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[0:00] Ethan Slater: Hi, I'm Ethan Slater, and welcome to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:11] Alan Seales: Hey, everyone. Happy 2025. Happy New Year. I hope everything was safe and warm wherever you were when the ball dropped. This is The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and this is an all-new episode with Ethan Slater, who we originally had back on the podcast in episode 142 quite some time ago. But since he is back in the Wicked movies, which just dropped part one, of course, we had to have him back to dive into all things Wicked and what he's been doing since we last spoke. And this time we dive into the Wicked movie, his experience on set. We also get into some fascinating twists, such as having a day's notice to get from the east coast to LA to secure his spot in the movies.

He talks about advocating for himself in auditions, redefining characters on stage and screen, which he's now done several times with his revival of Spamalot and Assassins and, of course, now Wicked. This conversation dives into what it means to step into these iconic roles, the balance of luck and preparation in showbiz, and the deeply personal process of storytelling. As a writer, storytelling means a lot to him. So trust me, Ethan's candid reflections and passion for his craft will leave you inspired, and we might even learn a thing or two about what it was like filming the Wicked movies and bringing these iconic stage characters to life for the big screen. Don't forget to follow me on social media. Check out Patreon for the video version of this episode. And now, everyone, please enjoy this episode with Ethan Slater.

[1:40] Alan Seales: Today's guest is a special one for me, a returning guest of the podcast who we originally heard back in episode 142. His career has since skyrocketed with additional stage work that includes the recent 2324 revival of Spamalot and TV work that includes Lost on a Mountain in Maine, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and, of course, playing the complicated and forlorn character of Boq in Wicked the Musical part one and two. Part one just dropped November 24, a few months ago, and part two is scheduled for 2025. Hopefully that does not change because it cannot come soon enough. Ethan Slater, welcome back to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:17] Ethan Slater: I'm going to be honest. I think you should keep Ethan Slater. That's kind of cool. Ethan Slater.

[2:21] Alan Seales: Ethan Slater.

[2:24] Ethan Slater: Evie Slates.

[2:25] Alan Seales: I love it. Hey, thanks for having me back.

[2:28] Ethan Slater: Yeah, man. It's so good to see you again. I enjoyed... I was listening back to our previous interview and it was a lot of SpongeBob talk and things about... We had just come out of the pandemic and stuff was starting to pick back up again. So I kind of want to dive back in. We're going to skip over the origin story. So listener, if you want to listen to that, go back to 142. But picking up from the pandemic, I guess, Spamalot, was that in the making before the pandemic or did that kind of come around afterwards?

[2:55] Ethan Slater: No, that came around afterwards. That was a nice sort of life raft that came in right when we found out that there was going to be an actor strike. We were in the middle of filming Wicked and maybe a couple of weeks before the strike, I got a phone call saying, hey, would you be into doing Spamalot on Broadway? Which is, whether or not there was a strike, I would have been excited about that. I love Monty Python, love Spamalot, just the coolest thing ever. So it came at a really great time, but it also was sort of a last minute thing for me. They had done it at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Rob McClure, who is unmatched in talent, he was going out in Doubtfire. So they needed somebody to replace Rob McClure for the Broadway run.

So I was very lucky and grateful. He's a really great guy. But yeah. No, actually, during the pandemic, the thing that was sort of like brewing that ended up coming out of it was Assassins, which I feel like I started just a couple of months after we spoke.

[3:56] Alan Seales: Right.

[3:57] Ethan Slater: Yeah. Which was another, like, we started rehearsals the last day of February in 2020. We were two weeks in and they were like, hey, so we're just going to take Saturday off. We'll be back on Monday. One, just a slightly longer weekend. It's going to be fine. On Sunday, they said, we're going to take Monday off. It's going to be fine. We'll be back on Tuesday. And then we came back a year and change later.

