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[0:00] Joel Crump: What's up everybody and welcome back to another episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. To end Women's History Month, I'm speaking to the Queens behind the scenes, the women of O&M. These women Broadway press agents make all the magic happen for so many Broadway shows, including Hades Town, Cabaret, The Heart of Rock and Roll, Lempicka, MJ, The Wiz, and very famously, Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark. Get ready for an awesome conversation that will inform you on all things Broadway Press. So let's get on to this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel.

[0:35] Joel Crump: Broadway Buzz! Before our interview, it's time for some quick Broadway buzz. The Jamie Lloyd directed London revival of Sunset Boulevard has been set to open at the St. James Theater. Previews will begin on September 26th with an opening night set for October 20th. Ariana DeBose will host the Tony Awards for the third time. The Oscar Award winner hosts the 77th award ceremony this year at Lincoln Center. I cannot wait for the award season. Casting for Cats, the Jellico Ball at Pearlman Performing Arts Center has been announced. The All-Star cast includes André De Shields, Antoine Hopper, and Shireen Pemental, just to name a few. So get ready for the Jellico Ball. Lastly, Nathan Lane will be honored by Virginia's Signature Theater at its 13th Sondheim Award on April 29th.

Paying tribute to Lane includes Faith Prince, Krista Rodriguez, James Caverly, and more. You all know I love Signature Theater, and I cannot wait for this exciting event. Now let's get on to this week's interview.

[1:31] Joel Crump: I am beyond thrilled to be speaking with some of the press agents at O&M. O&M is a Broadway press agency owned by Rick Miramontes. The agency is one of New York's most electric public relations agencies in the art and culture space, representing everything from mainstream shows to off-Broadway and downtown happenings, from world-class nonprofit institutions to legendary New York night spots. I am so excited to welcome Kendall Edwards, Bailey Everett, Morgan Zysman, Briana Sanchez, Ellie Detweiler, and Marie Bshara. So here's my chat with the women of O&M.

[2:09] Joel Crump: What's up everyone? As you may know, March is Women's History Month, and I wanted to feature special, impactful, and empowering women on the podcast. I look no further than Broadway press agents who make all the magic happen behind the scenes. If you've seen me with Samuel L. Jackson, Joel Gray, Abby Lee Miller, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Andrew Rannells, Danielle Brooks, Josh Gad, Ben Platt, Barry Manilow, and many more, it's because of these women. I'm very excited to welcome Kendall, Bailey, Morgan, Briana, Ellie, and Marie to this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. Welcome everybody!

[2:45] Kendall Edwards: What a name of Titan! I'm gonna need a tape.

[2:48] Joel Crump: Thank you so much. Let's start off and we'll go down the line and you introduce yourself. You say your name, the amount of years you've been doing Broadway Press, where you're from, and what you're currently representing.

[3:00] Kendall Edwards: My name is Kendall Edwards. I have been working at O&M for five years, and I interned at Bone O'Brien Brown for a year before that. I'm originally from Connecticut, and currently I work on MJ, Hades Town, Lempicka, and Stereophonic.

[3:20] Bailey Everett: My name is Bailey Everett. It'll be two years this summer. And I am from Georgia, and then I work on MJ, Hades Town, Lempicka, and Stereophonic with Kendall and Marie.

[3:35] Morgan Zysman: Love it. I'm Morgan Zysman. I'm from New Jersey. I'm currently working on A Beautiful Noise, Cabaret, and Sunset Boulevard coming up in the fall.

[3:48] Briana Sanchez: I'm Briana Sanchez. I'm from Texas. I will be at O&M six years this summer. And I work on everything Morgan said: A Beautiful Noise, Cabaret, and Sunset Boulevard.

[4:03] Ellie Detweiler: Yeah. I'm Ellie Detweiler. I'm from Iowa. I've been at O&M for four years now, and I'm on The Wiz, Swept Away, McKittrick Hotel, etc.

[4:15] Marie Bshara: I'm Marie Bshara. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. I've been at O&M for almost eight years now, and I work on MJ, Hades Town, Lempicka, Stereophonic, Joel Gray. I think that's it as announced.

[4:36] Joel Crump: Yeah. So I mean, as I look at the room, you guys are like the powerhouses of O&M, I think. Like when I'm at a Broadway red carpet, the people making the magic happen are you guys. So I want to know, could you guys share a moment in your career where you felt particularly empowered or inspired by the work you're doing?

