Social Media:

This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:04] Jesse McAnally: Hello, I'm Jesse McAnally.

[0:06] Andrew DeWolf: And I'm Andrew DeWolf.

[0:08] Brianna Jones: And I'm Brianna Jones.

[0:09] Jesse McAnally: And welcome to Musicals with Cheese, a podcast where I try to get Andrew and Brianna to like musical theater, and today we've got an extra special returning guest for their fifth time around, which means they get the cheese.

[0:09] Andrew DeWolf: They get the cheese?

[0:23] Jesse McAnally: Welcome. Please welcome actress, podcaster, an all-around awesome human and a staple of Musicals with Cheese. It's Grace Aki, bitches!

[0:33] Grace Aki: Woo!

[0:35] Grace Aki: This means I'm part of the Five Timers Club.

[0:37] Jesse McAnally: You are.

[0:38] Jesse McAnally: You are joining an elusive group. I think only Brent Black, Ethan from Sideways, and Adam Walker are in there.

[0:45] Jesse McAnally: You are the fourth member of the Five Timers Club.

[0:48] Grace Aki: That's a really hot group of people, by the way. Like that's a truly really solid group. Like I actually feel really good about that, so thank you. Honestly.

[0:55] Jesse McAnally: And you get the cheese.

[0:57] Grace Aki: Yes.

[0:58] Jesse McAnally: Which might come in the form of me buying you dinner in New York. One of the it might come in that form. It will still incorporate cheese.

[1:05] Grace Aki: Oh, hell yeah. We can get cheese in there.

[1:06] Jesse McAnally: We will. We will. There's actually, I will say this just 'cause there's actually a cheese house on 53rd Street, perhaps, like right off of the MCC Theater.

[1:16] Grace Aki: Maybe it's 52nd. It's called Kesula, I think. And um literally just took a friend there when I was uh when we were on our way to see which way to the stage at MCC. And you can just order individual cheeses. Just just the cheese.

[1:26] Jesse McAnally: So that sounds really good. Just very quick. Grace, I will 100% take you there if you get a free.

[1:33] Grace Aki: This is in New York City?

[1:34] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. This is in New York City, yeah.

[1:36] Jesse McAnally: Right off of uh right off of uh Broadway.

[1:39] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[1:40] Jesse McAnally: Either way, Grace, we will take you there when we go to New York. If you have the time, of course. If not, you will get sent something nice. I know how busy you are.

[1:48] Grace Aki: What, me?

[1:48] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, me, yeah.

[1:50] Jesse McAnally: Um, Grace, what are we talking about today?

[1:53] Grace Aki: What aren't we talking about today? We're talking about one of the most formidable creatures in the entire cartoon zeitgeist, if you will. We're talking about Winnie the Freaking Pooh.

[2:02] Grace Aki: And um, when you asked me to partake in this conversation, I thought there is no other show I would like to be talking about right now because they did just announce that they are returning to New York City, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to talk about. And it's also their uh what is it, this biennial? I don't remember the right phrasing, but it's like just entered the public domain because of the cartoon. So I think there's a lot of history here. I will talk about it because you have asked me to talk, and um, I'm thrilled. So it's the Winnie the Pooh musical.

[2:30] Grace Aki: Heck yeah, cue the music, Bree.

[2:35] ♪ Musical number: "Gotta Get Up" — performed by Grace Aki ♪

[2:57] Grace Aki: Winnie the Pooh, the new musical adaptation, which is its official title, is a musical written by Jonathan Rockefeller with music and lyrics by Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, and Nate Edmondson, based on A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh stories. Um, previews occurred at the Theater Row Building on Theater Row in New York City from October 21st until its world premiere on November 4th, 2021. Jonathan Rockefeller adapted the characters while utilizing several pieces of music and lyrics from the Sherman brothers. The plot of which is inspired by the books by A.A. Milne and their Disney animated adaptations, the family-friendly show brings together Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their best friend Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl, and Tigger too. And that's it. That's what we got.

[3:42] Jesse McAnally: You nailed it. That was a commercial.

[3:48] Grace Aki: Gopher favorite an additional original.

[3:52] Jesse McAnally: Yes.

[3:53] Grace Aki: It's a Disney original character, but um every all of the songs and everything are from the Disney adaptations.

[3:59] Jesse McAnally: Well, it's because they couldn't probably get under the set to have him digging. Because that was his whole bit was the digging. And I'm like, I'm sorry, but nobody's this is still COVID times. Like, we're not getting under the stage. We're just not doing it. So they might have had to omit the character.

[4:12] Jesse McAnally: Speaking of which, Grace, you saw this live on stage in person in New York. What was that experience like?

[4:19] Grace Aki: Not only did I see this live, I saw the very first preview, which was the most magical thing. So the night before, I don't want to exactly tell you what I was doing, but I was having a good time. And it was late at night, and um someone messaged me and said, "Hey, if you want the last seat, it's yours at the preview that happens tomorrow at 10 a.m." Again, I'm Halito Lintol.

[4:40] Grace Aki: Okay, then. And um, and I'm thinking like it's 11 o'clock at what you said, October, right? Yeah. Um, I was like, yeah, I could definitely make that. And so I got like on the bus to go home. I felt like I turned right around and got back on the bus to go and walk to Theater Row, which is right on 42nd Street, so it's right off Fort Authority, where I, you know, in and um the it was like being at a Beatles concert for toddlers, like a Wiggles concert.

[5:09] Grace Aki: Yeah, it was a Wiggles concert. I've been to the Wiggles tour. Yum, yummy. And I walked in and they didn't, so this was the part that freaked me out. My special ticket was um for like Dead Center Orchestra. Orchestra is like, you know, it's all orchestra. But I was excited to get like the characters because they had created this gorgeous merchandising for the show. I don't know if you've seen them, but it's really sweet plush animals, and then the book. Oh shoot, it's actually right next to me. I should go grab it uh when we're recording. But um they had like a program book. Like you spent like $30 on the program because it was this gorgeous hard, like red book. And I'm like, of course I'm gonna buy this.

What are you stupid? And the plush toys that all the kids were waiting in line for had not yet arrived. It was the first preview. And the kids are literally like, we're here for the toys. And I'm like, you should be here for a musical, but okay. Because all of their tickets had been coupled with the prize of also getting these plush animals. And I was like, oh man, y'all know. Why would you promise that if you weren't gonna get the toys? It was I think it was like a supply chain issue, and I felt so bad for them because they're like, uh so I like went and walked around, and they had these gorgeous little displays about the original books and then like the characters, and it was just really lovely.

It felt very Disney, and um I go in and proceeded to watch this incredibly magical piece of theater. I mean I was crying at the end of it. I don't know if that's like me being vulnerable, but like I think it was just I love experiencing children experience theater. And I was sitting with uh a girl, Ellie MacLamore. Have you ever done Heathers on the show?

[6:45] Jesse McAnally: Perhaps?

[6:46] Grace Aki: Yes. Okay, so Ellie was one of the Heathers, um, and she's really, really mousy to put it plainly. And um, she actually has an obsession with Winnie the Pooh so much that like her dad dressed up as Winnie the Pooh at her engagement. Like, like that's the level of like intense Winnie the Pooh. So, like, she wasn't her engagement to her now husband. Like, like he it was a whole thing.

[7:11] Jesse McAnally: What was the husband dressed as?

[7:12] Grace Aki: Him.

[7:14] Jesse McAnally: So.

[7:14] Grace Aki: He didn't put the work in.

[7:16] Jesse McAnally: Either way, continue.

[7:17] Grace Aki: Yeah. I mean, he's he's doing the work. I think they're in Italy. But um, so is he dressed as Winnie the Pooh in Italy, though?

[7:23] Grace Aki: No, the dad dressed as Winnie the Pooh at the engagement, to be honest.

[7:26] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, but he should have met the theme and dressed as Eeyore or some shit.

[7:31] Grace Aki: Nobody wants to dress as Eeyore. I think she had a Winnie the Pooh themed like bachelorette party or something. Like, there's like a photo of her in like a little red crop top. It's like really intense, but she was crying. She was crying.

[7:43] Grace Aki: Oh, that's right, the night before we'd see Moulin Rouge.

[7:46] Jesse McAnally: Wow.

[7:46] Grace Aki: Anyways, um it was intoxicated at Moulin Rouge. I it's a party. And that's what you would do at Moulin Rouge.

[7:51] Jesse McAnally: I mean, Moulin Rouge is enough. Seeing Moulin Rouge is feeling enough like you're intoxicated. You might as well get drunk then.

[8:01] Grace Aki: Yeah, I mean, it was it was an amazing scene, and I was watching Ashley Lauren, who's now taking over the role um as the teen, and she was amazing, but it was a sea of children, is my point, and their parents who really wanted to take their kid to see something at 10. I can't stress it enough. 10 a.m. These actors had to be there, what, at like 8:45 to get like prepped and ready, and these are the first this is the first time they'd have done it in front of an audience because COVID times.

[8:26] Grace Aki: Yeah, and that's what made it even more magical. So I don't know how you experience it, what we're gonna talk about now, but seeing it in the space, like really really close to these incredible puppet performances. I can't stress enough how good and dedicated, and so like the second Winnie the Pooh came out, I was like, this is Elvis. Like, I'm not even kidding. He was just like perfect. Like his voice, Jake Bazell. Um, he's he's just, I'm such a fan. That's that's my experience so far.

[8:56] Jesse McAnally: That is a beautiful story. Um, Andrew, what did you think of the musical?

[9:02] Andrew DeWolf: Tear me down.

[9:04] Andrew DeWolf: Uh I honestly can't, because I like Winnie the Pooh as well.

[9:08] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[9:09] Andrew DeWolf: I used to watch it a lot when I was a little kid, and I recognized I think every song, at least all of the ones that weren't new, and I think maybe all of them weren't new.

[9:18] Grace Aki: Yeah, the Sherman Brothers, it was their classic songs. Like, if you've seen any of the movies or the cartoons, you were like, oh, I've heard that.

[9:25] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, so I recognize like all of them. The puppets were pretty fun, except for the creepy thing going on where they got their hands in the back of Pooh's head, which you know do what you gotta do. I get it, I get it, but you know, maybe don't have him turn around on stage, because then all the kids will see Pooh's head has got a big hole in it.

[9:37] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[9:47] Andrew DeWolf: Oh no, they see it's a puppet.

[9:50] Grace Aki: I don't know.

[9:51] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Kids don't know what puppets are. The kids think it's kids think they're real.

[9:56] Grace Aki: Um that they it was a little weird that they couldn't jump in the song about jumping, because they bounce it. Is insane on these puppets. Like, he clearly just said, uh so my partner plays Olaf in the Frozen Tour, and the the way that the puppet is connected to them. The kids literally, I've heard a child say, like, at a stage tour, whatever, they said, "Oh, are you Olaf's friend?" Because they think like Olaf just has this dude hanging out behind him like the whole time. They don't realize this is the same person.

[10:31] Andrew DeWolf: The kids think the puppets are real. They don't understand.

[10:34] Grace Aki: That's why you can't have a big hole in Pooh's head.

[10:37] Andrew DeWolf: And that's why you can't have a hole in Pooh's head. Tell that to the horror remake of Winnie the Pooh now heading to Shudder.

[10:47] Grace Aki: Yeah, why is there a horror remake of Winnie the Pooh?

[10:49] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god. Um, I actually I think it was fine. Uh it probably helps that it's only like an hour long or something. But uh I I didn't dislike it. I thought it was fun.

