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[0:00] Mo Brady: You're listening to My Show Closed, a miniseries from The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Mo Brady.

[0:37] Mo Brady: Making it to Broadway is a dream come true for many, but no matter the show, living that dream will eventually come to an end. Whether your show runs for one month or one decade, eventually every Broadway musical will close. It doesn't matter if it's your first Broadway show or your tenth, closing means a future of artistic and financial insecurity. And yet, closing shows are just a part of the big, beautiful cycle of musical theater. This summer, seven Broadway musicals are shuttering their doors, sending scores of Ensemblists onto the unemployment line. But is there a good side to having your Broadway show close, or at least a silver lining? That's what I'm interested in finding out in this miniseries with three actors who have closed Broadway musicals this summer.

Since making his Broadway debut in the original company of Newsies, Michael Fatica has gone on to perform in five additional Broadway musicals in the last three years, including originating the role of Chubby Man in Groundhog Day. In addition to performing in the national tour of Matilda the Musical, he also spent a chunk of last summer setting the show's international company in South Africa. Last week, he finished a run as Phil Spector, Sid the Censor, and others in Broadway's The Cher Show. Here's our conversation.

[2:22] Mo Brady: Hi, Michael.

[2:23] Michael Fatica: Hi, Mo.

[2:24] Mo Brady: Would you introduce yourself and tell us what neighborhood of New York City you live in?

[2:27] Michael Fatica: My name is Michael Fatica, and I live in Prospect Leffert Gardens in Brooklyn.

[2:31] Mo Brady: So the first thing I want to ask you is how you see the relationship between artistry and business working on Broadway?

[2:35] Michael Fatica: Interesting question. Honestly, you can do art anywhere, really, right? Like, we're in Times Square right now. We could go on the sidewalk and do something artistic, a performance art piece, anything. You can do art in a small theater, a big theater, here in New York. Industrial commercial musicals are a whole other beast, because you want to be able to do something artistic. You want to be able to share something wonderful with an audience that they feel something from, they give back to, but it does rely so heavily on people coming, and people buying tickets, and the industry of that. I think it's a really hard balance. For me personally, I think you try to find something artistic in whatever you're doing, and you have to say, okay, great, this show is my favorite show I've ever done.

I feel so deeply connected to it. Sometimes it's not that. Sometimes it's the case that you feel like you may not be telling the story that you personally agree with. You may not be telling the story that you think needs to be heard. Who knows? And that's not based on my recent personal experience by any means, but it is something you deal with, and you have to sort of say, okay, this is a business as well. So if I want to be a human that makes money doing this, I also have to appreciate that side of the business and not hate it.

[3:44] Mo Brady: What are the warning signs? Are there warning signs when you're in a show?

[3:49] Michael Fatica: Yeah, there are warning signs, and I can equate two musical experiences that I went into very differently with knowing the warning signs and not knowing them. So Groundhog Day was 2017. We were in the original Broadway company, and we closed in that same year. Very similar timeline to how the Cher show, which I was just in. Groundhog Day, we felt really, really protective of the product, I think, because the cast was really in support of the creative team. Whether you as an audience member liked it or not, being a part of the show felt artistic, if we're going back to your earlier question. And we really wanted it to translate, and it felt like there were a lot of people in New York that supported it.

It was critically well received. So we were looking out at the audiences, and sometimes they'd be packed, and sometimes we'd call them mangy houses, where you kind of look out. It was the August Wilson Theater, which is a big balcony, and you can kind of see patches of empty spots. And that, to us, made us feel nervous. But at the time, I didn't check the grosses. I didn't really check a lot of things. We were just so, like, desperately hoping that the show would become popular in a way that it seemed to, prior to the Tonys and after the Tonys, seemed to fall. When we got that closing notice, it did feel something that we could expect, but I didn't know how to gauge it. So going into the Cher show, I had my, like, armor on.

I had my gears up looking. And so you can check the grosses. You can see how well it's selling. You can check on important weeks, holiday weeks. You know, there's always going to be a little bit of a dip in the spring or a little dip in the fall, unless you're a huge hit musical, where you can kind of see, but that's a hard time to judge. But there are times when you know whether the musical is selling. And also, it is a world of social media and online presence where you can literally look if you want. You can hashtag search your show and see. This is not something I personally do, because it stresses me out, but you can look and see what people are saying. You can watch your Tony performance on YouTube and read the comments and see if it's reaching people.

And so it is interesting. We're so accessible to how people feel. As much as we want to think, like, your show is accessible to the New York theater community and that's going to make it a hit, it's not the case, really. You have to reach the world. You have to reach tourists. You have to reach families. You have to reach so many people in order to stay alive here. So you can really check. And I was looking for the Cher show, so it wasn't a huge surprise.

[6:03] Mo Brady: Okay, so talking about not seeing the warning signs, let's go back to Newsies, your Broadway debut.