[4:54] Kendall Edwards: Yeah. I mean, even on like the most basic level, like one part of our job is like picking what images go out into the world, whether that's like production photos or photos from opening night or picking sections of B-roll, like clips that then like go viral, and sometimes you're just like sitting there, and you're like, oh, that's out in the world because I chose that. And like, you know, like it's like these photos that you like grew up looking at, and now you're like, oh, I'm the one who picks those things, like who me? Like, it's so even on like the most basic level, I feel like that's always cool.

[5:34] Bailey Everett: Yeah, I feel like you know, when you interact with people that you have been admiring for so long, um, that's kind of where it gets me, where I'm kind of like I have been watching Jimmy Fallon since I was a child. Right. Now I get to book his, you know, some of my clients on his shows. I have been reading Broadway World since I was 13, and now you know, those people come to me with requests. Like, I think in the way that Kendall meant is like it really becomes like a full circle. And then when you get to like yell at actors, and you're like, I get to do that, yeah. Like that's where it's kind of like um amazing. And then also I would say is like there's this special moment when you have an idea and you think it's silly, and then you go to your colleague, in my case, it'd be like Kendall or Bailey, and be like, What do you think of this idea?

And they'd give you, and like, of course, it's women empowering women, and they're like, No, that's a good idea, and then you pitch it and you plan it, and you do everything from the start, and it was your idea, and then it goes out, and like the world loves it.

[6:42] Marie Bshara: Yeah, that's kind of for me one of my favorite things.

[6:46] Bailey Everett: I love that. I'll just say to Marie's point too. I think every office has its own style, yeah. And I think O&M does very like event-y, stunty-based PR, and so like to that point, like sometimes you have the craziest idea, and you're like, this would never be a thing, but everyone's like, Yes, let's do it, and like a lot of those like stunty moments are always like fun and feel so crazy to be a part of. And I feel like that's the moments that people always talking about, like the Bad Cinderella moment. That was impeccable. I love that. Or when Neil Diamond walked the carpet to "Sweet Caroline." Like that was the best thing ever. You know what I mean? So stuff like that I feel is magical.

[7:30] Morgan Zysman: Yeah, it's a lot, a lot of that. Sometimes you forget like the specific moment you can't. I started a journal a few years ago because I'm like, we're so lucky to be in this. I mean, yes, people don't know that we exist, like on the outside world in the public. But you know, one day when we're all like so old and our grandkids or whatever, we're gonna go through our journals and our memories and be like, I was in this meeting. I can I remember when we were sitting at the first Kendall and I were sitting at the first Bad Cinderella meeting that we were a part of, and Andrew Lloyd Webber was sitting at the head of the table.

[8:00] Kendall Edwards: Oh my god.

[8:00] Morgan Zysman: And I turned back to Kendall and I go, Can you believe that we're sitting at a meeting for a brand new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and he's sitting right there and he's hearing your ideas.

[8:09] Kendall Edwards: That's wild.

[8:10] Morgan Zysman: That's the kind of crazy where it's crazy.

[8:12] Bailey Everett: The pinch me.

[8:13] Morgan Zysman: Yeah, like the pinch me moments because it's easy to get jaded, you know, but it's moments like that where you're like, oh my god, this is crazy. Because at heart we're all theater nerds who grew up and now are professional theater nerds.

[8:27] Marie Bshara: Yeah, and working on like Company, Sondheim's last Company, working with Stephen Sondheim, I mean those final days. What was that like?

[8:34] Briana Sanchez: That was crazy. I said hello to him, and then there's a photo of me, an intern at the time snapped a photo of me standing next to him at first preview, and we're like applauding, and then I remember being like, Oh, I should like say something to him again, and I was like, No, I'll see him at opening.

[8:51] Kendall Edwards: Oh yeah.

[8:52] Briana Sanchez: Didn't get that chance, and I like fully regret it, but like I had that photo, and it's so cool.

[8:58] Marie Bshara: And you were sitting next to Stephen Sondheim.

[9:00] Briana Sanchez: Yeah, like it's so cool. And also like similar to that, I remember Neil Diamond came when we were in Boston before we came to Broadway. I remember the theater was like orchestra was empty. We're sitting there at tech, and I'm on an aisle seat, and I turn and across the aisle, Neil's just like there.

