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[0:00] Alan Seales: Welcome to a very special bonus episode of The Theatre Podcast. Back on January 7th, Jillian and I attended a press event for the Loveville High Podcast launch. Being a podcaster myself, I was very excited to be part of the night where they debuted what I hope will be a growing trend in original scripted serialized podcasts, of course starring Broadway names. And what you're about to hear now is a single episode edited together from various interviews that I did throughout the evening. We're starting off with David Zelnick, who wrote the books and the lyrics, followed by actors Harrison Chad, Connor Ryan, and Mason Alexander-Park. And then this episode actually even ends with a special interview with Adam Rothenberg, who you may know better as Adam from callmeadam.com, who is a Broadway interviewer himself. And he was also there covering the event for his website. So I was really excited to meet him and get him on this podcast as well. So here you go. Let's get started now with David Zelnick.

[1:03] David Zelnick: So this is actually a podcast which from in the Broadway circuit is a little bit unusual. Where did you come up with the idea? Was it you that had the idea? We came up with the idea. I don't know exactly. I love podcasts. And Eric Spacar, the composer, and I a few years ago wrote a song that we loved. And I was trying to think of ways that we could put it in the universe that wasn't sort of an invitation to something else, but was the thing itself. And I thought, wouldn't it be amazing if we could find New York talent to not do like advertisements for shows in New York that you can't see, but actually do a bit of amazing work and send it to the world and just live as itself. That's amazing. And did you start out knowing that you wanted to do nine episodes, or did it just kind of evolve?

No, it sort of came to me in a vision. I don't know why. I had this idea that if we told nine short stories of love, all set at one high school, all with interlocking characters, then each of these episodes could be satisfying, but wouldn't have to bear the weight of doing an entire 10-minute musical universe of itself. Because I've heard 10-minute musicals that are wonderful, but they have to do so much work to establish tone, world, everything. And I thought if we could do sort of a quasi-La Ronde, sort of where we follow characters through different scenes and different emotions and different relationships. In one, they're the one who's in love. In one, they're the one who's turned someone down.

And also just some self-contained scenes that can be done in acting classes or in one-act festivals. I thought, I don't know, I thought it would be a beautiful, full event. So for those who may not know what Loveville High is, what's your 32nd pitch? My 32nd pitch is that it is nine short scenes about love. It is about that scary, amazing, wonderful, terrifying moment when the shape of what a life in love might look like and what a relationship might look like. And it often happens to us when we're 17 or 18 years old. Did you pull from any real-world experience for this?

[3:05] David Zelnick: Sure. I mean, not only do I draw from my life and friends' lives, I also happen to, a few days a week, tutor 17-year-olds. So I'm sort of privy to just glimpses of what that universe looks like and how much feeling and how much weight and how high the stakes are when you're that age. Everything's just so important. Everything becomes a symbol of how your entire life is going to be. And when you're optimistic, you think your whole life's going to be great. And when you're sad, you think you're never going to be happy again. And it's liberating as a writer to be able to write people who are so inside their feelings like that. Did you enjoy writing this any more or less than other projects that you've written?

[3:48] David Zelnick: So up till now, I've only written full musicals. And so when I wrote with my brother a musical called Yank, it felt very important to make an event that is iconic and as itself lives to tell a story about, in that case, gay history. Here, I felt like as long as there's just a little moment of risk or heartbreak, a little revelation, then that would be enough. And so it is kind of new for me because each episode doesn't bear the weight of having to tell the universe. Was it hard? There's very well-known Broadway people, Broadway stars who are part of this. Was it hard to convince them to join the project? It wasn't. Basically, we hired a casting director, Michael Cassara, who is wonderful. And we were going to ask some of our friends who've been on Broadway.

And he said, wouldn't it be amazing to ask people who are the cusp of their careers on Broadway to be these characters or the cusp of their lives? And so we created a Dropbox. We shared the songs with our first choices. And our first choice is a yes. So it's really amazing.

