This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Casey Cott: Hey, I'm Casey Cott. Welcome to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:10] Alan Seales: Hello, listeners. Welcome back to an all-new episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and this is Intimate Personal Conversations with the industry's biggest names. Our guest is currently Christian in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway, none other than Casey Cott, who of course may be best known for his role in Riverdale. Just a quick disclaimer that, as a one-man band as I am, sometimes technical glitches happen because I forget to do one thing or the other, and I actually forgot to select the proper input for this recording on my microphone, so it's not quite as good as it normally is, but I repaired it as best I could. So, apologies if the audio is a little bit down on my end. Casey's story of actually auditioning and starting Riverdale is quite the whirlwind of just being in the right place at the right time, and within 24 hours of auditioning, he's already across the country at a table read for execs.

It's kind of nuts. He'll tell the story, but everyone in his family loves the arts. His father was an actual top gun, but had this huge love of music, and it's just this kind of perfect storm of how everything came together, and he fell into these opportunities that he grabbed onto. Make sure to tag me on your socials and leave a rating and review wherever you are listening, and now, everybody, please enjoy this episode with Casey Cott.

[1:35] Alan Seales: Today's guest may be best known for his role as Kevin Keller in the long-running CW series Riverdale. Other TV film credits include Asking For It, All the Little Things We Kill, Law & Order SVU, Katie Keene, Instinct, and some theater credits include The Who's Tommy at the Kennedy Center and now his Broadway debut as Christian in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Casey Cott, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[1:57] Casey Cott: Hey, thank you. I wish that would happen every morning before I wake up when I get out of bed, you know?

[2:03] Alan Seales: Today's guest may be best known for waking up and rolling out on the right side of the bed. He's going to step into the shower. Other credits include washing his feet, armpits, and shampooing his hair and a big old mug of coffee and dealing with probably poopy diapers of your babies, not your own. Congratulations. I guess that's a great place to start because you have a two-month-old.

[2:29] Casey Cott: Thank you. Yeah, that's definitely the number one thing. Thank you. It's the best.

[2:35] Alan Seales: That's probably the best dad answer you can give me. It's early in the morning and you're saying I haven't woken up yet. So I've got two kids. Mine are in second and third grade now.

[2:49] Casey Cott: Oh, amazing. When they were both born, I was fortunate enough to be able to take solid time off and not have any job more or less and just concentrate on kids. And now you've got eight shows a week you have to maintain as a very important role of Christian.

[3:06] Casey Cott: It's funny. My brother had his first while he was doing Bandstand on Broadway. And I believe they opened on a Thursday maybe, and then the baby was born that Sunday. I remember that. So in my head, I was like, oh, he did that. I can do that. And then Derek Klena, who was Christian before me, had a baby a year ago while he was doing the role. And I was like, oh, Derek did it. I can do it. Corey at one point was like, you're going to be really tired.

[3:39] Alan Seales: Corey caught your brother.

[3:50] Casey Cott: Yeah. So there's really no prep for being on Broadway or having a child. So I thought, what if we just combine them? The two hardest things you could think of, do them at the same time.

[4:08] Alan Seales: Right. But luckily, we've had the perfect... I swear, he's like this dream baby. My wife is... She's not working right now, which is perfect for the situation. And honestly, the lack of sleep is pretty tough. But the schedule with a newborn actually works in a lot of ways. Because the one show days, I'm gone from 5:30 to 10. And then I stay up and do the late feeding, and then I can sleep. It's something we'll always remember. Like, I cannot believe he did that. And they're coming into the... You said two months old, right? He's coming into that third month now when... That third month, they just start to open up and become real people. And smiling and actual little baby attitudes.

[4:55] Casey Cott: Totally. He's just started smiling, which is like, changes your world in the craziest way. You're like, what the heck, dude? He's doing all kinds of crazy stuff now. He's just starting to communicate in the very minuscule ways of smiling. Or he'll grab your hand, or he likes little stimulation, like these little toys, and colors, and lights, and stuff. But it's awesome. They're actually away this week, my wife and the baby, which I thought I was going to be like, this is amazing. I'm going to sleep. I'm going to go to the village and get coffee. No. I'm FaceTiming her every two seconds, just sitting in the apartment, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for them to come back.

