This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Alan Seales: Welcome to The Theatre Podcast. Intimate, personal conversations with theatre's biggest names. Today, I'm Tom Cruise. I'm not Tom Cruise. What was his character? Jax? Was he? Yeah, he was Jax in the Rock of Ages movie. And we bring that up because this interview today is with Kirsten Scott, who is currently Sherry in Rock of Ages in the 10th anniversary revival that just hit New World Stages. I feel so old. Oh my gosh, I saw the original on Broadway so many, well, 10 years ago, to be exact, and loved it. I'm actually really glad that they've revived it. And in this production, of course, the cast is phenomenal. Kirsten, we get into some really, really great stories here in this episode. You were telling me before we started recording that she turned down, you like the story about how she turned down Hairspray.

Yeah, she was about to start college and she booked Hairspray on Broadway. And she ultimately ended up turning it down because she felt like she wasn't ready. And she felt like she needed to go to school and do all that, and also felt really guilty about it the whole time, and then ended up graduating and booking Hairspray anyway. So it all works out. Yeah, it came around again and she went back into the show after she graduated. There was something that we talked about that was nice where Big Fish, it was like up and then down, and kind of just a blip on the Broadway radar. And getting into that, she has some really good insights about dealing with that kind of, I won't say failure, because it wasn't anything on her part.

It was just the show just didn't work. It's just how the business runs sometimes. Yeah, so that was really interesting. And to me, she was saying that she found her way into theater after she was a guard in The Wizard of Oz as a kid. And it was all just downhill from there. It's fine. I was a fairy in Midsummer Night's Dream and I was hooked. Everybody has to find their hook somehow. Okay, so before we get into this episode, please visit us at ttp.fm. And of course, head over to broadwaypodcastnetwork.com. And you can see us and all the other podcasts that are part of the network. That's pretty much launching, I guess, now as this episode is dropping. So yay, BPN. If you want to support us, visit ttp.fm. You get cool stuff and get to meet us and do cool things.

If you support us at various levels, various tiers. Oh, I forgot to say too, we're now starting to get the transcriptions for our episodes. We've got a couple in the works now because we've gotten a few supporters that have allowed us to start transcribing the episodes. So we're gonna start adding those to the website and just be a little more accessible to the world. So thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody who has contributed. Cue the confetti. Cue the confetti. All right, everybody, please enjoy this episode with Kirsten Scott.

[3:12] Alan Seales: My guest today made her Broadway debut in Hairspray in 2007 and has also appeared in Jersey Boys, Follies, and Big Fish. Coming off of the recent national tour of An American in Paris, she's now rocking our socks off at New World Stages as Sherry in the 10th anniversary production of Rock of Ages. Kirsten Scott, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[3:33] Kirsten Scott: Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. How many people say Kirsten?

[3:40] Alan Seales: Everyone, or Kirsten. It's always Kirsten.

[3:46] Kirsten Scott: Kirsten Scott. And it is what it is. My parents gave me this name to be butchered for the rest of my life.

[3:52] Alan Seales: Well, it's fine. Did it come from somebody? Is it a family name?

[3:57] Kirsten Scott: You know, it's so funny. I recently did our ancestry and my mom, growing up, my mom has always told us that we're, you know, Swedish and French and my dad's side is Scottish and English. And I finally did my ancestry and I'm like, very little bit Swedish, but it's a Swedish name. And my mom's ancestors were Swedes that came through Canada on like the fur trapping and gold trails. So it was like a hearken back to my Swedish ancestry.

[4:20] Alan Seales: On a scale of like, not a theater nerd to the ultimate theater nerd, where am I when whenever anyone says Canada, I always think of Avenue Q.

[4:25] Kirsten Scott: Oh, no. My grandpa who lived in Canada.

[4:29] Alan Seales: No, you're perfection. This is a 10, the good scale, I would say I would give you like a 10.

[4:34] Kirsten Scott: Yes. Yes. You win everything. Oh my gosh, that song is the best. I love that. I love that soundtrack.

[4:40] Alan Seales: Well, okay. So tell, take me back to baby Kirsten. Where'd you grow up?

[4:46] Kirsten Scott: Pittsburgh.

[4:51] Alan Seales: Yeah. I grew up in Pittsburgh and the Berg. There's a lot of theater people from Pittsburgh.

[4:55] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, there are. Yeah. I'm sure you've met a lot of them. I'm like, I'm slowly learning just how many there are of us.

[5:02] Alan Seales: Yeah, I grew up in Pittsburgh back in the day. And so what did your parents do that? Like, did your parents get you into theater? Did you get into theater?

[5:06] Kirsten Scott: It was kind of, it was so funny. Um, I, my mom was a dancer and she and my dad met up in, um, in Maine and this liberal arts college called Bates. And my mom was a modern dancer. She actually danced with John Corafa, who was a director, who is a director and choreographer who you're in town, of course, and now does much more film and TV. Um, anyways, so she was a dancer. So when I was little and I was a rambunctious little kid with tons of energy, she put me in dance classes and like, I was okay. I was, I was pretty good dancer. I was very flexible. Um, but then, um, growing up, my dad would take all these business trips to London cause he was in banking and, and, um, he would take trips all the time and he really got into Andrew Lloyd Webber and would bring over like soundtracks and was like, I just want to see the show called Phantom of the Opera. And I brought you home a CD and, and, you know, back in the day you got like, you know, compact discs and I'd put it in his car and we'd like sing along and listen to it.

[5:59] Kirsten Scott: And so we're definitely different ages of back in the day for you was CD.

[6:08] Alan Seales: Okay. Well, okay. A compact disc. No, I had tapes though. Growing up. It's just once, once my musical theater, um, nerdiness kicked in and my dad was doing his big business trips, it was definitely compact disc. And it was definitely Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Like he had all the compilation albums. And so Andrew Lloyd Webber got me into, like, I didn't really know that I wanted to do this. I was like, I was like, these songs are fun. And I like to sing. My parents were like, you're annoying, stop singing. But I love, I love doing it. I would sing. And then a friend of mine growing up, uh, was like, I'm going to do this theater camp. And I was like, theater camp, what's that? And she's like, you should come with me. And I was 13 and my parents were like, you're going to be gone every day for four weeks. Yeah. Go do that. Please leave our house. You have so much energy.

[6:45] Kirsten Scott: Um, so I did it and we did The Wizard of Oz and I was hooked. I was like, oh yeah, this is, this is what I'm doing.

[6:54] Alan Seales: Were you Dorothy?

[6:59] Kirsten Scott: Oh gosh, no. I was the Emerald City Guard. I played a man, I wore a mustache, um, and I shoved all of my hair into a big hat. And then the following year I was cast as Peter Pan and I shoved all my hair into a hat. And I was like, why am I only cast as boy? I was like, I had a little bit of like a, okay, interesting, interesting choices. Um, but it was, so yeah, that was my, that was my start. And then ever since then, I just, it was so much fun. I never really considered it a career choice until, you know, high school. And they're like, what are you going to do for the rest of your life? I was like, theater? Cause I don't do anything else.

[7:33] Alan Seales: Did you have any other options that were, you like, if you didn't do this?

[7:38] Kirsten Scott: If I didn't do this, you know, I really wanted to be an oceanographer and a Marine biologist. I was like obsessed with the ocean. Like I wanted to like, be like a dolphin whisperer and like swim with like the whales. Um, but I think a theater definitely trumped that.

[7:50] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[7:51] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. Do you, do you, so it was Wizard of Oz. That was your turning point.

