This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Brody Grant: Hi, I'm Brody Grant, and you're listening to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:04] Alan Seales: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to an all-new episode of The Theatre Podcast. As we continue our The Outsiders takeover here on the pod, this episode is with Brody Grant, Ponyboy Curtis himself, who is now experiencing such a whirlwind of emotion in a situation that I could only imagine being in. Well, growing up and feeling like an outsider himself, dealing with his own version of the Socs and the Greasers, he turned to a book his mom gave him because she was obsessed with it. Yeah, you guessed it. It was The Outsiders. So he read through it, identifying with Ponyboy especially and all the other characters in it, as so many other young people do. Combined with finally finding a chosen family in the theatre at his school, he was able to start to feel like he fit in. He just received a Tony nomination for this role, right? In The Outsiders, right? Well, guess what Outsiders-obsessed family member got to wake him up to tell him this phenomenal news? I bet you can guess, but this story is best heard from Brody himself, so let's get right into it. Find me on the socials, share the podcast with a friend, and make sure to check out all the other podcasts in the feed near this one for other content from the show. And now, everyone, please enjoy this episode with Brody Grant. I've got great expectations. Great expectations.

[1:39] Alan Seales: Today's guest is a New York-based multi-hyphenate independent recording artist who has appeared in productions including Parade at the New York City Center and The Outsiders at La Jolla. He just made his Broadway debut in The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis, which has already nabbed him a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. And I asked some of his childhood friends if they thought he'd be a successful Broadway actor, and they said they all had great expectations for Brody Grant. Welcome to the Theatre Podcast.

[2:11] Brody Grant: You better sing, Alan. You better vocalize on this podcast.

[2:16] Alan Seales: That's right.

[2:18] Brody Grant: I like your take on great expectations. It really is powerful stuff.

[2:22] Alan Seales: It's something, and that's the reason why I am on this side of the microphone, and you're on that side actually singing it. So we'll go with that. But where did you actually grow up? Because it says New York-based, but is that like New York proper?

[2:37] Brody Grant: New York-based now, but yeah, I was actually born in Michigan. I lived in Michigan, like very, very, very top of the state. Not quite Canada, but like not far from the Upper Peninsula, kind of like dirt road living, honestly. Like Rapid City is the name of the place I was from, and it's very, I mean, when you read the book, The Outsiders, it's very east side of Tulsa adjacent, you know, it's like that type of thing. You know, around the area is also another place called Kalkaska, which is where I drive into to go to school, and not a lot of arts opportunity there. And so I moved to Georgia actually when I was nine. And that's kind of where I really got into singing and acting and songwriting. That was when I moved to Georgia. So I'm kind of from both of those places. You know, I went to high school in Georgia, so I did a lot of growing up there, but at the same time, you know, have a lot of family in Michigan.

[3:31] Alan Seales: So when you said you moved to Georgia and like got into singing, songwriting and stuff, but were you playing guitar? I mean, what was the impetus for the very beginning to either start singing or start performing or even just pick up a guitar in the first place?

[3:44] Brody Grant: The impetus was actually all thanks to John Williams. I was a really big Star Wars fan. I still like Star Wars a lot. I still love Star Wars and especially love the music in it. And my mom was always the first grade teacher, still is to this day. And we're walking down the hallway one morning, and this is in Michigan, and I'm like singing in a boy soprano, like the main motif from Star Wars. And all of a sudden, this old woman wearing a yellow sweater walks out of her room and it's like, is that you singing? That little boy, is that you singing? And I'm like, I think so. I don't really know if I'm really singing. I'm kind of just like moving away. But like, if you want to call it that for sure. And my mom was like, yes, that's him singing. And her name was Mrs. Dios, the lady that stepped down and asked me, you know, and called me over.

[4:44] Alan Seales: So you mean like you're singing the bum, bum, bum, buh, buh, buh, like that?

