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[0:00] Joshua Turchin: Hello and welcome back to the Early Night Show Virtual Edition.

[0:07] Joshua Turchin: My name is Joshua Turchin, and thank you so much for being with us today. I'm so excited to welcome one of the stars from Disney Pixar's movie Luca, Emma Berman, and from Les Mis, Addison Takefman. Welcome to the Early Night Show.

[0:25] Joshua Turchin: Broadway is officially back, and there's nothing like live theater and feeling the energy of the audience and the performers. I really don't want us to forget about the amazing online performances and podcasts from over the past year now that live theater's back, though.

[0:41] Joshua Turchin: When I was younger in Florida, the only way that I could see a show was if it came to our city on tour or if I traveled up to New York City. Now that we know we can live stream, why not make theater accessible to everyone all around the world?

[0:49] Joshua Turchin: When The Lion King streams "Circle of Life" on TikTok, it didn't make me want to see the show any less. In fact, although I've seen it a few times, after watching the TikTok live, now I actually can't wait to go back and see the show again and again and again.

[1:10] Joshua Turchin: Nothing can replace live theater, and these streaming shows that emerged during quarantine can really be used to our advantage to share a little bit of Broadway everywhere. What I also thought was really amazing was how some shows have virtual stage doors.

[1:26] Joshua Turchin: Also, the Broadway Flea Market is doing something really similar with virtual meet and greets, so now you can see your favorite stars without ever leaving your home. As shows finally start to reopen, I'm really looking forward to seeing as many as I possibly can.

[1:41] Joshua Turchin: I just saw Come From Away and Six, and I'm really, really excited to see Sing Street when it opens. Speaking of, here's a song I absolutely love from the show. This is "To Find You" from Sing Street.

[1:51] ♪ Musical number: "To Find You" — performed by Joshua Turchin ♪

[4:34] Joshua Turchin: One of my favorite movies I found recently was the Disney Pixar hit Luca. I thought it would be sort of fun to musicalize it, and I posted a bunch of songs inspired by the film on my TikTok. But that is nothing compared to my next guest, whose work of her own is just super inspiring.

[4:51] Joshua Turchin: Our next guest actually brought the character of Julia to life in the hit movie Luca. I'm so, so happy to welcome Emma Berman to today's show. Hi Emma.

[5:03] Emma Berman: Hi Joshua.

[5:04] Joshua Turchin: Hi, I'm so happy to have you on today's show.

[5:08] Emma Berman: I am so happy to be here. Thank you.

[5:11] Joshua Turchin: Hey, so I have to say you were absolutely incredible bringing Julia to life in the Disney film Luca.

[5:18] Emma Berman: Thank you so much.

[5:19] Joshua Turchin: Of course. Has it been like super, super crazy since the movie came out?

[5:24] Emma Berman: Pretty much, yeah. Doing press and the promotion and everything. It's been really fun. I can't, it's like crazy fun. You know, it's been so exciting, and I've just been so happy to have this incredible experience. Honestly, it's just been great.

[5:39] Joshua Turchin: Now, like, what was it like to play Julia in the film?

[5:44] Emma Berman: I mean, she is like such this feisty, strong, awesome girl power character. And I'm just so grateful that Pixar trusted me to voice her, and it's been an absolutely incredible experience.

[5:57] Joshua Turchin: Hey, when you were auditioning for the character, what was the audition process like?

[6:03] Emma Berman: Well, it started in like November 2019. I just got the original audition from my agent, and then I submitted a take and Pixar called me in to the Pixar Studios. It was my first time going for a callback, and that was really exciting because I'd never been to the Pixar Studios, and this was like pre-COVID, so everybody was still at the studios.

[6:26] Emma Berman: It was so alive, and it was so fun to go. And so after that, they booked me for scratch recording, and so I got to go to Pixar again, which was even more exciting than the first time. After the scratch recording in March of 2020, Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren, the director and the producer, had me on for a Zoom call and the surprise Zoom call, and they told me that I got the part, and that was just crazy.

[6:56] Joshua Turchin: That's insane. How many times did you end up going to Pixar?

[7:03] Emma Berman: I didn't count how many times, but I know I've definitely been a lot, but most of the recording process was done at home.

[7:10] Joshua Turchin: Oh, so like how did the pandemic impact any of your work on the movie?

[7:16] Emma Berman: Well, not all of the recording sessions were at home because of the pandemic. So I mean, not at Pixar because of the pandemic. So I had to record a lot at home. So I had to build like this recording studio inside of my house, which was really cool. They sent me some equipment and honestly, it was really fun to do it at home too. And then I loved going the chances I got to go to Pixar. That was so exciting too. So that's definitely how it changed it.

[7:41] Emma Berman: I also, I don't know if it happens a lot in voiceover that the cast does get to meet, but I didn't maybe either because of COVID or because we all lived so far away, or just how the production worked, but I did not get to meet the cast.

[7:57] Joshua Turchin: When you were recording Luca, were you still in school?

[8:01] Emma Berman: Yes, I was most of the time during school, unless we had sessions during summer or like winter break or something, but I was at school. Sometimes I would have to leave school to go to the Pixar sessions and then I couldn't tell anybody what I was doing. I was like, I have a doctor's appointment.

