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[0:09] Robert Bannon: Well, everybody, welcome to The Roundtable. My name is Robert Bannon. You're listening to us on Broadway World over here on the Broadway Podcast Network, iHeartSpotify, wherever you listen to artists talking about art. I remember going to the Imperial Theater and seeing, like, I'm old. I might have been 13 years old. I didn't get the story, but I love the music so much. And growing up my entire life, you know, we've been singing and loving it. Saw the national tour, saw the movie, saw the revivals on Broadway, and then this epic world tour sold out every venue in the entire universe. And we have the incredible Jaedynn Latter here to tell us about her experience on this incredible tour, her journey, and that gorgeous golden voice that she has. Welcome to The Roundtable.

[0:55] Jaedynn Latter: Thank you, Robert. I'm so happy to be here.

[0:57] Robert Bannon: Are you tired? You've been on the road. You've been working.

[1:01] Jaedynn Latter: You know, I've been on the road since September now. So it's funny because we are ending, and I feel like I'm just getting used to it. So I'm like ready to—I'm actually not very ready to, you know, go back to normal life and see how that feels again.

[1:17] Robert Bannon: Well, I'm excited for you because you graduated, if this is true.

[1:24] Jaedynn Latter: Yes.

[1:24] Robert Bannon: Is it Baldwin Wallace Conservatory?

[1:27] Jaedynn Latter: Correct.

[1:28] Robert Bannon: So where is that?

[1:30] Jaedynn Latter: It is in Berea, Ohio. It's about 25 minutes outside of downtown Cleveland. Um, yeah, and it's a very small town. Like the town is pretty much just the college, but yeah, that's where I went, and I graduated in 2025, last year.

[1:45] Robert Bannon: Good night. This interview is over. I'm hanging up on you. You are like as old—my glasses are older than you. How dare you?

[1:53] Jaedynn Latter: Okay, so where did you grow up?

[1:56] Jaedynn Latter: I grew up in Southern California, Huntington Beach specifically, which is about 45 minutes outside of LA.

[2:01] Robert Bannon: Okay. So when did you discover you had this voice and that you decided like this is my life?

[2:09] Jaedynn Latter: You know, it took me a long time to decide that this was my life. But I started singing, I want to say when I was three. I remember my mom would drop me off at preschool and I would scream bloody murder every time she would leave. And so to distract me, my teachers would ask me to sing "Leaving on a Jet Plane." And that was like, for some reason, that was the song that I just grew up singing. And I grew up with show tunes. I grew up with the "Les Mis" score because my dad is like a huge, you know, theater fan, especially of those 80s mega musicals. And so, you know, I was very familiar with "Les Mis" growing up, and I started doing community theater at my local boys and girls club. Shout out to them.

Like this wouldn't have happened without them. So we love arts education programs in this house. And I continued doing shows throughout middle school and high school, but I was the kid that did everything. I thought I wanted to be in the FBI, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, I thought I wanted to be president, I thought I wanted to go to Nabiochem. Like, it took me a long time for me to be like, well, the one hobby that did end up sticking was theater. So maybe you should do that. And thankfully, I took a chance on myself, and here we are.

[3:24] Robert Bannon: And here you are. So for this particular gig and job, how did it come to you? What happened? Did you go on an audition? Did someone reach out to you? What was the journey?

[3:34] Jaedynn Latter: Yeah, it was very fast. Um, I was freshly graduated. I was living in New York for about two and a half, three months, and my wonderful manager had told me, "Oh, they're doing auditions for 'Les Mis'." And I was like, wait, really? Like, I was like, oh my gosh, it's crazy. You know, because the tour has been up and running since 2022, and so I thought, you know, their cast was set. I really did not think that an opportunity for this show would come. And so she was like, I can get you in there. So I went in person for an audition, and two weeks later it was a done deal. It was so fast. I think I went in three times total, and then that was it. It was truly like one and done, like, you know, it was really a whirlwind for sure.

[4:24] Jaedynn Latter: Don't mind the dog, Diamond. She's a big fan of "On My Own." She's precious.

[4:30] Robert Bannon: Diamond, she just likes attention. So if you're on the road, you get this job, some of the most incredible theater performers, Broadway singers of all time have had this role. It's a pretty iconic role in the music that you get to sing. It is also a monster; it's an opera, it's a big long, monstrous opera every night, and you're bouncing from city to city. So, how was it to get up to snuff to be in the show? And how did you adjust to the journey?

[4:57] Jaedynn Latter: You know, I think you really don't get the chance to see how it feels until you start the job, unfortunately. Like, there's only so much prep work you can do going in, and you can know everything, but in terms of gaining that stamina to last you the three-hour long opera eight times a week, you know, that's something that you quite literally just have to jump in and get used to over time. Um, but I think with touring in general, I remember at the beginning, you know, this is my first tour, and I'd never done it before, and I think the traveling aspect was such a huge part when joining, and I thought, okay, like I'm going to all these places, and I have to make sure I do X, Y, and Z in every city, and that's just also not realistic, you know what I mean?

