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[0:05] Robert Bannon: It's the Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon. Well, what can I say? Today was a very interesting day for Adrian and John in the Roundtable. We are here at the beautiful Lincoln Center. And it's the David H. Koch Theater behind me. Oh, I'm thrilled. It's a glorious night. Not raining. And I'm on the host committee. So I really I'm an ardent supporter of the arts.

[0:39] Robert Bannon: Yeah. Both performing arts and the art world. And I think it exemplifies the best of humanity, and it's imperative that we nurture and regale in their beauty.

[1:04] Fran Drescher: Yes, that is true. I have to say you did a wonderful job as SAG president.

[1:07] Robert Bannon: Thank you.

[1:08] Fran Drescher: When it was a very tough and difficult time.

[1:10] Robert Bannon: It really was. I'm still recovering.

[1:13] Fran Drescher: I know. You know, it was everything. It was COVID, it was the strike, it was the war, it was my dad passing, it was the fires.

[1:25] Robert Bannon: Yes.

[1:26] Fran Drescher: It was unrelenting, really.

[1:28] Robert Bannon: Yes. But you did a wonderful job. I have to say, my sister, one of her favorite movies is The Beautician and the Beast. She still has it on VHS.

[1:33] Fran Drescher: Oh, good for her.

[1:36] Robert Bannon: We used to watch it all the time. Look at that tiny little dog there. See that tiny little dog.

[1:42] Robert Bannon: Fran, thank you so much. Mick Jagger went by in a flurry.

[1:46] Fran Drescher: We were in a flash.

[1:48] Robert Bannon: I you we were talking to Fran, you might have missed him, he walked past. Fran was lovely. Everyone has been so lovely.

[1:54] Norman Reedus: Norman, quick little interview. Hi, how are you?

[1:57] Robert Bannon: I'd be remiss to say, one of my very good friends, since I was like in seventh grade, loves you in Boondock Saints. His name is Will.

[2:03] Norman Reedus: Oh my gosh.

[2:04] Norman Reedus: I think we're trying to do a third one.

[2:06] Robert Bannon: Are you really?

[2:07] Norman Reedus: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[2:08] Robert Bannon: Oh my gosh, that's so exciting.

[2:10] Norman Reedus: Yes.

[2:10] Robert Bannon: I have to say, I really enjoyed your, I don't want to say documentary, but you doing all the motorcycle with Keanu and all that.

[2:19] Norman Reedus: That was so fun to watch. Was that fun to do?

[2:22] Norman Reedus: It was a blast.

[2:22] Norman Reedus: Yeah. We did Dave Chappelle and I did South Carolina, Josh Rowland and I did New Zealand.

[2:29] Norman Reedus: Yeah, it was great because people don't start talking until like the second day.

[2:34] Robert Bannon: Right, right.

[2:34] Norman Reedus: And then you get to know each other, but it was such a cool way to see the world and you know it's gotta be New Zealand has to be amazing.

[2:42] Robert Bannon: Yeah, New Zealand, you kind of want to just bottle the air you're breathing and bring it home with you.

[2:49] Norman Reedus: It's a whole nother level, yeah.

[2:50] Robert Bannon: It's beautiful.

[2:51] Norman Reedus: It is.

[2:51] Robert Bannon: How excited are you to be here tonight for this?

[2:54] Norman Reedus: I'm excited, I love coming here. We came last year. It's beautiful to see what they can do, and I'm a big fan of dance.

[3:00] Norman Reedus: I'm the worst dancer in the world, but I'm a big fan of other people doing it.

[3:04] Robert Bannon: Right, right. But it's beautiful the story, the stories they tell with their bodies, it's just beautiful, and the music and all of it. It's just gorgeous.

[3:11] Robert Bannon: Norman, thanks so much for enjoying tonight. Have a good one. Nice to see you.

[3:14] Diane Kruger: Diane Kruger stops by the Roundtable. Can we do a quick little question really fast?

[3:20] Robert Bannon: You look stunning this evening. And then I asked, Who are you wearing?