[8:24] Joshua Turchin: Did you have like a favorite part of voicing Julia?

[8:28] Emma Berman: I think, well, at least my favorite scene for voicing Julia was when Luca and Julia are on the roof and they're looking through a telescope at Saturno and just the universe. I think that's definitely my favorite scene to record. And honestly, I just the whole entire experience and just recording pretty much everything. I mean, it's my first movie ever, and just I really enjoyed every single moment of it. But that was definitely my favorite scene to record.

[8:54] Joshua Turchin: Oh, that sounds like so much fun.

[8:57] Emma Berman: Definitely.

[9:01] Joshua Turchin: Were you able to do anything like really, really special for the opening?

[9:05] Emma Berman: I did get to go to the premiere in Los Angeles. So that was crazy. It was super fun because I had watched the movie before, but what was so cool about the premiere is like before it started too. There was press and photos, and there were a ton of celebrities there. And like I got to meet a ton of people, and then also we got to watch the movie and I got to bring my best friends there. And so that's something that I got to do for the publicity for the movie. I got to go, and that was just insane. It was so awesome.

[9:36] Emma Berman: And then later I got to go to New York, which I know is where you're based, and it's so fun. New York is like one of my favorite places ever. So I had a super fun time going there for Pixar Putt.

[9:48] Joshua Turchin: I haven't, I didn't get to go to Pixar Putt, but I've seen so many pictures of it, and it looks like it's really, really cool.

[9:55] Emma Berman: It is super fun. The Luca Hole was hard, but I got it in the end.

[9:59] Joshua Turchin: Did like with the Pixar Putt, did for each movie did it like get harder and harder?

[10:07] Emma Berman: Some of them were harder, and then others were like, oh, I got this. And then others are like, how do you do this? It took me like 20 times. So I don't think it was like the challenge level depended on like which movies were created first or anything, but it was just they had one for every movie, and I putted each one and it was super fun.

[10:25] Joshua Turchin: Oh yay! No, I feel as if like Luca has like such an amazing message, and it will continue to touch the lives of everyone who sees it. It's like really, really funny. It's super charming, and you're really, really amazing in it.

[10:39] Emma Berman: Thank you so much.

[10:41] Joshua Turchin: Like, congrats on all of it. It's so good.

[10:44] Emma Berman: Thanks. Now, in addition to Luca, I believe you're also part of a new series on Netflix, right?

[10:52] Emma Berman: Yes, Go! Go! Cory Carson.

[10:55] Joshua Turchin: Can you share any information about the show?

[10:59] Emma Berman: Yeah, I voiced a little character called Winifred Wangs. She's a little British airplane, which is super fun. I got to do it in a British accent. And it's on Go! Go! Cory Carson, which is on Netflix, and it's actually in the top five. It's on that list. So that was super cool to see. I was like, oh my gosh, I was just going on Netflix to binge my shows, and then I see that it's the top five. It's crazy.

[11:21] Emma Berman: That was a really fun experience to do. It was, yeah, I got to do it in a British accent, so that was super fun.

[11:27] Joshua Turchin: That sounds like a lot of fun. And you were definitely killing it in the voiceover world.

[11:33] Emma Berman: Thank you.

[11:34] Emma Berman: So I know that you're also an amazing singer as well as an actor. Do you have any dream parts in any like Broadway shows?

[11:42] Emma Berman: Actually, my favorite, my dream role would be Glinda, and I'm actually singing "Popular" from Wicked, which is sung by her, and she's definitely my, um, like I want to be her in Broadway.

[11:55] Joshua Turchin: Yeah, well, I remember you saw Wicked a couple of years ago, and I have to say it was such a good show. My god, it's such a good show. What was your favorite song from Wicked?

[12:07] Emma Berman: "Popular," definitely "Popular." And what's so fun about this is that, um, Wicked was the first show that I saw in New York on Broadway. So this was like, I've seen Broadway shows when they like come on tour to San Francisco or wherever, but in New York, Wicked was my first show that I watched. And I saw Glinda on the stage, I'm like, I definitely want to do that. I could like, I was already a theater person, I was already a theater fan. I knew that I wanted to sing and act and dance and do all the theater stuff in my life, but then I watched Wicked, and I saw Glinda on the stage, and I was like, this is definitely what I'd want to do, and I really want to be her.

[12:46] Joshua Turchin: Yay, well, I am so, so excited to accompany you today.

[12:50] Emma Berman: Thank you. I'm very excited to sing it.

[12:53] Joshua Turchin: Yay, here we go.

[12:56] ♪ Musical number: "Popular" — performed by Emma Berman ♪

[16:11] Joshua Turchin: I'm so glad we were finally able to collaborate virtually, and I really can't wait to watch you in your next projects. Make sure to follow Emma on Instagram at Emma J. Berman. My next guest performed all across the country in the Broadway National Tour of one of my favorite Broadway musicals, Les Mis. I'm so happy to welcome Addison Takefman to the show.

[16:28] Joshua Turchin: Hi, Addison!

