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[0:00] Joshua Turchin: Hello and welcome back to the Early Night Show Virtual Edition or The Chronic Aber A. My name is Joshua Turchin and thanks so much for being with us today. Michael Orland, the amazing music director of so many shows, including 16 seasons of American Idol and Hairspray Live, is here. Sami Bray from 1984 on Broadway, the Broadway National Tour of School of Rock, and The Bedwetter is also joining me. As is Ariela Rozentul, so please stick around. Welcome to the Early Night Show.

[0:34] Joshua Turchin: This has been an interesting week already. An Amazon worker apparently lost her engagement ring while packing boxes recently. So if you happen to find it, your soon-to-be wife Becky can be reached by clicking the chat here for help button on Amazon.com. In more positive news, after three months, New York City begins phase one of opening up for construction and retail jobs, which is unfortunate for fake Elmos and fake Mickeys who keep asking, um, which phase are we? Speaking of Mickey, Disneyland is currently evaluating when it might reopen and called it a fluid situation, but I'm pretty sure it may go viral. Still too soon. I'm really, really excited about Disney World reopening safely, and I'm looking forward to when I get to go back out to California and visit Disneyland and LA.

One of my first times in Los Angeles was when I performed a song from Trevor the Musical at Trevor Live LA. An amazing event to benefit the Trevor Project. I was beyond fortunate enough to work and perform with Michael Orland. Michael was the pianist, arranger, vocal coach, and associate musical director for 16 seasons of American Idol. Music directed and performed with so many legends and was the associate musical director on the NBC production of Hairspray Live, among so many other amazing shows. I'm really proud to call him a teacher and a friend. Let's welcome Michael Orland to the Early Night Show. Hi, Michael!

[1:55] Michael Orland: How are you, Joshua?

[1:58] Joshua Turchin: I'm good. How are you?

[1:59] Michael Orland: I'm so good. I'm so happy to be here on one of your shows. I've watched a few of them, and it's so very cool.

[2:05] Joshua Turchin: Thank you. I'm so happy to have you on as a guest today.

[2:08] Michael Orland: Yeah, thank you for having me. How has quarantine life been treating you?

[2:13] Michael Orland: I'll tell you, it's not as hard for me as it is for like, you know, you guys, because you're in school and you have parents that have to like make sure you get your schoolwork done. I don't have to deal with that. But um, you know, all my lesson, all my coaching lessons have been only on FaceTime and not or on Zoom, like we're doing. And um, but thankfully I adopted a new rescue dog like a month before quarantine happened. So I'm so happy. And I have her, my my my new dog Jinx to concentrate on and take me out of, you know, when it gets a little funky.

[2:44] Joshua Turchin: One of my favorite memories was performing with you at Trevor Live LA and singing for you, Carol Burnett, Kristen Chenoweth, Shoshana Bean, and so many other amazing performers. What were some of your favorite memories of that night?

[2:58] Michael Orland: Well, you know, I first of all, I love that that group Trevor. Um, Trevor Project is one of is a really favorite charity of mine. And um, so I was so happy when they asked me to do it. I had done a few shows for them before. And um, of course, when it was uh coming down to Kristen being honored, I was like, I'm in, I'm in, I don't care what it takes. And then I got to meet you, and I I love Shoshana Bean. I've worked with her before, but I got to meet Carol Burnett, who's an idol for me. So I know, and I'll tell you, one of the highlights of it was watching you meeting Kristen Chenoweth, because that was really cool. And she adored you. I remember that.

[3:37] Joshua Turchin: Aside from meeting one of my idols, Kristen Chenoweth, I will never forget working with you and learning from you to get ready for my performance. Working on American Idol for like 16 years, is there any advice you have for younger performers hoping to work in the entertainment or music business?

[3:54] Michael Orland: Yeah, you know, it's funny, it's I mean it's a really um general question, but um I mean I I love talking about it, but the music business is very different today as it as it was like, you know, now I sound like an old man like before you were born. And even like at the when you have to realize in the beginning of American Idol there was no um social media like there were there was no um Instagram and um and Twitter and barely even Facebook I don't remember no it's just like AOL message boards they had. So it's so different and this business is so different. The one thing um I try to tell people is that you can't just get on those shows to like have a fast speed ticket to success unless you have a great great work ethic you have to do the work.

It doesn't happen overnight. It's not a magic trick to get famous and it's not even though there's a um, you know people have that perception and it's not true. It's not true that every one of the idols that came from there like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson and Adam Lambert and Constantine Maroulis and all these people that have done Broadway and everything are all the people that during when they were on that show they were sitting on their um their tape recorders listening to their track. It you've got to do the work. You have to do the work. So that's my biggest takeaway from that.

[5:18] Michael Orland: Are there any like really really special moments that you can share from your time at American Idol?

