This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Alan Seales: Welcome to another episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales.

[0:10] Jillian Huck: I'm your producer, Jillian Huck. I almost said host again.

[0:13] Alan Seales: And I've got a bit of a cold. Not a cold, a sinus infection, I guess.

[0:17] Jillian Huck: We're great. We're a mess, but we're doing great.

[0:19] Alan Seales: It's just all that mucus goes straight down on my vocal cords. But, you know, it's all about placement. Put it up here, sounds good. Down here, then I sound even better. What are we talking about today? Who did we talk to?

[0:32] Jillian Huck: This episode is with Ryann Redmond, who is the first hashtag Lady Olaf.

[0:37] Alan Seales: Lady Olaf in what?

[0:39] Jillian Huck: In Frozen, the musical.

[0:41] Alan Seales: In Frozen, the musical.

[0:42] Jillian Huck: Yeah. Yeah, she was incredible to talk to. I really enjoy, side note, I really enjoy what Disney is doing with the gender swapping of this role and allowing, there's no reason why Olaf can't be played by a woman.

[0:56] Alan Seales: They didn't even rewrite the audition material to be for a woman. It was just, anyone can come. She said that both men and women were auditioning and they gave it to her.

[1:08] Jillian Huck: No, no, no. She said she was the only woman.

[1:10] Alan Seales: Oh, was she?

[1:10] Jillian Huck: Yeah. I think so. She said she was the only woman that she was aware of, I think, that was called in. But they didn't rewrite the song into a key for her voice, for a female voice until after she had gotten cast. She went in and they actually were like, how about this one? No, let's take it down. How about this one? Okay, let's try it. So they actually rewrote it specifically for her after she got cast, which speaks to, one of the points I want to make is that she mentioned that she got a couple of her, almost all of her Broadway shows from the same casting director. Again, that just speaks to, this business is about who you know.

[1:52] Jillian Huck: Yep. Networking is important. Getting to know people, putting your face out there, saying hi, going to events. It's more than just being a talented performer. It's about being a part of the community. And that can kind of make or break your career a lot of the times, but more often make it than not.

[2:07] Alan Seales: Yeah. So that same casting director called her up and said, you know, hey, let's, I want you to come in for Olaf. And she said, I think you've got the wrong person.

[2:17] Jillian Huck: Yeah. And it just, Ryan's really great at knowing the importance of being present and showing up both physically and mentally and saying yes to opportunities and just going for it and being there and saying, yeah, let's do it.

[2:32] Alan Seales: That was something that actually did surprise me when she said it. And when we asked her, she said, what was something, and part of the closing questions was something you would tell your younger self and others. And she said, you know, be present and show up. And I thought, I thought that she meant figuratively, like, don't show up to an audition and just kind of half-ass it. And she said, no, like physically, some people just don't even show up. And, and this kind of, this kind of harkens back a little bit to last episode with Joe Carroll, because something he had said was, was that he, he, he's afraid to try. And, and so we remember we were talking about, if you don't try, then you don't fail. And so it's just a common, like a common thread here. I think that it's kind of carried through this, this industry that I think a lot of people are just afraid to show up.

[3:17] Jillian Huck: Well, it's also a matter of if you don't show up one place, you're, they're going to know the next place. People talk to each other, you'll get a reputation. So have a good reputation and not a bad one.

[3:29] Alan Seales: Right.

[3:30] Jillian Huck: Be there.

[3:31] Alan Seales: Be there and be here all the way till the end of this episode. Everyone, please enjoy this episode with Ryan Redman.

[3:46] Alan Seales: Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she made her Broadway debut in 2012 in Bring It On, the musical before appearing in If Then, followed by Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville. She was recently featured in the world premiere of Ming Pfeiffer's Usual Girls at Roundabout Theater Company in New York and is now playing Olaf in Disney Frozen, the musical on Broadway as of February 19th. Ryan Redman, welcome to the podcast.

[4:11] Ryann Redmond: Thank you so much.

[4:12] Alan Seales: I want to start where we start with most of our guests here on the podcast. I want to start at the very beginning. Tell me where you grew up.

[4:19] Ryann Redmond: It's a very nice place to start.

[4:21] Alan Seales: Yes.

[4:22] Ryann Redmond: I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.

[4:25] Alan Seales: Atlanta proper?

[4:26] Ryann Redmond: Atlanta proper. I knew you were going to ask that. I'm actually from Cumming, Georgia.

[4:33] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[4:33] Ryann Redmond: Okay.

[4:35] Alan Seales: And tell me geographically where that is.

[4:38] Ryann Redmond: It's about an hour northeast of Atlanta proper.

[4:42] Alan Seales: Okay. That's like my hometown. They're like, where are you from? I say Wilkesboro and nobody knows where it is, but I'll say Raleigh, but really a couple hours west.

[4:51] Ryann Redmond: Right.

[4:51] Alan Seales: Yes. I hear you.

[4:52] Ryann Redmond: Yeah. Cumming, Georgia, the place to be.

[4:55] Alan Seales: And tell me about your childhood, though. I read that you are one of six or one of seven? You have six siblings.

[5:01] Ryann Redmond: I'm actually... I mean, it's complicated. I'm actually one of eight, but...

[5:08] Alan Seales: Surprised face.

[5:09] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, I know. I've got an older brother who is my only biological brother. I've got two half brothers. I have two stepbrothers and two stepsisters.

[5:22] Alan Seales: Okay.

[5:22] Ryann Redmond: So do the math yourself. No, I'm just kidding.

[5:25] Alan Seales: That's eight. That's eight.

[5:27] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[5:27] Alan Seales: Okay.

