood cutting board from the last revival.

[57:20] Chris: $1,500.

[57:23] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, it was the cutting board, the thick-ass cutting board that was like the size of a desk and the one that Annalee like would hit every night.

[57:33] Chris: It was a pounds and yeah at that point it was my Sweeney Todd Fleet Street admin. She bought one and one of our friends at the time bought one as well and they were both local but they hauled it down into the subway to do that because they had those and then they had like the elixirs because I picked one of those up for our members. That's one of the most expensive things I've bought in recent years. I've got one of the bottles of elixirs and I got the Pirelli sign.

[58:03] Amber Brzezinski: That's cool.

[58:06] Chris: Yeah, it's just it's amazing. I don't set a budget because I work through my members' budgets. So when it comes to like we'll put the post out and each year it's changed. I've kind of like evolved. The first year was like tell me specific items of what you want. That was impossible to find. So it was like sending money back to a lot of people and here you go. I couldn't find this thing. Last year was like, okay, give me your budget and your top five shows, but people were still like looking for things from eons ago or for playbills and I'm like, there's no way I'm digging through 5,000 playbills to find this one that I know is gonna cost $300. Your budget is 20 bucks. So what I think I'm gonna do this year, I'm gonna create a Google form like I generally do, but what I will do is I'm gonna put the shows in from this past season and upcoming season so that we know what's there and it's gonna be a mystery box style of like, hey, you tell me your budget, I will fill a box for you of your top five shows from this list.

That way people can still have something exciting to look for because I never just go, oh, here's a keychain. I am like digging through stuff and trying to find like the most rare items for them because that's the fun of it. The hunt is the fun part.

[59:31] Amber Brzezinski: I love it. We're talking about Flea so much on September 20 or September 14th Broadway Cares will be coming on to the show to chat more about Flea because it'll be happening a couple weeks after that.

[59:41] Chris: So awesome. Who do you know who's gonna come from Flea?

[59:45] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, we're still waiting. I mean, it might just be Fran because I love Fran, but it could be a whole bunch of people.

[59:53] Chris: Cool. You can come back if you want. I'll be there.

[59:59] Amber Brzezinski: But yeah, I look forward to it. It's, I like Bears is fine, like the poker tournament's fine, Flea is like, I don't know. We were talking about stage-used stuff. Chris, you have like a freaking Broadway Museum in your house.

[1:00:14] Chris: Oh, no, no, no. Mark has the museum. I just have a library.

[1:00:18] Amber Brzezinski: So my library challenges.

[1:00:21] Chris: Library to a cage match of musical theater libraries. I want to, I'll challenge you on musical theater library.

[1:00:28] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, okay. You probably win.

[1:00:33] Chris: It's a new studio space I can play with all the weird shit.

[1:00:44] Amber Brzezinski: There's a reason that these posters are here. They're hiding the stacks of books that I haven't even found a place to put.

[1:00:51] Chris: Good. I just feel like doing this looking at the back reading all them. It's alright after the episode we can just zoom in so you can see all Chris's.

[1:00:58] Amber Brzezinski: I'm gonna ask you both. What are your top five finds, whether it's, you know, a stage-used prop or a book or something that you obtained from a show, musical, play, Broadway, off-Broadway that's currently you're in possession from Flea or just in general? And I mean in general, Chris, you haven't really done Flea, have you?

[1:01:22] Chris: No, I don't have a whole lot of things. I do have some strange and unusual stuff, you know, stuff that probably Mark's like, oh yeah, everybody got that. I have a can of Spam from Spamalot.

[1:01:37] Amber Brzezinski: There were the original run, the original tin of Spam. So I have 20-year-old tin of Spam.

[1:01:43] Chris: I did merch for them a lot the original run. So yeah, I dealt with that Spam.

[1:01:50] Amber Brzezinski: To me probably, and I have...

[1:01:54] Chris: I was familiar.

[1:01:57] Chris: Not from Broadway Jeopardy, but from selling me Spam. I was gifted a lot of really cool stuff earlier this year, a lot, and some of it will be putting up to auction to raise money for Broadway Cares, including a full original cast of Come From Away window card.

