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[0:10] Rob Russo: Welcome to DANCIN’ Man, a Fabulous Invalid podcast featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and creative team of Bob Fosse's DANCIN’ on Broadway.

[0:18] Jamie DuMont: I'm Jamie DuMont, and we're your hosts.

[0:21] Rob Russo: We're also excited to be co-producers of DANCIN’ on Broadway and thrilled, as always, to be back in the Rosevale Cocktail Room at Civilian for another conversation with a member of the cast.

[0:30] Jamie DuMont: Yes. And joining us this week is cast member Neka Zang.

[0:34] Rob Russo: DANCIN’ marks Neka's third Broadway show following Rock of Ages and American Psycho.

[0:38] Jamie DuMont: She's also performed in tours of Wicked and Mary Poppins.

[0:41] Rob Russo: And what we're really excited to talk to her about is the fact that she is an understudy dancer in DANCIN’.

[0:47] Jamie DuMont: I can't wait. If she's anything like she is on Instagram, we're in for a treat.

[0:51] Rob Russo: Yeah, and just to dive into the world of understudies. I mean, they're the unheralded superheroes of Broadway.

[0:57] Jamie DuMont: I can't wrap my head entirely around how they actually do their job.

[1:00] Rob Russo: Yeah, it's kind of magical.

[1:02] Jamie DuMont: Well, we'll find out.

[1:03] Rob Russo: Let's do it.

[1:22] Neka Zang: Thank you for having me. I'm just energized. I feel great. I'm just excited about every single day. Honestly, I'm at that place now in my journey with the show where I'm like, who am I gonna go on for next? I'm really excited, which I've been riding a roller coaster of emotions, so I'm excited.

[1:41] Rob Russo: You've gone on twice.

[1:42] Neka Zang: Yes.

[1:42] Rob Russo: So talk to us about that experience. When did you get the call? How has it been? Who have you gone on for?

[1:48] Neka Zang: So I went on for Maddie. I've been on for Maddie twice. I got that call on a Sunday morning, which is so funny. My husband and I had planned this Sunday morning. We're like, okay, we're gonna go to yoga and then we're gonna go to brunch. And I had been waking up through the night counting the show. I just wake up counting the show, and it's just one of those things that is annoying, but also just my subconscious trying to work out how much I need to know. So I had woken up in the night counting the show, and my husband woke me up in the morning, he's like, we're gonna go to yoga. And I'm like, I can't. I'm so tired. I just I'm exhausted from counting all night. So he's like, okay, well, I'm gonna go without you.

And no sooner had he shut the door that I heard my phone ring and I was like, that's the call for me going on. I just I knew it. I felt ready. I mean, of course I was nervous because you know, I hadn't had a put in or anything, so you're just kind of flying by the seat of your pants, hoping that all the work that you've done is enough. And it felt like a fever dream, but I didn't crash into anything and it felt okay, and I got through it.

[2:53] Jamie DuMont: We're gonna talk about that work you did in a second, but I just I wanna dig a little deeper because we've spoken to many people in the company about how crunchy is the first moment where you introduce yourself as a company member. And I want to know when you came on in Crunchy and you introduced yourself, what was going through your head? How did it feel?

[3:10] Neka Zang: The first time, I think it's just it's such an out-of-body experience because I had never done it with the lights or anything. So the first time that I stepped out there, it was just almost like a white room, if that makes any sense.

[3:27] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, it just felt like really surreal.

[3:32] Neka Zang: Completely like it was almost surreal, completely stopped in time.

[3:36] Rob Russo: Yes.

[3:37] Neka Zang: And then the second thought I had was I think I did this wrong. Which I did, and it's okay. I mean, that's part of the journey of being an understudy. I was sort of I had turned back to back with Nando, and as soon as I turned back to back, I was like, you're off on this count, and you're just gonna keep going and you just move on to the next moment. But of course, you know, the second time I went on, I knew I had corrected myself and I was having a lot more fun. I was like, I just I'm excited to be here and just gonna pull up and I don't know, just enjoy it as best I can.

[4:11] Jamie DuMont: That's I mean, that's one of the more amazing things about what you do as an understudy dancer. You have to both be in your head, you know, looking ahead and being present in the moment to like what's the next step? What's then what's my mark, all of that. But then also you can't be too much in your head because then you won't be giving the performance that you want to give, right?

[4:28] Neka Zang: Which it's like bringing yourself and your character and all of that to it. So it's uh it seems like a really, really fine balance you have to strike.

[4:35] Neka Zang: It's such an interesting position, and I've thought about this so much since we've started rehearsing in January. And like I said, I'm I've been riding that roller coaster of emotions, right? Like some weeks I'm like, oh, really stressed out and freaked out, and then other weeks I'm like just really calm about it and finding that, like you said, that balance of being in your head and knowing the counts, but also reminding yourself that you're on stage dancing and that you can't take it too seriously, which is how I kind of live my life. I think, you know, you gotta enjoy it, otherwise, what's it all for?

[5:09] Rob Russo: Well, and I imagine now that you've done it twice, you've gotten sort of that nervous energy out, right? And now, as you said, now you're excited, right? Now you can't wait to get back on stage, right?

[5:19] Neka Zang: But it doesn't go away, right? That nervous energy. Like that never really that comes and goes, correct?

[5:23] Neka Zang: Yeah, I always get a little bit nervous. I think that's I mean, that's normal. And I, you know, when I'm teaching a lot, I tell my students, I'm like, you're alive. You're not a robot, you know, you're a human and thank God you're nervous because you care. So I I like a little bit of nerves. It's um I use them.

[5:39] Rob Russo: Well, taking a step back, you were cast in the show after San Diego, right? So that there was the pre-Broadway run, and then you were cast for Broadway. So what was that audition process like? Knowing that there was already a company of 16 that had done it in San Diego. When at what point in the process did you come in?