[5:27] Ryann Redmond: I think so, right? That's eight. It's a lot for me to keep track.

[5:32] Alan Seales: Well, so then in Cumming, Georgia, what was the arts and theater scene like?

[5:37] Ryann Redmond: Well, actually, when I... In my younger years, I actually played very competitive softball. And I did that for about 10 years. And I traveled all over the place playing. And we moved to a new school in a new school district, my eighth grade year. And I somehow... I wish I could remember how, but I just got the idea. I was like, I want to try out for the musical. No idea. I was fearless. And I don't know. It's just... It's so funny to me to think back now that as a 13-year-old awkward girl, I was like, oh yeah, let me try this thing that I've never done before.

[6:18] Ryann Redmond: And it's like on a stage in front of people. But they were doing Annie. And I basically just listened to Andrea McArdle over and over again, tried to copy her voice. And I was like, I got this in the bag. I went in and sang Maybe. And then the next day, the cast list came out, and I was Mr. Bundles. I got cast as Mr. Bundles, the laundry man. And I had three lines. It was devastating because I thought for sure that I was going to be Annie.

[6:55] Alan Seales: It's your first taste of rejection.

[6:56] Ryann Redmond: Yep. Oh, yeah. Just setting me up for the life of the theater. But I milked those three lines for all that they were worth. And then I went to a high school that I had really wonderful theater directors. And I just sort of dove into it. And Miss Denny, who was my freshman theater director, we were doing a production of Cinderella. And I remember her telling me, everybody look at Ryan. Watch Ryan. Watch what she's doing. I must have been doing something outrageous and making a bold choice, I imagine. And that was the first moment where I was like, okay, I'm being noticed. This makes me happy to make other people laugh. And that was the moment that I was like, oh, this is going to be really, really fun for the rest of my life.

And softball is not going to last for the rest of my life. So I pursued it. And we did so many musicals in high school. And I joined up with this foundation that's super near and dear to my heart, which is called the Broadway Dreams Foundation. And I was at their inaugural intensive in Atlanta, which started in Atlanta. And I grew up with that program.

[8:21] Ryann Redmond: And this woman, Kate Guyton, was one of the teachers. And she had gone to NYU. And I just saw myself in her. I was like, I want to be what she is. She's actually who Kate Monster in Avenue Q was written after. She was modeled after this woman, Kate Guyton. She was just such a beautiful soul. She taught at NYU. And I just got it in my mind that I was going to go to NYU. I was like, that's where I want to go. I'd never been to New York ever. But I was like, that's where I got to go. And so I studied with Broadway Dreams. I did a lot of musicals in high school. And caught the bug. And then it came time to audition for NYU. And my family is not rich by any means. So my poor mother was like, honey, we're not going to be able to afford NYU.

And I would just cry and cry and cry. And all I wanted to do was go. I just that's all I wanted to do. And I'm sure now looking back on it, she was just probably so heartbroken because it's so expensive. And it just I was so upset. And finally, she let me apply. And she was like, you can apply. But we can't make any promises. So I end up getting in. And then I just begged and begged and begged for us to go visit. And we scrounged things together. And I got to go up and visit. And I got to the visitors weekend or whatever it was called. And part of that program, I guess, or the welcome is go you go into the financial aid office and just like speaking to somebody to see what you got. And it turned out that I got almost a full ride to NYU, except for housing.

And I was just crying on the Lower East Side. Because I don't know why at that point, we didn't know what financial aid. Maybe we were just naive to the process and it didn't look. And it was a whole online portal. I don't know. But it was out of a movie. We were running out of the financial, the bursar's office. And I got a lot of money towards my tuition. And that was that. My mom was like, you were a kid in a candy store. When we got there, I knew that that was goodbye.

[10:53] Alan Seales: Wow. Are they still down in Atlanta?

[10:56] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, they are.

[10:57] Alan Seales: Or coming to Georgia?

[10:58] Ryann Redmond: Yes. Yeah, they're also there.

[11:01] Alan Seales: That's incredible. It seems weird to me that you didn't know what financial aid you got. I thought that would be part of the process. It's been so long since I've applied to college. I'm trying to think back about when I did it. Because I got some financial aid, too. And I can't remember. Oh, well, it's irrelevant. But I guess, what did you do to prepare for your audition? You kind of glossed over that in the story.

[11:23] Ryann Redmond: Oh, for my audition for NYU?

[11:25] Alan Seales: Yeah, you're just like, I just got in.

[11:28] Ryann Redmond: Well, I had a... Oh, gosh, I can't speak. I had a monologue coach because you had to have two monologues. So Diane Sleek, I love her. I probably had a few voice lessons. I never really took a ton of voice lessons in high school. I was just loud and almost like yelling everywhere. So I didn't really take many voice lessons. I probably should have taken more. But yeah, I think I auditioned in... We had to fly. It wasn't New York. I think I auditioned in California. It's one of those unified situations. But my uncle lives out in LA and he's always been super supportive. And he got me out there and auditioned there, took me to the audition. Yeah, so I don't know. I probably should have done a lot more preparation.

I think I also... I remember my song selections were Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie, LOL, and Days of Plenty from Little Women. I don't know if you're familiar with Marmee in that show, but she's like a 65-year-old woman, I'm pretty sure. But I won my sophomore... We had this thing called Thespian Conference and we did a one-act production of Little Women and I played Marmee. So I was like, obviously, I'm going to sing Days of Plenty for my college audition. And it's so...