[4:21] Alan Seales: I yeah, I remember I remember where I was when I got the news that Moulin Rouge had canceled a performance. And I was like, oh, this is not good, because if Moulin Rouge does and then, you know, we famously blame that cast for bringing COVID into the Broadway space. It's all their fault. Right, right, right. From their opening night. But no. Yeah, you've worked on it. You've done Assassins and Spamalot. I guess going back to Spamalot for a second, like working coming into Rob McClure's this role that Rob McClure had developed out of town. It's a revival, but you're filling. So you're filling shoes originally from the revival. You're filling. I keep saying I keep thinking in my mind squeaky shoes because of SpongeBob.

Yeah, but not squeaky shoes. So you're filling the shoes. You're coming to this role. And with this cast like Leslie Kritzer and James Earl Iglehart and just these comic legends that you're sharing the stage with now, like what was it like for you to kind of come in and put your own spin on all of that?

[5:18] Ethan Slater: It's a really lucky thing to share the stage with, you know, consummate professionals and just like the best comedians and clowns, you know, that are working on Broadway, because you feel really safe to mess around and just like sort of maybe fail a little bit, you know, because if you fail, somebody else is going to pick it up. If you drop the baton, you know, Chris Fitzgerald is there to pick it up. Chris is one of the funniest people I've ever seen on stage. He's incredible. And he was, you know, the first Boq on Broadway. He was the original Boq on Broadway. So I like, you know, I feel like he's somebody I have always looked up to. And so many of those people are people that I've always looked up to and I've always admired from afar.

So to be able to admire them from close up and to like, you know, make them laugh and have them make me laugh in the rehearsal room, it's like, you know, you do what you love. You'll never work a day in your life. Right. What was your favorite part? Because that track covers different characters within the show. Did you have a favorite that you kind of got to dive into and just like dive into the truly absurd?

[6:14] Ethan Slater: I mean, honestly, you know, Not Dead Fred is the best because also it's like right out of the gate. Like I do the historian, there's like a little scene and then I get dragged on in a totally different look. And I'm just kind of being a I flop around the stage. I do pratfalls and I get to like tumble and be dumb and silly. And I think that that was a really fun one right out of the gate. And also, you know, it's like a good way to kick off the show. Once you like get through that number, you're like, all right, well, it's pretty easy from here. Downhill, I guess. Yeah. The hardest one comes straight out. I mean, because you were kind of all over the place in Not Dead Fred.

[6:52] Ethan Slater: Yeah, it's nuts. It's like jumping. It's a great little workout.

[6:56] Alan Seales: Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. You mentioned that. So you're doing Spamalot during the TV film Writer's Strike. And I remember, gosh, I mean, when it was announced that there was a Wicked movie coming, everyone, the Internet exploded, the Internet broke and then everything got shut down for various reasons in the Writer's Strike. And the Internet broke again because like what are we going to do? So I guess back up, we'll get to the Writer's Strike portion, but let's back up. Tell me the timing of all of this, because in like SpongeBob closed with 2017.

[7:33] Ethan Slater: Right. Twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, twenty eighteen. And then like you were working on Assassins. You're also last time we spoke, you were also writing some things of your own. And then the pandemic hit and then the Writer's Strike. And so given the timing of what's been happening at this point. Oh, wow. I mean, a lot's happened since sort of twenty eighteen when SpongeBob closed. We actually ended up coming back about a year later to film SpongeBob. So we got to revisit those characters like a little mini revival stage, the whole show and film it, which is really cool. But I started doing production, right? Yeah. For Nickelodeon. It's on Paramount Plus now for the little plug if you want to watch it.

There you go. But yeah, no, it's like it's been, you know, an actor's career is really funny, right? Like you jump around, do little things you do like two days on a TV show here. You get to work on like a really fun indie film over here and there and sort of make things work. And then getting to do Assassins was like it was a really exciting thing for me in twenty twenty. It was right after we finished filming SpongeBob. It came out Christmas of twenty nineteen around there, I think. And then, you know, twenty twenty was right around the corner. And I had this great experience auditioning for John Doyle for that, actually, because I had a really good friend of mine reached out and was like, hey, you've probably, you know, read for this role or, you know, been in conversations about this role.