[5:02] David Zelnick: Yeah, I was very impressed with the cast list. And on our podcast, we've interviewed Ali Stroker, too. This is amazing. A dear friend of ours. Yeah, looking through the cast list, I'm so excited. I've listened to the trailer multiple times. The first three episodes are out. Yeah, so now it is great they are out. Where did you come up? Was it your idea to do the full-blown press events? And like, we're here. There's the sip and repeat. You can hear the crowd around us. I've never, for a podcast launch, I've never experienced this before. It was not fully my idea. I'm working with Katie Rosen at Campfire PR. And she wanted something exuberant and fun to launch into the world. Because she made me realize that there could be something sad about releasing into the world and not having any moment to celebrate or any way to like, know that it happened.

So I'm tracking our downloads. We've had 50 different people download the first three episodes today, which feels amazing, but also is like, I don't know who they are. And like, so this is wonderful. This is a wonderful, joyous, I don't know, stepping out for this podcast. Well, that's wonderful. So when we wrap up our normal podcast episodes, we always ask three standard closing questions. I'll ask you one tonight, which is if you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, which show would you see? Wow. I think, I think that's tough. But I think that's going to be Sweeney Todd. Good choice. Good choice. All right. Thank you so much.

[6:33] Alan Seales: All right, everybody. So how can we find Loveville High? You can find it on iTunes, you can find it on Stitcher. And there's a YouTube channel, I haven't loaded them on it yet. But by tomorrow, they will be on that and they will be on the lovevillehigh.com page as well. Wonderful. Thank you so much.

[6:55] Alan Seales: Next up, we have Harrison Chad, who plays Noah in episode five of Loveville High.

[7:02] Harrison Chad: Who is Noah? So in the episode, my character and Troy Watta's character are in a locker room together. I'm sort of helping Troy, he just got an injury, like on his leg. And so I'm helping him out. And we start to talk about like, our life as bros. And then we get into like a pretty bro-mantic song. And then later in the episode, there's a special detail revealed that I won't reveal yet. But then we sing another song about this other person that we both know.

[7:38] David Zelnick: His girlfriend.

[7:40] Harrison Chad: His girlfriend. So there's nine episodes. I was reading all the press materials for this. It's all saying it's all about like, gay relationships and straight relationships and with transgender, cisgender, all sorts of people. So how does that play into your character?

[7:56] Harrison Chad: So this episode is about two straight guys who love each other.

[8:04] David Zelnick: As bros.

[8:05] Harrison Chad: As bros. But like, wishing that they were gay so that they could date each other. That's literally the name of the song. The line is, I wish I were gay because I'd date you. Which I find myself saying on a daily basis to all of my gay friends, because it's so true.

[8:23] Alan Seales: Well, as a straight man, to some of my straight guy friends, I've been like, you know what? Like, if I were going to be gay, you'd be my boyfriend.

[8:31] Harrison Chad: We all have that list of like, celebrities.

[8:35] Alan Seales: But then some people also have like, your friends who are like, you know, if I was gay, you'd be my top choice.

[8:44] Harrison Chad: When you were pitched, you handed over the script and you're like, oh, I scripted podcasts with Broadway people. What was your first thought?

[8:52] Harrison Chad: Oh, I was totally in. Because I recently got very into podcasts and I've been yearning for musical podcasts. I think they're great. I've only heard like, improv musical podcasts before. But this was the first time I'd heard of like, a scripted one. I'm sure there have been. But I was really just attracted to the material because I really like David and Eric's work. I just think it's like, very funny and real and down to earth and like, intimate in a way.

[9:20] Harrison Chad: And podcasts usually are just listened to like, on the subway when you're alone.

[9:26] Alan Seales: With a lot of people, but it's only in your ear. Did you get to go to your senior prom?

[9:31] Harrison Chad: Yeah, I did go to my prom. David was asking me about this before my prom. I only remember really two things about my prom.

[9:43] Harrison Chad: It was in like, an aquarium museum.

[9:46] Alan Seales: Eyebrow raise?