[9:17] Kendall Edwards: Yeah.

[9:17] Briana Sanchez: And Matt Murphy, our production photographer, had snapped a photo of like the two of us just sitting, like watching the show, and I didn't even realize that was Neil Diamond next to me.

[9:27] Marie Bshara: So things like that. It's like, whoa, that's cool.

[9:30] Bailey Everett: Right. Or like, you know, just Patti LuPone saying your name.

[9:34] Marie Bshara: That's very Patti LuPone in general, right?

[9:37] Bailey Everett: Yeah.

[9:38] Marie Bshara: Her alone. That's like breathing the same air.

[9:40] Bailey Everett: Yeah, like breathing the same air.

[9:42] Marie Bshara: Yeah, you know, that was like, that was truly wild. I remember being like, oh my god, Patti LuPone. No, she said my name.

[9:47] Kendall Edwards: She said my name.

[9:51] Bailey Everett: Right. Wow, that's great.

[9:53] Joel Crump: When presenting a pitch, what goes into it? You know, how you all work together with producers and create special moments for the press.

[10:00] Marie Bshara: What a good question.

[10:04] Kendall Edwards: We're so impressed. Obviously, we're not interviewing very much. We're all like great questions so far.

[10:11] Bailey Everett: Oh my gosh.

[10:13] Marie Bshara: But everyone has different pitching styles.

[10:16] Kendall Edwards: Like, pitching is so personal. And I feel like it's honestly like the one thing where like, at least like in our case, like when we're pitching, we like don't CC our entire team.

[10:27] Bailey Everett: Like until like something's confirmed, because it can feel like a little bit like almost like you're like asking someone out.

[10:33] Marie Bshara: You know, like it's like really personal.

[10:35] Kendall Edwards: Yeah. Um, and I think it like depends on your relationship with the person.

[10:39] Bailey Everett: Like pitching press versus like pitching an idea to your producers is a little is different, obviously, but pitching to press if it's someone you're close with and you know covers Broadway and you work with all the time.

[10:49] Marie Bshara: Sometimes it's as easy as like, hey, what do you think about doing this?

[10:54] Kendall Edwards: Yes, you know, or if it's like a harder sell, you have to like really make it sound exciting and enticing. But I would say like it's so personal, and everyone's style is totally different.

[11:05] Bailey Everett: Marie always makes fun of me because I'm like super formal.

[11:08] Kendall Edwards: But I did I was talking to an editor at like a major fashion magazine once, and he basically said to me, he was like, honestly, if anyone was like, hey, blah blah blah, his name, he deletes it.

[11:20] Bailey Everett: Like he doesn't, like there, there are people, it's all about relationships.

[11:25] Kendall Edwards: Our business is all about relationships. And if you have a friend that works at Vogue, they're going to read your pitch over somebody else because they know you, they trust you, they trust your taste.

[11:38] Marie Bshara: Um, and it's it is like it's a very personal relationship-y kind of system.

[11:44] Bailey Everett: Yeah. I mean, working on A Doll's House in Al Sunset Boulevard, what goes into those shows where they're big, they have huge stars in it, like even Cabaret. I think it depends.

[12:06] Kendall Edwards: We will do what's best for the show, but like we go to the publicist and we'll be like, hey, what about this idea? Are you comfortable with us pitching this? Or like, do you want to do it? Like, do you guys do that? I don't know. I think it depends on the show and the person and the producer, because some producers are very, you know, they need to know everything, they have to have a hand in everything, and some producers aren't like that.

[12:32] Marie Bshara: Right. And I think if a show has one star where nobody else is a star, that it's easy for me to just be like, okay, you tell me if you have, you know, this offer, this offer, this offer. That's fine. When a show has multiple stars, that's where it gets a little tricky because you have to be the traffic cop.

[12:49] Kendall Edwards: Right. You have to be like, you know what, let the show pitch it, let the show handle this because there's a strategy on everything, whether like what day you do something, when it comes out, when you pitch it, who you pitch it to, who's in it, what they talk about, and what month it's, you know, it all is a strategy when you have that kind of like I love how he asked you the question, and I had an option. It's a perfect answer. No, you're just like I get it, like I totally get it.

[13:19] Ellie Detweiler: It's a round table.

[13:20] Kendall Edwards: It's around it, yeah. And Ellie, this season, like The Wiz, we're bringing back this huge Broadway classic. What's it been like working on that? And you know, the tour and now Broadway. What are those differences?