It seems perfect for you. And I was like, I actually didn't know that Assassins was happening yet. I'm not in the conversation at all. So I called my agent and I was like, hey, Danielle, do you mind just like reaching out, seeing what's up? I had never done that before, really. I had never like proactively reached out. But I love Sondheim and I love Assassins and I play guitar and I write music. And I'd always wanted to like sort of do a John Doyle production. John Doyle, who directed it. So she reaches out and they were willing to see me for the balladeer, but not for Lee Harvey Oswald. They were going to split up the roles. And I remember being like, hey, I really think I really think I can do this.

And John, no knock on John at all. He was he's wonderful and he's the most open, open, creative, collaborative director. But his response or at least the way it got filtered to me was, you know, he kind of see like he sees that you could be the bright eyed balladeer, but you're like kind of SpongeBob, you know, like you're like the that doesn't seem quite right for Lee Harvey Oswald. And I was like, please, like, let me come in and read for it. I think I could really do it. And they were like, read for the balladeer. So, OK, great. So I came and I learned all the music on the guitar. I played it, whatever. We talked. John and I talked for 20 minutes. This is like a thing that he's known for doing is you don't really audition that much.

You just kind of talk. And then as I walk out of the room, he says, like, hey, can you come back in in a couple of days and we'll do the other role, too. So I came back in a couple of days later. I read Lee Harvey Oswald. We talk a little bit more and then I'm on the subway ride back home and I get the call that that it worked and he's down for me to play both roles.

[10:39] Alan Seales: Oh, that's so cool. It's like a really amazing moment of me being like, I mean, I don't know, it's hard sometimes when you're an actor and you're waiting for someone to give you a job to feel like you can advocate for yourself in that way. And, you know, obviously I had done SpongeBob, so I had some like laurels to rest on, I guess, or whatever. And I mean, you know, I was like, I can do I can do this sort of other thing. Like, actually, SpongeBob was, to me, the anomalous role. I was I was surprised to be playing SpongeBob. I can do the Lee Harvey Oswald thing. I really would love the chance to. Anyway, so that's just me, like patting my own back a little bit, which is just like it felt really good to be able to like advocate for myself and say, like, hey, I can do multiple things.

You know, actors sometimes quickly get pigeonholed into what they can or can't do, but they spend you spend your entire life training to be able to do anything. And then suddenly they tell you, hey, you're really good at this one thing. And you can follow that because you can make a career doing that. But like, it's nice to be able to advocate and say, hey, I can do this other thing.

[11:40] Alan Seales: Welcome back to The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and today we have a returning guest, Ethan Slater. Ethan, it's great to have you back!

[12:10] Ethan Slater: Thanks for having me, Alan! It's so nice to be here again.

[12:40] Alan Seales: Last time we spoke, you were just stepping into the role of SpongeBob in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. Since then, you've had quite the journey. Can you share a bit about what you've been up to?

[13:10] Ethan Slater: Absolutely! It's been a whirlwind, to say the least. After SpongeBob, I got to dive into the Spamalot revival, which was such a fun experience. And now, I'm really excited about the Wicked films, where I play Boq. It's been incredible to step into these beloved roles and bring my own perspective to them.

[13:40] Alan Seales: That's amazing! What has the transition been like for you, moving from stage to film, especially with such iconic material?

[14:10] Ethan Slater: It's definitely a different process. On stage, you have that immediate connection with the audience, which is thrilling. But with film, there's a different kind of intimacy. You get to explore the character in a more nuanced way, and I love that challenge.

[14:40] Alan Seales: Speaking of challenges, what has been the most surprising aspect of working on the Wicked films?

[15:10] Ethan Slater: I think the scale of it all is what surprised me the most. The sets, the costumes, the choreography—everything is just so grand. But at the same time, it’s about the storytelling. I’ve really focused on making Boq my own while staying true to the essence of the character.

[15:40] Alan Seales: That's a great approach. Can you tell us about your preparation process for taking on such an iconic role?