[4:51] Brody Grant: Oh, right, right, right, right, right. Full boy soprano. Yeah, she brought me into her music room. She sat me down by the piano. My mom was there. I speak like, you have a really nice voice, and I want you to sing this solo for this Christmas recital. And I was like, for real? Me? She's like, yeah. And she's like, you can use the words, but I really, really want you to sing. I was like, I don't know why, but sure. I was like, okay, yeah, I'll do it, whatever. You know, and it's very interesting because I don't remember actually experiencing nerves when I was that little. I just really didn't know what it was all about. But anyways, I sang a song at this recital. And afterwards, I mean, I must have been five or six. I had people coming up to me, you know, parents of the other kids. And I had men going up and shaking my hand and crying. And that was something that I was not used to. I just like, yeah, it was just was not part of this community. You have to think it's like, I'm telling you, like, they're road living like this, just not the arts is not really something that is like the cool thing. At least it wasn't there. I didn't feel like it then. But like to have that happen, and to have men be openly emotional that way, come up to me and be weeping and say thank you for your performance. And this and that I was just like, you know, it's funny, because now when that happens, I'm very honored, you know, because I mean, someone saw, you know, someone was moved. But back then, I didn't, again, I didn't understand what it was. I was like, under the impression that I hurt their feelings. I'm never gonna sing ever again. Oh, no, I made them cry. Yes. So I, I made a vow. I remember I went to Burger King that night with my family, we all sat down. And I told you I was into Star Wars. I think they got me a gift. I think my grandpa got me a Darth Maul action figure. It was sitting at this Burger King with my family. And I was just like, you know, I know you guys loved it. I'm never doing that again. And they were like, Oh, no, like, the ultimate like buzzkill. They were like, Okay, I Yeah, I, I genuinely thought that I the happy cry. Yeah, it was also like, I think I was really shy and didn't know it. And, you know, so I was a little bit maybe scared of that as well. Um, you know, for a long time, I was, even as a kid, you know, a little bit, didn't know how to live in my own skin. And so, you know, that was kind of one of those moments where, you know, someone comes up to you and says, Good job. And it's like, I was so shy, that I didn't even know how to handle it. So I was like, I'm not gonna let myself be seen in that way. And I moved to Georgia, I think, three, four years after that. You know, it's funny, when you're a kid, it feels like, feels like those nine years were like, was like a whole lifetime. And I feel like, like those years are so long. Anyways, we moved to Georgia. I kind of like I was a depressed kid for a lot of time, because I didn't really have a thing. And it was a bit maybe a bit self imposed, you know, like I said, I was like, I'm not I'm not gonna sing, I'm not gonna sing. But I didn't really enjoy sports. I enjoy Boy Scouts. And I was trying different stuff. And I just, I don't know, I said a lot of trouble had a lot of trouble making friends. I was just that kid with my hood up. And I mean, my even my parents would be like, Brody, like, we'd go to an Applebee's and you know, order a burger or whatever. And it's like, they were just like, when you when you make an order to your server, you know, you need to look at them in the eyes. Wow. And I could not do it. Like, I was definitely I was like, afraid to live, like live. Like, it was so weird. I was a kid that really, really struggled. And so it was really my sister, who could always was always musically inclined, always was a really, really naturally hard worker. Naturally, academically, very savvy. You know, I was just like, she's better at everything. You know, and I still look at my sister this day. I'm like, she's a badass. You know, she's really she's amazing person.

[9:11] Alan Seales: Older sister?

[9:13] Brody Grant: Yeah, older sister, my three years. You know, she kept doing what she loved. She was in the plays, she was doing choir. And eventually we got to a point where my mom was like, Brody, you, you have to find something that you like. I had stopped doing sports. I had stopped doing Boy Scouts. I was just like, don't like it. Don't like it. Don't like it. And my mom was like, you got to do something. You got to do something. So I was like, Okay, I'm gonna try choir. Try that. I was like, it still doesn't take up enough of your extracurricular time. And she's the first grade teacher, you know, so I was coming over. I was walking over from the middle school back to the elementary school and just, you know, she's got to do all her lesson plans and stuff. I'm sitting there, you know, whittling my phones, you know, just doing nothing. She's like, you got to find something. And so she encouraged me to audition for the play, my sixth grade, which was Suitable Junior. Director Evelyn Kumo, my middle school teacher to this day is an amazing woman. And I auditioned and I couldn't admit it to myself. But I was having the time of my life. I mean, I was just like, really enjoying playing pretend and being a monkey. I was a Wickersham brother. What's funny is that God works in mysterious ways. The vision for the Wickersham brothers in that production of Suitable Junior was all the monkeys were, we were all greasers. So I was like this little boy with a mohawk, bunch of gel, and a white t shirt, baggy jeans, black Converse, and this like, leather jacket vest from Party City. I was, you know, I was a greaser. That's how I started, you know, this whole outsiders thing, it's destiny.

[11:05] Alan Seales: So there's like, is there like a cat in a hat secretly hidden on set somewhere?

[11:09] Brody Grant: There, you know, you got to pay.

[11:12] Alan Seales: Even when we were in La Jolla during the out of town, there was a room, a rehearsal room labeled Suits. And I was like, this man is following me, following me everywhere I go.