[13:01] Ryann Redmond: It's like a 17-year-old girl had no business singing that song. But somehow somebody saw past that. Wow. Well, that's incredible. So you didn't prepare much, sang completely age-inappropriate songs, still got in, then now you're at NYU. And was it easy for you to kind of fall in? Or was it like sort of culture shock to be in New York and be part of this very high profile school? No, I mean, I got there. And again, like, I was so fearless. As a child, I like to think I have some of that now still. But you know, as you get older, you're like, dang, I wish I just had like threw all shits to the wind and like, still had that, you know, that verve. But yeah, I got there. And I just like my mom said, I was a kid in a candy store.

I started to thrive. I became a tour guide, because that paid for some of my housing. And then I became an RA. I just really like dove into every single thing about NYU. And I had an absolute blast. I really did. And I, but I just like, I kind of did everything. And that really was such a great stepping stone to living in New York. I teach a lot of college age or, you know, preparing for college age kids now. And I can't imagine going to school somewhere that's not in New York and then coming to New York after, you know, you've just done four years of musical theater school or theater school or whatever you're doing, but then just coming to New York and being thrust into this crazy city. And yeah, it was a really good stepping stone being in New York. And because I was at NYU and in New York is the reason that I booked Bring It On during my school year, during my time at NYU and left.

[15:10] Alan Seales: Yeah, well, before we get to that, which we will, I just want to ask, what did you give tours of? The school or did you like New York tours?

[15:14] Ryann Redmond: No, of NYU. I gave tours to prospective students.

[15:19] Alan Seales: What's a fact that I don't know?

[15:21] Ryann Redmond: Oh my gosh. NYU's football team is undefeated.

[15:29] Alan Seales: Ever?

[15:30] Ryann Redmond: Because they don't have one.

[15:33] Alan Seales: I should not know that. I'm not a football. I don't do the big stuff.

[15:37] Ryann Redmond: I know, me neither. Also, they're division three, I think, in every sport except for fencing, they're division one. I don't know if that's still accurate. That was 10 years ago.

[15:52] Alan Seales: Yeah, 10 years.

[15:52] Ryann Redmond: They should do competitive monologuing.

[15:55] Alan Seales: Oh, God.

[15:55] Ryann Redmond: I don't know.

[15:56] Alan Seales: That sounds terrible.

[15:57] Ryann Redmond: I know, it sounds horrible. But like a competitive monologue where you have to make up a monologue on the spot or it's like an extension of the debate team, but you have to...

[16:05] Alan Seales: I'm sure there is something like that at NYU.

[16:08] Ryann Redmond: Go back to the Ryan Redmond monologuing inspired wing of Tish. But yeah, so bring it on. Let's see. So you made your Broadway debut in that. But before that, you originated the role of Bridget in the reading, the workshop, the world premiere, the national tour, and then the Broadway production. So when was the reading? When did that start?

[16:30] Ryann Redmond: The... So the foundation that I love, Broadway Dreams, was doing their first New York showcase, which is essentially they take the best students from the cities that they taught in all summer, and they bring everybody to New York to put on a showcase for agents and casting directors. And I was singing at that concert in... I think it was, I want to say it was November of 2010. And Bernie Telsey was at that concert, and I was singing Somebody to Love by Queen. And he was there and he was like, this girl needs to come in for this new show. And that new show was bringing on. I went in the next day for that entire creative team, which thank God, I didn't know who they were, because I would have pooped my pants.

It was Lin-Manuel, it was Jeff Woody, it was Andy Blankenbuehler, it was Amanda Green, it was Alex Lacamoire, all just geniuses. But I went in there and sang. They asked for an R&B song. And I went and sang the beginning of... going along my trajectory of singing incorrect things for things. I sang the beginning of Skid Row from Little Shop of Horrors. And I go, love goes off at seven, and you start... Like, no, you should never sing that for an audition, eh? Because it doesn't have an ending, it just goes into, then you go down, down. Like, there's no ending. You can't resolve it. It's so silly. It's so silly. And clearly, they saw past that. And I booked the reading, which happened to fall in my holiday break from NYU.

So it was after my first semester of my junior year. And I did it in the break. And then I had to go back to school after that. And I was like, I don't want to go back to school, I want to do Broadway. But then Rachel Hoffman, who casts the show, and who is a dear friend now, and she casts Frozen. She's actually cast three out of four of my Broadway shows. So we can say that we love her. Yes. We love her so much. She called and was like, you're going to need to leave school. Not saying, but saying. Because she knew the trajectory, and it was such a good team, and she knew it was going to continue on and do a production at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, which was so cool. I was like, of course, my first professional job is back to Atlanta.

But it was so cool to do that in my hometown. Pretty much anybody I ever knew got to see me play that part. And then we did a national tour before we went to Broadway for nine months, which was so cool. I was like 21 on a national tour with all 30 of my other closest 20-year-old friends. We just were debaucherous and had the best time. We went to really cool cities. It was only 13 cities. So it was like San Francisco and LA and Chicago and just like all the really good ones.

[20:05] Alan Seales: That's not usual though, to do out of town tryout and then a tour and then Broadway. Why did they do the tour before Broadway?

[20:12] Ryann Redmond: It is kind of unusual. It's happening more now. Like Margaritaville, we did a pre-Broadway tour is what they called it. It was short, but it was two months long. I think it's just a good way to garner a following before you get to Broadway. It was, the show was geared a lot towards a younger demographic. And I think Kristen Kasky and Mike Isaacson, who were some of the producers, who I love so much. I think they wanted to just sort of garner this base throughout the US before we got to Broadway.

[20:50] Alan Seales: You said the reading was in 2010, right?

[20:53] Ryann Redmond: Yes.

[20:54] Alan Seales: So that's two years from reading to Broadway in August 2012.