And I think it's easy to feel a little guilty because you're like, okay, well, you know, I'm getting paid to be in these really wonderful places that have all these awesome experiences and sightseeing and all this stuff. And the reality is that you can't—for me personally, some people are very lucky they can pack their days completely full with all the things they can do in every city and still feel fine to do the show that night. But for me, it's been honestly shocking to see how little I actually do during the day before the show because it's like I'm not about to, you know, pump myself full of like 500 to a thousand milligrams of caffeine to go through. You know what I mean?

[6:19] Robert Bannon: So yeah. So for you, thinking on the role of Éponine and you getting to be on stage and join this rebellion and revolution, "Les Mis" is as relevant today as it was ever as it was hundreds of years ago. Um, and you get on stage and you have that big 11 o'clock moment and you sing "On My Own," and it's sung in every recital audition room. It's been sung in every spring concert in every musical theater high school in the world. How did you find your way into it? And what does it feel like for you to now take the torch and sing the song?

[6:56] Jaedynn Latter: I mean, I obviously because it's, you know, like the number one song in the young female musical theater canon. I, you know, I've grown up knowing it and singing it, but I think actually putting it into context and into the context of the show every single night has made it so special to me. And I think, you know, making it fresh and new every single night has been a treat because it's really about listening and listening not only to the scene partners on your stage but also yourself. You know, I think it's a little ignorant to say that actors are able to leave it all at the door or that our personal life doesn't influence our work because we have a very personal job. Like we are dealing with, you know, real people and feelings, and it bleeds through; it really does, and I think it makes us better actors.

I think our personal experiences do make us better actors. And so I think, you know, if I were 16 or 17, you know, the age that Éponine is in the context of the show, I probably would have sung it more differently or acted it more differently. But you know, it's kind of been a bit of a time travel because I'm, you know, 22 nearly 23, and I'm not necessarily experiencing at this current moment the love sick heartbroken aspect of Éponine, and there are other aspects of her that I honestly gravitate to more because I'm able to sort of bird's eye view it and see it more objectively in the bigger picture. And that's what's been really great about performing "On My Own" in the context of this show is that it's not necessarily what I thought it was.

[8:34] Robert Bannon: Yeah, I get that. That's a really great answer. What's funny about the song is if you take it in the show, it breaks your heart. If you take the song—I talk about a great song—if you take the song out of the show and just apply it to life or listen to the words or the journey, that it also breaks your heart. Like it is just—girl, it got me through high school. I like when I was dealing with my own unreciprocated love. Yes, you know, I could just boo-hoo cry right now about it. Um, so this journey, um, I know when "Les Mis" rolled through Detroit, and I took my husband, we went to the Fisher to see it. Um, I went—Nick was—Nick Cartel was on the show, and we went; he took me backstage, and I was shook, shook by the crew and the set. I mean, you guys are crammed into every nook and cranny of this theater.

[9:23] Robert Bannon: You have a giant cast, you have an incredible, uh credible like costume staging. Like, this is no, you know, put the tour in the yeah, this is not put the put a load up the station wagon. This is a monster. So, what's it like for you, city to city? What's the routine to get ready for your blocking to be backstage and get on stage and find your way?

[9:47] Jaedynn Latter: Yes, honestly, the off-stage, like backstage tracking is the thing you really gotta keep an eye out for because you know, every venue is very different. And even last week we were in New Haven, and that is a notoriously small theater. And frankly, we didn't even really fit. Like during the show, our set pieces would be outside, and they'd have to like roll open the garage door and like put the set pieces in when they needed to be in there. And so it's a lot of moving parts, you know. We have 11 semi-trucks carrying this show from city to city, and like over 80 crew members that help put it all together, like before our first performance in every show, every city. I mean, and you know, I think it's about keeping your eyes and your ears peeled, you know, head on a swivel, you know, making sure that you're not in the way, or you know, being a place that you're not supposed to be, and honestly just trying to be respectful of the fact that everyone at that theater is trying to get their job done, and so, you know, like move with purpose.

[10:48] Robert Bannon: Uh incredible. While we're talking, everyone, you can the tour comes to Boston, by the way, and until June 28th, so June 9th to the 28th, and you can check it out and see it. So for you, this is just the first step. This is the step. Is there some kind of, you know, when you go to college and you start auditioning and you do regional work and you start to do work in school, you wonder can I make the next step? And then you get a call and you get a principal role on a national tour, and then this goes on and it's kind of validating in some way that you're on the right track. So for you, for people out here who are trying to do what you do, how do you keep hope? How do you keep the audacity of hope that there's work and there's joy and there's gonna be lots of music ahead?

[11:27] Jaedynn Latter: Yeah, you know, this industry is such a tease. It really is, you know. You oftentimes will find that you get so close to something and then it just doesn't go your way. And it's hard, you know. Sometimes you do need a morale boost, whether internally or externally. And I think for me, confidence is everything, you know. If you really like want to be a performer professionally, talent, sure, it gets you in the room. Confidence is what books you the job. And I full wholeheartedly believe that. Because I think you can show up exactly as you are and be damn sure of who you are and say, This is what I have to offer, and this is how I tell this story, and either you like it or you don't. And you know, I think there's something really gratifying about being so comfortable with yourself to a point where it's like either I'm for you or not for you, and realizing that rejection is either, you know, redirection or it can even be a blessing in disguise.

