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[0:00] Will Armstrong: Today we'll discuss Come From Away, which opened recently at the Ahmanson Theater.

[0:05] Will Armstrong: Jennifer Lynn O’Hara, one of our West of Broadway ensemble members, talks about Elf the Musical, which she saw in Long Beach, and another awesome ensemble member, Wendy Rosoff, was at a screening of Mary Poppins Returns with Lin-Manuel Miranda himself.

[0:19] Will Armstrong: It's West of Broadway for December 5th, 2018.

[0:25] Will Armstrong: It's curtains up on another episode of West of Broadway, a celebration of musical theater in Los Angeles.

[0:31] Will Armstrong: I'm celebrity publicist and theater veteran Will Armstrong, along with radio host and theater enthusiast, Lara Scott.

[0:36] Will Armstrong: And we can't wait to tell you about one of the greatest theater experiences of both of our lives in just a moment.

[0:41] Will Armstrong: But first, let's get to some LA Theater buzz.

[0:43] Will Armstrong: Okay, if you missed Dear Evan Hansen like we did at the Ahmanson Theater, which by the way smashed a weekly box office record in LA with five consecutive weeks over two million.

[0:53] Will Armstrong: Well, Center Theater Group has announced a return engagement, and for that we say thank you.

[0:57] Lara Scott: Yeah, on behalf of Will and myself, thank you for doing this.

[0:59] Lara Scott: I know.

[1:00] Lara Scott: It'll be back during the 2020-2021 season, which feels like forever.

[1:05] Lara Scott: Hey, it's almost 2019 as we're recording this.

[1:07] Will Armstrong: So, like on the calendar now.

[1:10] Lara Scott: We must get ourselves there when it comes back.

[1:11] Will Armstrong: Agreed.

[1:12] Lara Scott: And The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever comes to the Sherry Theater in December 7th and runs through to December 22nd.

[1:18] Will Armstrong: Is that actually the name of it?

[1:19] Lara Scott: Yeah.

[1:20] Will Armstrong: Oh, I love it.

[1:21] Lara Scott: I love it.

[1:21] Lara Scott: No, seriously, it's um 18 comedic actors play nearly 30 different characters in a Christmas spectacular that is sure to get you in the holiday mood.

[1:28] Lara Scott: The fast-paced holiday comedy follows a small gay community theater as they struggle to pull together their annual holiday pageant.

[1:35] Lara Scott: Uh, tickets and information are available at DefianceTheaterCompany.com.

[1:39] Will Armstrong: Well, the first national tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway smash Come From Away opened its Los Angeles engagement on November 28th at the Ahmanson Theater.

[1:48] Lara Scott: And we were there for that one, Will.

[1:49] Will Armstrong: We sure were, and it was just so amazing, and it is so hard to describe how this affected both of us.

[1:55] Lara Scott: I know, I think we both cried through the whole thing.

[1:57] Will Armstrong: We did, and everybody around us was crying. The lady next to me was searching for a tissue in her purse.

[2:01] Lara Scott: No, I had a sweater, it was super long, and I just I was so thankful for it because I just kept wiping and wiping and took off my glasses.

[2:08] Will Armstrong: It was an amazing thing. Someone needs to come up with a sweater that has like tissues for the sleeves or something like that because it happens.

[2:14] Lara Scott: Sometimes you go to these shows, and again, we walked in knowing nothing about it, and we just weren't prepared for how that emotional impact was gonna hit us.

[2:23] Will Armstrong: So Come From Away tells the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers on 9/11 in the small town of Gander in Newfoundland that welcomed them.

[2:32] Lara Scott: And I should say we don't learn the stories of all 7,000, but you focus on the small group, highlights.

[2:39] Will Armstrong: Highlights. Now there were people from all over the world from different cultures who spoke different languages.

[2:44] Lara Scott: So everybody was stressed out. So you have everyone with different languages, everybody stressed, you get some clashes.

[2:49] Will Armstrong: But there was also trust, gratitude, friendship, and lots and lots of music.

[2:53] Lara Scott: And well, why don't we start there with the music?

[2:56] Will Armstrong: It was amazing. I loved everything about it.

[2:59] Lara Scott: Um, Irene Sankoff and David Hein created some amazing music and lyrics and of these haunting, toe-tapping, poignant, and oftentimes magical tunes.