[5:54] Neka Zang: My process was really interesting because I had come out for it originally, you know, the first time around, like, you know, the first sort of like I've heard so many of my castmates talking about this. It was like the first sort of audition back in person. And I had just gotten married. I was literally like four days off of my honeymoon. I had been eating croissants for like a month straight.

[6:17] Jamie DuMont: As you do.

[6:18] Neka Zang: Yeah. I was not dancing. I was in this completely different head space. And I had flown in because, you know, when you see Wayne Salento and Corinne with the words dancing and Bob Fosse next to it, you are there. And I just immediately knew when I landed, I was like, this is not my time. I just knew I had this like weird sort of psychic feeling. I was like, this is not your time for this, but you're here to dance this movement and you're here to like be in the energy of the room. And it was incredible. And of course, you know, I sang and all that stuff, but it was not my time. So the San Diego run went, and I was back in LA again and working with Corinne. She comes out sometimes for Wicked and had talked about, you know, understudy positions.

And I went home that night and I was like, no, I'm not gonna audition. I'm I'm retired, I'm done. Like, what am I trying to do? I'm like in my head, I'm thinking I'm too old for this. Which is, you know, another mental journey I've been on this run. I thought it over and I thought I would regret this so deeply if I didn't go in for this. I think it was honestly one of the best auditions I've had in my life. I had so much fun. I think I let go of any expectations I had of myself in the room, and yeah, I just let go and I let myself shine through, which was so, so, so fun. And yeah, and then I got the word that I've been cast.

[7:41] Rob Russo: So it feels like such a thread through a lot of the audition stories that we've gotten from folks that they felt such like peace and serenity or let go, or these phrases have been used. And I feel like for any aspiring, you know, performers or performers who you know are listening, that's like a good piece of advice. Obviously, it's easier said than done.

[8:00] Neka Zang: Yeah, it has to be earned, yeah.

[8:02] Rob Russo: You have to get to that place and has to be authentic, it can't be forced. But isn't it amazing that when you arrive at that place, then that's when you give the best audition of your life and book the job, right?

[8:14] Neka Zang: Yeah. I mean, super prepared, like of course, ultra prepared, but free.

[8:18] Rob Russo: And then obviously you started rehearsals in January.

[8:21] Neka Zang: Yeah.

[8:21] Rob Russo: And you all started a little earlier, right?

[8:23] Neka Zang: Yeah, we came in as understudies. Yeah, we came in like four or five days before the entire cast met up with us, and it was like a crash course in what they had all been doing for like two years.

[8:37] Rob Russo: So your mind starts to go on this journey of like, can I do this? This is so much information, and you're unsure of like who you're covering yet, so you're learning everything.

[8:47] Neka Zang: Everything.

[8:48] Rob Russo: Yeah, your mind starts to explode and you're trying to take on all this choreography. And then the whole cast came in and it was so exciting to kind of, you know, jump in with them.

[8:56] Jamie DuMont: And at what point in the process did you find out what tracks you'd be covering?

[9:00] Neka Zang: Um, it wasn't until like a week or so in. So we were kind of just learning big, big meaty chunks, you know, like dancing man and sing sing and things like that.

[9:10] Rob Russo: Things you knew you would be in one way no matter what.

[9:12] Neka Zang: Right. Yeah. And then we started learning who we were going to be covering. So we could get a little more specific and you know I at that point I like learned the entire like clapping section of of um dancing man. And then when it came down to it, I don't cover anyone in that section. So I was like, oh my gosh, I have to I'm gonna immediately forget all of that because my brain is too full to even know any of that.

[9:31] Rob Russo: So how do we how long did it take you to get the clapping section down? Like how much time or energy did you have to put into that because it's pretty specific.

[9:42] Neka Zang: I never got it down. I never got it down and like thank God by the time that we knew the covers I was like well great I'm gonna just completely forget all that. Never never learned it.

[9:52] Rob Russo: Well you just alluded to something a moment ago that I don't want to let pass. Which is I mean obviously this is your third Broadway show you've done national tours and sit downs and all that. You've had an amazing career but you just mentioned that you you considered yourself somewhat retired from dancing. So can you explain a little bit about like the mental journey to that place and then pulling yourself out of it to do this?

[10:16] Neka Zang: Yeah I mean I never say never I think there's been shows that have popped up on my radar that kind of pull me out of whatever it is that I'm doing but I I did feel retired from dancing at that point. I had done a show in LA that was just really not um a highlight of my career. It just felt like really disappointing. I just felt at peace with what I had done and then like I said, you know you saw DANCIN’ pop into the radar and this is the one that in my head you do kind of pull yourself out of retirement or whatever you're in so for me it was like as a dancer I thought maybe one day when I'm older I'll do Fosse maybe one day when I'm older I'll do Fosse and I kept thinking that so when it kind of when the time like comes around you never think like oh that's now this is that now moment when you're older.

[11:06] Rob Russo: And what was it about Fosse specifically that made you think I'll do that when I'm older versus I'll do that now at whatever age you were when you sort of had that thought?

[11:14] Neka Zang: I think for me the reason why Fosse is feeling so good in my body now is because I've had so many years under my belt of dancing. I've had so many years under my belt of working there's a seasoning in me that you can't be taught. You know you have to live it and you have to breathe it and you have to be working for a really long time to kind of be able to sit in these certain moments without pushing or dive into these characters. You know I'm being asked to do a lot of different things and sh I'm fully stretched to my limits and I think I couldn't have done this 10, 15 years ago.

[11:50] Rob Russo: So is that more a mental thing or is it more a physical body thing or both?