[9:48] Harrison Chad: Like, an aquarium, but it was also aviation. It was a weird place. It was like, air and sea.

[9:54] Alan Seales: Somewhere along the line.

[9:55] Harrison Chad: So it was like, a naval base.

[9:56] Alan Seales: Maybe, yeah. I was at a fort. I was actually in the... no.

[10:01] Harrison Chad: And then the other thing I remember were the appetizers.

[10:05] Harrison Chad: It was very similar to this party. A lot of mini hot dogs, a lot of good grilled cheese.

[10:10] Alan Seales: Hopefully there was a DJ.

[10:12] Harrison Chad: There was, probably.

[10:14] Harrison Chad: I don't know, I'd just broken up with my girlfriend two weeks before.

[10:18] Alan Seales: Wait, this is crazy. I broke up with my girlfriend two weeks before.

[10:21] Harrison Chad: And then I asked her if she would still go to the prom with me.

[10:27] Alan Seales: Well, she already had a dress. She already bought a dress.

[10:30] Harrison Chad: But then she said no.

[10:33] Harrison Chad: So I had to, like, eagerly, or like, you know, very fast, call up this girl I went on a teen tour with.

[10:40] Alan Seales: Like, that's embarrassing.

[10:42] Harrison Chad: I went on a teen tour with this girl and I called her up and said, will you please be my prom date? It was like, three days before. She's like, sure. It was great. We had a lot of fun, but I still kind of feel bad about the other prom.

[10:53] Alan Seales: And did your ex-girlfriend end up going to the prom with somebody else?

[10:55] Harrison Chad: No, she was a year younger.

[10:57] Alan Seales: So she really screwed her over.

[11:01] Harrison Chad: Wait, you gave her the option.

[11:03] Alan Seales: Well, yeah, but I should have.

[11:05] Harrison Chad: Like, looking back as an adult now, I really should have waited the two weeks.

[11:10] Alan Seales: I'm not sure what. No, I needed to do it.

[11:14] Harrison Chad: And then later on that summer, I, like, tried to get her back.

[11:19] Alan Seales: That sounds pretty high school.

[11:21] Harrison Chad: Yeah, it's very high school.

[11:22] Alan Seales: I, like, left flowers by her door.

[11:24] Harrison Chad: Oh, wow.

[11:25] Alan Seales: So you're romantic at heart, is that right?

[11:27] Harrison Chad: Yeah, but it was weird.

[11:30] Alan Seales: It's fine.

[11:30] Harrison Chad: So getting back to Loveville, Loveville, hi. Do you, do you love, like, I like this trend of where, like, the podcast is going to have scripted content and all this stuff's going to come out. Do you, do you want to see more of this? Or do you think it's kind of pulling away from the natural state of things?

[11:43] Harrison Chad: No, I'm so down for it because it's, it's kind of like, it's a new, it's a newer art form in the sense of, it's, it's hearkening back to, like, these days of old, of like, old radio plays where you can listen to a radio play. I remember when I was younger, I did, like, a radio play of, what's the movie about? Christmas.

[12:11] Alan Seales: Every time you hear a bell ringing where he goes, what is it?

[12:14] Harrison Chad: What is it?

[12:17] Alan Seales: Polar Express.

[12:20] Harrison Chad: No, no, no. With the guy who's like, he's like, he's trying to save his, like, his, his life. He goes, he works at a bank.

[12:26] Alan Seales: It's a wonderful life.

[12:27] Harrison Chad: It's a wonderful life.

[12:28] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[12:28] Harrison Chad: We did a, we did a, we did a radio play of it. And I thought it was awesome, like, with Foley and you really see how, like, soundscapes can, like, not necessarily just be.

[13:11] Harrison Chad: The people that worked on that, it's incredible. But I think that's the thing, it's moving in a direction, in just a whole new genre. It could be a different genre of theatre. It's relatively inexpensive to produce a podcast compared to a Broadway show. And I think also, weirdly, you could get more ears on it. And more people. And it's a story, as I said, a lot about different people. And the LGBTQ community. And a lot of people in the middle of... Wherever you live, if you find this podcast on iTunes, it's something that you can really hold on to and get you through high school or through your own problem. And you've got the potential for an original cast recording. Because this is all music. Yeah, that's fine. I mean, Eric is a great composer and David has been a blast to work with. But doing original music, recording, it's just fun. I haven't actually heard my episode yet.

