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[0:10] Will Armstrong: Welcome to West of Broadway, a celebration of musical theater on the West Coast. I'm celebrity publicist and Broadway veteran Will Armstrong, along with radio host and theater enthusiast Lara Scott. And we're coming to you from Los Angeles.

[0:24] Lara Scott: Will OMG.

[0:25] Will Armstrong: Oh my god, I'm still just I'm flying so high after seeing The Bodyguard at the Pantages last week.

[0:29] Lara Scott: I've got the stuff that you want. I got the thing that you need.

[0:33] Will Armstrong: I love that you were like, Woo, when the bare chested dancers came out during the Queen of the Night.

[0:37] Lara Scott: I can't even care. That show set me free. It was just amazing. It was incredible.

[0:41] Will Armstrong: Are you joining it? Are you going to be on tour?

[0:43] Lara Scott: I wish. I wish. It was so amazing. And I wanted to scream. I was losing my voice at that point though, so I was very, very quiet, but inside I was screaming.

[0:51] Will Armstrong: But you know, this is one of those where when I first heard they'd made a musical out of The Bodyguard, I wasn't sure because I grew up with this movie. The soundtrack was just it was everything. Um and the songs are just so iconic. In fact, my friend Larry Morgan from K-Earth 101 here in Los Angeles is with us to talk about how important that soundtrack was before we jump into the play.

[1:11] Larry Morgan: Hi everybody. Welcome. I might have some qualms with the word important, but no, it was it was huge. It was a massive success, definitely.

[1:19] Will Armstrong: Yeah. Well, you know what's funny is that remember Whitney was singing I Will Always Love You, and it had like, and I think I still remember exactly that 43 second cold intro where it's just her voice. There's no music, and I was working for a top 40 station in Portland, Oregon at the time, and they edited that to go to the part where the music started. And it was like pitchforks and torches and people coming to the station ready to take us apart because we messed with that.

[1:43] Larry Morgan: You know, and I also remember that, you know, MTV had started to kind of fade in its popularity, but that video, everybody seems to remember that video because it uses clips from the movies, but it's got her, you know, sitting on a bench, I guess, and there's a winter scene, and then that whole big giant moment toward the end where there's a kind of a whole change in scenery. That actually kind of re-there was a resurgence in what videos we're gonna be doing around that time. I'm just saying it saved MTV.

[2:09] Will Armstrong: And it stinks because it isn't an original song because Dolly Parton originally recorded it that it wasn't even eligible for best song for the Academy Awards.

[2:17] Larry Morgan: It was Rod's.

[2:51] Will Armstrong: Is there a matinee? I'll see a matinee.

[2:52] Lara Scott: There are matinees, and Jasmin, who we'll be speaking to later, does all of the performances as Nicki Marron.

[2:59] Will Armstrong: Yeah, she is uh she regularly she plays Nicki Marron. She's the sister, and then she understudies Rachel in all the matinees.

[3:05] Lara Scott: Well, your enthusiasm is infectious, and now I'm dying to go see it. And I wouldn't have said that maybe like 20 minutes ago.

[3:11] Will Armstrong: Oh my gosh, it is so good. It really is so good. It's so much fun. It's like watching a music video. It's just absolutely awesome.

[3:17] Lara Scott: So thank you so much, Larry.

[3:19] Larry Morgan: Larry Morgan can everyone for you.

[3:22] Lara Scott: But um, Larry, so you talk about how the soundtrack is impactful. It's so impactful that I was driving to uh th to record the show here, and I was listening to my Whitney Houston songs to get to channel and to get in the right frame of mind, and the cars to my left started moving, and I just started driving, and I rear-ended the person.

[3:39] Larry Morgan: No, I was I was in a small fender bender.

[3:42] Lara Scott: Okay, so I'm totally fine. And the woman, the infinity that I hit in front of me, she got out and she came over and she was beautiful and she was smiling. And I was like, Are you she goes, let's pull over and exchange information? So I went over, we exchanged, and she was the nicest. And I like hugged her, and I was like, Are you okay? And she's like, I'm fine, are you okay? And we looked, and it just two little screw marks in her bumper.

[4:02] Larry Morgan: Oh, wow.

[4:02] Lara Scott: Like, and that was it. And it was totally fine. And she's like, I'm gonna show my husband, and maybe we'll go to the body shop, but maybe we won't even buff that out.

[4:09] Larry Morgan: Exactly.

[4:09] Lara Scott: So hopefully everything. And so I had to tell my boyfriend that I had a small fender bender, but the car seemed fine.

[4:15] Larry Morgan: Well, Bill also loves the music of Whitney Houston. We were talking about how the greatest hits album is magical. So I'm sure he will understand.

[4:21] Lara Scott: The only thing he loves more is that car.

[4:22] Larry Morgan: So well, good luck with that, Will.