[5:43] Alan Seales: Wow. I could sit here and talk about newborn babies all day.

[5:46] Casey Cott: Yeah. You get now...

[5:48] Alan Seales: Not the newborn baby podcast.

[5:50] Casey Cott: You understand this now. Once you have a newborn, in your past... The first couple of weeks are really crazy, because you just don't know what you're doing. Although, I would say the first couple of days, then you kind of figure it out. But I get why people keep having kids now, because I'm already sad that he's not going to be like this forever. And you're like, I could just do it again. And then we'll have a newborn. It's just such a crazy phase. But that being said, we're going to stick with one for the time being.

[6:19] Alan Seales: All right. Mine are 20 months apart, because the original plan was three. We wanted to do back to back to back. And then we had number one, and Logan was an easy baby, sleeping through the night a long time, and easier, I guess, than some. And we're like, there's no problem. Can't wait for number two. Two came out, and two was still a good baby. But we're like, it's not double the work. It's like four times the work, because especially when they're that close. So we're like, we're out. We're tapping the opposite. We're done with two.

[6:53] Casey Cott: Yeah. We're aiming for two. Who knows? Who the heck knows? If you told me a year ago, I'd be on Broadway with a baby. I would have told you you were nuts. So here we are.

[7:07] Alan Seales: Well, okay. Speaking of babies, then. So little Casey, you're one of three, right?

[7:13] Casey Cott: Correct. Yeah.

[7:14] Alan Seales: Yeah. So older brother Corey, who is also a Broadway person. You're Casey. And then who's the younger brother or sister?

[7:21] Casey Cott: Sister. My sister's a year and three days younger than me.

[7:24] Alan Seales: I'll say yours are all back to back to back, too.

[7:25] Casey Cott: We're back, yeah.

[7:26] Alan Seales: I mean, you're parents, yeah?

[7:27] Casey Cott: Yeah. And she's awesome. She works for iHeart Radio. And her husband is a freaking awesome dude. He's a drummer and he works for a company that manages touring acts like Taylor Swift at the Rolling Stones. And yeah, they're a super cool couple.

[7:43] Alan Seales: That's so cool. So then what got the three of you into performing arts then? I mean, because I was reading like your dad is or was an investment manager and former Air Force fighter pilot.

[7:55] Casey Cott: Yeah. My dad is an actual top gun. He has three top guns.

[8:01] Alan Seales: No kidding.

[8:01] Casey Cott: Yeah. And then when I was born, he left the military and now he's in finance. But he's a very creative guy, loves music, like deep, deep, deep seated love for music. My mom, I think my mom always was a bit of a theater fan in terms of like any mom would like musicals kind of thing. Not any mom, but she did like, for instance, she had the Les Mis CD. But Corey was into it since he was a young, young kid. He was kind of the star kid, like growing up. And I wasn't really into it. But my sister was a dancer. I don't really know how he caught the bug. I think he just, he was always kind of into it. And then as he got into high school, he was doing the community theater and school shows and all that. And then he started to get really, really good, like really, really, you know, there's that weird time in high school when some people just all of a sudden start sounding not like high schoolers. And so then he would just...

[9:03] Alan Seales: Puberty will go either way for some people.

[9:05] Casey Cott: Right. Exactly. Especially boys. Yeah. We had this really talented little community. I mean, we grew up with Ben Fankhauser and Max Chernin and Chris McCarroll and all these crazy random Cleveland, Alex Wise, Jordan Brown, all these crazy Cleveland actors. And so he was kind of in that community. And I joined super late. In high school, we were doing Oklahoma and Corey was a senior. My sister was a freshman and I was a sophomore and my mom really wanted me to be in it. So she kind of bribed me with 50 bucks. And I was like, all right.

[9:40] Alan Seales: That's a literal bribe, not a kind of bribe.