So I think it's very easy, especially when you're starting out and when you're actively auditioning, you know, audition after audition, and it's oftentimes a no to get discouraged, but the right thing will not pass you by, and opportunities are everywhere.

[12:47] Robert Bannon: When I was looking at the other jobs you've done, you have done some big, you know, you played Little Red in Into the Woods, you did some Shakespeare, and you've done Jen, you were Jenna in Waitress, so that means you sing. So for a show, say take just not to compare the two, but take Waitress, where you if you're Jenna in Waitress, you're on stage for 90% of that show, and it's run on your back. And then you take Les Mis, which is truly an ensemble show where there are so many stories going in and out. How do you, as an actor take care of yourself when you do a run of Waitress and you have to carry that show on your back? What do you do? What's your daily routine like?

[13:28] Jaedynn Latter: You know, I remember Waitress was the first show I'd ever done where I was playing like the lead like that, and Jenna truly does not leave the stage ever. Like, like I would go off stage for two seconds to be like handed a purse, but then it's like, you know, you go back on. And I think, you know, proper rest, making sure that you're doing your warmups, you're physically warming yourself up. I personally am somebody who is a little more prone to injury just based off the way my personal body composition is, and so, you know, a lot of the times I'm, you know, even in Les Mis, I'm strength training during the day. That's like what I do. And then at night I do the show and I do my physical therapy and my half hour call, you know.

And I think with Waitress though, it was a lot about trusting myself. I think it's very easy to get scared of the beast and be like, okay, like I need to plant my water bottle here so I can take sips here and here and here. And it's like, no, trust the fact that you've got this and that you're not gonna be winded and that you're not gonna, you know, like use your water as a crutch or like, you know, other things as a crutch almost. And you know, by the time we finished Waitress, because I was lucky and we did it for a three-week run, which is insanely, you know, short compared to Les Mis, but um, you know, by the end of that, I was like, okay, wait, I can actually get through this piece without freaking out about oh, am I did I have enough water?

Can I, you know, breathe normally? Can I, you know, and so it's about trusting your own stamina and the fact that you know you've got this because honestly, we are so active in our day-to-day lives and we don't think about it, and it's all a mind game at the end of the day.

[15:09] Robert Bannon: Yeah, I think that's great advice because once you get it in your head, like I can't do it, you're sunk. But if you just keep on going and are prepared, and I did um a three talk about three-week run. I did a three-week run where I was Roger in Rent, and by the end of the three weeks, I had I felt like my voice was I was like, I can't, I can't do it anymore. I can't sing this anymore. Yeah. And I learned so much about rest and taking care of yourself and not being, as you said, like I want to go see everything and see everybody and party it up and whoop it up and celebrate. But the reality is that audience that paid that money that came from all over the country that comes and especially on tour when you're the only show in town and they've been waiting for this moment, they deserve the best of what you got. So that's what our job is. To give it to them.

[15:52] Jaedynn Latter: So are you on do you get sent? Do your people send you self-tapes and auditions and while you're on the road?

[15:59] Robert Bannon: Oh no. I'm tired. I always gotta look for the next thing. This thing closes June 28th. That's three weeks from now. You know, you gotta look for the next job. You know, but it's very, it's really normal. Like all of us are taping all the time, you know, and we're often all in a hotel together, um, for the most part. And so you'll be walking down the hall of your hotel and hear somebody taping, you know. Like people are always always auditioning because, you know, it's also auditioning is not necessarily just about booking the job, it's about getting seen by a certain team, or you know, and so, you know, we have self-tape backdrops like in our backstage, you know, that people can take home with them. Like everyone's got a little lighting setup that they've got, you know. It's very, very normal to tape while on the job.

[16:46] Jaedynn Latter: Well, I'm excited for you because you're this is just the beginning. She's a baby, she's a baby already national tour under her belt. Way too we could follow Jaedynn on social media so we could see where the road leads and what's next and the incredible work that she's going to do all across this country in New York to LA and all around the world. And what is the goal for you? Do you have you released? I see like sometimes you record music, sometimes you're auditioning for television and film. I know there's more theater that you want up your sleeve. So what is the goal?

[17:18] Jaedynn Latter: The goal is to do everything under the sun, truly. I am not limited to any sort of, you know, school of thought. I want to grow and learn in as many facets as possible. And, you know, I don't want it to be easy. Like I want, I want, I want to really push myself in every direction that I possibly can and pursue every passion that I have and leave no stone unturned so I am a side quest queen like I will do it all so yeah that's the goal let's do it let's do it all I can't wait yeah I can't wait to see you in New York or around this country when you're in back back in Detroit on another tour or on Broadway or on my television screen or on my radio stations or wherever you are make sure you follow and stay with Jaedynn Latter has a big giant career ahead of her and we're so excited that you spend some time with us congratulations break legs have an incredible end of this epic amazing tour.

[17:37] Jaedynn Latter: Thank you so much Robert and next the next gig come on back my show's yours show please have you back yay lovely.