[7:56] Alan Seales: That was it. And the older kids did Cats and I was like, what singing cats?

[8:03] Kirsten Scott: Well, I've listened to the soundtrack. So like, because I was like, well-versed in Angela Webber, but I saw it on stage and these were like the older kids I looked up to. And I was like, they are dancing and these leotards and I'm living for this. And yeah.

[8:15] Alan Seales: Yep. So do you still, did you get a lot of dance training? Like you, your mom put you into dance.

[8:19] Kirsten Scott: And I kept, I kept up with my dancing, but I definitely, I definitely, once I realized I wanted to like go to college for this, I realized I was like, oh, I, I was much, I feel like I was a much better singer than I was a dancer or an actor. So then when I went to college, I was like, I need to get better at my acting and then also kind of keep up my dance training.

[8:40] Kirsten Scott: Um, but I did for a hot second, go to Abby Lee dance studio, also known as Dance Moms, which is outside of Pittsburgh.

[8:46] Alan Seales: Yeah. I was going to say she actually helped to book me my first Broadway show.

[8:52] Kirsten Scott: No kidding. Yes. Full on. I was, wait, I was a senior in high school. Um, and I started going to a dance studio to, to like up my dance game to like for college auditions. And she was like, we're going to an open call for the Hairspray national tour. And I was like, I should go. My mom was like, sure. Um, cut to by going to an open call. She met, she had to teach all of her classes. We were going to meet in a parking lot in Monroeville off the side of a highway at 11 o'clock at night, drive through the night, spend two hours at like a comfort in, in New Jersey, and then drive into the city to wait mine for five hours. Cause you had to get there early. We'd get there early. This was like non-ec open call.

And then, um, so we get there, my parents dropped me off at the parking lot as you do. Um, Abby looks at me and was like, you have a driver's license, right? And I was like, yeah, like 16 year old Kirsten. Like, she's like, okay, you should drive. So cut to, I'm driving a black Escalade at 16 going from Pittsburgh to New York City terrified because the highway was under construction and it was like 11 o'clock at night. It was pitch black. And I'd never driven like longer than an hour before in my life. And it was, it was an experience. We got in at like 5.00 AM.

[10:08] Alan Seales: You were the only one driving.

[10:08] Kirsten Scott: So she just went to sleep. I mean, she, but no, she had to like, she had to find, um, um, a material for her to, um, choreograph solos for like dance competitions for the following year. So she was like listening to like CDs and like was doing work. And I was just like, like white knuckling, just like, we're good. And then there was kids in the back. They were like, they're like six kids in the back.

[10:31] Alan Seales: So you didn't sleep.

[10:38] Kirsten Scott: We checked into like some best Western somewhere. I slept for two hours and then I got in line and I happened to get into a room that had, I think it was Craig Burns. And then Craig Burns brought him Bertie Telsey. And then from that audition I ended up booking Hairspray. Isn't that crazy? So like, you know, for as crazy as it was for a 16 year old to be driving a black Escalade full of children, I did it. And she, you know, she helped get my foot in the door.

[11:03] Alan Seales: Wait, so you booked Hairspray at 16?

[11:05] Kirsten Scott: I booked it. Um, when I was a, when I was actually 18 and I turned it down because, because I'm really smart.

[11:13] Alan Seales: She's giving me like the, you're dumb.

[11:19] Kirsten Scott: So at that point I was like in callbacks. Like I didn't, I didn't book the national tour. They're like, you're not right for the tour, but we have a slot that's opening up in the Broadway company. And I was like, cool. And I didn't have an agent. So like I was on the phone with like Craig Burns back and forth and I was like, yeah, I'll be there. And I started my freshman year at Carnegie Mellon at that point. So, um, I was like, oh, I'm, I'm in college. And he was like, yeah, but if you book this, like you have to do this. And I was like, I'm not going to book this. This was, this is great experience. I should just keep going. And I ended up booking it and it was like, what do you do? Um, and you know, I, I, it was the hardest decision I think of my quote unquote adult life.

Cause I was 18 and I was like, you can't pass up this opportunity. And also everyone's going to hate you. And then I was like, but I'm loving school. And I feel like I need this training. And it turns out I turned it down, which I lost so much sleep over. And I literally thought I was like, I'm never going to get another job in my life. Like I'm, I should just quit school. Um, and then when I graduated from Carnegie Mellon, four years later, that same slot opened up and I literally went into the Broadway company, I think two months after I graduated, it was like the universe was like, you made the right decision. And I was like, thank you universe. Cause I spent three years going, you were stupid.

[12:25] Alan Seales: Cause you don't, you just don't know. Right. Also people can be really angry, like about, you know, just being like, you turned that down. Are you, come on.

[12:36] Kirsten Scott: If I feel like a lot of other performers are like me in that I'm, I feel like I'm always to prove myself. And if, and if I am, if I turn something down like that, then I've just screwed up the one chance I had and I'm just not going to be good enough again.

[12:51] Alan Seales: Yeah. I, I, I it's, it's so funny. Cause I was so young and yet I was like, this is the right decision. Like, I don't know. Carnegie Mellon had like lured me into its fold. And I was like, I'm in, it's like, I must be a better actor before I can be unleashed into New York City. I don't know. It was the right decision for me, but you know, teach their own. But yeah, I definitely lost a lot of sleep over it.

[13:21] Alan Seales: Oh, I would too. I was like, Oh, this is like the, your goal, the goal that you have. And then you just, you just throw it. And then you're like, you're like, I'm just going to close that door. And yeah, I don't know. I just, I had a lot of faith that I was like, this is if, okay, this is, this is going to come my way again.

[13:41] Kirsten Scott: Was it Bernie who was casting it again?

[13:44] Alan Seales: Yeah. Yeah. It was Craig. It was Craig burn specifically who I was on back and forth on the phone with. And I will never forget the phone call where I was like, I'm not going to take it. Just like peeing my pants.

[13:56] Kirsten Scott: Oh my gosh. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Silly, silly little girl.

[14:02] Alan Seales: So then you come, so you do come into Hairspray graduate, graduate from, from college and, uh, coming to Hairspray at 2007. And how long, how long were you in Hairspray?

[14:07] Kirsten Scott: I was in Hairspray, uh, for about a full year. So, okay. So I was looking, I'm looking at your resume here. So then what else does it say? No, it says very red lipstick. I got this free at Sephora and I was trying it. I was, uh, in my dressing room.

[14:26] Kirsten Scott: On the way, no, before coming here, not on my way here, sitting in my dressing room, and I was like, I got this pre-sampled, so I was like, I'm going to try it out. And it's a podcast, so no one will be able to see it if it's a terrible mistake, but it's very dark. It's a very dark purple-red. Anyways.

[14:41] Alan Seales: Is very pred, very pred. Okay. So Big Fish, then, is 2013.

[14:47] Kirsten Scott: Yeah.

[14:47] Alan Seales: So from 08 to 13.

[14:50] Kirsten Scott: Yes. Oh, so I left, I left Hairspray. Oh my gosh, it was, it was the craziest week. I booked a show called Minsky's that was going to LA for a tryout, and then was going to come into Broadway. It was this amazing show about the burlesque club. It was based on a movie called The Night They Invaded Minsky's, and it was being directed by Casey Nicholaw, and also choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. Bob Martin wrote the book, Susan Birkenhead wrote the lyrics, Charles Strauss wrote the music, starring, it was starring Beth Leavel, Christopher Fitzgerald, George Wendt, Lenny Wopey, Kevin Cahoon, oh my gosh, Richard Dratch, oh my gosh, John Cariani. It was this incredible cast, and I was cast in this workshop, and then we were going to LA and then coming to Broadway.