[9:42] Casey Cott: She didn't kind of, she bribed me. It was my first paid gig. And then...

[9:47] Alan Seales: Arguably, yes.

[9:51] Casey Cott: You know, any theater person, you do that show and you're like, I don't know what, I just want to be around these people and do that. I just really enjoy this. And then the next year, we did Guys and Dolls and I got Sky somehow. I don't know. And then I was like, all right, I want to do this. I really want to do this.

[10:12] Alan Seales: So did she have to convince you to do Guys and Dolls or after Oklahoma you were like, okay, cool. This is something I can get into.

[10:16] Casey Cott: After Oklahoma, I was like, I'm going to audition for this again. And then I got a call back and the music director was actually a choir teacher at a different high school at the time. And she, I think she was like, I think there's like something in there maybe. And so I went and had a voice lesson with her and I ended up doing some voice lessons with her. And then she kind of opened me up and I was like, oh, I think if I'm like confident, this is what I'm struggling with right now on Broadway. If I'm confident here, I can do this. And so I went in to the callback and I got called back for like Nice and Nicely or something. And then they were like, you should audition for Sky. And then I did Sky.

And then actually at that show, I broke my ankle ice skating with all my friends as high schoolers do and then did the whole show in a walking boot, kind of like limping around the stage. And then after that, we had this really cool performing arts high school for half the day at our high school. It was kind of like a magnet program. So people from other high schools would come and we had this really cool acting teacher. So I told my parents before my senior year of high school, I wanted to audition at schools. And they were like, here we go again. Because Corey this time was now entering his junior. When I was a freshman in college, Corey was a junior. They were like, here we go, this whole audition nonsense.

For those who don't know, the auditioning for college process is insane. But I worked really hard. And then I ended up jumping around schools a little bit, but I ended up at Carnegie Mellon and did four years there. And then my last semester senior year, I booked the Riverdale pilot. Yeah, I don't know what the original question is, but that's my life story.

[11:55] Alan Seales: What originally got you into performing? So you were bribed for Oklahoma, then you're like, okay, I can do this guys and dolls. At some point, there had to have been a switch in your mind, or like you're saying you had to find the confidence, but there had to be something where you said, oh, I don't want to do what I thought I wanted to do. Now I'm going to do this, because like you said, auditioning for college is a it's more than a chore. It's a full time job almost to get yourself ready for college auditions.

[12:28] Casey Cott: I think I didn't have a passion prior to finding acting outside of sports. And I'm a terrible athlete. So those things didn't mesh well. So I thought, oh, what about sports journalism, being a sports broadcaster? That's something I would really like to do. But then I found acting and I think I've been the most fortunate actor. I seem to stumble into things and people that continuously just believe in me and really kind of challenge me. And that's kind of what happened at that performing arts high school. The main teacher there, Tom, was always challenging me and always pushing me. And in doing that, all of a sudden, before I auditioned for colleges, I had done, you know, a new musical in our town that someone had written.

I did Guys and Dolls. I did Music Man. We did a Chekhov play. We did Three Sisters. We did like all this random stuff. And all of a sudden, in two years, I had this wealth of experience for a high school kid. To me, to be able to experience that much in a year and a half or two years in high school is so cool that we had those kind of opportunities. So I think it kind of clicked kind of after Guys and Dolls.

[13:42] Casey Cott: Wanted to do that former... I could just tell I wanted to try. I just wanted to try, you know. It was like the first thing that I felt like I might be good at and I also really like it and I want to figure it out, whatever that is. That's really cool. So you would have gone probably to sports broadcasting or sports journalism had you not followed this path. That's very different paths. But my original plan in high school, I took Japanese, took three years of Japanese in high school and I was always into like computers and programming and stuff. And I always said, I'm either going to be an actor or move to Japan and develop AI. Neither of which happened. Well, actually the acting happened regionally, professionally for a while.