[20:58] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[20:59] Alan Seales: That is not long. Stories of shows coming to Broadway take like five, six, seven, eight years.

[21:07] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, it was pretty quick. I mean, I think it was quick because the team was so stacked. They knew that the product was going to be good and they just kind of fast tracked it. It was so exciting. The cheerleading on the stage was so impressive. So I think they were just like, we know it works. It's got Lin-Manuel raps and hip hop and Tom Kitt soaring ballads. It was a recipe for success.

[21:44] Alan Seales: Love me some Tom Kitt.

[21:45] Ryann Redmond: Me too. Yeah. And then after that, you were performing alongside Idina Menzel and Anthony Rapp and LaChanze in the original cast of If Then. And that was down in DC?

[21:58] Ryann Redmond: We started in DC, yeah.

[21:59] Alan Seales: And so how long between DC and New York for that?

[22:03] Ryann Redmond: Um, we were in DC, I think it was like four months prior to us starting.

[22:15] Alan Seales: Oh, so not very long. So that was the standard out of town tryout.

[22:17] Ryann Redmond: I might be lying to you. I should probably look that up.

[22:20] Alan Seales: It's okay. This is the internet. Don't believe anything you heard.

[22:23] Ryann Redmond: Okay, yeah. Look it up on Wikipedia.

[22:25] Alan Seales: That's right. Which has your age wrong.

[22:26] Ryann Redmond: Which has my incorrect age, everyone.

[22:30] Alan Seales: Do you want to set the record straight here?

[22:31] Ryann Redmond: I'm 29 years old, born in 1989.

[22:36] Alan Seales: Wikipedia.

[22:36] Ryann Redmond: I'm sorry that I'm so mad about it.

[22:38] Alan Seales: Well, you said it keeps getting changed.

[22:39] Ryann Redmond: It does. Someone keeps changing it.

[22:42] Alan Seales: It's some evil person who's like, I'm gonna make her two years old.

[22:45] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[22:45] Alan Seales: That's so weird.

[22:46] Ryann Redmond: Sabotage.

[22:46] Alan Seales: It's so weird. Like once you round to 30...

[22:48] Ryann Redmond: Not that there's anything wrong with being 31, but...

[22:50] Alan Seales: Yeah, what are you talking about?

[22:51] Ryann Redmond: I like to get there.

[22:52] Alan Seales: I'm well beyond 30. Eight years beyond.

[22:55] Ryann Redmond: But yeah, there wasn't that much time between DC and the Broadway.

[22:59] Alan Seales: The Broadway.

[23:01] Ryann Redmond: Do you prefer the out of town tryouts? Is it a nice break to leave New York for a little bit?

[23:08] Alan Seales: I personally just, I'm kind of like, all right, New York, I'm kind of done with you for a month.

[23:13] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, it's cool. It's cool to see what a different audience, how a different audience receives the show. And it's kind of nice to figure out all the kinks and stuff before you get to the harsh criticism of New York City. But yeah, it's fun to...

[23:30] Alan Seales: All the critics are British.

[23:32] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, all of the critics are British in New York. But yeah, it's nice to test out the waters elsewhere. And it's fun to be in a different city with all your friends.

[23:43] Alan Seales: And all your expenses paid to be debaucherous.

[23:45] Ryann Redmond: Exactly.

[23:46] Alan Seales: That's right. That's all Thrive TV is.

[23:47] Ryann Redmond: I do love DC. That's fun.

[23:48] Alan Seales: That's not true at all.

[23:50] Ryann Redmond: It's very serious, actually, the out of town tryouts. I've heard of, I mean, shows kind of get completely reworked between the out of town tryouts and coming here and that the sets change. And even coming from London to here, I think one of the biggest examples I know of was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Because they dropped entire sets and didn't bring them over. It was almost a different show.

[24:15] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[24:17] Ryann Redmond: Frozen's the only show that I didn't start from the very beginning out of all my entire career.

[24:22] Alan Seales: Well, we will get to Frozen. In between If Then and Frozen is Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville.

[24:29] Ryann Redmond: It sure is.

[24:29] Alan Seales: So you were in from the beginning with that too?

[24:32] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, I did. Actually, no, I'm lying. I did a workshop and then we did the pre-Broadway tryout. I did not do the La Jolla production. But I did the pre-Broadway run and then on Broadway. And by me saying that I developed them, I'm saying my other shows, I've opened them.

[25:01] Alan Seales: Yes.

[25:01] Ryann Redmond: On the Broadway.

[25:01] Alan Seales: Yes.

[25:01] Ryann Redmond: But If Then and Bring It On start from readings.

[25:04] Alan Seales: I saw the final preview of Margaritaville when Jimmy Buffett came out and surprised everyone playing in Curtain Call. Was it different for you working with a pop star, a pop artist? Would you call Jimmy Buffett pop? What do you call Jimmy Buffett?

[25:24] Ryann Redmond: He's a... Yeah, I guess you'd call him a pop star. He's popular.

[25:28] Alan Seales: Okay. So Jimmy Buffett, the pop star versus Anthony Rap, Idina Menzel, Lin-Manuel. Those are not... Oh, Lin is pop and Idina's got a pop album now. But you see the difference in the totally. It was amazing. He is the nicest person in the entire world. The nicest, richest person in the entire world. But he was throughout our entire developmental process. He was there very frequently. And you can just tell how much he loves his fans so much and how much...