So I put in my notice at Hairspray, and then that same week, they gave us our closing notice. And George Wendt, who was playing Edna at the time, was also going to do Minsky's, and a guy named Blake Hammond was also in the show, and he was going to do Minsky's, and they were all going to stay and do double duty, and I was the dumb person who put my notice in that week, and I couldn't take it back, because they already hired someone that quickly, and I was so sad, because I would have loved to have closed the show, because I could have, technically, yeah, but no, alas. Instead, my husband and I, we went to Hawaii for a week, and then I started rehearsals for Minsky's, and then I did Minsky's, and then it didn't come in, because the economy crashed. So then I did a lot of regional theater until Follies happened, and then Big Fish happened.

[16:18] Alan Seales: When did you get married? You got married?

[16:20] Kirsten Scott: I got married. I was such a wee baby. I got married, actually, in 2009. We planned our wedding around Minsky's coming in. My husband proposed when we were out in LA doing the show, and, excuse me, my gosh, a demon's coming out of my throat, and we were like, oh, it's coming to Broadway in August, so let's get married in July, and then we'll start rehearsals in August, and then, yeah, we practiced that.

[16:41] Alan Seales: You got married young.

[16:45] Kirsten Scott: Yes, yeah, we met in college.

[16:47] Alan Seales: So, 24, 25?

[16:49] Kirsten Scott: Yes, yes, yeah, math. Quick math.

[16:55] Alan Seales: Yeah, it's interesting to me when, this is semi-cynical, but it's interesting to me when married young, and it works.

[17:04] Kirsten Scott: You know, it's true. It's not very common anymore. I feel like my husband and I, we're both very old souls, and when we met in college, it was like an instant, like, huh, okay, there's something here, and we stayed together, because he was older than I was, and he graduated, and I was still in school, and he was doing Broadway shows, and I was still in school, and we stayed together, and we did long distance, and we were like, it's still working, it's still working, and then we finally moved in together, and we were like, it's still working. Yeah, it just, it worked for us, but everyone, again, everyone has their own path, but yeah, yeah, we've, we just celebrated 10 years.

[17:42] Alan Seales: No kidding.

[17:43] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, totally.

[17:44] Alan Seales: That is, wow, well, congratulations.

[17:46] Kirsten Scott: Thanks, thanks.

[17:47] Alan Seales: And he's in the business, too?

[17:48] Kirsten Scott: He is, yeah, his name is Matthew Scott. He's also an actor. Yeah, he did Jersey Boys, and Kated Affair, and Sondheim on Sondheim, and he did an American Paris on Broadway, yeah.

[17:56] Alan Seales: Did you do, you did Jersey Boys with him, then?

[17:58] Kirsten Scott: I didn't. No, isn't that funny? I wish we did it together. It would have been so much fun. No, I did Jersey Boys, actually, after Big Fish closed, after my heart was broken when Big Fish closed. I went to Jersey Boys for about a year.

[18:09] Alan Seales: And then he, and he already left.

[18:11] Kirsten Scott: He did the, he was actually a swing in the original company. He was brought on as, like, an additional swing after they had opened.

[18:16] Alan Seales: Oh, very cool.

[18:16] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, so he did it with all the original guys. It was very, very exciting.

[18:20] Alan Seales: So Big Fish had just a three-month run. Like, what happened with that?

[18:27] Kirsten Scott: Gosh, who knows? You know, it's, it's, and you know, it's been so long, I feel like now I can have maybe an opinion about it and not get in trouble. Because when it, when it closed, and I was so close to everyone in that production, you know, on, of all the elements, the cast, the, the designers, the, the creative team, we, we kind of feel like we went through trenches together with that show, because it started as a workshop, and we were all so, so, so close, and we believed in the story so much, and it was such this open, vulnerable, beating heart that we all thought was kind of, like, unstoppable. Like, the show is perfect. It's beautiful. It's, it means so much to us. It's definitely going to work out.

And I feel like as the show got bigger and bigger, Big Fish got bigger and bigger, I don't know if we just lost, like, kind of the thread of, like, the true storyline. Like, I think it almost would have been better if it just stayed simple and small, and kind of, I don't know if it was Andrew Lippa or our book writer, John August, I was talking to at one point, that they kind of had an idea that it was like a, like, everyone in the show was kind of like a cast of characters in Edward Bloom's mind. So if, like, kind of like the movie, like, if the, the witch is also Jenny Hill, and Jenny Hill's also the witch, and, like, Sandra's also, Sandra's the one woman in his life that's not, doesn't play another character in his story.

So, like, we're all kind of this cast of characters that as a story develops, we all become, you know, we're all now circus folk, and we're all this, and almost like a very, like, kind of, like, Peter and the Starcatcher-esque, if you will. And in a weird way, I feel like it would have worked better if it kind of was small. Like, there were a lot of production elements that made it such a big production, there were a lot of projections and everything, like, you know, as we were doing it, I was like, this is perfect, this is all, this is all going to work out. But kind of now reflecting back on it, I think the story is so solid, and I think the score is so, so fantastic, that I think it kind of could work as just a tiny little chamber piece in a black box with, you know, like, a cast of characters throwing on, like, a hat, and, like, now I'm this, and now I'm that, instead of it kind of being this big, epic Broadway thing. I don't know, yeah. But I'm not a wizard, I can't tell why it didn't work.

[20:40] Alan Seales: I mean...

[20:41] Kirsten Scott: Nor an economist.

[20:42] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah, nor an economist, exactly.

[20:45] Kirsten Scott: Do you find yourself kind of gravitated towards more character-driven roles like that, or...?

[20:50] Kirsten Scott: Yes! Oh my gosh, and Big Fish for me was the first time I got to originate anything. I mean, I'd just come off of doing Follies, where I got to work with Stephen Sondheim, which I was like, oh, okay, I am, you know, 20-something, and I am in a room with Stephen Sondheim, like, you know, I'm, like, pinching myself. I felt so lucky. But at the same time, that was a story that had already been written and already had been breathed life into by another actress. So no matter what, there were decisions that were already made, whether script-wise or music-wise, that I wasn't the one to lend my voice to it for the first time. Whereas Big Fish, it was so cool to kind of get to be there, and they're like, okay, what makes Kirsten tick?

Okay, well, she, let's add this, because she can do this, and she can do that, and it was so special to get to put my handprint on something for the first time. So because of that, I feel like I am driven to, like, well, specifically with Big Fish, I got to play Jenny Hill, who got to be 16 to, like, we put her at, like, early 60s. So to get to play that range of age, got to do that every night, was just amazing for me. And I feel like I am a young girl with, like, an old character actress, like, living inside of me. So when I finally do get to graduate to those, like, character actor roles, I feel like I'm just gonna, like, bite into them so hard. But I am very much drawn to more of those, like, I would love to kind of sink my teeth into, like, Gypsy and stuff like that, like now, but I have to, you know, I have to graduate to those roles someday. I met Mama Rose in Gypsy.

[22:23] Alan Seales: Yes, yes.

[22:24] Kirsten Scott: Clearly.

[22:24] Alan Seales: Of course, of course.

[22:26] Kirsten Scott: But of course. But yeah, I'm much more drawn to those. Like, I want to get gritty and, like, I feel like my perfect role has yet to be written, but I want to do, like, almost, like, a very broad, like, vauxillian, like, character actress, maybe from, like, the silent film era. Like, I mean, like, I'm always drawn to shows like a Mac and Mabel or, like, oh my gosh, what was I just thinking of? Or like a funny girl, like a funny, broad woman who's just going out there and grabbing life by the balls.

