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[0:04] Robert Bannon: Hello, Round Tablers, Adrian and John. Here we are, an opening night for Bug, starring Carrie Coon. Thank you, Manhattan Theatre Club. We love you. This is amazing. We're so, so happy to be here. They are one of our favorites. We're just so thankful that they let us be here and get to interview these amazing, amazing guests tonight. Wait till you see the creatives that are gonna be coming by and walking and hopefully talking to us. You may just see them passing by, but we're hoping to get some really great interviews for all of you. So hey, save me a seat at the round table.

[0:36] Robert Bannon: Michael, could I show you for a quick little question here? My husband, the big Superman fan back there.

[0:42] Michael Shannon: Right on.

[0:42] Robert Bannon: But I'm a big Boardwalk Empire fan. I mean, that was just an exceptional character that you played in that.

[0:48] Michael Shannon: Thank you.

[0:49] Michael Shannon: Yes.

[0:49] Robert Bannon: And I mean now you're just, you're everywhere now.

[0:52] Michael Shannon: Everywhere, am I?

[0:53] Robert Bannon: Well, I think so with your new film.

[0:56] Michael Shannon: Oh, Nuremberg.

[0:57] Robert Bannon: Yes.

[0:58] Michael Shannon: Yeah.

[1:00] Michael Shannon: Yeah, well, I like to work.

[1:02] Robert Bannon: Yes. It's good to be a working actor, right?

[1:04] Michael Shannon: Yeah, sure.

[1:05] Robert Bannon: So what made you want to come out tonight to see this phenomenal play?

[1:12] Michael Shannon: Oh, well, uh, Tracy's an old friend of mine. I've known Tracy for, excuse me, I've known Tracy for 35 years.

[1:19] Robert Bannon: Wow.

[1:20] Michael Shannon: I like to support my friends.

[1:22] Robert Bannon: I love that. That's important to support friends out there.

[1:25] Michael Shannon: Yeah, yeah.

[1:25] Michael Shannon: Yes, yes.

[1:26] Robert Bannon: Well, thank you so much for stopping. I appreciate it. Have a good night.

[1:29] Michael Shannon: Thank you.

[1:29] Robert Bannon: Can I steal you real quick, Anna? You look stunning.

[1:31] Anna Chumsky: Well, thank you.

[1:33] Anna Chumsky: I mean, everything.

[1:36] Robert Bannon: Thank you. I'm sure that's like a DSW purchase from like a decade ago.

[1:39] Anna Chumsky: But I love that.

[1:40] Anna Chumsky: They're still working.

[1:41] Robert Bannon: Yes. How excited are you to be here for opening night?

[1:44] Anna Chumsky: Oh, I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled. I love MTC and I love, I love, you know, Tracy and I love Carrie Coon. I'm and yeah, I'm, uh, I I'm probably aging myself, but like I remember when this play was kind of new and like the hot thing, and all of the like acting students were using it for their scene work, and so like I think that it's, I'm, I'm very excited that it's, um, it's made its time on Broadway now.

[2:10] Robert Bannon: Yes, yeah. Exactly. So now what's new and up and coming for you that you can share with us?

[2:14] Anna Chumsky: Oh god. Um, I have, I have lots, I have lots of, you know, fires, you know, iron fires, fires in the iron. Um, I was trying to make a play on fires in the iron. Irons in the fire. Um, but uh, there's like, uh, I get to be like a cartoon voice for a mom pretty soon in some kind of like intergalactic Japanese like animated series, so that'll be fun. And uh, yeah, there's other stuff that I'm, I'm not ready to talk about.

[2:43] Anna Chumsky: Totally fine. That's it. But I'm booking.

[2:46] Anna Chumsky: That's it. Booked and busy, booked and busy, exactly.

[2:49] Robert Bannon: Anna, thank you so much. Such a plan, thank you. Enjoy tonight.

[2:52] Anna Chumsky: Thank you.

[2:53] Robert Bannon: How excited are you to be here for opening night?

[2:55] Kelley Curran: Well, I'm always happy to be here to opening night. I was always happy to get a ticket to opening night.

[3:00] Robert Bannon: Yes.