[11:01] Grace Aki: Grace, I'm curious. What is your history with Winnie the Pooh since Andrew gave a nice little context for his?

[11:06] Grace Aki: Uh, I think just like anybody having the books as a young person, because you know, like I love illustrating, I loved drawing those illustrations that are that are present in those what is it from the 20s? This book from the it's the what?

[11:19] Andrew DeWolf: It sounds about anything.

[11:20] Grace Aki: Yeah. Um, but so much so that my this is so aggressive. When my younger sibling was born, Rowdy, that's their real name, um, Grace and Rowdy, my mom was full. Uh, but I when when Rowdy was born, she wanted the whole nursery to be emblematic of the Winnie the Pooh books. And so even I think I was, gosh, I must have been like eight years old. I drew based on the original story pattern, um, little murals on the wall of Winnie the Pooh and the little blue balloon. Um, and then she went to this is so illegal. She went to an office depot and had them reprint parts of the book so large that she made her own murals because we couldn't afford to like have like a mural done. But she just basically had poster size reprints of like scenic parts of the book for like near the crib nursery thing.

And so I just had this image of like my little sibling like coming home being in this little thing and like me drawing the Winnie the Pooh on the wall, and um it's just such a special and then of course, yeah, the the TV shows were so popular when we were young. Um, little cartoon. The um my mom was very I was a big Eeyore fan.

[12:33] Grace Aki: Generational trauma. She's an Asian woman. I don't want to get into it, but like that makes sense. That tracks.

[12:39] Andrew DeWolf: Um, we all kind of had our own. I don't know if you all have identified with one character or in my own. Oh, we're gonna talk about that later. Don't worry. I'll put a pen in it, but like that was definitely something that was present in my household. Um, so Grace, I think you and I are roughly the same age. I don't know. I don't I don't presume to know anything about anything.

[12:59] Grace Aki: Closer in age than you think, yeah.

[13:01] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, yeah, that's about right. Uh um, but I I it was a big deal. Like the Winnie the Pooh kind of never disappeared from the cultural zeitgeist ever. Even today, it is still as relevant as it was when we were kids. They're not releasing the weird, like the Tigger movie or the Heffalump movie or Piglet's Big Movie every other week, the way that they were when the early 2000s happened.

[13:23] Grace Aki: But the Heffalump movie was good.

[13:25] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. That one slapped because the songs were messed up and hot.

[13:29] Grace Aki: The Heffalumps of Woozles, I'm sorry, but I want to party with them.

[13:32] Andrew DeWolf: What's that's a good one?

[13:34] Grace Aki: Yeah, yeah, they're good. That one's a I don't know about the Tigger movie though.

[13:36] Andrew DeWolf: The Tigger movie I I like because the Sherman brothers came back and wrote songs for it, and some of those songs ended up into this musical. And I think that's that that's show that movie plays on the pathos. Um, the TV show has have either of you watched the TV show of the new adventures of Winnie the Pooh as an adult?

[13:53] Grace Aki: Oh, yeah, 100%.

[13:55] Andrew DeWolf: What? Like, I like how they threw away the hundred-acre woods side of it and just like 90s kid, Christopher Robin, a 90s kid. They're going to the movies and stuff, and he's just bringing Pooh along.

[14:04] Grace Aki: I just like the theme song.

[14:05] Andrew DeWolf: The theme song is the gotta get up. We gotta kick the movie. It's gonna be the month.

[14:11] Grace Aki: Yeah, is that it?

[14:13] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, that's it.

[14:21] Grace Aki: Wow! I can't believe it's a big thing.

[14:21] Andrew DeWolf: It's so good. Okay, we need a petition. Go funny. Uh Grace does a fully produced cover of the new adventures of Winnie the Pooh. But it's like acoustic and Phoebe Bridgers style, and I'm like very emotional. Get Ellery Ward on it. She'll like help you. She'll do like the vocalization. That would be a great two-hand cover.

[14:40] Grace Aki: Come on. Disney theme songs in like that era were so good. Like the Goof Troop theme.

[14:44] Andrew DeWolf: Ooh.

[14:46] Grace Aki: I was just talking about Darkwing Duck.

[14:49] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, that's it. That one's great. And sadly, Tailspin. What do we get a fucking movie of? Chip and Dale? Rescue Rangers?

[15:00] Grace Aki: That one's pretty good.

[15:01] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, but that show. No one remembers that show. They remember the theme song, because I mean.

[15:09] Grace Aki: I like DuckTales too. Do you remember the DuckTales one?

[15:12] Andrew DeWolf: DuckTales woo.

[15:13] Grace Aki: As Doug Walker once said, as does the catchy theme song of the 90s.

[15:19] Andrew DeWolf: DuckTales Woo-woo. It really doesn't get better than that.

[15:21] Grace Aki: No, don't forget when he said duck tits woo hoo when he reviewed Howard the Duck.

[15:26] Andrew DeWolf: Oh.

[15:27] Grace Aki: Grace, Grace, Grace. I've seen Howard the Duck. I'm an adult.

[15:31] Andrew DeWolf: I'm an adult. Do you know who Doug watched?

[15:35] Grace Aki: If I want to.

[15:36] Andrew DeWolf: No.

[15:37] Grace Aki: Thank God. You are living a better thing. Have you seen the TV show Doug?

[15:42] Andrew DeWolf: What is that? Why do I remember that?

[15:44] Grace Aki: TV show Doug.

[15:45] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, the cartoon?

[15:46] Grace Aki: Yeah, I thought you were talking about like a new TV show that like a live action like Chuck. I thought that's what you were referring to.

[15:51] Andrew DeWolf: No, no, it's like Doug, like Doug Funny.

[15:53] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[15:54] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. Wow. That's that's Doug Walker. Andrew, what is the plot of Winnie the Pooh, the new musical adaptation?

[16:01] Andrew DeWolf: Uh is there a plot?

[16:02] Grace Aki: Yes, yes, there's a very indefinite.

[16:06] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. So it goes through all the seasons, and Winnie the Pooh is he wants honey. And Tigger is teaching people how to bounce. And he meets all of his friends, and then it's over. I may I think they throw a party at the end. I can't quite remember. Um he builds a snowman. Um lady, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean gender.

[16:23] Grace Aki: Well, it's it's uh it's Lady Winter or whatever, right? Owl found them for uh found her for them.

[16:31] Andrew DeWolf: So yeah, exactly. Um how did you like the puppets and who do you think was your favorite performer?

[16:37] Grace Aki: That's not a very nice question because I think they were all great. Um I'll say two things. Um Jake Bazell embodied who there's a dog outside who is gonna be a poo right now. It's giving Tigger energy. Um there is no dogs in Winnie the Pooh, which is fantastic.

[16:56] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, thanks. I'm just like cats, maybe, but no dogs for sure in that forest. Maybe a rabbit.

[17:01] Grace Aki: A rabbit, maybe a rabbit, maybe.

[17:05] Andrew DeWolf: Yes. There is a rabbit. He's in the show.

[17:07] Grace Aki: Yeah, rabbit. His name is Rabbit. He's the mob. Uh, but I think that Jake just so Jack Jake had to set the tone of the show for the kids to be like, I believe you, because as soon as he came out in the most incredible voice, I think that all the kids settled into being like, I'm gonna listen. And then everybody else could have sucked, and they didn't, but they could have, and then it they would have been fine because he delivered. Um, and then Emmanuel, who came out as I think Owl and Eeyore, definitely a great Eeyore. His presence was so good, and I I don't I want to shout him out because I was doing a 54 Below show uh for 5454 54. So it was May 4th, and it's where you sing for 54 seconds. They do it once a year at 54 Below.

And I went up right before this really tall dude that I recognized from something, and I I did like a cover of To Make You Feel My Love by Adele, but I said, But you can't fuck my butt. And um you're welcome. And I choked, that was great. Thank you. He literally, we were at sound check and he was like, I can't go after you. Like, I'm like it, I'm like dying. I can't do it. And I'm like, Yeah, you can, you're adorable. Um, and he went up and then I was like, I know where I recognize you from. Did you do Winnie the Pooh live? And he was like, Yeah, and I was like, You are so good. So he's returning to the cast um after because they did it in New York, and then of course they did it too. You can't go stayed.

I I'm like, am I the little seed that got planted? Being like, people remember me from that. Like that was a big deal. Uh, but he was really fantastic as far as um his his uh body and uh because you can't really do the Eeyore voice is just depression, and I think he gave it in a way that that made kids like not afraid of their sadness, which is really hard to do. Um, so I just I think that they were both really really fantastic actors.

[18:58] Andrew DeWolf: I will say it was weird. There there's certain feelings I don't like to mix together, you know. Like I don't like being attracted to Winnie the Pooh. I don't and the guy that plays Winnie the Pooh is just very, very cute. And so every time are you talking about Winnie the Pooh's friend, the one that follows him around?

[19:17] Grace Aki: Yes, yes. I'm so sorry. You didn't you didn't follow this on Instagram. He literally, there were people that were like Winnie the Twink. Like they literally were obsessed with them, and I was like, guys, you've got to chill. Jake just wants to live in this world. Um, but you're right. He he's a strong eye as this one. He's a very, very cute man. Um, um, good on him. The voice is perfect, everything is perfect. I want to give plaudits to the actress that plays Piglet and Roo. I think they do a very good job uh interpreting those characters in ways that aren't just mimicry. I think that was very impressive because a lot of people do the same voice for Piglet, and I really just like, oh, you're just doing uh you're doing your own interpretation.

I love it. And I want to give credit to all the actors across the board. You sometimes you could think like the the puppet does the acting for you, but they do the acting themselves as well. Like they are always in it, no matter what the scene is. I think acting with puppets is probably pretty hard, really. You gotta do two things at once.

[20:20] Grace Aki: You're having to Yeah, sorry, no, no, go ahead.

[20:24] Andrew DeWolf: No, I'm just saying you gotta act and have the puppet act as well. So it's like you're acting twice. You don't know who the audience is looking at, and you want them to be looking at your puppet, because that's the character. And something again, uh sorry to continue shout this out, but like that's one thing about that. I've learned about Olaf is that the actors have to look at Olaf's eyes, so you have no scene partners, so you're acting by yourself in the world, just wishing. I mean, think about it. This character literally says, I want warm hugs and nobody touches them. How sad is that? Like, just you know, so they're always having to act opposite with these like plastic eyeballs. And I think that because of the company of Winnie the Pooh, them all kind of being uh the way that the the characters were designed, they could all operate on the same levels, and they seem to like enjoy each other's company, like meeting each other in the middle, and then their characters got to meet each other in the middle. So it's a really perfect um collaboration of like puppet design and then the thoughtfulness of how that actor is gonna have to portray that.

[21:21] Grace Aki: Hell yeah.

[21:21] Andrew DeWolf: Now he gets it.

[21:24] Grace Aki: I get it.

[21:27] Andrew DeWolf: This guy over here, what the hell yeah. What's his deal? You know what? I think it's time to compare our opinions to those of the New York theater critic when this first came out. It's time for breviews.

[21:40] Grace Aki: It's time for preview.

[21:46] Andrew DeWolf: It's time for previews.

[21:49] Grace Aki: And Bree, since I'm putting you on the hot seat for having to get give us all our Winnie the Pooh rankings, I wanna read this review. Because this might be the most insane review I have read since our Peter Pan review.

[22:01] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, I um I have read it. Um and I will I'll hand it over to you. Go ahead.

[22:05] Grace Aki: Do you agree with me though? It's it's a wild one.

