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[0:00] Joshua Turchin: Hello and welcome back to the Early Night Show Virtual Edition. My name is Joshua Turchin, and thank you so much for being with us today. I'm so excited to welcome the incredible Eli Tokash from Finding Neverland, Pippin, Trevor The Musical, A Christmas Story The Music Hole, and Mary Poppins, and Bonale Fambrini from The King and I, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes, Oliver, Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, and South Pacific. So please stick around.

[0:33] Joshua Turchin: Welcome to the Early Night Show. We are one step closer to Broadway reopening and bringing live theater back. I know that's been challenging sometimes, but it's been great seeing how our industry and how people like you have supported the arts during this pause. This time has definitely given me a chance to reflect on things, but more importantly, it gave me a chance to look for opportunities that will help me grow. There are so many things this world can offer you if you're open to it. It's something that you can definitely feel in the song made famous by Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World.

[1:00] ♪ Musical number: "What a Wonderful World" — performed by Joshua Turchin ♪

[3:05] Joshua Turchin: Yes, I think to myself. He was amazing then and now, and reminds me when I meet people at the stage door after a show that they might be on Broadway one day. I'm so happy to welcome Broadway veteran and the host of Take A Bow Podcast, Eli Tokash, to the Early Night Show. Hi, Eli.

[3:54] Eli Tokash: Hello, Josh. Thank you for having me today. I'm so excited to be here.

[3:58] Joshua Turchin: I'm so happy to have you on today's show.

[4:02] Eli Tokash: No, it was such an honor to be on your podcast, Take A Bow on the Broadway Podcast Network, and I'm so thrilled to continue this fun crossover and have you on mine.

[4:12] Joshua Turchin: Yes, yes. Thank you so much. I'm excited. I haven't sung in public, like kind of public, in a long time, so I'm excited to do it.

[4:21] Eli Tokash: Yay! So I absolutely love your podcast. How's it come about?

[4:25] Eli Tokash: Uh well, first of all, thank you. Um, but the podcast came about, and uh I love listening to podcasts, you know. I've always been like a big fan of podcasts, and then you know, a lot of my friends started to make podcasts, like whether it was like just for fun on SoundCloud or whatever it was, and I was like, you know, this is something that like I could totally do. Like I love listening to it, and I love to talk. So, like, why not start one?

[4:56] Eli Tokash: So I had the idea to talk about either like sports or Broadway, and then I talked to some people, and a lot of my friends were on this network called the Broadway Podcast Network. And I was like, oh my god, well, I could totally talk about Broadway. Like this would be totally something that I'm interested in. So I ended up reaching out to the network, and I was like, listen, I have this idea. You know, at the time they didn't like announce your podcast, so I was like, you know, I would be like the only kid on the network and everything like that, and I think I could bring a really cool perspective of the business that's not really talked about, you know, because kids don't really talk a lot about the business all the time.

[5:36] Eli Tokash: Um, so I thought it would be cool to shine a light on kids' perspectives on the business, and uh they came back to me and they were like, Yeah, that's awesome. So I got a co-host, Sydney Lucas, um, who co-hosts the first like 40 episodes-ish with me, and uh yeah, and we we started this thing and we've been rolling ever since, and it's still going strong, just me.

[6:02] Joshua Turchin: Ah, now, aside from your podcast, how have you been staying connected to the arts during this unexpected pause?

[6:09] Eli Tokash: Yeah, so I'm fortunate enough to go to a performing arts school. So at the performing arts school, although we're not in person, we're still doing like virtual productions and we're doing like scenes and songs and everything like that. So I've been able to like stay in touch with my craft um and continue to work on it and practice it, you know. As I've gone through puberty, I've had to really um re-establish myself in the industry, but also like re-establish my craft and like being comfortable with it and confident in it again.

[6:41] Eli Tokash: Um, so I've been actually really fortunate this time kind of happened for me because I've been really I've really been able to take the time to learn more about my new voice and everything like that. Um, so yeah, it's been great, and I've kind of just been practicing as much as possible.

[6:59] Joshua Turchin: Ah yay. Now I found something that's really cool actually. So I I think I think that you may know this, but before we actually knew each other, we had met like five years prior, I think when you were in Pippin.

[7:17] Eli Tokash: Oh really?

[7:18] Joshua Turchin: Yeah, yeah. I found not that long ago, I think I found a picture. And it just like it was such a coincidence that like five years later I would be able to work with you.

[7:33] Eli Tokash: That's so funny.

[7:34] Joshua Turchin: Yes. Oh my god, that's hilarious.

[7:36] Eli Tokash: Yeah, because then we started doing a bunch of cabarets together.

[7:40] Joshua Turchin: Yeah. Now, what song would you like to sing today and why did you select that song?

