This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:17] Heather Bedor: Alrighty, yay technical difficulties.

[0:20] Amber Brzezinski: I love when that happens.

[0:21] Heather Bedor: I think the world is out to get us today.

[0:24] Amber Brzezinski: World is happy to be a good thing.

[0:28] Heather Bedor: Oh happy day.

[0:32] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, another riling episode.

[0:36] Heather Bedor: I'm so excited.

[0:38] Amber Brzezinski: I'm so tired.

[0:39] Heather Bedor: I would like to wake up now.

[0:40] Amber Brzezinski: I feel like I just am not sleeping.

[0:43] Heather Bedor: I've been having crazy nightmares and I don't know why.

[0:48] Amber Brzezinski: The other night I got shot in the nose.

[0:50] Heather Bedor: Oh well, I don't know anything about that.

[0:54] Amber Brzezinski: A little weird.

[0:55] Heather Bedor: Like just straight through the schnazz, and it's like not a big schnauz.

[0:59] Amber Brzezinski: So you know.

[1:00] Heather Bedor: And like I'm waking up and I'm feeling like I have a whole other life than we just lived.

[1:04] Amber Brzezinski: And like growing up, I've been still hypercent.

[1:09] Heather Bedor: Holy moly today.

[1:11] Amber Brzezinski: Um, I can always tell when Amber's like spicy because she types harder.

[1:17] Heather Bedor: But um maybe I think it's this new laptop too.

[1:22] Amber Brzezinski: I think these are like extra.

[1:24] Heather Bedor: I don't know.

[1:25] Amber Brzezinski: You've got a lot of extra ginger in your hair right now.

[1:27] Heather Bedor: I think you're just spicy.

[1:29] Amber Brzezinski: Um, I just put more purple in it.

[1:32] Heather Bedor: Well, the top looks more like gingery.

[1:36] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, your notch.

[1:38] Heather Bedor: Uh mine is a mess for those of you not watching.

[1:42] Amber Brzezinski: Our hair.

[1:42] Heather Bedor: That's what we're talking about.

[1:43] Amber Brzezinski: Not anything gross and creepy.

[1:45] Heather Bedor: Uh but yeah.

[1:48] Amber Brzezinski: Um, um so growing up, and like I still I'm always fascinated by dreams and like the dream world, and I'm still convinced like when we go into like our dreams, it's like a whole other life.

[1:58] Heather Bedor: Um, call me crazy.

[1:59] Amber Brzezinski: I don't care.

[2:00] Heather Bedor: Like there are specific places I go in my dreams like pretty regularly.

[2:05] Amber Brzezinski: Like I have a mall.

[2:07] Heather Bedor: I'm I don't know why, but I have like a cruise terminal.

[2:12] Amber Brzezinski: Um like I have like an ongoing like group of people, it's very very weird, guys.

[2:19] Heather Bedor: I know it, and I'm not on drugs, so it's very strange.

[2:23] Amber Brzezinski: Anyways, well, happy Monday.

[2:25] Heather Bedor: Um, it's nice to see your face.

[2:27] Amber Brzezinski: I tried to do uh like a little mini episode last week to try to catch you guys up, and Amber was gonna join, and I started it because she wasn't there, and I'm like, well, I'm just gonna pop on, and then I get a text from her going, um I'm in the hospital, and I'm like, I can't come back now because you know one of the besties is in the hospital, that was a bajillion miles away, and don't feel right just sitting and talking to you guys.

[2:54] Heather Bedor: So um, thank you for not dying.

[2:56] Amber Brzezinski: Appreciate that.

[2:57] Heather Bedor: That was a fun time.

[3:01] Amber Brzezinski: It's always fun like being awake and then not um migraines are a bitch, guys.

[3:11] Heather Bedor: So if you suffer from migraines or uh blacking out the pain, we have both been there recently.

[3:17] Amber Brzezinski: It sucks.

[3:18] Heather Bedor: But we're glad that you're okay, and thank you for thank you for not dying.

[3:22] Amber Brzezinski: But um, yeah, it's the Broadway Fan Club Podcast really appreciates you not dying.

[3:27] Heather Bedor: Did my best.

[3:28] Amber Brzezinski: Unlike Beetlejuice, if I die during this show, I don't know how you can do it will continue.

[3:36] Heather Bedor: I really I I was kind of frozen for a second, and then I'm just like, I I can't, I just can't.

[3:43] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, that's you just can't.

[3:44] Heather Bedor: How do you do that?

[3:45] Amber Brzezinski: Like, no, no.

[3:47] Heather Bedor: I would I would feel guilty.

[3:49] Amber Brzezinski: Um, I even have like my sour patch kids that I brought from last week just sitting next to me, and I just realized they were here.

[3:55] Heather Bedor: I'm not gonna eat them.

[3:56] Amber Brzezinski: No.

[3:56] Heather Bedor: Uh we got lots to catch up on.

[4:00] Amber Brzezinski: What I also wanted to mention, we forgot to mention on the episode not last week, but the week before.

[4:08] Heather Bedor: Happy Black History Month.

[4:10] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, yeah.

[4:11] Heather Bedor: We did not mention that.

[4:13] Amber Brzezinski: Um, we have so many amazing um performers of color who are responsible day in for and day out for making our um, you know, theater more inclusive for telling stories that are you know just yeah, historical and part of history, and you know, it's just wonderful.

[4:42] Heather Bedor: And you're not that we shouldn't be celebrating, not that we shouldn't be celebrating every month.

[4:48] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I mean, I think that Broadway and even off Broadway does a really good job of celebrating.

[4:52] Heather Bedor: Um, I know there's been talkback sessions that are specifically for black actors for specific shows.

[4:58] Amber Brzezinski: Little Shop's been doing a lot of it.

[5:00] Heather Bedor: It's been very amazing.

[5:01] Amber Brzezinski: You know what today is on top of besides it's Black History Month.

[5:05] Heather Bedor: You know what today is?

[5:06] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, I do, it's equity stage manager day, and you know what else is today?

[5:14] Heather Bedor: I do.

[5:15] Amber Brzezinski: What is it?

[5:16] Heather Bedor: It's someone's birthday, one of the presidents.

[5:20] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, yeah.

[5:21] Heather Bedor: Besides that, it's coronation day.

[5:25] Amber Brzezinski: Coronation Day, it's coronation day.

[5:27] Heather Bedor: Our gorgeous cast stepping into Six, including Jasmine.

[5:31] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah.

[5:32] Heather Bedor: Oh yes.

[5:33] Amber Brzezinski: Um, I got to see Jazzy um gosh, like a week and a half ago at this point, perform right here in Winter Park, Florida, her original home.

[5:43] Heather Bedor: So it's nice to get a little bit of Broadway.

[5:46] Amber Brzezinski: And the train, the Amtrak train that was coming through, um, literally, she did Heart of Stone.

[5:52] Heather Bedor: Um, and as soon as she started it, the train like stopped and ran to the whole time.

[5:52] Amber Brzezinski: The whole time.

[6:02] Heather Bedor: It wasn't there the rest of the time.

[6:03] Amber Brzezinski: It was just there.

[6:04] Heather Bedor: But she's got some pipes, and I'm excited um to see her back.

[6:08] Amber Brzezinski: Um with the rest of the queens.

[6:11] Heather Bedor: Oh yeah, for sure.

[6:13] Amber Brzezinski: But it'll be uh it'll be good to have everyone back on stage and uh get the get the queendom rocking and rolling, as they say.

[6:23] Heather Bedor: Absolutely, that'll be very exciting.