[22:10] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, I can't wait. Yes, I I ever since we did our Peter Pan review, which is so good that we literally have fan art describing it, it has become a staple of our show. I have been looking for one equally as strange, equally as I don't know where you're going. We're getting more more rainbow cardigans in this. So this is from the New York Times by Alexis Soloski from December 21st, 2021.

[22:34] Grace Aki: My birthday, y'all.

[22:35] Andrew DeWolf: Um So here's the review. My god, I thought, perhaps 20 minutes into Winnie the Pooh, the new musical stage adaptation at Theatre Row in Manhattan. Why am I here? That bear couldn't even be bothered to put on pants.

[22:49] Grace Aki: That is the opening sentence.

[22:51] Andrew DeWolf: Has he ever read a book? Has this person read okay? Well, we said put on a shirt, it's the Disney version. I mean, they could've they could have been fully naked, right?

[23:00] Grace Aki: I guess.

[23:00] Andrew DeWolf: Uh but that that's setting the tone for this for this review. Let's what let's keep going. One of the small private sorrows of last year's lockdown was that I couldn't take my children to the theater. A practice I'd begun when I was still carrying them in baby bjorns. With vaccinations newly available to the 5 to 11 set. I had just started bringing them back. When I booked our tickets for Winnie the Pooh, the Omicron variant was still mostly an abstract concept. Fodder for the new late night jokes and Twitter memes, but as we made our way to Times Square this weekend, passing around the block lines at testing sites and crowding into subway car, it felt a lot more real.

[23:37] Grace Aki: That is nothing to do with Winnie the second paragraph.

[23:40] Andrew DeWolf: We took a turn into Omicron. Really setting the scene, getting paid by the word, if you will.

[23:46] Grace Aki: The New York Times.

[23:47] Andrew DeWolf: That's that's their way, right? The reviews are just oh, I stub my toe under the way in the theater. Uh zero out of ten.

[23:54] Grace Aki: That's that's the Ben that's the Ben Brantley review method. Like fuck that guy.

[23:59] Andrew DeWolf: Um the show follows Pooh, the pantless bear of very little brain. We're back to pantless. Um, and his animal friends through the four seasons. The seasons, falling leaves, snowflakes, are absolutely the best part. The scruffy, fully sized puppets are manipulated by denim clad actors in weird voices, doing weird voices.

[24:18] Grace Aki: Um the Winnie the Pooh voices, the the ones from Winnie the Pooh?

[24:22] Andrew DeWolf: I guess. The actors control the puppets by sticking a fist through the backs of their heads, which is somewhat disturbing.

[24:28] Grace Aki: I do kind of said they were fisted.

[24:30] Andrew DeWolf: That's literally what they were trying to say. I can't. That is in particular. I somewhat agree with the the back of the head thing. That one's a little weird. When it comes to acting, and not nearly enough in turn terms of story or stakes or the reasons for being, at the performance I attended, Pooh's mic broke, and one of Tigger's feet disconnected. In the summer section, Pooh became stuck in the hollow of a tree, which was nice for a while. A toddler behind me happily narrated the goings on, but one of my children threatened to doze off throughout the throughout, and the other kept kicking me with her rain boots, which suggests something less than rapture.

[25:18] Jesse McAnally: But at this point in the review, Miss Alexis Soloski goes on an entire four-paragraph rant about Emmett Otter, another show that she saw previously, and how much better that one was.

[25:31] Andrew DeWolf: I mean, arguably Emmett Otter is fantastic.

[25:34] Jesse McAnally: So let's be clear. That's that's a nice assessment, except for the fact that, like, why are you comparing these things? Why is your assessment? She didn't realize she was writing for the New York Times.

[25:43] Andrew DeWolf: She thought she was on Musicals with Cheese.

[25:45] Jesse McAnally: Yes, where we can talk about whatever we want, whenever we want. Um, I get I'll start off a little bit of that. Two days before we had a far more soothing experience at another puppet-driven musical, the new Victory Theater's Jim Henson, Evid Artist Jug Band Christmas, a stage adaptation of the 1977 television special, based in turn on the child, all that.

[26:05] Andrew DeWolf: So there's a review of Emmett Otter in the middle of this Winnie the Pooh review.

[26:10] Jesse McAnally: I do like Emmett Otter and the Jug Band, the TV special, so nothing against that, but time and place. Why why are we doing that in the middle of this Winnie the Pooh review?

[26:20] Andrew DeWolf: They circle back to Winnie the Pooh a couple paragraphs later.

[26:23] Jesse McAnally: And the day after Winnie the Pooh, we learned that my older child's fully vaccinated Cheatcher had tested positive, which meant that we would need to quarantine and then test.

[26:32] Andrew DeWolf: They turned the Winnie the Pooh opening to a fucking super spreader event.

[26:36] Jesse McAnally: So it's possible that we, and not that mom who was leisurely taking mask off selfies at Winnie the Pooh were the real problem. Togetherness has its price right now.

[26:46] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[26:52] Jesse McAnally: And that's really challenging, but that's not really considerate to the people that put that art together, especially during a pandemic. That's that's my biggest takeaway. Is that I'm like, okay, those all can be valid for your blog spot, but maybe like take a moment to consider the fact that these people just put on a show for your children and it was really lovely.

[27:11] Andrew DeWolf: So there is a little still. It wasn't as good as Emmett Otter, though. I mean, come on.

[27:15] Jesse McAnally: Well, they sum it up in the final paragraph. Happily, the new victory has made Emmett Otter available for streaming, so you can visit Frogtown Hollow without ever leaving your home, which isn't what most of us want.

[27:26] Andrew DeWolf: But it may be what a lot of us need.

[27:29] Jesse McAnally: Even a bear of very little brain, or a bear with a brain half broken from risk assessment knows that.

[27:35] Andrew DeWolf: That is the wildest New York Times review I've seen in years.

[27:38] Jesse McAnally: That's a big that's a big statement.

[27:43] Andrew DeWolf: So was it good?

[27:44] Jesse McAnally: I think the mo yeah, that's the question. Was it good?

[27:46] Andrew DeWolf: I don't think there's been a crazier New York Times review since Ben Brantley reviewed Head Over Heels.

[27:53] Jesse McAnally: I think that is the last one I've had like this. Like, what the fuck was that?

[27:57] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, it seems like they're just really perturbed about what was going on in their life and not really caring about the show.

[28:03] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, imagine.

[28:04] Andrew DeWolf: The show gave them COVID.

[28:05] Jesse McAnally: Let's be real. Imagine being one of the poor actors in this show and being like, oh boy, the New York Times reviewed us. Let's take a look at it.

[28:11] Andrew DeWolf: They didn't review, but that's not a review. That's a day in the life uh influencer post.

[28:16] Jesse McAnally: I can't wait to see what they think of our show.

[28:18] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, they really liked Emmett Otter.

[28:24] Jesse McAnally: Wow.

[28:24] Andrew DeWolf: Literally the I don't know. It bothers.

[28:27] Jesse McAnally: And if they stub their toe on the way in.

[28:29] Andrew DeWolf: That's too bad.

[28:30] Jesse McAnally: Keep getting a negative review.

[28:32] Andrew DeWolf: Do we agree with that review?

[28:34] Jesse McAnally: No?

[28:35] Andrew DeWolf: No, because it's not a review.

[28:36] Jesse McAnally: I can't even like articulate if it's uh agreeable or not, because I don't think that they talked about the content.

[28:43] Andrew DeWolf: Maybe Emmett Otter is better.

[28:45] Jesse McAnally: Maybe I agree with that. I don't I haven't seen it.

[28:47] Andrew DeWolf: So I mean, maybe.

[28:48] Jesse McAnally: Uh I don't know if that's what a review is for, though.

[28:51] Andrew DeWolf: Usually it's not a comparison between one thing and a different thing.

[28:54] Jesse McAnally: You know what? Sometimes it is when you're on Musicals with Cheese.

[28:57] Andrew DeWolf: But Brie, I think you've had enough time to think about it. What what do you think our respective characters are in Winnie the Pooh?

[29:05] Brianna Jones: Okay, so Andrew is easy. He's Eeyore, doesn't like much.

[29:09] Andrew DeWolf: No question.

[29:10] Brianna Jones: No question. He's a Eeyore. Is that depressive?

[29:12] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god.

[29:12] Brianna Jones: No, it's just your vibe is is mellow. And so it's kind of even keeled. It's a positive thing.

[29:18] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Thankfully, I've never lost my house.

[29:20] Brianna Jones: Or your tail.

[29:21] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. I don't have a tail, so I guess I did lose it.

[29:26] Brianna Jones: Um, Jess, obviously, your Tigger, very boisterous.

[29:30] Andrew DeWolf: Cool.

[29:30] Brianna Jones: High energy. And then Grace, I had a hard time picking because I'm bipolar.

[29:36] Grace Aki: I hear that a lot.

[29:38] Brianna Jones: I had a disorder, so I get it.

[29:40] Grace Aki: No, so I was leaning like Piglet.

[29:43] Brianna Jones: I feel like I get like really good vibes, big heart from you, but then also I get like main character vibes, so like Pooh Bear.

[29:49] Grace Aki: I respect and hear you, and that is always how I identify.

[29:52] Brianna Jones: It depends on what I'm saying.

[29:53] Grace Aki: I was gonna say Roo, though.

[29:54] Brianna Jones: Oh, a Roo vibe?

[29:55] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[29:56] Brianna Jones: Oh, because I've I've mommed so many men in my life.

[29:59] Grace Aki: I get that.

[29:59] Brianna Jones: Well, you mean that's Kanga.

[30:01] Grace Aki: Oh, can that's Kanga.

[30:02] Brianna Jones: Oh, I'm just someone's poor pouch baby.

[30:08] Grace Aki: No, it's you.

[30:09] Brianna Jones: I appreciate it. But Tigger and Roo are best friends, and you and I are best friends, right, Grace?

[30:13] Grace Aki: Are Tigger and Roo best friends?

[30:16] Brianna Jones: No, yeah.

[30:17] Grace Aki: Okay, cool.

[30:18] Brianna Jones: Yeah, we're good.

[30:19] Grace Aki: We're good. What about you, Brie? What would you give yourself?

[30:20] Brianna Jones: Oh, I didn't think about me.

[30:24] Brianna Jones: Um Bri is Piglet.

[30:25] Grace Aki: I do get Piglet vibes from you.

[30:25] Brianna Jones: I also get Piglet vibes, but I wasn't gonna say that.

[30:36] Grace Aki: You're thoughtful, like Sagely advice.

[30:39] Brianna Jones: Yeah, I actually think there's there's parts of you that might give good Owl vibes.

[30:43] Grace Aki: Okay, I love Owl's advice in the summer section of the show.

[30:47] Brianna Jones: He just comes in, he's like, Oh yeah, Pooh is fucked.

[30:50] Grace Aki: I'm out of here.

[30:52] Brianna Jones: Bye.

[30:52] Grace Aki: Like literally just flies in and he's like, dude, I'm just like, okay.

[30:59] Brianna Jones: It's like Owl, please help us with your advice.

[31:01] Grace Aki: He's like, Yeah, he's he's fucked.

[31:05] Brianna Jones: Grace, I'm I solved another one.

[31:07] Grace Aki: I'm gonna offer an alternative for Brie. And I think this I think she's Christopher Robin makes the order out of chaos.

[31:13] Brianna Jones: That's beautiful.

[31:14] Grace Aki: Oh, thank you.

[31:15] Brianna Jones: I feel like Christopher Robin's kind of all of them at once, you know.