[16:10] Ethan Slater: Sure! I always start with the script and really dive into the character's backstory. I think about their motivations and how they fit into the larger story. Then, I work on the music and choreography, making sure I understand how it all flows together. It’s a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding.

[16:40] Alan Seales: It sounds like a thorough process. Have you had any memorable moments while filming Wicked that stand out to you?

[17:10] Ethan Slater: Oh, definitely! There was a scene that ended up getting cut, but it was really heartfelt. It was a moment between Boq and another character that added depth to his journey. I was sad to see it go, but it was a great experience to film.

[17:40] Alan Seales: That must have been tough. It's always interesting to hear about those behind-the-scenes moments. How do you feel your real-life friendships have influenced your career?

[18:10] Ethan Slater: My friendships have been everything. They keep me grounded and remind me of why I love this craft. I’ve had moments of serendipity where friends have connected me to opportunities or just provided support when I needed it most.

[18:40] Alan Seales: That's beautiful. It really highlights the importance of community in this industry. What advice would you give to aspiring performers who look up to you?

[19:10] Ethan Slater: I would say to embrace every opportunity, even the unexpected ones. You never know where they might lead you. And always advocate for yourself—your voice matters in this industry.

[19:40] Alan Seales: Wise words, Ethan. Thank you for sharing your journey with us today.

[20:10] Ethan Slater: Thank you for having me, Alan! It's always a pleasure to chat.

[20:40] Alan Seales: And to our listeners, be sure to check out Ethan in the Wicked films and his work in Spamalot. Until next time!

[23:22] Ethan Slater: And we see a lot more of the internal struggle, the internal conflict of all these characters, because you just have the film privilege of being able to zoom in on people. You can't do that on stage.

[23:32] Alan Seales: Yeah. Especially like at the very, the opening scene where like Ariana Grande, you can see on her face, it's so conflicted how much she's trying to pretend that the death of Elphaba doesn't bother her.

[23:45] Ethan Slater: Like that's just heart-wrenching, heart-wrenching. And then for your scenes too of what you're trying to do to pretend that you like Nessa, that Bach likes Nessa in order to still, you know, leading her on to try to get Glenda to like him. And, you know, all of this internal struggle and conflict is so well read without hitting you over the head with it. And it speaks to your talent, it speaks to everyone else's talent, John's talent as a director of playing this out. But like how did you guys go into this conversation of separating your performances from the stage performances?

[24:21] Ethan Slater: Well, I don't think it was necessarily about separating it. I think it was like, you know, we talked earlier with Spamalot, like reviving and stepping into somebody's shoes. And like the thing that I'll say about Christopher Fitzgerald is I will never be Chris Fitzgerald. I can't. Nobody can. He's unbelievable and unique and a genius. And so if I try to be him, I'm just gonna come up short.

[24:44] Ethan Slater: And so the thing that felt really important when approaching Bach was like, if I didn't know anything about what Chris was doing, right? Like I wanted to take things from it. So I needed to like be aware of it because he made really great choices and I wanted to like hold on to some of that. But if I wasn't like thinking about how do I do Chris well, who is Bach at his core? That's what I was like. That's how I was trying to approach it. And you end up like accidentally taking some of the things and then recognizing, oh, that's from him. Maybe I can lean into that further. Or, oh, that's so different from that. And why did I choose something different? Maybe I should lean this way or that way.

[25:22] Ethan Slater: You can use him as like a sounding board when you're revitalizing a character or replacing somebody. But you have to think like who is Bach, not how has Bach been played. That's kind of my approach and it was my approach with SpongeBob too. And I think it was really helpful. And that was the conversation that I had with John. We never talked about how does it work on stage. We never like compared or contrasted. We just talked about who is Bach.

[25:49] Ethan Slater: So I think that one of the things that was always really important to me, and actually in talking to Chris too, he said the same thing, is like Bach is really well intentioned. Bach doesn't realize he is doing something hurtful to Nessa.

[26:04] Ethan Slater: And actually I think one of the things that was really nice about the film, like you talked about getting to sort of like be close to us and see our reactions and see the spark of realization in a way that you just can't on stage. It's just a thing of the medium. It allows that moment to be like not just manipulative to dance in front of Glinda, but rather like a spark of like, oh my God, if I'm doing this out of pity, that's hurtful to you.