[26:02] Ryann Redmond: They love him. It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen as a Parrothead audience. They're so loyal, and they just love him so much, and they love his music. They know every single word. Oftentimes, we could have just given it over to the audience in the show because they knew every single word. Oh, yeah. People around me were singing everything. Yeah. It was crazy, but he's so, so kind, and it was super generous throughout the entire process. It's nice to see people in that light, people who you think are up on this humongous pedestal. He was just so happy to have his musical being produced and performed. He grew up loving Broadway, and his mom loved it so much. It just was such a full circle moment for him, and that came through in every interaction we ever had. He's a cool guy.

[27:05] Alan Seales: That's fun. Yeah, that's very fun. And then, I guess, on the downside, it was admittedly a short run.

[27:12] Ryann Redmond: It sure was. How does a cast, actually, I don't even think I know specifically, but for those who don't know, how does a cast receive news of closing?

[27:15] Alan Seales: It depends. In this case, our producers called a meeting before one of our performances in, I think it was early June, either early June or end of May for a July 1st closing. They gather everybody in the theater, and you kind of know because the crew is called, the dressers are called, the house staff is called. It was kind of like, oh, gosh. And we could see the houses dwindling each day, and we kind of saw it coming, but they were always very transparent. We had had a few weeks prior, we had a meeting with them, and they said that they would check in always and that they were doing everything they could to push it. But it was quite sad because a lot of people thought it was going to last a lot longer than it did, and Jimmy thought it was going to last a lot longer than it did.

But speaking of critics, I think somebody poisoned the water hole and someone didn't want to like it, and people just started forming their opinions based on what other people said without even seeing the show. Because people came in with goggles on, and it was like judging apples and peppers, I think. We weren't claiming to be this deep Shakespearean drama, you know what I mean? It was just happy-go-lucky. People had so much fun doing it. People had so much fun watching it, and that's all it was meant to be. It was meant to be the Jimmy Buffett lifestyle, just laid back, chill, and just happy-go-lucky, and that's what it was. I think the New York audience didn't quite grasp that. I don't know.

I don't know what it was, but we definitely didn't think it was only going to last two and a half months. It was shocking. I was actually surprised to see it close that early, too, because I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it a lot when I saw it, and it knew what it was.

[29:05] Ryann Redmond: Exactly. Yeah, it's like you said. It was very laid back. It was kind of like, we're a Jimmy Buffett musical. This is fun. You know, writers Michael Malley and Greg Garcia are some of the funniest guys that I know. It was catchy, and obviously with Jimmy's music, and it was super irreverent and making fun of itself at times. I feel like that's such a fun part of our musical theater psyche, is that you can have that, and then you can also have Dear Evan Hansen, and you can also have The Band's Visit, and you can also have Margaritaville. Room for everything.

[30:04] Alan Seales: Well, I love it when stuff makes fun of itself.

[30:07] Ryann Redmond: Right. That's something better. It's breaking the fourth wall in a way that just makes me want to keep coming back.

[30:12] Alan Seales: Exactly. But so, then that closed, moved on to Frozen.

[30:17] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[30:18] Alan Seales: You're Olaf.

[30:20] Ryann Redmond: I'm Olaf.

[30:20] Alan Seales: Which is traditionally played by a man.

[30:23] Ryann Redmond: Sure is.

[30:24] Alan Seales: And this is a gender switch. It's very incredible.

[30:29] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[30:29] Alan Seales: So congratulations on being the first woman ever to play this iconic role.

[30:33] Ryann Redmond: Thank you. Gosh, how does it feel for you? When you first got the call just to come in an audition, what was that? What was that like?

[30:43] Ryann Redmond: I thought my agent sent me the wrong appointment first, and I called them. I was like, Jed, I think you gave me the wrong appointment. And then I thought I was being punked. I was like, this can't be real. Because my breakdown still said baritone, it still said he, it still had the song and the male key. So I was like, this must be a mistake. Must be. My agent was like, no, I wish I could say that we pushed you for this too, but they asked for you. I don't really know. I have to find out who asked for me, but I'll have to thank them later. Someone did. And yeah, I went in and primarily my first two rounds were with Adrian Sarple, who's the associate director, who's lovely and super smart. And he helped me through the entire process.

And each step, because it was a lot of steps, I'm sure a lot of people had to sign off on this immense change. And I'm so glad that they did. I never thought in a million years it was going to happen. I was like, okay, there's going to be somebody that's like, okay, maybe we're not ready for a female Olaf yet, for whatever reason. And that was not the case. I am the lady version of Olaf.

[32:00] Alan Seales: Do you know if they were auditioning only women as a replacement, or if they were auditioning men and women?

[32:05] Ryann Redmond: No, there was always other boys in the audition.

[32:10] Alan Seales: Wow. Wow. That's incredible.

[32:12] Ryann Redmond: They might have auditioned other women, but I never saw any other women.

[32:15] Alan Seales: Huh. Wow. That speaks a lot too. Whoever asked for you, whoever asked for Ryan, please let us know. Feedback at thetheatrepodcast.com. We'll let you know.

[32:26] Ryann Redmond: Name yourself.

[32:27] Alan Seales: So then, when you got it, where were you when you got the call? Do you remember?

[32:31] Ryann Redmond: Yeah. I was doing Usual Girls at the Roundabout, and it was a two-show day. And I'd been in that morning for my final callback, which seemed like I had 45 people in the room. It was like all of Disney theatrical, all the writers, every creative team, probably a lot of assistants, I would imagine. I've never been in a larger room. And I'd gone in that morning and basically just presented my audition to everybody who hadn't seen it yet.

[33:06] Alan Seales: Was it with the Olaf puppet, or were you just sitting there?

