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[0:10] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's the roundtable with me, Robert Bannon. Hi, friends. Welcome to the roundtable. My name is Robert Bannon. I'm so excited to be here with you all. I had a great old week. It's nice here in New York City. Are you enjoying your day wherever you are? I hope so. Well, the roundtable is a show where artists come on and we talk about art. And sometimes we talk for an hour and sometimes we talk for 10 minutes. But what we do talk is we open up our doors to any artist. So I hope you're enjoying and checking things out. We've been working on getting us some good equipment to have our sound even be more on point. You know, sound is hard. I'm not a sound engineer. I'm barely a host. But I'm excited to talk to some amazing people, and I'm so incredibly lucky, incredibly lucky that some of you want to hang out with us.

So I thank you for listening to us. We're here almost every single day on the Broadway Podcast Network. And we also have a YouTube channel where you can look at some of our interviews. And we're live on Thursdays on YouTube, and we're on Fridays on Broadway World. And I also sing and host shows, so come see me at 54 Below June 14th. Tickets are on sale at 54Below.org. See, I'm on the hustle, y'all. But you know, when you love what you do and you're grateful to be in the position you're in, it's hard work, but it's worth it. It's worth it. Yeah. And you know, our guest today, Kevin Daniels, I saw him in Magic/Bird at the Longacre back in 2012. I was just like a theater fan waiting at the stage door to see Magic Johnson, who was at the show that day, and Kevin came out and took a picture, and we had a moment, a kiki moment together.

And then to have him on my show is kind of full circle. I enjoyed watching the movie, Not Another Church Movie, the other night. And it's out this weekend. And I think it's interesting. What are your thoughts about movies? Should movies be in movie theaters? Do you like streaming them? Do you like them on demand? Or do you want to go and buy popcorn and have a diet soda? Let me tell you, I love a diet soda so much. And a fountain diet soda from like a good AMC movie theater. They don't pay me. There's no commercial. I just love crispy, bubbly, fizzy diet soda. That's $10. That's what it seems to be. That's how much it seems to cost. Am I wrong? So I'm excited to welcome Kevin Daniels, who's executive producing and starring in this movie with a whole bunch of stars. Take a peek. So listen, in 2012, I went to the Longacre because I love Magic. I love Magic/Bird.

[2:49] Kevin Daniels: Oh wow, you saw Magic/Bird.

[2:52] Robert Bannon: And I saw Kevin Daniels, and all of that time ago, Magic Johnson was there for a talk back. And I stood at the stage door with my playbill, and there's a picture of you and me back. I was younger.

[3:03] Kevin Daniels: Oh, you gotta send it to me, Robert. Come on, Instagram, Kevin Daniels for the Sam. Send me the picture.

[3:08] Robert Bannon: I'm gonna send you the picture because you were bananas in that.

[3:12] Kevin Daniels: It was a fun show, man. I had a blast with that. And he came back and he showed us how to do like the, uh, because I was like, we gotta do a little basketball on stage, but you know, basketball is erratic. I don't want the ball going on the audience. He's like, I got you, kid, I got you. And he'd show me like the behind the back, no look pass. It was great. It was good fun.

[3:31] Robert Bannon: Well, I mean, no one better to teach you how to play basketball. And then from then, I don't know, you have like a hundred television credits. You have you're doing a show in LA, like a play, just like on your spare time.

[3:42] Kevin Daniels: I know, right? No, you know, it's fun, man. Up to the show called Monsters of the American Cinema, it's at the Matrix Theater. We started, we got like two weekends left, so we got like five shows left, but it's been a blast. I'm working with this guy, Logan Ardity. It's just like his debut, and he's so fantastic. He plays my son or my stepson that I'm raising in a small town at a drive-in, but it's really cool. It's a great little piece.

[4:06] Robert Bannon: So while you're in the show, yeah, in your spare time, you're putting out a theatrical release of a full feature film that you're executive producing and starring in.

[4:15] Kevin Daniels: Oh, I know it's crazy, man. I gotta say, I keep thinking this is the dream. This is what I asked for. I asked for this. The movie comes out this weekend, it's called Not Another Church Movie. It's a really funny little parody comedy about like, you know, basically all the Tyler Perry movies. We kind of put it together in one little stream, and I get to play Tyler and I get to play a dude. So it's fun. I get to switch back and forth the characters, like seven different wigs. It's a wild time, man. And like, and the cast is unbelievable. Jamie Foxx, Vivica A. Fox, Mickey Rourke, Kyla Pratt, Jasmine Guy, Tisha Campbell, Buddy Lewis, all these like comedy legends that I get to work with, and I'm like, oh wow, it's actually happening.

