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[0:00] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:30] Robert Bannon: This week on Broadway World, Michael Esper, who's starring in Inappropriate with Sarah Paulson, now transferred on Broadway. Whoo, it's a good chat. I went to his father's acting school, so we had a lot to catch up on. Well, we're celebrating four years of BPN this week, and I can't think of someone better to join me on this Monday than Samantha Pauly. She is known to many as an originating cast member of the United States version of Six. You know, we love the ladies of Six. We love Toby and Lucy, who wrote Six. Well, Samantha has now originated another role on Broadway. She's about to come to the Broadway theater in The Great Gatsby. She did it in the Paper Mill Playhouse, and now it comes to Broadway.

Another classic piece of American literature put to song. This show, you know, there's nothing more famous than The Great Gatsby, the movie, the book. In that order. Well, Samantha Pauly is here. She's a bucket full of good times, and I'm so excited to talk to her, and I'm so excited to have an amazing week lined up. I hope you stick around every single day right here on Broadway Podcast Network. We have an episode a day coming to you. That's how much we work, work, work, work, work here. So come back tomorrow. We have Jordan Tyson. We have Ryan Vasquez, all of them from The Notebook. We have so much more exciting stuff coming your way every single day here on The Roundtable. Are you ready? Well, Samantha Pauly's here. Here we go.

[2:21] Robert Bannon: Well, one of the perks of being a director of the junior production of Mean Girls right now at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center is that I get like all the street cred, and I bring all the receipts. Because when I talk to people like Samantha Pauly, and they know her from Six, and now they know her going to Great Gatsby. The musical theater kids in my class on Saturday were singing her music from her show, screaming about the fact that Sam is coming to the show. And you can see Sam in The Great Gatsby right now, playing on Broadway, everybody. Sam Pauly, welcome to The Roundtable.

[2:53] Samantha Pauly: Thanks for having me. You made me so cool and popular, and you don't even understand. I'm so glad.

[3:02] Samantha Pauly: Oh, we had a whole discussion right in the middle of our lunch break of our show about their favorite queen, and they sang, and they dissected the show. So thank you for adding, kids everywhere can love and be introduced to musical theater.

[3:16] Samantha Pauly: Oh my gosh, that makes me so happy. That is a very, very lovely compliment. Well, you have an amazing career. We love your, you sing for days and months and years and decades. And now you're on Broadway right now in The Great Gatsby. Tell us, how's previews? How's the show with an audience? How's it going?

[3:35] Samantha Pauly: It's good. I'm so happy that we finally have an audience. We had our first preview on Friday, we had an invited dress rehearsal on Thursday night. And it's just been such a relief to finally have people in the audience. It was weird to do it at Paper Mill and to come back so quickly for a transfer and to go from having an audience to not having anyone for a while. And we were at that point in tech where the creatives have seen it so many times. So they're just taking notes and we would finish a number and like one person is clapping. So it's nice to have people here. Things are still changing every day. I got to rehearsal today at one o'clock. We added, I'm not going to spoil it, but we had to work on my number for two hours because we have added some pyrotechnics. So we worked on that for two hours today. And it's absolutely insane.

[4:39] Robert Bannon: Oh my goodness. How is it? We've been talking, you know, this is the season on Broadway, everybody, where we are in the middle of the season of shows opening and changes happening and things going on. What is it like when you get notes or you get new scenes or new songs or new blocking and you have to do it in front of an audience tonight?

[4:57] Samantha Pauly: Oh yeah. I got here. My script is on the shelf above my head. I got here and I had five new pages today with some new things printed out. And while I was on stage working on something, our lyricist, Nathan Tyson, was like, do you think that maybe a new thing that just got added like two days ago, new intro to my song, brand new words I'd never said before, he said, do you actually think we could maybe change these two words in that? And so I will try and throw that in tonight if I remember. It's what's nice is that like they're throwing a lot at us every day. And, you know, sometimes they're like, maybe let's think about this. It's okay if you don't put it in tonight. Maybe we can do it tomorrow if you want.

So they know that they are throwing a lot at us. Some of the changes are like so small that in the moment it is impossible to remember them. But we've got a team that is very understanding and they know that they're throwing a lot of changes at us all the time. So we've got some very patient people.