[14:11] Connor Ryan: Have you not? They haven't sent it to you?

[14:14] Harrison Chad: No. I should actually find out if I can listen to it. No, it's cool to get... I've done a lot of voiceovers in my life, so it's in the world of what I do. But it's definitely fun to sing songs that are completely brand new.

[14:31] Connor Ryan: Have you done any voiceovers that we would recognize?

[14:34] Harrison Chad: Yeah, like I was the voice of Boots on Dora the Explorer. My producer just went crazy. But beyond that... I did a lot of voiceovers as a kid. I did Tarzan 2. I was Tarzan. Glenn Close played my mom and she just won a Golden Globe. Yesterday. Yesterday, it was amazing. I've been in a studio working. So we had a blast doing this. Because they sent the material over and I just vibed with it instantly. But then when we were actually there, me and Troy just turned it up a level and made it our own. Even though we had just met each other that morning.

[15:17] Connor Ryan: So you guys are real-life bros now?

[15:19] Harrison Chad: Yeah, we're real-life bros. It turns out he's now in Be More Chill. And I'm part of Joe's family. It's a weird circle of life. This island of 8 million people is so tiny.

[15:32] Connor Ryan: Oh, yeah. It's a very small world.

[15:35] Harrison Chad: In the theater world, it's infinitely small. Well, thank you so much for this quick little interview here. I really appreciate it.

[15:46] Connor Ryan: Now here is Connor Ryan, who is Johnny in episodes 1 and 9 of Loveville High.

[15:52] Connor Ryan: You love podcasts, it sounds like.

[15:55] Harrison Chad: Yeah, I wish I was more of a podcast person. I only listen to a couple. I listen to Pods of America and Fresh Air, which is more of a radio show than a podcast. Yeah, but I love it. It's a great way to learn some information while you're riding the train.

[16:15] Connor Ryan: So when somebody came to you and said, "Yo, Connor."

[16:20] Harrison Chad: Yeah.

[16:21] Connor Ryan: Literally, he said, "Yo, I've got this new audition, this new thing for you. I want you to audition for it, but it's a podcast." What was the first thing that went through your head?

[16:33] Harrison Chad: You know, as always, I think most young actors starting out, it's just like, yes, yes, yes. Anything and everything. I never turn my nose up at anything unless I physically can't be there at that time. So on top of that, on top of wanting to accept anything coming my way, I also know David and thought the concept was a really cool idea and was overly thrilled to get to be involved. So I was just thinking, awesome, let's do it.

[17:09] Connor Ryan: Who is your character in Loveville High?

[17:11] Harrison Chad: So I play Johnny in episode one and nine. This specific relationship, in the context of all the relationships that you'll get exposed to over the course of the nine episodes, is a heterosexual relationship between a young man and a young woman in high school, seniors getting ready to graduate their high school sweethearts, and they kind of feel like the outcasts, the misfits of their high school. Pose for a picture. And, yeah, they feel like the poor kids. Whether or not they are the poor kids, I'm not really sure, but they certainly feel like the poor kids. They feel like the underprivileged losers amongst their classmates, which I kind of think on some level most people can relate to.

[18:00] Connor Ryan: And, yeah, I play Johnny, and Hayley Pippel plays Jane. That's interesting. You said most people feel like they can relate to that. Do you feel the majority of people go through life with imposter syndrome?

[18:15] Harrison Chad: I think so. I think so, yeah. I think that's kind of a part of the human experience. Unless you're living a really cushy, nepotism life where you inherited your dad's job. But even that person probably feels like everybody here probably thinks I'm just here because I'm my dad's son and I don't deserve to be here. I think most people experience that kind of I don't belong here thing, right? That's sort of a human thing. I think so. I think it's kind of human nature if you're a normal person to sort of question it.