[4:25] Will Armstrong: Thank you very much. Hopefully he's an understanding guy.

[4:27] Lara Scott: All right, so let's jump into the play. Let's talk about sort of how this all got started.

[4:31] Will Armstrong: Absolutely. Well, the play premiered in London in 2012 and was nominated for four Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical. And you know, just like in the movie of the play, Frank Farmer is a former Secret Service agent who is reluctantly hired to protect superstar singer Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker. And it's so funny because as you know, each expects to be in charge, but what they don't expect is to fall in love.

[4:53] Lara Scott: Swoot. I'm totally swooning right now.

[4:54] Will Armstrong: And I mean you have Deborah Cox, you have Judson Mills, who used to be on my mom's favorite soap opera As the World Turns, in the starring roles, and there's just beautiful people and so talented. Because when you're talking Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, those are some really big shoes to fill.

[5:08] Lara Scott: Absolutely. And really quickly, while we're kind of comparing the film to the musical, I love that they added additional Whitney songs like uh Saving All My Love for You, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, One Moment in Time.

[5:17] Will Armstrong: So it was...

[5:19] Lara Scott: Yeah. It was like a Whitney opera.

[5:20] Will Armstrong: It was. You know, it was such a great surprise, but it just worked perfectly. And it made me wish uh it made me miss Whitney all over again. So we are gonna be chatting with Judson Mills in just a few moments. And Jasmin Richardson. Um, but first, let's talk about Deborah Cox.

[5:35] Lara Scott: Oh my gosh, I've been a fan of hers since I played all of her dance hits when I worked at a top 40 station in San Francisco in the late 90s. Like, remember her?

[5:42] Will Armstrong: Yes, of course.

[5:43] Lara Scott: And um, you know that she recorded all of Whitney's songs for that lifetime biopic a little while ago. So she was the perfect choice for the role of The Bodyguard.

[5:49] Will Armstrong: Yeah. Um so she did a song, right?

[5:52] Lara Scott: I hadn't heard it, but it was Whitney and Deborah.

[5:55] Will Armstrong: Oh, uh it's the same script, different cast, and it's a duet with Deborah Cox and Whitney Houston and it it's uh it's like I think it was before The Boy is Mine with Monica and Brandy. So it's like two women.

[6:06] Lara Scott: Yeah, or my God, or does he love you like he loves me? Like those great songs of two women like battling over the same man.

[6:11] Will Armstrong: So good.

[6:12] Lara Scott: Yeah. Can we put that on our Facebook page?

[6:14] Will Armstrong: Absolutely. I will put it on the Facebook page so that people can enjoy because it's so good. And Deborah's so beautiful, and yeah, because they were both Arista uh recording artists after that.

[6:22] Lara Scott: Yeah, so of course they put them together. You know, I saw Deborah a couple of years ago. I didn't realize she had gone to Broadway because I wasn't totally into theater back then like I am now. And Jekyll and Hyde came to the Pantages, and it was Constantine Maroulis.

[6:30] Will Armstrong: Yep from Jekyll and Hyde, yeah, from American Idol, and then Deborah Cox playing the prostitute.

[6:38] Lara Scott: Yes. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Ivy. She was so beautiful in that.

[6:41] Will Armstrong: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Uh it uh she and she's also been a friend to the LGBT community. I remember back in the nineties, my friend Cindy J. Sidney James, who's in Hamilton on Broadway now, and I'm so proud of him. Um, when we were just breaking into musical theater in LA. I mean in New York, we went at 4 a.m. to Earth, which was this dance club, just to see her say uh like she came out at four in the morning.

[7:03] Lara Scott: That was the nineties, right? Nobody came on before four a.m., right?

[7:06] Will Armstrong: The opening acts, yeah.

[7:07] Lara Scott: And it was totally worth it, and she was so beautiful. So good. But wait, we have to tell one of your stories. Can you tell the story that you told at dinner at Katsuya about her song?

[7:14] Will Armstrong: Oh, okay. So I used to uh live in Japan and I was doing a uh show I was a chorus boy in like a Vegas review in Japan for nine months. And the cast, I mean, we were the only English speaking people, so we had to become a family, and most lots of times families can become disgruntled families that dogs.

[7:32] Lara Scott: It does yes, and so I remember my mantra was uh Deborah Cox's song, um Nobody's Supposed to Be Here, but instead I would change the lyrics and I would look at myself in the mirror while I was putting on my makeup for the show and I'd sing, How did I get here? I'm not supposed to be here.

[7:50] Will Armstrong: But you got out finally.

[7:50] Lara Scott: But I got out. Deborah inspired you, and you got out, and you ended up at the Pantages.

[7:55] Will Armstrong: Yes. And for opening night, I love you were going crazy because RuPaul was one row in front of us in like three seats to the right, and it was just so fun seeing the crowd.

[8:03] Lara Scott: It was and people just going nuts, just like you.