What if you develop a play about Japanese AI here? Because I would go see that. I would definitely go see that. Or like a pilot. That sounds amazing. All right. I'm going to develop a radio play, a podcast radio play about Japanese AI and you've got to be in it. I'm hoping to do that. Yeah. All right. All right. Either that or vampires. Everybody said a vampire. Vampires are everywhere. But if it's a vampire AI... What if it's an AI that turns into a vampire? I'm reluctant to agree to that yet, but we can... But the original idea... Yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. So then Riverdale, we can dive into this. Thankfully, because the sack strike's over. Praise sack. So Riverdale, that has to have been such a switch as well in terms of like changing your career trajectory, changing like your fame, notoriety.

I guess taking in your parents' eyes too, if they're like, here we go again. There's a lot of things that I'm sure all of a sudden happen when you're not well known or not on something that's popular beforehand. Kind of what happened was Corey... So at this point, I'm a senior in college. Corey's done Newsies and Gigi and I think he had done Bandsand at Paper Mill. So he's kind of laid out this dream Broadway trajectory where he got Newsies right out of school and it just happened that Jeremy had left very quickly after he joined and he took over right away. And so it was this really interesting trajectory. And in my eyes, that was the most successful move from college to the industry that I had seen.

And so I thought, okay, what I'm going to do is I'm going to move to New York and I'm going to try to get a play or a musical and that's just what I want to do. TV and film wasn't super on my radar. Well, I shouldn't say that. It was. I was auditioning for lots of TV, lots of pilots and movies, but I had never been on a set really. That wasn't like a commercial or something. So I was in New York City for a senior showcase and they were in a pickle to cast my character on Riverdale. And so I auditioned and booked it that night. No callback. Wow. And flew to Vancouver the next morning. No kidding. And had a table read that day. It was nuts. Actually, what really happened was I was in New York.

I didn't have my passport, so I almost didn't get the job. But my agents convinced them that I would fly back to Pittsburgh to get my passport and then would fly me from Pittsburgh to Vancouver. So I took like three or four flights that day and then got to Vancouver and then went to bed because I got in at like 10. And then we had a table read the next morning, which is intense. You're at this huge table and it's like the whole cast is there. All the team is there. And then Warner Brothers and the CW are on TVs in LA watching. And you can get canned from that reading. It's kind of intense. But before I met with the director and the writer and they were like, hey, this reading is going to be semi-theatrical.

Just make sure you're reaching the back of the room. And I was like, I just did like four years of college acting. That's the one thing I think I know how to do. But it was awesome. And then we filmed this pilot and it was crazy. And we did the full first season and it aired on TV. I remember really hoping we'd get another season. And then it went to Netflix and then it was like, boom, out of nowhere, just chaos. It's so funny how that happens. I want to talk about that for a second, actually, because I'm very curious, being on the inside and being the recipient of the Netflix success, what you feel about it? Because being on a network, being restricted to one channel that is in competition with every other channel, and I'm not saying the streaming services aren't, but there's a gateway you have to get through to watch it on the CW.

You have to have cable, right, for the most part. But then streaming service, you can get on any device anywhere in the world, more or less, with geographical restrictions aside. But there are so many shows that manifest being one of them, suits now, that I'm binging like crazy. I legitimately remember, I watched Riverdale myself years ago when it came to Netflix, too, because I was like, oh, what's this thing that everyone's watching? Because it gives you the trending. It gives you what's active. Do you have enough experience, or have you talked with people who are maybe in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or whatever, who have seen the transition from, oh, I need a network show, to, oh, I need a streaming show?

Because now you see these A-list, Academy Award-winning actors doing all these streaming service movies that I wouldn't have thought they'd even give the time to 10 years ago, or even five years ago. The most important way to have this conversation is to identify how quickly technology grows in comparison to the field that we're in. I always like to say, you have to realize the first season of Riverdale was shot when Obama was still president. That's how long ago it was. There was Netflix and HBO at the time. Disney Plus wasn't a thing yet, I don't think. I think Hulu was there, but it was kind of like... Yeah, it was not good at that point. Yeah. So at that point, checking on Netflix for a show like Riverdale was a very seamless thing.