[11:54] Neka Zang: I think for me it's really both. Mentally I'm finding these places of peace and calm that I actually I I have to have. I can't be scattered and scared in my head. You have to really be centered and I'm making myself you know meditate and really learn to slow my heart rate in those moments where it is really scary to be jumping in and out of things that you're not as rehearsed as you want to be. But physically, and it's funny because I was having this conversation with Wayne during tech, and I I sort of casually said, well, it's not like I'm getting better as a dancer as I get older, it's like I'm losing my facility. And he said, absolutely not. You are getting better as a dancer because you're being asked right now to do things you haven't done in a really long time, and you're stepping up and doing it.

So I feel like my technique right now is better than it's been maybe ever, because I am at being asked to step up and do these things that you know, I'm dancing next to someone that's 20 years younger than me.

[12:54] Neka Zang: So um physically and mentally, I think I am in the best place I've been in my entire career.

[13:00] Rob Russo: Sounds as much mental as it is physical, which is fascinating to me.

[13:04] Neka Zang: It is, it's completely mental. Um, and it didn't start that way, right? Like when we first started, like I said, I was really scared, really nervous, really in my head. I felt like I you know, the negative self-talk is something that everybody goes through, not just dancers. And you know, I'm a huge fan of RuPaul's Drag Race and RuPaul says at the inner saboteur, right? And that's the dragon that you have to slay as a performer. So, you know, while I can stretch every single day, if I'm not mentally trusting myself and mentally okay with showing up as me, which is exactly what this team wants you to do, then you're gonna be pushing on stage. You're gonna be doing things that you don't necessarily need to do. So I've really been trying to slay those dragons in my head as best I can to allow myself to just shine in the way that I know I can.

[13:54] Neka Zang: And it takes work, it's a muscle every single day that I'm trying to work out.

[13:58] Neka Zang: Outsiders, audience members, non-professionals might not ever even consider the whole mental component of dancing.

[14:05] Rob Russo: What are some of the things you do to get out of that crazy mental head space?

[14:08] Neka Zang: Like what what I know for me, I'll listen to a show tune, or I'll go for a walk, or I'll sit in quiet for a little while. And that usually clears out whatever's blocking me or giving me fear. So I'm curious what is what are some of your things you do.

[14:21] Neka Zang: I have quite a few practices. You know, I've been teaching for the last, I don't know, four or five years, off and on. I've been really lucky to travel the world and work with young students and kind of help them with this sort of stuff. Because I think this is really one of the biggest things that holds people back.

[14:37] Neka Zang: It really can vary on the day. For me, if I'm auditioning or I'm about to perform, it's breathing, uh box breathing to slow your heart rate because it's just a natural thing. Your heart rate's gonna be fluttering when you're nervous. So I do a lot of breathing, um, meditation for me, and it doesn't have to be like this formal thing.

[14:57] Neka Zang: For me, my body hurts a lot of the time. So like I'll lay down. I'll just lay down and put my hands on my heart. I do insight timer because I'm not good with um doing it on my own. I need to listen to things. Music is a really good one because it gets you out of your head. You're just like singing your songs.

[15:13] Neka Zang: And the other thing is visualization. I'm a huge visualization person. If you can imagine yourself doing the show and what it would look like on the stage, like in your best self, I really do feel like that helps your performance.

[15:28] Neka Zang: I feel like if you can visualize it, then you can really like do it physically. The other day I was I was uh watching myself on the stage and and and seeing it in my mind, and then what that would look like if I wasn't afraid and shaking, and then I went and did the show.

[15:45] Rob Russo: Well, thank you. You just gave our listeners a little class. So thank you.

[15:50] Neka Zang: Thank you for teaching everyone for free.

[15:53] Rob Russo: Exactly. That is very much appreciated. Because I do think you're right. I think and you what you when you were saying visualizing yourself on that stage. But I think that obviously applies to anything.

[16:04] Neka Zang: Yeah.

[16:04] Rob Russo: Getting out the door, showing up for work, whatever you, whatever your profession is, whatever your block is, it's it's about that, right?

[16:11] Neka Zang: It doesn't necessarily mean visualizing yourself, performing dancing.

[16:15] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[16:15] Neka Zang: It's it's anything, right?

[16:17] Neka Zang: And I would imagine that helps with auditions and and interpersonal relationships and all kinds of things.

[16:22] Neka Zang: Even even just like bringing yourself to the moment. Like if you're freaked out and you know, you're in your head, which most people are, we're usually thinking about a lot of different things.

[16:31] Neka Zang: Even just like bringing yourself to like, what am I seeing in this moment? What am I hearing in this moment? What am I smelling in this moment? What am I tasting? What am I feeling? And just bringing yourself to your senses.

[16:40] Neka Zang: It's really hard to be talking in your head if you're bringing yourself to your senses because you're you're bringing yourself to the present moment. So that's a really quick thing. That's a tool that I give every student that I work with. I'm like, just get yourself in this moment.

[16:54] Neka Zang: And that just means like looking around the room. Oh, gold shoes. And I'm looking at, you know, items from kinky boots. And how can you be talking to yourself in the in your head if you're, you know, in the world.

[17:05] Rob Russo: Or talking yourself out of something.

[17:06] Neka Zang: There you go. Exactly.

[17:07] Neka Zang: Exactly.

[17:08] Rob Russo: Yeah. When we talked to Ronnie, he talked about how um so often we're not conscious about like what we're experiencing in our own lives, right?

[17:17] Neka Zang: And like how that block gets in the way of so much of us like fulfilling our own like potential and being present as you're as you're describing.

[17:25] Neka Zang: It's really we we've learned a lot about, you know, sort of like uh mental health and like balance and techniques from you know everyone that we've spoken to because I love that.