[8:05] Will Armstrong: Well, like I'm gonna go. I feel like there was a definite uh uh uh a rift. There were people that were there to see a concert and people that were there to see a show. And like there was so I felt because I was hooping and hollering and dancing by the biggest. But then there was also people that wanted to just enjoy and sit back and be entertained, and I felt a little bit guilty that I was like losing my mind, but those voices and those lights and the everything. And just the the staging. It was kind of like you were at a rock concert because she, you know, Rachel is this pop star and movie star, and so just with the screens and the way it was staged and the dancers and like really setting everything up so you understood. So, in case if you were one of the five people that have never seen the movie The Bodyguard, you would understand right away that she is the greatest star on earth.

[8:52] Lara Scott: Exactly.

[8:52] Will Armstrong: Yeah, like she was basically Whitney Houston.

[8:54] Lara Scott: Like it's there you go. And uh I wonder if Perez Hilton liked it.

[8:57] Will Armstrong: That was cool to see Perez Hilton.

[8:58] Lara Scott: Yeah, sitting next to Megan Hilty.

[9:00] Will Armstrong: So it's Megan Hilty and Perez Hilton. If they got married, what was it then?

[9:03] Lara Scott: Megan Hilty Hilton.

[9:04] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[9:04] Lara Scott: But I don't think they're gonna hear me.

[9:05] Will Armstrong: Yeah, I don't think they're gonna be married. But it was really fun to see them.

[9:08] Lara Scott: We are so excited to welcome Jasmin Richardson to West of Broadway. Now Jasmin plays Nicki Marron in The Bodyguard musical and is also the understudy for the role of Rachel. And when you see the play and you're going, okay, she's beautiful, she looks really familiar. You may recognize her from her campaign with Clinique Cosmetics or from her tours with Memphis and Dreamgirls. Welcome, Jasmin.

[9:30] Jasmin Richardson: Hey Jasmin.

[9:32] Lara Scott: Hi. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. I have to say we both enjoyed you so much. And what was crazy is that we were there on opening night and to just I was watching uh the show, of course, but I was also enjoying the people in the audience watch you all perform and you just entertained everyone so much. Especially, I mean, I just feel like you did such a wonderful job of getting the audience on your side and behind you and really rooting for your character. I just the you were so likable and so wonderful and so talented.

[10:02] Jasmin Richardson: Thank you so much.

[10:03] Lara Scott: Thank you so much. Yeah, and it was crazy. We went out to the lobby at intermission. We're like, who is the girl who is playing the sister? When you sang Saving All My Love for You, and then you sang Run to You, uh, the duet with Deborah, how do you find that balance between being true to what Whitney Houston did? And then you made those songs your own. It was incredible.

[10:21] Jasmin Richardson: Well, thank you so much. Uh well, the key thing for me, my foundation was we always wanted to reference her because it really is like the show is like an homage to her, just to her work, her catalog. So, of course, you wanna have a little bit of that referencing point for people to connect to the song. But with my tone and just my timbre, I can't sound like it's just not, you know, my gift. But I do I learned how to sing by listening to her, so it was easy to kind of go back and kind of reference her but still create my own sound with it, if that makes any sense.

[10:54] Lara Scott: No, absolutely. Yeah, it was such a challenge yet it was exciting to kind of make it my own. So I'm really excited about singing this music. I love this music. I never get tired of it.

[11:06] Will Armstrong: It is so obvious that you love it because it just the your smile when you're on stage is just so radiant and uh it's my question for you is you also during the matinees, you play the role um uh you you take over for Deborah and you play Rachel Marron. How hard is it for you to juggle back and forth to go between the two?

[11:20] Jasmin Richardson: Oh my gosh, thank you for asking that question. It is such a challenge even now because sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself because I I will play her role in the matinee and then I'll come back and play my role at night and so it's really tricky um especially in the beginning but I've kind of figured it out now how to manage and I just kinda review the lines before I go on that way I don't switch them up.

[11:44] Will Armstrong: Yeah, has that ever happened? Where you're like, oh wait no, Ron's sister?

[11:46] Jasmin Richardson: Yeah there's been one moment where I almost said something and I realized it was her line.

[11:53] Will Armstrong: Wow.

[11:53] Jasmin Richardson: And so I've caught myself in enough time to not like ruin the show. Um but yeah I it's so it it's such a great challenge. How lucky am I to be able to play both incredible leading women so you just figure it out.

[12:06] Will Armstrong: Now how did you get to be a part of this musical? Did they come to you? Did you audition? How did this all come about?

[12:13] Jasmin Richardson: Well I auditioned. I flew I lived in LA and I flew to New York. Um and it was like a two day process for me. Um and I auditioned and I think what happened was I know I was auditioning for Nicki and they just kinda heard me sing and and asked me to sing a few other songs, but I I wasn't sure why.

[12:31] Will Armstrong: Okay.