[1:02:19] Amber Brzezinski: Whoo, I know.

[1:02:21] Chris: But I was gifted a lot of stuff from Spamalot, the original run. So I have the Excalibur letter opener.

[1:02:31] Amber Brzezinski: All cast gifts by the way, 'cause I'm like that.

[1:02:39] Chris: And the watch. Oh, the watch is nice with the watch case.

[1:02:46] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah. Yep. Alright, so Spamalot. Alright. Well, so Spam, you've seen my wine stem.

[1:02:51] Chris: Yes. Markers for Avenue Q.

[1:02:51] Chris: So I have a new Q. I did the merch for Avenue Q for years. I did the whole national tour too. These were, I think that maybe they...

[1:03:02] Mark: This was a ballot. This was from so when Ziegfeld had his midnight frolics in the early 1900s afterwards. The rich patrons would go up to the rooftop garden for the midnight frolic show. But he didn't want them to have to tire their hands out from clapping or put their drinks down. So we put little knockers he called them on the table and this is one of the actual big felt midnight frolics knockers. Just like Mark and his knockers. There you go.

[1:03:32] Heather Bedor: You've done a Legs Diamond, haven't you?

[1:03:34] Mark: No, my buddy Brendan had already done a Legs Diamond video.

[1:03:37] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, the one he just did about the great theater massacre of '82.

[1:03:41] Mark: I was involved with that. I saw you on there interviewing people and I was like lucky Mark. But also boy that was it was it was a harrowing watch.

[1:03:50] Mark: Yeah, so one of the here's the thing I got at the flea is a piece of the original Helen Hayes theater.

[1:03:56] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, that's cool.

[1:03:57] Mark: It's one of the big giant chunks of metal part of the marquee, the actual part of the marquee.

[1:04:03] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my god.

[1:04:04] Mark: So that's over there. My the headboard of my bed is this part of the set for Avenue Q.

[1:04:09] Amber Brzezinski: Right, I remember that.

[1:04:10] Mark: Not that I've been there. That'd be weird. I've got a chair from David Merrick's office. One of the red chairs because he had everything in his office a very specific color of red because he wanted you to feel you were walking into hell when you had a meeting with him.

[1:04:26] Heather Bedor: Sure.

[1:04:27] Mark: Yeah. What else? What else is around here? I've got a cardboard cutout standee of Lin Manuel Miranda for some reason.

[1:04:34] Amber Brzezinski: Disney Disney.

[1:04:36] Mark: Yeah. The legend.

[1:04:38] Amber Brzezinski: Right.

[1:04:39] Mark: Yeah. That reception was something else. I just finished my Wabun Lego set.

[1:04:45] Amber Brzezinski: Love it.

[1:04:46] Mark: That was all Lego. Yeah. This one. And then they have like an action figure version. And then they just announced it was a plush version.

[1:04:54] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah.

[1:04:55] Mark: I'm going to have to have that one too. I think somebody should cross breed Wabun with Groot.

[1:05:01] Amber Brzezinski: Or Wabun with Audrey too.

[1:05:04] Mark: We can have a whole series.

[1:05:06] Amber Brzezinski: There you go. There's a category. The plants of Broadway.

[1:05:09] Mark: The plants of Broadway.

[1:05:10] Amber Brzezinski: Mark, we're going to have to write a check.

[1:05:12] Mark: I may have had that category already now that I think about it. Somewhere on my computer is a list of all the categories I've had. I'm always like, have I done this before?

[1:05:22] Amber Brzezinski: I know.

[1:05:23] Mark: But at almost your 100th show, 100 shows is going to be 500 categories. Although I know you've repeated a few.

[1:05:30] Amber Brzezinski: I have. Just because there's so many different available questions.

[1:05:34] Mark: Yeah. It's so hard. It's getting harder to think of the questions.

[1:05:38] Amber Brzezinski: It's really hard to think of things to say.

[1:05:41] Mark: Yes, it's very hard to think about those. I call them tidbits. Like little stories.

[1:05:46] Amber Brzezinski: Infotainment.

[1:05:48] Mark: Yeah, it's harder and harder. We'll see. We'll see if the 100th is the final episode.