[3:08] Will Armstrong: Like it was everything you needed to be to such a delicate topic. It was so brave and respectful. It was just really amazing.

[3:16] Lara Scott: Um, my favorite part though, I don't know if it was yours too.

[3:19] Will Armstrong: I feel like it was everybody.

[3:36] Lara Scott: It was just so beautiful.

[3:37] Will Armstrong: And the whole show moved so quickly.

[3:40] Lara Scott: Yes, that you can't they don't toss like some shows, they stop and they're like bada and everyone applauds.

[3:45] Will Armstrong: That didn't happen. They went to the next thing, the next thing.

[3:47] Lara Scott: And at the end of her song, half the audience was like, damn it, I'm clapping, you know.

[3:51] Will Armstrong: And it was just because you had to, because we had to pay respect for this beautiful song so beautifully performed.

[3:58] Lara Scott: And a beautiful life. Oh, this I don't like give away too much, and we will put a spoiler alert at the beginning of the show because we've already given away too much.

[4:06] Will Armstrong: But yeah, what the way that she tells her story from being a kid who always wanted to fly to then being in the air the day that 9/11 happened and ending up in this tiny town that she'd flown over a million times and her story of how this affected her because everybody has that story, right?

[4:22] Lara Scott: Of where they were when the plane hit and what they were doing, and this was hers. Tracy Gilchrist, who's the host of the Advocates podcast, and she's an incredible LGBT editor and producer, and I ran into her in the theater and we were messaging back and forth after the show, and I said that I was so overwhelmed with my own story of September 11th, and I thought everybody in this room must be going through that same journey like that.

[4:50] Will Armstrong: So it was because this story is more heartfelt and inspirational than focusing on the tragedy and the loss.

[4:58] Lara Scott: The tragedy is the catalyst for all these other stories being told. But it's about the human spirit and generosity and treating others as we would want to treat like if we were in that situation, how we everyone just opened their homes and opened their hearts.

[5:12] Will Armstrong: It was the okay, this is the furthest I've gotten explaining my experience without crying.

[5:17] Lara Scott: Like it was it's been like a week now, and I'm just still so moved and haunted by this incredible story of hope.

[5:25] Will Armstrong: Yes, and I was gonna say ultimately it's a hopeful story, because I had somebody say, well, wasn't it depressing?

[5:30] Lara Scott: And I said, no. I mean, it does take you back to the emotion of that day.

[5:35] Will Armstrong: And looking around, I didn't see any kids. I mean, pretty much everybody I saw looked like they were old enough to have gone through 9/11 and remember that.

[5:42] Lara Scott: So we're bringing all of that with us into the theater.

[5:45] Will Armstrong: But ultimately you come out of it, and for me, I thought back to those images of everyone in Manhattan, you know, helping people walk down the street or welcoming them into their homes, and how out of just such awful things, something beautiful came.

[6:00] Lara Scott: This was before everyone had a cell phone. This was before everyone had that instant communication.

[6:04] Will Armstrong: There were lines of people waiting by broken payphones, you know, and like that was the best we could do.

[6:12] Lara Scott: And for these people from all over the world all of a sudden found themselves in this place they didn't want to be and didn't know where they were, and dealing with xenophobia of people from all over the world and not knowing who to trust and what was going on, and if they were it was just so incredible.

[6:27] Will Armstrong: It was incredible. They really did a great job, I think, of taking us to that place where nobody really knew what was happening, you know, and feeling a little bit a lot disoriented in that moment.

[6:36] Lara Scott: It was also so incredible that such a large cast of characters was played by a relatively small group of really talented people who played multiple roles.

[6:44] Will Armstrong: Yeah, let's talk about how they did that because first of all, every single person is amazing, and I think they're all on stage the entire time, except maybe when they're like running through the trees to come through a door as a different character.

[6:55] Lara Scott: But it's gonna sound like a comedy show the way I'm gonna describe it because somebody would be speaking like, ooh, a boot in this very thick Canadian accent, turn around, put a jacket on, and suddenly they're a southern person speaking with a very thick southern draw.

[7:10] Will Armstrong: So not only are they remembering their lines, but they're remembering which accents like nobody messed up.