[6:07] Robert Bannon: Well, you are no stranger to putting a show on Broadway, originating a Broadway show cast. You have, you had the longest, I think you may have had the longest opening night pause in history through COVID. Now you go from, here's a little shot of the paper, this is the Paper Mill production. And the show, if you want to get tickets while we're talking about it, you can go to broadwaygatsby.com and get your tickets. Make sure you grab a ticket and come see the show. And if you want to follow Sam, follow Sam on Instagram, that's Sam Pauly. And you can follow and stay up to speed. Noah J. Ricketts is a good friend to this show. We love Noah. He is the most brilliant, sweet inside and out human being. What's it like to work with this cast, with Jordan and Eva and Noah and this amazing ensemble you have?

[6:54] Samantha Pauly: They're really amazing. I, you know, I feel like with a show like Six that was so small, you know, we weren't like forced to get along, but we were very lucky with that. Our group of the six of us and then all of our understudies, like we all got so close because we just got along. And sometimes with bigger casts, you know, you can like really form your close friendships and feel like you don't. And, you know, I don't see a lot of the ensembles often as I would like to because I'm on the completely other side of the stage from them and they're like on the fourth floor way over there. So I just don't go over there often. But I love everyone in this cast so much. Everyone is so nice. Our choreographer says this all the time that like one thing this cast is going to do is we are going to laugh.

We are all having a silly goose time all the time. People get stressed and, you know, it's tech and we're in preview. So things are stressful, but like we are supportive of each other. We are there for each other. We take care of each other. We ask for what we need and we keep each other laughing, which is really great. And as far as the principles go, we I mean, we have like group text chats. I went out with Eva and Noah on Saturday night. I got home very late. I mean, I got home at five thirty in the morning. Sunday was our day off. So don't worry anyone out there. I got home at five thirty in the morning. Noah left and I FaceTime him. I said, why did you leave? He said, because it's three thirty in the morning.

So we love to hang out. We were just with Eva on the red carpet of The Notebook and she's trouble. She can get you into a lot. She is a good old time. She that's that's the reason that I was out for out so late, because she was like, now we're going to go here and.

[9:11] Robert Bannon: We lost your sound. Hold on one second. Let me try to fix. Do you? No, still not. Don't worry, we may have to you may have to leave and come back in if we lose the sound.

[9:15] Samantha Pauly: You see, I can fix it.

[9:23] Samantha Pauly: Now, it's working out. Hold on, I'm going to do what I should have done. I got to put my phone on do not disturb. That is my story. We edit this right out. It's no big no worries at all.

[9:36] Robert Bannon: There we go. No, please. She knows that I'm doing this. She was on the email.

[9:42] Samantha Pauly: Well, yes. Trouble. Trouble. You all must be a good time.

[9:47] Samantha Pauly: Yeah. She's the reason I was out. She was the one that was like, now we're going to go here, and now we're going to go to this place. Now we're just going to go back to my apartment and order Popeyes. And I'm like, okay. I'm just along for the ride.

[9:59] Robert Bannon: That sounds like a good time to me. When you think about your journey, you're from Iowa?

[10:06] Samantha Pauly: Yeah.

[10:07] Robert Bannon: And when we think of, you know, like us in this area, we think of Iowa, but there's amazing theater. People are dying for the culture. And when the tours come through, or people travel to see Broadway, there's a huge community there. What was it like growing up in Iowa and loving theater?

[10:20] Samantha Pauly: Well, you know what? I did not. I didn't grow up doing theater. I didn't start doing theater until like the end of my junior year of high school. My parents are not theater people. They're not artistic. I sang in high school. I was like in choir and stuff, but like, I didn't know anything about theater. I didn't know it could be a job. I knew nothing. And I think I just like tried out for the musical because my choir teacher was like, oh, I think you would have fun. You should just try out. And college is really kind of when I fell in love. When I was like, I think I'm good at this, and I think it could be a job. I ended up going to college for music theater because I didn't really know what else to do.

I didn't think I was good at anything. And I was like, well, I can give it a try. And you know, if I don't like it, I can do something else. So I didn't have a lot of exposure to theater. When I was younger, I was not going to theater camps and all this stuff. So I felt very behind a lot in college. And even now still sometimes I'm like, oh, I don't know. I don't know that. I don't know this. I've never heard this. Sometimes I still feel like I'm playing catch up.

[11:50] Robert Bannon: Well, you're about to open a show on Broadway. I think you've caught up and are leading the pack. I mean, what I have been lucky enough to do so far between this and Six is so far beyond the scope of anything I ever thought I would do in my entire life. So I feel very lucky.