[13:31] Ellie Detweiler: That was a huge difference. Is that we had to get, you know, by the time we've now come to Broadway, we have production photos, everybody, you know, like a lot of people around the country have seen the show and have seen a different version of the show than what's coming to Broadway. Obviously, Broadway versus touring, you don't have as big a budget as you may when you get to Broadway. And so I'm very excited now. We start previews on Friday, that's in a few days. I'm excited to see what's sort of been updated for Broadway, but you also have an audience then that's seen a completely different show, got to see something that was in the works. I mean, our creative team was in almost every city updating things as they went.

So every city essentially got to see sort of a different show, different costumes, different choreography. Luckily, we didn't change any numbers, so it wasn't that drastic, but it's still it's that's that was a huge change for me is to work on something that half of the country was able to see before you know we brought it to Broadway.

[14:29] Kendall Edwards: Right. Out of all of the industry, you know, Broadway public relations firms are the most represented by women, and I think that's so special. Why is why what is so special for you guys about PR, doing PR?

[14:43] Briana Sanchez: For me, I always I grew up always wanting to work in something behind the scenes, and I didn't know what it was until I got to college, and then I figured out what public relations was, and we had a guest speaker come to this club that I was a part of, and they said, you know, you can do or every industry needs public relations, and I was like, hmm, Broadway. And so I went home the next time I like went home from college and I went through my playbills and I looked for all the companies and wrote them down and made a little spreadsheet, and I once I that was my junior year, so I still had a little bit of time, but then I applied to things once I was out, and for me it's so special that like it worked out, and I had told people my senior year, like I want to work in Broadway PR, and especially in my club, and everyone was like, I want to do corporate or this and that, and like I said Broadway PR, and they're like, that's so niche, and like to have it work out was so special for me, and I just every day is like a dream.

[15:42] Marie Bshara: Right. I love that. I was gonna say one thing about this job is that not one day is the same. Like every single day is so different. I think that's also what makes it so fun, too. Like, you know, one day, you know, you'll be at the theater, but one day you're also you'll be in the office, but answering emails. So it's just like a mix of you know, everything, which is really fun.

[16:03] Morgan Zysman: Alright, cool. And something that I'm sorry, I can't help myself. Because no, I'm not sure. I said, thank you, Joel. First chair.

[16:16] Kendall Edwards: No, I've been waiting to speak on this job because I feel like so many people don't know this job exists, and I very biasedly think it's the best job on Broadway.

[16:26] Marie Bshara: Yeah. And it's so much fun. And what was I gonna say? Oh, um, what I think is publicity is fun and great in whatever you do, but what I think is really cool about being a press agent on Broadway is you are truly like part of the company, like you're a part of the company of whatever show you work on.

[16:45] Briana Sanchez: So, press is like the only department that intersects with every single department.

[16:51] Marie Bshara: And Marie says this all the time, too. Like, you talk to every day, and one day you will have calls and meetings with stage management, cast, producers, creative team, marketing, social media. Like, it goes across every single division and department, and that is really special about like theater PR specifically, as opposed to like talent PR or she's taking videos of me usurping.

[17:19] Kendall Edwards: No, this is this is this is the behind the scenes that people want to see, right? Yes, we have to be able to talk to do this job, and I clearly have no issue with it. You also have a podcast.

[17:31] Morgan Zysman: That's true.

[17:32] Kendall Edwards: He's really okay, you guys.

[17:37] Ellie Detweiler: Everybody's best friends.

[17:38] Morgan Zysman: It's on Spotify.

[17:41] Ellie Detweiler: Yes, I am. I love it. And anyway, now I'm really gonna stop. So I want to go down the line, and I want to I want each of you to share who's a Broadway woman who inspires you, and have you had a special moment with that woman. Does it have to be an actor?

[17:54] Marie Bshara: It can be whoever.

[17:56] Kendall Edwards: It can honestly be whoever. Anything.

[18:00] Briana Sanchez: Wait, we'll be inspired. I can start if you guys are famous. For me, when I interviewed Stephanie J. Block.

[18:10] Ellie Detweiler: Stephanie J. Block.

[18:11] Briana Sanchez: Yeah. That's a good one. I got into the What's Press Day. Oh my god, I was like, I'm done for the year. It was great.