[5:18] Michael Orland: Um, I I I'll tell you, I mean, there was some amazing times. I mean, first of all, I I got to be, you know, I played all the pianos for all the rehearsals when they when the contestants were learning their songs. And so and then there would be like a special guest on every week. And um, and so I would be playing the piano in front of that special guest. And I'm telling you, there were some unbelievable ones, including Tony Bennett. And like when you met Kristen Chenoweth, that's what it was for me when I got to sit on the piano bench with Elton John. It was so surreal, and um, it was just pretty wild, and just so many people, and then just watching some of those people, you know, the contestants become like big huge stars, and just knowing you had that little much to do with it is really it's really rewarding.

[6:09] Michael Orland: Sorry, I have something in my eye, I don't know what it is.

[6:12] Joshua Turchin: Okay.

[6:13] Michael Orland: Aside from your incredible resume of music directing and accompanying, I can vouch firsthand that you are also an incredible coach. Have you been able to continue coaching students during the pandemic?

[6:28] Michael Orland: Yeah, so it's so it's for me, it's much more difficult. I that's all I do every day, all day. I just had a full day of it today. And um, it's just that we have to do it now over FaceTime or Zoom or you know, whatever. And so it's harder for me, but just because also they there is no um nobody's come up with a platform where I can play piano and you can sing along with me, and it's in real time. So I have to like, if I'm working with somebody and teaching them a song or doing an arrangement of a song, I have to make the recording, email it to them, and then watch them sing with my recording. But you know what, we all do what we have to do, and it's I I love helping. I most of my students are between the age of you know 11 and 17, and I I just love working with people that age and just it's just they're so especially the ones in musical theater they just want to learn, learn, learn, learn, learn. And it's so great.

[7:23] Joshua Turchin: I heard you're also teaching group classes over Zoom. Can you tell us about that?

[7:28] Michael Orland: Yes so when this um pandemic happened when this you know um quarantine happened my um a dear friend of mine her name is Debbie Gravitt she won a Tony Award for a show called Jerome Robbins Broadway and she's been in many many shows including Les Mis and a bunch of shows she literally texts me and she's like hey how would you like to do um like a little free musical theater Zoom class every week and I was like I'm I'm down for it. Well we've now done it for nine weeks it's every Thursday and um and it's been so much fun. It's at four o'clock East Coast time one o'clock west coast time it's all free and it's um if you uh maybe I'll give you the um email later for you to put in all the info with everything and because people can all sign up and um a few people sing every week and we have special guests every week I had Kristen Chenoweth on I had Megan Hilty on I had Catherine McPhee on I've had like I've literally called every friend of mine Jerry Mitchell was on and um uh you know coming up we have this amazing casting director who I'm sure you know Mary Sugarman and um from from um Tara Rubin who's one of my favorite people in the world and um just all we have like two or three special guests every week and it's just a free learning tool on what and then a few people sing, and then we give them like little tips and how to be ready for a musical theater audition. So it's fun. I'll give you the I'll give you the um the link so we can get people if any of your audience wants to join in. We'd love it.

[9:01] Joshua Turchin: Cool. Oh, and do you want to sing a song or play a song?

[9:06] Michael Orland: Shouldn't we?

[9:07] Joshua Turchin: Well, I won't sing, but you should sing. I'll play if you play, and then maybe you'll sing.

[9:15] Michael Orland: Here we go.

[9:16] Joshua Turchin: Are we do? Are we gonna do it?

[9:18] Michael Orland: Sure.

[9:20] Joshua Turchin: Alright, I'm I'm down. But wait, first, you know what? My dog Jinx wanted to say hi to everybody. She just came over to the piano.

[9:25] Michael Orland: Oh, hi, Jinx!

[9:27] Joshua Turchin: Oh, baby.

[9:29] Michael Orland: She's a good girl.

[9:30] Joshua Turchin: She's a good girl.

[9:33] Joshua Turchin: Well, I think I'm ready whenever you are.

[9:36] Michael Orland: Alright, you ready?

[9:37] Joshua Turchin: Yep.

[9:38] Michael Orland: Here we go.

[9:47] ♪ Musical number ♪

[11:07] ♪ Musical number: "Magic to Do" — performed by Unknown ♪

[11:59] Joshua Turchin: She toured the US in the Broadway National Tour of School of Rock and was on Broadway in 1984. Let's welcome the kind and talented Sami Bray to the Early Night Show.

[12:10] Sami Bray: Hi, Sami!

[12:11] Joshua Turchin: Hi, how are you?

[12:13] Sami Bray: I'm good.

[12:13] Joshua Turchin: How are you?

[12:14] Sami Bray: I'm good.

[12:16] Joshua Turchin: Welcome back to the Early Night Show.

[12:18] Sami Bray: Thank you.

[12:20] Joshua Turchin: I know that you were supposed to be starring in Bedwetter right now, but that was paused because of COVID-19.

[12:27] Sami Bray: Yes. Basically, what happened is we were going to perform in March, and then this happened, so we weren't able to do that. And so we continued to push it back, and we just pushed it back, and they said, "Oh, this'll happen when in on further notice" or something like that. And then maybe a month or a couple weeks ago, they told us that they're gonna push it back a year. So it's going to happen at the same time it was going to this year, just in a year.

[12:56] Joshua Turchin: So I was really, really looking forward to seeing you in that show. And can't wait until it's safe to reopen.