[3:00] Kelley Curran: And I love David Colmer, and he directed, he just directed a play I was in, so I'm happy to be here.

[3:05] Robert Bannon: Well, I love you on the Disney Channel with the very Jonas Christmas.

[3:08] Kelley Curran: Yeah, yeah.

[3:09] Kelley Curran: I was like, there she is.

[3:10] Robert Bannon: Yeah. How fun was that?

[3:11] Kelley Curran: That was fun. We shot it in Toronto, which I where I live mostly. No, all half the time. So it was great to walk to walk to work.

[3:18] Robert Bannon: Oh, that's wonderful. What's up and coming for you?

[3:21] Kelley Curran: Um, High Spirits and Encores at City Center in a couple of weeks.

[3:25] Robert Bannon: How exciting.

[3:26] Kelley Curran: It was exciting. Well, congratulations, enjoy tonight, thank you so much.

[3:30] Kelley Curran: I'm Kelley Curran.

[3:32] Robert Bannon: How excited are you to be here for opening day?

[3:33] Jocelyn Bioh: Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Let's just talk about these actors. Just like forces of nature. And Tracy Letts. Yes. You know, one of the greatest in the American theater. I'm thrilled.

[3:41] Jocelyn Bioh: Yes. And Carrie Coon. I know everyone is ex- Well, the towering genius of Carrie Coon. Like any opportunity to see her on stage or screen is just thrilling.

[3:52] Jocelyn Bioh: It is really, really fun. So now what is up next for you?

[3:56] Jocelyn Bioh: Well, we are about to begin season four of The Gilded Age. So that will be up next. I'm really excited about it. So hopefully Carrie and I will cross paths a few more times in that capacity.

[4:08] Jocelyn Bioh: I just love the periodness of it. Like it's, I know that's not really a word, but you know what I'm saying? Like the costumes have to be.

[4:14] Jocelyn Bioh: Oh my god. The costumes are, I mean, I pinch myself. The costumes are just so gorgeous and stunning and, uh, incredibly detailed. I, it's just like such a privilege every day. You show up and you see the craftsmanship that goes into every aspect of the show, and it's, um, it's pretty astonishing. I'm very grateful.

[4:31] Jocelyn Bioh: And it's so nice to see everybody coming to support Carrie tonight, too.

[4:35] Robert Bannon: Yeah, yeah, no, I knew it. I knew that some of the fam would be here. I was like, this has been really good. We love each other. We're a bunch of theater kids. We love each other. People don't get that. It's different. It's different.

[4:45] Kelley Curran: Totally. Kelly, thank you so much for the color.

[4:47] Jocelyn Bioh: Thank you. Have a great night.

[4:49] Robert Bannon: Bye bye. I love Abbott Elementary. Many of my friends are teachers. So I, I, when they watch it, and especially my cousin, so this is my cousin Robert. He and his husband Darius, they are in Detroit. So he used to be in front of the camera. He does a weekly podcast, but I, he was like, "Age, you have to get in front of the camera now." So here I am for him to interview all of you lovely people.

[5:10] Jocelyn Bioh: Wow, hey, kudos to you for making good on that promise. And please thank them for their service. I feel like that has been the real kind of unexpected cherry on top of this job is like meeting so many great teachers who tell me that they watch the show or that it means something to them. And um, I was a terrible student, so I love hearing that.

[5:29] Jocelyn Bioh: But it's such a smart show. Like every character is so unique and wonderful. I mean, Quinta does such a great job with the writing.

[5:35] Jocelyn Bioh: She really does. I think she's, you know, we've just seen the very beginning of what I predict will be a gorgeously long, brilliant, genius career. And I'm so glad that I got to be a part of this one and a part of it in its early days. And yeah, I really think she can do no wrong. So I'm excited to see, you know, see how it unfolds.

[5:56] Robert Bannon: Yes, we're very excited to see the rest of this season too. But enjoy tonight, thank you.

[6:00] Jocelyn Bioh: Thank you. Thank you so much.

[6:05] Anna Chumsky: I watch it once a year. I'm not even kidding.

[6:06] Robert Bannon: Okay.