[7:14] Lara Scott: Nobody was dressed as a Canadian speaking with a Brooklyn accent.

[7:17] Will Armstrong: Well, I found myself emotionally connecting with one actor in their three different roles.

[7:24] Lara Scott: And like and towards the end of the show, when that when one of the roles was done and they were the and you didn't think you were gonna see them again, I felt like I was gonna miss that character.

[7:33] Will Armstrong: I didn't want it to end.

[7:34] Lara Scott: Oh my god, it was so good.

[7:36] Will Armstrong: And they had, yeah, it was just and like the woman with the Brooklyn accent, it was so Brooklyn.

[7:41] Lara Scott: And then the Canadian accents were so amazing, and there was Egyptian, and there was like you said, Dallas, and it was just yeah, and the songs and the music and the performances, it was such a talented group of stellar performers.

[7:56] Will Armstrong: I'm so happy proud to have been there the opening night.

[7:58] Lara Scott: Yes, well, you looked like one of the cast members because you were dressed in a red plaid flannel shirt, like you were straight in from Canada.

[8:06] Will Armstrong: Well, yeah.

[8:08] Lara Scott: Um, incidentally, the Canadian consulate was there.

[8:11] Will Armstrong: They must be so proud of this.

[8:12] Lara Scott: Yes, you know what I mean? Like it's such a I mean, Canada's just amazing.

[8:16] Will Armstrong: It's full of just like, you know how there's stereotypes, the stereotypical Canadian is this lovely, wonderful, very friendly person, is like, excuse me, you know, and like it and it's just I and it even the people from the consulate and the Mounties that were there on the red carpet, like it's just they were so kind and nice and posing for photos with everybody and proud to share this story of like hope and generosity of spirit.

[8:39] Will Armstrong: It was incredible.

[8:39] Lara Scott: And by the way, we have to give a shout-out to another podcast, and that is the one that sent her theater group.

[8:43] Will Armstrong: They do everything at the Ahmanson, and they invited us.

[8:46] Lara Scott: Thank you so much for hosting us for the opening of Come From Away.

[8:49] Will Armstrong: But they do a great podcast called 30 to Curtain, and they had Irene Sankoff and David Hein on their real-life husband and wife, and they talked about where they got the idea for this and why they decided it should be a musical.

[8:59] Lara Scott: And it's their whole it's a short, it's only like 30 minutes or so.

[9:03] Will Armstrong: But yeah, they go through their whole process of how this came about. It's really fascinating, and I highly recommend it.

[9:08] Lara Scott: Oh, that podcast is great.

[9:09] Will Armstrong: So good.

[9:10] Lara Scott: And we should talk about Come From Away.

[9:11] Will Armstrong: That's what they call the people from other places.

[9:13] Lara Scott: Come from a ways. They called them come from a ways or the plain people.

[9:17] Will Armstrong: So I want to specifically mention Becky Goldsvig, and I hope I'm saying her name right. She plays Beverly, the American Airlines pilot.

[9:23] Lara Scott: She sang Me in the Sky. And also Danielle K. Thomas is Hannah, a mom who is frantically trying to reach her firefighter son back home in Manhattan while she is stranded in Gander.

[9:35] Will Armstrong: So we have the book, the music, and the lyrics by Sankoff and Hein, directed by Christopher Ashley.

[9:41] Lara Scott: It was so funny, Will, because you texted me this, and I was going to text you because I had just seen it on Twitter.

[9:45] Will Armstrong: Christopher Ashley is talking about the Come From Away movie, which I hope happens.

[9:50] Lara Scott: Scenic design by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt.

[9:54] Will Armstrong: And then lighting design by two-time Tony Award winner Howell Binkley, who did Hamilton.

[9:59] Lara Scott: Remember, I said, wow, the lighting and the turntable set like the lighting really reminded me of Hamilton.

[10:04] Will Armstrong: They made great use of different colored lights and the spotlights to, like you were saying, turn the camera to focus on that character at that moment.

[10:12] Lara Scott: And you want to talk about what happened at the end?

[10:14] Will Armstrong: Because this was one of those opening night moments that just I like to make it.

[10:18] Lara Scott: Yeah, well, it was so special because they had some of the people that the characters are based on came out for curtain call with the actors that were portraying them in the show.