[6:26] Amber Brzezinski: You know, it's it's it's uh you and I noticed this the last couple of years too.

[6:31] Heather Bedor: You have like the exciting part of the top of the season when everyone's back from like summer break, and we're like, yeah, it's a new season, blah blah blah.

[6:39] Amber Brzezinski: Here's all these great shows, and then we're like, there's like five shows, and then we go, um, okay, so what's next?

[6:51] Heather Bedor: And then like, okay, we gotta get to like March because then there's like 1800 more shows opening up because they all want to get right in right before the Tonys um, so it's been wild.

[7:05] Amber Brzezinski: Um even when I was in the city, um, I had no idea what I was gonna do because I'm like, I've seen every show.

[7:13] Heather Bedor: I'm very fortunate.

[7:14] Amber Brzezinski: Like one of those times, yeah.

[7:16] Heather Bedor: Yeah, and um, I know that our members, like some of our members are like team like how I play, and others are like absolutely not.

[7:25] Amber Brzezinski: Um they I have very rarely ever purchased a ticket to a show before I go to New York, um, or even like while I'm there, I generally make the decision like that day, um, unless it's a special event, um, i.e. going to see the Rescues do the music from The Lost Boys at Joe's Pub.

[7:51] Heather Bedor: Um like a week ago, and I just I feel like it was 5,000 years ago, and I'll talk about that more.

[7:58] Amber Brzezinski: But like I will go and grab sort of that ticket I purchased ahead of time, it was really reasonably priced, and it was my main goal for going up for New York this visit.

[8:09] Heather Bedor: Um, but I also wanted to go see John Cameron Mitchell because he had just stepped into O'Marry with Sima Lou.

[8:15] Amber Brzezinski: Um, our wonderful member Olivia, who's all over the comment section right now, uh, was kind enough to rush for me.

[8:21] Heather Bedor: So I had um a great seat.

[8:25] Amber Brzezinski: Can I tell you?

[8:26] Heather Bedor: And I always save us, Amber.

[8:29] Amber Brzezinski: Um, and like you've you've been there with me with a lot of shows too.

[8:33] Heather Bedor: It doesn't cost anything to be kind, and that's kind of like my MO, right?

[8:38] Amber Brzezinski: Yes.

[8:39] Heather Bedor: So can I tell you what happened when I was over at O'Marry?

[8:43] Amber Brzezinski: That I was like, and this is why we always want to make sure we're nice to people.

[8:46] Heather Bedor: Oh, are you all right?

[8:48] Amber Brzezinski: Oh yeah.

[8:48] Heather Bedor: Sorry, you know, the thing where your ear gets like burning hot and itchy.

[8:53] Amber Brzezinski: That's happening.

[8:54] Heather Bedor: I mean somebody's nice talking to you about you.

[8:56] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I know.

[8:57] Heather Bedor: It does, it really does.

[8:58] Amber Brzezinski: When somebody you're burnt, your ears are burning, ringing, burning all of it.

[9:01] Heather Bedor: My ears are burning.

[9:04] Amber Brzezinski: So Olivia was super sweet and had rushed and the seat was like the farthest seat like right next to where the stage door would be like all the way house left.

[9:16] Heather Bedor: Which for some people is fine.

[9:18] Amber Brzezinski: I've seen the show once before and I was very fortunate too and I'm like okay I'm gonna miss the couch a little bit.

[9:23] Heather Bedor: That's fine.

[9:24] Amber Brzezinski: But then when I sat down my neck and my back were not having it um like from my car accident I herniated all of my discs um so it was like ugh plus it was like negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit with the wind chill so it was freaking cold.

[9:42] Heather Bedor: Amber had recommended these like electronic hand warmers and they were amazing but guys it was so cold I couldn't feel that so um I went over into O'Mary and I met one of the house managers well new to me and she was super sweet.

[9:59] Amber Brzezinski: She's like okay well if that doesn't work like we'll get you into um like one of the like individual chairs.

[10:05] Heather Bedor: So to Mary if you're ever they have um an ADA section that you can get and it's pretty much like a more comfortable folding chair that's in the back of the mess.

[10:14] Amber Brzezinski: Fine.

[10:15] Heather Bedor: Anything over just like having to turn my neck in a weird position totally fine.

[10:19] Amber Brzezinski: So I went up and I was like yeah actually that would be great she goes actually I have a seat that's open and it was a sold out house so it must have been something I said okay thank you so much and it was almost exactly where my last seat was.

[10:32] Heather Bedor: It was like the right center the mess, it was right side of the mess um, almost on the aisle.

[10:38] Amber Brzezinski: And I was like, Oh, that's this is great.

[10:40] Heather Bedor: I can see down, it's it'll just be great.

[10:42] Amber Brzezinski: And I get myself situated, and like five minutes later, this couple comes over with the Usher, and they're like a little bit frustrated.

[10:51] Heather Bedor: They definitely don't speak English as a first language, but they're super sweet.

[10:55] Amber Brzezinski: And they're like, What do you mean our seats aren't together?

[10:57] Heather Bedor: So the husband's seat would have been next to me, and the wife's seat was like from what I thought, just across the aisle, like one over, so they'd still be separated.

[11:07] Amber Brzezinski: And like Amber, you and I are the same way.

[11:09] Heather Bedor: Like, we're like, Well, we're not gonna talk during the show, so like in a mission, it's not a big deal.

[11:14] Amber Brzezinski: Just like Olivia and I went over to Little Shop and we just talked into remission.

[11:17] Heather Bedor: Yeah, so I was like, whatever, but it was an older couple, and I just didn't really separate people.

[11:24] Amber Brzezinski: They clearly made it.

[11:25] Heather Bedor: Sorry, my nose had just snaked.

[11:27] Amber Brzezinski: They clearly were like, What does that mean?

[11:29] Heather Bedor: Does that mean you're gonna kiss a fool or I'm getting a fight?

[11:33] Amber Brzezinski: Get in a fight, kiss a fool or get into a fight, I think.

[11:37] Heather Bedor: Means I have allergies, huh?

[11:40] Amber Brzezinski: No, I'm Googling it.

[11:42] Heather Bedor: Google it.

[11:43] Amber Brzezinski: Um, but I will I tell tell this crazy tale.

[11:46] Heather Bedor: So um, I was like, Yeah, if you guys want to sit together, I've not a problem.

[11:51] Amber Brzezinski: Like, she wasn't in the nosebleeds, she wasn't like, you know, on top of the stage, and they were so nice.

[11:59] Heather Bedor: We're like, Oh my god, are you sure?

[12:00] Amber Brzezinski: Are you okay?

[12:01] Heather Bedor: Are you sure are you by yourself?

[12:02] Amber Brzezinski: Like, oh, can we get you?

[12:03] Heather Bedor: And I was like, No, no, no.

[12:04] Amber Brzezinski: I was like, I just want you guys to sit next to each other.

[12:06] Heather Bedor: You've never seen the show.

[12:08] Amber Brzezinski: Absolutely, just sit down and hang out, not a big deal.

[12:11] Heather Bedor: And I look at the usher, I said, Is the seat just right here?

[12:14] Amber Brzezinski: And he was like, No, it's like five over, guys.

[12:17] Heather Bedor: Guys, it was center, it was the center of the mess.

[12:19] Amber Brzezinski: It was like the most perfect seat for the entire show.

[12:23] Heather Bedor: And even and I was like, I I would have been fine with any of the seats up there.

[12:28] Amber Brzezinski: Just was happy to be able to help people sit next to each other.

[12:31] Heather Bedor: So, like, don't be dicks.