[33:09] Ryann Redmond: Well, I did it first without the puppet because the rehearsal puppet was built around Greg, and it's not as nice as the show puppet just because they figured out along the way what was ergonomically correct. So they knew going in that I wasn't going to succeed with that puppet just because my body wasn't made for it. It wasn't made for my body is what I meant to say. My body wasn't made for it. So I did the scene before in Summer into the song in Summer without the puppet. And then they put me into the puppet, and Tom Schumacher had me just play around and take some direction. And he was like, pretend like you see something to the right, and pretend like you see something to the left, and get scared of it.

Get scared of something. He was just seeing if I could take all these directions, and I did it. And then he was like, okay, do it one more time and just throw caution to the wind. It's okay. You're not going to break. I think I was being a little tentative with him because it's this large apparatus, and I didn't want to break it. And I did it one more time, and his head fell off of my hand onto the floor. And then Tom was like, see, you were fearless. And I think that's what he wanted to see. And I was like, yeah, like literally flew off, like carrot to the ground, carrot nose to the ground. And I was like, cool. Great job, Ryan. Great job. And then I got the call between shows that day, a few hours later, and it was crazy.

I was screaming, crying down 8th Avenue. People were like, what is happening with that girl? I was calling my mom because she obviously was part of the whole process each way, and just so thrilled. We've loved Frozen from the moment it came out because when we were doing If/Then, Adina, it was right at the start of when the movie came out. And when we were in DC, she rented out a movie theater for us to all go see it and watch her. So from the beginning of the movie coming out, my family's just loved it. And I've got a niece that loves Olaf, and we've loved it too because we went through that journey with Adina, and it was amazing.

[35:32] Alan Seales: That's fun. Yeah, I didn't even think about that. Yeah, If/Then was, you were with Adina when the popularity just exploded.

[35:35] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, it just exploded.

[35:38] Alan Seales: That's incredible. Yeah, that's made like, what, a bazillion dollars now in the box office.

[35:43] Ryann Redmond: Yes.

[35:43] Alan Seales: It's been incredible.

[35:44] Ryann Redmond: That's an accurate number, a bazillion.

[35:47] Alan Seales: Bazillion. How did you make the role yours? Because you've got Greg. You've got Greg Hildreth, right? That you replaced, took over from. And then you've got Josh Gad from the movie. And the song itself, like you said, was written in a male key. So how did it become yours?

[36:04] Ryann Redmond: Um, well, Brian Yusufur, who is our music director, conductor, worked with me a lot just to figure out what key was comfortable for me and what would sit well in my voice. And it was trial and error. There was a super high one that we were like, okay, this could be, it's funny because it could be operatic. And then there's the one that I'm currently doing, which is super belty. And I feel really confident when I've got this puppet attached to me and I can just really belt it out because I feel like that's truly his MO, Olaf. He just loves to be funny and loud. And yeah, I sort of just like, how would you say I created? Because I started without the puppet. I just feel like I had all of my predecessors in a little amalgamation.

I took from that what I wanted to. And I also just upon meeting the puppet, Lorenzo, who is our movement coordinator, spent a lot of time with me just talking, having conversations with people with the puppet and finding what his expressions meant to me and how he reacted to things. And it sort of just organically came out of that. And we had Michael Grandage, our director, is there today actually. And he'd seen the show and was giving us notes. And he was just saying how lovely it is to see each of our new cast members' new take on the roles. And he said, it's so fun to see a show that you thought that you knew so much and see it in a completely, not completely, but he's like, it's fun to see different moments that weren't there before. And I think that's such an homage to how good the show is and an homage to the previous cast members who are also so wonderful in their own right. And I'm still discovering what my Olaf is.

[38:15] Alan Seales: Yeah, you're only a couple of weeks in.

[38:16] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, I'm only three weeks in. Give me a break. But yeah, I'm finding new moments each day. And the entire team has been super supportive of that. And it's never felt like I have to fall into a stereotype or I fall into something that somebody else did. It's been all supportive of me finding what my Olaf is.

[38:41] Alan Seales: And Josh Gad actually, he reached out to you when you got the role, didn't he?

[38:45] Ryann Redmond: He did. He sent me a video when I did an interview on ABC and he was congratulating me for the role and very supportive. And then he was like, and also Frozen 2 is in post-production, so don't come for my role, okay?

[39:03] Ryann Redmond: Watch out, Josh Gad. Lady Olaf's taken over. Cut him out of the movie.

[39:09] Alan Seales: You could be, oh man, they should like for Frozen 3, which I'm sure there will be because trilogies are the thing. I hope so. You could be like Olaf's long lost sister or mother because you like to play, you know, the inappropriately older woman. Bring back my Marmy days.

[39:23] Ryann Redmond: Yes, your Marmy. Olaf, warm heart.

[39:26] Alan Seales: What is your favorite part of the role that you've found so far? Is there a moment that you have or see?

[39:31] Ryann Redmond: My favorite part of the role is, that's a good question. Obviously, in summer is so fun to do. I love the reaction of the audience when they see Olaf's summer dream come to life. It's so funny because I can hear it and they're all just like, when they see his beach setting come up, um, that's super fun to see. Um, I love hearing people blurt out iconic lines from the movie. Sometimes that happens in the show.

[40:07] Alan Seales: Oh, you hear it from the stage?

[40:08] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, yeah. Um, I love that. Um, what else do I love? I love, uh, I don't know. I just, I love figuring out each day something new and quirky about Olaf. He's got a lot of really fun one-liners.

[40:28] Alan Seales: Um, yeah. Well, you keep it, you got to keep it fresh.