[5:01] Robert Bannon: Well, I checked out the movie last night. I stayed up and watched it.

[5:04] Kevin Daniels: Oh wow, it is so funny.

[5:08] Robert Bannon: And it's so funny. And my in-laws are good church-going pastors in Detroit, Michigan.

[5:16] Kevin Daniels: Oh, nice.

[5:17] Robert Bannon: And I watched, and we laughed because y'all, it's not as it's as fun and as enjoyable, and without crossing a line, you're gonna get a kick out of it. No matter what you're really, if how you feel about the movies, how you feel about the subject matter, like literally, it's just there to make you laugh. We're not trying to make it being her. It's a bunch. I tell people it's like a bunch of In Living Color skits or Saturday Night Live skits back to back, you know what I mean? And we get like an hour and a half, you're like, oh wow, that was enjoyable, you know. When that's what I want you to feel.

[5:46] Kevin Daniels: Well, let me tell you growing up and in my straight days, Jasmine Guy, Jasmine Guy is oh my goodness. I freaked out because I was like, I was like, Whitley Gilbert is here on the set right now, A Different World was my program. I love that show, man. And then to look at when this the movie starts with Jamie Foxx playing such a funny scene, so ridiculous, and so as only Jamie Foxx can do it.

[6:13] Kevin Daniels: Can do like and that's just that's like literally that they had him for a day, and he came on, and all of those jokes were all improvised, and he just kind of like, and they're like, it's like a writer's room, so they're just encouraging it's more and more and more, and then you know, we get together in the editing room and we try to like, you know, build the jokes and build a movie, but it was fun. It was really fun. No nobody had any egos. I really had a good time.

[6:33] Robert Bannon: Absolutely. So you went to Juilliard.

[6:33] Kevin Daniels: I did.

[6:33] Robert Bannon: And Juilliard, you know, when I went to acting school, comedy is just as hard or harder than drama. I feel like there's a there's this great joke. It's these two old comedians, and they're sitting there. I forgot who I don't want to name the names. I'm gonna say it's like Milton Berle and somebody else who goes, you know, I'm so sorry that you're dying, and this is just and he goes, Dying is easy, comedy is hard. And I'm like, that's it, that's it, man.

[7:03] Kevin Daniels: Yeah.

[7:04] Robert Bannon: How did you get into the how do you know if a joke lands when you're on there's no audience, there's no reaction?

[7:10] Kevin Daniels: That's what you know. Basically, like you gotta just I try to play it like I do it on theater because there are people there. We've got our cameraman, we've got our sound designs, we've got like so you get a little bit of a I remember we did a couple of scenes and like the guy holding the camera Marco, who's great, he would start shaking because he was laughing. It's like that. And I was like, if I can make the cameraman laugh, we can make everybody else laugh. You know, and that's it.

[7:33] Robert Bannon: So the movie when I was looking at the website, you guys are out, like you're wide, like you are in theaters.

[7:38] Kevin Daniels: Yeah this weekend, popcorn soda, get a seat, get a date. Bring your mama, bring your daddy, bring your baby mamas, bring everybody. This is bring your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your mistress, her mistress, whatever you need. Welcome to 2024.

[7:52] Robert Bannon: That's it. But how was important was it as an executive producer behind this behind the camera to make this available? Like, this is not a video on demand, this is not something...

[8:00] Kevin Daniels: I gotta say, honestly. Like, I'm executive producer in name only. Like they were they was a vanity creator they gave to me, but they were really open to like some of my ideas and hearing me out. But our producers of this are phenomenal. Like Jerome Marquise has been able to like single-handedly kind of hold all the pieces together and get it throughout, you know. James Mac and Cunningham, like Cunnings, you know, Jim, oh what is Jim's last name? Wow, but we have we got some great Valorant McCaffrey, like we've got some great producers on this who really like making it go. Hard up, jump Jim Harold. That's what I meant to say. That's what I meant to say. Exactly right.

[8:44] Robert Bannon: Television is another bit of another big part of your career, yeah.

[8:48] Kevin Daniels: Yeah, like Frasier, I mean, kind of I'm literally on my way to shoot episode two or rehearse episode two of the reboot today. I'll have to be there at 9:30. So I'm like, oh well, I gotta leave here at 9:30 to be there at 10. But like I was like, all right, I'm gonna make it work. But yeah, how do you departmentalize your career? How do you keep on all these hats? What's the trick? Help us, Kevin.

[9:08] Kevin Daniels: If as soon as I find out, I promise I'll make a book about it. But I just I'm literally I just go and tell me to go. They're like, hey, I want you to go talk to Robert right now. And I'm like, Robert seems like a nice guy, I'll go talk to Robert. It'll be nice. I don't want to talk to you. I was already to talk to you about Broadway and then this blow up, which anyone could have seen. But television's one thing.