[12:34] Amber Brzezinski: If somebody is sitting there, like, and you could if you have the capability of doing something, do it.

[12:40] Heather Bedor: You never know, you don't do it to get something out of it.

[12:42] Amber Brzezinski: I certainly wasn't.

[12:43] Heather Bedor: I was just happy to try to help people.

[12:46] Amber Brzezinski: Confirmed, get into a fight or kiss a fool.

[12:49] Heather Bedor: So watch out.

[12:51] Amber Brzezinski: I mean, I constantly feel like I'm fighting people.

[12:54] Heather Bedor: Um, yeah, and the last person I kissed is not a fool.

[12:58] Amber Brzezinski: So um so watch it back.

[13:05] Heather Bedor: Well, um, there's all sorts of fun stuff happening in Heathertown. Uh so yeah, so that was Saturday, and then um I froze my ass off in the present. Um, but I was very happy to be staying over at my old school favorite, which is the Renaissance Times Square, but they've completely renovated. So gone are the days of the naked bodies and the crossroads of the world and the um sperm lamps. Anybody had ever been into the Renaissance Times Square, they know exactly what I'm talking about. That's what they were. Um but stayed there for the night. It was great. Um, and then went off on an adventure the next day. Um, so I got to go hang out with our friend Kendra. Um, and we got to talk all sorts of fun, stranger things things, and um, we went to DD Soup Dumbling because of course we did.

Um, and they honestly, like, nothing sounds better on like a frozen cold day than a soup dumping. Oh my god. And it was great because that was there Sunday if she had never been there or had a soup dumpling, so had a teacher how to eat a soup dumpling, and that was super funny. Um but Monday, um Tuesday for lunch. I actually brought Alan, our friend from the network, um, who had never been a DD's either, so it was nice, but yeah, so um Sunday kind of ran around a little bit. Um, and then I got to meet up with Olivia because it was Super Bowl Sunday, and I'm like, yeah, I don't really care about the Seahawks, and I hate the Patriots.

[14:50] Amber Brzezinski: So um, and I did not.

[14:53] Heather Bedor: You had a Super Bowl party at your house.

[14:57] Amber Brzezinski: I had a Super Bowl party at my home.

[15:00] Heather Bedor: Yeah, that's going to a Super Bowl party or attending your own. Um I did not really watch much of the Super Bowl because I was too busy like putting things in the oven and taking them out of the oven and then serving them and then cleaning the dishes and then you know, doing the host host early. All I cared about was Green Day, but the marquee had in the lounge. Um, they had like chicken wings and stuff, and yeah, so Olivia scarfed down a bunch of different things, totally fine. Um, and I was able to use uh thank you very much, Amber. Uh I got to use your past data ticket from nearly two years ago to go back over to Little Shop. Um, and then we got Olivia a ticket uh through TKTS, and the tickets were great, and we had a good time. And holy shit, Andrew Durand as Orin. Y'all, I'm gonna y'all this. Like, this is a y'all moment here. Andrew Durand as Orin Scrivello, like the dirtiest, perviest orn I've ever seen, and it was freaking perfect.

[16:06] Amber Brzezinski: What you do? You're so quiet tonight, Amber.

[16:09] Heather Bedor: I'm just sharing.

[16:11] Amber Brzezinski: Sharing. So you guys always wonder why I ramble the first like 15 minutes of the show. It's because it's Casey is not here. Amber will share to all of our groups. That way you guys get the notification. But if you want to constantly get the notification every Monday when we go live, make sure you go to uh one of three places. You can go to YouTube at the Broadway fan club, then make sure you set the alert for it. You can also go to our Facebook page, or you can go directly to our episodes list through the Broadway Podcast Network, which is www.onlybroadwayfans.com. And every single time I tell people that link, they love it. Um so you can check out all of our past episodes as well, but you can turn on notifications for the network so you can find out exactly when we're going live and when new episodes are up. Again, it is www.onlybroadwayfans.com.

[17:05] Heather Bedor: So uh I wore my only Broadway fan shirt yesterday into Disney. Um, like, and I didn't even think about it because it looks like the OnlyFans logo. No one questioned it. It was great.

[17:18] Amber Brzezinski: That's good.

[17:19] Heather Bedor: Yeah, mm-hmm. Uh and then um, should I talk about Monday, Amber?

[17:26] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, for sure.

[17:28] Heather Bedor: So um I had like this out of body experience going to Joe's pub. I really truly did. Um, the episodes or the episodes, the videos. Um, I'm still editing to make them perfect uh to go onto our YouTube channel. Um Joe's Pub, very intimate. The rescues, freaking incredible. Gabe the piano player, amazing. Like they're all incredible. If you've never listened to them, listen to them. But they played so many songs from The Lost Boys, and guess what? Patrick Wilson was there. James was there. Like all the people, all the lead producers were there. Uh Michael Arden was there. We had the entire freaking cast was there. Um, and I say James, like you guys know who I'm talking about, Carpanello. He is my favorite orn of all time. I think Amber's too, right?

[18:26] Amber Brzezinski: He's definitely up there.

[18:28] Heather Bedor: He's definitely up there. Yeah. Um, but he is lead producing for the first time with Patrick Wilson and Marcus Chait. So um, and first off, I had to say, then they know this. Very good looking guys, but also very smart business-wise. And like they know their shit. And this Lost Boys thing, guys, it's gonna freaking explode. Holy crap. Um, we know some of the cast, and um, you know, you guys know of Ali. He was in The Who's Tommy, and just phenomenal. But oh my god, seeing them perform live with the rescues was mind-blowing. And the fact that we could record videos, I just sat there like this shaking and like crying almost because it just sounded so beautiful and ethereal, but like a rock star, it was everything I could have wanted, and then some.

Um, I would just in head to toe, Lost Boys go in my spirit jersey. I got my Christmas present that Amber gave me, my Lost Boys Chinese takeout box purse that everybody was like, Oh my god, that is the coolest thing ever. And Kendra had brought me my um uh window card from New York Comic-Con. So um, yeah, oh, it was incredible. Um, and I got to meet so many people, but Amber, while I was sitting there, I saw this like flowy, like cool, long blondish hairstyle in the middle of the room, and I was like, Oh, Stark's here. So Stark Sands, of course, we love him, and he promises he'll be on the podcast when he takes a moment to step and not be busy, which we know that'll never happen because he is always so damn busy, and we got to see Shoshana. So it was incredible. Um, I cannot wait for you guys to see these videos because really I left, and I'm not gonna say it was facetiously, I left almost a changed woman. Like being in it's very rare.

[20:28] Heather Bedor: Okay, it's gonna sound really bad. Nobody please nobody judge me. It's very rare that a fandom I have grown up with, and I mean grown up with. I think when I saw the Lost Boys the movie, I was 14, 13, and it was on like a cable channel. And I'll tell you how I watched Amber. I don't think I've ever told you the story, have I?

[20:49] Amber Brzezinski: I don't think so.

[20:50] Heather Bedor: So I was in marching band, and we were traveling to Gatlinburg, Tennessee from Florida, from South Florida, and um I was a flautist, I played the flute, and so it's hanging out with my best friend who also played the flute because we were so cool, and like our best friends in the band were the percussionists, because of course they were. So it was our friends Walter and Colin. And for some reason, at this random hotel in Georgia, like not like Bougie Hotel, okay? So it was like little rinky dink, like hole in the wall place, but had a cool pool, and don't ask me why I decided to jump in in a bathing suit in 10 degree weather. Polar plunge. Polar plunge. Polar plunge before the polar plunge is a thing, or that we knew about it.