[17:35] Neka Zang: You all have to practice it, right? It's how you were able to do what you do.

[17:38] Rob Russo: Yeah, it's a really smart company.

[17:39] Neka Zang: Yeah, we're that too.

[17:42] Neka Zang: Like grounded. I mean, we haven't talked to everyone, so um you just like it's like one person who's very superficial.

[17:48] Rob Russo: Yeah, yeah.

[17:49] Neka Zang: I'm like, wait till you guys talk to Dylis and Pio and all these like beautiful souls. Uh you know, and you have to kind of be like that in this company.

[17:57] Neka Zang: I think that's the beauty of you know, this this cast is Wayne and Corinne and everyone has put together such a unique group of individuals that you have to be present in this show because it's gonna be different all the time.

[18:09] Neka Zang: Um you can I looked at Dylis when I went on the other day. I looked her right in the eyes as I was doing the the salute cross, and I knew I was in the wrong position.

[18:17] Neka Zang: And I looked her right in the eyes, and I was just like, I I know this is wrong. And she just went with it.

[18:21] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[18:22] Neka Zang: Because we're we're connected in that way that they're gonna go with whatever you're giving them, and that takes a really present performer.

[18:29] Neka Zang: It also, and we've talked about this before, takes an unusual company because it what I keep hearing over and over again is the enormous support that goes on backstage, on stage.

[18:41] Rob Russo: And look, I understand a lot of companies are have a lot of different dynamics, but I can't think of another company that is as tightly knit and as supportive as the company of dance.

[18:50] Neka Zang: And it's I it feels unparalleled to me.

[18:53] Neka Zang: It is, it's extremely unique. It it brings me to tears almost when I think about it because that was the first thing I I texted the we have a company thread.

[19:05] Neka Zang: I texted them after I went on, and I just said I've never in my all my years performing experienced anything like that.

[19:14] Neka Zang: Um, everyone's super connected. They're there to lift you up. They're not there to critique you. They're helpful.

[19:21] Neka Zang: Um, you know, especially as an understudy, you know, they're not like shoving you around, they're just like, come here.

[19:26] Rob Russo: Which is you need that.

[19:28] Neka Zang: Yeah, you need that when you're a little bit flipped on stage. They're full of love, and everybody really respects one another and their own individuality.

[19:37] Rob Russo: Who's the chattiest on the company thread?

[19:39] Neka Zang: Who's the chat? Manny.

[19:42] Neka Zang: Maybe Manny.

[19:43] Neka Zang: Um that's amazing.

[19:46] Neka Zang: That's funny.

[19:47] Neka Zang: That's amazing.

[19:48] Rob Russo: I'm trying to think who else.

[19:48] Neka Zang: Yeah, Manny probably.

[19:50] Neka Zang: He's hilarious.

[19:51] Rob Russo: Well, there is something to be said for the fact that it's a company of 22, but it's a company of 22 principles.

[19:55] Neka Zang: Yeah.

[19:56] Rob Russo: Right. So you're all on the same plane.

[19:59] Neka Zang: So it's to no one's benefit to ever try to one up somebody else because you're all in it together and you all need each other, right?

[20:06] Neka Zang: And it's it's a really beautiful thing to observe as an audience member to see the way you all interact on stage.

[20:12] Neka Zang: And I'm sure you experience it. We just talked about looking at Dilees, right?

[20:15] Neka Zang: Like, I've seen a show uh an ungodly amount of times.

[20:18] Neka Zang: So I'm able to like take my eye away from what I'm supposed to be watching and doing air quotes right now to sort of observe some other things that are going on at this point.

[20:26] Neka Zang: And it's so cool to see the way that you all communicate, sometimes verbally, but sometimes just yeah, in it's in your face, in your eyes, and even your with you know, with a gesture with a body, a hand, something, you know, that like will just show that there's this connection.

[20:42] Neka Zang: It's so present, it's so real, and it's it's so authentic to who you all are as as a company.

[20:47] Rob Russo: Yeah, absolutely.

[20:48] Neka Zang: And I think the audience can feel that too.

[20:50] Rob Russo: Oh, sure.

[20:50] Neka Zang: Absolutely.

[20:51] Neka Zang: Yeah, yeah.

[20:51] Rob Russo: Whether whether they know it or not, right?

[20:53] Neka Zang: Whether they're realizing it, because it is the show is a lot to take in on a first viewing, right?

[20:58] Neka Zang: You don't know where to look, and there's just so much.

[21:00] Rob Russo: Yeah, you want to capture it all, right?

[21:01] Neka Zang: I know, I know.

[21:02] Neka Zang: It's a it's so much.

[21:03] Neka Zang: Yeah.

[21:03] Neka Zang: Well, I it's funny, I've noticed there's um these two boxes on the side of the um theater at the music box.

[21:10] Neka Zang: And a couple times I've noticed understudy dancers watching the show.

[21:15] Rob Russo: Have have you done that?

[21:16] Neka Zang: Oh, yeah. Me and Iden are up there all the time.

[21:18] Neka Zang: Yeah, yeah.

[21:19] Rob Russo: You were there opening night, weren't you?

[21:20] Neka Zang: Were you up there opening up?

[21:21] Neka Zang: Oh, yes.

[21:21] Neka Zang: Yeah, sort of clearing our days as well.

[21:24] Rob Russo: Yes, yes.

[21:25] Neka Zang: Okay, enough about the company for a second. I want to get back to you.

[21:27] Rob Russo: Okay.

[21:28] Neka Zang: This is about you.

[21:30] Neka Zang: Well, it's about everybody. But so tell me, where are you from? Where did when did you start dancing? What was your training like? Talk to us a little bit about your childhood and your background.

[21:38] Neka Zang: So I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona.