[26:31] Ethan Slater: And it sort of acts as a foil to the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda. We're a B plot, C plot. And so that we need to function that way. We need to be a foil to what's happening there. And in the same way that Glinda realizes that she has put Elphaba in a horrible situation and it is so important to her that she not feel that pain.

[26:53] Ethan Slater: And that's like a big bubble bursting for her. It's like a big moment of realization. It changes the course of their lives. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[27:01] Alan Seales: That's a moment for Bach too, in Nasdaq's ballroom, where he realizes, oh, he's insulted Nessa. And he has no reason to. She's great. She's like a totally great person in her own right. She's wonderful.

[27:13] Ethan Slater: And so I think that we were able to develop like a real friendship there in the little moments. Playing him. So play the character, how the character, like who is the character, not emulate how an actor played, interpreted the character previously. And I think, I mean, that's the great way to go into any revival, into any adaptation of something is just dissecting who the character is.

[27:35] Ethan Slater: And Bach to me is somebody like you want to love, hate Bach because he's doing bad things, but he doesn't mean to do bad things. And he, like you said, he's well-intentioned and feels guilty about it. You can tell that the way that you played it, you can tell there's guilt behind this.

[27:52] Alan Seales: But then at some point, it's kind of the Deer of Enhancement effect that you got to keep going because you're already in so deep. Right. So, yeah, I mean, it is. I mean, what's exciting about movie two, though, yes, got to keep going because you're in so deep. But then movie two, there's this moment of like, I'm not going to get into it too much, but it's like you've gotten in so deep and you realize you were never in control. You kind of thought you were in control, but you never were. And I think that there's something exciting there.

[28:24] Ethan Slater: And John has talked about like Grant's big scheme, especially with Elphaba, especially with Glinda in these big moments with Fiero and I think with Bach and Nessa too in a really big way. This movie is about what do you do when the truth is revealed? When you understand the truth for the first time, what do you do? And that moment happens for each character in a different place. It hasn't happened to Bach yet. The truth hasn't been revealed to Bach yet. Right. There have been little truths that have been revealed, but the big one in his life has not been revealed yet and it's coming.

[28:58] Ethan Slater: And I think that is why this cut scene was cut. Before we started recording, I sent you three pages of a script of a cut scene that you did film and ended up filming. It's at the train station. It's extra fodder around the train station scene. The first thing that I want to say is I loved the scene. It was so fun to do. Getting to work with Cynthia in this way was really amazing. I was so proud of it. And I love the line, oh, I'm sorry. I thought we were being honest.

[29:34] Ethan Slater: But first of all, it can be hard emotionally when something that you worked on gets cut from a movie. You watch it and you're like, oh man, that was a good moment. That was a good character development moment for Bach. That was a good whatever. I remember watching the movie for the first time and I knew that the scene had been cut. And when I got there, I was like, thank God. That was the right call. And I think it was the right call because this movie is about Elphaba and Glinda. It is about their journey together.

[30:08] Ethan Slater: We get so much of this Elphaba journey without this scene. This scene, I think, was really cool for developing Bach's point of view. And I think the way that we approached it was really in line with what you and I were just talking about, about Bach and Nessa and the respect and love that they have for each other, even if it's a platonic love. I think the way that we performed it was really whatever, all those things. But the movie is more than the sum of its parts. And so even if this is a really beautiful moment and it helped me inform my character, I saw the movie and I was like, this is not the right place. We need to focus, as John did, on the two women who are just killing it and they are in this beautiful, momentous place.

So that was actually a really good learning experience for me. We talked about me being a writer and also an actor. And that was a really good learning experience for me of like, oh, wow, this was absolutely, in my opinion, the right call.