[16:35] Addison Takefman: Hi!

[16:36] Joshua Turchin: Hi, I'm so, so happy to have you on the show today.

[16:39] Addison Takefman: Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here on the show.

[16:42] Joshua Turchin: Yay! So how have you been doing?

[16:44] Addison Takefman: I'm good. How are you?

[16:46] Joshua Turchin: I'm doing okay. I'm just trying to, you know, stay on top of my school. Um, and you know, just write some more music, because I just find that really fun, and it's what I love to do.

[16:57] Joshua Turchin: Now, how is school going for you now that you're back in person?

[17:01] Addison Takefman: Well, last year we had a lot more hybrid learning, and we had these, um, these shields that, uh, divided our guests, but this year they removed them, and we have a lot less hybrid learning. However, we still wear masks the whole day, whether you're vaccinated or not.

[17:18] Joshua Turchin: That is really, really good. Now I know that you were recently, uh, in Les Mis, like right before the pause, right?

[17:25] Addison Takefman: Yes.

[17:26] Joshua Turchin: Now that is one of my absolute favorite musicals. Did you have a favorite part of the show?

[17:32] Addison Takefman: Hmm. I have to go say "Look Down" at the barricade with Gavroche and Marius and everyone.

[17:38] Joshua Turchin: Oh, that's one of my favorite parts too. I think in like the broader production, they did like some special lighting effects, right?

[17:46] Addison Takefman: Yes.

[17:48] Joshua Turchin: Now, uh, did you have a favorite city that you got to perform in?

[17:52] Addison Takefman: If I had to pick one, I definitely say LA because we went to Disneyland, we went to Universal Studios, the stage was beautiful. It was just incredible.

[18:02] Joshua Turchin: I love Disneyland. Did you have a favorite ride to go on there?

[18:06] Addison Takefman: I definitely love all the roller coasters. Um, I don't think I can pick one. They were all incredible.

[18:11] Joshua Turchin: Oh, same, same. Now, what was school like for you when you were on tour?

[18:17] Addison Takefman: Well, each kid was in a separate grade, so our teachers would send us work, and this teacher wrangler named Jess would help us with our work, and she also watched after us during the show.

[18:29] Joshua Turchin: Ah, that sounds like so much fun. Now, uh, recently you were also in the TV show Search Party, right?

[18:36] Addison Takefman: Yes.

[18:37] Joshua Turchin: So, like, what was it like shooting the TV show?

[18:41] Addison Takefman: Well, it was very fun. It was actually right before the pandemic, and there were two separate rooms. And one, there were a lot of cameras and there were many girls there. And in another, uh, was where the main, um, crew was filming. It was really fun.

[18:55] Joshua Turchin: Oh, yay. Um, also, uh, when you were like shooting the show, is there like a person who you loved working with?

[19:04] Addison Takefman: Um, I love working with them all. They were all super nice. Now, to get to know you some more, let's do some rapid-fire questions.

[19:13] Joshua Turchin: Okay. Are you ready?

[19:15] Addison Takefman: Yeah.

[19:16] Joshua Turchin: Cool. Here we go. Do you have any dream parts in either TV shows, movies, or Broadway?

[19:22] Addison Takefman: I'd love to go play Elphaba in Wicked or Eliza and uh Angelica in Hamilton.

[19:29] Joshua Turchin: Are there any Broadway shows that you are so, so excited to see?

[19:32] Addison Takefman: We actually just saw Six the Musical yesterday. It was our very first show that we saw since the quarantine.

[19:38] Joshua Turchin: Oh yay! Now what is your favorite color?

[19:41] Addison Takefman: Definitely purple.

[19:42] Joshua Turchin: If you have one animal as a pet, what would it be?

[19:46] Addison Takefman: Well, we already have, uh, three pets, but I would love to have another cat. I'm a huge cat lover.

[19:50] Joshua Turchin: Now, and finally, do you want to sing a song with me?

[19:55] Addison Takefman: Yeah, sure.

[19:56] Joshua Turchin: Cool. Alright. So what would you like to sing and why did you pick that song?

[20:02] Addison Takefman: Hmm. I'd like to go sing "Heart" from Damn Yankees because it was one of the very first songs that I ever learned with my vocal coach.

[20:10] Joshua Turchin: Yay! Well, I can't wait to hear you sing the song. Here we go.

[20:21] ♪ Musical number: "Heart" — performed by Addison Takefman ♪

[22:08] Joshua Turchin: That was amazing, Addison. Make sure to follow Addison on Instagram at Addison Takefman to see the latest news about her upcoming projects. If you're enjoying these virtual bacabarets, please consider making a donation to the Actors Fund's Emergency Relief Fund at www.actorsfund.org to help 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, wherever podcasts are found, and videos for episodes on theearlynightshow.com. For some more Broadway fun, original music, and parodies, check out my TikTok at Joshua Turchin. And you can now download my new song, "Worlds Apart," on all music streaming platforms. Thanks again to my guests, Emma Berman and Addison Takefman. And let's keep entertaining and making music to help the world. Stay healthy, wear a mask, and please get vaccinated so that we can get back to work.