[40:31] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[40:32] Alan Seales: You know, you find that, but you said the, the audience is, is speaking, I guess, unintentionally or unconsciously to you during the performance. What is the actual feedback been? You know, you've been, you've been doing this for a couple of weeks now, but has there been like any, any amazing feedback that you've heard at the stage door?

[40:49] Ryann Redmond: Yeah. I, I'd go to the stage door every night and it's, the response has been so lovely. Um, so many girls and women saying to me that it's so freaking cool to them that a woman is playing this part and everyone has been so kind about it. Um, there's been just lots of love for Lady Olaf. Um, but yeah, a lot of people are just, and a lot of people tell me their stories and how they're like, yeah, he doesn't, it doesn't matter what gender he is or what gender the person is playing with. Olaf is still a boy, but they're like, you know, it doesn't matter. You think about how many of our favorite cartoon characters or boy cartoon characters are voiced by women Simpson and Woody Woodpecker. And so I'm just giving my voice to him, but it's been super supportive at the stage door and fun for people to see that, uh, they don't have to be on or else if they don't want to, they can also be Olaf.

I got the sweetest message on Instagram. This woman said her daughter was doing Frozen and she wanted to be Olaf, but she can't be Olaf cause he's a boy. And then the mom was like, well, I showed her your Instagram and now that's all that she wants to be. And I'm like, well, that's the reason for the season folks. Like that's so cool.

[42:04] Alan Seales: Yeah. That is so sweet. I love that. Um, so well, good luck in everything. Break many legs. I, I want to come see you in the, uh, in the role. I haven't seen it since I'm doing the cast. So yeah, I'll let you know. Um, and the other things, uh, that you're involved with, tell me about, you mentioned this earlier, uh, the Broadway Dreams Foundation. What does that do?

[42:25] Ryann Redmond: It's a nonprofit organization that brings musical theater, uh, intensives all over the world. Um, and I started as a student there and sort of grew up with the program. And now I go back and I'm on the faculty and, um, we, it's how the week it's usually a week long in the summertime. And, um, we have very serious musical theater students who actually want to pursue this. And, uh, we, half the week is, uh, classes and the other half is preparing for a show at the end of the week where it culminates and them getting to perform alongside their, um, Broadway faculty. Um, so that happens now all over the world. Like I went to Russia with them and taught in Moscow. Um, they've go to Brazil, they go to New Zealand, um, amongst all the other American cities that they go to.

And, uh, it's true. It's a family that I've been with for almost 12 years. And the woman that runs it, Annette Tanner is basically like my second mother. And, um, it's really cool seeing the program grow and, um, seeing the next generation of musical theater performers. It's really exciting.

[43:39] Alan Seales: How can people get involved?

[43:39] Ryann Redmond: Um, go to BroadwayDreams.com, iBroadwayDreams.com. Um, and check out for near a city in a city near you. I won't be at any of them this summer. Sorry. I'm being lady Olaf, but, um, I'll probably pop into the New York intensive, um, which is happening in June, I believe. Fun.

[43:59] Alan Seales: Um, but yeah, check out the website. Also recently in, uh, the Loveville High podcast.

[44:06] Ryann Redmond: Yes. Yes. Podcasting. A musical podcast. A musical podcast. I was telling somebody at the end of last year, I said, I said, 2019 is the year for podcasts. Hence, you know, part of why I started this podcast because it's the format people want to consume things in now. And I, you know, being in New York and being in the Broadway scene, I said, listen, someone's going to write an original show, a serialized show in podcast form with Broadway people. And literally a week and a half later, I got the press release.

[44:31] Alan Seales: I was like, you willed it into the universe.

[44:31] Ryann Redmond: I did. There we go. And now David, David Zelnick, a great man. I've interviewed a couple of people from, from the podcast.

[44:36] Alan Seales: Yeah. It was super fun.

[44:40] Ryann Redmond: Yeah. I did it with Jay Armstrong.

[44:41] Alan Seales: Right. So you were in episode three.

[44:47] Ryann Redmond: Yes. And did you, I guess, was that new for you to be in a, in a VO booth or do you like the Broadway in a booth versus Broadway on a stage?

[44:51] Ryann Redmond: Um, I love being in a booth. Um, I've never done, I've never done a voiceover, but it feels super right for me. So I hope it's in my future. Um, I love, I love just being able to figure out what you can convey with just your voice. It's so intriguing to me. Um, but that was super fun. It was a short day. We kind of had to do it pretty quickly, um, just to knock out the recording, but, um, it was fun to sing with Jay and it's cool to not have to worry about what you look like.

[45:27] Alan Seales: Um, I live in, uh, in musical theater land where you have to be on all the time, but not in a voiceover. Nope. Nobody cares. They just imagine. They just press record and edit out the bad parts.

[45:40] Ryann Redmond: Right now I am, no, just kidding. Well, we're sitting here in our underwear. I really appreciate this. This is making me more comfortable.

[45:45] Alan Seales: Um, I was looking at the special skills that you're on your resume. Um, of course, basic cheerleading is on there for obvious reasons.

[45:55] Ryann Redmond: I need to change this. That is so old.

[45:55] Alan Seales: Well, can you still do ventriloquism?

[46:02] Ryann Redmond: I sure can. Inside child is child inside mouth. What does that mean? Okay. I'm gonna have to back it up on the microphone. What? Wait for it. She just did all of that without opening her mouth.

[46:17] Alan Seales: Yeah. I feel like on the, on a podcast, it's probably, they're probably gonna be like, well, she just, what, what's happening? Your lips didn't open.

[46:23] Ryann Redmond: No, they did. That's kind of incredible. That's probably the only special skill that can stay on my resume. Everything else is like, so burping on command.

[46:32] Alan Seales: Oh, I can do that still.