[12:32] Jasmin Richardson: And then it kinda came out obviously during like when I got offered the role, um, and the contract, it was like we really want her to cover. So it kind of just worked out, whereas I thought I was just gonna be like just Nicki, or if I did cover, I wouldn't be necessarily first up. I would be, you know, maybe after a couple of other girls, but I wound up being no, she's the one that we want to cover her directly and so it just kinda worked out that way.

[12:55] Will Armstrong: I feel like you won the lottery because you get to sing every single one of those songs. You're so lucky.

[12:58] Jasmin Richardson: Oh my god. On Saturday I sing the entire score of a shot.

[13:03] Will Armstrong: Amazing.

[13:04] Jasmin Richardson: Amazing. And it's just it's I I I it's so funny because we often talk about here on West of Broadway how the the unsung hero is the understudy because you have to be so talented and so on your game. And when people open up and they say the role of so and so is going to be played by such and such, and they almost feel a little bit bummed, I'm like, you should actually be psyched because they are super talented and they're going to give you a show because they don't get to do it.

[13:29] Jasmin Richardson: I feel I feel the same way. I mean, I definitely get it as a as a ticket holder, like you go and you buy a show knowing you're gonna see a name. I totally get it.

[13:38] Jasmin Richardson: However, it's always such a surprise because that person that's been waiting kind of just to go on, is just they're there to give you one hundred percent. They're rested, they're excited.

[13:47] Lara Scott: Exactly.

[13:47] Jasmin Richardson: And you're gonna get a great show, but I totally get it, like not seeing the person you, you know, initially had in mind.

[13:52] Lara Scott: But you know what, Jasmin? I mean, it works out.

[13:54] Jasmin Richardson: Yeah, I was gonna say, get ready because very soon the ticket holders will be buying Jasmin Richardson.

[14:00] Lara Scott: Super involved, I think.

[14:03] Jasmin Richardson: It's so crazy 'cause I think it works in my favor that I get to be Nikki.

[14:05] Lara Scott: Yes.

[14:06] Jasmin Richardson: So I have people oftentimes say, I want to come back and see you as Raccoon.

[14:09] Lara Scott: Absolutely.

[14:09] Jasmin Richardson: I definitely I felt exactly exactly that. And oh so we were sitting w uh in the center and I was watching the audience, like I said, and uh we were discussing right before we spoke to you. What do you prefer? Do you prefer people to watch the show like they're watching a concert, or do you want them to be respectfully sit there like they're watching a play?

[14:28] Jasmin Richardson: Ah, it's tricky because this music is so engaging and everyone knows it already. I kinda like it when they are singing along. And I kinda like it when it's treated somewhat like a concert, and obviously with during the scene, you know, you respectfully you know, pay attention. But honestly, we kind of love the energy when they're like and they're singing along.

[14:48] Lara Scott: Because it's we didn't exist.

[14:50] Jasmin Richardson: Yes.

[14:50] Lara Scott: Well, Jasmin, I was sitting behind RuPaul, and you would swear that uh RuPaul was in church. Like it was just so fun to watch him watch you.

[14:59] Jasmin Richardson: It's it was He was grooming.

[15:01] Lara Scott: Oh, and in the second acting of met him, I didn't even meet him that night.

[15:04] Jasmin Richardson: Oh my god.

[15:05] Lara Scott: He loved you.

[15:06] Jasmin Richardson: He absolutely loved you.

[15:07] Lara Scott: When you walked, I'm not gonna do any spoilers, but when you walk around the bed and you look, he screamed.

[15:14] Jasmin Richardson: It was so amazing. It was such a wonderful moment, and you handled it so perfectly. It was just I love the first act, but the second act was just oh my god.

[15:23] Jasmin Richardson: You know, when people say that, because you know, obviously they if if you've seen the show, I'm not gonna ruin it either, but if you've seen the show, they they know what's coming, and obviously me as a character I don't. And people are always like, Oh girl, oh they're like going through the motions, and I'm just like obviously trying to pretend like I don't hear them.

[15:40] Lara Scott: No, absolutely.

[15:42] Jasmin Richardson: So funny. What uh didn't somebody get kicked out of Hamilton recently for singing badly loudly, like somebody in the audience?

[15:48] Lara Scott: I did not hear that.

[15:49] Jasmin Richardson: That was my cause I wanted to sing at the bodyguard, but then I'm like, no. I don't want to get thrown out of the way. Like, you don't want anyone to be disrespectful or just I thinking to other people watching the show. But like it's okay. Like there are a number of like up temple songs where it's it's okay, you know what I mean? Not the bad but like it's okay to just stay along, it's fine.

[16:07] Lara Scott: Yeah. Well, how is that for you? You know, opening night in Hollywood at the Pantages, you're from LA, so you know a little bit about the theater and the history and everything.