[21:41] Neka Zang: Sunny.

[21:42] Neka Zang: Sunny and hot, and everyone's like, oh, it's a dry heat, but it is.

[21:46] Neka Zang: Yep.

[21:46] Neka Zang: Um so I grew up in Scottsdale, really, really, really shy kid.

[21:51] Rob Russo: Um I find that hard to believe.

[21:53] Neka Zang: No, I know. Everyone's like, what out.

[21:55] Neka Zang: Um, you know, the kind of shy like I would hide behind my mom's legs. I would call her in kindergarten, have her come and pick me up.

[22:01] Neka Zang: And I I was kind of like that up until high school. I just really didn't like the school environment.

[22:07] Neka Zang: Um, so my mom put me in dance classes at a studio nearby our house.

[22:12] Neka Zang: I was really reluctant to go. She kind of bragged me a little bit.

[22:17] Neka Zang: And um it took me a few classes to sort of warm up to it.

[22:22] Neka Zang: And um, you know, we were gonna do a dance recital. My mom's like, well, we'll never see that costume because she's not gonna come out on stage.

[22:29] Neka Zang: And sure enough, I did, and the second that I got out there, I knew that that's where I was supposed to be.

[22:34] Neka Zang: It really was like one of those aha moments. I was probably like six or seven years old.

[22:39] Neka Zang: And there was a guy at our dance studio named Brian Friedman, who is uh an icon and a legend in the dance industry.

[22:48] Neka Zang: And at the time he was probably 15 or 16 years old.

[22:53] Neka Zang: And I came home and told my mom, I said, whatever he's doing, or wherever he's going, we have to follow him.

[22:59] Neka Zang: And he opened up his own dance studio, which kind of started me into more of you know the competitive world and and really amped my training up in the commercial world.

[23:09] Neka Zang: Um, and so I owe a lot of my training to to Brian.

[23:12] Neka Zang: I had a knee injury, and that started me um in my musical theater journey because my parents were incredibly supportive.

[23:20] Neka Zang: And my mom said, Well, if you're not gonna come home and dance every day, like do you want to go take voice lessons? Do you want to go take acting lessons? Do you want to do anything like that?

[23:28] Neka Zang: So I did, and I started to find out that I could sing.

[23:32] Rob Russo: Were like musicals a part of your childhood at all, or was that something you discovered sort of later?

[23:36] Neka Zang: They were.

[23:37] Neka Zang: So when I was probably 12 or so, and this is a really funny story.

[23:43] Neka Zang: We were watching Home Alone Lost in New York, as you do in the 90s.

[23:47] Neka Zang: Obsessed with that movie.

[23:48] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[23:48] Neka Zang: So, you know, that part where Kevin calls the Plaza Hotel.

[23:52] Neka Zang: They give the number of the hotel, and my dad's like, let's call it and see if it's real.

[23:57] Neka Zang: So we called it, and it was like Plaza Hotel. And I hung up because I I was so scared.

[24:02] Neka Zang: I'm like, what do I say? My dad's like, wait, call them back and ask them how much a room is to stay there.

[24:07] Neka Zang: So that started our journey to coming to New York.

[24:10] Neka Zang: So we had come to Did you book a room at the plaza?

[24:12] Neka Zang: No, no, no.

[24:13] Neka Zang: There were probably like a thousand dollars.

[24:14] Neka Zang: And my dad's like, Yeah, we're gonna stay to Marriott.

[24:19] Neka Zang: But um, so we started coming to New York, we started seeing shows.

[24:23] Rob Russo: And what was your first Broadway show that you saw?

[24:25] Neka Zang: I think it was Phantom of the Opera.

[24:27] Neka Zang: Of course.

[24:28] Neka Zang: I think it was, I know.

[24:29] Neka Zang: Which, you know, just close.

[24:31] Neka Zang: We're not ready, we're not ready to go.

[24:33] Neka Zang: It's really crazy to see the majestic stuff.

[24:34] Neka Zang: I'm looking at the mask right now behind you.

[24:36] Neka Zang: I know, it's wild.

[24:37] Neka Zang: It's like, ugh.

[24:38] Neka Zang: It's surreal.

[24:39] Rob Russo: So Phantom was your first show.

[24:41] Neka Zang: Phantom was the first show, but one of the shows that changed my trajectory of really knowing that I wanted to do musical theater and understanding that it was a little more alternative than just, you know, your traditional phantom of the opera.

[24:54] Neka Zang: And it's a full circle moment was Tommy.

[24:57] Neka Zang: And I just remembered like grabbing my dad and being like, I have to do this.

[24:57] Neka Zang: I have to do this. Whatever this is, like it's a rock musical.

[25:05] Neka Zang: And the dancing, of course, which was choreographed by Wayne Celento.

[25:09] Neka Zang: It rocked my world.

[25:11] Neka Zang: And I think it's no coincidence that I've kind of done most alternative sort of rock shows that are a little less traditional.

[25:19] Neka Zang: It's not a coincidence.

[25:20] Neka Zang: It really Rock of Ages.

[25:23] Neka Zang: Yeah.

[25:24] Neka Zang: American Psycho, which I've obsessed.

[25:26] Neka Zang: I always love hearing that.

[25:27] Neka Zang: I thought the show was so good.

[25:29] Neka Zang: I Broadway was not ready.

[25:32] Neka Zang: Ahead of its time.

[25:32] Rob Russo: That's what I always say.

[25:33] Neka Zang: Ahead of its time.

[25:34] Neka Zang: Duncan Sheik.

[25:35] Neka Zang: What a brilliant.

[25:36] Neka Zang: Oh my god.

[25:37] Neka Zang: Brilliant, brilliant.

[25:38] Neka Zang: I thought that was a cool experience, even though a bit heartbreaking.