[7:46] Eli Tokash: Yeah, so I'm gonna be singing Larger Than Life from My Favorite Year. Um, and I chose a song because you know, like during this time with no live theater and everything like that. In this song, I sing and like talk about how important the theater is to uh the character and to myself.

[8:04] Eli Tokash: Um so during this time when we're like all kind of longing for live theater, right? And for theater to come back and the industry to reopen, um, I thought it was a perfect song to sing because he's kind of like I want to go back there and how it's changed my life, and it's such a great escape for everything else going on in your life and everything like that. So I thought it was a perfect timing to uh to do this song.

[8:27] Joshua Turchin: Well, I can't wait to hear you sing it. Here we go.

[8:40] ♪ Musical number: "Larger Than Life" — performed by Eli Tokash ♪

[9:48] Bonale Fambrini: He was movies. Me, I was seven, and gee, he was bigger and better and larger than life. See, life was in capes and flashing swords and parapets. And deciding he was going out for good. Here's a nickel, kid. Cheer up and go, Swan is playing at the RKO. Loyal. Kind but courageous. A hero as big as I needed. In the technical and brace of a maiden. Swan my hero. Impossible father. He stood and he fought and he never ran. Oh no. He was bigger and better and larger than life. And he lived for me. At the RK.

[11:53] Joshua Turchin: Like Eli, my next guest has been working on Broadway for many, many years, and also makes the world a wonderful place. I'm so fortunate to have him as a friend, and I was so happy that he was able to join me at my recent Early Night Show live at the Green Room 42. I'm so happy to welcome back Bonale Fambrini.

[12:09] Bonale Fambrini: Hi, Vanel!

[12:14] Joshua Turchin: Hi, Josh.

[12:15] Bonale Fambrini: Hi, how are you doing?

[12:17] Joshua Turchin: I'm good.

[12:18] Bonale Fambrini: I'm hanging in there.

[12:19] Joshua Turchin: How about you?

[12:20] Bonale Fambrini: I've been doing okay. It was so amazing to have you join me at the Green Room 42 at the Early Night Show Live.

[12:27] Joshua Turchin: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

[12:29] Bonale Fambrini: Of course. When was the last time that you performed live before the show?

[12:34] Bonale Fambrini: Oh my god. Um I wanna say November before March 13th, a year ago. I could be wrong. I could be complete. I could have it could have been even longer. Wow. Like it might, I don't know. It's so my whole memory is so like hazy for this past whole year. So I'm gonna I'm gonna play it safe and say like September of last year at least.

[13:00] Joshua Turchin: So how did you feel about performing live again?

[13:04] Bonale Fambrini: It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of it was like super nice seeing everyone again. That was like a big, big like just like you know, reward to it. Um, but it was nice because um just like to get to practice and get to do my song and everything. It was it was a lot of fun. I loved it. And thank you for having me again. I can't thank you enough. I had the best time hosting and accompanying you and everyone else and finally seeing you again in person.

[13:27] Bonale Fambrini: I loved playing the song you selected. What song did you select and why?

[13:32] Bonale Fambrini: Um, I picked Corner of the Sky from Pippin, obviously. And um I picked it because I don't know, I've it's always been such an iconic song. A lot of people do think it's overdone, which I I understand, but I think to me, like when I think of the show Pippin, and we've also been in Pippin together, but when I think of Pippin, um, I just think it's like one of the most iconic songs, and I love the way it sounds. So um also like this whole like me growing up and everything, finding like your belonging, finding your place and where you need to be in life. I felt I felt like I could connect to that to some degree. So yay.

[14:03] Joshua Turchin: Did you ever get a chance to see Pippin?

[14:07] Bonale Fambrini: I believe if I saw it, it was only with the opposite cast. Because I know that we were in it a long time ago. Um, and I think I was in cast A or cast B. Um, so if I've ever seen the show, the only time I could have possibly seen it is seeing the opposite cast performing.

[14:26] Joshua Turchin: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I am so happy that we were able to reunite for the Early Night Show live, and I was able to accompany you on this song. You were so incredible, like really.

[14:41] Bonale Fambrini: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

[14:43] Joshua Turchin: Well, I am so excited to share this with the world so they can see how great you are. Here's the amazing Bonale Fambrini singing Corner of the Sky.

[15:10] ♪ Musical number ♪

[17:17] Joshua Turchin: That was incredible, Bonale. I can't wait to watch you in future projects very soon. For some more Broadway fun, come join me on my Twitch at Joshua Turchin. We play Minecraft Among Us and play some music. So come follow or subscribe to my Twitch. If you're a student whose show was canceled, please send us a link to a video of you singing to earlynightshowcasting@gmail.com, and you may get a chance to go on the show. 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 also find the Early Night Show on the Broadway Podcast Network where the podcast are found and videos for episodes online on theearlynightshow.com. Thanks again to my guests, Eli Tokash and Bonale Fambrini.

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 world. Stay healthy and wear a mask.