[16:17] Jasmin Richardson: I do. I mean, actually I've been living here maybe a little bit over a year. So but I knew it's funny about that if I came to see a show at the Pantages, I remember seeing the body sign and saying, Oh my god, I would love to come and perform at a theater and oh my god, I could only sing Wiggy. I remember saying that and like envisioning myself doing it.

[16:36] Jasmin Richardson: And so it's so crazy a year later doing it. Like I I'm literally living my dreams.

[16:42] Lara Scott: That is crazy. That is so incredible to hear and so inspiring to our listeners, I'm sure. Um but what so when did you first start singing?

[16:50] Jasmin Richardson: I started doing it as a child in church, and um I was actually really, really shy, and the uh best way to get me to communicate was to kind of like, you know, play a little ditty and then I would make up a song or something like that. And so I started when I was really, really young. Um and my parents used to my mother used to force me 'cause I would sing all the time at home and get really shy in front of people, and thank God for her kind of just like, you know, coaxing me and encouraging me. And that's kinda how I started.

[17:16] Jasmin Richardson: And then I remember specifically hearing the bodyguard, the tape when the movie came out. My mom was a huge Whitney fan, and I remember hearing that, and I was like, Oh my god, and then I saw a picture of Whitney and being like, Oh my gosh, you look like me. And I want to sound like that, and I kinda just fell into singing that way.

[17:33] Lara Scott: What a very natural progression. That I'm so happy for you to have this experience. Congratulations.

[17:39] Jasmin Richardson: Me too, thank you. Has your mom come out to see you yet? Has your family been able to do that?

[17:43] Jasmin Richardson: Oh my god, of course. They flew out when I was when we were in New Jersey when we opened, they flew out and they've been they you know, they live in Texas, so they've come out to uh New Orleans when we were there, and they'll be back and they're gonna see me in Texas. My parents have probably seen it like 20 times already. They haven't seen me go on for Rachel, but they see me as Nikki.

[17:59] Lara Scott: Amazing. And what uh just real quick, I follow you on social media, and you're beautiful and hilarious. And that recent video of you and Deborah Cox harmonizing in the Instagram filter is so fun. If if you're listening, you need to go check her out on social media, we'll post it on Facebook. It is so cute.

[18:17] Jasmin Richardson: Oh my god. How is your relationship with Deborah?

[18:19] Jasmin Richardson: Uh, you guys seem like sisters.

[18:22] Jasmin Richardson: Really and truly, it's such a genuine relationship as far as like when I first met her, of course. I was like, Okay, be cool, don't say anything stupid. And I'm one of those people when I get nervous, I put my foot in my mouth and I'll just think anything. And so I had to like literally not talk to her for the first couple days, except like hi, you know, and I just kept it easy. And then I just was being myself. If you watch me on Instagram, like I have Insta stories, people are like, You are crazy. So I just was myself, and honestly, we just naturally get along.

[18:49] Jasmin Richardson: That makes me canter. We were born in July, so that's kind of helped. And uh we just have a natural chemistry, and she's so fun. Deborah is so fun. Outside of like obviously being Deborah Cox and having that whole like she's a star. Her the person, she's so much fun. Like that's us, really. In that little video, that is our personality.

[19:10] Lara Scott: That's so cute. And I love getting to see behind the scenes now, like thanks to social media and everything. You guys are so cute. And just your chemistry with Deborah, your chemistry with Judson, too. Like, I believe I believed all of it.

[19:21] Jasmin Richardson: Yeah.

[19:22] Jasmin Richardson: Oh my goodness, thank you for saying I mean, I'm really, really close to Judson. He's just such a down to earth person. Like they set the tone as our lead to the show. And they just came in so gracious, so loving, so giving and kind that our whole tour has been set.

[19:37] Lara Scott: That's the way to do it.

[19:39] Jasmin Richardson: Yeah. Because so much, so much of the vibe hangs on the leads, like to set the tone for the tour. Because you guys are the traveling family. You don't get to go back home to your apartments in New York City because you're on Broadway or wherever. Like, so wherever you go, that's your family that you're traveling with.

[19:54] Lara Scott: And for the as someone who just went on a journey watching that show, like just to hear how wonderful the relationship is backstage makes me so happy.

[20:05] Jasmin Richardson: That's so great. That's good. Because hopefully you're feeling it on stage. It's just genuine. You know what I mean? We're glad it's fun for you because that's an intense couple of hours. Like watching that. There's some heavy stuff going on.

[20:15] Lara Scott: Oh my gosh. You know, Jasmin, we're about to wrap up because we know you have to run. You're a busy girl. Uh, but we're gonna be talking to Judson in a few minutes. Is there anything that we should ask him or that we could say, hey, we heard this about you?

[20:29] Jasmin Richardson: Want you guys to hear him warm up. He has warm-ups that are hilarious.

[20:34] Lara Scott: Oh, awesome.