[31:19] Grace Aki: Um Brie makes us all sound like human beings instead of the insanity pants people we are.

[31:24] Jesse McAnally: Insane pants, I love it.

[31:26] Jesse McAnally: Um speaking of insane pants people, it's time to dive into the Insane pants people over at Letterboxd.com where we Oh boy.

[31:36] Grace Aki: Oh, Grace, you've never been here for one of these.

[31:38] Grace Aki: Nope.

[31:39] Jesse McAnally: Oh my gosh.

[31:39] Jesse McAnally: It's a nightmare.

[31:40] Jesse McAnally: It's a living nightmare.

[31:41] Grace Aki: So letterboxed account, but I will listen.

[31:45] Jesse McAnally: Um it is letterboxed one-star or five-star, where we are gonna read you a review.

[31:50] Jesse McAnally: It is either a one-star or five-star review on letterbox.com, and you have to guess just based on the content of the review alone.

[31:57] Jesse McAnally: And these are for all the Winnie the Pooh movies. So, are you ready, Grace and Andrew?

[32:02] Grace Aki: Alright, Grace, whose team do you want to be on?

[32:04] Grace Aki: Mine or Bree's?

[32:05] Grace Aki: Oh, Bree's, 100%.

[32:07] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, got this.

[32:08] Jesse McAnally: Every guest picks Bruce.

[32:10] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[32:11] Jesse McAnally: Well, they know I'm never mind.

[32:13] Jesse McAnally: I was gonna say they know I cheat, but I don't.

[32:17] Andrew DeWolf: I don't blame them.

[32:19] Jesse McAnally: Okay.

[32:23] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, you're on to something with that.

[32:25] Jesse McAnally: I refuse to cheat for Andrew.

[32:27] Andrew DeWolf: He beyond refuses.

[32:28] Jesse McAnally: He reads it in ways that make it misleading.

[32:32] Jesse McAnally: Okay.

[32:32] Jesse McAnally: So the first review is God damn it, Owl, you illiterate fuck.

[32:38] Grace Aki: I'm gonna go with that's a one.

[32:40] Andrew DeWolf: That is a five, but uh, we don't really know what that means because that's letter letterbox.

[32:45] Jesse McAnally: Okay, thank you.

[32:46] Jesse McAnally: All right, good guess.

[32:47] Andrew DeWolf: All right, are you ready?

[32:49] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[32:51] Andrew DeWolf: When I went to Disney World as a child, my dad spilled syrup on his shirt at a character breakfast, and Eeyore was very nasty to him.

[32:58] Grace Aki: Wait, can I say something to add to that?

[33:00] Grace Aki: Yes.

[33:01] Grace Aki: The only place that you can see the characters that you're talking about is at the Crystal Palace at Magic Kingdom.

[33:08] Grace Aki: Because I have been to that character breakfast and it's a breakfast brunch.

[33:11] Andrew DeWolf: Did you spill syrup on your dad's shirt?

[33:13] Grace Aki: One time I spilled syrup on my hands because I went to a butterfly exhibit and they all flocked to me, and I have a photo of it.

[33:19] Andrew DeWolf: Hell yeah.

[33:20] Andrew DeWolf: Eeyore came over and was like, you stupid fucking idiot. Spill in the fucking syrup.

[33:29] Jesse McAnally: Um that's a it sounds like a one-star to me.

[33:33] Andrew DeWolf: So that is correct.

[33:39] Jesse McAnally: All right, Grace.

[33:41] Grace Aki: Who do you think Eeyore voted for in 2016?

[33:46] Andrew DeWolf: We don't need to talk about that.

[33:49] Grace Aki: Ron Paul.

[33:51] Andrew DeWolf: Umbe.

[33:54] Grace Aki: That's actually Gary Johnson, I think.

[33:56] Andrew DeWolf: Gary Johnson.

[33:57] Grace Aki: Um, I should go, I should go back and say, I think that's a I think that's a one-star as well.

[34:02] Andrew DeWolf: That is a one-star.

[34:03] Jesse McAnally: We're on the board.

[34:05] Grace Aki: Thank God.

[34:05] Andrew DeWolf: I also think Eeyore did not vote in 2016.

[34:08] Grace Aki: Eeyore doesn't even believe that his vote matters.

[34:11] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[34:11] Grace Aki: And that's kind of the thought.

[34:13] Andrew DeWolf: Eeyore intended on voting, but then he got lost in line and he didn't stay in line.

[34:18] Grace Aki: No, Eeyore's like Eeyore's just like, why even vote?

[34:21] Andrew DeWolf: It's not like it will change anything.

[34:24] Grace Aki: The real problem is the voting system.

[34:28] Andrew DeWolf: The Electoral College should be abolished.

[34:31] Grace Aki: Like that's it.

[34:32] Andrew DeWolf: I won't vote to change it, but all right, Angie, we ready.

[34:37] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[34:37] Andrew DeWolf: The fucking rabbit says the N-word when they're looking for Tigger in the snow.

[34:42] Jesse McAnally: You know, Tigger is a little bit of a uh you don't want to have to say that a lot in a show, you know.

[34:48] Grace Aki: But I really hope that's not true.

[34:50] Andrew DeWolf: Um, one star?

[34:52] Jesse McAnally: That is correct.

[34:53] Andrew DeWolf: I that would be a little awkward if that was a five-star.

[34:56] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[34:57] Jesse McAnally: All right, Grace.

[34:58] Grace Aki: Okay.

[34:59] Grace Aki: Pooh bear, and then there's a little colon. Ass fat.

[35:01] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, I know.

[35:02] Grace Aki: Oh, five.

[35:03] Jesse McAnally: That's a five-star.

[35:04] Grace Aki: That is a five-star.

[35:06] Jesse McAnally: That's a great review.

[35:07] Grace Aki: I want that.

[35:08] Jesse McAnally: If I had cheeky underwear, I know that that would be my review at that.

[35:13] Jesse McAnally: Foreshadowing for later.

[35:14] Grace Aki: Sounds so strange out of context.

[35:20] Jesse McAnally: All right, Angie, are you ready?

[35:21] Andrew DeWolf: Yes.

[35:22] Andrew DeWolf: Tigger sucks himself off too much for my liking.

[35:24] Jesse McAnally: It's the the bouncy tail.

[35:26] Andrew DeWolf: He really likes that.

[35:28] Jesse McAnally: Uh those in video are getting some great images of what Grace is doing.

[35:33] Grace Aki: Join our Patreon.

[35:34] Andrew DeWolf: Star?

[35:34] Jesse McAnally: One star?

[35:35] Andrew DeWolf: That is correct.

[35:36] Jesse McAnally: Okay.

[35:36] Andrew DeWolf: I've gotten a lot of one star reviews here.

[35:38] Jesse McAnally: What?

[35:38] Andrew DeWolf: Nobody likes Winnie the Pooh.

[35:42] Jesse McAnally: Okay.

[35:43] Andrew DeWolf: Why did Piglet gone girl himself?

[35:47] Grace Aki: Oh, this is Piglet's big move for sure.

[35:49] Andrew DeWolf: And I think this person probably gave it a one.

[35:51] Grace Aki: They gave it a five.

[35:52] Andrew DeWolf: Oh weird, right?

[35:54] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[35:54] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, get outside your house.

[35:56] Jesse McAnally: Eat a sandwich.

[35:57] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know.

[35:58] Jesse McAnally: I don't trust that person.

[35:59] Andrew DeWolf: No.

[36:00] Jesse McAnally: Andrew, are you ready?

[36:02] Andrew DeWolf: Um, yeah, let's go.

[36:04] Andrew DeWolf: Every character is giving off major non-binary vibes, and I'm living for it.

[36:09] Jesse McAnally: Five stars.

[36:10] Andrew DeWolf: That's correct.

[36:12] Jesse McAnally: I kinda I can kind of see what they're talking about as well.

[36:14] Andrew DeWolf: It's it's yeah.

[36:15] Jesse McAnally: I kind of feel like Winnie the Pooh, everyone is sort of like genderless, sexless kind of thing going on.

[36:21] Grace Aki: I mean, I have you ever seen Pooh Bear's dick?

[36:23] Andrew DeWolf: No.

[36:24] Grace Aki: And I won't, but I'll say the most non-binary vibes I ever got, even like like literally my whole life was always Rabbit.

[36:32] Andrew DeWolf: Rabbit was always giving me like because people would always say like him, they would use he him pronouns, but I was like, but also like Rabbit gives me a lot of like fam like energy and like like I hate the word, but girl boss.

[36:44] Jesse McAnally: Like, I think that like if anybody's really MB, I think it's Rabbit.

[36:48] Grace Aki: I'd argue Piglet.

[36:49] Andrew DeWolf: Piglet always gave me that vibe, but for Piglet.

[36:52] Grace Aki: Same same feels, different character.

[36:54] Andrew DeWolf: Piglet's just pan, and that's different.

[36:56] Grace Aki: Yeah, that's fair.

[36:57] Brianna Jones: Okay.

[37:00] Brianna Jones: Umlet's a child.

[37:03] Grace Aki: Right.

[37:03] Brianna Jones: Sorry to sexualize a child, a sentient being.

[37:07] Grace Aki: Rue's a child.

[37:08] Brianna Jones: Piglet's just short.

[37:09] Grace Aki: It's just their name's Piglet.

[37:12] Brianna Jones: Okay.

[37:13] Brianna Jones: I'm gonna give your mom a hundred acre wood.

[37:17] Grace Aki: That's our real review.

[37:19] Jesse McAnally: That's a real review.

[37:20] Andrew DeWolf: These are all.

[37:23] Brianna Jones: I just wanted to give that a five star, even though it might not be.

[37:26] Andrew DeWolf: It is a one.

[37:27] Brianna Jones: It is a one.

[37:28] Andrew DeWolf: I'm gonna give you soulmate.

[37:30] Brianna Jones: Giving you a point for it.

[37:32] Andrew DeWolf: Why did I not see that coming?

[37:34] Brianna Jones: That was such an obvious joke.

[37:35] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[37:37] Andrew DeWolf: Are you ready?

[37:39] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I'm ready.

[37:39] Andrew DeWolf: Piglet would get eaten if the Winnie the Pooh universe was real.

[37:43] Jesse McAnally: It is real, and Piglet's still here, so uh uh one star, one star.

[37:48] Andrew DeWolf: That is correct.

[37:48] Jesse McAnally: What is the Lord of the Flies?

[37:50] Andrew DeWolf: Why are they debating that?

[37:52] Jesse McAnally: Weird.

[37:53] Andrew DeWolf: Um absolute garbage soy boy movie, Tigger Chad gang for life.

[37:59] Andrew DeWolf: What the f—? I don't know what that's—where do you find these fucking movies?

[38:04] Grace Aki: Go through Letterboxd, and I'm like, which one sounds the most unhinged?

[38:08] Andrew DeWolf: But also, like, I'm gonna say one and it's gonna be a five, and I'm gonna be like, this is when I quit.

[38:13] Grace Aki: No, it is a one.

[38:14] Andrew DeWolf: Oh thank god.

[38:16] Jesse McAnally: What movie are they talking about with that one?

[38:18] Grace Aki: Do we know?

[38:19] Andrew DeWolf: Probably the Tigger, probably the Tigger movie.

[38:21] Jesse McAnally: No, that was the—that was Piglet's Big Movie.

[38:23] Grace Aki: Piglet's Big Movie.

[38:24] Andrew DeWolf: Oh okay.

[38:25] Grace Aki: Yeah, I mean Piglet's Big Movie. I could see why that would be a soy boy movie.