[18:20] Marie Bshara: Oh, that's such a good question. I am very inspired by Broadway women directors.

[18:27] Kendall Edwards: Yeah.

[18:28] Marie Bshara: Directors and women producers. We work with Rachel Chafkin. I've worked with Marianne Elliott. I've worked with Lila Nogebauer. Like those women, um, Chafkin, I think that's the most recent relationship, so it's the one that I kind of remember the most.

[18:50] Briana Sanchez: Right.

[18:50] Marie Bshara: But like the way that she communicates and the way that she sort of like demands what she wants without being like rude, is I think very inspiring. We also work with a producer named um Sue Wagner from Wagner Johnson Productions, and she and I kind of started when I first started, she was sort of my main like woman person that I looked up to or was around me.

[19:14] Briana Sanchez: Um and people say that I talk like her a little bit and I communicate like her.

[19:20] Marie Bshara: Yeah, um, but it's because like she says what she means and she means what she says, and people respect her for that. Some people don't like her for that, but I think that has to do with the fact that she's a woman. If she were a man saying the exact same thing in the exact same way, people would just say that she was decisive. As a woman, we get called bossy all the time.

[19:44] Briana Sanchez: And as young women, we get called bossy. But our role is bot like a boss. Like I'm sorry, something out of the control things.

[19:58] Morgan Zysman: For me personally, like our accounts, I don't work with a lot of women producers. I would say the only one would be like Kristen Kaske from ETG.

[20:09] Marie Bshara: Right.

[20:10] Morgan Zysman: As well as like B. Carasini, who like works with her. And I just would like love, I worked with them in Gutenberg and Plaza Suite. So I would just like love sitting there in meetings and just like listening, listening to them. Like just like take charge of like, yeah, you are a boss. Like that was like really cool to see.

[20:28] Kendall Edwards: Yeah.

[20:29] Marie Bshara: Um, I wish I worked with more like women producers.

[20:33] Briana Sanchez: I was just gonna say, I feel like it sounds cliche, but like to me, all the people that work here and the other offices, because back to my previous point, like looking up, I was like, oh, that's an office that is just run by woman, or I can do that too. So it really is like you see it, and you're like you can picture yourself doing it.

[20:52] Marie Bshara: So yeah.

[20:53] Kendall Edwards: Yeah, that's what I was gonna say too. I was gonna say, like, not to be cheesy, but like Marie is someone that I look up to.

[21:02] Briana Sanchez: You're gonna make her sob at this table.

[21:06] Kendall Edwards: No, but and like Molly Barnett and Chelsea Navin, too. Like I got my start by literally sending a cold email to the two of them that was like, I have followed you guys and your careers for years. Like, is if you ever need an assistant, please let me know. And they were like, okay, weirdly enough, we literally just got out of a meeting with this company called O&M saying that we needed to hire a shared assistant, and like everything fell into place, and so I started off like half at each company and then went full-time O&M and then came here.

[21:40] Marie Bshara: And Marie and I sat next to each other but didn't work with each other for the first couple years, and like I just think Marie's an amazing publicist, and I think Molly and Chelsea are an amazing publicist, and they're people that I really look up to genuinely.

[21:53] Briana Sanchez: I love that.

[21:54] Marie Bshara: I'm gonna cry.

[21:56] Morgan Zysman: Not to be cheesy, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Marie. So my story. I was a senior in high school. I went to this like QA panel. It was about PR on Broadway, and Marie was one of the panelists.

[22:13] Briana Sanchez: And after the panel I ended, I went up to her and I was like, Can I get your business card? Like, I'd love to set up like wait learning more about PR and all that, and then like I'd emailed her the day after be like, thank you so much for being on the panel. Like, would love to learn more about internship opportunities here, and then like you're exploding so crazy, like that's crazy.

[22:36] Kendall Edwards: Isn't that crazy?

[22:37] Briana Sanchez: That's incredible.

[22:38] Marie Bshara: You're an inspiration.

[22:39] Morgan Zysman: You're Marie, you're a game changer.

[22:42] Kendall Edwards: I'm like, I'm so excited. I would just say my first my first opening was Into the Woods with you and Kendall and Bailey, and my first press date was Sam Jackson.

[22:55] Briana Sanchez: Oh my gosh.

[22:55] Kendall Edwards: So you're just the game changer, bro.

[22:58] Briana Sanchez: Just a game changer.