Um like the shop rounds, nor of a school check to see what rooms were adjoining rooms. Somehow, in all of the rooms that we had of like 130 people for the band, me and Liz's room adjoined with Walton's and Colin's room. Perfect. Yeah. So we just opened the door and we all just stood stood around. We sat around this like guys who were talking the 90s, like a 25-inch TV watching The Lost Boys. And it was like my gateway drug for anything vampires. So I love it. And you can tell me nothing is different. At MegaCon in Orlando this year, they're having Lost Boys like reunion, and you better believe that I applied to like do whatever I can with it. Um so not only is it like one of my oldest fandoms, predecessing like Phantom, I know, shocking, but now it's coming to Broadway.

And both Patrick, actually Patrick and James and Marcus all asked me the same question. Are you a fan of the movie or are you looking forward to it coming to Broadway? And I'm like, yeah, yes. Yes, you're uh proverbally bringing new life to it, even though it's vampires. Um, you're you're really putting something new in there. You're bringing in this gorgeous music, the rescues or this like underground band, and like I think they're gonna be the next muse because Stephanie Meyer, another you know, vampire girl who did Twilight, brought Muse in because it was a band that she really liked. Well, here you have Michael Arden bringing in the rescues, and like you can go on their social media now, they're starting to get their numbers climbing.

But he was like, Hey, by the way, um, you want to like write the music for this little show called The Lost Voice, guys, it's gonna be incredible, and I will stop gushing about it, but I just can't, but I just can't, so yeah, that's what I did. That's where I'm at with life. Um I mean, honestly, it it's been years in the making, so like four years since they I think officially time to like live in it, you know.

[21:24] Amber Brzezinski: Oh yeah.

[21:24] Heather Bedor: So it was like someone on like a mountain like 20,000 yards away, went like last boys, and you were like, I'm on it, I'm on it.

[24:15] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, I'm on it. Um, but vampires are like having a moment. Can I say this?

[24:20] Heather Bedor: Yeah, vampires are having a moment, but you know how like um talking about this with Jim the other night to Abbott because of course, and I was like, you know, I love vampires. Vampires have at always, and even Larry, vampires have never done good on Broadway, never. Look at the drama that's going on with Dracula, even with Cynthia Erivo. Right. What do you think about that?

[24:47] Amber Brzezinski: Ah.

[24:54] Heather Bedor: Well.

[24:57] Amber Brzezinski: Yes.

[25:00] Heather Bedor: Okay.

[25:01] Amber Brzezinski: Okay.

[25:02] Heather Bedor: So. Do you want to tell the people what we're talking about?

[25:06] Amber Brzezinski: So Cynthia Erivo is doing something similar to what Sarah Snook did in the US, which is a one um one person show that is all of the parts being played by one individual actor.

[25:26] Heather Bedor: So Cynthia Erivo is playing all of the parts in a play of Dracula. People are attending it. The show is in previews right now. And people attending are upset because there are several, not one, not two, several. Several screen prompters with the lines being fed to Cynthia. So Cynthia is not completely off book. Well, and we don't know if it's going to be like this for the entire production, where that's intended to be her to have focal points.

[26:09] Amber Brzezinski: Um, or if she's really just not off book. That's a lot yet. That's a lot. Yes, yet. Right. That's a lot. Holy crap. So I have a couple of thoughts and feelings on it.

[26:23] Heather Bedor: Okay, tell me, because I'm here for it.

[26:27] Amber Brzezinski: I feel like when you get a ticket to a preview performance, there are risks that you are taking, and you are purposely almost when you go try to summarize this for when you go into a preview, you're going with the expectation knowing that they're not all the way done and ready to do the full production. So you're going at the production is not completely finished. There is a silent agreement between audience member and show that the production is not at its completed level.

[27:09] Heather Bedor: Right. I guess that is what I was trying to do.

[27:11] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah. So like when things aren't frozen, they're not locked in, lines aren't set, like everything is still kind of in flux. Like, how does the audience react to this show?

[27:20] Heather Bedor: Oh, it's great. They love it.

[27:21] Amber Brzezinski: Okay, great. How do they react to this?

[27:23] Heather Bedor: The audience hated it, scrapped. Um, you know, how does this set piece work? Great, fantastic. How does this work like and there's still it's like a trial period, but I love it because you kind of get that almost like a behind the scenes perspective of like so like I saw Frozen in previews, but I also saw Frozen regularly, and I saw it in toured, don't judge me. Um Beetlejuice.

[27:49] Amber Brzezinski: I love going for a good preview show because I also love to compare it afterwards to be like, what was the lima they did? Oh, yeah, that's right. I know Beetlejuice changed a lot, but yeah, so go ahead with your continuation.

[28:03] Heather Bedor: You took your water, I'm gonna have my water break.

[28:06] Amber Brzezinski: So I think that if this is simply something that is happening in the beginning of the preview performances to help the transition to get the show into a more cohesive piece. Fine. However, if this continues to happen when the show is no longer in previews, I do think that is a little unacceptable.

[28:47] Heather Bedor: Only because the show was not marketed as a show where Cynthia Erivo is reading off.

[28:55] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, this is not Dracula as read by Cynthia Erivo. Correct. And I don't know if it's that she has been doing Wicked for what, like four years. Yeah, right. She looks great for her age. Uh, but I don't know if it's that you go into that world of film after being on stage for so long, and you kind of become used to preparing your lines for a scene or you know, getting to read something and then immediately going on to it or hiding something. It's not live theater, it's very different.

[29:29] Heather Bedor: Um, to kind of shift for a second and kind of bring home this point to um Joshua Bassett, who if you guys ever watched High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney Plus, um, he played Ricky, he's great. He's the new Seymour in Little Shop.

[29:46] Amber Brzezinski: Well, newer Seymour before our announcement. Um, he's very much a TV and movie guy. He's extremely talented when it comes to dance moves and his physicality, and was freaking all over the stage for Little Shop and like very lively, and you kind of wanted to watch him do it, and he's so sweet in real life. But he is not a stage performer.

[30:11] Heather Bedor: He talks very quietly.

[30:13] Amber Brzezinski: He's not. He doesn't project very loudly.

[30:16] Heather Bedor: He's not projecting.

[30:18] Amber Brzezinski: He's speaking like he is mic'd up and you can hear him through your TV. Um, I was sitting very fortunately, I was sitting in the second row for Little Shop to the point where I was studying Audrey II and texting Neil.

[30:34] Heather Bedor: No Neil, geez, Noel McNeil in the middle of the show going, okay, I'm watching this very specific thing. I was in heaven.

[30:41] Amber Brzezinski: Um what? Uh oh, uh also heard and I did see a tweet that Joy is looking very voluptuous in that show as well.

[30:58] Heather Bedor: Joy, you would have been a very happy girl.

[31:01] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah. She also someone tweeted like here for Little Shop, staying for Joy's boobs, and Joy like tweeted back like why thank you, Soma. She I was very proud of how the girls were hitched up.

[31:13] Heather Bedor: Yeah.

[31:15] Amber Brzezinski: Um, but something I will say with Joy is she is legitimately crying, crying during "Summer That's Green." And I'm something that Joy Woods will forever be is giving her life up there every night and day on that stage.

[31:37] Heather Bedor: I sat there no matter what. Well, the last time that you and I saw Joy, she was taking her clothes off for money.

[31:43] Amber Brzezinski: Right. Right. Yeah. Uh so you know.

[31:45] Heather Bedor: And again, giving her life, like crying, sobbing for her mother's affection.

[31:54] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah. I'm just super excited for what's coming next for her.

[32:00] Heather Bedor: Which is do you want to make the announcement or should I?

