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[0:00] Joel Crump: Welcome back to another episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. I am your host, Joel Crump, and I'm excited to share what's been going on on Broadway.

[0:08] Joel Crump: This week we have so much Broadway news, my review for The Great Gatsby at Paper Mill Playhouse, a new segment, and interviews with Eva Noblezada, Alyssa Fox, and Josh Rhodes.

[0:18] Joel Crump: So, without further ado, let's get on to this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel.

[0:23] Joel Crump: Broadway Buzz!

[0:25] Joel Crump: This week we have some very exhilarating Broadway buzz, especially casting and what's coming up on Broadway. But to start off, let's talk about Ja Ja's African Hair Braiding.

[0:34] Joel Crump: Ja Ja's African Hair Braiding on Broadway will be live streaming its final week of performances from November 14th to the 19th, live from New York City.

[0:42] Joel Crump: Produced in partnership with the League of Livestream Theater, the streams will be available via lolst.org.

[0:49] Joel Crump: You won't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see such an exceptional play from your living room. I love this show and I know you will too, so get your tickets to the live stream!

[0:59] Joel Crump: A couple of weeks ago, we talked about a rumor about who might be playing Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett next on Broadway. And it's true!

[1:06] Joel Crump: Tony Award winner Aaron Tveit and two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster will join the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, succeeding original stars Josh Groban and Annalee Ashford.

[1:18] Joel Crump: Tveit and Foster will step in as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett for a 12-week limited run beginning February 9th, 2024.

[1:26] Joel Crump: We've seen these iconic performances recently on Broadway in Moulin Rouge! and The Music Man, and now they will step into these roles of a lifetime.

[1:34] Joel Crump: This may be wild, but we have another original musical coming to Broadway this season.

[1:39] Joel Crump: Lempicka will come to Broadway's Longacre Theatre this season with performances starting March 19th, 2024 ahead of its April 14th opening night.

[1:48] Joel Crump: Eden Espinoza will star in the title role with Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin at helm as director.

[1:55] Joel Crump: The work follows the true story of Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka.

[2:00] Joel Crump: This young aristocrat-turned-artist flees with her husband from the turmoil of the Russian Revolution for exile in Paris.

[2:07] Joel Crump: To give you an idea of the amount of new musicals we have this year, I'm going to list them off to you right now.

[2:12] Joel Crump: We have Harmony, How to Dance in Ohio, Days of Wine and Roses, The Notebook, Water for Elephants, The Outsiders, Lempicka, The Heart of Rock and Roll, Suffs, Here Lies Love, and Back to the Future.

[2:25] Joel Crump: This season is packed with new musicals, so I'll be excited to see what Tony's season is like this June.

[2:32] Joel Crump: The new musical The Outsiders' initial casting has been announced.

[2:35] Joel Crump: Originating these iconic roles on Broadway will be Brody Grant as Ponyboy, Brent Comer as Daryl, and Jason Schmidt as Soda Pop, who will all make their Broadway debut.

[2:46] Joel Crump: Skye Lakota Lynch from Dear Evan Hansen will return to Broadway in the role of Johnny.

[2:51] Joel Crump: All four actors were seen in the La Jolla Playhouse premiere earlier this year.

[2:56] Joel Crump: The Outsiders is set in 1967 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, and their chosen family of Outsiders are in a fight for survival in quest for a purpose in a world that may never accept them.

[3:09] Joel Crump: This is just one of the exciting musicals coming to Broadway this season.

[3:12] Joel Crump: One of my favorite events every year is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and this year it was announced that Ann Juliette, Back to the Future, How to Dance in Ohio, Shucked, and Spamalot will perform in the annual event.

[3:25] Joel Crump: The parade is one of the reasons I fell in love with Broadway.

[3:28] Joel Crump: Being able to watch performances from my favorite shows on the parade is a highlight of my Thanksgiving every year.

[3:34] Joel Crump: I remember watching Spongebob the Musical in 2017 on the parade and thinking whatever this is, I love it.

[3:40] Joel Crump: And six years later, here we are.

[3:43] Joel Crump: So get geared up for performances from some of the best shows on the parade.

[3:48] Joel Crump: This week's Broadway review.

[3:50] Joel Crump: I recently saw The Great Gatsby at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, and the party was roaring on.

[3:57] Joel Crump: From the moment the show began to the end, you were immersed in the land of Gatsby.