[18:43] Connor Ryan: I think so, yeah. I think the thing about Loveville High is they've done a really great job of trying to make these people real people, these kids real kids, which is something that even for me, I was in high school like a decade ago, which isn't that long. You're not a real kid, I get it. It just makes me feel like it would be really hard to be a kid today. I feel still like a kid, but to be a high school kid would be really hard. The authenticity of what they've written is really cool because kids nowadays with these shootings and everything that's going on politically in our country, it's really hard to be a teenager right now.

[19:30] Connor Ryan: Right. Did you draw from your own experiences from going to prom and going to high school and all this?

[19:37] Harrison Chad: I have to admit that I've never done a podcast before, so it was really kind of shot out of canon. You get there and you have the script and you have a couple hours to record it. There wasn't a lot of written character work going. I was just kind of trying to fly by the seat of my pants and bring as much truth to the character as I could in the short amount of time I had with it. I wasn't actively thinking about bringing in my own high school experience, but I'm sure there's some of that in there. We've all been in high school there since I joined it, right?

[20:11] Connor Ryan: You are such an animated person. Even sitting here with me, standing here with me, having a serious conversation, you're all over the place.

[20:19] Harrison Chad: Oh, yeah. I've had a couple drinks.

[20:21] Connor Ryan: But in disparate measures.

[20:23] Harrison Chad: Oh, yeah. My God. Flapstick all over the place. Have you ever had to play a role where you had to be stiff and not fluid?

[20:34] Connor Ryan: My God. Probably. One isn't jumping to my mind right now, but yeah, in disparate measures, it was an amazing opportunity to get to explore all that weird physical comedy. I'm in a show right now where I'm playing a rock star so I get to do all that weirdness still. But I think, yeah. For example, you know how in high school or college you get to play these parts that you should never play? There's nobody else. In college, I was Jean Valjean in Les Mis. That was a little stiff for me, to be honest. That was a little, yeah. But that's fun. Getting to do stuff that's challenging is always fun.

[21:15] Connor Ryan: That's amazing. So what did you like the most about Loveville High? What do you hope that happens out of this? Was it you that just a few minutes ago was talking about the sense of community?

[21:26] Harrison Chad: I think it was Jordan. No, it was somebody else. I think that even though I haven't met hardly any of these people attached to this, I feel connected to them. And that, to me, is the coolest thing. I had like an hour with Hayley, but didn't get to know her very much. But the other night I saw Once on This Island and she saw me in the audience and afterwards was like, "Is that Connor?" I was certain she wouldn't even remember me. We only spent an hour together. And so it's a sense of connection with people. Even if it's a distant connection or sort of a six degrees of whatever podcast separation. It's cool to feel a part of something bigger than just you. And a part of something that is about inclusivity. So it feels like, just really nice to get to be a part of the weird little club of weirdos that made this podcast.

[22:30] Connor Ryan: I heard once that the Guardians of the Galaxy cast never met Bradley Cooper before the press junkets.

[22:38] Harrison Chad: Oh, wow. Because as Rocket, he was never there on set. He was always just in a voiceover booth. Same concept, I guess.

[22:47] Connor Ryan: Yeah, yeah. It's also like the classic story of Meryl Streep not ever talking to Anne Hathaway for the entirety of...

[22:56] Harrison Chad: No, that's not really the same thing. You know what's a better example? I was thinking of a Delores Prada example. That's more of a method acting example. You know what? Those actors in Game of Thrones who have been on the same show for like a decade and have never met each other. That's a better example.

[23:14] Connor Ryan: Listeners. Conor Ryan, over and out.

[23:23] Harrison Chad: Coming up now is Mason Alexander-Park who plays Jendricks in episodes 2, 3, and 9.

[23:31] Mason Alexander-Park: How did you get connected with this very unique project here?