[11:21] Brody Grant: Wow. Wow.

[11:22] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[11:23] Brody Grant: Okay, so five or six years old, in your Burger King, you know, everyone who's there is like, you're a star, you're a star. And you're like, nope, sorry, I'm out. And then you walk away from this, move to Georgia. Yeah, not being able to even look at your server in the eye that, okay, very introspective, very just having a hard time. And then you become a monkey, and your life has changed from there. And when did you realize, and I mean, joking aside, like being a monkey, just pretending you weren't yourself for a little bit? Is that kind of what popped you out of whatever funk you were in? Or, like, was it the next thing that happened after that? Because, you know, you find a chosen family. And we're going to get to the literal and the metaphorical family that the Outsiders cast has built together, because all of you are just so incredible, and seem like such good humans. But when you were doing Seussical, Seussical Junior, right? So was it the family? Was it the performing? Like, do you remember about this time? Like what kind of flipped the switch?

[12:27] Brody Grant: I remember two things. One, knowing that I had my people, even though I was weird, and I had trouble making eye contact with people. And I had, I was very nervous and shy and very insecure. Finally, I had my people. And all of them, and to know all of them felt like how I felt. We were all Outsiders in our own right. But then you take, it was a group of Outsiders, and we're no longer, you know, so scared. So there's that, you know, which is, I mean, a theme that follows me throughout my life. Really, I love the arts because of the people, you know, and getting to do it with them, you know, and create something, collaborate. There's that. There's also like, and I've always thought this way, playing a character, playing a role, doesn't matter what it is. I mean, it could be Ponyboy Curtis, it could be Frank Junior in Catch Me If You Can at my high school. It could be, it could be, I don't know, understudying Pepper in Mamma Mia. Like, it could be, or Sky. I always learn something from the character that I play. I always become best friends with whoever that is. And I'm like, okay. And I learned that that's all inside of me. So playing this Wickersham brother, I think, I think I was number three. I don't know. But like, I learned that I can have fun. And that part of me was maybe a little bit adult for some reason. I guess when I moved, I was, you know, it made me sad. But yeah, I mean, just that simple thing of like, yeah, I just had the time of my life. Even thinking back now. I mean, we were just doing it on the elementary school stage. We didn't have a stage at our middle school. But I was just like, wow, this is so fun. And I'm having so much fun. And I'm outputting a lot of energy. It was a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful experience. I wouldn't change it for the world. I say it's misfits. It's, I mean, outsiders, misfits, it's all in their synonyms. And I've always said that acting, acting, performing, it's always your chosen family. And it's a merry band of misfits. And where you don't fit anywhere else, everyone fits together. And you're exactly right. Been there too. And ironically, maybe, well, maybe on ironically, I don't know. When I was around nine, nine and a half, I can't actually remember how old I was exactly. But I did a major move to from Florida to North Carolina. And yeah, it was a my dad changed jobs. And I blamed him for this incredible unhappiness. I was, I was just I was miserable. And literally for four months, I pretended he didn't exist. That's how I internalized it. I blamed him for everything, everything. And that was, I was moving North Carolina where I was the weird one, because I didn't have an accent. Right. So it's like, everyone's like, Hi, y'all. How you how you doing? You're the new kid. And I'm like, Hi, yes, my name is Alan. They're like, Whoa, you talk funny, because they don't hear that in real life. Yeah. And then finally, it was for my mom. My mom broke down and was like, you got to talk to your dad. This is driving us crazy. And I was like, Oh, dude, I realized I was like, fine, fine, fine, fine. And I never made the connection until just now, telling this story that I started chorus at the same time. Shit, man. Crazy.

[16:02] Brody Grant: Wow.

[16:02] Alan Seales: Yeah, singing, the singing and the dancing. And then from there, I was like, well, if I can sing like this, maybe I can sing like that. And then I can act. And then it was just kind of the snowball thing. And then you find your friends, you find your friends in a way that I got. Oh, dude, dude, I'm so glad you told that story. Because like reliving it.

[16:29] Brody Grant: Yeah, it's a little epiphany in my own life. That's funny. That's funny.

[16:33] Alan Seales: Yeah, the arts can really save people's lives. Like truly. I mean, and The Outsiders is a great example of that. I mean, at the end when he is like, so moved, it's like, what else is there to do except do what is inside of him instinctually, which is write it down.

[16:51] Brody Grant: Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple people. I mean, this is I've done 350 something episodes now on this podcast over almost six years. Thanks. Five and a half, six years. And there have been a handful of people who have said performing literally saved their life.