[9:25] Robert Bannon: Oh yeah, you Kevin, you can act.

[9:30] Kevin Daniels: Thanks, man. Thanks, man. I mean, who am I? But you can act.

[9:36] Kevin Daniels: No, man. I've been having a blast. Like, I got I'm also on the show, Will Trent, which I'm really proud of. I really love these guys. And there's like three more episodes left to air this season. And you know, and my characters are freaking up here, like maybe three or four season, but I'm in the last I'm definitely in the season finale of season two, and I just can't wait for everybody to see where this show goes. And they've already got a season three pickup, and I was like, Well, Liz, if you need me to move to Atlanta, I'll move to Atlanta. I'll take one for the team. Whatever you need.

[10:05] Robert Bannon: Go work.

[10:06] Kevin Daniels: Yeah, go work. In the interim while we wait for the Frasier reboot and we wait for all the fireman TV show, all the things that you've done, Kevin has been everything on TV. You can go starting today.

[10:19] Robert Bannon: Yes, actually, yeah, starting today. Like, literally, we have sneak peek on Thursday nights, but it Friday it opens nationwide everywhere, May 10th. You know, you can go see it. It's fun, man. It's a fun movie. I love that you saw it already. Thanks, Robert.

[10:34] Kevin Daniels: Did I stayed up and watched it, and I from the second it started. Whenever I saw Mickey Rourke and as the devil, I saw Jay, and then Jamie Foxx as the God, and then Hoper Winfall and Luke Ashley is great, man. I just did a bunch of interviews with her. She's amazing.

[10:51] Robert Bannon: Yeah. And then you come in in the it's not Medea. It's the wig is on point. The costume is right. The kitchen is right. Done. I was sold. I was ready. Love it.

[11:05] Kevin Daniels: I love it. If you love these kinds of movies and you want to see movies like this made, you need to go to the theater. You need to buy a ticket, especially this weekend, because it's so important for the future of filmmaking and especially films like this to get people in seats. Go buy a ticket and support. I tell you what, if we get everybody out this weekend, we can make another one. We can make another one. Let's go.

[11:22] Robert Bannon: Let's go. I'll see you on screen and on TV and on Broadway. And I don't know where you are everywhere. Shake your hands. I'm trying. Hit send me the picture on Instagram, man. It's KevinDaniels27.

[11:35] Kevin Daniels: I'm gonna, I'm gonna be there. I'll be watching. And everybody go check out the movie, Not Another Church Movie. Kevin, thanks for hanging out with us.

[11:41] Kevin Daniels: No, of course. Thanks for having us, man. Appreciate it.

[11:43] Robert Bannon: There you have it. Super fun. What a nice guy. Went to Juilliard and now is doing television and television and television. I mean, I didn't have a ton of time with him, but like he's done a lot of TV. And he's gonna be doing Frasier, and he was on The Big Leap, and he was on AJ McQueen, and he was on The Rookie, and he was on The New Apocalypse and The Orville and Hawaii 5-0. Like I mean, a new Amsterdam a lot suits a lot of TV, a lot of credits of TV. And then you know, to be in a whole bunch of movies and stuff. I'm impressed. What a cool career. San Diego's own. Pretty neat. Kevin Daniels. Check out the movie. You could also go to NotAnotherChurchMovie.com. You know, movies that are made like this and put out like this are it's nice, regardless if you're a church-going or you're very religious or you know Tyler Perry or not. It's definitely a fun time. It was definitely a fun time to watch the movie. It's ridiculous. I like ridiculous, ridiculous is good. You know what I'm saying?

[12:47] Robert Bannon: Well, we have so much content and stuff coming up for you on the Broadway Podcast Network. Next week's another full week of shows. Next week we have a great interview with Len Cariou, Tony Winner from Sweeney Todd coming up next week, plus so much more. And a full month of pride programming with Wilson Cruz and Countess Luann, Sonny Hostin from The View. So many people are coming on. We don't just do Broadway. We do a lot of Broadway, but doing Broadway Red Carpets like the Cheetah Awards, and we just were at the Lortel Awards, and we'll be at the Broadway Fights Breast Cancer Event at Haswell Greens. But we have a little bit of everything for everybody. Tony Orlando to Bernadette Peters. Welcome to My Crazy Show.

For more info about me, go to RobertBannon.com. There's always good things going on in the world. We just gotta sometimes find them. There's more light than there is darkness. There's more good than there is bad, and there's more love than there is hate. The best is yet to come. Till next time, everybody. Robert Bannon saying, peace out. See you next time. Bye.