[4:01] Joel Crump: When thinking about the iconic novel and film, you think about an over-the-top party host with all sorts of madness surrounding him, and that's what you get translated onto the stage.

[4:11] Joel Crump: In this production of The Great Gatsby, the story is taken out of the perspective of Nick Carraway, and is simply told as any story which allows you to learn more about each character and truly see what happens when Nick isn't around.

[4:23] Joel Crump: Jeremy Jordan, who plays Gatsby, is absolutely fantastic in this role.

[4:27] Joel Crump: Jeremy has played a ton of superstar roles, and this is one of his best.

[4:31] Joel Crump: We've all seen him sing his face off throughout his career, and this is one of the best times I've seen him perform so far.

[4:38] Joel Crump: Eva Noblezada, who plays Daisy, delicately plays a sweet, relatable Daisy.

[4:42] Joel Crump: She struggles with love, and from the moment she graces the stage, she heals you with her velvety voice.

[4:48] Joel Crump: She is so, so, so sophisticated in the role. If you know, you know.

[4:52] Joel Crump: Noah Ricketts plays Nick Carraway, and shines in this role.

[4:56] Joel Crump: He goes through a journey throughout the show, starting as the poor cousin to Daisy, and ending as a man who knows how to venture through the journey that is life.

[5:04] Joel Crump: No surprise, Noah kills it with his acting and vocal performance in this show.

[5:09] Joel Crump: Samantha Polley, as Jordan Baker, is a performance you will not forget.

[5:13] Joel Crump: Sam can sing, and I mean sing.

[5:16] Joel Crump: She also plays Jordan so fiercely, and is not afraid to speak her mind, which is brilliant, especially since this story takes place in the 1920s.

[5:25] Joel Crump: I obviously could not forget the stellar choreography by Dominic Kelly.

[5:29] Joel Crump: This choreography is some of the best that I've seen on stage, and Dom is definitely redesigning dance on Broadway with his moves.

[5:37] Joel Crump: Although this production is currently sold out, I've heard tickets pop up here and there, so make sure you join any list so you can get tickets to this beyond exciting show at Paper Mill Playhouse.

[5:47] Joel Crump: Now it's time for a new segment, Broadway Behind the Curtain.

[5:51] Joel Crump: Broadway Behind the Curtain

[5:54] Joel Crump: There are so many people behind the scenes that make every show amazing.

[5:58] Joel Crump: So today I'm talking about stage manager and Tony Award winner, Beverly Jenkins.

[6:02] Joel Crump: She has worked on shows like The Piano Lesson, Hadestown, A Bronx Tale, Holler If You Hear Me, Godspell, Shrek the Musical, In the Heights, Grease, The Lion King, Miss Saigon, and more.

[6:14] Joel Crump: In 2020, she won the Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater for her marvelous work for the past 30 plus years.

[6:20] Joel Crump: She most recently was the production stage manager for the revival of Bob Fosse's Dancing.

[6:26] Joel Crump: The stage manager makes sure that the show can run every night, even if that means having actors do split tracks, bringing in actors that wouldn't usually play the part, and making sure everything is jiving backstage.

[6:38] Joel Crump: Thank you Beverly for your fantastic work and all you do for the theater.

[6:42] Joel Crump: It's time for some interviews.

[6:45] Joel Crump: Since I'm still in a Gatsby mood, let's start off with Tony nominee, Eva Noblezada.

[6:50] Joel Crump: Eva is playing Daisy in the show, and after interviewing her and seeing her live in the show, she is now one of my favorite Broadway actresses.

[6:58] Joel Crump: So here is my chat with Eva Noblezada.

[7:00] Joel Crump: Hey you guys, I'm here with Eva Noblezada, and you are in The Great Gatsby at Paper Mill Playhouse.

[7:06] Eva Noblezada: To start off, tell me who you're playing in this show and what it's been like originating this character for the stage.

[7:10] Eva Noblezada: I'm playing Jay Gatsby, I'm just kidding, I'm playing Daisy Buchanan, and it's been thrilling.

[7:14] Eva Noblezada: And it keeps getting more thrilling.

[7:16] Joel Crump: Yeah, I mean we just got a sneak peek at what you're doing in this show, and you sound amazing at 10:30 this morning.

[7:24] Eva Noblezada: I hope that's what people think because it is early.