[32:04] Amber Brzezinski: Go for it.

[32:05] Heather Bedor: No, you do it.

[32:06] Amber Brzezinski: You've brought it there. Say it.

[32:08] Heather Bedor: No, you do it.

[32:09] Amber Brzezinski: You do it.

[32:11] Heather Bedor: I've been talking too much.

[32:17] Amber Brzezinski: What?

[32:18] Heather Bedor: Galileo.

[32:20] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, it is. It's gonna be Galileo, guys. I'll figure out go, go.

[32:25] Heather Bedor: Okay, sorry. I'm very, very excited for this. Also Danny Strong. I didn't think I could be like super excited about Galileo, but like the more excited I hear about Galileo.

[32:36] Amber Brzezinski: Dude, it's Raoul as far as the copy.

[32:39] Heather Bedor: Well, that's what I'm saying. Like the more I hear about it, like the more I'm like, damn it, I'm really into this. But hey guys, we have a group for that.

[32:48] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, we sure do.

[32:51] Heather Bedor: Um, I am so excited. Plus Danny Strong and I really like Danny's writing.

[32:56] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, we do.

[32:58] Heather Bedor: Um, so it'll be good for sure. And then the original score is gonna be by Zoe Sarnak, who did The Lonely Few and Empire Records, which my god, if Empire Records doesn't come on to the Broadway stage soon, I'm going to cry.

[33:10] Amber Brzezinski: Um, as I need to clear my throat. Oh, going back to the vampire thing, uh, I think Joy Woods might be a vampire, but going back to the vampire thing, we're still having you know what I noticed the other day, actually, related but unrelated, yeah.

[33:24] Heather Bedor: Um a picture of Kiki Palmer flashed on my screen, and I was like, is that a Joy Woods?

[33:32] Amber Brzezinski: Very, very alike. Maybe they're part of the same coven.

[33:35] Heather Bedor: Maybe they are. And I was like, you know what? Those two. I'm here for it. Vampires.

[33:41] Amber Brzezinski: Well, and I I'm gonna give a um pre-celebratory congratulations to our friends over at Brand Castle, the musical. Um, it is a new gothic vampire musical by Don Nolan, who is so freaking talented and so nice. They're doing a private industry presentation the 19th and 20th. Um, and it happens to feature this guy called Justin Sargent. I'm so excited for him. Just a friend.

[34:11] Heather Bedor: Um, just you know, somebody I've known for like 20 or something years.

[34:14] Amber Brzezinski: Um, it's gonna be incredible. So pre-celebratory congratulations because their readings 19th and the 20th, so just a couple of days for this week. But yeah, I think that people are like getting over the gore of it.

[34:28] Heather Bedor: Um, like you can do stranger things, you can do vampires, and if you can't, you don't go goodbye.

[34:35] Amber Brzezinski: Um we want that like dark avi thing, like everybody is loving masquerade. I I haven't seen anybody coming out of mascara going, nah, it was alright.

[34:45] Heather Bedor: Yeah, and I think we want darkness and eeriness, and I'm a spooky girl.

[34:51] Amber Brzezinski: You are a spooky girl.

[34:52] Heather Bedor: Yeah, we we've started to turn that spooky corner for sure.

[34:59] Amber Brzezinski: Bring it, yeah. Really bring it. You know, we had Sweeney, that's fine, but like we're here for like the weird, spooky, supernatural shit.

[35:07] Heather Bedor: I'm here for it.

[35:09] Amber Brzezinski: For sure. Absolutely.

[35:11] Heather Bedor: All right. What other kind of news can we chat about?

[35:14] Amber Brzezinski: Because there's a lot.

[35:15] Heather Bedor: There's a lot. There's a whole lot. Um I mean, I guess we'll go like recent to like not so.

[35:22] Amber Brzezinski: You're gonna drive this bus.

[35:23] Heather Bedor: Um we had a not so happy ending.

[35:31] Amber Brzezinski: Well, I guess it was a happy ending. Because it was it was a long happy ending.

[35:37] Heather Bedor: Yeah. And our wonderful Broadway ingenue, Helen Jay Shen played her final performance as Claire.

[35:48] Amber Brzezinski: Yesterday.

[35:49] Heather Bedor: Um, yesterday.

[35:51] Amber Brzezinski: Happy choice.

[35:51] Heather Bedor: Which is absolutely amazing. Um, I don't know if anyone remembers a we many years ago, but um Helen did actually make her Broadway debut as Claire in Maybe Happy Ending, and I cannot wait to see where she goes from here.

[36:11] Amber Brzezinski: She has a wonderful future ahead of her.

[36:14] Heather Bedor: Yes, um, she's absolutely a rock star, one of those Broadway performers that I feel like a like a and I don't wanna I don't wanna say like because I feel like this also puts off like the bad like a bad message because we're human beings, like we deserve a break.

[36:42] Amber Brzezinski: Like we're like Jonathan Groff, dedicated performer, never takes a day off, kind of thing.

[36:47] Heather Bedor: Like I thought Helen Helen kind of has that same work ethic where she like puts all her all into it, but I also do feel like we are human beings, we deserve a day off when a day off is needed.

[37:00] Amber Brzezinski: So please take that. It's important.

[37:03] Heather Bedor: I mean, it's so important to like, especially as a performer, like your body is your instrument.

[37:11] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, it's like a car. You gotta keep your car tuned, you gotta keep your body tuned.

[37:15] Heather Bedor: Like, don't fuck it up.

[37:17] Amber Brzezinski: Right, exactly. Yes, yeah, absolutely. For sure, for sure. Don't um, so then we had some really cool across the pond news with our wonderful former Mary Jinx Monsoon.

[37:33] Heather Bedor: Um, she will be playing Judy Garland in the London version of End of the Rainbow.

[37:42] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, which is amazing. It will run May 15th through June 21st at the Soho Theater in Walthamstow.

[37:53] Heather Bedor: Um, and I don't know if anyone, you know, has been following Jinx's career, but she has always been a fan of Judy, has uh done impressions of Judy, and like uh is just truly like an embodiment of Judy Garland.

[38:13] Amber Brzezinski: So I can't wait to see what what she brings to this party. She's going to be absolutely incredible.

[38:18] Heather Bedor: And you know what else happened over the over across the to the pond?

[38:21] Amber Brzezinski: I can't talk across the pond.

[38:23] Heather Bedor: Why tell me our friends at Already Perfect had their last show yesterday?

[38:28] Amber Brzezinski: That they did, yes, and they went out with a blaze of glory.

[38:34] Heather Bedor: Bang, sold out houses, baby.

[38:36] Amber Brzezinski: Blaze of glory. So that's amazing. We're so proud of them.

[38:40] Heather Bedor: Amazing. Yes, make sure you check out our interviews with Levi Christ.

[38:44] Amber Brzezinski: Like, and I was, I will say, like, save the best for last. Because let me tell you guys, social media for Already Perfect literally was sharing clips from our interview like every other day.

[38:56] Heather Bedor: Yeah.

[38:56] Amber Brzezinski: So if you want to go listen to one of our like most it was it was one of those, I think we all cried at one point.

[39:03] Heather Bedor: Yeah.

[39:03] Amber Brzezinski: We've had a couple of those, but like Jeff Calhoun was the first one where we were all like tearing up. But definitely like the one with Levi was just it was beautiful.

[39:13] Heather Bedor: For sure. It was beautiful. All right. What else is next, ma'am?

[39:18] Amber Brzezinski: Well, I mean, we'll just stick with the trend while we're across the pond.

[39:24] Heather Bedor: Okay.