[1:05:53] Amber Brzezinski: Don't say that because we're on our 100th.

[1:05:55] Mark: Well, yeah. I mean, I still have many because I do every other week. So I've still got a few months until I hit my 100th.

[1:06:02] Amber Brzezinski: Well, there's been times where we skipped a couple of weeks. But, yeah. Let's see. I'm going to go for my top five because I didn't say those yet.

[1:06:10] Mark: Oh, yeah.

[1:06:11] Amber Brzezinski: Because it's all about me, apparently. Weird, talking about stage use, for a show that wasn't very popular, but I love, New York, New York. I honestly didn't even know it was stage use until I bought it because they didn't even tell me.

[1:06:27] Mark: I love Kate Spade and I love the Cheshire Cat, and it's like a neon pink and purple purse. And it was $30 at the opening of Flea. And it's like this huge Kate Spade purse. And I was like, that's cool. They were like, yeah, it was some sort of costuming something. I was like, all right, that's cool. I open it up. It was stage use in the first preview, and then they scrapped the outfit.

[1:06:52] Mark: I was going to say, what in the world outfit would that have been?

[1:06:55] Amber Brzezinski: I have not a clue. I will send you a picture of it later. It is me. Does it have a modern section?

[1:07:02] Mark: No.

[1:07:03] Amber Brzezinski: That's so weird because it's clearly Cheshire Cat.

[1:07:06] Mark: Well, it's hot pink and purple monochrome.

[1:07:09] Amber Brzezinski: I see.

[1:07:10] Mark: It doesn't have a face on it or something.

[1:07:12] Amber Brzezinski: No, no, no.

[1:07:13] Mark: But that would have been really cool.

[1:07:15] Amber Brzezinski: I see.

[1:07:16] Mark: No, no, no. But just those colors. It's like, that's pretty. It's $30 for a Kate Spade bag. That's cool. And I'm like, oh, stage use. The ice bucket that was the opening night gift for Frozen, signed by Casey and, in my mind, just Patty, because it was Frozen fractals all around and it's literally an ice bucket.

[1:07:41] Amber Brzezinski: Nice.

[1:07:42] Mark: I got something from Frozen over here, too.

[1:07:44] Amber Brzezinski: Anyway, sorry. Go ahead.

[1:07:46] Mark: Nice. How dare you? You're fine. It's the pillow that they brought the scepter, the orb, and the thing on during the scene.

[1:07:55] Amber Brzezinski: That's cool.

[1:07:56] Mark: That's super cool. I'm like trying to think. I had a bunch of them in my brain and then they all went away for some reason. The furry Avenue Q book, but the French version.

[1:08:06] Amber Brzezinski: Oh.

[1:08:07] Mark: Yeah, that was Avenue Q.

[1:08:09] Amber Brzezinski: Oui.

[1:08:10] Mark: It was something else.

[1:08:12] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah.

[1:08:13] Mark: Selling that orange fricking fuzzy book was such a pain. That fur would get everywhere.

[1:08:18] Amber Brzezinski: It's still wrapped in plastic. I'm not taking that shit.

[1:08:21] Mark: Good.

[1:08:22] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, yeah. No, no, no. And then, yeah, probably the Phantom Barbie and Ken, but it wasn't stage used. But there were some pictures of the chandelier and it had some of the original, like, confetti and stuff. So that was cute. I don't know. I love the vibe of flea, I think, is the most that I take away from it. But those are probably some of my more favorite items that I can think of.

[1:08:47] Mark: But I don't know. I've talked to your guys as you're off and Mark, I told you you're going to be here for 15 minutes. You've been here for like 40 and I know you've got a family to get to.

[1:09:00] Mark: I do, yeah. The kids don't have school, so they're all.

[1:09:03] Amber Brzezinski: When do they go back?

[1:09:05] Mark: September 10th.

[1:09:06] Amber Brzezinski: Oh my goodness.

[1:09:07] Mark: They're already back to Orlando.