[6:07] Anna Chumsky: Like, well, John Gallagher Jr., you know.

[6:10] Robert Bannon: You know, just a little bit, just a little bit. Now, my husband behind the camera is a very big hello Star Trek.

[6:15] Alison Pill: Oh yes.

[6:16] Robert Bannon: So he's like Alison Pill, and I was like, the newsroom we were arguing. How excited are you to be here for opening night?

[6:25] Alison Pill: Oh, I'm so excited. I think, I think Tracy Letts is one of the most talented just people in America. Not just writers, but actors and sort of theatrical person. Um, we got to work together on a film a couple of years ago and have done a reading together, and he's amazing. And Carrie Coon, I just fangirl over as an actor's actor, and just the most grounded visceral, like emotional performances, balls to the wall. So I am thrilled about this production.

[6:58] Alison Pill: Yes. That I've never gotten to see that I've only read. Right. You know. Um, so I'm, I'm, I'm really excited.

[7:03] Robert Bannon: Now, what's up and coming for you that you can share with us?

[7:06] Alison Pill: Uh, nothing.

[7:09] Robert Bannon: Are we taking a break or uh you can't talk?

[7:12] Alison Pill: You can't say.

[7:13] Alison Pill: No, I mean, it's, it's a really like I no, I can't, I can't speak from Alison Pill. I can't speak to a lot of things.

[7:22] Alison Pill: Okay, that's better going on. But there are things that are up and coming.

[7:25] Robert Bannon: Sure. All right. We love that. You are amazing and wonderful. Thank you so much. I really, I resonated with your character on the newsroom so much, and I just, I love it. And I found my forever right over there. So we, we found each other January 3rd of 2020 and got engaged May the 4th of 2020. So there you go.

[7:42] Alison Pill: May the fourth be with you.

[7:43] Robert Bannon: Yes. Thank you so much. I'm such a huge fan, I have to tell you. I'm with the round table. I am such a huge fan of the next one. I'm Adrian.

[7:52] Adrian: Hi Adrian, nice to meet you. I have been a fan of yours since Real Genius with the lovely Val Kilmer back in the day.

[7:57] Alison Pill: Oh my gosh, my love.

[7:59] Adrian: But White Lotus, let me tell you. Oh my goodness. Your character is just was just so fantastic.

[8:05] Alison Pill: Oh my gosh, thank you. Thank you very much.

[8:06] Adrian: But I just, I wanted to say I'm such a huge fan and wanted to just let you know that.

[8:10] Alison Pill: Well I'm excited to be here.

[8:11] Adrian: Yeah, it's fun, right? Opening night. Looking forward to it.

[8:14] Alison Pill: Flew in for this.

[8:16] Adrian: Oh, well, you go and enjoy.

[8:22] Alison Pill: I didn't want to miss him. I'm a big fan, but I'm a bigger fan of yours, sir. Happy opening.

[8:25] Robert Bannon: It's not a competition.

[8:28] Alison Pill: Uh thanks. We're, uh, it's very nice to be here. I mean, this, this is the buzz is out there for this play.

[8:35] Robert Bannon: I get it. The buzz, bug, the buzz.

[8:38] Alison Pill: I get it.

[8:39] Robert Bannon: That's good. How excited are you? Do you feel the energy for tonight?

[8:42] Alison Pill: Yeah, cu uh, you know, uh, Broadway is uh singular and opening night on Broadway is always, it's got its own energy, nothing quite like it.

[8:52] Robert Bannon: It's true, it really, really does. Different than a movie premiere and things like that.

[8:55] Alison Pill: It's electric.

[8:56] Robert Bannon: Yeah. It's true. There's live people in there about to tell a story.

[8:59] Alison Pill: Oh yes.

[9:00] Alison Pill: Yeah. Very exciting story.

[9:01] Robert Bannon: Yeah. Yes. Thank you so much for stopping. Congratulations. Have a great night.

[9:05] Alison Pill: Can I steal you for a quick one?

[9:07] Robert Bannon: Sure.

[9:08] Adrian: I'm Adrian with the round table.

[9:10] Alison Pill: Okay, hi.