[38:28] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, boy movie, yeah.

[38:29] Grace Aki: That makes sense.

[38:30] Andrew DeWolf: All right, I think we all right. I think we get one more each, Brie.

[38:34] Brianna Jones: Okay.

[38:35] Andrew DeWolf: All right, you gotta picture me saying this line as Jason Lee, alright?

[38:40] Grace Aki: Okay, as everyone's a Tigger.

[38:43] Andrew DeWolf: Then no one is.

[38:46] Grace Aki: Um five stars. I'm gonna go with five stars.

[38:48] Andrew DeWolf: That is a one.

[38:49] Grace Aki: That's a one!

[38:50] Andrew DeWolf: Everyone hates these fucking movies.

[38:52] Grace Aki: What the hell?

[38:55] Andrew DeWolf: Why does everyone hate Winnie the Pooh?

[38:56] Grace Aki: They everyone just wants to see Emmett Otters.

[38:58] Jesse McAnally: We can tie this up, Grace.

[39:00] Grace Aki: We can tie this up, really.

[39:01] Andrew DeWolf: We can tie this up.

[39:02] Grace Aki: You could.

[39:03] Andrew DeWolf: I'm seeing the numbers.

[39:04] Grace Aki: I see them.

[39:06] Andrew DeWolf: Ooh, I gotta pick, I gotta pick a good one.

[39:08] Grace Aki: Um Tigger is the Kramer of the Winnie the Pooh universe.

[39:13] Andrew DeWolf: I will not elaborate.

[39:15] Grace Aki: Elaborate all.

[39:16] Andrew DeWolf: They spelled elaborate wrong.

[39:18] Grace Aki: Fun fact, this review was done by past guest of the show, uh, Shae Ferrillis.

[39:22] Andrew DeWolf: Oh no.

[39:23] Grace Aki: I kind of see what he's talking about, actually.

[39:25] Andrew DeWolf: Wait, repeat the first sentence or the first part.

[39:28] Grace Aki: Tigger is the Kramer of the Winnie the Pooh universe.

[39:32] Andrew DeWolf: I will not elaborate.

[39:34] Grace Aki: Oh.

[39:36] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[39:37] Grace Aki: Blah blah.

[39:39] Andrew DeWolf: My gut says one, and I'm gonna say one.

[39:43] Grace Aki: Yes, it's a one.

[39:44] Andrew DeWolf: We've tied.

[39:45] Grace Aki: We're so good.

[39:48] Andrew DeWolf: Celebrate the two.

[39:53] Grace Aki: Which one wasn't it?

[39:54] Andrew DeWolf: Which Winnie the Pooh.

[39:55] Grace Aki: That was the Tigger movie.

[39:56] Andrew DeWolf: Wow. On that note, how about we go into a mid-show and then talk about some of these songs?

[40:02] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[40:02] Jesse McAnally: Let's do it.

[40:08] Jesse McAnally: Hey guys, sorry to interrupt me in the middle of the show, but we've got a sh-shill at you. Today's show is brought to you by the extremely kind donations by our donors over at Patreon.

[40:20] Jesse McAnally: Over at Patreon, you can get tons of fun perks such as patron-only commentaries, our episodes a day early, or even earlier, video episodes of the show where you're gonna get a whole like video version of the show, and you can see Grace Aki's incredible face right now.

[40:35] Grace Aki: Oh my god, she's doing backflips.

[40:37] Jesse McAnally: Oh, I didn't know a body could bend that way. Grace, that's incredible.

[40:41] Grace Aki: You can do it now with cheekies.

[40:45] Jesse McAnally: She's actually dressed as Winnie the Pooh right now.

[40:47] Grace Aki: Yeah.

[40:47] Jesse McAnally: You'd have to use the tune to see the red shirt.

[40:49] Grace Aki: It's just a red t-shirt, yeah.

[40:51] Jesse McAnally: And I mean, we're just taking her word on that since we can't see like below the shirt, but uh I'm willing to trust that.

[40:57] Jesse McAnally: Um and I can just see right on the tip of her lips, she wants to say, "Join the Patreon." She just really wants to say it out loud into her microphone.

[41:06] Grace Aki: He always does this.

[41:07] Grace Aki: Join the Patreon!

[41:08] Jesse McAnally: She did it!

[41:09] Andrew DeWolf: I got it. He can't even get me to say that, and he gets the guests to say it.

[41:14] Grace Aki: Yes.

[41:14] Jesse McAnally: Speaking of which, Andrew, who's currently supporting us over at Patreon?

[41:18] Andrew DeWolf: Oh boy, we've got a lot. Uh let's go through quick. Our current patrons are Melissa Goldman, Layton Accles, Danielle Rennex, Justice Stampede, Ewan Cassidy, Monica Thoreau, Mina Maniri, Brent Black, Lithaniel Stacey Coombe, Joseph Evans Green, Carrie Ahern, Mary Lou Choquette, John Van Alves, Russ Walker, Musical Hell, Emily Gracie, Kyle Summers, uh, Janae C, Scoot in the Technicore Dreamcoat, Liz Limb, Alison Stoller, nothing is certain except Beth and Taxes, Thesbian, Ren Cullen, Raphael Martinez Salaz, Jessica T, Mitchell Young, Jai Tacup, oh boy, Katie McDonough, Timothy Keys, Chris Marcot, uh, Mimu, Gigi Marie Anastasio, Leva, RJ Nariga, uh, Super Antelope, Charlie B, Patrick Deering, Avery Brinson, Bjorn Hermans, Joanna, uh, or just Joanna, Joanna Oakley, uh, Erica S. Toriana Frazier, Sammy the Most Lopez, Liana Morton, Angela, Kylie Blazier, Birdman69, Cinema Geddon Reviews, Villainous Miss, Sophina Ali, The Omega Geek, Katrin Evans, Paige Pearson, Maddie Wargle, Jonathan, Alana uh Reesnik, uh, Rachel Bisnip Bishop, pardon me, holy crap.

[42:26] Grace Aki: Why am I reading that as an N?

[42:27] Andrew DeWolf: Uh Rachel Bishop, Eliza Erdman, and Anna Los Catova. If you think about it, H really is a yastified N.

[42:34] Jesse McAnally: But these folks give us a little financial support over at Patreon. So why don't you come out and join us and get all those fucking fun perks?

[42:40] Grace Aki: Also, we've got merch by our fucking merch.

[42:44] Jesse McAnally: You have such good merch, and I'm a merch bitch. So I just want to say that when I endorse a merch, the merch is good, the merch is hot, the merch is fresh.

[42:52] Grace Aki: You own any of our merch?

[42:54] Andrew DeWolf: No, I don't own any of the merch. I don't own my merch.

[42:57] Grace Aki: Oh my god!

[42:58] Andrew DeWolf: She looks—she looks at the merch and she's like, this is good, not buying it though.

[43:02] Grace Aki: I will read it.

[43:03] Andrew DeWolf: And honestly, I understand that.

[43:05] Grace Aki: I guess I can—I'll see you.

[43:07] Andrew DeWolf: I kind of get that. Now I'm gonna have to go to the site.

[43:09] Jesse McAnally: Anyways, continuous. Grace, when you come to Broadway.

[43:12] Grace Aki: Oh yeah, speaking of which, we will be at BroadwayCon on July 9th at 1 p.m. somewhere at that convention hall.

[43:22] Andrew DeWolf: Probably in the smallest room with zero people there, but come see—

[43:22] Grace Aki: No windows.

[43:27] Andrew DeWolf: No doors.

[43:29] Grace Aki: Yeah, no water.

[43:29] Andrew DeWolf: Just a full audience with only Grace Aki in the dead center.

[43:32] Grace Aki: She could have set up in the front, but she sat dead center.

[43:35] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, I'm busy right at one, but otherwise I see you.

[43:38] Grace Aki: Yeah, no one.

[43:39] Andrew DeWolf: Well, that's about right. I'll be there the whole weekend. I've got a lot going on, but um, I'm so excited. I think there's gonna be a lot of people that are like, I feel like parasocial, like people that we follow, and creators and fellow theater lovers, and I'm just so excited for this opportunity for you.

[43:54] Grace Aki: I hope no one recognizes me. You know, I went to the first BroadwayCon ever. Uh, someone I knew was in the—it was crazy. I was in like the holding room with like the cast of Hamilton, and it was before they blew up and they were all just kind of hanging out.

[44:07] Andrew DeWolf: I'm about to do a panel, and I helped teach like a Newsies workshop, and then um I also hosted a panel with um Anthony Rapp. And it's just been—I've been doing it like throughout the years, and this will be one of the first years that I'm kind of present a different way.

[44:20] Grace Aki: So um, I'm so excited for you. It's nuts, it's absolutely nuts.

[44:24] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. I can't wait to embarrass ourselves on a national level on a stage.

[44:29] Grace Aki: It'll be great.

[44:29] Jesse McAnally: Yes, we've already embarrassed ourselves on a national level. We might as well do it on a stage.

[44:34] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, yeah, you're right. We embarrass ourselves once a week at this point. We might as well do it in front of a bunch of people and not have an ability to a live audience.

[44:44] Grace Aki: There's an idea.

[44:45] Andrew DeWolf: A live audience of Grace Aki and Grace Akiala.

[44:48] Grace Aki: Just me asking questions.

[44:50] Andrew DeWolf: She'll just be on her phone. She won't even be paying attention.

[44:53] Grace Aki: She will just be like, oh, yeah. Hi, boys. Doing pretty rough up there.

[45:01] Jesse McAnally: Let's get back to the show.

[45:12] Andrew DeWolf: Win it up.

[45:19] Grace Aki: We need up Pooh.

[45:21] Andrew DeWolf: We can be single bear.

[45:24] Grace Aki: So the opening song is just the opening song of the original Winnie the Pooh animation shorts.

[45:31] Andrew DeWolf: We need a poop.

[45:32] Grace Aki: We need the poop.

[45:34] Andrew DeWolf: Yes. Um, 10 out of 10, perfect song. Absolutely incredible.

[45:38] Grace Aki: But it also fades in, like the theme of the new adventure of the Winnie the Pooh, which Grace has previously sung earlier in this episode, is used, but I don't think it's ever properly sung in the show.

[45:48] Andrew DeWolf: Interesting.

[45:50] Grace Aki: So it's there. I don't remember it ever being sung at the end.

[45:53] Andrew DeWolf: I just remember, no. I remember just playing it like as a musical theme for Pooh when he comes around.

[46:11] Grace Aki: Um, I will say, comparing that song, the Winnie the Pooh, New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh theme. What do you think of that in comparison to the Book of Pooh theme? Do you know that one, Grace?

[46:21] Grace Aki: Is that not the Winnie the Pooh theme?

[46:23] Andrew DeWolf: No. The Book of Pooh theme is a weirdly dark song for the puppeted version of Winnie the Pooh from the early aughts.

[46:32] Grace Aki: And it has a very strange end song. Because I remember it's been analyzed as like contemplating death. Like that is what the lyrics apparently are about.

[46:42] Andrew DeWolf: What is this theme? I've never heard this before, I don't think.

[46:44] Grace Aki: Yeah, we're not. It's called Goodbye for Now. It's a closing theme to the Book of Pooh, which was a puppet show version of Winnie the Pooh from I want to say 2003, but it goes like this.

[46:54] Andrew DeWolf: Um now is the time to close the book. Though we've just begun, it's true. We'll say goodbye until another day. Another day with new adventures on the way. They're on the way.

[47:01] Grace Aki: Um, so it's all about death and accepting that it's the end, but it's also the end of this episode of the Book of Pooh.