[3:22] Diane Kruger: I'm wearing Urdu and Tiffany.

[3:25] Robert Bannon: Absolutely beautiful. How excited are you to be here for the spring opening of the New York City Ballet?

[3:29] Diane Kruger: I'm always excited to come. It's one of my favorite events of the year. I just love the ballet.

[3:34] Diane Kruger: I used to dance myself, and I just I love the music. I can see the hard work, you know.

[3:40] Diane Kruger: I really look at every single detail. I just, you know, I'm right there with them. I remember how great it was, even though obviously I never had that talent, you know, at that level, but I just love it.

[3:51] Robert Bannon: You have many other talents, let me tell you.

[3:53] Diane Kruger: And Gloria Specials, my husband is a big fan back there.

[3:56] Robert Bannon: So thank you.

[3:57] Diane Kruger: I appreciate it. But it's true, I think there's something special about live performances like this with the music and the costumes.

[4:04] Diane Kruger: It's just wonderful. It's just really it inspires me, you know.

[4:08] Diane Kruger: It takes me into my imagination, my dream land.

[4:12] Diane Kruger: I use ballet every day in my life when I think about going on set, you know, the breathing techniques I've learned, just the sense of being in your body that comes with ballet, you know, to ground yourself.

[4:26] Diane Kruger: Everything I've ever learned in that art form has been helpful in my life.

[4:31] Robert Bannon: Yeah, Diane, enjoy tonight. Thank you so much. Nice to meet you.

[4:34] Emmy Rossum: This is Emmy Rossum. How are you?

[4:36] Robert Bannon: Thank you. I love your hair.

[4:37] Emmy Rossum: Thank you. As you can see, I have very straight hair. I could never get it.

[4:40] Robert Bannon: Oh, thank you.

[4:40] Robert Bannon: How excited are you to be here tonight for the New York City Ballet?

[4:44] Emmy Rossum: Very, yes. And excited to support new works and also to honor George Balanchine.

[4:49] Emmy Rossum: Excited for the history of this place and this plaza. I grew up hanging out in this plaza, singing in the Met Children's Chorus, and getting to watch the dancers and how hard they work and how much they care and the brutal toll that it takes on the body and also the intense commitment.

[5:05] Emmy Rossum: I think it's incredible. You have to really, really love this in order to do it, and you have to be really, really great.

[5:11] Emmy Rossum: And so we are so lucky that we get to see Tiler Peck's new work tonight.

[5:15] Robert Bannon: I know I got to speak with her earlier, and I said it the amount of discipline that it takes to be a ballet dancer is a lot.

[5:22] Emmy Rossum: It's incredible.

[5:23] Emmy Rossum: It's like being an astronaut.

[5:24] Robert Bannon: It really is incredible.

[5:25] Emmy Rossum: Yes.

[5:25] Robert Bannon: I need that.

[5:26] Emmy Rossum: I mean, thank you so much. Enjoy tonight.

[5:28] Robert Bannon: Thank you.

[5:29] Robert Bannon: Can we do a quick little interview, Miss Sutton?

[5:31] Sutton Foster: Look at you glowing in yellow.

[5:34] Robert Bannon: You look beautiful.

[5:36] Sutton Foster: Good. Well, we have some sunshine today.

[5:37] Robert Bannon: Right, isn't it lovely to be here?

[5:39] Sutton Foster: How excited are you to be here for the New York City Ballet Opening?

[5:43] Sutton Foster: So, you know, it's funny because I've been on the American Ballet Theater Board for a very long time.

[5:47] Sutton Foster: So I've always come to New York City Ballet performances, but I've never been to their spring gala.

[5:53] Sutton Foster: So I'm feeling very special tonight. So I'm excited to be here.

[5:58] Robert Bannon: What's one of your favorite things about coming to watch the ballet?

[6:02] Sutton Foster: You know, I was a ballet dancer myself, so it's very nostalgic for me.

[6:07] Sutton Foster: But also I think it just gives you this uplifting feeling.