[7:27] Joel Crump: It's early, but what has it been like singing this new score and doing all this new material?

[7:32] Eva Noblezada: It's felt, this has been the most incredible theater experience of my life to be honest with you.

[7:39] Eva Noblezada: I've never been so, I've never been in a room where the creatives are so collaborative.

[7:45] Eva Noblezada: The foundation of respect is so grand, and it makes everybody want to bring their A-game.

[7:51] Eva Noblezada: And I've been telling everybody that it makes it feel like we're all limitless, like there's nothing we can't do.

[7:56] Joel Crump: Which is the perfect attitude to have for The Great Gatsby.

[7:59] Eva Noblezada: Yeah, totally.

[8:00] Joel Crump: I mean, you've done so much special theater. What is making this production unique and special from everything else you've done?

[8:08] Eva Noblezada: I've never done, other than Les Mis, which was sung through. This just feels like such a classic American piece.

[8:17] Eva Noblezada: It's more than just where it's set. It feels like we're bringing so much from the universe and from what we've learned as a society. I mean, the first lyric that we sing in the show is, I don't know about you, but I am done with Spanish flu. And after coming out of the pandemic, I think everyone wanted, we needed that release. We needed that abandonment of what traumatizes in the pandemic and just the joy of being alive and being healthy and being able to do theater.

[8:47] Joel Crump: Yes. I mean, what would you do with Jay Gatsby's huge fortune and what would your character do with that huge fortune?

[8:52] Eva Noblezada: Invest, buy all my family's a house. Yeah. Many houses. I would buy the land that my family lived in the Philippines and make sure they had a mansion there. Yeah. I would take care of my family because if I knew that I would still be able to do what I did in my life, I'd be like, let me take care of family first and live your life. I'd also probably steal a lot of like cool vintage things from Great Gatsby. Yeah, exactly. I mean, and just eat as much as possible.

[9:17] Joel Crump: Okay. But what are you eating? That's, that's the question.

[9:22] Eva Noblezada: Steak. I don't know if they had French fries back then, but they should, that'd be dumb if they didn't.

[9:25] Joel Crump: You're going to create them and be the inventor of French fries.

[9:30] Eva Noblezada: Hello. Thank you so much. Eva is just the best. She has done so many shows and I can tell this is just the beginning for her long career on Broadway. My next guest is the 20th anniversary Elphaba on Broadway, Alyssa Fox. Our chat is so fun and I'm thrilled for her to have this experience on Broadway. I also bring you another questions and character with my chat with Elphaba AKA Alyssa Joy Fox. Hey you guys, I'm with Alyssa Fox. You are the 20th anniversary Elphaba on Broadway. Just tell me, how does it feel? How are you feeling tonight?

[10:05] Alyssa Fox: I feel so wonderful. I think it's such a relief, such a release even to have an incredible audience like the one we experienced yesterday and today was unlike anything I've ever, ever experienced on stage. To be doing this show for so many former Elphabas and Idina Menzel herself, how did that feel for you? How did you cope with this feeling?

[10:25] Alyssa Fox: I think a lot of it was intimidating and I think I kind of had to reach a point where I was like, I cannot think about who is in the audience. I need to think about I'm doing this for younger me and I'm doing it for my grandmother who has passed and I'm doing it for 20 years of Wicked the Musical and how much that means to me and so it didn't matter who was in the audience. I was going to give the show that I was going to give and it was so very special.

[10:50] Joel Crump: So beautiful. What advice did you give yourself 20 years ago? I have to know.

[10:57] Alyssa Fox: I would say keep trying, keep going and I hope that I have made that younger Alyssa proud. Yeah, I mean to step into this role where Elphaba gets discriminated against and really struggles and copes with stuff that happens in our world. What has it been like for you and finding the truth in the story?

[11:14] Alyssa Fox: Yeah, I mean I feel like I identify with the character of Elphaba very much and through her I've grown as a person and so just being able to play her every night has been such a growth moment for me as a human being and as an actor and it's really, I've come out, I've never been the same since I first began to play her. I love it, Alyssa. All right, so I do this thing, it's called Questions in Character. So I'm going to interview you as Elphaba and this is right before Oz's Ballroom so you're not, you don't love Glinda yet. You're kind of like in this like weird stage of like what's going on, okay?