[20:36] Jasmin Richardson: He doesn't come from a musical theater background, he's a TV film guy. So ask him about his warm-up and um his preparation for top of act too when he has to lay and be sexy in the bed.

[20:45] Lara Scott: Oh, right.

[20:46] Jasmin Richardson: Oh, right. Well, Jasmin, we know you're super busy, so we um want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today.

[20:51] Jasmin Richardson: Thank you. And we are all going to keep up with you on Jasmin Richardson.com. There's no E at the end of Jasmin, by the way. And um, you're at Jazzy underscore sweet thing on social media.

[21:01] Jasmin Richardson: So we'll be sure to post sweet things.

[21:03] Lara Scott: Sweet thanks.

[21:04] Jasmin Richardson: That's awesome. Thank you so much, Jasmin.

[21:06] Jasmin Richardson: Thank you so much.

[21:08] Jasmin Richardson: Thank you guys.

[21:08] Jasmin Richardson: Bye now.

[21:09] Lara Scott: Bye.

[21:11] Lara Scott: That was wonderful.

[21:12] Will Armstrong: Love her.

[21:12] Lara Scott: Oh my gosh.

[21:13] Will Armstrong: She's so cute.

[21:14] Lara Scott: We want to be BFFs.

[21:16] Will Armstrong: Yeah, she was amazing.

[21:17] Lara Scott: Yeah, I geeked out. I'm sorry.

[21:18] Will Armstrong: I totally geeked out.

[21:21] Lara Scott: I just got so like she was so likable.

[21:23] Will Armstrong: I know.

[21:24] Lara Scott: That smile. But that's I mean you come from the theater world, Will. And do you find that that people not that people are on TV or in the movies aren't, but just it feels like there's a difference sometimes with theater folks and then people in other areas of entertainment.

[21:35] Will Armstrong: Well, actually, I mean, just as a gypsy, with and that's what we call ourselves, like I mean, as far as just like I said, like your family is it's decided by a people, a group of people that sit behind a card table one day and they randomly put people together because of their abilities, and then they have to mesh. Like, so you have to find common ground. So you have to learn to be able to get along with all different kinds of personalities. And because it's the theater, they're big personalities.

[22:00] Lara Scott: Yeah.

[22:00] Will Armstrong: Training for publicity.

[22:01] Lara Scott: Yes.

[22:02] Will Armstrong: You're doing now.

[22:02] Lara Scott: Oh my gosh, I couldn't do what I do now if it wasn't for what I learned as a performer.

[22:06] Will Armstrong: Well, I'm so glad you're doing your publicist thing, Will. And uh right now we're gonna see if we can get Judson Mills on the phone.

[22:11] Lara Scott: Oh my gosh, Frank Farmer.

[22:13] Will Armstrong: Oh my gosh.

[22:14] Will Armstrong: So funny.

[22:15] Judson Mills: Hello.

[22:16] Will Armstrong: Hey Judson.

[22:17] Judson Mills: Hey.

[22:18] Will Armstrong: Hey, this is Will Armstrong and Lara Scott from West of Broadway. How are you?

[22:21] Judson Mills: Hello, hello.

[22:22] Will Armstrong: Thank you so much for taking the time uh to speak with us. We're just gonna dive right in if that's okay.

[22:27] Judson Mills: Yeah, sure.

[22:27] Will Armstrong: Well, we are thrilled to be joined by Frank Farmer himself, Judson Mills. Judson spent three years on As the World Turns as and has done over 35 guest starring roles on TV, including Law and Order, The X-Files, and Westworld. He was a series regular on Walker Texas Ranger and starred in The President's Man, A Line in the Sand. He has appeared in 20 feature films, including Mighty Joe Young and Gods and Monsters. Judson, welcome to West of Broadway.

[22:50] Judson Mills: Well, thank you so much.

[22:51] Will Armstrong: That was an illustrious career.

[22:54] Judson Mills: That was incredible.

[22:55] Will Armstrong: We do our due diligence here.

[22:56] Judson Mills: Could you believe you did all of that? And now you're back on stage.

[23:05] Judson Mills: Yeah, it's it's wonderful. You know, had I known how much work this was gonna be, I probably wouldn't have signed up, but you know, that's uh in the past now.

[23:13] Will Armstrong: So how much work is it?

[23:15] Judson Mills: These theater folks are some hardworking people.

[23:17] Judson Mills: Yeah. Yeah, it's uh it's been an incredible experience. It's been really challenging, it's been artistically rewarding, uh, it's been overwhelming at moments, but um I've I I like an opportunity to push myself and to rise to the occasion. And so, you know, going through the rehearsal process, there were certainly moments where I I I would come to my senses, if you will, and be like, wow, I wonder if I can actually pull this off. Um but it's it's it's been an experience I would never trade. Uh to be back in front of a live audience is really magical.

[23:50] Will Armstrong: Absolutely. To be in front of audiences this large is really magical.