[39:28] Amber Brzezinski: We'll segue across the pond back to America, but still stay British.

[39:35] Heather Bedor: Oh, okay.

[39:36] Amber Brzezinski: All right. So we're gonna spill the proverbial British tea.

[39:40] Heather Bedor: Tea into the harbor.

[39:42] Amber Brzezinski: Yes. Um, so our wonderful dear friends at Operation Mince Meat, the show that has inspired all um is like standing up to fascism one night at a time. Um who wants anyways? Has announced their all new American cast because as we know, the Brits are leaving, which is yeah.

[40:13] Heather Bedor: Well, they've been here originally the show was like a three-month run, and I can still remember the conversation I had with Larry before Mince Meat was like even on our radar, he goes, You guys want to start a group for Operation Mince Meat because the show did so well over here. Like in when he was in London, he's like, it's going to explode anywhere. And I'm like, all right, cool. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. And I'm just like, oh yeah, you're right. It just it's like the thing that keeps the show that keeps on giving.

[40:40] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah. It's so cool. It's so good. So three of the five covers were promoted to leads. Congratulations. And then we had two new people brought in.

[40:59] Heather Bedor: Oh yeah. We have Julia Niddle, who will be our new Monty, the uh the lead of the show. And we also have Jeff Creedy, who will be our newest Hester. Um the covers that were originally part of the British cast will stay on as first covers for those roles.

[41:23] Amber Brzezinski: So if Julia Niddle and Jeff Creedy sound familiar to you, they should be. And if not, um, they are both incredible. So the last thing that Julia did, she was all over Dead Outlaw. She originated. So she's very familiar with working with dead bodies.

[41:41] Heather Bedor: Well, not only just dead bodies, but multiple roles at the same time, right? Um, and you know, Jeff Creedy, uh just coming out of Phantom. Um, so yeah, news to like murder, and then prior to that was in Gatsby covering like all the male leads. Everything.

[42:02] Amber Brzezinski: Um, he's also married to uh Renee Lee's Goldsbury. They have a beautiful family, uh like of just pure talent. So he also did um Bye Bye Birdie um I think at one point he did Tootsie, A Gentleman's Guide to Murder, Sunday in the Park with George, and then he also did, oh my god, I just scrolled right past it, um he did Company, which is one of your favorites.

[42:11] Heather Bedor: One of my favorites. All right, this one I am very excited to finally announce.

[42:11] Amber Brzezinski: Oh go on.

[42:11] Heather Bedor: After many, many months of waiting, the previously postponed North American tour of The Who's Tommy is back on and it will now be set to launch in Ohio in fall of 2026. The announced venues are Boston, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, and more with a full itinerary to be announced.

[42:11] Amber Brzezinski: I love Edmore, it's one of my favorite places. Um, the group has been tromping at the bit and I was really hoping it wasn't gonna turn into another Sweeney situation, which was devastating, devastating for all involved including and mainly myself, um, where they just said, yeah, this is happening, and then it just poofed.

[43:54] Heather Bedor: It might still happen. Just like, uh, you know, the little show called Newsies and it might be happening sooner or later. Uh, you know, and I will say talking Disney news for a minute.

[44:07] Amber Brzezinski: Hercules go bye bye.

[44:09] Heather Bedor: Yes. Disney the announcement Hercules is closing in the West End. I'm super bummed about that.

[44:14] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah. But I will be attending the next Sisney and Broadway concert series tomorrow night.

[44:22] Heather Bedor: Do you know who's gonna be there tomorrow night?

[44:25] Amber Brzezinski: I don't, I do not.

[44:28] Heather Bedor: Um, this lovely young lady called, I don't know, Susan Egan.

[44:33] Amber Brzezinski: Oh wonderful, and uh this guy you might have heard of him, James Monroe Iglehart.

[44:40] Heather Bedor: Oh, wonderful. Um so super excited. Um Susan's been doing these like Disney princess parties, and she's like it's her own company, so she has pretty much all of the um like Disney on Broadway people on lockdown. Um like those are her people. But um, if a name sounds familiar, she was the original Megara in Hercules. Um she's been in like everything, um, all of it, but that is what she has really known away from known besides um her voiceover work like Spirited Away and JMI, James Iglehart, the original genie from Aladdin. So love him.

[45:21] Amber Brzezinski: Um I'm bummed because this past weekend it was Ashley Brown, the original Mary Poppins, and Ainsley Meltham, who uh we all know and love from Boop. Uh, but he's also currently in Aladdin. But next week, um, they're going to be doing a um like a foursome or like the group performance. So it'll be all of them, and then the new Belle from the new national tour, whose middle name is Belle, and I think it's super cool. I just can't remember the rest of her name right now because I am tired.

[45:53] Heather Bedor: Um, she is actually joining them as well. Let me see if I can find her name so I can give her the proper credit.

[46:01] Amber Brzezinski: Tyra Belle Johnson.

[46:03] Heather Bedor: Oh, that's cool.

[46:06] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah.

[46:06] Heather Bedor: So I'm gonna do spelled the same way.

[46:06] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, spelled the same way. I love it. I'm sure she was named for Belle because I mean she's young enough. Obviously, yeah, like hello.

[46:18] Heather Bedor: Um, so yeah, it's gonna be uh it'll be cool. Um speaking of next week, just a friendly reminder. Um, unfortunately, next Monday we are not going to be having a show as I will have family in town for my stepfather's funeral. Um, so we're gonna have a bye week.

[46:37] Amber Brzezinski: So Amber would know better than to try to go live and do a mini-sode, and then I call her and be like, I'm in the hospital.

[46:44] Heather Bedor: Yeah.

[46:46] Amber Brzezinski: And yeah, go ahead.

[46:48] Heather Bedor: I was gonna say, and then I don't even know what I it would just be like a disaster to have me. Um, and you remember who's joining us on March 2nd, right?

[46:58] Amber Brzezinski: I do. Would you like to share with the cast with the cats with the class?

[47:06] Heather Bedor: Um, yeah, yes. Uh I have finally managed to get a day and time of when John DeLuca will be joining us. Um, I am so freaking excited because I love him on social media, but just him in person is really wonderful. Um, you'll know him from doing the uh Philip Tour. So he covered George Washington, King George the Third, um, Mulligan and Madison and Lafayette and Jefferson. So John DeLuca will be joining us Monday, March 2nd, unless the natural disaster strikes. I don't know. It's just one of those things.

[47:37] Amber Brzezinski: It's just one of those things. Y'all, I'm so tired. I'm yelling with a New York accent. That's how I know I'm tired.

[47:45] Heather Bedor: True. Um, I'm still well, it was so cold in New York, but I'm feeling like I'm still like defrosting, and my hair was stick straight because there's no humidity, and I came home and I looked like little orphan Annie or like Curly Sue. Like my hair is just wing. So that's been I like literally don't even like leave my house without my heated blanket. I have one in my car, I have one that like lives with me. Like, I um like, don't even don't talk to me unless I have my heated blanket.

[48:21] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, no, I'm not even gonna tell you it is 59 out right now.

[48:25] Heather Bedor: It's beautiful. Um, but the day after I landed back from New York, it was 82 as a high. And my mom's like, I don't get it. Why are you so hot? It's nice out. And I'm like, it's 82. She's like, and I was like, it was negative 22. I don't think you would understand what I just came from.

[48:43] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I had no feeling.

[48:46] Heather Bedor: Like a hundred degree difference, mom. Well, even like the rescues were talking about it because they're originally from California and they're doing all the work, obviously, here in New York for the Lost Boys, and they're like, I feel like I could go to the Arctic Circle and like walk around because we survived this. It was gosh. Guys, the Bryant Park Fountain was frozen over gorgeous. I took like 500 photos of it.

