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[0:00] Joel Crump: Hey, hey, May, what's up, everybody? It's time for another episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. I am your host, Joel Crump back with more Broadway buzz. It's the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year. And what better way to start than with this Broadway know-it-all? This week we are chatting about some Broadway news, we're doing a Thanksgiving Day Parade recap, a piece of Broadway history, and interviews with Sierra Boggess, Norm Lewis, Eric Idle, and John Du Prez. So let's hop right into your weekly dose of Joel.

[0:35] Joel Crump: To start off, the Tony Awards Administration Committee met to confirm its eligibility status of 10 Broadway productions for the 2023-2024 season. I know it's a bit early to start thinking about the award season, but with the slowed season, it's going to be absolutely nuts. Here are some of the highlights from the eligibility meeting. Brigah Haleen, Justin Guarini, Ariel Jacobs, and Casey Likes will all be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical category for their performances in Once Upon a One More Time, Here Lies Love, and Back to the Future. Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez will be considered eligible for their Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Featured Role in the Musical category for their performances in Merrily We Roll Along. Who will you be rooting for this season? I already have some of my picks.

[1:31] Joel Crump: Something that is really, really, really cool is that this year's Forbes Under 30 list features Broadway favorites. Among this year's list honorees are Ain't No Mo playwright, my man Jordan E. Cooper, The Book of Mormon alum, Dylan Mulvaney, Dear Evan Hansen star, Andrew Brunt Feldman, Theater Camp director, Molly Gordon, The Lion King alum, Lexi Underwood, The Book of Mormon alum, Aliah Chanel Scott, and Mean Girls star, we all know her, we all love her, Renee Rapp. I've had the pleasure of interviewing many of these stars, and each of them are as kind as they seem. I think it's really interesting how both Jimmy Award winners from 2018 made this year's list and are living the dream. And of course, I mean Angela Bassett Feldman and Renee Rapp. Congrats to everyone!

[2:19] Joel Crump: Now I'm gonna talk about something I don't usually talk about on the podcast, but it's something I study every single week. You know what it is. I'm talking about Broadway grosses. Many shows surged during the Thanksgiving holiday, which is very exciting for our community. Some shows that made over 2 million dollars include The Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton, Merrily We Roll Along, and Sweeney Todd. I love how two of those are iconic Sondheim shows that just fill my heart with joy. Shows that made the Millionaire Club include After the Musical, Aladdin, Back to the Future, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, & Juliet, Moulin Rouge, Six the Musical, Spamalot, The Book of Mormon, and Gutenberg the Musical.

That list is more than half of the currently running shows on Broadway, and it's so exciting that you know these shows are all succeeding. So make sure you are supporting live theater all the time and see the fantastic work these shows and artists are producing every week.

[3:21] Joel Crump: Now I want to talk about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. If you didn't know, the parade is one of my favorite events every year. This year's performances were stellar. We saw performances from Shucked, Spamalot, & Juliet, How to Dance in Ohio, and Back to the Future. What an incredible lineup. Are you kidding me? Shucked's performance had me grinning ear to ear. If you get it, you get it. Every time I get to see any piece of the corniness that is Shucked, I am beyond happy, and this performance was one not to miss. Spamalot filled my heart with joy. This cast is excellent. The vocals were excellent. And the dancing was excellent. This is one of my most anticipated shows of the season, and I can't wait for them to continue performing on TV.

I gotta go back in time to watch Back to the Future's performance again. & Juliet never fails to wow me, which makes sense because I've seen it three times. This show rings all the bells, and another one has been rung with this performance on the parade. Saving the most special performance for last, How to Dance in Ohio. I'm thrilled for the show to come to Broadway. It's such a unique story, and I can't wait to see it flourish on the Great White Way.

[4:36] Joel Crump: Now to some Broadway history. For this week's Broadway history, I'm talking about one of my favorite stories. It was a novel then turned into a film, a film then turned into a musical, and now the musical is being turned into a movie musical. So let me transport you back to 2005. After being talked up for weeks by talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who was one of the producers, the musical adaptation of Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple debuts on Broadway. LaChanze, who played Celie, wins the 2006 Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical. The show was revived on Broadway 10 years later with Cynthia Erivo winning a Tony Award for her performance in the same role. Now the film musical adaptation is about to be released as a movie this upcoming Christmas. I'm having the chance to see a screening of the film next week, so I will let you know what I think. But y'all better get excited because this cast is absolutely stacked.