[31:13] Alan Seales: So, OK, I agree with what you said. And I want to posit here that my initial theory before I heard what you just said was that it was cut because part one is not about the darkness in Bach. Because we were talking about the part one being lighter, part two, the book is dark. I've heard tell that part two is going to deviate further from the musical and dive into Elphaba's darkness. You feel free to confirm or deny right now, whatever you like. You're shaking your head. OK, OK. You don't know. You don't know. I'm not giving. I'm not giving.

[31:51] Ethan Slater: And so I think my initial thought was that it was chosen to cut that scene because it was too much of too much away from the happy kind of, I guess, just sympathy that we need to feel from Bach. That's the first time he says something that's actually kind of mean. And I don't think we need to see that until act two.

[32:14] Alan Seales: Look, that might have been it. That might have been it. I think what's funny is that, like, I can only guess so much. And I thought, you know, obviously we talked to John and all that stuff. But he has his own creative reasons and everything for doing it. And that might be a big part of it.

[32:30] Ethan Slater: It's funny, though, because when you're playing a character, I know that that hurt is in there. Right. So, like, that's that's the little thing. And actually, it's been an interesting thing. It's an interesting thing to talk about. Like, what do you show? When do you show it as an actor? You don't show. I'm trying to remember who the director is who says it. He says, people don't show you emotion. They try not to show you the emotion. Right. Right.

[33:20] Alan Seales: Yeah. And after you said what you said, I think that line, I thought we were being honest. I wish they had kept that in there towards the end. Like, it doesn't you're right. It doesn't belong in this train scene. The train scene is, you know, the stuff with Governor Thrott needs to happen quickly. We need to move on to the happy stuff of getting on the train and getting to the Emerald City. And I totally, totally feel like it was not the right place for that line. But man, it's such a good line. And I'm so it's a good line.

[33:46] Ethan Slater: It's fun. I will tell you, one of the first things that Ariana and Cynthia said to me when I met them arriving in London was, you have our favorite line in this movie. And he got cut. Ariana said, it's my favorite line in the movie. I was like, which one? She's like, you know, the one I was like, oh, I'm sorry. I thought I thought we were being honest. That's it.

[34:06] Alan Seales: Oh, no. Everyone's favorite line got cut. All right. Well, well, we're bringing attention to it here. I love that. And it's funny. It's funny. I mean, but it's funny, because also, like, I don't really know what the what the decorum is. I don't know if we're supposed to talk about the deleted scenes or not talk about the deleted scenes. I think they're going to eventually release deleted scenes, which is cool and fun. But then they then they release the script and everyone is like reading it. And we're like, oh, God, you know, all these all these things that we like, you know.

[34:33] Ethan Slater: Yeah. Well, there's the other the montage, like everyone's bummed that they don't get to see see you shirtless in that montage before the poppy scene. Right. Because there's a whole there's a whole montage that got cut to of you guys just hanging out in the field and everybody's together and picking poppies. And that's why Elphaba comes into the class with holding the poppies. And it works, not explaining it. But, you know.

[37:03] Ethan Slater: Deliver some of the best performances that we've ever seen, right? Like Ariana's physical comedy is fucking brilliant. It's just like unbelievable; her physical comedy is unbelievable. And that's because she's engaging with the practical sets in a practical way, and she's able to do bits based on these crazy contraptions that were built and come up with these brilliant ideas in the moment that you can't do if it's all a pre-planned CGI or whatever. Same thing with Cynthia, and I think the emotional heart is really boosted by that practical element, Nathan Crowley's designs and everything, and Paul Telswell's costumes. Oh, yeah, it's just... So that's my take. It doesn't take away from the performances at all. What I just mean is that it enhances it.

[37:46] Alan Seales: No, that's what I was getting at because you said initially when we started talking about this that there was so much truth, and that was what John talked to you about: who are these people, and what are their truths, and what do they want? What do they not want? And I almost brought this up then, but yeah, the sets themselves being real, I understand now completely why John wanted them to be real.

[38:11] Ethan Slater: Yeah, one of these practical sets because it gives you this physical environment, literally, that you can bring your truth into as these characters, and it just adds to the performances so well. And I don't know what the budget conversation was with the studio to get all that approved, but he did; he fought the good fight.

