James T. Lane, saintly song and dance man and beacon of light, sits down for a conversation about the divine nature of creativity, addiction, recovery, showing up when it's hard, letting go of perfection, and making space for grace.
When this was recorded and released, James was starring as Billy Flynn in the Broadway revival of CHICAGO.
James grew up in the rich artistic city of Philadelphia. He started dancing at the age of 6 and at age 10, saw The Phantom of The Opera and fell in love with musical theatre. When Robert Guillaume (from the hot TV show "Benson") became the first African American to play the Phantom, his eyes were opened to a dream that one day I could star in a Broadway Show too. His trek to Broadway had a lot of twists and turns: he left Carnegie Mellon and Penn State when I was 19 to start working. But at the age of 22, while on the road with the touring production of FAME, he tore my Achilles tendon. The next 4 years were filled with self-destruction and chaos, as he was forced to discover who he was without the bright lights of the stage. But, in 2006, after finding his way back to self-love, he made my Broadway debut in A CHORUS LINE, secure in the fact that his best friend and cheerleader will always be the spirit inside of himself.
On The Come Up, host Matt Rodin sits with creative people to find out where they’re at, today, in the journey of becoming who they are. What unfolds are often inspiring, transcendental, and candid conversations about the reality of being a growing artist.
Matt believes that love is who we are. He taps into people’s light so that we can form deeper connections with ourselves and one another. He’s a queer maker of music, media, characters, and campfires. As an actor, Matt recently starred in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Milwaukee Rep, and the upcoming musical film BEAU. In 2020, he released his first live solo album, Matt Rodin: Live at Home. Matt has also worked as a content producer and consultant for The Tony Awards, The Smithsonian Institute, SoulCycle, Hamilton, Cynthia Erivo, Ingrid Michaelson, Playbill, Broadway.com, Dear Evan Hansen, Write Out Loud, and more.
The Come Up is presented by Broadway Podcast Network