[5:39] Joel Crump: Happy, happy, happy birthday to a Broadway time favorite and current star of Spamalot, Christopher Fitzgerald, Tony Award winner and writer of various plays and musicals, including Kimberly Akimbo, David Lindsay-Abaire, TV and theater star, and one of my absolute favorites, S. Epatha Merkerson. And lastly, TV, film, and theater actor Colman Domingo is about to be in the Color Purple film. Once again, happy, happy birthday! It's time for some interviews. To start off, I'm talking to one of my favorite Broadway actresses. She is currently starring in Harmony on Broadway. You know who it is? It is Sierra Boggess. This is her sixth Broadway credit, and she has been killing it on Broadway since her beginning. You may know her from The Little Mermaid or Phantom of the Opera, and she's currently starring in this new show written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman. So without further ado, my conversation with Sierra Boggess.

[6:39] Sierra Boggess: Hey you guys, I'm Sierra Boggess. It's opening night of Harmony on Broadway. How are you feeling?

[6:44] Sierra Boggess: I'm so excited. I'm emotional. I have a lot of adrenaline. There's a lot of people making their Broadway debuts tonight, so I'm just like freaking out for them. And I'm really excited to be back.

[6:55] Joel Crump: Yeah. Six Broadway shows. I mean, congratulations. What makes this show unique amongst the other Broadway shows that you've done?

[7:03] Sierra Boggess: I think this is true that this is the only, this is the first show that I've done where I'm playing somebody who actually existed. I mean, I like to think Ariel actually existed. She's there somewhere. Well, let's be honest.

[7:15] Joel Crump: Yeah.

[7:15] Sierra Boggess: I mean, let's be just honest. Okay, so this is my second show that I'm originating that like someone lived. No, but Mary, who I play, she actually existed. She's a real person that really existed. And so I am honored telling her story tonight.

[7:32] Joel Crump: Yeah, Sierra, what advice would you give to your younger self who dreams of all of this and more?

[7:38] Sierra Boggess: It's so good. There's so many things. I think tonight I'm gonna say be brave. Be brave. And to everybody out there who wants to do this, be brave. Just be brave. We need you, we need your voice. So be brave.

[7:52] Joel Crump: Yeah, the last thing I want to know is to be a part of this Bruce and Barry legacy that they've been waiting for for over 30 years. What does that mean to you?

[8:00] Sierra Boggess: Everything because it makes me emotional. They've been waiting for 30 years, and I get to be the one to tell this. Like, that's some spiritual alignment. It's like, why should I be the one? And I get to tell it. So that makes me, I, it's just, it's right. The stars have aligned.

[8:16] Joel Crump: Yes. Thank you so much.

[8:19] Joel Crump: Oh my goodness, Sierra Boggess is absolutely killing it in Harmony, and you guys should all go see this new show. My next guest actually played Sierra Boggess' father in The Little Mermaid on Broadway. You know who it is? One of my absolute all-time favorites, Norm Lewis. I had the honor of performing with Norm Lewis at his 54 Below Christmas show. And we have a wonderful chat about his Christmas album and this upcoming Broadway season. So here's my chat with Norm Lewis.

[8:48] Norm Lewis: Hey you guys, I'm with Norm Lewis, my pal, my buddy, Soberclose. We're here at Embrace the Season tonight. We're embracing things and tell me how are you embracing this Broadway season?

[8:58] Norm Lewis: I am embracing this Broadway season because there's some other stuff that's coming down the pike. You know, you got The Wiz coming in.

[9:03] Joel Crump: Oh my god, come on.

[9:05] Norm Lewis: That was actually the show that brought me into this musical theater world.

[9:08] Joel Crump: Really?

[9:09] Norm Lewis: Yeah, I remember being in high school, and I started listening to Broadway music, and someone said that, yeah, you should really listen to a show called The Wiz. And I knew what the story was about, but that music just turned my life and made me want to do this.

[9:23] Joel Crump: When I think of home, I think double play. Come on, come on, sing it.

[9:27] Norm Lewis: Just love overflow.

[9:30] Joel Crump: Come on!

[9:31] Norm Lewis: Now, if y'all didn't know, a couple years ago, I sang with Mr. Norm Lewis at his Christmas concert. I don't know. Tell me about your Christmas albums. How can all of our fans listen to them? Because they're truly impeccable.

[9:42] Norm Lewis: Well, it's on every platform, so just go there and you can find them anywhere. But it was a passion project that I just love Christmas music. And even though a lot of the music is not Christmas, it kind of just fits the theme of it. And you can just listen to it. And I even had some friends of mine who said they would listen to it like in June. So whatever. But no, it's just, it's one of those things. And I used to do a show at 54 Below every year, and this past year I didn't do it. This year I'm not doing it, unfortunately, but I will be back soon. But I will be at Carnegie Hall December 22nd and 23rd with the New York Pops doing some Christmas music, so I'm excited about that.