[38:30] Alan Seales: He did, he really did, and it just takes like one level of work away from the actor so you can focus on the emotional element of it. You know, it's just like a little bit easier when you don't have to imagine a tall building, right? You're just standing in front of it.

[38:47] Ethan Slater: Yeah. Oh gosh, it's all beautiful. So before we stop talking about Wicked, I want to do some quick rapid-fire just for some fun things to compare your answers to Ariana and Cynthia, who have also answered these questions.

[39:00] Alan Seales: Oh, so real quick, just first that comes to mind, rapid-fire. Who is most likely to be first on set?

[39:07] Ethan Slater: Ariana.

[39:08] Alan Seales: Who's most likely to be the last one to leave set?

[39:13] Ethan Slater: Either near Ariana.

[39:16] Alan Seales: Most likely to take a keepsake after you're done filming.

[39:24] Ethan Slater: This isn't fair, Ariana.

[39:27] Alan Seales: Most likely to mess up?

[39:36] Ethan Slater: Cynthia. I don't know, Ariana. No, are you kidding me? They both do it.

[39:43] Alan Seales: All right, most likely to stay in character when everyone else is breaking.

[39:43] Ethan Slater: Honestly, Bowen.

[39:54] Alan Seales: Oh, yes. Yes. This character is one who breaks SNL training.

[39:54] Ethan Slater: All right, most likely to break character.

[39:59] Alan Seales: This has to be rapid-fire; I don't know. Most likely to break character? Let's also go with Bowen.

[40:04] Ethan Slater: All right, most likely to get the shot in one take.

[40:06] Alan Seales: Mm-hmm.

[40:09] Ethan Slater: Cynthia.

[40:09] Alan Seales: Most likely to cry on set.

[40:09] Ethan Slater: Yes, it's a tie between Ariana and Cynthia and everybody else and me and everybody else. All right.

[40:17] Alan Seales: Thank you. Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this break.

[40:22] Alan Seales: Welcome back to the episode. Let's start to wind down a little bit, and something new that we play on here on the podcast since the last time is Plot in 60 Seconds.

[40:34] Ethan Slater: Okay.

[40:34] Alan Seales: And I have a list of popular musicals. One through 16. You give me a number one through 16; it will correspond to a musical on my list, and you give me that plot in 60 seconds or less.

[40:39] Ethan Slater: What if I don't know the musical?

[40:43] Alan Seales: Then you can make it up. I've had some great stories.

[40:48] Ethan Slater: Oh god. Okay, let's go with 14.

[40:56] Alan Seales: 14 is... oh, this is... I know you know this one. 14 is Company. Go 60 seconds.

[41:03] Ethan Slater: All right, so it is Bobby's birthday. Bobby's turning 35, I believe, and Bobby is in this group of friends. Robert, Bobby, Bobby darling, Bobby. Bobby is in... there's a group of friends, all of whom are... Bobby's been sort of dating around and is sort of like having this existential life crisis, dating a slew of wonderful people depending on...

[41:20] Alan Seales: Which...

[41:30] Ethan Slater: 30 seconds remain. And it could be people of all genders, and they bring something different to Bobby's life, but they're not bringing fulfillment yet. So Bobby is in search of what is a fulfilling life? What does it mean to be alive? Is life all about marriage? Is life about finding someone to share the little moments with, or is life about something elusive that you'll never be able to hold on to?

[41:59] Alan Seales: For...

[42:00] Ethan Slater: Three, two... it's not really plot. That's really...

[42:07] Alan Seales: But it's not a plot-y show.

[42:12] Ethan Slater: No, no, it's a series of vignettes.

[42:12] Alan Seales: No, the way you described it was perfect because you were like, "And then she goes to this room," or "that he goes to this room," and then "this room and that room."

[42:17] Ethan Slater: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, I like it. I like what you did. I would watch your version of that based on that description. I like it.

[42:24] Ethan Slater: Can I tell you, it was one of the shows that I saw early on in my sort of high school love of musical theater. I watched it on PBS, the John Doyle version, and it's what made me want to do Assassins so deeply because I loved that version. Wow, and I would kill to do it. I love it so much.