[25:40] Neka Zang: I'm sure it was a very good thing.

[25:41] Neka Zang: Heartbreaking cool.

[25:42] Neka Zang: Sure.

[25:42] Neka Zang: I mean, I wanted to do that show because I wanted to work with Duncan.

[25:45] Neka Zang: You know, and then it ended up being that I was gonna go on for Alice Ripley and like me understudying Alice Ripley, like what?

[25:52] Neka Zang: So it was a it was a an exciting experience and a heartbreaking experience all at once.

[25:57] Neka Zang: But you need those in your career.

[25:58] Rob Russo: Show business.

[25:59] Neka Zang: I know, show business, baby.

[26:01] Neka Zang: That's how it goes.

[26:03] Rob Russo: Well, you're now in dancing.

[26:05] Neka Zang: Yeah.

[26:05] Rob Russo: So here we are, right?

[26:07] Neka Zang: Yeah, we'll talk about full circle.

[26:08] Neka Zang: As we alluded to earlier, when we spoke to Afra, she she talked us through sort of her process for how she keeps track of all of her tracks.

[26:17] Neka Zang: She's amazing at it.

[26:18] Rob Russo: Okay.

[26:18] Neka Zang: So we're wondering if you could share with us a little bit about like how you go about tackling the task you have in front of you of covering what, five people?

[26:26] Neka Zang: Five different insane five crazy how it's crazy.

[26:30] Neka Zang: And to put a fine point on it, which we have, you know, has been illuminated for us, it's not just the dancing, which hard enough, it's the singing, it's the acting, and then it's the costume changes.

[26:41] Neka Zang: Because everyone has their own costume change plot in addition to their own track, right?

[26:46] Rob Russo: So how do you do it?

[26:47] Neka Zang: How do you like, how do you actually Yeah, like what's the process all of this?

[26:52] Neka Zang: Yeah, you have you have to be really methodical and organized about it. You know, it's a it's a transformative journey.

[26:57] Neka Zang: When we first started I was like writing shit down on my iPad like without a clue.

[27:02] Neka Zang: Not a single clue. Like I was like, yeah, EO's coming in from stage left. Like didn't write a single number down because I was still trying to remember like what the choreography was.

[27:11] Neka Zang: Now I've got everything in my iPad. Every single person has their own book.

[27:18] Neka Zang: So you'll see like a book for EO. You'll see a book for Carly, you'll see a book for Dilise.

[27:22] Neka Zang: And within those books, you've got a lot of the choreography is written out for me.

[27:27] Neka Zang: Ofra's book is amazing. She writes out every single bit of choreography with the counts I'm not as good as she is in that department.

[27:36] Neka Zang: I'm a little more visual so I watch a lot of the videos.

[27:38] Neka Zang: And then I've taken those books and I've put them into like flashcards on a ring because you really do need a quick reference when you're going on just to remind yourself like okay I'm running to five stage left now and you know you got to cross downstage of you know so and so.

[27:53] Neka Zang: So I've got flashcards on rings for each person. So I've got five sets of those and then I have charts for reference as well on my phone. So if I need to pull something up really quick, I can look at a chart as well as all of the tech videos. You have to be a little crazy as well to kind of tackle it and know that you're gonna mess up and be okay.

[28:14] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, right.

[28:15] Neka Zang: Be okay with it because you are gonna mess up. I'd stupidly like calculated how many versions I need to know, and it's like a hundred something versions, right? If you're doing five people and there's like 33 numbers in the show, you're responsible for almost a hundred different ways of doing it.

[28:31] Rob Russo: Did that get in your head?

[28:32] Neka Zang: Yeah, of course. Yeah. Of course, I was like, there's no way I can do this. If dancing is Mount Everest, I'm not even at base camp, you know? So um, but you know what? You can't, you absolutely can. You absolutely can, and you have to do it moment by moment. You know, if you're thinking about the entire show, like when I was on the other day, I'm not thinking about the entire show. I'm like, okay, I'm thinking about crunchy granola, and I know that I start here, then I'm gonna walk to 15, and then I'm gonna walk to zero. And then you go moment by moment by moment. What's next?

[29:01] Jamie DuMont: Yeah, right.

[29:02] Neka Zang: Yeah, you can't you can't look at the otherwise it's overwhelming.

[29:04] Rob Russo: Oh, yeah, you gotta you gotta go moment by moment.

[29:06] Neka Zang: So you just mentioned Dylis, Eo, Carly. You've gone on for Maddie twice. Who's the fifth that you cover?

[29:12] Neka Zang: Uh Ida.

[29:14] Rob Russo: Ida.

[29:14] Neka Zang: Ida. So you do that insane eventually we'll do that insane jumping and kicking in America. Very early on, I had barely even learned the choreography. It was like maybe a day before we had to go into a green room and film because we were gonna do some like background effects, and we had to film it, and I was like, oh gosh, this is the one feature I'm like really not wanting to do. But we got it out of the way, and um it'll be a challenge when it comes.

[29:44] Rob Russo: And you'll deal with it then.

[29:46] Neka Zang: Yeah, I'll be I'll right. I'll get to that moment and I'll deal with it at that.

[29:49] Rob Russo: And then you'll do it.

[29:49] Neka Zang: Exactly, exactly. What's your favorite moment in the show that you will or have not yet performed?

[29:58] Neka Zang: That's so hard. I know that is such a hard question. But I'm gonna make you answer it.