[22:59] Marie Bshara: Wait, wait, wait. Petition to replace the Statue of Liberty!

[23:03] Kendall Edwards: Let's do it.

[23:04] Marie Bshara: Let's do it.

[23:05] Briana Sanchez: Or Doppy Square.

[23:09] Morgan Zysman: Link in bio police.

[23:12] Kendall Edwards: Right. We were just saying we were remembering Into the Woods and that opening, and you had reached out and you were like, Can I have a spot on the carpet? There'll be two of us. And I remember writing back and saying, I'm so sorry, like it's so tight, we can only have one person from your outlet. And you're like, oh, but I actually need to bring two because I'm a minor, so I have to bring my mom. And we were like, oh my god, what? But then you had like linked out to interviews that you had done at I think it was the Broadway celebrates June 10th event. And we were like, let's get this guy and his mom on the couch. And the rest is history. And then I remember at the end too, you came up to me with your card, and you're like, this was my first red carpet. And the rest is history, you guys. Now he's talking to Sam Jackson and celebrities.

[23:55] Marie Bshara: And it's because you you are a professional.

[23:58] Joel Crump: You know. Look at these questions that you came together. This is I've never been to an interview where someone has questions in an open. I feel the best for you guys. Before we end, we're gonna end soon. Let's talk about this season. This season, you guys were presenting the best shows. I mean another page! Lempicka, El Mago Pop, Gutenberg, Harmony, The Wiz, Cavalry Hard and Rock and Roll, and all the other shows too on this Broadway season. Tell me, what are you guys excited to see? And what has been like your favorite part this season?

[24:30] Kendall Edwards: Wait, like our own shows?

[24:31] Marie Bshara: Own shows, which you want to see, everything.

[24:34] Briana Sanchez: Oh, ooh. I'm most excited for Cabaret.

[24:38] Bailey Everett: Yeah, yeah, I'm really excited.

[24:40] Morgan Zysman: I'm excited for covering for The Wiz.

[24:43] Kendall Edwards: Selfishly, I love Stereophonic. You know what I'm saying? I'm a merch. I was gonna say something about it.

[24:52] Marie Bshara: Yeah. Um, but no, I'm excited for The Wiz, Cabaret, Stereophonic. We're really obsessed with Lempicka right now. Very doing its thing. Lempicka is one to watch, that's for sure. Um always love El Mago Pop. I loved that shout out. If you didn't get to see it, you missed out. Best two weeks of my life. Um yeah, I would say, I mean, we're also, you know, we like are also biased. You know, just like love our own shows. It's hard when you don't love it.

[25:29] Bailey Everett: Right.

[25:30] Marie Bshara: It's too hard of a job if you didn't love the theater.

[25:33] Kendall Edwards: Yeah. You know?

[25:34] Marie Bshara: Yeah. Yeah, you have to be the biggest cheerleader for your shows. Like, you really do.

[25:39] Joel Crump: Okay, wait, this is the actual last thing. I'm sorry, but I can't I had to ask about this. What are you guys' favorite pictures that you've done? And I want to start with you, Marie, with the Bad Cinderella and the leg cake.

[25:51] Marie Bshara: That was my favorite moment ever. I just I always want to go out on the line, share your favorite moments in Broadway press for you.

[25:58] Kendall Edwards: Oh god. Um god the Bad Cinderella cake was something that wasn't really planned. I mean, it was the whole thing was very much like we were practicing with Lynade. Yeah, and she was like, What do I do when I do I just write it? And I said, Well, why don't you just like look back a little bit at the camera? And so what she did, what she did when she looked back is she kicked. And so that went it was the cake that went around the world. It was super viral. It went really viral. And it all just came from like the question of like what do I do, you know, if I feel like if in the middle of it, and you just said, Well, just give it like a cheeky look back. It was it was the best. Um another like highlight, I'm trying to remember, I feel like I'm gonna tomorrow.

I'm gonna be like, I wish I said this thing. Um I gotta say that this was only last week, but I've had many great experiences. Oh, Mockingbird, and I had all this stuff for Mockingbird going to DC with oh my god, Mockingbird, Madison Square Garden. That was gonna be a good one. That was a big one. No, but I think honestly, this came from just like a small idea was Rachel Chavkin in between um the two Lempicka and Hadestown. That portrait was really an idea that we had. Yeah. Like just me, Kendall, Rick were sitting there, kind of just eye like ideating, and that and then it kind of blew up last week, and I feel like it was great. It was awesome. I love seeing that.