[22:59] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[23:01] Kirsten Scott: You're so confused right now. You're like, what are you talking about?

[23:05] Alan Seales: No, I'm trying to think of the perfect role.

[23:07] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, right? It's not out there.

[23:09] Alan Seales: No.

[23:09] Kirsten Scott: Maybe it is. Maybe it is.

[23:12] Alan Seales: I think Mama Rose would be good. So you'd rather be Mama Rose than a Cinderella.

[23:15] Kirsten Scott: Oh, yes.

[23:16] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[23:16] Kirsten Scott: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And I can't wait to, like, yeah, I can't wait to age and get to, like, yeah, yeah, yeah. Throw on a fat suit and like.

[23:26] Alan Seales: Probably the only actor I've talked to who's like, yeah, I just can't wait to get old.

[23:31] Kirsten Scott: I just mean, like, there's so many great, there's a lot of great roles that I'm excited to kind of age into at some point.

[23:36] Alan Seales: Right.

[23:38] Kirsten Scott: Because I feel like a woman in her 30s in musical theater, you're in this, like, weird stage of, like, you're not quite leading lady material yet. I feel like you have to be, like, late 30s, early 40s. And you're not quite, like, you know, you're not in the hairsprays anymore, like, as, like, a nicest kids in town. So you're, like, I'm in this weird age range. Because, like, right now, I'm, like, I'm playing Sherry in Rock of Ages, and I'm, like, a 20 something. So, you know, you're still kind of, I don't know, in this weird amoeba land of not quite old enough, but not quite young anymore.

[24:12] Alan Seales: Well, this is one of the few industries where you have to be discriminated against because of your body type. And because of your looks, right? And yeah, stay with me here.

[24:25] Kirsten Scott: Okay. I'm gonna jump on this ride. Keep going.

[24:28] Alan Seales: Okay. You're like, what?

[24:32] Kirsten Scott: That's what my face goes.

[24:33] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[24:34] Kirsten Scott: Okay.

[24:34] Kirsten Scott: Because I, you're in your 30s now, another person in their 30s could or maybe could or maybe could not, depending on their body type, play, play Sherry in Rock of Ages or play younger. Like, you've got, you've got the ability with skill and acting ability to play older, but you've got a very youthful look that allows you to play younger.

[25:00] Kirsten Scott: God bless you. Yes, I stick my face in a pickle jar every night.

[25:07] Alan Seales: Your skin regime is amazing.

[25:10] Kirsten Scott: Thank you. Moisturize. Yeah, yeah. But it's cool. I mean, like, two years ago, I played a mother in Ragtime, which everyone was like, you're really young to play that. And I was like, I know, but they were, they were casting it young and it was what they needed. And I was like, and actually at that time period, I was like, mother in Ragtime probably was 22 and had a kid who was like Edgar's maybe like six to eight-ish. I was like, she definitely probably got married at 16, got knocked up right away, had a kid. I was like, yeah, I absolutely could be playing this role.

[25:43] Alan Seales: Oh yeah. I mean, just get off topic for a second. When you look at the history of monogamy and relationships and whatnot, like people got married, men in their thirties and forties married women that were teenagers. And then a lot of them died during childbirth. So they just got married again. And it's like, it was, yeah. So if you're being historically accurate, then yes, in your early twenties, you probably had a kid.

[26:11] Kirsten Scott: And father was like mid forties. That's about right.

[26:14] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[26:14] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. Yeah.

[26:15] Alan Seales: So there you go.

[26:16] Kirsten Scott: I know. Crazy.

[26:19] Alan Seales: Going into Jersey Boys, Big Fish, originating role, Jersey Boys, you came in 10 years into the production. So that was script locked.

[26:28] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. Oh yeah. That was, I was like, could I cross on a, nope. Okay, cool, cool, cool. Yeah. You know what? There are a few regrets in my life and my career, but I think-

[26:41] Alan Seales: Today is one of them.

[26:42] Kirsten Scott: Today is the biggest one. No, no, no. But I think I went into Jersey Boys after the heartbreak that was Big Fish for me and the family of that show. And I workshopped that show. We did it in Chicago. So that was like two years of my life with that show, I feel like. And then going into Jersey Boys, which was like a well-oiled machine and it's, don't get me wrong. I love that show. My husband did it. I saw it like 20 times when he was in it because he would go on for every role and I was like, I'm there. And so when I got the show, I was like, this is-

[27:10] Kirsten Scott: I'm sorry to interrupt. I hope one day you get a cartoon and you're like, this is my voice.

[27:14] Alan Seales: This is my voice. I know, right? Agents, can I please get a cartoon?

[27:19] Kirsten Scott: Anyway, go ahead.

[27:21] Kirsten Scott: Literally, I was such a dork for that show when he was in that show. Anyways. So when I went into Jersey Boys, I had just gotten to kind of articulate everything I wanted out of this character from Big Fish. And I got to kind of work with, you know, you work from the ground up. So I went to that show going like, I'm gonna have a process. And like, I'm so curious. And they're like, no, no, no, no, no. You stand on six and then you cross on this line. I was like, what if I crossed? They're like, no, no, no. You stay in your line. I was like, cool, cool, cool. And it'd been so long since I'd replaced in a show. So I also like, you have to like kind of reclick into that mental capacity of like you're replacing.

And, you know, depending on the stage management and depending on the director of the show, you know, you have some liberties because everyone's going to put on that dress a little bit differently. Everyone's going to put the wig on a little differently. Everyone's going to just breathe life into that role differently. But I might go back to my regret. I wish I had a more open mind going into that show, because I think I was so still like mourning the loss of Big Fish. And I wanted it to be everything Big Fish was for me. So like I wanted an instant family. I wanted to be like, this is how I'm going to do this role. And they're like, yeah, but you kind of got to do it because we have lights set and everything already.

So I wish that I kind of had a different mindset, but I definitely I went into it with a little bit of a closed mind. And then a couple of months into it, I was like, this is what it is. And I finally just was like, opened my mind up to like, you know, learn your lines, do your track. And then I had the best time. But it was definitely like a really

[29:22] Kirsten Scott: That one was so, you know, I'd also just lost my grandfather two years prior. Sorry, this is going to get really dark. Um, and when I was doing Follies, I lost my grandfather who, um, on my dad's side, who was kind of like the beacon of hope for our family. And he was just this remarkable man. And when he passed and he was also like a storyteller, like he, he had crazy stories and he traveled and he did a lot with his life. And so to me, I looked at Edward Bloom and Big Fish as like my grandfather and the stories he would tell. And, um, so I think I had, I had a lot of things wrapped up in that show, but I kind of felt like I was telling my, my, my life story, like my grandfather's story. And there's so many elements of that show that were so near and dear to my heart.

So I think just knowing that you, when a show closes, you're like, oh, but I, I don't get to see my family every day. They're like taken from me. And now I have to like find time to gather everyone together and we'll never all be in the same room at the same time ever, ever again. And, you know, people go out and do their own things. Like, um, oh my gosh, Alex Brightman was my waltzing partner and, you know, now it's like a Tony nominee and like, like just doing amazing things on Broadway. So you like, it's, it's just, it's so, it's so crazy. But when a show closes, like you'll never have that. It's like catching lightning in a bottle. You'll never have that again. And so I just, I really mourned it.