[30:04] Neka Zang: I'm really, really, really excited to do bookstore. I think there's something so iconic about that moment in the show where everything's moving so fast and then it slows down and you go into those isolated hips where even the audience knows that's Fosse. I'm so excited to do that. I was watching the reference videos from it and watching Ben Vereen, and I still have those moments where I'm like, oh my God, I'm gonna do this choreography that Ben Vereen was dancing or Anne Ranking was dancing. Big noise has been one of my favorite. I mean, that I have performed. It's you need a quad massage after that, but it's so fun because it allows my personality to come out. You know, I think I'm loud and I love dancing and I find so much joy in it, and that is a number that you can just have so much joy.

[30:53] Rob Russo: Well, and that's a number that has a rare improv moment in it, right? Which is also unusual in a show like DANCIN', right? Because everything is very specific and purposeful, and then you get this fun moment where you get to just be yourself or whatever it is that you guys improv that day.

[31:10] Neka Zang: It's great, and you get to be vocal too, which I I'm always screaming on stage as the cast. I'm like, So that's the thing I think I'm the most surprised about learning from talking to everyone in the company. And now I notice it when I see the show is how vocal you are on stage with each other. Like it's one thing to catch a look and you say, Oh, there's a oh, oh, Mika's looking at Diles right now. Oh, I caught that. But now we're really somebody, I can't remember which one of it. Somebody said you need to sit in the front row.

[31:37] Rob Russo: Yeah, and you really can hear what we're saying.

[31:39] Neka Zang: So we will do that eventually.

[31:41] Rob Russo: You gotta.

[31:42] Neka Zang: Yeah, well, I'm hesitant because I like the mezzanine, because I like to be able to see so great.

[31:47] Jamie DuMont: Mezzanine's the best, best, best, best place to sit.

[31:49] Neka Zang: I know. You can see all the lights. You can see everyone's expressions. It's such an intimate theater. Such a mezzanine show.

[31:55] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[31:56] Neka Zang: It really is. But I do want to hear it because I am now catching that. Oh, Ida's saying something. I can't hear it.

[32:01] Neka Zang: We're screaming.

[32:03] Neka Zang: Screaming. And also there's there's which I think people would be surprised to know, there are moments where we're screaming counts at each other.

[32:11] Rob Russo: That's funny.

[32:11] Neka Zang: Yeah. Oh, no one's told us that yet.

[32:14] Neka Zang: Or maybe I just revealed I exposed the person behind the curtain. I've noticed during Beat Me Daddy at the bar.

[32:20] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[32:21] Neka Zang: A lot of shouting going on.

[32:23] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[32:23] Neka Zang: Yeah. You have to because um your body is just about to give out. At that point in the show.

[32:29] Neka Zang: Yeah. Close to being done with. Um it knows, right? We're the last big number, production number of the show.

[32:35] Rob Russo: Yeah, it feels so good. You're like, I did it.

[32:37] Neka Zang: Yeah. That sense of accomplishment.

[32:39] Jamie DuMont: Oh, yeah. I love how much you love what you do. You have such a great energy about dancing.

[32:45] Neka Zang: Yeah. And about all of it. I love it. I think that's something I hope people take away from me that I'm not jaded. You know, I've had moments in the industry where I'm like, I cannot believe this production is, you know, taking money from my paycheck and not paying equity. And like, you know.

[33:01] Jamie DuMont: But I'm not jaded.

[33:03] Neka Zang: I truly love what I do. And I I don't take it for granted at all that I'm in the positions that I'm in. And I I think you have to. It's a dark quote, but it's like you have to find something you love and let it kill you. And that's how I truly feel. Like, I have never found anything I love more than this. So why wouldn't I, you know, be excited to do it every day? And of course, you're gonna have bad days where your body is hurting and you know, life stuff happens, but I don't take this for granted at all. I love it, I love it. We're dressing up and kicking our legs, and like what? You know, the like how how lucky are we that we get to do what we love.

[33:41] Neka Zang: And also the the mantle of of carrying on the legacy of Bob Fosse and his incredible body of work, and that I think is not lost on anyone in the company.

[33:52] Rob Russo: No.

[33:53] Neka Zang: Every day I look at the marquee when I walk in, and I'm like, I cannot believe that I'm walking into this theater that says Bob Fosse's DANCIN'. I can't believe it. I still like can't believe it. Um, and I'm channeling his spirit as best I can when I'm on, you know, and trying to honor that legacy of what he has created, and it feels so surreal to be one of those dancers right now.

[34:18] Jamie DuMont: It's very clear that you have such a deep admiration and relationship with Fosse, the work, the style. When did that begin?

[34:29] Neka Zang: God, I was really young. I was subscribing to Dance Magazine from a from a really young age, and those magazines would come and I would lock myself in my bedroom, probably like stretching on my bed at the same time, reading the magazine because I was really multitasking. Yeah, I just really wanted to be flexible. I never quite got there, but so I was I was probably stretching and reading the magazine, and so each month would have an iconic dancer, and the first time I saw a Fosse dancer was Ann Ranking, right there on the cover of Dance Magazine, and those covers are just emblazed in my mind forever, and you want to know all about these people, and of course, you read about the dancers, and that just stuck in my mind, and of course, you see Liza with a Z and all of those movies that I loved old movies growing up, Fred Astaire and all the MGM classics.

So yeah, that was probably the first time I was probably like 10, maybe a little bit younger. Um, and then you know, of course, seeing Chicago and and really knowing that I was like, I I can do that. I think I can do that.

[35:36] Rob Russo: If there's one thing I know from following you on Instagram, is that you have an incredible fashion sense.

[35:40] Neka Zang: Oh, thank you. And we have, you know, in this company in this production, just the most amazing costumes. Thanks for Reed and Harriet. And we learned from them that, you know, all the understudies have their own set of costumes that are designed for them. And because you play yourself in Crunchy Granola Suite, you uh imagine you have your own crunchy costume that no one else has, right? What was that process like getting to work with them on your costumes?