[11:46] Alyssa Fox: All right. Hey you guys, I'm here with Elphaba. This is, we're here at Shiz University. I mean I'm kind of going on the limb interviewing you here. I might get in trouble for this but I just want to know how's your first week at Shiz been for you?

[12:02] Elphaba: Well I'm trying to keep my hope alive but a lot of people around me are making that very difficult and I'm going to try to keep going and do what I know is right and if anyone doesn't like it they can peace out. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. What a fun interview chatting with the Elphaba. Go see her in Wicked on Broadway. You won't want to miss her stellar performance. My last interview today is with the director and choreographer of Spamalot on Broadway, Josh Rhodes. Spamalot began previews this week and I'm already hearing fantastic things about the survival. Josh directed and choreographed in DC at the Kennedy Center and is bringing more theater magic to the stage. So here's my chat with Josh Rhodes.

[12:31] Josh Rhodes: Hey you guys, I'm here with Josh Rhodes and you're the director and choreographer of Spamalot on Broadway. It was at the Kennedy Center and now you're bringing it to Broadway. Tell me how excited are you to bring Spamalot back to Broadway?

[12:56] Josh Rhodes: I'm stupidly excited. I never knew when we did it at the Kennedy Center when we put it up that this sort of a gift would be given to us and here we are ushering in Spamalot to a new generation. I couldn't be more thrilled and proud of the product and I'm excited for the 31st when we finally get people into the St. James to see it.

[13:15] Joel Crump: Yeah I mean Spamalot is such a goofy fun show and you were able to do a lot of fun work with it. Tell me what has been your favorite part of creating this show that is meant to be goofy and meant to be funny on stage?

[13:25] Josh Rhodes: Working with the actors to create exactly what you just said. You know the material is so well written but what inspires me is this cast. They're so wonderful and so to honor them it's sort of fun to find unique moments that are just theirs so that we can make this revival for them. Yeah. So that I really want the audience to walk away going wow that cast is I've never seen comedians and singers and dancers do that. Yeah. So I hope to do that and that's what inspires me in the room.

[14:03] Joel Crump: Yeah I mean you know Spamalot it's usually called Camelot but we have the Spam. I want to know what are your opinions on Spam? Are you a fan of Spam? What are your thoughts on Spam?

[14:08] Josh Rhodes: Well you know my family lives in Rochester, Minnesota. My sister does and she went to the Spam Museum.

[14:21] Joel Crump: Wait there's a Spam Museum?

[14:21] Josh Rhodes: Oh yeah in Spamalot the musical has a whole section in it and so I got as a gift a bunch of Spam and some socks. Let's say Spam. I mean yeah that's all you need in life. My dad actually he's a fan of Spam which I think is really which is really weird right but he has a Spam spatula, a Spam apron and I'll walk downstairs into the living room and I see him with this Spam merch on and I'm like why? Why? I don't know it's a thing it's I don't really know but apparently my sister said it tastes good with eggs.

[14:59] Joel Crump: Hey maybe you know Hawaiians really love it.

[14:59] Josh Rhodes: Yeah. So yeah clearly they know how to Spam it up. And Hawaiians like it I like it. Right. Yeah. Right the last thing I want to know is if you could play any character in the show which character would it be and I mean which character do you think you would have the most fun with?

[15:12] Josh Rhodes: I think Lance a lot. Yeah. He plays all those different roles and I love putting on a funny mustache and a new accent. I mean wouldn't that be fun?

[15:24] Joel Crump: Of course it'd be fun. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. Thank you so much Josh it's a pleasure to meet you. Can you believe that we have musicals about Spam on Broadway? From shows about corn to shows about Spam this is why Broadway is so magical. I want to give a huge shout out to all the Broadway publicists and press firms. On Monday it was National Publicist Day so I have to give a huge thank you to DKC O&M, Polk & Co, Bono Brian Brown, Slate PR, Grapevine PR, The Press Room, Matt Ross PR, and the press team at Lincoln Center Theater. I wouldn't be able to produce so much theater magic without you all and each and every one of you make my dreams come true. If you haven't seen on the Broadway Time Instagram yet the winner of the Sweeney Todd tickets is Melissa Sider but congrats!

We have so many entries for the Kristen Chenoweth autographed merch giveaway and the final day to enter is tomorrow. Stay tuned for a special Thanksgiving giveaway coming later this month. That's a wrap on this week's episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. I will see you next week.