[10:27] Will Armstrong: And when Beverly walked out with her real-life counterpart, who is the retired airline captain, I started crying again.

[10:36] Lara Scott: I know. It's crazy. Well, it brought it home that these were real people, and we just watched their lives play out on screen. And there were two people that I even though we're gonna do a spoiler alert, I'm not gonna talk about it because it was such a great surprise what happens with them. And they were there as well. So it was really, really lovely. So I'm convinced that you cannot see the show and not be changed when you walk out. Someone tweeted that it makes you want to be a better human being. And I heartily agree to that. I would add it's gonna make you want to move to Newfoundland. My brother-in-law and nephew are Canadian, Will, so they can sponsor us. All right. But let us know what you think after you see Come From Away. Tickets are available at Center Theatre Group.org, and that's Center T H E A T R E Group.org, and it's playing through January 6th.

[11:22] Will Armstrong: You're listening to West of Broadway with Will Armstrong and Lara Scott. Jennifer Lynn O'Hara, one of our West of Broadway ensemble members, just checked out Elf the Musical. And it's been so hard not to ask her how it was because I wanted to save it all for this episode, but now all will be revealed. JJ, welcome back to West of Broadway.

[11:40] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yay! So glad to be here.

[11:42] Will Armstrong: Tell us everything.

[11:44] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Everything is fantastic. How are you guys?

[11:47] Lara Scott: Wonderful.

[11:47] Will Armstrong: We're doing great. And yes, so we were just talking about Come From Away. And this is what I love about LA is that you could see that in downtown. And then you were in Long Beach, right? For Elf.

[11:55] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yes, Long Beach. Yep, Carpenter Performing Art Center to see Elf the musical.

[12:00] Will Armstrong: Okay, so Elf with Will Farrell is one of my not just favorite Christmas movies, but favorite movies of all time.

[12:06] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: I love you.

[12:07] Lara Scott: I love you.

[12:07] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: I love you.

[12:11] Will Armstrong: How faithful was this to the movie?

[12:15] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: You know, surprisingly faithful. I was unsure how they were gonna do some of this stuff, but it was surprising. They did make some minor tweaks. Sure. Um, but it is not the the story's not lost. The story is actually very faithful to the original movie, so fans of the original movie will love Elf the Musical.

[12:34] Lara Scott: Good. And is it a good one to bring kids to?

[12:37] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yes, it's absolutely wonderful to bring kids too. Just like Elf the Musical or just like Elf the movie. Um Elf the Musical is one of those, you know, it's a classic Christmas tale with a happily ever after and you know, good moral message, all that kind of good stuff, yeah.

[12:54] Will Armstrong: Yeah. Well definitely, you know, Will Farrell, those are some big pointy elf shoes to step into, right?

[12:59] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: For anyone. And a tiny, tiny little outfit to step into. How was the actor who played Buddy the Elf?

[13:06] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Buddy the Elf. It was played by Matt Owen and he actually did a fantastic job. And he's so much Buddy the Elf that he's actually played it in several major theaters across the US. So this is kind of his niche for him right now, from what I can tell based on his bio is playing Buddy the Elf and man, sometimes you really did see Will Farrell in Matt Owen, so it was lovely.

[13:30] Lara Scott: That is awesome. It's uh Christmas amazes me because we live in this culture where we consume music and then throw it away or consume something and then we're done with it. But if you do some a Christmas classic, we never tire of it and every year it's part of the tradition. And I feel like Elf really fixed itself right in there with this incredible movie and then for it to transition into a theatrical stage version. It was just genius.

[13:54] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yeah, I would have not seen that coming. And maybe now they'll go back and make Elf the musical movie.

[13:59] Will Armstrong: Yeah. Right now. Let's talk about the aspect.

[14:03] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yeah, I could see that coming too. And here's the great thing about both ELF and Elf the Musical is that it's just happy. I just I started smiling during the overture and I did not stop smiling until after I walked out of the venue. I mean it was just a happy, happy feel good movie.

[14:21] Lara Scott: It is a it's just fun. Now what was the music like?

[14:27] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: You know I love the musical. Of course, it's all original music. Um and it was one of the things that I loved about it, of course sort of an homage to the classic musical numbers. They did a lot of big tap numbers.

[14:39] Will Armstrong: Yay.