Yeah. But it wasn't like, I was thinking like, Kirsten, this is all your fault. Like you were the reason Big Fish closed, but it's just like a sadness of, of yeah, that, that family is not going to ever come together again.

[30:52] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. I, I, even when it's a planned closing, I still have hard time like getting over the, it's like, yeah, it's like you're walking away from a party in a, in a, in a sense, even though it's not, it's not a party party, but I mean like a sense of belonging, a sense of like you're leaving a tribe and you got to go form another one.

[31:11] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. You have to kind of go out in the world. Yeah. You like pack up all your stuff and your dresser, you put on your back and you're like, okay, like a hobo, like on the street, just like, hope someone gives me a home soon. It's, it's, it's really heartbreaking.

[31:26] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. So that's why, I mean, we, we're so lucky to do what we do. And so like when we do have those shows that are special and mean a lot and you, you like, you hold onto that.

[31:36] Alan Seales: Right. So tell me about Sherry though. Rock of Ages. This is the 10th anniversary of Rock of Ages.

[31:42] Kirsten Scott: That makes me feel old because I saw it on Broadway, the original.

[31:45] Alan Seales: Really?

[31:46] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. I didn't see the original, but I definitely saw it on Broadway before it closed. Um, and it was, it's so funny. I, if you would have asked me a year ago, Kirsten, would you be starring in Rock of Ages off Broadway as Sherry? I'd be like, no, there's no way in hell anyone would cast me in that. No. And here I am and I am having the time of my life. It's, it's so much fun. It is exhausting because Sherry is a bundle of energy and she has so much hope and optimism and so much joy. And sometimes, you know, walking around the city, you, you get down and you get a little like, you know, a little beat up cause it's New York and you get on that subway and you get kicked and it smells and you have to be like, okay, okay.

Girl living her best life, girl, girl, um, wanting dreams, girl moving from Kansas to LA for the first time. Okay. Hope, hope and joy. And you have to kind of like wash that off and be like, reset, reset. Um, but it's, it's just, it's so much fun. And I'm, I love playing her because I feel like, um, it's making me kind of go back to like Kirsten circa 2007 graduating college and moving to the city and being like, my life has endless possibilities. I'm going to get cast in Hairspray again, even though I told them to go screw off the first time and life is good. And I really, I'm like, I'm a hopeless optimist. And I always, I'm like, things are going to work out until they don't. And then I'm so sad because I'm like, wait, in what worlds was this not going to work out?

I'm so confused. So it's, it's really lovely to kind of get to play her every night. Cause I really feel like I'm going back to like, you know, young Kirsten and hope, hopes and dreams and endless possibilities.

[33:26] Alan Seales: Yeah. It seems like, it seems like it's a super fun cast.

[33:28] Kirsten Scott: I mean, it really is. Oh my gosh. The cast is so talented. So talented. Oh my gosh. I play opposite of CJ Eldred and PJ Griffith. Oh my gosh. I mean, this cast, Mitch Jarvis, who did it originally. It's so funny. He looks the same that they did like a thing. The Wall Street Journal did an article on him and they spliced like the picture of him from this production and, and the tenure back production. And I'm like, you look the same. It's so funny.

[34:00] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. It's a, it's an incredible cast and it's a fun cast and we all love each other, which doesn't always happen. It doesn't always happen with cast. You know, there's always that one person that you're like, okay, you're kind of a pain in the ass. Um, but everyone's lovely in this cast. They're all super talented and yeah, we're just having a great time. And we just got extended.

[34:12] Alan Seales: Yes.

[34:13] Kirsten Scott: Yes. So we're now going to be there January, January, January, 2020. And like the show just opened pretty recently.

[34:20] Alan Seales: We just opened about a month ago.

[34:22] Kirsten Scott: A little over a month ago. Yeah. And already got extended.

[34:25] Alan Seales: Yeah. So that's pretty cool. People love this show.

[34:27] Kirsten Scott: I had no idea. I had no idea. I mean, I, I mean, not to think. I'm not saying it's like lowbrow musical theater, but I'm like, I've done song time and I just did Gershwin on the road. And I was like, rock of ages. I was like, people really like this show because I saw it and I had such a good time, but like, I didn't really remember. And then I was like, oh, it's a brilliantly crafted musical theater piece. It's got everything that you need. It's got great songs. It's got a great book. It's like, it has a love story. It has all the things that you need to make up a great musical. It's got funny jokes. It's got great choreography. It's so yeah. I'm like rock of ages.

[35:01] Alan Seales: Yeah. Years ago, I was talking to some of the, some of the Broadway cast and, uh, they were saying that, um, people would often come drunk to the show.

[35:09] Kirsten Scott: Often?

[35:10] Alan Seales: Yeah. Every night.

[35:11] Kirsten Scott: Really? That's why matinees are so rough. Cause we're like, you guys are too sober. I like wish that like the matinee crowd would get like free mimosas or something. I'm like, help, help a brother out. Like give a, give us something. Cause they're very quiet. Although last matinee we had last weekend, they were like raging. So something, there was something in the water last matinee, but most of the matinees are very quiet because you know, it's two o'clock people haven't kicked back yet, but yeah, people come lit for this show and it's, it's amazing.

[35:42] Kirsten Scott: It actually, some, some nights it's a challenge like last night. Oh my gosh. There's, there's a guy in the audience, like saying the lines right before we said them. So I was having this weird, like existential crisis of like, did I say the line? Was that me saying the line? Wait, no. Stay in the show. Wait. I said, no, did he say that? Like, I couldn't, there was one thing that I literally was like, did I say this line already? Was he like, I couldn't figure it out. Um, but so most of the time it's really fun when the, when the audience is rambunctious, but there are those few times that you're like, this is, this is crazy.

[36:13] Alan Seales: They sure didn't like yell out like that at Follies. I'll tell you that.

[36:15] Kirsten Scott: No.

[36:17] Alan Seales: Do you know, are you privy to the conversation about why they decided to revive it?

[36:24] Kirsten Scott: You know, I am actually not privy to the exact reason. I know why I think it has a voice in 2019. I think that honestly, not to go dive too deep into my politics, but, um, things are, things are rough right now. You know, there's a lot of things that are confusing and hard and sad about the world we live in right now. And I think people just really need an escape. Not that that's the best answer for things, but if you are just needing two and a half hours to go, Hey, remember when we thought the eighties was things were going right in the eighties, let's go back to that time. Um, and it's just, it's just like, it's pure escapism and it's fun and it's silly and it's a good first date and it's, it's just, it's a lot of fun. So I kind of think that they felt like there was a, there was a spot for it in New York right now.

[37:13] Alan Seales: Yeah. Uh, what, what theater, uh, it's the New World Stages, but what was in there? Did it, was Puffs?

[37:20] Kirsten Scott: Puffs is still there.

[37:22] Alan Seales: Um, is it?

[37:24] Kirsten Scott: Oh, is it? Yeah. I haven't seen, I haven't seen it and I love Harry Potter. So actually I need to go see that. Um, Harry, uh, Harry Potter. Nope. Kirsten. Um, Avenue Q, Avenue Q was in the theater, Avenue Q was in the theater before us.

[37:35] Alan Seales: Harry Potter's not going anywhere.

[37:37] Kirsten Scott: Harry Potter's not going anywhere. That theater is like, it was, yeah, it's staying there.

[37:41] Alan Seales: Oh my gosh.

[37:42] Kirsten Scott: That theater is like outfitted for Harry Potter to be there for a very long time.