[17:09] Alan Seales: Time for a quick commercial break. Hang on a second.

[17:12] Alan Seales: Welcome back to the episode. So The Outsiders, bringing it full circle, I guess. So you became a greaser as a monkey. You're a greaser monkey, which is so cool. But yeah, were you did you read the subject material to get to read the book at all when you were actually in middle school or high school?

[17:30] Brody Grant: Yes. It might have been in the advanced curriculum in seventh grade, which I was not a part of. So I didn't I didn't read it in middle school. I did read it in high school. My mom, this book, this movie specifically was her everything. I mean, she had Rob Lowe and Tommy Howell and Matt Dillon and everybody in that cast up on her locker. Wow. And so she's been a fan of The Outsiders for a long time. I told Susie Hinton, the author of the novel, I was like I was like, yo, my mom was convinced that she was going to marry Tommy Howell. It's so funny. It was beautiful. She gave me the book when I was 14. I was a freshman in high school and I was still kind of. I mean, if I'm being honest, like the person that I think I'm supposed to be, I'm still growing into, you know, I mean, as we probably all are. But like, you know, freshman year of high school, I was still kind of afraid, you know, I was still afraid to put myself out there, even though I knew I had, you know, when I went to theater, when I went to choir, it was I was as fast, you know what I mean? I was I could be myself. I was just like going crazy. Otherwise, I was pretty frozen. I was pretty scared, pretty paralyzed by football team or Rednecks or the preps or whatever. I had my own version of the socials. You know what I mean?

[19:05] Alan Seales: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you know, the preppy kids was that that was really kind of the coined term. We call them the country club kids, the country club kids. Yeah, honestly. Yeah, that works. But yeah, I was pretty frozen and pretty it felt pretty sad in those types of scenarios. But yeah, so it was one day after school, freshman year, sitting down on the floor of my science building, and I crack open this book that my mom gave me, patterned, born, annotated with my mom's handwriting. And I was like, wow, the way that this character speaks is really, really, really real, is really like suffering, no fools being very honest. And I like that. I liked that a lot. It just felt so real to me. You know how Ponyboy knew, you know, this is all self imposed, you know, this kind of separation that's going on. And I was feeling that a lot. And to hear that in his voice, I was like, dang, it's real. I just I really understood him. And I understood the brothers, too. I was just like, so moved. But that memory has stuck in my mind for a long time. When I first heard about the Outsiders musical, it was 2019, actually. Yeah. And I auditioned for a role that is in the book, no longer in the musical, and didn't get far at all. But when I got that audition, I was like, wait a second, well, let me look at this. And I went looking at the Outsiders again. And that memory from my high school just reappeared in my brain. I was like, oh my gosh, I could see 14 year old me reading that book. It's just crazy because you never know why those small types of moments stay with you until suddenly you're doing a podcast with Alan in the dressing room for the Outsiders. You never know. Life is crazy. You said you heard about in 2019 is, oh, right, didn't Sky... I remember talking to you at the press junket, and I think you were friends with Sky Lakota-Lynch, and Sky had auditioned and then had told you you needed to audition, too. Is that the story? Is that how you got connected to it?

[21:23] Brody Grant: No, it was like that first audition came around, which Sky was involved with in that one, in that production, which was before Don and Tamor came on board. I auditioned for that, didn't get far. They were set to do a production at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and it didn't end up happening because of the pandemic. So I, in my head, was like, dang, if the Outsiders comes back around, I really believe in that. I really, really want to be a part of that. I really want to. I mean, I had heard some of the demos, some of the music. I was like, this is really excellent, you know, because truth be told, I was kind of starting, my interests were starting to become more about acting and singing and songwriting as separate. You know, I was really getting into cinema and films and also songwriting and doing just records, just cutting records. But the Outsiders still piqued my interest. You know, at the same time, I was listening to Frank Ocean and the Lumineers and Daniel Caesar. I was like, oh, but that Great Expectations song was really sick.

[22:36] Alan Seales: This was from Jamestown Revival, their demos?

[22:39] Brody Grant: Yeah, it was like, in the audition, you could like, they had like, plunk tracks.

[22:44] Alan Seales: Oh, cool.

[22:45] Brody Grant: You know, and you could just kind of, you know, super bare bones, but you can still tell when a song is a great song.