[6:12] Sutton Foster: And especially it's bask and tradition here in New York.

[6:15] Sutton Foster: You know, when Lincoln Kirstein came here and George Balanchine, they really established ballet for this country.

[6:24] Sutton Foster: And I love to be able to celebrate that tonight.

[6:28] Robert Bannon: Thank you so much. Enjoy tonight, so nice to meet you.

[6:31] Harry Neff: Actress and model, Harry Neff.

[6:34] Harry Neff: Hello!

[6:35] Robert Bannon: Hi!

[6:36] Harry Neff: Absolutely stunning.

[6:37] Robert Bannon: Thank you.

[6:38] Robert Bannon: Listen, can we talk about Allspare right now?

[6:40] Harry Neff: Because that was my no, you were so fantastic.

[6:44] Robert Bannon: Thank you.

[6:45] Harry Neff: I love it. Is more coming?

[6:46] Harry Neff: I hope more is coming.

[6:47] Robert Bannon: Oh yeah, they're I think they're casting for season two right now.

[6:50] Harry Neff: Okay, because I mean it was just every week I was like, first of all, the fashion was insane.

[6:55] Harry Neff: Yeah, no one wears it better than them. Did you have so much fun?

[6:58] Harry Neff: Yeah, it was great.

[6:59] Harry Neff: I mean, it was um that role fell out of the sky. I didn't have to audition for it.

[7:04] Harry Neff: I was really so happy and proud that Ryan and the team trusted me with that.

[7:12] Harry Neff: And working with him on that character, he really asks his actresses how they see these characters.

[7:20] Harry Neff: And he's collaborative. Collaborative with even, you know, two episode, three episode guest stars.

[7:26] Harry Neff: He really does amazing, amazing things.

[7:29] Robert Bannon: Yeah.

[7:29] Robert Bannon: Now can I ask what's next up for you that you can share?

[7:32] Harry Neff: Well, I'm adding the word filmmaker to the way I describe myself.

[7:38] Harry Neff: The first film that I produced is finishing in post-production now, and a film that I wrote is casting, and I'm gonna write another one this summer.

[7:51] Harry Neff: And I've been trying since I was in my 20s to make my own work and get it over the line, and finally things are starting to move.

[7:58] Harry Neff: It takes a lot of patience, and there's a lot of no, but yeah, I want to get behind the camera as well, but I'm not going anywhere in front of it.

[8:06] Robert Bannon: Good. Well, we want to see more of you.

[8:07] Harry Neff: Thank you so much for stopping. Such a pleasure, such a fan.

[8:10] Robert Bannon: Thank you so much.

[8:10] Harry Neff: Thank you. Enjoy tonight.

[8:12] Robert Bannon: Can we do a quick little, just a quick one, Kelly, please?

[8:15] Kelly: Hello.

[8:16] Robert Bannon: I got to talk to Hugh not too long ago.

[8:19] Kelly: Lovely.

[8:19] Robert Bannon: Yes. We were at the opening of Lost Boys.

[8:22] Kelly: Nice.

[8:22] Robert Bannon: And he didn't have tickets, and I had to help him get his ticket.

[8:25] Kelly: Oh, look at that!

[8:26] Robert Bannon: And now I get to see you here tonight.

[8:27] Kelly: Yeah.

[8:28] Robert Bannon: How excited are you too?

[8:29] Kelly: I'm so I'm so excited, everyone looks gorgeous.

[8:32] Kelly: It's a beautiful New York night. We've had a long winter, so it's nice to just come and put on some fancy clothes, and you do you look lovely.

[8:40] Robert Bannon: Who are you wearing to you?

[8:41] Kelly: Morgan LaFay.

[8:42] Robert Bannon: Thank you so much.

[8:44] Kelly: I absolutely love it.

[8:46] Robert Bannon: Yes. Huge fan, very big fan.

[8:48] Kelly: Oh, good. For so long, and it's so nice to see you all.

[8:52] Kelly: It's just it's you bring great stories to everyone, and I think it's so important now we're here.