[23:55] Judson Mills: I'm sure. Um working with Deborah and these folks that are involved in this has been amazing. We've really got a great team. And despite the fact I'm I don't do this on the reg, I I'm acutely aware that there's something special going on.

[24:09] Will Armstrong: No, absolutely. So you definitely take on a lot when uh but did you face the challenge like it was playing Frank Farmer, uh, of playing it too straight? Because I feel like you do a wonderful job of that balance because you play the straight lace bodyguard, but you're still likable and lovable. How did you find that balance?

[24:30] Judson Mills: You know, that's probably the single uh most fundamental difficulty that I've had for this entire experience. That um the thing about the movie is that cinema lends itself to a particular kind of um stillness and and a particular kind of of uh silence that Frank Farmer that embodies Frank Farmer, you know. You can say you can have a character in a film that doesn't speak for almost the entire movie and still through the camera see what he's thinking, see what he's feeling and tell what's going on emotionally. You can watch a journey take place in in this uh in a character. On stage it's not that way. It's different.

[25:12] Judson Mills: And so to embody what I believe Cazden intended uh for Frank Farmer, uh to embody some of what Cosner did to try to be true to the character and remain entertaining and still communicate with people in the mezzanine is profoundly challenging. And so it's been a process of, you know, trying things and it not working, trying things and it working, you know, settling on things. I started very still and very um um what's the word, very simply with this character. And I sort of allowed the process and the relationships I developed with the actors in the show right now to start to color and um enhance my you know, Frank's my Frank Farmer's personality and the way that he deals with people and situations and things.

[26:05] Judson Mills: And so along the way, Deborah and I have worked tirelessly and continue to work tirelessly after every show, trying to figure out what moments we think worked, what moments we think didn't, and I've tried to find a way to connect with something physically that still honors the stillness and the samurai kind of quality of Frank Farmer, but does express what I'm thinking and feeling when I talk and when I don't talk, uh, because my character is is a man of few words for the most part. You know, I don't get a lot of dialogue to tell my story or to uh you know deal with with uh the other characters. Um so you really kind of hit the nail on the head with with that challenge and that quandary of trying to make this guy trying to translate this process to the stage in a way that is entertaining and still communicates uh with the audience, you know, verbally, vocally, as well as physically, uh but stays true to the character. And I'm happy with what I'm doing right now. I feel like I'm in a pretty good place.

[27:05] Judson Mills: Oh, heck yeah. You know, Lawrence Casden came and worked with us, and that was invaluable and an honor and an amazing experience. Uh so that was that was a couple weeks ago, and that's been very helpful. But uh kudos to you for picking that one out.

[27:17] Will Armstrong: That's that's Will, you asked the greatest question ever in the history of broadcasting.

[27:22] Lara Scott: That was amazing.

[27:23] Will Armstrong: No, but you know, Judson, like that that was such a great answer too. I love that you compared this character to kind of a samurai where you have you have that thing that's so hard to find, and it's presence.

[27:32] Will Armstrong: You were standing on the stage and we all had our attention on you, and you weren't even saying anything, and you're surrounded by kind of these outrageous characters and these strong women. So yeah, kudos to you for pulling that off.

[27:43] Judson Mills: Thank you. That's really kind of you. I I I appreciate the kind words. Uh, and that's you know, I couldn't hear anything better, quite frankly. I mean, that's that's really what what you're trying to do is is possess the moment and the space and fill the stage when you're standing uh still and saying nothing, as well as when you're given a chance to say something out loud and and move around and be connected.

[28:05] Judson Mills: You know, there's a there's not a lot of props and environment in this one. Um there's some, but for the most part, you know, an actor gets his physical life from dealing with his surroundings, you know, with his environment.

[28:18] Judson Mills: So um, you know, in particular being a film and television actor, uh, or or having been doing that part of acting for so long, I'm used to being in an environment that's that's real, that has that gives me everything that I need in terms of physical activity and and moment to moment work in my environment.

[28:35] Judson Mills: And so only having a few props or no props, as is the case in a lot of this show, has been very challenging.

[28:42] Will Armstrong: So continue to tell the story. You mentioned props and you mentioned samurai. Uh one of the things that I loved from the movie, which I was wondering how you're going to tackle, which didn't make it to the show, was the samurai sword and like almost the seduction part. Was there ever was there ever a time when they were talking about how are we going to work this into the show?

[29:02] Judson Mills: No, you know what? That not to my knowledge. Now keep in mind this thing since 2012. Incarnated six years ago in London.

[29:11] Judson Mills: So a lot of what they did in their process and in their tech and in their you know, workshops, I don't know if that was in the original script or or you know what was included. There's been, you know, some changes and some things made to the script along the way.

[29:25] Judson Mills: I know there's been stuff taken out, there's been stuff added. There's going to be some other changes, I think ultimately made perhaps down the road.