[42:43] Alan Seales: Well, put it out there. Advocate for yourself.

[42:49] Ethan Slater: Like, all right, whoever's doing Company next, this guy next.

[42:55] Alan Seales: Yeah. Yeah, again, now it's got to be going somewhere regionally somewhere. I don't know.

[43:00] Ethan Slater: Now, the three standard closing questions that we ask to wrap up every episode. You have answered these before back in episode 142, but I want to see how your answers have changed. So after you answer this time, I'll give you your original answers.

[43:07] Alan Seales: All right, three standard closing questions. First one, very simply, is just what motivates you?

[43:22] Ethan Slater: What motivates me? I think a couple of times, it's not a single answer. I think what motivates me is two things. One is my family and doing right by the people that I love, and two would be I love telling stories and helping people tell their stories and seeing the impact that that can have on other people, whether it's one person at a time or more.

[43:53] Alan Seales: The first time you answered this question, you said telling stories that people can connect to.

[43:57] Ethan Slater: Still there. It's still there. I love that.

[44:01] Alan Seales: All right, next question. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[44:05] Ethan Slater: Probably gave this advice last time, but I might be wrong. The advice that I found myself giving a lot when I was talking to younger people was it's really hard to take advice, but try to listen and learn from the mistakes you're gonna make anyway.

[44:20] Alan Seales: Oh, I love that.

[44:21] Ethan Slater: No, you didn't say that before. You said, "Follow every impulse to do your weirdest things while at the same time study the most conventional things."

[44:26] Alan Seales: Wow, that's a good answer.

[44:32] Ethan Slater: There you go. All right, now last question. 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?

[44:37] Ethan Slater: One musical? I think it would probably have to be Jesus Christ Superstar.

[44:41] Alan Seales: Really? The first time you said Company.

[44:49] Ethan Slater: That's why I knew that you would know it.

[44:51] Ethan Slater: That's incredible. I, you know, I think I kind of still feel the same way, but you know why I choose Jesus Christ Superstar?

[44:54] Alan Seales: What is that?

[45:00] Ethan Slater: Because it is immensely entertaining, and it's one of those shows that you don't have... well, for me, you don't have to be in the right mood for it. It can hit you in any mood.

[45:12] Alan Seales: I can see that.

[45:12] Ethan Slater: I like Company. Company can take you to a place no matter where you start, but Jesus Christ Superstar can... boy, bounce you up a little.

[45:21] Alan Seales: I like it. Okay, great answer.

[45:25] Alan Seales: So, where can we find you online on social media? Connect with you in all the places, reach out, say hi.

[45:31] Ethan Slater: The only social media I'm on is Instagram. I'm at Ethan Slater, and everything else I've gotten rid of for my mental health.

[45:37] Alan Seales: Good for you. Good for you.

[45:42] Ethan Slater: Yeah, so I am on theater underscore podcast on Threads, Instagram, TikTok. I'm on Facebook. I don't post on Facebook anymore. I don't know. I'm out there. Find me, connect with me, leave a rating and a review wherever you're listening now. You can actually watch this on Spotify and leave a comment now on Spotify. That's a new thing.

[46:01] Alan Seales: Thanks to Jukebox the Ghost for the intro and outro music.

[46:05] Ethan Slater: You did that same surprised head look when we... the first time because we have a mutual love of Jukebox the Ghost.

[46:12] Alan Seales: Yeah, I actually remember that from last... I remember having this moment of like, "Oh, right, yeah."

[46:19] Ethan Slater: Yeah.

[46:19] Alan Seales: Ethan, thank you so much. I truly appreciate this conversation and being candid and honest and open, and hopefully when part two comes out, we can do this all again and talk about all the deep and dark stuff that you cannot confirm or deny may happen or may not.

[46:32] Ethan Slater: I can't wait. It's gonna be fun.

[46:37] Alan Seales: Awesome. Thank you. Deep breath, make the world a little colorful.