[23:33] Mason Alexander-Park: Michael Kocera just contacted my agents and sent the script over for this episode and asked if it was a character that I'd be interested in. So I read it and they sent demos along with it of the music and I was just really... I don't know. It was like a really exciting thing to be asked to be a part of because podcast musicals haven't really become a thing yet. And I know that it's something a lot of people are attempting to bring back. Like the old days of radio theater and trying to make it a little... I don't know. It's an interesting medium that I was very excited at the idea of getting to be a part of.

[24:09] Connor Ryan: It's funny you say radio theater. That's a common theme throughout the night. Like Harrison said earlier that it harkens back to the days of sitting around in the 20s and 30s where families would listen to War of the Worlds.

[24:23] Mason Alexander-Park: Yeah, exactly. That's immediately what I thought of. My brain went to War of the Worlds and just so many random things that I used to listen to when I was a kid before podcasts really had taken over. And so it's cool that now because podcasts are such a massive medium that people are listening to all the time. It's allowed room for us to create a more, I don't know, weirdly artistic and kind of creative version of a musical within that new world.

[24:55] Connor Ryan: Yeah, I love it. I'm going to switch gears dramatically here. Listening to you speak, you have a low voice. But holy crap, man. You just sing so damn high.

[25:05] Mason Alexander-Park: Thank you. I was blessed with a very weird range. So it just depends on whatever the character kind of requires. I try to alter it. What is your range? When I was younger...

[25:20] Mason Alexander Park: I was in baritone, but over time I've been cast in so many tenors that I think it helped stretch my vocal cords a little bit more than they probably were built for. But I do, yeah, I'm a high baritoner and I also do countertenor. I can sing female soprano.

[25:37] Connor Ryan: Wow, that's a better... Fun party trick. I was, in chorus, I was forced to sing bass, but then I was like, if I'm going to do anything professionally, I have to sing tenor, so I'm stuck in this weird, stupid baritone range. Not that baritones are stupid. I'm not saying that baritones... No, don't send me hate mail.

[25:55] Mason Alexander Park: So what did you like the most about being involved with this? I thought that the source material was really... It was just really well written and well researched. Growing up as a theater kid, there weren't a lot of things that I could listen to or watch that was in a musical medium that really resonates with what it feels like to be a high schooler. I mean, we had high school musical, My Generation had that, and we also had Glee, which...

[26:28] Connor Ryan: I had that.

[26:29] Mason Alexander Park: Yeah, Glee was the thing, and that was a really defining moment in my life. I remember both of those things, and Spring Awakening. There were milestones where you were like, oh, young people can do theater, and there is theater written for young people. And I know that this kind of came for them as an idea, because it also is something that can be done in classroom settings. It can be done in colleges and high schools as these isolated, ten-minute scenes. And to me, that was super unique and super exciting, because I went to college for musical theater, and I remember the struggle of like, okay, well, what fits your type, and what fits your age range, and what fits, like, finding the perfect scene into a song. And I remember the stress of us trying to find material that was good to work in in a classroom setting. And each episode is designed to where it can also function in that way.

[27:26] Alan Seales: How does it work? Your character is in one or two of the episodes of the whole thing?

[27:31] Mason Alexander Park: Who is your character? I think Jendricks is in three, in the second, the third, and the last episode. But the second episode is really, Jendricks is like big. It's the episode where I meet Isaac's character, and where we get to sing Sparkle Like Bowie, which is the only song that I've recorded. So it's a very special episode for me, because it was the one that I really got a chance to learn a lot about Jendricks' character, and how they identify, and all that kind of stuff.

[28:02] But it was fun, because when they approached me about Jendricks, there were no really defining qualities or rules about the character yet. It was sort of like, we know we want the character to be an opportunity to represent the LGBTQ community, and especially on the gender spectrum, as opposed to just sexuality. Because growing up, there was no shortage of queer representation in theater when it came to gays and straights and that kind of thing. But when it came to the gender spectrum, that was entirely left to Hedwig and Frank N. Porter and Rocky Horror. There are very few roles that I remember finding that androgyny and that kind of gender fluidity in a role. And so this was really cool, because that was the main thing.