[6:09] Michael Fatica: Yes. How did you find out that the show was closing?

[6:13] Michael Fatica: Well, Newsies was a surprise, because it was selling really, really well. We knew the tour was going out in the fall. There was some inclination that if it was to close before the tour went out, it would be that summer. But it wasn't a case where you checked the numbers and it looked like it was going to close. We had a cast member named Jess Lofrato, who was giving his happy trail speech that day. And we came into the theater and we were all—

[6:30] Mo Brady: What does that mean?

[6:31] Michael Fatica: Oh, great. So he was leaving the show to do, I believe, On the Town. So it was his last day in the show. So at Newsies, we would all gather at half hour before the show after Fight Call, the whole company behind the big tower set. And every cast member would give a little speech as to how they were feeling about leaving the show, thank yous to anyone they wanted to, whatever. It's a very emotional, it can be a very emotional experience. And Jess was such a sweet, sweet guy. He is such a sweet guy. And he was a part of the original company. So it was special. And we were all feeling really emotional already. And then our producer, one of our producers, Anne Quart from Disney came out. She said, thank you to Jess for the lovely speech.

And then out of the blue just said, and we will be closing on August blah, blah, blah, blah. I don't remember. And it was intense. There were a lot of people who had just joined the show, people were crying. It was a shock. So that that was a real shot to the stomach. You know, that was not something we could really prepare for.

[7:26] Mo Brady: And then you did a show.

[7:28] Michael Fatica: And then we did two shows. That was before a matinee. See, that show, people didn't get rid of it. People were crying the whole show. And I'm sure as an audience member, they were either extremely impressed with our emotional engagement, or they were really concerned for our well-being.

[7:43] Mo Brady: But the announcement comes within like half an hour of you finding out.

[7:46] Michael Fatica: Sure.

[7:47] Mo Brady: So then you're also getting texts from your family and your friends. And you know, with Newsies, we were such a close-knit group. You can't not but feel supported by your cast when something like that happens in a good way and a bad way. So it's good because you're all going through it together. But it's bad because everyone's going through it and you're constantly bonded. The show was about being bonded to each other backstage, we had all sorts of rituals, we were really like a really close cast. And so when everybody is upset, and everybody is shocked and scared, you know, you get scared, you're about to lose your job. That's something to consider. And we had a lot of young guys in that show, a lot of young girls, but a lot of the guys who joined the show were 17, 18, 19 had moved to New York to be a part of the show.

And they just found out that their reason for being here was gone, and would be gone within two months. So it's a huge shock to the system when something like that happens. And because I've done it five times now, you learn to deal with that differently.

[8:44] Mo Brady: You alluded to the fact that you deal with closings different now than you did during Newsies. Talk us through both how you found out the Cher show was closing and then how it felt.

[8:55] Michael Fatica: We found out the Cher show was closing, we had a company manager email us prior to the show.

[8:58] Michael Fatica: Thanks for having me!

[9:28] Michael Fatica: It’s been a wild ride, for sure.

[9:58] Michael Fatica: I mean, I think back to my Broadway debut in Newsies, and it feels like just yesterday.

[10:18] Michael Fatica: Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of several amazing shows.

[10:38] Michael Fatica: Groundhog Day was particularly special because I originated the role of Chubby Man.

[10:58] Michael Fatica: That experience taught me so much about the creative process and collaboration.

[11:18] Michael Fatica: And then, of course, there was Matilda, where I got to travel with the national tour.

[11:38] Michael Fatica: Setting the international company in South Africa last summer was a highlight of my career.

[11:58] Michael Fatica: It was incredible to see how the show resonated with audiences there.

[12:18] Michael Fatica: But then, just last week, I wrapped up my time in The Cher Show, where I played Phil Spector and Sid the Censor.

[12:38] Michael Fatica: It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to a role you’ve invested so much into.

[12:58] Michael Fatica: Each show has its own unique challenges and rewards.

[13:18] Michael Fatica: I think that’s what keeps me coming back to the stage.

[13:38] Michael Fatica: The thrill of performing and connecting with the audience is unmatched.

[13:58] Michael Fatica: But it’s also tough when a show closes.

[14:18] Michael Fatica: You build these incredible relationships with your cast and crew.

[14:38] Michael Fatica: And then, suddenly, it’s over.

[14:58] Michael Fatica: I’ve learned to cherish those moments, though.

[15:18] Michael Fatica: They shape who I am as a performer and as a person.

[15:38] Michael Fatica: I’m excited for what’s next, whatever that may be.

[15:58] Michael Fatica: The journey is always evolving, and I’m here for it.

[16:18] Michael Fatica: Thank you for letting me share my story!

[16:38] Michael Fatica: I hope it resonates with others who are on their own paths.

[16:58] Michael Fatica: It’s all about the love for the craft.

[17:08] Michael Fatica: And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

[17:18] Michael Fatica: Here’s to the next adventure!