[8:56] Robert Bannon: Thank you.

[8:56] Robert Bannon: Thank you. It's I we're going on 28 seasons for SVU next year, and I'm I'm so proud to be a part of such a great institution.

[9:05] Kelly: You know, it is it's also a New York institution, just like the ballet here.

[9:15] Olivia Palermo: Makeup and social media influencer Olivia Palermo.

[9:18] Robert Bannon: How excited are you to be here for the spring opening for the New York City Ballet?

[9:22] Olivia Palermo: Very excited, yes.

[9:23] Olivia Palermo: Yeah, I love the ballet. I've come as a child my entire life as an adult, and I have friends that are in the industry, so it's really nice to be supportive.

[9:32] Olivia Palermo: I think it's important because there are new works now.

[9:35] Olivia Palermo: It's not just stuff that's been around for centuries, there's new. But you know, it brings so much beauty to the world, and you know, whether it's New York or Milan or Paris or anywhere all over the world, it's really important in culture to have it.

[9:47] Olivia Palermo: It is, it's really important. And the hard work and discipline that they have to do on a daily basis. Long hours as well.

[9:54] Robert Bannon: Olivia, thank you for stopping.

[9:56] Olivia Palermo: Likewise, you too. Thank you.

[9:58] Robert Bannon: Oh, I am here with the beautiful Tiler Peck. How are you this evening?

[10:01] Tiler Peck: I'm good. You look lovely.

[10:05] Tiler Peck: Thank you so much. Are we wearing anything special this evening?

[10:07] Tiler Peck: I have Dolce and Gabbana on, Valentina's shoes, and Christie's jewels. I mean, they are just stunning sparkling.

[10:16] Tiler Peck: Yeah, I've never worn anything quite like this before. How excited are you for this evening?

[10:20] Tiler Peck: I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm feeling all of the feels. So I'm excited that the moment has arrived and that I just get to sit in the audience and hopefully get to enjoy watching the ballet.

[10:33] Robert Bannon: It's different when you get to sit and watch, isn't it?

[10:35] Tiler Peck: Yeah, it's honestly harder, I think, because when I dance myself, I can kind of control something, and when you're in the audience, it's totally out of your control, which is hard to do. But I'm gonna try my best just to trust in them.

[10:48] Tiler Peck: The dancers are incredible. I have Hilary Hahn, the orchestra sounds incredible. So yeah, I'm really happy the moment has arrived. And it's a beautiful day for it as well.

[10:59] Robert Bannon: Exactly. Even though they'll be inside, but that is wonderful. Congratulations. Enjoy your evening tonight.

[11:02] Tiler Peck: So nice to meet you.

[11:05] Robert Bannon: Nice to meet you. Thanks.

[11:06] Megan Fairchild: Hi, I'm Megan Fairchild, I'm a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, and I'm retiring this season.

[11:10] Robert Bannon: I heard that and I said I have to talk to you. How do you feel? I mean, what an amazing career you have.

[11:16] Megan Fairchild: Thank you. It's been 25 years here. Like more than half my life, obviously. But I'm really excited to move on and do other things. I'm so proud of all the work I've done here, but it's all encompassing, and there's more to life, and I'm excited to go explore it.

[11:31] Robert Bannon: That's so amazing. What's one special thing that you will take away from your time here?

[11:37] Megan Fairchild: Getting to dance to live music in this special way where it matters and everyone's waiting with bated breath to see what's gonna happen. That anticipation of live performance to incredible live music, like there's nothing that will ever compare.

[11:54] Megan Fairchild: And I think when I'm not on stage anymore, I will still be listening to music to feel those things and go see live music. I think it really made me fall in love with classical music. And music is such emotion, you know, happy, sad, you know, absolutely. You just want to yell and scream in your call. You can feel your feelings, you know.

[12:14] Robert Bannon: Yes, yeah. So true. Well, congratulations.

[12:16] Megan Fairchild: Thank you. Thank you so much.