[9:11] Adrian: We're, we're, we're a YouTube. I'm, my cousin used to be in front of the camera.

[9:15] Alison Pill: Exactly, exactly.

[9:17] Adrian: Uh, how excited are you for Carrie tonight for opening night?

[9:20] Morgan Spector: I'm very excited. Anytime you get to watch Carrie Coon act, it's a good day.

[9:22] Robert Bannon: Yes, yes it is. Morgan, thank you so much. Have a good night. Enjoy.

[9:26] Morgan Spector: I'm so excited. I'm such a Blue Bloods fan.

[9:28] Adrian: Oh my gosh, really? Great.

[9:31] Morgan Spector: Oh my gosh. How are you? You look so adorable this year.

[9:33] Adrian: Um, it's a little chilly. It's well, I'm not, I've been in LA for a little bit, so I'm like, I was really prepared, overly prepared, I think.

[9:40] Morgan Spector: Yes, that's okay.

[9:41] Adrian: How are you? How are you doing?

[9:42] Morgan Spector: I'm doing great. I have a two-year-old at home and we're just like, you know, running around and building blocks and like discovering the ground and the earth and all the things.

[9:52] Adrian: It's going great.

[9:53] Morgan Spector: Oh, I'm so happy. That's so wonderful.

[9:55] Adrian: Thank you. So you're getting to take a little time, a little breather, and then something new?

[9:59] Morgan Spector: A very intentional break.

[10:01] Adrian: Okay.

[10:02] Morgan Spector: A very intentional break. Because I just needed to, it's, you know, you do a show for eleven years and you're like, am I am I Eddie Chenko?

[10:14] Jocelyn Bioh: And you so it it has taken this year to kind of just ground myself and figure out like what I want to do next and where I want to go and also like we did a show and then we come out of the show and all of a sudden it's a totally different industry. It's very, very different now. It was like we were in a bunker and before you know, before it was a it was like very communal and now it feels very individual. So it's learning about how to be in this industry this way now has I've been taking an intentional break from it so I can come back to it and go and be in a row and that's important too.

[10:48] Jocelyn Bioh: Oh, that's so fun. Well, I I'm a big new kid fan and I love my Donnie, I will say. I love my Donnie too. Are we so proud of his new show? So proud it's so good. So proud of his new show. Yes, yes. And he's doing so good, and he is knocking it out of the park, and I just am so happy for him. I love him so much.

[11:04] Jocelyn Bioh: Hello, I am Jocelyn Bioh. How excited are you to be here this evening? You know, I'm excited and I'm scared all at the same time. I know that this play has like a creepy vibe to it. So I guess that's how we're kicking off the year, just being scared. But I'm good, I'm excited. I'm excited to see these amazing performers, of course. Yes, and afraid of what their performances will do to my spirit.

[11:26] Jocelyn Bioh: Right. Well, well, yes. You know. Anything is an escape from the actual real world stuff. Now, if I may ask what's up and coming for you, maybe um you share.

[11:44] Jocelyn Bioh: No. But I will be able to soon. So that's good. That's exciting. So we're booked and busy, just we can't comment. Yeah, you know, look, booked and busy, guys. We're alive. Yes. We're breathing, we're hopefully healthy. Yes. And that's the most important thing. And if you get to do a little theater or some work here and there, that's fun.

[12:08] Jocelyn Bioh: That's right. At the end of the day, I'm really glad to be alive and healthy. I love that. I'm gonna I'm gonna go with that. That's a good mantra to have out of that. Alive and healthy is better than booked and busy. There you go. Yeah, thank you so much. You enjoy tonight, thank you. Good to see you.

[12:24] Maria Dizzia: Oh, hi. My name is Maria Dizzia. And I'm an actor. How excited are you to be here for opening night? I'm so thrilled to be here. I am a huge fan of Carrie Coon, and so I'm so excited to see her in the role. And also I saw the play when it was first produced off Broadway. And so I don't know. I feel like I have a really incredible relationship with this play. My mom and I saw it together, and we were so rattled by the play.