[37:46] Alan Seales: Oh, again, off topic.

[37:47] Kirsten Scott: Yeah.

[37:47] Alan Seales: Uh, the, the, uh, someone was telling me that they'd like have redundancies upon redundancies, upon redundancies for their magic, their illusions.

[37:55] Kirsten Scott: So if the primary illusion doesn't work, then they've got like three fallbacks.

[38:00] Alan Seales: So there's always something to do in, in, to progress the script.

[38:04] Kirsten Scott: Are you serious?

[38:05] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[38:05] Kirsten Scott: Like technical difficulties. They have like plan ABCD, EFG.

[38:09] Alan Seales: Wow.

[38:09] Kirsten Scott: I think they have like plan D.

[38:10] Alan Seales: And I love it. You called it an illusion because do you watch Arrested Development? Cause I swear you're just like, Michael.

[38:13] Kirsten Scott: Illusions.

[38:17] Alan Seales: Illusion.

[38:18] Kirsten Scott: Illusions.

[38:18] Alan Seales: Michael.

[38:19] Kirsten Scott: Tricks or things.

[38:21] Alan Seales: A whore does money.

[38:22] Kirsten Scott: I know.

[38:22] Alan Seales: The money is in the banana stand.

[38:25] Kirsten Scott: There's always money in the banana stand.

[38:28] Alan Seales: I love that.

[38:30] Kirsten Scott: Oh my gosh. I love it so much.

[38:32] Alan Seales: Yes.

[38:32] Kirsten Scott: Uh-huh. Where were we?

[38:34] Alan Seales: Where were we?

[38:34] Kirsten Scott: Um, from Harry, from illusions, Michael to, uh, Oh, what?

[38:39] Alan Seales: Oh, new world stages.

[38:40] Kirsten Scott: Rock of ages.

[38:41] Alan Seales: Rock of ages.

[38:42] Kirsten Scott: Speaks now.

[38:43] Kirsten Scott: It's totally. It's yeah. I think people just, just, they just need an escape. I it's pure. It's pure and simple.

[38:52] Alan Seales: Do people come to the stage door? Cause new world stages stage door is like on around the block.

[38:57] Kirsten Scott: They, they find it, they get a map and they Google maps it and they, they somehow can cross that, that courtyard to us and they find it.

[39:04] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[39:05] Kirsten Scott: And we got some hardcore fans.

[39:06] Alan Seales: Really?

[39:07] Kirsten Scott: Yes. I've never really been in a show. I mean, Hairspray is my first experience in a Broadway show. And I, I think like stage door at that point, cause the show had been running for so long, was not like a thing that it is now, and also there wasn't social media, so like people couldn't like follow people and feel like they really know about people's, you know, intricate details of their lives. So I feel like it just wasn't a thing that it is now. And, um, so I really didn't have a, I haven't had like a crazy fan experience with any show that I've been in until rock of ages. Cause these fans are like diehard and they see the show like hundreds of times and fans are, I think that same wall street journal, that article that Mitch, uh, was came out about Mitch. Um, one of the super fans was like quoted in it because he's seen the show so much and he like knows everything that goes on in the rock of ages family. So it's, it's a, it's a thing.

[39:55] Kirsten Scott: And they, people cause, cause rock of ages is like international now it's on cruise ships and they're doing an LA production now. So people.

[40:04] Alan Seales: Yeah, good music.

[40:05] Kirsten Scott: It's such good music, good music.

[40:07] Alan Seales: Good. Like you said, good story.

[40:09] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. It just, it's just a feel good time. It's got a heart. Like it's got such a heart. It's, it's about, you know, dreams like sharing just come out and they're. They're hoping to grab their dreams. And, and it turns out that their dreams are not exactly what they picture them to be, which is so often the case. Welcome to real life.

[40:26] Alan Seales: You're welcome.

[40:27] Kirsten Scott: Welcome to real life.

[40:28] Alan Seales: Yeah, it's so true.

[40:29] Kirsten Scott: I mean, I definitely thought I was like, Hmm, by this time in my life, I definitely thought I'd have a very fancy apartment on central park west. I would be a Broadway star and I'd be making buttloads of money. And then I was like, Oh, Kirsten, but you're an actor.

[40:44] Alan Seales: Yeah, that's right.

[40:44] Kirsten Scott: That's right. You know, you just never know how your, how your life's going to go. And tomorrow you get a call and you're like, I want you to star in this cartoon and do your funny book.

[40:52] Alan Seales: Yes.

[40:53] Kirsten Scott: And I'm like, yes, I will. Thank you. No, I mean, believe me, I'm not complaining. My life has worked out beautifully. And it's, it's just so funny. You just, just the, the, the twists and turns of, of real life.

[41:04] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[41:05] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. It's funny.

[41:06] Alan Seales: That's it.

[41:06] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, that's fun.

[41:07] Alan Seales: I, I always, I was wondering what like the stage door experiences are like and it's different per show and gosh, like, yeah, I talk with people from different shows and it's a different type of person that's drawn to every different type of show and you got like your, you know, your standard, like your, your standard kids who want to go to everything, but then you like your super fans, why is it, I mean, I'm just asking rhetorically, like, why does a show speak to a particular person?

[41:35] Kirsten Scott: I think the people who, um, we seem to, I, I, I'm like, I don't want to, you know, pigeonhole our fans because there's, there's a broad range of them, but I think a lot of people whose high school, um, awakenings happened to the soundtrack that we are singing in Rock of Ages, let me just put it that way. They seem to be really drawn to the show to, to get married to music in the show, to come, we had someone propose on stage to the show that was of that time, you know, that kind of grew up with this music. So I feel like it speaks to a certain, you know, uh, uh, yeah, a certain age range that, that really loves it to have, has continued to, to come.

[42:17] Kirsten Scott: That's, that's, that's our most frequent stage door, I think visits are by those kinds of super fans.

[42:24] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[42:27] Kirsten Scott: Yes, totally.

[42:28] Alan Seales: Well, I'm, I'm going for my own word, like picturing what they physically look like, like just the leather jackets and, uh, the law, like, I feel like the motorcycle gangs, you know, show up to Rock of Ages, if you're going to like a musical.

[42:41] Kirsten Scott: Yes. It's like those, it's like those, those, those people.

[42:44] Kirsten Scott: That like wrote in on a Harley and you're like, you're going to go see a Broadway show? No, you're not. And you're like, Oh, you're going to see Rock of Ages.

[42:50] Alan Seales: Yeah. That makes sense.

[42:51] Kirsten Scott: And they have the best time. I mean, I mean, you know, they could see any show in the city and they could have the greatest time, but like Rock of Ages speaks their language and it's. Poop jokes and awesome eighties music. And they're like, I'm in.

[43:04] Alan Seales: Is this the most vocally challenging role you've had?

[43:07] Kirsten Scott: You know what? In New York city? Yeah. It's so funny. I am. I just had a friend come to the show last night and I won't say his name. Um, but I was on his name.

[43:48] Kirsten Scott: But like, when the casting announcement came out for Rock of Ages, I was confused. I was like, oh, okay, I love her, but can she do this? And he's like, oh my gosh, you can do this. And I was like, yeah, I know. This is kind of what I used to do in college and high school. But then I moved to the city and did a couple shows and then did some more classical leading lady roles. And then people were like, oh, you're this, you know, because they're always trying to put you in a box because it's so much easier. But yeah, this is like, this is kind of used to be like my bread and butter. Like, I love to just sing, belt my face off. So in the city, this is kind of the most vocally challenging role I've ever gotten to do in New York, which is really exciting because people are kind of like, who?