[47:07] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, okay. I'll take—you know, I'll take it. Play a little bit of it, Brie, because the only reason why it reads that way is because it's—it sounds so somber.

[47:16] Grace Aki: Like it is such a sad ending.

[47:19] Andrew DeWolf: Now's the time to close the book.

[47:24] Grace Aki: We've just begun, it's true.

[47:28] Andrew DeWolf: We'll say goodbye until another day.

[47:32] Grace Aki: Another day with new adventures on the way.

[47:36] Andrew DeWolf: They're on the way.

[47:37] Grace Aki: We're on a way.

[47:39] Andrew DeWolf: So off we go. We won't be far.

[47:44] Grace Aki: We'll be waiting here for you.

[47:48] Andrew DeWolf: It kind of reminds me of the uh the Bear in the Big Blue House ending.

[47:51] Grace Aki: So no.

[47:52] Andrew DeWolf: No, that's—that's out of the box.

[47:54] Grace Aki: Oh my gosh, out of the box.

[47:56] Andrew DeWolf: Goodbye, good friends, good friends.

[47:58] Grace Aki: You just unleashed an entire like fucking thing from the back of my brain. Like a synapse just went off that net hadn't gone up in 30 years.

[48:08] Grace Aki: Do you follow the guy? You should follow the guy on TikTok. The guy who did out of the box because he collabed with like the girl that used to do it, and they did like the whole goodnight song with his daughter.

[48:17] Andrew DeWolf: It was so cute.

[48:18] Grace Aki: Oh my gosh, that's so cute. Um was that—that's some pretty intense Asian representation in out of the box now that I think about it.

[48:26] Andrew DeWolf: It was. I remember it so vividly because it was maybe the only woman that I saw like leading a show with a dude. And I was like, oh, so like you can host, like you can be an Asian woman and like be a leading character because every time I would watch Barney or anything else, you were like a supporting kid, or like just like there would be one Asian person, usually a boy or something, and um, I don't know. It's just yeah, she was so front-facing.

[48:49] Grace Aki: There was a time when Disney was progressive. Can you believe?

[48:53] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, now they—they a person of color can't even show up on their station anymore without fucking everyone losing their minds.

[48:59] Grace Aki: Sad day.

[49:00] Andrew DeWolf: Sad day. Um I'm so tired of woke Disney, if you ask me.

[49:04] Grace Aki: They've really gone off the rails.

[49:06] Andrew DeWolf: Boy, he's kissing, get out of here. Sexualizing children like that.

[49:11] Grace Aki: Speaking of that, did you see Tim Allen's incredible 10 out of 10 tweet from yesterday?

[49:16] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, where he just went again?

[49:18] Grace Aki: He went to Disney with some kids.

[49:20] Andrew DeWolf: Some kids that he took to Disney.

[49:24] Grace Aki: And he heard like literally frames, I took some kids, not like a niece or a nephew or his own children.

[49:24] Andrew DeWolf: Some kids.

[49:32] Grace Aki: Just some kids.

[49:32] Andrew DeWolf: And he heard, like, oh, I—I'm attracted to a skill. Does that make me pansexual?

[49:37] Grace Aki: Nobody said that.

[49:38] Andrew DeWolf: No. Nobody said that. Tim Allen, you're full of shit. I wish you said Coke again.

[49:43] Grace Aki: And he thought it was hilarious. He thought that was the funniest thing anyone has ever thought of. So he had to tweet it and then make up a story about why he tweeted it. You just thought of that joke and thought it was hilarious.

[49:51] Andrew DeWolf: So what do you think of the whoop-de-ooper whoop-de-loop or bounce in the book?

[49:57] Grace Aki: This one is pretty musical. Except for that they can't get the puppets to jump. Other than that, it's pretty good.

[50:03] Andrew DeWolf: Oh de-dooper loop-de-looperally whooper bounce.

[50:07] Grace Aki: The whoop-de-dooper loop-de-looperale whooper bounce.

[50:11] Andrew DeWolf: It's got the zip that makes you flip the dead foot really counts.

[50:14] Grace Aki: And the whoop-de-dooper loop-de-looper bounce.

[50:17] Andrew DeWolf: It's hard for that actor to spit those words out. Like already in that Tigger iconic voice, but then the whoop-doo whooper bounce.

[50:24] Grace Aki: It's a like such an intense, like, I feel like you're giving your mouth a heart attack.

[50:29] Andrew DeWolf: A mouth attack.

[50:30] Grace Aki: Yeah. But also he nails it.

[50:31] Andrew DeWolf: He does. Like everyone in the show fucking nails the test they were given, which is not.

[50:36] Grace Aki: I liked it. I liked when Rabbit comes and he does the whoop-ty-dooper bounce as well. That's so and Pooh is just he wants the honey so bad that he literally walks into the next season after this. It's so it's very good. He changes the tides simply for the hunger alone. I do have a question for both of you, as my wonderful wonderful friends. Could Winnie the Pooh work with a longer runtime? Because every Winnie the Pooh story is like 60 minutes. Even the most recent one that I still think is very good with Bobby and Kristen Anderson Lopez um writing songs. I it was still like 58 minutes. I don't think Winnie the Pooh should be more than an hour long. You know, think of the ideal demographic for these stories.

There are gonna be children that are kind of uh, you know, utilizing their motor skills, they're learning like basic, basic, like, you know, uh rudimentary uh life skills. So I think that if you were to extend this past an hour, those kids would kind of be aged out. Like you would need somebody that could stay longer, um, which is not the kids that this is aimed for. I mean, this is like three to six year olds. So um, I don't think that that makes sense for who this is uh properly geared towards.

[51:47] Jesse McAnally: I agree. Uh and also short and sweet, it's all you need. Yeah, it doesn't need to be more than an hour. You don't want to take a poo for more than an hour.

[51:56] Grace Aki: Shut the fuck up. And you also have what, like 15 minutes per season, which are like these little vignettes of plays, so it allows for there to be like a perfect beginning, middle, and end within like a 10 minute time period. It's really perfectly set for each character and also a kid's attention span. Because by the time they get to the next season, they're like kind of resetting because the lights change, and that for for a lot of kids, especially like um kids that have like you know, special needs and whatnot, like they need that moment to like have some downtime to not be totally enthralled and like totally invested in everybody.

[52:29] Grace Aki: I agree. Um, so which is why I it's a leading question that'll lead me to transition into have either of you seen the film Christopher Robin starring Iwan McGregor?

[52:39] Andrew DeWolf: No.

[52:40] Grace Aki: I just got it confused for the the Peter Rabbit movie, so I might have to reevaluate that, but I don't think I've seen it.

[52:48] Grace Aki: I think I've just seen the Peter Rabbit movie and Paddington Bear, which I kind of combined with.

[52:52] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[52:52] Grace Aki: Um, so that was a hundred and four minutes um about a grown up Iwan McGregor playing or grown up Christopher Robin as played by Iwan McGregor, basically just being mean to Winnie the Pooh for 90 minutes and then being nice for 14 minutes. So it's like Ted by Sark.

[53:09] Jesse McAnally: I will say the designs of the characters are beautiful.

[53:15] Grace Aki: Yeah. Um, but the movie doesn't work because it's too fucking long. These characters cannot withstand a full narrative film.

[53:24] Grace Aki: Can I quickly tell you my Ewan McGregor story if I've never told you before?

[53:27] Jesse McAnally: Um, I don't believe you've told me your Ewan McGregor story.

[53:30] Grace Aki: Okay. Just I just to sum it up, famously, I've told you I worked in high-end retail for a short time in my life. That means that I met people that it did not make sense for me to meet and fold cotton t-shirts for. What I'm saying is I'm better than you, JS. What I'm saying is I made a lot of money and I should have kept it. So I I worked in like this high-end retail store, and it was mainly known for like these LA like chic like t shirts, like basics, but like for rich people. And Ewan McGregor came in with what I think is his daughter, looking back and also having seen her on Obi Wan, I think that was her. Um but he came to the city. No, I'm positive. This was like five years ago. Um, cause uh maybe not, anyways, um, but he was so kind, so kind.

And like I was like, because everybody anytime a celebrity would come in would be like defer to me because they would get freaked out, and I'm like, these are just normally actors, which are people, so chill, you know? And I was like, oh, hi, you know, uh, how can I help you? Like, what size do you wear? And because usually people come in, they already know the brand. And he goes, you know, I'm pretty good that it and like in his like accent, I can't do it. And I got so freaked out because I forgot he's Scottish. And like I have always heard him in an English accent or an American accent. And it did not compute. And I was like, oh, he must be preparing for a role. I'll go along with it. And I was just so embarrassed.

And he was he was one of the nicest, hottest people I've ever met in my life. And then afterwards he left, and I was just like, I felt a chill come over my body. And then I remembered he was Scottish. And I was like, that was him being him himself. And I should chill.

[55:07] Jesse McAnally: That was beautiful, Grace.

[55:09] Grace Aki: Um thank you. I loved Elon McGregor so much. I really, really did. Until he cheated on his wife with a woman half her age, the mother of his children. It's not a news story. Don't love it though. Don't love it. Wish that didn't happen. Could have been me. Could have been me, guys.

[55:25] Jesse McAnally: Grace, you know, you could have been a Mar um Mary Elizabeth Winstead. You could have been that. A lot of things. Anyways. Bree, you could have been a Mary Elizabeth Winstead too. You give me that vibe. That's just an unrelated statement.

[55:40] Jesse McAnally: On that note, what is everyone's overall thoughts on Woody the Pooh, the musical adaptation and their cheese ratings? Grace, why don't you go first? Because you're awesome.

[55:49] Grace Aki: Wow, thank you so much for letting me start this. Um, I think that we need more shows like this. I think is was my overall feeling. As soon as I finished the show, I thought, what a lovely palatable 10 45 a.m. I've just had. You know, I think that there are so many times where we could engage young people with the theater that um often get overlooked for being too costly for the the analysis of like when you can sell it, how many seats you can sell, COVID, like all these factors, right? And because Disney has the money and they partnered with this great, you know, um company in Britain, like they figured it out and they were able to create and cultivate this gorgeous little show for not only young people, but the adults to take them to.

I think that that's the biggest thing when we think about young adult theater, young adult and children's theater, we often don't think about the fact that who's taking them to those shows are adults. And I think that if we can enjoy ourselves and then a child can enjoy themselves and we can all learn together and experience art, they're more likely to become art supporters when they're older. I think about all the times that I was at the nutcracker as a young child and like talking it through, and then I was like, I want to dance and all those things because I was experiencing high ex and by the way, it was probably like community theater, which nothing to shade your hat at. But like, you know, I I learned from that and it made me want to be involved.

And so the more I think we can see these hour long shows of popular properties, you know what I'm saying? Like, even if you did, like you said, Emmett Otter, obviously was the highlight of that review. Um, the more we can do that, the more we can engage young people and the more likely they are to say, Oh, I want to be a puppet. Like, I want to be a puppeteer, I want to be a singer, I want to do voices, and that's how you cultivate the next um iteration. But the more we have digital media, the more we have Disney Plus, that gets a lot harder because that's a lot less expensive to take your child to is your living room. And so the more accessibility that you have with shows like this, I think the better it is.

And I thought it was a really well done piece of art. So I I give it uh, you know, I give it an American cheese because you can put it on anything, and every kid likes it cut up. They like it cut up, they like it on top of their little hamburger. It's it's an American slice of cheese. That's what I want to say. And out of ten.