[14:41] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: I love it. In fact, they closed the musical with a giant all cast tap number. And it was fantastic. So the music is very catchy, very upbeat. Um, you know, there's a couple of very poignant songs where um the Kim Huber, who plays Emily Hobbs and Travis Burnett, who plays Michael Hobbs, um Mother and Son, they have this lovely little song that's very it's very poignant but still, you know, positive. And then all the rest of the music is just it's lovely and upbeat and happy.

[15:15] Lara Scott: Very, very cool. Well, the composer is Matthew Scular, who I know from uh doing uh 42nd Street on Broadway. He was uh he was uh our conductor. And right now he has just opened prom on Broadway.

[15:27] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Oh I just saw that during the Macy's parade.

[15:30] Lara Scott: That looks so good.

[15:31] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yeah, I'm so excited and so proud of him. He is a musical genius. And it was and yeah, and uh I was so watching him uh workshop and bring elf to the stage was so exciting. And thanks to Facebook, I was able to keep in track of all of that and for it to turn into like this uh annual event is so amazing. And now for him to be doing prom, I can't wait for it to go on tour so we can see it.

[15:52] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[15:53] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Oh my gosh, yes, maybe you could do a review of that for us, JJ.

[15:55] Lara Scott: Or we can all go together.

[15:57] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: We're going together.

[15:57] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[15:58] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: We're going to have a prom, y'all.

[16:00] Will Armstrong: We get a do it work.

[16:01] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yeah. Well, you know what, JJ, what else should we know about Elf the Musical? I know it's going to be wrapping up its run here in just a little bit, but I'm sure somebody will be doing this again maybe next holiday season. Um, you know, what else should we know about this?

[16:14] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: You know, the one of the things that I love the most about it is the the role of the secretary, uh Deb, has is really expanded in the musical, more so than the movie, and it is such a fun role to watch. So when you go see Elf the Musical, be prepared to see um just this wacky Deb secretary character that's really it's really really fun. And just be prepared to smile because you know, uh smiling is my favorite. Um because it's just happy happy. Uh so yeah, the the musical theater west production of elf the musical runs through December 9th. Um and it's at the Carpenter Center for the Comperture Performing Arts Center, which is on the uh campus of the of uh of Cal State Long Beach.

[16:58] Will Armstrong: Awesome. And you can get tickets at musical.org.

[17:01] Lara Scott: Wonder.

[17:02] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Well, my tips hurt from smiling from talking to you, JJ.

[17:04] Lara Scott: Yeah, yes, and there's a lot of people. And also, you know what looking at their website, they've got amazing things coming up at this particular venue. They got Elf, uh, they've got Oliver, they have Catch Me If You Can, and they've got Disney's the Little Mermaid that are all coming up after the new year.

[17:17] Will Armstrong: That's all such incredible stuff to take a do a family outing and go with the m family and the kids and ever an extended family and just really have an amazing evening of theater.

[17:26] Lara Scott: Yeah, and especially if you're like South Bay area here in LA, Long Beach, San Pedro, Huntington Beach. Sometimes it's not the easiest to get to Hollywood or downtown. So it's so great. There's so many great theater groups and places to see shows sort of in that area. And JJ, you're doing an awesome job keeping us up to date. So thank you so much, Jennifer Lynn.

[17:44] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: I'm so happy to be part of this.

[17:46] Will Armstrong: Thank you guys. All right, we'll see you on Instagram at Jennifer Lynn O'Hara.

[17:49] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Yay. Bye.

[17:50] Will Armstrong: Thanks, guys.

[17:52] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: Bye. We love you, JJ.

[17:53] Lara Scott: You're still there.

[17:54] Jennifer Lynn O’Hara: I love you.

[17:57] Will Armstrong: All right. Bye for real.

[17:59] Lara Scott: You're listening to West of Broadway with Will Armstrong and Lara Scott. And we are joined here today in studio with Friend of the Pod and proud West of Broadway ensemble member, actress, writer, and all around genius Wendy Rosoff. Wendy, of course, last joined us for her insight into the musical theater guild's production of Sugar, which she choreographed. But today she's giving us the details from exclusive star-studded screening of the premiere of the anxiously awaited feature film Mary Poppins Returns. Welcome, Wendy!