[46:33] Ryann Redmond: Can you, can you burp child inside mouth?

[46:37] Alan Seales: Hmm. No. Cause the burp, your mouth needs to be open.

[46:43] Ryann Redmond: Well, you can come out, come out your nose.

[46:48] Alan Seales: Okay. Now, now you're getting outrageous. Well, considering that we're probably listening to this with, uh, with earphones and I'm not going to ask you to burp on command.

[46:54] Ryann Redmond: Um, and then what is extreme knowledge of IPA? Are you talking about beer?

[47:00] Alan Seales: No, but that's really funny. I never thought of it that way. IPA is the international phonetic alphabet.

[47:05] Ryann Redmond: Oh, yeah. Okay. So if I'm given an accent that I need to do, I'm, I'm able to phonetically learn it, um, through the international phonetic alphabet.

[47:14] Alan Seales: Maybe, maybe put a link on your, on your resume to what IPA is. Cause I'm like, all right, we'll just sit here and talk beer for a second. But maybe now that I'm older, I can say that I do, or maybe I should get a better knowledge of IPA or take it off my resume because I honestly don't know how good I am at it now. It was my college days.

[47:38] Ryann Redmond: We had a voice and speech class. Probably come back.

[47:44] Alan Seales: Right. Um, well, let's wrap up here. And before we, before we wrap up, we always ask everybody on the podcast, three standard questions. First one is what motivates you?

[47:55] Ryann Redmond: What motivates me? Laughter.

[47:59] Alan Seales: Getting it or making it?

[48:01] Ryann Redmond: Both. I guess it's the same thing. Would it be the same thing?

[48:03] Alan Seales: Getting laughter. I meant you laughing or making others laugh?

[48:08] Ryann Redmond: Making others laugh primarily, but if you can make me laugh, great.

[48:13] Alan Seales: All right. Also a plus. Okay. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[48:18] Ryann Redmond: I would tell younger people or myself to always be kind. Um, if you are wanting to pursue this business, everyone's always says it's about who you know, and that's accurate. And I've every, almost every job I've ever gotten is because, uh, I worked with somebody on the project prior. And, um, I think that is a really good rule of thumb to live by. Why not be nice? It's really not that hard. Um, and work begets work. And I think that's what I've really striven for in my entire career. And so far it's, it's working.

[49:09] Alan Seales: Yeah. So be nice, be kind and show up to work.

[49:16] Ryann Redmond: Always show up.

[49:16] Alan Seales: Do people not show up?

[49:20] Ryann Redmond: You'd be surprised.

[49:20] Alan Seales: Not at Frozen.

[49:25] Ryann Redmond: Frozen's got the most punctual cast. Everyone shows up at Frozen.

[49:25] Alan Seales: No people don't. And by show up, that's like a general, like, show up, be, be prepared. Know what you're doing.

[49:30] Ryann Redmond: You mean metaphorically?

[49:34] Alan Seales: Yeah. Metaphorically. But actually, actually showing up would be helpful too.

[49:41] Ryann Redmond: I was like, Idina just didn't show up for If Then.

[49:41] Alan Seales: Okay. Sorry, Idina.

[49:41] Ryann Redmond: No, she always showed up. I'm sure she did.

[49:47] Alan Seales: Yeah. Well, the most successful people, they are there, they're present. They're in the moment.

[49:51] Ryann Redmond: Yeah, that's, I think that that's what you mean.

[49:51] Alan Seales: Yeah. Just be there. When you're there, be there. Show up for life.

[49:57] Ryann Redmond: Yeah.

[49:57] Alan Seales: And then final question. If you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what show would you see?

[50:02] Ryann Redmond: Um, it, gosh, one show. That's so hard. I probably have to say The Color Purple.

[50:16] Alan Seales: Really? Why's that?

[50:25] Ryann Redmond: I love the music in that show so deeply. Um, I think it's a beautiful show. It's either that or LOL Legally Blonde. I love Legally Blonde. I think it is so underrated. I love that show. I think it's hysterical.

[50:40] Alan Seales: Original cast with Orfeh?

[50:40] Ryann Redmond: Yeah. Of course. I love Orfeh.

[50:45] Alan Seales: Yeah. She's been on this podcast. I love her. She's wonderful.

[50:45] Ryann Redmond: So we can get you, find you on social Twitter and Instagram at Ryan Reds. That's Ryan with two Ns and ryanredmond.com and your Facebook fan page. The fan page doesn't have a URL. Do you run the fan page or is that somebody else?

[51:00] Ryann Redmond: I think I run the fan page. Sometimes my mom does it.

[51:08] Alan Seales: Okay. What does it need? A URL?

[51:12] Ryann Redmond: Well, it's like facebook.com slash lots of random numbers. It doesn't have a custom.

[51:16] Alan Seales: How do you do that?

[51:16] Ryann Redmond: You just like click a button and say, give it a name and give it a URL.

[51:20] Alan Seales: Oh, good to know. Learn something new.

[51:26] Ryann Redmond: Yeah. So I, I, we were looking for it. Go on my Instagram. You'll, you'll see everything you need to know on there.

[51:31] Alan Seales: All right. You can get more of me in the theater podcast at theater underscore podcast on Instagram and Twitter, facebook.com slash official theater podcast. Listen and wherever you're listening, subscribe, please rate, review, like and share, spread the word. It helps others find the podcast and helps others hear about amazing content. Like this interview with Ryan Redmond, we are produced by Jillian Hockman. Thank you to our friends, jukebox, the ghost for the intro and outro music. Once again, Ryan, thank you so much for chatting. This has been so fun.