[10:22] Joel Crump: Yes, thank you so much.

[10:23] Norm Lewis: Thank you, brother.

[10:24] Joel Crump: It's great to see you too. Oh my god, you guys. Norm Lewis's Christmas album blows my mind. It is literally the Christmas album of all time, and you guys should be listening to it because it is finally the Christmas season. My last two guests are two of the original writers of Spamalot, Eric Idle and John Du Prez. These two guys have written all of the incredible Spamalot music you know, the clip-clop horses, and they just are super masterminds of comedy on Broadway, which won them Best Musical when the show originally opened 20 years ago. So here's my chat with Eric Idle, followed by my chat with John Du Prez.

[11:01] Joel Crump: Hey you guys, I'm with Mr. Eric Idle. We are here at the opening night of Spamalot. It's revived on Broadway after 15 years. Tell me, how are you feeling?

[11:09] Eric Idle: I feel very thrilled and excited. I mean, it's like it's an incredible gift to see it again.

[11:16] Joel Crump: Yeah, Broadway on Broadway. We have from just a hundred yards around there, can I shoot, but now we're here at the same games.

[11:22] Eric Idle: Yeah, I mean two fabulous theaters.

[11:25] Joel Crump: Yes, the best comedy houses, too.

[11:27] Eric Idle: Yeah. When you first wrote Spamalot, did you ever think that it would be the Tony Award-winning musical that it is, and it would be revived on Broadway in such a huge manner?

[11:34] Eric Idle: Oh, I mean when you begin to write a thing, you say, well, I wonder if it'll ever get done. So, I mean, that was the first thing Bill Haver picked it up. And then, you know, then Mike Nichols made it a big hit with Casey Nicholaw and me, and we've never looked back, really.

[11:50] Joel Crump: Yeah, of course. I don't know. If you could jump into the show, who would you want to play for one night only?

[11:57] Eric Idle: I thought actually, I did do it at the Hollywood Bowl. We put it on at the Hollywood Bowl about five or six years ago. I played the historian.

[12:03] Joel Crump: Oh, that's what we have to play.

[12:05] Eric Idle: A little bit of the beginning, a little bit of the end.

[12:07] Joel Crump: Yeah, all right.

[12:08] Eric Idle: Yeah, yeah.

[12:08] Joel Crump: Okay, so if you were banished to Spam for the rest of your life, how would you prepare it?

[12:14] Eric Idle: If I was one.

[12:15] Joel Crump: If you were banished to eating Spam only.

[12:17] Eric Idle: Oh, I'd be very happy. I'm a vegetarian.

[12:19] Joel Crump: Oh, there you go.

[12:21] Eric Idle: So no Spam for you.

[12:22] Joel Crump: No Spam for me.

[12:23] Eric Idle: Yes. I do collect the cans, though. I like them.

[12:25] Joel Crump: Thank you so much.

[12:26] Joel Crump: Hey you guys, I'm John Du Prez. You wrote the score to Spamalot on Broadway. It is finally back on Broadway after 14 years. Tell me how does it feel?

[12:35] John Du Prez: It feels we did something right, I suppose.

[12:35] Joel Crump: Yeah.

[12:37] John Du Prez: But I tell my, I'm gonna go up the Statue of Liberty tomorrow. Well, I'm gonna walk around the base of it. And it said, you can buy a ticket for the pedestal or the starry crown. And I thought, well, I got my starry crown tonight.

[12:51] Joel Crump: Yeah, you found your grill, you could say.

[12:55] John Du Prez: Yeah, it is. It's like I'm walking on air. I mean, it's just wonderful.

[12:59] Joel Crump: Yeah, I mean, did you ever imagine when writing this show it would be such a success as it is, this Tony Award-winning success?

[13:05] John Du Prez: No.

[13:07] John Du Prez: We hoped.

[13:08] Joel Crump: Yeah.

[13:08] John Du Prez: And I think just getting onto Broadway is pretty difficult. You know, everything's stacked against you just to get on. But then to win the Tony for Best Musical, and then to come back within 20 years, that's like I'm calling that three strikes, and you're in.

[13:22] Joel Crump: Yes, sure, for sure.

[13:24] John Du Prez: Thank you so much.

[13:28] Joel Crump: That's my cue, and I’m popping my way out of this episode. Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel. Next week I'm gonna have some very exciting rock news, interviews, and awesome. But it's gonna be what you like. I'll see you guys next week for another episode of The Weekly Dose of Joel.