[22:50] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[22:52] Brody Grant: Wow, it's so interesting to reflect on all this. But anyways, didn't go far. But I was like, OK, if it comes back around, if it comes back around, I really want to be a part of it. Finally, it comes back around. And I'm at a point where I'm like, I'm not into it anymore. I'm really just ready to focus on music solely. In some ways, I'm grateful because that meant I went to that audition kind of being a little bit, not careless, but free. Just like, you know what, this is all, this is me. It's all I got. And I walked in there. It's a dance call. And it's like, I'm a little boy amongst an army of Trojan warriors. Like, there's no way I'm getting this. I'm looking at all the other people here that were asked to come dance. There's no way. There's just no way. Sure enough, I get that callback. And I was like, OK, great. And I was actually called back for Soda Pop.

[23:45] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[23:46] Brody Grant: For a different role. And I went and did that. Again, I knew I was like, OK, I look like a little boy compared to a lot of people. But I did that audition and it went really, really well. And I specifically remember working with Tanya Taymor, the director, and just being like, wow, what an amazing artist and what a collaborative room. Like Adam Rapp, this amazing, amazing book writer, playwriter, Justin Levine, who worked on Moulin Rouge!, which was such an impactful movie to me. Jamestown Revival, this sick indie folk band that reminds me a lot of the music that I would listen to in Georgia, you know, that a lot of my friends would listen to. I was like, I mean, this is just amazing. What an honor to be here. And I kind of walked away. I went and I was staying with a friend in Hell's Kitchen at the time. I walked over to their apartment. I go up there like, how did it go? I was like, honestly, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to get it. But hopefully I think I'll probably work with some of that creative team one day. Because I really, really felt like I clicked with all of them. But I don't think I'm going to get this. Week goes by, get a call. You got it. I was like, for real? Like, yeah. I got Sodapop? Yes. Nowhere. Just crazy. I called my mom. She freaked because, you know, the outsider is just so special to her. And then we did like a six week workshop. I played Sodapop. It was really, really fun. And then I got I literally have a contract somewhere in my phone that says for La Jolla Playhouse, you know, for me to play Sodapop, et cetera, et cetera. So, OK, let's go. But then Donia texted me. She's like, hey, yo, I need to talk to you. They're auditioning for they're looking for Pony Boys at the time. She has me up like, hey, can you meet for coffee? I'm like, yeah, for sure. We go to Greg's on around 34th, which is a very, very special Greg's coffee shop to me. I've had a lot of amazing memories in that coffee shop. I go there, I say, oh, hey, it's nice to see you. And then she's like, so Pony Boy. Yeah. What about him? She's like, I really want you to audition for real. It's like, yes, because I know that when you first auditioned, you were interested in auditioning for Pony Boy as well as Sodapop. Yes. And in the Zoom audition, I told them I was like, yeah, I'd really like to work on the Pony Boy stuff. I knew that Great Expectations song. And I was like, that thing is is a beautiful piece. That's like to be or not to be set to Frank Ocean and Lumineers combined. I want to do that. We worked on it, got Sodapop. But now it came around and she was like, I watched that Zoom audition and I want you to come in for final callbacks for this. And this is where Sky comes in. This is where I text Sky, I'm like, bro, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right. You are literally the Johnny Cade. I need your help. Can we please work on these scenes, these sides? He's like, absolutely. So came to my apartment in Harlem at the time and he worked on it with me. We just kind of just hung out, talked about it and the rest is history. You know, here we are.

[27:01] Alan Seales: He was already cast as Johnny Cade.

[27:03] Brody Grant: Oh yeah, he was. He was Johnny Cade even in that production that was going to go to the Goodman.

[27:08] Alan Seales: Right.

[27:09] Brody Grant: He was.

[27:09] Alan Seales: Right, right. Yeah, he was in it. Yeah, like nine years ago. You know something. I remember him that. I remember him saying that now.

[27:16] Brody Grant: He's been a part of it for six years, which is really impressive.

[27:19] Alan Seales: Yeah, that's insane. Well, OK, so here you are one Tony nomination later after not thinking you were going to get the role that you didn't even that you actually got casted and then didn't get because you now are a pony boy. So.

[27:35] Brody Grant: Right.

[27:36] Alan Seales: Where were you? Where were you when you found out you got nominated the other day?