[27:32] Briana Sanchez: Yeah, but I I literally, if you give me 20 more minutes, I would have come up with like 20 other answers. I this job has been so fulfilling.

[27:42] Bailey Everett: Yeah.

[27:43] Briana Sanchez: I was gonna say the Madison Square Garden for Mockingbird. I was an intern at the time, and I remember that was massive. It was like 18,000 public school students were offered the chance to come see To Kill a Mockingbird on stage at Madison Square Garden. It was like a two day press event essentially. That was huge. I remember going up to those box seats to watch the show, and I was like, I was a part of something really cool today.

[28:05] Morgan Zysman: Yeah, you were an intern at that time?

[28:07] Briana Sanchez: That, by the way, was like two weeks before the pandemic, before Broadway shut down.

[28:12] Kendall Edwards: Wow.

[28:13] Briana Sanchez: I remember thinking, if that was postponed or whatever, it was not gonna happen.

[28:13] Marie Bshara: It was not gonna happen.

[28:20] Briana Sanchez: Yeah.

[28:21] Marie Bshara: Wow. Also near that week was the company Galantine's Day event, which I remember. I had so much fun with that. That was like it was like 3,000. No, probably not. I'm over. They're not gonna be a little bit more than the balloons. It was absolutely insane amount of balloons. We took out every single Party City. Every single silver white red balloon was in our office.

[28:45] Kendall Edwards: But it was so brilliant. I mean, company was I love company forever. Um, so technically wasn't on Broadway, but Neil Diamond at Funway. Oh bringing him out and just like watching like the crowd's reaction being like, that's actually Neil Diamond. He's about to start singing Sweet Caroline. That was that was insane.

[30:02] Morgan Zysman: It was. Lay open your chest, Mario!

[30:02] Marie Bshara: Yeah.

[30:02] Briana Sanchez: For sure. That's that's how mom felt when he walked on the carpet in December. She was like, oh my god, that's Neil Diamond walking by me right now.

[30:02] Marie Bshara: Yeah, that was that was an insane night because I remember we were all on standby for him to come. Obviously, we knew he was gonna come, and then it was like, okay, he's coming, and we were like, okay, everyone get ready. And then that was for 15 minutes straight. It was like, he's coming, we swear, he's coming. He was like stuck in traffic somewhere. And then finally he came, and it was like, oh thank god, roll, roll the song, play it, play it.

[30:02] Kendall Edwards: Right.

[30:02] Marie Bshara: And I thought, oh my god. But yeah, I think that was my top one. Neil Diamond at Funway.

[30:02] Morgan Zysman: Um, for me, I think, I mean, I'm sure there's more, but this past fall working on Gutenberg. Oh wow, yeah. My one of my biggest tasks was the guest stars.

[30:02] Bailey Everett: It was you?

[30:04] Kendall Edwards: Yeah, so how many emails estimate do you think you said?

[30:09] Morgan Zysman: Thousands. Yeah. Thousands. A lot. But no, no, like, no joke, like it was thousands. Right. And like the beginning, I would say was like the toughest part because we didn't even know how it was gonna work and all that, and the bigger names were like, eh, like you know, type of thing, and then once we did get people to do it, they came back, and people would say yes, and like just seeing that like happen, and then also like seeing it on social every night because they would get it out right away, and seeing people's reaction was that was fun for me. I remember going on TikTok every day, wanting to see who the person was. The few times I was like in the audience for it too, I like was so nervous like to see the reaction of the audience. Like I felt like I was going on stage, but um, yeah, that was pretty pretty cool for me.

[30:57] Marie Bshara: Yeah.

[30:58] Ellie Detweiler: One thing that's coming to mind for me, just as like a theater fan, I think, is um the Ragtime reunion concert was really special. We got to stand in the back and just watch, and that was just so cool.

[31:14] Kendall Edwards: And you had never like seen the show.

[31:15] Ellie Detweiler: I'll never know. I did not know the story.

[31:20] Briana Sanchez: Are you kidding me? I went in line and she screamed at that.

[31:24] Ellie Detweiler: I wasn't tearing it. Listen, my dream is in 15 years to revive Ragtime.

[31:29] Marie Bshara: Yeah.