[49:09] Amber Brzezinski: That's wild.

[49:10] Heather Bedor: Um, oh my god, it was nuts. It was nuts. But um, with our five minutes remaining, Amber, do we have any other news or do we want to give a shout out to some of our awesome members?

[49:22] Amber Brzezinski: We do, we have some news. We can do some quick, quick five-minute newscasts.

[49:25] Heather Bedor: Absolutely.

[49:27] Amber Brzezinski: So this week, right now, this pre this this upcoming week, Stranger Things is filming.

[49:35] Heather Bedor: Why are they filming? You ask for a thing.

[49:40] Amber Brzezinski: Um filming ended yesterday.

[49:43] Heather Bedor: Yes, oh, filming ended yesterday, whatever. Sorry. But however, they're also welcoming a new Broadway cast for our season two.

[49:56] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, so uh Louie McCartney, who has been Henry Creel, originated on the West End, will be ending his final performance on March 29th, and Victor De Paula Rocha will take over. We also have Ayana Simone coming in, Shay Grant, Juan Carlos, and Matthew Eric White. Further casting will also be announced.

[50:31] Heather Bedor: So that's very exciting. They have again this is another one of those shows where I think they're going for the longevity of the show. Um, and I'm just excited to see what this new cast will bring because this current cast has been working their tukuses off for incredible.

[50:52] Amber Brzezinski: This cast is never years for years now.

[50:56] Heather Bedor: Like for years now. So they do deserve they uh well-deserved break is a good idea. And just wait till you guys see the Pro Shot of his.

[51:04] Amber Brzezinski: Yes. I know things I'm not supposed to know because I have to do my research. But it's going to be absolutely incredible. Which brings me to my next point, Pro Shots.

[51:15] Heather Bedor: Go on.

[51:16] Amber Brzezinski: Well, we have just heard that's the deal with Pro Shots. All right, so that's the deal with Pro Shots. Um that's this the SUFs Pro Shot will make its airing on PBS Great Performances about time. About damn time on May 8th at 9 p.m. Eastern time, but just check your local listings. It will also be available to stream on PBS.org.

[51:40] Heather Bedor: Yeah.

[51:41] Amber Brzezinski: And the PBS app. So make sure you number one, support public broadcasting. Number two, watch SUFs. It is an amazing musical. It is an amazing story. It is an amazing piece of history. I'm still angry and didn't buy my Great American Bad shirt. That should not be lost.

[52:05] Heather Bedor: And you know, just shouldn't.

[52:08] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, I agree. Amber finally got a chance to see it when she saw the tour.

[52:11] Heather Bedor: I did, yeah.

[52:24] Heather Bedor: Um, our one of our favorite events, Broadway Backwards.

[52:29] Amber Brzezinski: Woohoo!

[52:30] Heather Bedor: We'll have a lot more information soon as well coming from Broadway years.

[52:35] Amber Brzezinski: Yes, it will be March 23rd at the Gershwin Theater.

[52:38] Heather Bedor: Um, that's gonna be a horrible week. Let me tell you, starting with Broadway Backwards and ending with the first preview of Lost Boys.

[52:45] Amber Brzezinski: Yes.

[52:46] Heather Bedor: So um, March 23rd at the Gershwin Theater. It will be.

[52:55] Amber Brzezinski: If you're not familiar with Broadway Backwards, it's a night where performers get to go and sing songs that they normally would never get to perform.

[53:04] Heather Bedor: So for example, Jeremy, as I was gonna Aaron Devade is uh doing everything for the MC right. So like Gavin Creel and Aaron Tobag did take me or leave me once, which is um, so like it's lots of gender bent performances, lots of like again, just roles you would never get cast at, and you have the opportunity to go all out and just like do this one night only performance, and it raises all funds go for Broadway cares.

[53:13] Amber Brzezinski: Go for Broadway cares.

[53:38] Heather Bedor: So like I could I could have a night out and like be cast as I'm trying to think of like a ridiculous cast performance for me.

[53:47] Amber Brzezinski: Orange film exactly.

[53:50] Heather Bedor: I could go out there and be Oren for the night and like do like a crazy crazy little shop before performance. So um, I think I would do something that Cheyenne did from All Sha Club, yeah, or I would do Phantom.

[54:09] Amber Brzezinski: I could see that for you.

[54:12] Heather Bedor: I would try. Um, yeah. Maybe I would do all I really need is the girl from Gypsy.

[54:20] Amber Brzezinski: Oh, yeah, that's a good one. What would you guys do? Tell us our our faithful listeners, comment section before, during, after. Let us know.

[54:27] Heather Bedor: Um, also, we're gonna be running a contest. Shocker, um, because we would love to have more people going to our only Broadway fans page because it sounds dirty and it's more fun to say that than just the Broadway fan club.

[54:40] Amber Brzezinski: Um, so send us a screenshot that you're following us or that you've downloaded an episode from www.onlybroadwayfans.com, and you are going to be entered for some really cool signed playbills from some of the recent shows Amber and I have seen and some cool stuff from Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS. So we're gonna be doing that.

[54:58] Heather Bedor: Can I give a shout out to one of our members that I saw like this really super cute post that he did?

[55:04] Amber Brzezinski: Give a shout out.

[55:06] Heather Bedor: Yeah, so in our just in time group, um, which by the way, can I just very happily say our just in time group right now currently has 478,353 people in it active.

[55:21] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, it's incredible.

[55:24] Heather Bedor: Um, I can't wait to see the rest of the people come when it's JJ and Jeremy pops in. So Edward Candelaria, if you were listening out in Lala Land, your post made me just super uh appreciative for love. I don't know why, it was great, but his post said back in October, my husband and I went to see just in time. The husband wanted Jonathan Groff's autograph so bad, but when he found out he doesn't go out after the show's assigned, he was disappointed.

[55:51] Amber Brzezinski: So surprised that after the show finished, he was auctioning off his bow tie and he signed it. I wasn't gonna let this get away for me, so I surprised my husband who didn't know I was gonna do this, and started bidding with the first bit of $500 and didn't stop till I won it. I even had to outbid a pre-teen to our left. Sorry, buddy, but my husband loved JG since Glee, so I wasn't gonna let this go. Even the crowd was behind us winning it, so that helped.

[56:18] Heather Bedor: I also didn't know that a lady who was videoing this entire auction and told us that she got it after it was done. So if you're in this group, thank you. We cherish it. So in conclusion, we got great seats on the floor, got the autograph tie, and we both even got a kiss on the cheek from JG. Not a bad Sunday afternoon.

[56:35] Amber Brzezinski: And the video is like the most perfect because they were like right in the vicinity of him and his husband. It was so cute.

[56:42] Heather Bedor: And I will tell you, I had the honor of visiting the Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS office on Tuesday. I actually started my day with a lovely Fran. We had coffee. Well, I had a matcha tea. Um, but and I went up to the offices and I got to say, are you tired? Um but got to say that to other people too. But I got to say hello to a good majority of the team at Broadway Cares. Um, they're just so freaking incredible.

[57:08] Amber Brzezinski: And I sat and I asked Fran, I said, you know, I'm just morbidly curious how much our members helped raise. And she was like, It was a good chunk. They know, they know where what's coming from our members. You know, we don't have a way of tracking it. Maybe one day we will. Um, but the amount that was raised, I know that Broadway Care has just posted. I want to get the right numbers. Um, so while I do that, Amber, do you have any shout-outs that you want to do?