[1:09:09] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, literally. Because New York doesn't get out until the very end of June. Most kids get out, like, May-ish. But, yeah, this year is later. I mean, we do go back later than most because we get out later than most. But, yeah, September 10th is, I feel like, the latest.

[1:09:27] Mark: Gross.

[1:09:28] Amber Brzezinski: We started, yeah. That's, well, good luck with that, buddy.

[1:09:31] Mark: Thanks. Cool. And it's Jeopardy week, too, so I've got to figure something out.

[1:09:36] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, you'll be all right.

[1:09:37] Mark: You'll be fine. But this will not be the last that you're seeing Mark on the show because he's stuck.

[1:09:42] Amber Brzezinski: One of us.

[1:09:43] Mark: One of us.

[1:09:44] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, Monday night, 8 o'clock, easy. No preparation needed, done.

[1:09:49] Mark: I mean, a little bit of preparation.

[1:09:51] Amber Brzezinski: Well, I don't have to script anything out. I don't have to write anything down, right?

[1:09:54] Mark: No, you don't have to write anything down.

[1:09:56] Amber Brzezinski: That's all I care about.

[1:09:58] Mark: Yeah, you're just hanging out.

[1:10:00] Amber Brzezinski: Well, Chris does some writing down. I jot things in my phone. Because I am an OCD lister, so as I read the Broadway news every morning, I jot down things and, like, oh, if we need to, we can talk about this or this or this or this.

[1:10:15] Mark: Chris is on top of it. I freaking love it. Again, I cannot wait to be in the same room with you guys again because...

[1:10:21] Amber Brzezinski: I'm a lister, too.

[1:10:22] Mark: I love it.

[1:10:23] Amber Brzezinski: Well...

[1:10:24] Mark: I fall asleep. I just go through all the best musical winners from every year, then all the best actress winners, and then all the best actor winners. I told you my idea for a side podcast.

[1:10:36] Amber Brzezinski: We're going to have to talk more about that, too.

[1:10:39] Mark: Yeah.

[1:10:40] Amber Brzezinski: Mm-hmm. But thank you for coming and hanging out.

[1:10:43] Mark: Oh, my pleasure.

[1:10:44] Amber Brzezinski: Hang out for a second as we end the show. Hang out in the green room for five seconds, and then we'll talk to you in a little bit. Everyone say, bye, Mark.

[1:10:54] All: Bye, Mark.

[1:10:55] Mark: 100.

[1:10:56] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you. Stand by. Chris, I love it. I'm so glad that we got to hang out and that we got to have Mark in the office.

[1:11:05] Mark: Whee!

[1:11:06] Amber Brzezinski: This new camera I got.

[1:11:08] Mark: Aww.

[1:11:09] Amber Brzezinski: No more confetti. I hear there's applause.

[1:11:12] Mark: I love doing that.

[1:11:13] Amber Brzezinski: But, yeah, I'm so glad that everyone's been hanging out for the show, and there's going to be so much more coming your way, which makes me super excited. If you are wanting to catch up on all previous 99 episodes, obviously you're listening right now, you can go to www.onlybroadwayfans.com. If you want to check out any of our fan groups, we do run over 100 of them, www.thebroadwayfanclub.com. You can also join our Instagram if you want to see these wonderful podcasts live and in color at the B-Way Fan Club.

[1:11:56] Mark: But, Chris, I am so excited that you have jumped on this adventure with me. I'm excited to have Mark back on the show to make my brain explode between the two of you.

[1:12:05] Chris: That's why I said yes. I knew eventually I'd get to talk to Mark.

[1:12:09] Amber Brzezinski: Probably.

[1:12:10] Mark: That's fair.

[1:12:11] Amber Brzezinski: You're fangirling. It's okay. But I want to thank everybody for tuning in, whether you've been listening since the very beginning, as some of our followers have, or if you're just joining us for the first time. Buckle up. You're in for a wild ride. I really appreciate it. Chris, I appreciate you, again, to Noel and for Mark tonight. Thank you for joining us. And, as we always say, when Broadway's dark, we keep the ghost light burning. So we will see you next Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern. Have a great night, everybody.

[1:12:56] All: Bye, everyone.

[1:12:57] Amber Brzezinski: Bye.