[31:29] Ellie Detweiler: I want to do it with like 25 million. I don't know where I'm getting this money from. But I'm going to do a huge big budget Ragtime.

[31:35] Kendall Edwards: Do you have a dream cast?

[31:37] Ellie Detweiler: Yes.

[31:38] Kendall Edwards: Do you have it ready?

[31:39] Ellie Detweiler: Careful, don't put it on the thing. Tell us offline.

[31:41] Kendall Edwards: Yeah, yeah, you're right. Yeah, so don't steal your idea.

[31:46] Marie Bshara: Yeah.

[31:50] Ellie Detweiler: And my older sister Savannah, she's gonna kill me for saying this. I wanted to play Sarah's friend.

[31:56] Briana Sanchez: But she comes out in belt and then leaves the stage. That's what I wasn't hearing.

[32:02] Marie Bshara: Oh my god.

[32:06] Kendall Edwards: I'm trying to think what mine are. I feel like there's one from Betrayal that immediately comes to mind with Tom Hiddleston and Charlie Cox.

[32:16] Bailey Everett: Yeah.

[32:16] Kendall Edwards: Because it was also one of those moments. This was like one of the first shows I ever worked on, and like I was like a new assistant, and we were in an ad meeting, and they were like, we need to come up with something crazy to do for Halloween. Like everyone just started yelling ideas. And I was like, had never spoken in an ad meeting before. And then I was like, this is probably so dumb, but what if we have Tom and Charlie dress as each other's characters for Halloween because they're both huge Marvel characters? Of course. And everyone was like, that's a good idea. And it was like the first time I had spoken up, and then it actually happened, and then was like this totally viral moment of Tom and Charlie switching characters, and I remember like seeing the photos in EW and people and just thinking, like, oh my god, like that was so cool.

Like when I was like young and and starting out. And I think the Music Man marching bands also was it was really fun. That was another thing with the with all the schools. Um we had I think it was three different schools came and marched on the city.

[33:19] Marie Bshara: Yes, that's true.

[33:21] Kendall Edwards: On the talk of the town, so yeah, it's it's it's cool. It's this fun job. God, I honestly could sit here and we could talk all the time.

[33:30] Marie Bshara: I know we could.

[33:31] Kendall Edwards: I was like, how about that middle and Hello Dolly?

[33:36] Marie Bshara: Oh God, I know. It's all coming to me.

[33:38] Joel Crump: Well, what's funny is that I was going on everybody's playbook page because you all each have one. I was just rolling through.

[33:43] Briana Sanchez: Rihanna!

[33:48] Joel Crump: It's like your whole everything you've been told. Seriously.

[33:53] Marie Bshara: Yes.

[33:53] Joel Crump: But I was just looking through seeing what you guys have covered. I'm just like, oh my God, this business is the best.

[33:58] Kendall Edwards: Yeah.

[33:58] Joel Crump: So we are lucky as a business that you are a part of this.

[34:02] Marie Bshara: Thank you.

[34:03] Joel Crump: And often waiting journalist. You're so great and so professional. And you're welcome on all of our carpets and events forever.

[34:11] Briana Sanchez: Well, thank you guys. Thank you for being on this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel.

[34:15] Kendall Edwards: Thanks for having me.

[34:18] Joel Crump: The best way to end off Women's Month with my favorite Queens behind the scenes. Well, that is this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. Thank you so much for listening. I want to thank all the women of O&M for having me in the office. I want to thank Rick Miramantes, the president of O&M, for allowing me to be at all these events and for allowing me to have this time to speak with all these fantastic women. But right now, I do want to give a huge shout out to all Broadway female press agents out of all the industry. Females are most represented in the press industry. And I am so blessed to be able to work with these Broadway women who make the magic happen, who make sure red carpets and press events flow, and to make sure that I have the best Broadway content for you all.

I am so lucky to work with all of them. There's no better way to end Women's History Month than appreciating these women. Thank you for all the work you continue to do for the Broadway community. You guys know how busy this season is there's going to be so much thrown at you in the next couple of weeks on Broadway time on The Weekly Dose of Joel on my Joel Crump official page. So stay tuned there are some I mean guys you guys are gonna freak out but there are some very exciting things coming our way so keep up on the podcast on my Instagram on everything and I am sure that you guys will have a Broadway overload in the next two months. I'm sure of it. But thank you for listening to this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. I'll see you next week for more Broadway magic.