[12:52] Maria Dizzia: I lived in New Jersey. Oh, we're from New Jersey. Yeah, oh you are? Ramsey, New Jersey. Oh, awesome. Yeah, from Cranford, New Jersey. Awesome. And so we saw it. I was living in New York at the time, but my mom and we were so rattled. My mom meant to drop me off and she just drove into the Holland Tunnel. Oh my gosh. And like halfway through the Holland Tunnel, we were like, oh, we're going the wrong way. Because we were both so so like this play looms so large for me because I find it very emotionally overwhelming.

[13:19] Maria Dizzia: And so I'm just really excited because I know now also it's the play is very prescient about what it was about, and so now I'm just excited to see it. I'm a little de gird myself for the emotional roller coaster, but I'm really excited to see it with this audience in 2026. So what's what's up and coming for you?

[13:41] Maria Dizzia: Oh, I'm working with Wally Shawn on a play called Um What We Did Before Our Moth Days that's going to be at the Greenwich House Theater with John Early and Josh Hamilton, you know, and Hope Davis. I say right. Oh, I's so exciting. I'm really, really excited. I feel so wonderful. Lucky to be with all of those people. Yes.

[14:08] Maria Dizzia: Yeah. So that's we start rehearsal soon and then our first preview is February 4th. I love that. Alright, we'll have to keep the lookout for that round table as well. Thank you so much. Yeah, thank you. Thank you so much.

[14:21] Becky Ann Baker: Hi, I'm Becky Ann Baker. Um, actor extraordinaire. Yes, that is very true. How excited are you to come tonight for all of you? Oh, so excited. I love Carrie Coon so much. And Tracy Letts, you know. And I mean it's just it's very exciting because it's a new I haven't seen the play. I know maybe it had been done before.

[14:42] Becky Ann Baker: Yeah, but I never saw it, so I'm extremely excited. Yeah, it'll be a fun night too. Yeah, and I'm such a fan of hers. And and your hubby's Dylan, correct? He is, but he's in he's doing his first preview tonight. Oh a new play called The Disappear. Erica Schmidt Rodin is directing it. Oh, yeah. Schlinkletter, Miriam Silverman is like a great cast. That's amazing.

[15:01] Becky Ann Baker: I know, I know. So they're at it tonight. So they open next week. Well, you enjoy. Thank you. So nice to meet you. Bye.

[15:10] Katie Finneran: Hello, I'm Katie Finneran, and I'm at the round table tonight. How excited are you for this opening night? And I just we worked together on the Gilded Age, and she's so extraordinary that I know this is a really good departure for her, and I can't wait to see what she does because I know Tracy's an extraordinary writer.

[15:28] Katie Finneran: Oh my gosh. And I just I hear things about the play, but I'm I can't wait to see. I know, I'm very excited about it. I don't know much about it actually. I don't either, but the buzz around it. The buzz is wonderful. Yes, it is, yes it is. And so what's new and upcoming for yourself?

[15:42] Katie Finneran: I'm actually gonna do the receptionist Adam Bucks play. Oh, you know what? I haven't announced that yet. I don't know if they've announced that yet, so I can say we can that's okay. Just go ahead and edit that. Or you can make an edit, we can edit. If you release it, you'll maybe get a token to go on the subway. The Gilded Age is a good idea.

[15:56] Katie Finneran: Yes, oh, it's so fun, isn't it? It really picked up the beautiful. The costumes are so extraordinary. We were I was talking about that earlier. It's beautiful, they're beautiful. And we kind of dig wearing corsets all of us because we've worn them so many times. Um you know on the theater.

[16:13] Katie Finneran: Yeah, I mean, like these are kind of cozy. They keep you away from the craft service table, so it's good. Well, thank you so much. I got a laugh from your husband. Nice. Alright. Thank you. It's so nice to meet you.

[16:24] David Matar Merton: Hi, I'm David Matar Merton. How are you? How are you this evening? Oh, good. Happy opening night. I know, I'm so excited to be here. Yeah, I'm really excited. Yes, yeah. So Thursday opening, here we are. I know. Right? Isn't it weird? That's nice.