[36:03] Neka Zang: I love Reed and Harriet so much. I call them mom and dad. Um they're just so great. I I had so much fun in the fittings with them because I just I think you have to trust wardrobe, you know. I'm I'm never one of those people that's like, oh, this is terrible. But they were they were really fun in the in the fittings and really worked with us to find what was gonna, you know, fit our bodies right, make us stand out, but also, you know, be plugged into the cast every single time that we go on. Yeah, we just found what worked, and there's some things that exactly what you know, maybe Diles or Ego is wearing, but then there's other things that are really yours, and we have a lot of costumes, a lot. I don't know how many we have, but the understudies have a ton of costumes, yeah.

[36:43] Rob Russo: You'd have to cover five.

[36:44] Neka Zang: Oh, because you're yeah, right.

[36:46] Rob Russo: Yeah. Wow.

[36:46] Neka Zang: So Reed and Harriet had to hunker down with us.

[36:50] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[36:51] Neka Zang: Oh, yeah. Do you have a favorite costume of all the ones that you've worn or will wear?

[36:56] Neka Zang: You know, when I first put on the the romantic fantasy Kiss Me Kate, there's something about that. You're honoring this like iconic moment from that musical from this from the movie. It's just a beautiful costume. I've never danced in anything like that in my life, and I'm still navigating like this skirt when I go on. I'm like, how many times am I gonna trip on this?

[37:21] Rob Russo: And you haven't, right?

[37:22] Neka Zang: I have.

[37:23] Rob Russo: Oh wow.

[37:24] Neka Zang: I have. I'm gonna put that costume on more and dance in it backstage because it's it's a beautiful, beautiful costume. But it's a long, full-length skirt that's very flowy. I don't know if I'm assuming there's multiple layers or is it just one?

[37:37] Neka Zang: I think it's one, but it's it's one of those dances where you're up and down from the ground a lot. So you're you're navigating material under your body. But I love that costume. It's beautiful. So feminine, and it's such a nod to the original.

[37:51] Rob Russo: Yeah, it's one of the things.

[37:52] Neka Zang: You're instantly transported.

[37:53] Neka Zang: Oh, yes. When Jacob and Maddie and or or Jacob and Nia walk out on stage in this costume, yeah. Boom. You know, especially from you know where you're coming from before, right? Here you come again, right? Right into that moment, it's such a like transition, a real, a real jump.

[38:07] Rob Russo: Yeah, you know.

[38:08] Neka Zang: I love that costume. I just want to show you and your dress in Big Noise. I love that dress.

[38:11] Rob Russo: That mod dress, I love all those costumes.

[38:14] Neka Zang: So good. I love um Tony's little fringe jacket and Nando's shirt that's just always open. It's those those three, but you're that that mod dress, like I could see you wearing that out. I I told Reed and Harriet, I was like, I'm stealing this when I leave. I'm just letting you know.

[38:36] Neka Zang: So like the holes are perfectly positioned so that you can see the body moving, but it's also tailored in a way that when you're doing all those sort of shoulder isolations and hip isolations, that it swings perfectly. And that's just the brilliance of Reed and Harriet.

[38:50] Rob Russo: Yeah.

[38:51] Neka Zang: Yeah. They really are. They are brilliant.

[38:52] Rob Russo: Yep.

[38:53] Neka Zang: I agree. We would talk to you all day.

[38:56] Jamie DuMont: I would sit here all day.

[38:57] Neka Zang: If we could.

[38:58] Rob Russo: But that would be unfair. What does Bob Fosse mean to you?

[39:01] Neka Zang: Oh my gosh. It's a big one.

[39:04] Rob Russo: It is a big one.

[39:06] Neka Zang: He has inspired so many artists. I I don't even know if I have the correct word for it, but I think I can I can put a stamp on a dance career knowing that I've done his work. There's something, like I said, you know, I waited my whole life for this moment. And being, you know, I'm turning 40 this year to be rounding it out in that sort of way, doing these iconic movements that have inspired, you know, people like Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, like, and here I am doing this this movement. It it's like a stamp on a dance career that I don't think many people get. It feels full circle, and I feel like, not like I'm retiring right now or anytime soon, but it feels like I can feel at peace with my career as a dancer in that sort of way because he is so iconic.

It means something to me. Not like I think I'm like the best by any stretch of the imagination, but that I've been doing it long enough to be able to step into his work feels really humbling. And I I don't like when people say that, but I really do feel humbled to do his work. So he's everything. God, I don't have the the right word for it, but it means everything to me to do it.

[40:20] Jamie DuMont: You'll dance it. You'll dance the meaning of it.

[40:22] Neka Zang: That's that's my universal language, you know. So yeah.

[40:25] Rob Russo: You you actually did have all the right words for it. You answered that question beautifully.

[40:28] Neka Zang: So when you listen back, you'll go, alright. I nailed that actually.

[40:30] Jamie DuMont: Well, thank you so much for joining us today. It has been an absolute treat getting to know you and chatting with you.

[40:38] Neka Zang: Thank you for having me.

[40:39] Jamie DuMont: Thank you.

[40:52] Jamie DuMont: Bob Fosse's DANCIN' is now on Broadway at the Music Box Theater. For tickets and more information, visit DancinBway.com.

[40:59] Jamie DuMont: DANCIN' Man, a Fabulous Invalid podcast, is a production of OM etc. and the Fabulous Invalid LLC, and a proud member of the Broadway Podcast Network. Special thanks to Civilian for hosting us and to our audio engineer, Kyle Moore. If you liked this episode, we've got over a hundred episodes of the Fabulous Invalid Podcast that you can check out, including a two parter on the life, work, and legacy of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. You can find us online at the Fabulous Invalid.com and on social media at Fabulous Invalid, and on iTunes, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.