His sexuality, or their sexuality, wasn't necessarily the topic of discussion so much. It was like, well, how does this character translate in 2018? And now that kids have more representation and have the opportunity to discover more about not only their sexuality, but their gender identity at a young age. It's a very different world that, when I was growing up, I didn't have that kind of thing.

[29:18] Alan Seales: How old are you now? Can I ask that?

[29:20] Mason Alexander Park: I'm 23.

[29:23] Alan Seales: It wasn't too long ago that I was a teenager.

[29:25] Mason Alexander Park: So I'm 38.

[29:30] Alan Seales: I didn't have broadband until I went to college, right? And I see now, I didn't have exposure to any of this, because I didn't have the internet. I had dial-up. I had 56k dial-up modem, literally until my freshman year of college. So I didn't know how to find people on chat boards. I didn't know how to find people who were like me or not like me. It was just different. So for me, growing up analog and now being an adult in the digital world seems slightly different.

[30:03] Mason Alexander Park: You're a few years younger than me, but how has it changed for you between when you were in high school and now?

[30:09] Connor Ryan: I feel like my generation was sort of on a weird cusp, where depending on your class system and depending on the way that you grew up, you either grew up in kind of a free internet world. I didn't really have access to the internet until I was in elementary school, which is crazy to think. I was so old at that point. We didn't have Instagram or Facebook or any of that kind of stuff until I was getting out of middle school and going into high school. I didn't even have my first cell phone until I was in high school. To go from seeing how I grew up to now thinking about a kid that's in high school now and had access to Instagram since they were in middle school and had that sort of weird, interconnected, lonely but super embracing, strangely connected, I don't know. The internet is just a fascinating thing.

[31:10] I've seen so much of a change, especially with theater. I mean, things like Be More Chill wouldn't really exist five, six years ago because there was no such thing as online outrage. There was no way that it would have been able to survive in such a specific way. So we're very lucky that we, I think that this theater generation is incredibly lucky that it's allowed people to really access information and access musical theater a lot easier. I mean, I'm lucky I had YouTube when I grew up because that's how I saw any kind of musical. I didn't really grow up going to see a lot of shows in person because I know a lot of kids my age didn't unless they lived close to New York or a place where it was easier.

And so I had bootlegs of Cabaret Without a Coming and that kind of stuff that got me into it and that was about it. And then television, you know, and thank God for doing it. It's the silliest thing. Even when I was 16 and being interviewed for other projects and TV shows that I was a part of, I remember going back to that show because I was like, that's the thing that made me realize that there was more than just people in New York that cared about it and that it could be turned into a television show that revolved around themes that had to do a lot with show business and musical theater and stuff. People actually were interested in seeing that kind of stuff and watching characters sing and that sort of thing. So that was exciting to me.

[32:41] Alan Seales: That was seven years ago.

[32:42] Mason Alexander Park: Yeah, a long time ago.

[32:43] Alan Seales: Wow, I believe it was a long time ago.

[32:45] Mason Alexander Park: I know.

[32:46] Alan Seales: Well, thank you so much for being a part of this and thank you for speaking with me today. Is there anything else you want to plug real quick about Loveville High?

[32:53] Mason Alexander Park: Loveville High is super unique and super cool and there are so many incredibly talented artists and actors that were a part of it. And I think it's a very once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing that's going to set the bar, I think, for a lot of future musicals that are to come. I know my friend John Cameron Mitchell is writing one now called Anthem, that's a podcast musical that should be coming out soon. And as far as that goes, I don't know a lot about any others that are coming out but it's cool and it's exciting to think that there will be more like this and that I got to be a part of this one. This is the beginning. So thank you for taking a chance on it.

[33:30] Alan Seales: Thank you.

[33:34] Alan Seales: Now last but certainly not least, please enjoy this chat with Adam Rothenberg from CallMeAdam.com.

[33:41] Adam Rothenberg: We're here with CallMeAdam.

[33:43] Alan Seales: Yes.