[18:29] Wendy Rosoff: So thank you for coming down to the studio. Like it's awesome to see you in person. And Will had texted me and said, Yeah, Wendy's at the Mary Poppins Returns premiere. So first of all, how did you get invited to that?

[18:39] Wendy Rosoff: Well, so okay, let me clarify. This actually wasn't the premiere. This was um a sag after event, which is the Screen Actors Guild for those of you that are not in the know. Um to get into as well, though. Like some of those events. There's a lot of things. It was so weird. I mean exactly. Um, and I just kind of like caught wind of it, and I went on the site and and was able to grab myself a spot. And um, it was at the Grove at the Pacific Theaters, and they just throw great events. Um, these are called SAG After Conversations, and what it is is uh an advanced screening. And then um one of the members of the cast or creative team are there, and after the film, you get to listen to them speak and ask questions and just kind of have a general hubbub with them about the experience.

[19:26] Lara Scott: And it was Lynn Manuel Miranda.

[19:28] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah, I saw you post on Facebook.

[19:31] Lara Scott: I know, and it was just amazing. Honestly, it was it was like sitting with a friend in a living room.

[19:37] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah. He's just a cool guy. Who incidentally just got his star on the walk of fame?

[19:42] Lara Scott: The next day.

[19:43] Wendy Rosoff: Yes, yeah. So just super cool all-around experience, regardless of the film. It's just such a great way to kind of see new things that are coming out and and get insight from the people that are involved in it themselves.

[19:57] Lara Scott: Yeah, it you know, everybody loves him. So I feel like for him, walking into a crowd of actors wouldn't be that scary. But I feel like for most people, that's kind of a tough crowd where it's it's your peers, it's other industry professionals, and they probably ask some pretty hard-hitting questions, I would guess.

[20:12] Wendy Rosoff: You know, sometimes, but my experience of it is that everybody is just really there to support each other. Yeah, it is. Oh, yeah, I'm so excited. Every event that I have been to has really been a love fest. Because at the end of the day, like we're all in this together. You know what I mean? And so uh particularly this when when he came out, I mean, it was a standing ovation. I mean, actually in the film itself, uh if the film could have stopped and the audience could have gotten up and given a standing O, it would have happened.

[20:38] Lara Scott: Really?

[20:39] Wendy Rosoff: It was that magical.

[20:40] Lara Scott: Really?

[20:41] Wendy Rosoff: Yes. Okay. I was gonna say what was the scene, but then we don't want to give away anything. I want to tell you, yeah, we can't say anything about it. I want to talk all about it and tell you as little as possible. Right. I really do, because I want everybody to have the experience of discovering the magic, you know, on their own for the first time. Yes. For me, the original is sacred.

[21:03] Lara Scott: All right, whatever.

[21:04] Will Armstrong: Uh-huh.

[21:05] Lara Scott: Um, so I was not a kid who grew up on MARY POPPINS. I've seen it and I've played MARY POPPINS, but I've never like had a particular attachment to it, right? So I know there are so many people that are going in there, you know, with their arms crossed, going, show me what you got. Um, I was not like that. I just had zero expectations. I wanted to be Dick Van Dyke. Like I was like, where do I go to to learn how to sweep chimneys? Like this is what I want to do for a living. So I'm just gonna start by saying Dick Van Dyke is in it, and he is the most delicious, magical. Well, everybody's delicious and magical, but he has one of the most spectacular, you know, 11th hour kind of moments in a film, and he just blows it out of the water. And he's like 91 years old, and you would never know.

[21:52] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah.

[21:53] Lara Scott: I'm not gonna say anymore, but he just he just does it. And Lynn Manuel was even saying, like, when he they were running the scene with him, and Dick Van Dyke was like, I got this, clear. Like clear for challenge.

[22:06] Will Armstrong: Yeah, yeah.

[22:07] Lara Scott: So he's just, you know, he is he's a gypsy. He's he's got that real kind of like in it to win it kind of vibe. Do you think like we live in a world uh like right now, like we're having a moment where everything's about a reboot or a reinterpretation of something. Was did you get that vibe from MARY POPPINS, or is this something that's not at all?