[57:35] Amber Brzezinski: Um, I don't think so. I love that this was your segment that you wanted to start.

[57:42] Heather Bedor: Well, okay, so listen, I had to unplug all weekend because I got texting them.

[57:48] Amber Brzezinski: Texting some?

[57:50] Heather Bedor: Yeah. I don't even want to know. So um, this Valentine's season, your support is sending love and nutritious meals across the country. Earlier this week, a committee of 19 dedicated stage managers and actors awarded a record $3.2 million to 158 food pantries and meal programs nationwide. Access to nutritious food is not a luxury. It's a lifeline. Executive Director Danny Whitman said we are truly grateful to the theater community and audiences whose generosity allows Broadway Cares to reach people in every corner of the country.

[58:27] Amber Brzezinski: Guys, that's a lot of food.

[58:29] Heather Bedor: That's a lot of food to help a lot of people. And I know that New York just started their first free food pantry. So you can actually go and it looks just like a good grocery place or you can go right in. They just opened it up this past weekend.

[58:41] Amber Brzezinski: Yep.

[58:41] Heather Bedor: So keep up the good work, everybody.

[58:44] Amber Brzezinski: Absolutely.

[58:45] Heather Bedor: Yeah. Oh yeah. Oh, also is there one more thing we wanted to say?

[58:50] Amber Brzezinski: There's a lot more.

[58:51] Heather Bedor: What do you want to talk about?

[58:55] Amber Brzezinski: You can can.

[58:58] Heather Bedor: I mean, we can can't can't anymore after July.

[59:06] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah, Moulin Rouge goes bye-bye.

[59:09] Heather Bedor: Arabois in July. But again, another show with a really great run.

[59:16] Amber Brzezinski: Great run, but I love the show.

[59:20] Heather Bedor: So no haters out there. But I think it's time to move on.

[59:25] Amber Brzezinski: Yeah.

[59:25] Heather Bedor: Um, it is a staple of uh Broadway right now. Um, especially with Ricky Rojas back. Come on.

[59:31] Amber Brzezinski: Right, and it'll be interesting to see what happens to the Hirschfield because the Hirschfield right now has been so roughed.

[59:44] Heather Bedor: Well, yeah, Alex Winters is like it's gorgeous. I'm hoping that windmill and the elephant, you know what I mean? Like it's gonna be wild to see it without it. You know?

[59:55] Amber Brzezinski: Well, I mean, it's been what, seven years?

[59:57] Heather Bedor: Yeah.

[59:58] Amber Brzezinski: So I mean, I've seen the Hirschwell before that. I'm sure you have too.

[1:00:01] Heather Bedor: Yeah, but it's just like it's just wild, you know. I wish I could go into some of these theaters. You know, our friend Chris Levy, who is actually at a show tonight, that's why he's not in the comment section, um, was posting different pictures because he just got back from New York today. And he was like, I wonder how it could have been going into these houses with none of these wires and electronics. So just remember, there's there's a good structure behind all of these theater productions and the electronics help enhance it, but the theater itself still holds that heart of house. Um, and like I love walking into a theater, especially if it's one I've never been to, and you can just feel it.

[1:00:30] Amber Brzezinski: You can just feel it, but yeah.

[1:00:39] Heather Bedor: Um, I think we'll uh stop talking everyone's ear off tonight. But it was a productive Monday night again, guys. Don't forget, next Monday we will not be having a show. Unfortunately, um, that is the day before my stepfather's funeral. So um, all the fun things and stuff. But before we leave you, let's go ahead and remind you of a couple of things. Make sure you go to www.thebroadwayfanclub.com. You can check out all of our groups there. If there's a group that you don't see, go ahead and ask us. And if we don't have it, we'll create it. But we pretty much have shows for every show through 2028 that's been announced. Um, you can go right over to our Etsy page and you can go check out all of our fun merch at the Broadway FanClub.sc.com. You can go stay with some of our friends over at the W Times Square and the Weston Times Square using their cluster code E7103.

I know that we've had a lot of people go, are there limitations or restrictions? Nope. You can use it. They'll waive any destination fee if they have any kind of availability for upgrades. You get those. Um, some fun little surprises on behalf of the Broadway Fan Club. We don't make money from it. We just like you guys to stay at places that we trust.

[1:01:49] Amber Brzezinski: You can also join us on Patreon. It is up and running, patreon.com/slash the Broadway fanclub. Make sure you check out our podcast page directly, www.onlybroadwayfans.com. And make sure you send us a screenshot of either following us directly on the Broadway Podcast Network or of an episode downloaded. And we'll be doing a giveaway along with our Instagram at the B Way Fan Club for a couple of our signed playbills and some fun little swag from Broadway Cares. We're here to help. We're here to spread the good word that'll help create these incredible fan communities. So we appreciate you guys spending uh every Monday night with us. Amber, I'm glad that you didn't die last week.

[1:02:27] Amber Brzezinski: Thank you for that.

[1:02:32] Heather Bedor: Yep. And uh the next time use the yes, hopefully I'll be joined by the one and only John Deberell. So I hope that you guys have a great rest of your week. Um try not to freeze, enjoy the Olympics, maybe some curling.

[1:02:47] Amber Brzezinski: And uh can I can I pop in a little schmidge of a schmidge of wisdom?

[1:02:52] Heather Bedor: Okay.

[1:02:54] Amber Brzezinski: Things are overwhelming. And I say that as a person who is very overwhelmed right now. And we're not having an episode next week. So like I'm just gonna say this with like a little grain of salt, like a little send-off message. Like it's okay to not be okay sometimes. Like it's that's totally fine and like totally normal. Like I feel like sometimes we're kind of like taught, like just like be tough and like push through things and don't cry, suck it up through, like don't cry, like suck it up, and like don't be a baby, like and like asking for help somehow makes you like less of a somebody stronger.

[1:03:34] Heather Bedor: Yeah, that's bullshit.

[1:03:36] Amber Brzezinski: Like taking time to care for yourself and to like do something that is like self-care for you is not a sign of weakness, it's actually a sign of strength. So if you need to step back from anything, if you need to take space for yourself, if you need to find a morsel of joy, because things are too overwhelming right now. Just do that. You can take at least 20 minutes a day to like just for yourself. Like I learned this, and I was like, Well, we'll go into some self-healing. My dad just checked it in the comments. My dad has always been that kind of person to be like, make sure you take time for yourself, especially right now. Um right now, things are especially hard. So I'm like, you guys are my friends, and I love you. Oh everybody out there, even the haters, we love you.

[1:04:30] Heather Bedor: Um, my chiropractor gave me this great advice. I'm the kind of person I have to sleep with the TV on, but I like everything totally dark. We get blackout curtains. He's like, literally turn everything off for 20 minutes and just lay there, even if you don't fall asleep, just like lay down and just shut the world off. And guys, I do it every single day, and it is so much better right now. Just take the time, you don't have to keep go, go, going. You know, we do what we can, but sometimes we can't, and that's okay too. Um, you can't hold anybody to fault for that.

[1:04:59] Amber Brzezinski: So yeah, I think that's a good message to send them off with Amber.

[1:05:02] Heather Bedor: Besides that when Broadway is dark every Monday night, we keep the ghost light burning. So we'll see you guys March 2nd, but we'll be checking in with some exclusive content throughout the rest of the next couple of weeks. Have a good night everybody.

[1:05:15] Amber Brzezinski: Bye.

[1:05:16] Heather Bedor: Love you.

[1:05:17] Amber Brzezinski: Bye-bye.

[1:05:17] Heather Bedor: So long farewell.