[12:04] Robert Bannon: Well, Sam, I don't know if you understand, but your voice is bananas. I don't know if you get that because it comes out of you, but it is bananas. Wonderful. And to hear a different style in this show, when you look at The Great Gatsby, why this story has lived forever? I mean, it's books and movies and done and redone. What about the story resonates with you and why do generation after generation fascinated with this tale about Gatsby?

[12:41] Samantha Pauly: I think that people are always fascinated with this story because of the different things that it represents. Between the characters Myrtle and Wilson, they really do represent the American dream and wanting more. People that have more and don't use what they have for the benefit of others. People that are just born into money and it means nothing to them. It's a great representation of the way that the world still is, often. And the story itself is just poetic and the writing is so beautiful that it really does lend itself to being a musical, I think. I hadn't read it since high school when I had to read it. When I got the email asking me to go in for it, one of my managers replied and was like, I can see if I can get you seen for Daisy.

And I was like, no, I don't think I'm not a Daisy. I don't think that that is me. Reading the description of Jordan, listening to the original. I have a song in Act One called New Money. It's a brand new song now, but the original version of that we had to sing for auditions. Everything about her really resonated with me as a person. She's very independent. She doesn't feel like she needs a man to survive or be happy. She just wants to live her life and do whatever she wants to do, which is in the last couple of years how I have been trying to live my life. So it's been really exciting to go through a lot of those things personally and now get to play a character that is the embodiment of that. I feel like I get to fully be that on stage every day, even if I'm not always that in my real life.

[15:11] Robert Bannon: I love that. And I love the character in the book. We've all read the book. We have all seen the movie. And like you said, we are still in the conversations about money and culture and high society and the rules that they play versus the rules that us regular folk have to play. It is the same place ever. And in a season where there are many shows out there, you want a spectacle, you want a big production and costumes and woo! You have the whole big Broadway show going.

[15:42] Samantha Pauly: We really do. Especially now being here, moving from Paper Mill, it's just bigger. There's more. I feel like every day I notice a new thing in the set or someone's costumes that I'm like, where did we get that? And this theatre is massive. This theatre seats I think 1,700 people. The stage is huge. And I think we've really created something that really takes up the whole space and really is a spectacle. The theatre itself is its own character because it's one of the most beautiful spaces to see a Broadway show.

[16:23] Robert Bannon: Yeah, it's really gorgeous. So everybody, you know the assignment. Everybody needs to head on over to broadwaygatsby.com and you guys are going to have the most amazing run. Something great is coming to Broadway. The Great Gatsby is coming to Broadway. Previews is going to open next month and you all are going to take this roaring party all the way through Broadway and through this. So congratulations. We're so excited. I know my mentees, my Jillian and Halil are going to be like just gagged. There she is. Folks, she's there. There she is. Hey, hey. We'll be singing Six until we all see Gatsby and then we'll be singing Gatsby for you.

[17:06] Samantha Pauly: Yes, I hope so.

[17:07] Robert Bannon: I see the show. Break all the legs. Have the most amazing run and congratulations.

[17:12] Samantha Pauly: Thank you. Thank you so much.

[17:15] Robert Bannon: There you have it. How cute is she? She's so great. The fact that she never really studied musical theater and she, yeah, that makes me so angry. No kidding. But I'm excited and Noah J. Ricketts will be with us on some day, platform, and moment when he has a moment to be a part of it. He's also in The Great Gatsby as well as Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noble Azada and we will hopefully have a lot more about The Great Gatsby as it gets closer to its opening but it's in previews as we speak. If you're watching and listening to us the week this is coming out or the first week of April, April 8th, the week of April 8th, you know, The Outsiders is opening on Broadway and Lempicka opens this week. I hope you can check out those shows.

I got a chance to see them both in previews and they're very special so make sure you check them out. Original works out there, Outsiders based on the book and the movie, but Lempicka's original, original, original, super original. Check out our interview with Eden Espinosa, Beth Leavel, Anne Bremond, and co-writer and composer Matt Gould. A little birdie told me that they're in the studio for the original cast recording with Sony. Pretty exciting stuff. So much more to come right here on The Roundtable. Follow me at Robert M. Bannon, go to robertbannon.com, come see me at 54 Below to celebrate June. I have a Pride playlist that's a bananas party with Mauricio Martinez joining me and so much more.

Thank you so much for listening to us. Watch us and subscribe to us on YouTube and join us every single day. As I always say, there's more good than there is bad and there is more joy than there is sadness. We just have to find it. You know, the best is certainly yet to come. Go support a show and see a show today. Bye, everybody. Thanks for joining me.