What? I didn't know you had this side to you. And I'm like, I do. It's been a little secret, but yeah, I got it. So it's been really exciting to kind of get to show this side of myself for the first time in a New York setting.

[44:36] Alan Seales: That's so much fun.

[44:39] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. Like, reinventing myself almost.

[44:41] Alan Seales: God, I worry about vocal injuries and health. Like Casey Levy just started that Twitter thread like last week or whatever. You read all that?

[44:50] Kirsten Scott: I didn't read all of it, but I know of it. I'm one of those people who I'm not on Twitter. I'm like, I will Instagram all day, every day, but I never got on the Twitter. Yeah, I know. It's okay. It's okay.

[45:03] Alan Seales: Shrug.

[45:03] Kirsten Scott: Shrug. But tell me, because I didn't go, I didn't do the deep dive. What?

[45:07] Alan Seales: No, it was just like, like George Salazar and Alex Brightman and Casey started the whole thing of like, just so you know, we all have injuries and we should start talking about it. And there's a horrible stigma around it. And I was interviewing Leslie Kritzer and she brought up her vocal, like she had, she's hemorrhaged twice.

[45:28] Kirsten Scott: Oh my God, twice?

[45:28] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[45:29] Kirsten Scott: Oh my gosh. I love her.

[45:31] Alan Seales: And I believe it was twice.

[45:32] Kirsten Scott: Okay.

[45:33] Alan Seales: And I believe it was her that said, yeah. And people just, they worry that like their career, your career is over, but it's so common.

[45:43] Kirsten Scott: It's so common. I have two friends very close to me that had, have very severe vocal injuries. One person got surgery and the other one I think might have to get surgery soon. It's really scary because you don't want people to know because you think as soon as people know, like, especially like producers, they're like, oh, I don't want to stake a show on that person if they have an injury because they could be calling out left and right. And if they're about the title, then we have to give people tickets. It's a whole thing. But to sing these kinds of, I mean, they didn't use to write scores like they do now. I mean, there were no women that were belting in the rafters the way that we are now. It's like, but you know, back in the day, like speaking of like Gypsy, you know, like,

[46:26] Alan Seales: Yeah. Yeah.

[46:27] Kirsten Scott: I mean, that belt does not go very high and that's like pure chest voice. So women now on Broadway are mixed belting up to notes that they never used to write to be mixed belted that high. So we're finding ways to still stay healthy and to sing up in the stratosphere. And it's really tricky to maintain eight shows a week. And it's, yeah, it should be a conversation because people shouldn't be scared to be open about it because it's a real thing and vocal health is very important. And I, I'm a huge proponent of that, of getting vocal therapy and getting voiceless and trying to, you know, make sure that you're singing healthily eight shows a week, but it's a struggle because sometimes you're just like, I just got to squeak that note out. And then that's the night that, you know, something happens. I know.

[47:11] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. Wow. Yeah. I really agree that I think it's sort of like mental health in the country in general, and then you want to get micro examples. Like it's the vocal, you know, vocal health, vocal, um, the analogy that Leslie and I were using was like, this is the Olympics of theater. Broadway is the top of the top. And even Olympic athletes hurt themselves and then they have to train. And no, it was like, oh, he sprained his, whatever, like that's totally cool. But then a singer who hemorrhages, they're just damaged goods forever. Like that should not be the case.

[47:46] Alan Seales: It shouldn't be the case. And there, and I don't know if it's, if it's an education issue, if we need to be, you know, when shows are starting from the ground up, if, if, you know, composers need to work with vocal health technicians that are saying, okay, this, you know, cause for, for example, like, uh, like Frankie Valli and Jersey Boys, like has a two week, a two show Frankie, like you don't have to sing that because they know that how challenging it is. And so I don't know if like, people just need to be on the ground floor of like, Hey, this is a really vocally challenging role. You need to either consider having a matinee replacement for this role or you need to like, yeah, alternate, or you need to maybe have, get higher.

I know, I know that a lot of people hire vocal coaches for, you know, if you're singing a really hard part, they just, yeah, it needs to be more in the conversation. I think from like the get-go as opposed to like, now I can't sing. Now what?

[48:36] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. The first time that really came to my attention was looking at Dear Evan Hansen because there is no Evan Hansen that does eight shows a week.

[48:43] Alan Seales: Oh, wait. Was there ever?

[48:48] Kirsten Scott: I don't, what? Did Ben Platt do eight shows a week? I don't.

[48:52] Alan Seales: You know what? You might be right.

[48:54] Kirsten Scott: I don't think so.

[48:55] Alan Seales: I should know this.

[48:56] Kirsten Scott: But now, I know Taylor Trench didn't, Andrew Barth Feldman does not because like, Michael Lee Brown's been there, I think since, yeah, I think since the beginning, he's been the alternate.

[49:05] Alan Seales: Okay, cool. I, you know what? I saw it on, I saw it actually opening night because my friend Chris Lynn Lloyd was in it. So I, yeah, I wouldn't have known. Okay. Wow. Yeah. It's just, you know, I'm always confused that there's not an Elphaba alternate or like, you know, like a role like that. You're like, you're singing your face off. That's, that's, yeah, but or even like, does, wait, does Kasey Leigh do two eight shows a week?

[49:31] Kirsten Scott: Yeah.

[49:32] Alan Seales: Yeah, so okay.

[49:33] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, I think she was the one because she started the whole Twitter thing.

[49:36] Alan Seales: Yes. So it's a, it's a real, it's a real thing.

[49:38] Kirsten Scott: That's hard.

[49:39] Alan Seales: It's a real consideration.

[49:40] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, it's, it's, it's not easy. And you, you basically, I mean, I love wine and bourbon and whiskey, and I have not been drinking with this show. Because I would much rather feel like I can get through my eight shows. And we do five show weekends, which is hard. I feel like I'd much rather get through my eight shows and not feel like I'm, you know, sandpaper on my vocal cords, than relax with my glass of wine at night. It's a real struggle. Struggle's real. But it's, but that's kind of what I've been doing. And also, I don't really do a lot outside the show. It's just, you kind of have to really, really maintain and it's, it is like the Olympics, you have to like, you have to stay healthy, you have to eat well, you have to exercise, you have to like, get drink enough water. It's really crazy.

[50:26] Alan Seales: It's, yeah, it's, yeah, your body, your body responds a lot to your mental health.

[50:30] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, absolutely.

[50:31] Alan Seales: Like, because I'm, I, it's been the same with me, I'll just like, go, go, go, go, go. And then when my, I just give myself that one little day or a weekend to be like, and then it all, then my body's just like, you know,

[50:44] Kirsten Scott: And then you get sick.

[50:45] Kirsten Scott: And you get sick.

[50:46] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I've been pushing pretty hard since we opened. And like, all of my days off, I've had something like, whether it's been like, my sister had a baby, so I flew to Pittsburgh.

[50:56] Alan Seales: Oh, congratulations.

[50:57] Kirsten Scott: My husband's family was in town. So like, I drove to New Jersey for, like, to the beach in New Jersey on a day off. So like, I haven't had a true day off, really, since we opened. And my body's slowly just like, maybe you should have that day off. But I am afraid that I'm gonna like, get sick. Like, I'm finally gonna stop and everything's just gonna.

[51:16] Alan Seales: You'll be alright.

[51:16] Kirsten Scott: I know.

[51:17] Alan Seales: Like binge, binge something on Netflix the entire day.