Now, there was a CW app at one point in there. I think that's still there. Now, Warner Brothers has its own app because they're a part of Max, which at one point was HBO, and then HBO Max, now it's Max. In a way, the studios all have ownership of their own streaming service now, which eventually, is everything just going to be cable streamers? I don't know. Because what did they just announce? That Disney is buying Comcast out of primary share ownership of Hulu. So now, Disney is going to own Hulu, like primary share? Something like that. I think Disney already does own primary shares of Hulu, but now, they're just buying out Comcast shares, something like that. Yeah. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see.

One day, what if Netflix and Disney are like, this would be better if we're not at war together. I foresee things like that happening. It's kind of like what's happening with agencies after COVID. A lot of them, the smaller ones combine or all get kind of joined into the bigger ones. And then eventually, you're like, do we just have like two big agencies? Are we going to kind of dissect? I'm not super smart in those fields. I just kind of observe it. I do know that being on a show that all of a sudden overnight went to Netflix and was like, boom, it was crazy. It's crazy. And I'm watching Suits on Netflix now, and I never would have watched it. And I think it's awesome that these shows get this second life.

And it's an interesting time, but it's a golden era of TV. There's so much content. There's not as much as there was five years ago, but there's just so much content and it's being digested at record rates. So I think as an avid watcher of series, I think it's really cool. I think sometimes when you're in it, it's a bit nuts, but it's cool. Yeah.

[22:18] Casey Cott: Hang on, everybody. We're just going to take a quick break.

[22:22] Casey Cott: All right, now we're back. Cable needs to adapt. And I said this for years. As soon as Netflix came out, I was like, this is it. This is where we're going. And even when it was just DVD services, right? I don't know if you remember. It was just DVD. But I sort of equate this to the way that esports operates from a business standpoint, because you have the company that makes the video game, like Epic makes Fortnite, right? So Epic puts on, they make the game, they make the tournaments, then they make the competitions. They own the end-to-end process. So they control every aspect of it, and they're not paying out to other than the venues of which they're holding the competitions in, right? Yeah, the way that esports, how lucrative esports is compared to something like NBA or NFL or something where you have all these competing services with the whole organization that's trying to, I don't know.

You see what I mean? I'm not explaining this well. No, it's crazy. It's crazy. I think selfishly, as an actor, I just love how much content's out there, because you just look at the TV spectrum right now, and you're like, there's everything from Game of Thrones to Riverdale to White Lotus to morning show. It's like every service has a show that's a banger, and I'm like, I'm in. So I hope in whatever happens in the future, they keep creating all this great content, because I think people will keep digesting it, and it's great. It's great for actors. Look at Schmigadoon. Look at all these amazing Broadway people. Look at Only Murders in the Building. And being in the Broadway scene now, seeing these freaking insane, talented actors up on TV is awesome. You know what I mean? And that's like the bingo card is watching all these people being able to now jump into this TV spectrum, and whether it's Maisel or Schmigadoon or whatever, it's awesome.

[24:30] Alan Seales: Look at the reverse. Now people who are giant fans of Riverdale can come see yours truly, Casey Cott, sing beautifully, effortlessly, floating that tenor voice across the stage eight times a week. And so I came and saw the show a few days ago. I was there Tuesday night and was so, so impressed. And I'm saying this because you exceeded my wildest expectations. Because when you hear of like, oh, a TV star, it's another stunt casting, blah, blah, blah. But you freaking held it, man. You led that show. And you can sing like nobody's business. You do not expect someone who you've never heard to sing before, or heard sing before, to be able to sing like that. And it was absolutely incredible. So I want to actually know how Moulin Rouge! even found its way into your lab. Was that an audition? Or did they come to you and ask you?

[25:27] Casey Cott: It's kind of a long story. So Bill Domaschke, who's one of our lead producers, and I did a reading when I was fresh out of college. I booked Riverdale. And then the one theater thing I booked was this infamous reading of The Prince of Egypt with Stephen Schwartz. And Scott Schwartz directed it. And Bill produced it. And since then, Bill and I have some mutual friends. We've been friends for years now. Along with that, a lot of the team I had met through various things. My agents repped a couple people that have been to the show. My first conversation with them was a long time ago. I forget exactly if they were putting the tour together, or Aaron was leaving or something. I don't know. I think it was the tour.