[13:04] Sami Bray: I'm really excited, and I'm just hoping that I don't grow too much.

[13:09] Joshua Turchin: Since it's paused, are there any other shows that you would love to be in when theater resumes?

[13:15] Sami Bray: Well, I really—there's a reading that I'm supposed to do, and it's called Joy. It's based on the movie Joy. It's about Joy, who invented the miracle mop, and I'm supposed to play her daughter. That was also supposed to happen this June, and they're still saying it'll probably just happen in like July. So I'm really excited for that. And anything that comes up, I'd be totally happy with.

[13:40] Joshua Turchin: When is the first show that you want to see when Broadway is unpaused?

[13:45] Sami Bray: Um, Wicked, because it's my favorite show of all time. Or if it was still open, Beetlejuice.

[13:57] Joshua Turchin: I think the show I want to see is Six, because I still haven't seen it and it's—

[13:57] Sami Bray: Oh, I forgot about that. Yes. Yes. Six too. Over and over again. It's so good.

[14:06] Joshua Turchin: It's so good.

[14:11] Sami Bray: I love it so much. It's so good. I forgot, I completely forgot about Six. I wanna go see that one.

[14:18] Joshua Turchin: Oh, and I know that you've been working on your own project. This is the Actors Fund. Can you tell us a little about that?

[14:26] Sami Bray: Yes. Yes. I actually have two options right here. I have been making homemade bracelets and donating money to the Actors Fund. So they kind of look like this. They're just braided, and then you can tighten them or loosen them. So they fit any size.

[14:45] Joshua Turchin: That's sweet.

[14:47] Sami Bray: They are $5 each. They're $5 each. And all the money goes to the Actors Fund.

[14:53] Joshua Turchin: That's amazing. Oh, and what song will you be singing for us today? And why did you choose that song?

[14:59] Sami Bray: I'm going to sing "Good Girl Winnie Foster" from Tuck Everlasting. And I came across it a couple weeks ago, and I just really love the song, and it kind of reminds me of what we're doing right now. We're all kind of stuck in our house and we all kind of want to leave, but we all know that that's what's best. So we're just kind of fighting the differences.

[15:21] Joshua Turchin: Cool. I think I'm ready whenever you are.

[15:25] Sami Bray: Alright, let's go.

[15:27] ♪ Musical number: "Good Girl" — performed by Sami Bray ♪

[18:10] Joshua Turchin: Thanks, Sami. Our final guest performed as Lavender in the John Engeman Theater Production of Matilda and works in the New York City scene. Let's welcome Ariela Rozentul to the Early Night Show.

[18:22] Ariela Rozentul: Hi, Ariela!

[18:26] Joshua Turchin: Hi, Josh!

[18:27] Ariela Rozentul: I'm so happy to welcome you as a guest on the Early Night Show.

[18:32] Joshua Turchin: I'm so happy to be here.

[18:33] Ariela Rozentul: Thank you.

[18:34] Joshua Turchin: How have you been impacted by this pause?

[18:38] Ariela Rozentul: The way I've been impacted by this pause is I haven't really seen my friends, teachers, and even some family. But I've been trying to stay positive.

[18:45] Joshua Turchin: That's great. How have you been staying connected to the performing arts while everything in person has been on pause?

[18:54] Ariela Rozentul: The way I've been staying connected to the arts is I've been having a lot of virtual dance, voice, and acting classes. And I've been doing a lot of virtual performances, some for charities, raising money for first responders in the actors community.

[19:05] Joshua Turchin: So cool! Is there one show when Broadway reopens that you can't wait to see?

[19:12] Ariela Rozentul: There's a lot more than one show. I want to see pretty much all of them again. But a lot of my friends didn't have a chance to open the shows that they were in, and I want to see Mrs. Doubtfire, Trevor the Musical, and Bedwetter.

[19:24] Joshua Turchin: Oh, and what song will you be singing for us today, and why did you choose that song?

[19:29] Ariela Rozentul: I'm gonna be singing "Wings" by Little Mix. And I chose this song because it shows people to like to ignore all the hate and just follow their dreams.

[19:40] Joshua Turchin: Well, I'm excited to hear you sing the song.

[19:51] ♪ Musical number: "Wings" — performed by Ariela Rozentul ♪

[21:07] Joshua Turchin: That was great. If you're enjoying these virtual cabarets, please consider making a donation to the Actors Fund's Emergency Relief Fund at www.actorsfund.org to support people working in the entertainment industry who have suddenly found themselves out of work. Any bit helps. You can find the Early Night Show wherever podcasts are found, and videos for episodes online on theearlynightshow.com. Thank you so much to today's guests, Ariela Rozentul, Michael Orland, and Sami Bray. Also, please check out my TikTok at Joshua Turchin and look for some of my accompaniment videos. Record a duet and hashtag SingWithJosh, and you may get featured on the Early Night Show. And let's keep entertaining any artists who want to be virtual guests. Send me a direct message on my Instagram at Joshua Turchin. And let's keep making music to help the Actors Fund. Stay healthy and wash your hands.