[58:00] Jesse McAnally: Grace, you as always are a wonderful, um, one of our best guests. I am always so grateful to have 10. One of five or whatever the top. One of obviously you keep getting invited back.

[58:12] Grace Aki: Thank you.

[58:17] Andrew DeWolf: Uh it's uh it's Winnie the Pooh. I mean, I feel like they nailed it. That's that's all that's all there really is to it. It's short and sweet. And they did not mess it up. It it's Winnie the Pooh. Not really much more to say, I don't think. Uh I'm gonna give it Gorgonzola, because uh that apparently pairs well with honey.

[58:34] Jesse McAnally: So it's a great choice. All right. Bree, what'd you think of our conversation? And what is your opinion on Shaky underwear?

[58:42] Brianna Jones: Well, the conversation has been one of my favorite in a very long time. I guess not very long, but you're saying.

[58:50] Brianna Jones: Yeah, really Grace just it it should just be, you know, musicals with Grace and some cheese or something like that.

[58:58] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, me and Andrew don't even show up on the show anymore. She's she's the star.

[59:01] Andrew DeWolf: Uh maybe you and Grace should just go on some dates or something.

[59:05] Grace Aki: We could do that.

[59:06] Brianna Jones: Yeah, we could. You know, I was just in New York.

[59:08] Grace Aki: I should have stopped by.

[59:11] Brianna Jones: I hope you had a beautiful time.

[59:12] Grace Aki: She saw Beetlejuice.

[59:13] Brianna Jones: I did see Beetlejuice.

[59:15] Grace Aki: Shut up.

[59:15] Brianna Jones: Where did you see it?

[59:16] Grace Aki: I saw it on uh Sunday, a Sunday, June fifth.

[59:22] Brianna Jones: Oh, so you saw it recently.

[59:24] Grace Aki: Oh, yeah.

[59:24] Brianna Jones: You might have seen my friend. I mean, you saw my guy Alex, but you might have seen Andrew Cobra um maybe uh on because he's been on uh his a swing. So I'm sure you had a great time.

[59:33] Grace Aki: It's great enough space, isn't it?

[59:34] Brianna Jones: Yes. It was wonderful.

[59:36] Jesse McAnally: Um so I'm gonna give this a honey goat cheese, which is a cheese I think I've given before, but it only makes sense for these circumstances. Um and then if I am talking about cheeky underwear, and I have to write that as a a cheese.

[59:51] Brianna Jones: Um you just say what your opinions are on it.

[59:54] Brianna Jones: Oh, well, I would like to give it a cheese.

[59:56] Grace Aki: Okay.

[59:57] Brianna Jones: Cheeky underwear, you know, I I bought them for a long time, but recently, as I've gotten older, I don't like them. I like being comfortable. I don't like wedgies.

[1:00:05] Brianna Jones: I don't like why did you buy them for a long time? Because I liked them. At least I thought I did.

[1:00:11] Grace Aki: Okay.

[1:00:11] Brianna Jones: Yeah, they're definitely marketed to us. That's no no question. They're like, oh, you five for 35 or whatever at American Eagle, and you're like, okay.

[1:00:19] Grace Aki: Yeah, five.

[1:00:20] Brianna Jones: And like, I mean, the ass does look good in a pair of cheeksters. I'm not gonna lie, but are they comfortable? No. No, they're not. And if I was gonna give them a cheese, it would be a bad one. But I can't think of a bad cheese right now.

[1:00:34] Grace Aki: There are no bad cheese.

[1:00:34] Brianna Jones: Can I say what I think what I think would be a perfect compliment cheese to what you just said?

[1:00:38] Grace Aki: What is a Swiss cheese because it's missing so many parts of the cheese.

[1:00:43] Brianna Jones: That's perfect. Perfect swish cheese for cheeks cheeky underwear, cheeksters. Don't like them.

[1:00:48] Andrew DeWolf: All right, Andrew. Did I ask you yet? What are your opinions on cheeky underwear?

[1:00:54] Andrew DeWolf: Uh I don't really know. I I've never worn them. I don't like underwear riding up my ass, though. So I assume I wouldn't like them.

[1:01:01] Jesse McAnally: You know what? That's a good assumption. I I you know what, Andrew? You and I, next time Grace is on, we need to have a cheeky episode where we all like put on the cheekies, meet by all I mean you and me, Andrew, and we have to give our honest opinion on it.

[1:01:14] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, that makes sense.

[1:01:15] Jesse McAnally: That's a bonus Patreon exclusive.

[1:01:17] Andrew DeWolf: I I think I'm sick that day, sadly.

[1:01:20] Jesse McAnally: I'm calling out of work.

[1:01:22] Andrew DeWolf: You know what? Fuck it, I'll bring Brent in that day.

[1:01:24] Jesse McAnally: Oh, Brent would do it.

[1:01:25] Andrew DeWolf: Brent would do it 100%.

[1:01:27] Jesse McAnally: He would. He would be too into it.

[1:01:29] Andrew DeWolf: Brent already owns the cheekies.

[1:01:31] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, you uh the he wouldn't have to go find them. They're in his drawer.

[1:01:34] Andrew DeWolf: He's like, which color is all he wears. Do you want to see them? Like he's like the one percent that's like, you know what? I prefer these. Ass out.

[1:01:42] Jesse McAnally: Well, Jess, what did you think of Winnie the Pooh?

[1:01:45] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. Um, I thought it was a good time. And it justified its existence, which I don't think a lot of Disney Broadway shows do. Um I know Grace, Grace's wonderful partner is playing Olaf, but that musical doesn't exactly add much to Frozen that didn't already exist in its original forum. And and it should be edited, no question.

[1:02:11] Jesse McAnally: No question. Why is Let It Go put at the end of Act One? It does not structurally fit there. Because so is Define Gravity. You could literally make that argument for any big 11 o'clock number for any protagonist female and in a belter show like that. Honestly. It's a very similar structured thing, because I agree with you. It's because they're waiting just like they wait to hear uh to see Olaf come out 45 minutes into the show, which is insane. Then they want the kids to hang on for dear life to hear let it go right then because they've made the show two and a half hours. We could we could really talk about it.

[1:02:44] Grace Aki: Yeah, you know what? Why don't you and your partner come on for the frozen episode whenever that happens?

[1:02:49] Grace Aki: Okay.

[1:02:50] Jesse McAnally: And we'll talk about it.

[1:02:51] Grace Aki: We already covered Frozen.

[1:02:53] Jesse McAnally: Did we cover Frozen as a as a theme theme park show?

[1:02:56] Grace Aki: Yeah, we did, but we didn't cover the real state show.

[1:02:59] Jesse McAnally: Yes, we did. We covered that where Olaf literally, his head is right where the dick is, so it looks like the nose is a penis.

[1:03:07] Grace Aki: Stop playing with a penis on our stream. Either way, I am giving this some gooey nacho cheese.

[1:03:13] Andrew DeWolf: But spread by these incredible Winnie the Pooh cheese spreaders that I am now going to show all of you people.

[1:03:22] Jesse McAnally: Like honestly, this is kind of I don't like the way these look.

[1:03:25] Grace Aki: Oh, I want them.

[1:03:26] Jesse McAnally: No, they're cute.

[1:03:28] Grace Aki: Like, I like Tigger.

[1:03:29] Jesse McAnally: I like Pooh.

[1:03:30] Grace Aki: Eeyore looks real real sad.

[1:03:33] Andrew DeWolf: Eeyore always looks sad.

[1:03:34] Grace Aki: That's his thing.

[1:03:36] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know. I wouldn't like holding them and having their butts spread my cheese.

[1:03:41] Jesse McAnally: You're really gonna complain that Eeyore looks sad.

[1:03:43] Grace Aki: I'm not saying he looks sad as a character. I'm saying he looks sad as if they didn't put much effort into him.

[1:03:48] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[1:03:49] Jesse McAnally: This is getting really ableist, and I don't like it.

[1:03:52] Grace Aki: Yeah, it's a really bad look.

[1:03:53] Andrew DeWolf: We all have cheese spreaders coming out of our ass. That's why we buy cheeky underwear to cover it up.

[1:04:00] Jesse McAnally: On that note, Grace, promote your wonderful content for everyone to find.

[1:04:05] Grace Aki: That's so sweet. I like how Bree's just looking at you like she's in love. Like, literally, that's what the eyes are like, man.

[1:04:11] Brianna Jones: I am, okay.

[1:04:13] Brianna Jones: Have you ever told Grace that the first episode of the show you ever listened to was her episode on Waitress?

[1:04:20] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, it was.

[1:04:20] Jesse McAnally: Yes, it was. What a special time.

[1:04:23] Grace Aki: That's fantastic.

[1:04:24] Jesse McAnally: That was two years ago.

[1:04:28] Grace Aki: Yeah, that was two years ago.

[1:04:29] Jesse McAnally: Bree, you've almost done more episodes of the show than you haven't.

[1:04:33] Brianna Jones: Um I think this will be episode 199.

[1:04:37] Jesse McAnally: Literally, next week will be our 100th, our 200th.

[1:04:41] Andrew DeWolf: What what what is the topic?

[1:04:43] Brianna Jones: Sh can we say it? Like, can or should we leave anticipation?

[1:04:47] Jesse McAnally: It'll be the Sound of Music.

[1:04:49] Grace Aki: That's a big deal.

[1:04:51] Jesse McAnally: It's really a really big deal.

[1:04:52] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[1:04:53] Jesse McAnally: And we will also for 201 be celebrating Bree's 100th episode. And a lot of other things. And Grace has helped us with a lot of those things.

[1:05:03] Brianna Jones: We won't spoil that here, but Grace, promote your stuff.

[1:05:05] Grace Aki: Your face.

[1:05:06] Grace Aki: Okay, so on that note, that was beautiful, Bree. Um, so famously I have too much going on, and I like to wear a lot of hats because I have a lot of unresolved issues.

[1:05:15] Jesse McAnally: Multi-hyphen it.

[1:05:17] Grace Aki: Multi-hyphen it is the uh colloquial version of what I just said. And um, I have a podcast called Tell Me on a Sunday, which will have new episodes coming out. I feel like I say that every time I'm on the show, but I actually mean it this time.

[1:05:27] Grace Aki: And um I do. I'm really excited about it because also I'm promoting um a solo show that has so generously been reviewed on Musicals with Cheese before, called uh To Free a Mocking Bird, which will debut at the She NYC Festival at the Connolly Theater um this summer, July 27th and 29th. You can find information about that in uh my link in bio on all of my social media platforms at it's Grace Aki. You can aggressively stalk me there.

[1:05:52] Grace Aki: Sometimes I'm on a lot, sometimes I'm on a lot. So uh you can find me on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram. OnlyFans if you're nasty.

[1:06:02] Jesse McAnally: I wish.

[1:06:02] Grace Aki: Uh you make a lot of money. I tried so hard to set it up, Jess, and I'm telling you, it was so exhausting. I got so confused. And honestly, Bree, we should just sell our cheekies because I don't know what to do.

[1:06:13] Brianna Jones: Um, but you don't even have to wear them. You can just say that you wore them and buy them.

[1:06:16] Grace Aki: No, no, no. They like it when you wear them.

[1:06:18] Brianna Jones: Well, how will they know?

[1:06:19] Grace Aki: You can just tell them that you did.

[1:06:21] Brianna Jones: Just think they will know.

[1:06:22] Grace Aki: What?

[1:06:23] Brianna Jones: They will know.

[1:06:23] Grace Aki: They know.

[1:06:25] Grace Aki: I'll wear them. Like on your behalf.