[27:40] Brody Grant: I was in my bed. I was kind of this has been a dream to be a part of this community and to be a part of the Tonys is a dream. I remember when I watched the first time I ever watched the Tonys all the way through, it was the Hamilton year. And I was just so inspired. And I was just like, I want to be part of that. Cynthia Erivo saying, I'm here. I was like, that is everything to me. I knew how important it was to me. And so I was trying to just take it real easy and have a lot of grace for myself. I knew that the Tony Awards were going to air their nominations at like 9 a.m. So like, OK, I want to schedule my therapy for 10 a.m. Because I really want to and I stand by this, whether it was we were part of it, I was a part of it or not, need to be able to handle that and be grounded and really be able to reflect on everything. And so I had my alarm set for 945. I'm like, I'm not going to I'm not going to watch the stream. I'm just going to focus on therapy. And if something good happens, I'll find out. I wake up at eight fifty from a FaceTime call from my mom, which was a real surprise to me because I was like, wait a second. Wait a second. They're airing these later. What could she possibly be calling me about? But I pick up the phone and there she is with her platoon of first grade teachers. And she's obviously going through something. I'm like, hey, mom, mom, what's good? She's like, Brody, Brody, did you watch the. And I was like, no way. I was like, no, I didn't. They said, don't they air at nine? She's like, yeah, but they already announced. She said, you got nominated for a Tony. And I was like, oh my God. She starts freaking out. All her friends around her are like screaming and crying. And it was beautiful, man. I mean, it was there's I wouldn't have had it any other way. The fact that she was able to tell me what people don't see is the almost, you know, they don't see the close calls. They don't see the times where you don't hit the mark. What people are able to see on social media, whether it's good or bad, it's always taken out of context. It's always singled out. Right. But my mom has seen me through everything. I mean, through the times where I was really excited. She's seen me in times where I was going through serious suicidal ideation. She's seen me through it all for her to be able to tell me that the wildest dream, the wildest dream came true. I will I would not trade that for the world. I mean, that was like it was a beautiful moment. So I will never, ever, ever, ever forget that. That's for sure. I'm sorry to get like real real quick. But I mean, it's it's true. You know, this it's been a journey and it continues to be a journey. Giving to this this character, Ponyboy and the show and, you know, working with the cast, it continues to be an ever evolving thing. Yeah. You know, it's a living, breathing organism.

[31:01] Alan Seales: So, yeah, that was the moment I was asleep. My mom woke me up.

[31:07] Brody Grant: Oh, that's beautiful.

[31:08] Alan Seales: It was it was truly amazing, man. It was wow. Wow.

[31:13] Alan Seales: Well, much, much deserved, much deserved. I turned to the person I was I went to go see the show with immediately when it was over. And I was like, that's that's going to get nominated. That performance right there is not is a nominee, a nomination performance right there. So I called it. I believe in it. I believe in you. You deserve it. Every bit of it. It's amazing.

[31:35] Brody Grant: Thank you, man. I really appreciate that. I really appreciate that because belief I is everything like for someone to believe in you. It's everything. So thank you for that.

[31:45] Alan Seales: Of course. Time for a quick commercial break. Hang on a second.

[31:49] Alan Seales: Welcome back to the episode, the whole cast. And this is this leads me to what I talked about at the very beginning was that the chosen family, the the actual the real love and the friendship that all of you guys have, the cast, all of you have for each other now. You know, I talked with with Dania Taymor. She was the the couple episodes ago now. And yeah, yeah, yeah. And she was telling me about the the rehearsal process, which I didn't know about until she brought it up. Is it like every or actually Emma Pittman? I talked to her. She said that during the audition, Donnie would sit down and just like before you did any scene work or anything, you just talk. You get to know you just like kind of lower the inhibition a little bit. But then for everybody, once you got cast an hour, every every rehearsal, you would come in, you would check in, you would be, you know, say you didn't have to tell each other what was going on. You just you were just like you understand that everyone's got a past, everyone's got issues or happiness or whatever outside of the rehearsal room. And you're all checking in and you're feeling each other's energy and literally like you want a hug? No, that's cool. You want a massage? Cool. No. All right. And like the way that she was describing this process was just normalizing the ability to talk about how you feel. And then I think normalizing the ability to bring to the surface what society on an everyday basis has conditioned us to try to hide.

[33:12] Brody Grant: Mm hmm. Oh yeah, it's true. I mean, it's. Yeah, I was on the subway the other day and I was just looking around and I was like, isn't it crazy? Like, we're all just trying to hide the fact that we're all going through something.