But I was filming Riverdale, and they wanted to see if I could come in. But it just wasn't good timing. But I said, hey, I really like the show. And in the future, let's see what could happen. We at the last couple episodes of Riverdale, or no, this would have been like March a while ago, that conversation came back up. It just seems like perfect timing. This was before the strike and everything as well. But we knew we were pregnant. And we didn't know what was coming next. But I've been dying to get on stage for a lot of reasons. And when this opportunity came up, it was like, there's no way. It's everything you wanted as a kid. And now that I'm doing it, it is crazy. It is so much. It's everything I wanted and a million times different and weirder and more fun and harder.

But the team is awesome. There's just such a great group of people. The cast is freaking awesome. It's such a spectacle. And it's definitely different than showing up to set for sure. And the singing thing is hard, man. Singing.

[27:24] Alan Seales: Welcome back to The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and today we have Casey Cott with us. Casey, it's great to have you here!

[27:54] Casey Cott: Thanks for having me, Alan! I'm really excited to be here.

[28:14] Alan Seales: So, you just made your Broadway debut in "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" as Christian. How has that experience been for you?

[28:34] Casey Cott: It's been absolutely incredible. I mean, it's a dream come true. I've always wanted to be on Broadway, and to finally be here, especially in such an iconic show, is just surreal.

[28:54] Alan Seales: What was the process like for you to land this role?

[29:14] Casey Cott: It was a journey, for sure. I had to audition a few times, and each time I felt more and more connected to the character. When I finally got the call that I got the part, I was over the moon!

[29:34] Alan Seales: That's amazing! What have been some of the challenges you've faced performing in such a demanding role?

[29:54] Casey Cott: One of the biggest challenges is definitely the schedule. Performing eight shows a week is no joke, especially while also being a new dad at home. Balancing everything can be tough, but the support from the cast and crew makes it so much easier.

[30:14] Alan Seales: Speaking of support, how has the atmosphere been within the "Moulin Rouge" cast?

[30:34] Casey Cott: It's been incredibly supportive. Everyone is so encouraging, and we all lift each other up. It's a really special environment, and I think that translates to the audience as well.

[30:54] Alan Seales: That's wonderful to hear. Do you have any pre-show rituals or routines that help you get into character?

[31:14] Casey Cott: Yes! I have a "Ted Lasso Believe" sign in my dressing room, which really helps me get in the right mindset. And I also have this funny little thing where I slap a lamp before going on stage. It sounds silly, but it really works for me!

[31:34] Alan Seales: I love that! It's those little things that can make a big difference. Have you experienced any moments of self-doubt while performing?

[31:54] Casey Cott: Absolutely. There are definitely moments where I question myself, especially with the pressure of performing live. But I've learned to embrace those imperfections and find grace in the pursuit of perfection.

[32:14] Alan Seales: That's such a healthy perspective. How has your family influenced your journey as an artist?

[32:34] Casey Cott: My family has been my biggest motivation. My wife and my newborn son inspire me every day to push through the challenges and keep pursuing my dreams. They remind me of what's truly important.

[32:54] Alan Seales: That's beautiful. What advice would you give to aspiring artists who might be struggling?

[33:22] Casey Cott: I would say to give yourself grace and enjoy the journey. Failure is inevitable in the performing arts, but it's all part of the process. Embrace it and keep moving forward.

[33:50] Alan Seales: Wise words, Casey. Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us today.

[34:16] Casey Cott: Thank you for having me, Alan! It's been a pleasure.

[34:44] Alan Seales: And to our listeners, make sure to check out Casey in "Moulin Rouge! The Musical." You won't want to miss it!

[35:12] Casey Cott: Thanks, everyone!

[35:40] Alan Seales: Until next time, keep supporting the arts!