[1:06:28] Brianna Jones: They'll know.

[1:06:29] Grace Aki: Well, no. Um, so yeah, I guess that's my podcast, Tell Me on a Sunday, my solo show To Free a Mocking Bird, which I'm so excited about this iteration of. Um, and then you can also find my illustrated work. I love to uh freelance artist work in the interim because um I think that that's if we can't express ourselves, I don't know what we're doing, and that's what you all do so well with how you create this podcast that I like to do that on a visual format.

[1:06:55] Grace Aki: Uh and so I have an Etsy store and an Instagram for that called Grace Aki Made It. And I have uh painted Jess's face a number of times at this point. Um so uh yeah, but um that's that's where you can find like a lot of like my still imagery for films and theater shows. I'm actually uploading 20 pieces of art to my Etsy store tonight.

[1:07:14] Grace Aki: So uh, because I just did uh my my first uh art gallery showing in New York. So I've been a busy beaver and um trying to distract from all the the badness in the world, but I want to thank you all always for allowing me to not only promote myself but also voice my uh opinions on these things. It's always an honor to be on your show. I've loved it ever since I started coming on two years ago.

[1:07:36] Grace Aki: Um, so I I feel like I have this beautiful relationship with you all, and we've never met in person, but one day we will.

[1:07:43] Andrew DeWolf: BroadwayCon.

[1:07:44] Grace Aki: We will if you BroadwayCon. If you don't have your tickets already, go get your tickets now. Grace Aki will be performing at BroadwayCon.

[1:07:53] Jesse McAnally: She and also she will be in the audience for the Musicals with Cheese live show. She will be the one audience member for the Musicals with Cheese live show over at BroadwayCon.

[1:08:02] Grace Aki: One seat over from me in a mask.

[1:08:04] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. In fact, you know what? Maybe Grace won't show up now. Now that you promoted that, she doesn't want one other person there.

[1:08:11] Jesse McAnally: Um, Grace, you are honestly the joy of joys to have on. You wouldn't have been on as much if we didn't absolutely adore you. Um, I hope that we show that in every way. And you'll enjoy whatever cheese plate or whatever we give you, you. You will get rewarded. Welcome to the Five Timers Club. You have earned it because you are fucking awesome.

[1:08:31] Grace Aki: I'm so excited. Thank you so much.

[1:08:33] Grace Aki: Five times. What are they, by the way? Sorry. I'm just so curious. What have we talked about?

[1:08:39] Jesse McAnally: Okay, so first episode, Waitress, of course.

[1:08:43] Grace Aki: Um, second episode, I believe it was Spring Awakening.

[1:08:46] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, I think you're right.

[1:08:47] Grace Aki: Um, now I gotta look. Fuck.

[1:08:49] Jesse McAnally: There might have been the third.

[1:08:50] Grace Aki: No, because I've got to be a good one. There was one in between.

[1:08:52] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[1:08:53] Grace Aki: Um, what was it?

[1:08:55] Jesse McAnally: There was one in between um Spring Awakening and Waitress.

[1:08:59] Grace Aki: God fucking damn it. What the fuck was it? Sorry, I'm taking the time out. I just gotta know. I gotta know about my episodes.

[1:09:07] Jesse McAnally: Um, I know you were on Annette, which was a really quick turnaround. Baby Annette was a very big deal for us that summer.

[1:09:14] Grace Aki: You are still baby Annette, as far as I'm concerned. I want that to be my calling card. Like my Broadway debut, um, my pronouns, and then parenthesis, baby Annette.

[1:09:23] Jesse McAnally: Oh my god, this is gonna bother me so much. So now I have to go to our fucking website. Damn it. I'm sorry.

[1:09:28] Andrew DeWolf: No worries.

[1:09:31] Jesse McAnally: I should know this, but I know it's number five because I had it a It's gonna be like Peter Pan Live or something.

[1:09:36] Grace Aki: No.

[1:09:37] Jesse McAnally: It was something. Fuck.

[1:09:38] Grace Aki: Oh, I remember it. It was a bonus episode on the top ten romantic comedies.

[1:09:45] Jesse McAnally: That's right.

[1:09:45] Grace Aki: And then rom coms. Technically, this is your sixth, but I'm not counting this because this was um n this was kind of fun. It was the Assassin's Cast recording was another one. But then we did Annette. So this is number five as far as official episodes, because the top 10 rom coms is technically a Patreon thing that you did it as a favor. Um, but that was it.

[1:10:04] Grace Aki: There you go.

[1:10:05] Jesse McAnally: I love that. Okay, great. Well, then there you go. Those are the episodes that um obviously we love to see. We're all great. They were all fantastic.

[1:10:10] Grace Aki: Yes.

[1:10:13] Jesse McAnally: Um, honestly, you are top tier. No one no one can compare to you. No one brings what you bring to this, to be honest. And genuine care. And you know what? Who else brings Hutzpa every week, Andrew?

[1:10:25] Andrew DeWolf: Um, you.

[1:10:26] Jesse McAnally: Our wonderful patrons. Thank you guys for listening. Please follow us on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher School Cheese. We're on Twitter at Cheesy Musicals. We're on Patreon Music School Switch, Instagram Musical Switch, YouTube page Musicals with Cheese. We have a patron only podcast called Patreon with Cheese. We're covering the Tangled TV series over there. So go check it out.

[1:10:44] Andrew DeWolf: Email us at musicaltheatrelives@gmail.com. Our keeper of the cheeses, Juliet Antonio. We love you, Juliet. You are the fucking tits.

[1:10:52] Grace Aki: Juliet, you are so freaking fantastic, and I'm obsessed with the fact that every time I get on TikTok, your FYP comes up on my FYP, and I'm just like, I don't know what they're doing, but I'm kind of into it.

[1:11:05] Jesse McAnally: It's kind of kinky, right?

[1:11:07] Grace Aki: It's very kinky, and it's the only side of TikTok that you exist on for me, and I'm thrilled by it. So thank you, and I love you.

[1:11:14] Jesse McAnally: It does because I I not to put you on blast, Juliet. I don't want to put your info out there, but I will like because yeah, you're my friend. You do our cheese, and then I will get the whackest fucking TikToks in my FYP because of the hashtags you put in there. I'm like, It's a problem.

[1:11:29] Andrew DeWolf: Well, then I gotta explain it to my girlfriend where it's like I I this is not I can I become a Jerry Lewis character.

[1:11:37] Jesse McAnally: Um this show is produced by the incredible, the wonderful, the beautiful, one of my best friends in the entire whole goddamn world. It's Brianna Jones.

[1:11:52] Brianna Jones: God dang, he's where is this energy coming from?

[1:11:54] Jesse McAnally: It's it's the good morning Vietnam of intros.

[1:11:58] Brianna Jones: For real.

[1:11:59] Jesse McAnally: Thank you to the Broadway Podcast Network for having us on the platform and for not kicking us off for you know tearing down the big cheeky industry. How the fuck are you gonna end it this episode, Bree?

[1:12:10] Brianna Jones: Alright, alright, you guys. Anything else we have left to say?

[1:12:13] Grace Aki: Deep in the Hundred Acre Woods.

[1:12:17] Jesse McAnally: We're Christopher Robin place.

[1:12:30] Grace Aki: That's it.

[1:12:33] Jesse McAnally: Okay. We'll see you next time on Musicals with Cheese.

[1:12:37] Grace Aki: And and then we will play our cheeky conversation for context.

[1:12:47] Jesse McAnally: Grace, Grace, Grace. While I've got you here and while we have you on the record, what are your opinion on cheeky underwear?

[1:12:53] Grace Aki: Uh you're a fan of them, right? They're like your favorite underwear.

[1:12:54] Grace Aki: I can't believe you're even bringing this up in this kind professional setting. I will never have the bottom part of my ass hanging out of a panty in my life ever again. Cheeky underwear is the patriarchy. I will die on this hill.

[1:13:08] Grace Aki: It's not a thong. A thong was built to make sure that you don't have a panty line. I don't think that's patriarchy. I think it's the cheeky underwear. I think they've been lying to us this whole time. Victoria's Secret was started by a man, and I'm sick of this. Like, don't have oh, there's a little bit of part of my cheeks. Guess what happens when you put on anything else? It's the worst feeling.

[1:13:27] Grace Aki: I want my full butt covered. Like I want I want it to feel safe, like you just said, thank you, Bree. Like, literally, I just wanted to couple it. And then also in the front, I'm sorry, on a cheeky underwear because I have a full ass. Um, the the the middle part does this whole like what if I was like a little tank top for your business, and I'm just like, no. They're horrible.

[1:13:49] Grace Aki: Cooper covered. I want it all to sit. It's it's really um I just want to become an underwear designer because I'm like, there's just no way that my four foot ten ass is spilling out of some underwear right now. I don't understand.

[1:14:01] Andrew DeWolf: So something's going on.

[1:14:04] Grace Aki: I'm just gonna do it. Just buy some boxer shorts.

[1:14:06] Andrew DeWolf: Or something.

[1:14:06] Grace Aki: I do, I actually do.

[1:14:08] Grace Aki: I do I do. She I only brought this up because she tweets about it like once a week.

[1:14:12] Andrew DeWolf: Well, she's right.

[1:14:13] Grace Aki: Thanks.

[1:14:14] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. I don't think I'm insane. I'm like, I cannot be alone here.

[1:14:18] Andrew DeWolf: Jesse, what are your opinions on Cheeky's underwear?

[1:14:21] Jesse McAnally: Cheeky's underwear? This is like a brand.

[1:14:25] Andrew DeWolf: It's a cut of an underwear.

[1:14:27] Jesse McAnally: Alright, alright, alright. Now I gotta fucking.

[1:14:28] Andrew DeWolf: I don't think I've ever worn anything like that.

[1:14:30] Jesse McAnally: Cheeky.

[1:14:31] Andrew DeWolf: I don't think men have that type of thing. I think like cheek cheekies or cheeksters, you know, whatever's cheeksters.

[1:14:38] Jesse McAnally: I I honestly just buy uh just buy boxer briefs.

[1:14:43] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, yeah.

[1:14:43] Jesse McAnally: That's the man's like this is what cheeky's underwear. Like it doesn't cover your whole ass. It just kinda rides up your ass. Like I didn't get it. The audacity for them to put a lace bottom, right?

[1:14:56] Grace Aki: I'm just imagining the like skid marks you must be getting from this. Like it all. It rides up, and you're like, this isn't healthy.

[1:15:03] Andrew DeWolf: But also the reason the cheekies are alive, the reason this even started is because they pretend to be a full bottom a lot of times. So like they will advertise themselves as a full panty, and it's a cheeky. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's my bottom you're hanging out, mister. That's that a cheeky see. That's what they're gonna call a full bottom, and I'm gonna put it on, and it becomes a cheeky. Because that person doesn't have a butt. That person is standing funny.

[1:15:25] Grace Aki: So sure.

[1:15:27] Andrew DeWolf: Wait, wait, wait. Cheeky underwear on men.

[1:15:30] Jesse McAnally: Oh, let's see.

[1:15:31] Andrew DeWolf: Show me the booty.

[1:15:32] Jesse McAnally: There it is.

[1:15:33] Andrew DeWolf: There it is. See? No one wants that.

[1:15:34] Jesse McAnally: No one wants that feeling.

[1:15:35] Andrew DeWolf: No, it's uncomfortable. You get a wedgie. You get that person is not a human. That's not a human's body. That is that was created on the internet. Something was sitting wrong. You see that? There's some discoloration. No, that's fake.