[51:20] Kirsten Scott: Oh my gosh, we've been watching, we've been going back to the West Wing.

[51:22] Alan Seales: Really?

[51:22] Kirsten Scott: Yes, watching it from like, season one.

[51:24] Alan Seales: It kind of makes me sad because I'm like, oh, that's what, okay. Yeah.

[51:29] Alan Seales: I have a hard time watching four by three formatted TV on my 16 by nine TV. I'm kind of a snob like that.

[51:39] Kirsten Scott: That's a very snobby.

[51:41] Alan Seales: They pillar box this show. I'm not sure that the story is gonna be good.

[51:47] Kirsten Scott: I will say it looks like a soap opera on my TV because it's, it's shot. It's so old. That shows now so old.

[51:54] Alan Seales: I know.

[51:54] Kirsten Scott: That the lighting, everything you're like, I feel like I'm watching like, like a early 90s soap opera.

[51:59] Alan Seales: I know.

[51:59] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, it totally does.

[52:01] Alan Seales: Like I care about AV qualities.

[52:03] Kirsten Scott: Oh, and I care about the characters. I'm like, oh my gosh, I don't care what it looks like. I just care about those characters and those people. They're my friends. Yeah, different perspectives.

[52:12] Alan Seales: That's funny.

[52:12] Alan Seales: Different ways to look at things.

[52:13] Alan Seales: That's funny. Yeah. All right. Well, let's wrap up here.

[52:16] Kirsten Scott: Yeah.

[52:17] Alan Seales: Oh, wait, real quick. Before we do.

[52:19] Kirsten Scott: Oh, yeah. Before we do.

[52:20] Alan Seales: TV and film.

[52:21] Kirsten Scott: Oh, yeah.

[52:22] Alan Seales: I wanted to cover that real quick. Yeah. So you've done a little bit of TV.

[52:24] Kirsten Scott: I have.

[52:24] Alan Seales: On Elementary.

[52:26] Kirsten Scott: Yes.

[52:27] Alan Seales: All My Children. So you have done.

[52:28] Kirsten Scott: Oh my gosh. I have done a soap opera.

[52:30] Kirsten Scott: Your own soap.

[52:30] Kirsten Scott: Before it left the city.

[52:31] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[52:32] Kirsten Scott: Quantico back in 2015.

[52:34] Kirsten Scott: Oh my gosh. Yeah.

[52:34] Alan Seales: Do you still like try out for audition for the TV and film world?

[52:38] Kirsten Scott: I actually today went in for a new show. I was going in to play a mom in a trailer park. So that was fun.

[52:47] Alan Seales: Older mom or younger mom?

[52:51] Kirsten Scott: A mom that like, like, like historical accurate mom who got pregnant when she was like 16.

[52:56] Alan Seales: Let's start calling teenage moms.

[53:00] Kirsten Scott: Historically accurate. Oh my gosh.

[53:03] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[53:03] Kirsten Scott: No, my daughter's just historically accurate having a child at 16. No, just like, like had a kid way too young. And it's just and has used all the drugs and all that made all the bad decisions. So yeah, it was kind of fun.

[53:18] Alan Seales: Do you go? Are you put in for in TV and film stuff?

[53:21] Kirsten Scott: Do you get sort of put in for a different type than you do on stage?

[53:26] Alan Seales: You know, yeah.

[53:28] Alan Seales: Because I played the ingenue on stage and I get the bad guy in TV and film.

[53:32] Kirsten Scott: Really?

[53:32] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[53:33] Kirsten Scott: Okay, so my TV and film career has been interesting because the first thing I did, I was in a movie. I was in the Sex and the City two movie and I got cut out. So I can't technically claim that I was in it because I got cut out of it. But that I was just like, I was like a singer at the wedding. But the first thing I like did was Quantico and I was a reporter and I was like Fox News classy reporter, blonde reporter. And then when I just shot this episode of Elementary, I was like a former porn star. And today I went in for like trailer trash mom. So I'm like, okay, am I slowly getting trashier and trashier and sluttier and sluttier for my film roles? I don't, you know what? I don't know. I go for such a variety of things because I feel like people still just can't kind of pin me down. Like I was saying before, like playing Sherry, people are like, you? And I'm like, yeah, me. I just, I don't know. I run the gamut, I guess.

[54:26] Alan Seales: Right.

[54:26] Kirsten Scott: I run the gamut, I guess.

[54:27] Alan Seales: Right. Well, the American in Paris tour, you did that?

[54:30] Kirsten Scott: Yeah.

[54:30] Alan Seales: 2017.

[54:31] Kirsten Scott: And I was like classy.

[54:32] Alan Seales: That's legit.

[54:33] Kirsten Scott: Damn, that's legit.

[54:33] Alan Seales: Legit singing.

[54:35] Kirsten Scott: Yeah, yeah. And even in like Follies, young Phyllis is it's that's very like legit, like mixy kind of stuff. And that's, yeah, yeah.

[54:44] Alan Seales: Well, you know, very talented.

[54:46] Kirsten Scott: Oh, no. I don't know. I just have multiple personalities or something.

[54:51] Alan Seales: Well, whatever works.

[54:52] Kirsten Scott: Whatever works, right? Whatever keeps me working.

[54:55] Alan Seales: That's right. All right. So now we'll wrap up. Okay, so the three standard questions.

[54:58] Kirsten Scott: Okay.

[54:58] Alan Seales: That I will ask everybody. Tell me.

[54:59] Alan Seales: The first one, what motivates you?

[55:01] Kirsten Scott: Joy. I feel like those moments that you just kind of, yeah, you can kind of just be wrapped up in the amazement of joy. Yeah.

[55:18] Alan Seales: That's beautiful. What advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[55:24] Kirsten Scott: You've really good instincts and your heart is usually right. So don't let your head try to lead you down a different path.

[55:36] Alan Seales: Also beautiful. Now, if you could only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you say?

[55:43] Kirsten Scott: Oh, this one's so hard. Oh my gosh. Because I'm like specific productions or like one musical. Oh my God.

[55:54] Alan Seales: People have said both.

[55:55] Kirsten Scott: Okay. Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I got to think hard about this one.

[56:03] Kirsten Scott: You know what? I feel like Ragtime. It's one of those shows that there's so many different elements and I'm always finding new things that excite me or challenge me in that show and I just think the whole thing is so beautiful and there's not a day that I listen to that music and not feel something emotional. It gets me every time.

[56:40] Alan Seales: Sweet.

[56:40] Kirsten Scott: Yeah.

[56:41] Alan Seales: Also beautiful. Now, on social, we can find you at KBScotty on Instagram and then, of course, rockofagesmusical.com to get tickets to see you at New World Stages. You can get more of me at thetheaterpodcast.com. Show your support at thetheaterpodcast.com slash Patreon. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter at theater underscore podcast and leave a rating, leave a review. Wherever you're listening now, it helps. This is produced by Jillian Hockman, edited by Matthew Hendershot, and then Jukebox the Ghost provided the intro and outro music. Thank you, guys. And of course, the biggest thanks goes to Kirsten here.

[57:18] Kirsten Scott: Thank you so much for having me.

[57:19] Alan Seales: Thank you. This has been so much fun.

[57:20] Kirsten Scott: Yeah. And your view is breathtaking.

[57:23] Alan Seales: I know. It's so nice. We don't have windows in our theater.

[57:27] Kirsten Scott: We're like underground. We're like in the subway tracks.

[57:30] Alan Seales: Well, thank you again.

[57:35] Kirsten Scott: Thanks so much.