[33:32] Alan Seales: Everything. Yes. Like all of us reading a book, looking at our phone. I was thinking, I'm like, what was the subway like in like nineteen ninety three? You don't have like cell phones like that yet. Like, I want to know what that was like. Was the subway a social experience? I want to know. I mean, yes, it's a beautiful thing. What Daniel created, the mirroring exercises that we would do. Yeah. The warm ups, sometimes physical warm ups with the Coopermans, with Telly Owens Krieger, who is the associate choreographer and also is in the show as a and Donya's warm ups to a really organic way of making something. It's so easy in theater for it to get competitive and to get for people to get me. You know, I've experienced that. I mean, not just like in life, you know what I mean? In life generally, it's just easy for that to happen. Comparison, competitiveness, yada yada. When you start the day with that type of like just checking in with someone, simply looking in someone's eyes, which is crazily such a rarity.

[34:45] Brody Grant: Yeah. Nothing like it. I really, really respect Tanya for for creating a process that allows us to do that because she understands that the outside is just a heavy piece. You know, there's a lot going on there. There's moments of levity. You know, there's laughs for sure. I feel that. But they're needed because these people are going through something. A year before the play has even begun, when he was at 13, lost his parents. Yeah. Like it's crazy. So, yeah, she she's amazing because she really respects everyone. I mean, in all creative categories. But like, she really understands that the actors, you know, I'm not saying any of us are method. It's not it. But like we are thinking about how we relate to these characters day in day out. I think she probably consciously in her own mind, but created this unconscious way for all of you who need to be bonded beyond words to actually be bonded in real life. Because that's what I was telling her was, was that when I was watching the scene, part of why I walked away from the show from the outsider saying, you know, all these performances, Tony nominated performances. Yes, yes, yes. But the show itself is is at a level integrated the dance with the set with the lights with the book with the performances are all integrated at a level that I haven't seen in a very long time. Because and it goes again to the the way that the creative team was encouraged to to think outside their lanes to everyone to work together and and the cast to check in and create these bonds and to look each other in the eye and to feel each other on a way on an unconscious way within our brains, that I think a lot of people don't get unless you are literal family, because that's what I was saying. You don't have the ability to go, like, to say what you really mean, and then get forgiven. And then like, the next five minutes, you're playing video games again, or whatever the case is, right? Like, the fact that you can't leave family, for the most part, you know, they say you don't have to like your family, but you love your family. And it's, I think it's kind of this way with, with all of the guys on stage, especially like the the greasers, all of you and the three brothers. I mean, you guys are all like, you all appear so close. And God, just Brent Comer, the way he literally takes care of you guys on stage. It is. It is beautiful. And it's touching. And I can tell that he cares about you guys in real life. You know, like all of you. I mean, talk on that a little bit. You guys just seem like you're great. You are just such a great team and great friends.

[37:34] Brody Grant: Man, it's, it's a beautiful thing. I can tell you, it's, it's really like a God thing, a fate thing, a universe thing, the fact that Brent is playing Daryl. When we were in La Jolla, I was going through some stuff with my family. And as everyone does with their family, you know, you have your good days, your bad days. But I was going through a hard time. And Brent was actually not playing Daryl at the time, but he was playing Paul. He was the one that I kind of confided in and talked to about that kind of stuff, because he really understood. He had a similar background and upbringing. And he was just like, artist, artist, person to person. He was just kind of there, really understood and was very reassuring and was, like what you said, caring. That pretty much sums it all up. I mean, he became Daryl. And I'm like, yeah, he needed to be Daryl. And he doesn't just know me as Ponyboy. He knows me. Same with Sky. I mean, I remember when we were doing a six-week workshop, when I was playing Soda Pop, I was kind of, I was brand new. I really, everyone else in that version, you know, had been in Hamilton and had been in this and that, et cetera, et cetera. And they were amazing. And I was kind of like the kid that was like, what's going on? You know, I was completely, completely newbie. Sky was the first person I talked to about that feeling. I was like, man, I just, I barely feel like I belong. I can't remember exactly what I said, but I was like really struggling. And Sky was there for me. I remember that train ride home very specific, very, very well. We're not afraid to laugh, not afraid to cry with each other. I think that is a gift. Donnie also does a really amazing exercise that she's implemented into our everyday, like our fight call. After a certain amount of routines that we get through, we'll all circle up and we share some thoughts. And then we do like a, you know, just a kind of powwow, choose a word, three, two, one, whatever word you think. And we get to like actually see each other before we start. It doesn't feel like a job. You know, it feels like we're living all together, physically, literally leaning on each other, you know, and just like breathing together, breathing out. It's beautiful. It just keeps us grounded in the feeling of like, we're, we're not just coming here every day to kind of be robots. You know, we're really allowed to be ourselves.