[16:36] David Matar Merton: So what's new and upcoming for you, my friend? Um, I just closed Richard II off Broadway with Michael Urey. Oh my god. And so that was great. And um, we're seeing what's up next. We'll see. I was there, I didn't get to answer. I know you were you were there at our.

[16:52] David Matar Merton: Yeah, no, no, we we met briefly, but yes. Oh, okay. But now you're here for this for Carrie Kuhn. I'm here to support David Cromer. David Comer, oh yes. And Carrie Kuhn, of course. Yes. So now what's next for you? Are we taking a little break?

[17:02] David Matar Merton: Yeah, we're taking a little break. Okay. Yeah, we're we've got some irons in the fire, but we're seeing what's up. I like that. That's good. We'll keep watching. Thank you so much for stopping. Always a pleasure to see you. So have a good night.

[17:13] Nikki Hunter: Hi, round tablers. My name's Nikki Hunter, and I'm the artistic director of Manhattan Theater Club.

[17:18] Chris Jennings: And I'm Chris Jennings, executive director. This is a very exciting red carpet this evening. There's a lot of buzz around. I'm kidding. MTC is starting the new year off right. Right? Like, really? Like it's just and and you had a really nice night too.

[17:33] Nikki Hunter: We're all nervous for that. We have the good weather, it's all the the heavens are looking down on us for a great opening night of Tracy Letts's Bug.

[17:40] Chris Jennings: That is true. How how excited are you both for this tonight?

[17:43] Nikki Hunter: Oh, this is amazing. This is amazing. And this woman has kind of brought this forward, and this is this is really exciting. I think that there's the beauty of Broadway, the beauty of off-Broadway, the beauty of this theater community is that when something takes off, there's this buzz and there's this crackle in the city about it.

[18:01] Chris Jennings: And I have been walking around this city, around New York City, and I'm hearing the buzz and I'm hearing the crackle because behind these doors is something really special. There's a theatrical event, there's a love story, there's a thriller, there's Carrie Coon and Namir Smallwood.

[18:17] Nikki Hunter: Yeah. It's not behind those doors, there's a lot, a lot of magic happening. So it's great.

[18:22] Chris Jennings: That's wonderful. Congratulations to both of you, thank you, and good luck.

[18:26] Nikki Hunter: Thank you. Thank you. Happy New Year.

[18:29] Nikki Hunter: How are you? Well, I'm very excited tonight because this is the beginning of a new day of Manhattan Theater Club with a great new team at the helm, and I'm here as a cheerleader cheering.

[18:39] Chris Jennings: Oh, isn't that wonderful? This is so exciting. This is a big red carpet. We're excited.

[18:44] Nikki Hunter: I know. A lot of great stars to come out and support. We love that. And and we have such great talent on the stage.

[18:50] Chris Jennings: Yes. And we have a fabulous new artistic director, Nikki Hunter, and Chris Jennings, our executive director. Manhattan Theater Club is on a row. I couldn't be more proud.

[19:00] Nikki Hunter: Well, we love Manhattan Theater Club as well, so this is wonderful. Congratulations and enjoy tonight.

[19:04] Chris Jennings: It's my baby, and I love that you love my baby, and I love that now it's growing up with two great people at the helm.

[19:11] Nikki Hunter: There we go. Thank you so much. Have a good evening.

[19:14] Marcus Watson: Hello, I'm Marcus Watson. I did the fights and the intimacy for the show. So this that's a very important for this particular play, I would think.

[19:22] Marcus Watson: I think so, yes. How did you come to become that creative for that?

[19:28] Marcus Watson: So um I have always done a lot of physical acting. I've always done stage combat and physical storytelling, dance, gymnastics, mime. So a lot of physical storytelling, and I started choreographing shows and doing Shakespeare and that led to um me starting to work in intimacy coordination and direction in TV and film and in theater.

[19:51] Marcus Watson: And just kind of through networking and going, I've just kept it up. And now here we are tonight with opening night very.

[19:58] Robert Bannon: Exactly, yes. Well, congratulations.

[20:00] Marcus Watson: Thank you. Enjoyed tonight and thank you for stopping.

[20:01] Marcus Watson: Thank you very much. Thanks.