[12:18] Corbin Holloway: Hi, I'm Corbin Holloway. I'm an apprentice with New York City Ballet, and this is my first year with the company.

[12:24] Robert Bannon: How excited are you? I mean, tonight.

[12:25] Corbin Holloway: Very excited. I'm super excited. This is my first time performing at the gala. So I've watched two galas before, but this is my first time actually performing in one. So it's like a really full circle moment. I'm really excited to be here and I'm in both ballets tonight, which is really exciting.

[12:41] Robert Bannon: My goodness. Now what are the two ballets that you're doing?

[12:45] Corbin Holloway: I am performing in the third movement of Tiler Peck's ballet, and I'm also performing in the Diamonds Core.

[12:51] Robert Bannon: Wow. Yes. So I have to ask, what is one thing for and I know there's a lot of preparation for each performance, but is there anything special that you do that gets you in the zone and ready to perform?

[13:01] Corbin Holloway: Um, I think for me it's always just like music that really puts me in like the perfect space to like be ready to go on stage at peace and like the right music that puts my mind at ease, always just like puts me in the best mood before I go on stage and just like in the wings even, just like having headphones in or in my dressing room, just like before I go on stage, always does it for me.

[13:23] Corbin Holloway: Even if it's like the music that I'm gonna be dancing to, right? And like going over it in my head or just simply to listen to it, or just like music of my personal liking. It's always a great way to get myself ready.

[13:34] Robert Bannon: Wonderful. Well, so nice to meet you. Congratulations. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of you.

[13:38] Corbin Holloway: Thank you so much. Nice to meet you.

[13:40] Chungwei Chen: My name is Chungwei Chen. I'm a principal dancer with New York City Ballet.

[13:44] Robert Bannon: How excited are you for this evening?

[13:46] Chungwei Chen: Very excited. I know we have Tiler Peck's new premiere tonight. I'm doing it and learning and see the whole process. It's very exciting.

[13:58] Robert Bannon: I'm doing next week.

[13:59] Chungwei Chen: Oh, you're doing next week. Okay. Oh, so you get to relax tonight. You can sit and enjoy.

[14:01] Chungwei Chen: I'm doing Diamonds, the second piece.

[14:04] Robert Bannon: Oh, the second piece. Oh, so okay. So yeah, I'll be dancing. Yes. Supporting my friends. I know how the process is gonna be worth it for tonight.

[14:14] Robert Bannon: Right. So excited.

[14:16] Chungwei Chen: Yeah. Yeah. Um, there's a lot of people on stage tonight, you can see. And with the first piece, very colorful costume, and then the second piece just like white and diamonds that you will see. The costume I think they renewed a couple months ago only.

[14:33] Robert Bannon: Oh my gosh.

[14:34] Chungwei Chen: Yeah. The costume, the fitting has to be like a tedious type of thing. That has to be a big deal.

[14:38] Chungwei Chen: Yes, very much. And also I can see my partner with all the jewels. Like you could see that it's fit perfectly on the skin, and then just like give you so much inspiration how to dance like a diamond.

[14:48] Robert Bannon: Oh, I love that. Well, so nice to meet you. Congratulations and enjoy tonight.

[14:52] Chungwei Chen: Thank you. Thank you too.

[14:54] Mary Liszt: Hello, I'm Mary Liszt. How excited are you to be here for the spring opening of the New York City Ballet?

[15:01] Mary Liszt: I am very excited. I attended every year, and it's always spectacular to see the performance and obviously see all the friends inside. Everyone that I've spoken to tonight, the energy is just electric. They're so excited.

[15:15] Mary Liszt: We are. Lincoln Center has been very alive lately with the Devil Wears Prada premiere with a ballet. I've been coming here more often than I'm seeing my friends.

[15:25] Robert Bannon: What's one of your favorite things about the ballet?

[15:28] Mary Liszt: I'm Russian. I grew up doing ballet naturally. All the girls dance ballet. And honestly, I just remember when I was five years old and my grandma first brought me to the ballet, I was just fascinated. And when I saw the ballerinas, I just couldn't believe how light they were, and that they were real humans. And also there is a very specific smell of this talk in a ballet that brings me back to these memories and just immediate nostalgia.