[40:07] Alan Seales: Well, it shows, it shows man. Yeah. You guys all have such a camaraderie of a brotherhood that is, is amazing. And I can, I felt it. I felt it watching you from, from where I was sitting. It was great. I love it so much. I mean, it reminds me of in high school. I mean, if I kind of had a similar thing, a lot of people in their high schools, they don't have a lot of boys do plays, but not my high school for some reason. And we were like the redneck high school amongst our high schools. Like that was like our, what we were dubbed, but like I wasn't and all the guys that joined the theater, they were like all from different walks, like lacrosse and this and that. And I had a group of those guys. We had a bunch of guys in our group and it was a very similar thing. I leaned on them. They leaned on me. We were there. And so to be able to kind of have like a, this is like a reincarnated version of that. It's so beautiful, man. It's like, it's, it's a gift. I love it. I love it. Well, I know we should wrap soon as you can rest your voice for your show tonight. And if you, if you want to indulge me a little bit I have a little game called plot in 60 seconds and you give me a number one through 13, it'll correspond to a show. And you have to give me that plot in 60 seconds. Okay. What if I don't know? Then we, if we get, we'll do another one that you know, if you don't know it, but I bet you'll know these, these are all pretty common.

[41:42] Brody Grant: Okay. If I don't, if I don't know, do I just like make it up?

[41:48] Alan Seales: Yeah, you can totally, you can totally make it up.

[41:42] Brody Grant: All right. So give me a number one through 13.

[41:53] Brody Grant: 11.

[41:54] Alan Seales: Okay. The wizard of Oz. Go. 60 seconds remaining.

[42:00] Brody Grant: Oh my gosh. Uh, 60 seconds. Yes. Great. Uh, a girl, uh, from Kansas, she was like, oh man, I wonder what it's like in a different place other than this. And then suddenly a tornado hits and then she's suddenly transported to a place that she's never been. She lands on top of her house, lands on top of a witch. She's like, what the heck? And everyone's cheering. She's like, what the heck? And then another witch who is like kind of Christian channel with adjacent comes over to her and is like, Hey, you need to go see a wizard so you can get home. She's like, got it. She walks down this yellow sidewalk and she meets three guys. One made a metal, one made a straw one. That's a literal line. And then they're all like, Hey, um, do you want to be friends? And she's like, yeah. And then they all keep going. She's got a dog, by the way. Um, and then, and then, and then there's this other 15 seconds and she's like, I'm defying gravity. And then they, and then they go to the wizard and then he's like, um, this was all a ruse. I'm not actually a wizard, but then she gets home somehow by clicking her heels.

[43:04] Alan Seales: I like it. I like it. I would go see that show.

[43:22] Brody Grant: That was awesome.

[43:29] Alan Seales: That was amazing.

[43:32] Alan Seales: All right. Then the three standard closing questions to wrap up every episode now, just very succinctly and quickly. What motivates you?

[43:38] Brody Grant: What motivates me? Wow. Um, I mean, love, love of the art, love of the people that I make it with.

[43:48] Alan Seales: Love it. Okay. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now, starting out down a similar path?

[43:52] Brody Grant: Oh, um, just simply keep going. And no matter if you're where you want to be right now or later, know that, um, you know, if you continue to water the seed of the garden that you're in, you're going to end up with a forest and it's going to be beautiful, but you have to look at where you're at, know where you're at and give everything you got to where you're at.

[44:14] Alan Seales: All right. Last question. This is the hardest one. If you can only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you see?

[44:28] Brody Grant: You know, I'm, I'm, I'm gonna say, because I haven't seen it yet. The outsiders.

[44:35] Alan Seales: Yes, yes, yes, yes. All right. Where are you on social media? Do you play that game? Where can we follow you?

[44:41] Brody Grant: Uh, yeah, just, I mean, I just use Instagram at Brody underscore Grant. Um, I used to, I used to talk as well. I haven't, I don't really use it that much, but I have some, some oldies, some goodies on there, but yeah, I'm going to release some music at some point. Plan is for the album, you know, after all this, all this crazy stuff is done, you know, this beautiful season is done, you know, that's the plan. So, um, should be able to find it there.

[45:06] Alan Seales: All right. I can't wait. All right. Um, I'm on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, find me there. Leave a rating and review where you are listening. Tell people about the podcast. Tell them you just listened to Brody Grant cause damn, this dude's awesome. And Brody, thank you. Most of all, you have brought the convo and the love to this episode. I've really enjoyed it. Thank you.

[45:27] Brody Grant: Thank you, dude. I don't, that was really, really amazing.