[22:23] Wendy Rosoff: Okay, so this is not a reboot, it's not a redo, and that's I think one of the reasons why I loved it so much. It was a really natural continuation of the story. It wasn't like a typical sequel that had no rhyme or reason. I feel like so much love was put into crafting this story. It takes place 20 years after the original ends. The Banks children are grown up. Michael Banks is living in the Banks family house, and um he has three children, and his wife has just passed away. And he has unwittingly fallen behind in his house payments. Oh, so the bank comes to repossess the house, and it's just kind of the straw that broke the camel's back for him. The actor that plays Michael Banks, his name is oh gosh, what's his name?

He's so brilliant. It's um, oh my gosh, where is it? I had it down. Anyway, he is so brilliant. Yes. Uh Ben Wishaw is his name. And he is Emily Blond is perfect. Ben Wishaw is the heartbeat of this film. He adds so much humanity to this piece. And all of these people are well developed. These characters are really well developed, you guys. It's not like we're watching some sort of like, oh, two-dimensional. No. You're in it. And the way it's crafted is so perfect because it's humanity just mixed with fantasy, and it's perfectly blended.

[23:48] Will Armstrong: Um, and all of the elements of it being, I mean, we're living in a time where you can CGI your way through life. You can tell there were so many high-tech elements put into this, but it was mixed with live action and hand-drawn animation that just our childhoods just came like streaming back to us, and it's so beautifully done, and the choreography is gorgeous, the direction is perfect. You can tell Rob Marshall's heart was just in this. And I think they realized how special MARY POPPINS is to so many people. I went to a screening on the Disney lot, and I was surrounded by people that knew every word that were dressed in costume, you know, as someone from the that were singing every word. It was a thing.

[24:27] Lara Scott: I haven't seen this one. I saw the the first one a couple of months ago. But I think, you know, it it's interesting with Disney too, because Incredibles 2, the Wreck It Ralph sequel that just came out. Ralph breaks the internet. I've heard a lot of parents say they almost don't feel like kid movies, like the kids enjoy this, but there's something so much deeper going on, whether it's nostalgia for your childhood or just the struggle of being a working parent, whatever it is, like I think they're they're intentionally putting this in there to really to really touch the hearts of the grown-ups that are going to see these films.

[25:00] Will Armstrong: And they're they're doing it.

[25:01] Lara Scott: I totally agree. And you know, I I can't speak to the others because I haven't seen them, but in the case of Mary Poppins Returns, it could not be more timely.

[25:10] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[25:10] Lara Scott: I mean, it just is such a feel good connecting piece of work that it just feels like this is its time. It's it's almost like this healing piece of it's art, you know, it's a healing piece of art. Yeah, I I can't wait for you guys to see it. Were the like from the talk back when you got to listen to Lynn Manuel? Uh was there anything that you left, like what can you share anything special that he said or to?

[25:29] Wendy Rosoff: Well, I super don't want to give away spoilers again, and he definitely had a few yummy meow meows to show you know, one of the things that I took away from him is um how much of a love fest it was making this film and how incredible Rob Marshall is to work for and to play with, and how he really allowed each actor to bring out the uniqueness in who they were in in the role, and um how Lynn felt like the new kid on the block because all of these people were seasoned film and television actors, and he this was his birth uh first big feature film, and so he was kind of like walking on gingerly, didn't quite know. And you know, not only did he receive support from his fellow cast members, but the creative team really was just incredibly nurturing, and he just felt like he couldn't be luckier to be a part of it.

And he also talks specifically about there's this opening scene where it's got this oldie timey feeling where he's on a bike and he's riding around the streets of London with his lamp lighting uh stuff, lighting lamps and kind of singing through the streets, and it's very oldie timey movie musical feeling. And I guess Rob Marshall wanted to do it in one take, which is very old school. And so he started talking about how he grew up adoring MGM movie musicals. That's where he got his love of musicals from, which made me fall in love with him even more because I love that old school stuff. His very favorite musicals are Singing in the Rain and Bandwagon. And so he just said, out of everything that he did, the dance numbers, the singing, the acting stuff, he had some stun stuff going on.

The thing that was the most nerve-wracking for him was that opening scene where he's riding through the street and he's singing, and he's in a cockney accent, and he has to grab an apple from an apple cart, and while he's driving and singing and doing the cockney accent, he tosses an apple to an orphan and has a little like moment with him, and then keeps on driving all in one take. And he was like, it nearly threw me over the edge. Like that was really the end of me. Um but for him it just seemed like you know, an unbelievable opportunity, learning experience, and he just feels like uh gratitude for the experience. And you know what? You can also feel that in his performance. He's just all heart too.