[15:56] Robert Bannon: Oh, I love that so much. Have a wonderful night. Thank you so much for stopping.

[16:00] Robert Bannon: Chloe, if you could come on over here.

[16:02] Chloe Flower: Hi! Congratulations! You look stunning.

[16:06] Robert Bannon: Thank you. So do you.

[16:08] Chloe Flower: I wasn't sure if I should wear orange. Like, what am I doing?

[16:11] Robert Bannon: Oh no, you look stunning.

[16:12] Chloe Flower: Thank you. How excited are you for this evening?

[16:15] Chloe Flower: So excited. You don't understand how much I love the ballet. When I studied here, I would just stare at the dancers and wish I was them.

[16:22] Chloe Flower: Even when they're practicing, their outfits are amazing.

[16:24] Robert Bannon: Right. I was talking about the costumes. I'm like, that's just that in and of itself.

[16:28] Chloe Flower: Exactly. Like their practice outfits are iconic.

[16:31] Robert Bannon: Yes. And how important is it to come and see the New York City Ballet?

[16:35] Chloe Flower: Oh my gosh, it's so important. I don't think people realize that it's a non-profit and that they need our support. And like this is a tradition that has survived centuries, like classical music, and it's so important to keep that tradition going. And ballet is like amazing. As a pianist, I just appreciate it so much because it's an intersection of fashion, music with the orchestra, the live orchestra that people don't necessarily realize is there, but also dance and storytelling, the drama.

[17:02] Chloe Flower: It's like the opera with iconic athleticism and just beautiful music, and then like you're sobbing from the storytelling. It's just it's the best.

[17:10] Robert Bannon: Well, Chloe, congratulations, enjoy tonight.

[17:13] Chloe Flower: Thank you. Nice to meet you.

[17:15] Wendy Whelan: Wendy Whelan, artistic director of the New York City Ballet. How excited are you for this evening?

[17:20] Wendy Whelan: What a beautiful night for this opening. Very, very excited, especially for Tiler Peck. Her second piece for the company. It's stunning.

[17:28] Wendy Whelan: She's a wonderkind, and that's all I can say. She made a beautiful work. She said she's excited but nervous to be sitting and watching instead of performing when I spoke with her earlier.

[17:41] Robert Bannon: Yeah, yeah. She can do it both, but dancing has been her thing so far, but now choreography is becoming another powerhouse tool of hers. So it's exciting to see her really holding both artistic forms.

[17:55] Wendy Whelan: And this is going to be an amazing season. So far so good.

[17:58] Robert Bannon: Yeah, yeah. Well, congratulations, have a great evening.

[18:01] Wendy Whelan: Thank you.

[18:01] Robert Bannon: June, you look lovely, thank you.

[18:04] June: Thank you. How excited are you to be here for the spring moment?

[18:09] June: I'm so happy. I'm so thrilled for New York City Ballet. I always love the ballet. And I've been coming to this gala for many, many years because it's so very special.

[18:19] June: I think there's nothing like when you hear the orchestra start and you know you you're not sure what's coming or you aren't sure what's coming. And there's a lot of new works coming out.

[18:28] Robert Bannon: Yes.

[18:30] June: Always New York City Ballet surprises and excites. So I'm ready for another great season of New York City Ballet.

[18:39] Robert Bannon: Thank you. Enjoy your night.

[18:41] June: Thank you so much. Nice to meet you.

[18:43] June: Bye-bye.

[18:43] Sai: Could we do a quick little one here? Look at you, you look stunning.

[18:47] Robert Bannon: Oh my god, thank you so much.

[18:51] Sai: I'm so sorry. Thank you so much. You both look beautiful. Who are you wearing?

[18:53] Sai: I'm wearing Timmelie.

[18:54] Robert Bannon: Timely, thank you. You look beautiful. Have fun.