[33:44] Adam Rothenberg: So what is your full name?

[33:46] Alan Seales: My full name is Adam Rothenberg.

[33:48] Adam Rothenberg: And what do you do?

[33:49] Alan Seales: I host my own website where I interview actors and performers. I ask them the heartfelt and fun questions other sites don't. And people seem to open up to me about things they haven't talked about in previous interviews.

[34:02] Alan Seales: And what attracted you to Loveville High tonight?

[34:06] Adam Rothenberg: Several things. The cast, for sure. I've seen a lot of them in different Broadway shows and they're fantastic. And I just love the concept of it. That it's nine ten-minute episodes. It tells a musical theater story throughout the whole ten episodes but each episode is sort of self-contained so you can listen to just one episode at a time and I think it's a really fresh and innovative way to present musical theater to audiences.

[34:29] Alan Seales: Are you a fan of podcasts?

[34:31] Adam Rothenberg: I am.

[34:32] Alan Seales: What is your favorite podcast?

[34:34] Adam Rothenberg: My favorite? I would say one of my favorites is Kathy Lee Gifford's podcast. I have adored her for years and I just love the questions she asks her interviewees and she's always delightful to listen to. And that's probably not what you were expecting.

[34:56] Alan Seales: No, it was not at all. There is no wrong answer.

[35:00] Adam Rothenberg: How did you get started with your own website? Where did this come from?

[35:04] Adam Rothenberg: I used to do stand-up comedy on the side of having a day job and the stand-up comedy obviously didn't go anywhere so I was still looking for a way to interview people. I mean, I'm sorry. I was looking for a way to entertain people and I read a lot of interviews and I was like, why are there questions I want to ask? And I just started emailing people I knew in the community being like, hey, I have a blog and would you want to be part of it? And then I started contacting press reps and I started getting bigger names and now I get a lot of interviews of a range of people from people just starting out all the way up to more well-known names. Some of the people I've interviewed over the 10 years have been Sutton Foster, Kathleen Turner, Olivia Newton-John.

[35:48] Alan Seales: Oh my god, now of course I'm forgetting everybody.

[35:50] Adam Rothenberg: I mean, Olivia Newton-John though, wow, that's an icon in this industry. Oh, George Takai from Star Trek. I actually got to go to his apartment and do the interview and I sat with him for like an hour and a half. It was incredible.

[36:08] Alan Seales: Have you met his husband, Brad? Was he there too?

[36:10] Adam Rothenberg: I met George and Brad years ago and they're two of the nicest guys. Oh, and Gavin Creel I've interviewed who I love. Charles Bush, Julie Halston, just incredible, incredible people. I've been very lucky. I feel very fortunate.

[36:30] Alan Seales: So why do you continue to come back and do this? You said you've been doing it for 10 years. Why do you continue to do this?

[36:34] Adam Rothenberg: I love it. I absolutely love it. I love meeting people. I love learning about people. I love finding out what makes them tick. It's just so much fun for me.

[36:48] Alan Seales: That's amazing. So where can we find you? Where can we find all of your interviews?

[36:52] Adam Rothenberg: You can find them all at my website, on my website, callmeadam.com. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at callmeadamnyc. And yeah, follow me. I would love it.

[37:06] Alan Seales: Alright, well thank you so much for talking.

[37:08] Adam Rothenberg: Thank you, Alan. I appreciate it.

[37:12] Alan Seales: Thanks for listening to this wonderful bonus episode. To find and subscribe to Loveville High, you can start by visiting lovevillehigh.com and you should also follow them on Instagram at lovevillehigh or just simply search for Loveville High everywhere you find podcasts today. To get more of me, as always, you can find me online on Instagram and Twitter at theater underscore podcast or on Facebook slash official theater podcast. Wherever you're listening now, please rate and give an honest review. I love reading them and you can visit on the web thetheaterpodcast.com. This podcast is also produced by Jillian Hockman and as always, thank you to our friends Jukebox the Ghost for the intro and outro music that you always hear every single episode. See you later!