My first love is the stage, and I love that one-on-one experience that you have with the audience, but there's something so timeless about a movie musical that for you're captured forever in this one moment in your life.

[28:01] Will Armstrong: I went uh for 42nd Street, I worked we worked with um Shirley Jones. And when I was cast in the producer's film, she came to me in my dressing room and she was like, I just heard you were cast. And and she was just like, This is such a special thing that you're going to be a part of. And I was like, I'm no Marian librarian. Third Hitler from the right, but calm down.

[28:18] Lara Scott: Third Hitler from the right.

[28:23] Will Armstrong: As you do.

[28:25] Lara Scott: That's amazing.

[28:27] Will Armstrong: But I mean, just being a chorus boy who just like I I love movie musicals. And I just to see every single person like you can watch it a million times and pick a different person and watch their journey and their performance. And just it's just incredible. And so glad that musicals are so celebrated.

[28:44] Wendy Rosoff: Yes, they're they're a thing again. And what do you think are you? Let me ask you because you're a choreographer and you're actress, like you do so many things. What did you think of the dancing in the film?

[28:53] Lara Scott: I thought it was fantastic. I mean, he really captured one of my favorite numbers is uh there's a big uh lamp lighter dance number, and he really got that kind of old school male dancer. It's like a bunch of Gene Kelly's out there. And the way it was shot was perfect.

[29:08] Will Armstrong: Awesome.

[29:09] Lara Scott: You'll see. When can we see it? It sounds like MARY POPPINS is returning it just the moment we need her.

[29:15] Wendy Rosoff: Absolutely. Uh so it's officially opening for wide theatrical release on December 19th.

[29:20] Lara Scott: Perfect. So get your tickets because I already got another round of tickets for myself at El Capitan.

[29:25] Will Armstrong: Yes.

[29:26] Lara Scott: And it's almost sold out, you guys. So get to it. We need colour friend. Shout out to Sharon over at the Elk.

[29:36] Will Armstrong: So you'll have to let us know, Wendy, when you go see it there at like what their pre-show entertainment's gonna be. That's how we so special.

[29:41] Wendy Rosoff: Yes, yay. Well, thank you, Wendy Rosoff.

[29:43] Wendy Rosoff: Thank you, guys. Top pops for everybody.

[29:46] Will Armstrong: There you go. Extra loud for you. Where can we keep up with you? I mean, we know, but let's tell everybody else where they can keep up with you.

[29:52] Wendy Rosoff: Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram, Wendy Rosoff or at Wendy Rosoff on Twitter, um, Wendy Rosoff on Facebook, and also my website, uh www.surprisewendyrosoff.com.

[30:03] Will Armstrong: I like that you're gonna be able to do it. One F2Fs, I've made that mistake so many times.

[30:06] Wendy Rosoff: Thank you.

[30:09] Will Armstrong: You know what, Wendy? Speaking of community, like we were saying at the beginning about the sag after screenings. You do such a great job of that, I feel like for people in the industry, just on your social media, but keeping it real for people. So thank you for that.

[30:21] Wendy Rosoff: Oh, I think it's so important. That's actually one of my platforms is keeping it real because I see so many people kind of, especially in this time, going down a wormhole with social media. And I think it's so important that we stay connected in reality with love and acknowledge everything that's going on.

[30:38] Will Armstrong: Yeah, and celebrate each other.

[30:39] Wendy Rosoff: Yes, that's so awesome. All right. Well, a big thank you for joining us here. And Will, you ready to wrap us up?

[30:45] Will Armstrong: I I he's like, I don't know where my paper is.

[30:49] Lara Scott: I'll read your part. Thank you so much for joining us to celebrate musical theater in LA here on West of Broadway. Now we invite you to subscribe on iTunes. You can check us out at West of Broadway Podcast.com, and you can connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at Lara Scott Media.

[31:04] Will Armstrong: And I'm Will Armstrong, PR on all platforms. Once again, thanks for joining us on yet another celebration of musical theater. Hope you brightened your day. And if you're looking for us, you can find us just west of Broadway.