[29:32] Will Armstrong: Wow.

[29:32] Judson Mills: So um, you know, it's it's a it's a process. Since I've been on board, we never have dealt with the samurai uh sword or any of that.

[29:40] Judson Mills: But there certainly has been a lot of the word samurai's been tossed around a lot during the process.

[29:45] Lara Scott: Absolutely. And so I mean, have has uh Kevin Costner come to see the show?

[29:50] Judson Mills: Not not yet. No, not to my knowledge. I would I would love I I think that he would really enjoy your performance because we because that's great.

[29:58] Judson Mills: I appreciate that. It was it's such a delicate balance because you have to have make the audience fall in love with you and then have the two leading ladies fall in love with you. It's such a huge challenge.

[30:07] Judson Mills: But and I mean I'm not just saying this because I'm talking to you on the phone, but like you're really, really great.

[30:12] Judson Mills: And we're really really and and I know it it's in jest, but and I was grateful that you got a chance to actually use your vocal prowess too.

[30:22] Judson Mills: It's a musical after all. Everybody really likes that scene. And you know it is the biggest scene.

[30:27] Judson Mills: It is the scene that's most you know that that's got an actual sort of a of of uh an environment to it, you know, and other characters.

[30:34] Judson Mills: And so I think it's a really wonderful point amidst the Whitney Houston concert to to connect with some humor and to connect with some story, to connect with some personality.

[30:45] Judson Mills: But I I appreciate your your um support on on this one. It's definitely been challenging and uh and I'm glad to hear that it's working.

[30:53] Judson Mills: It's certainly always as a leading man a fine line and a challenge because you're uh you're trying to remain humble and unaffected enough that your viewer sees uh in this particular case Frank Farmer's sort of the through line to the show and you see a lot of the show through his eyes and his perspective you know as I walk from one place to another on the stage and the scene changes or whatever.

[31:18] Judson Mills: Uh so you're trying to not to alienate any anyone you know and although his supposed to be a tough guy and somewhat of a macho guy and an alpha male there's always it's always very delicate because you can come off, you know, uh cocky or you can come off fully yourself or narcissistic, it's easy to to um to put off the men in the audience.

[31:39] Judson Mills: You know, if you can if you can rope in the gentleman and the and especially the younger gentleman, uh you got it made.

[31:46] Judson Mills: You know, if you can and if those guys will trust you and and support you, then you've you've done your job.

[31:51] Judson Mills: And ironically enough, on a uh on a little bit of a trivia side note, I have the the Chinese the uh Japanese character on my chest, which I've had tattooed on over my heart for the last probably 20 years, is the Japanese character for Samurai.

[32:06] Lara Scott: Wow.

[32:07] Judson Mills: You were destined to play this role. Ironically enough, isn't that something?

[32:10] Lara Scott: That is incredible.

[32:11] Lara Scott: Well, you know, uh your co-star Jasmin is a huge fan of yours. We were just talking to her, and she said we had to ask you about your warm-up routine to get your voice ready.

[32:20] Lara Scott: And I'll uh what you do to look all sexy in the bed, like in the second act. So maybe you can speak to that.

[32:26] Judson Mills: Okay, so so it's been so many years since I've done any theater work and been on the stage, and because I've been, you know, doing film work and camera work where the there's virtually no vocal warm-up or any necessity for any of that.

[32:39] Judson Mills: I have this sort of rag tag non-vocal warm-up that I do, which is just kind of like brrrrrrrrrrrrr la la la la, lol lololo, and I'll do all these kind of unconventional, really like sort of layman kind of uh silly noises, if you will, to try to get my voice warm.

[33:00] Lara Scott: Sure.

[33:00] Judson Mills: And I've been doing it since the beginning. Um and everyone just thinks it's the funniest thing.

[33:06] Judson Mills: They all make fun of me because it's it's completely unorthodox, and I don't know that there's any real um, you know, technique at all to what I'm doing.

[33:15] Judson Mills: If if an alien landed and had to contend.

[33:18] Judson Mills: I'm warming up, I'm warm rowing up.

[33:20] Lara Scott: Yes, yeah.

[33:21] Judson Mills: So it's always a a light a a light hearted moment before the show for everyone.

[33:25] Judson Mills: They sneak by my dressing room and listen. I think they recorded it sometime.

[33:28] Lara Scott: Yeah, can you put that on Instagram, please?

[33:30] Judson Mills: Well, that's the thing I think.

[33:31] Judson Mills: That's a good one. I should, right?

[33:32] Judson Mills: I should.

[33:32] Judson Mills: They should yeah, we should do one of those.

[33:34] Lara Scott: Your entire cast is so much fun to observe on social media. Like it's it's clearly such a w uh tight-knit group of wonderful people, and we're so grateful to have Twitter and Instagram and Snapchat and all these and Facebook so that we can keep up with you and just and and continue this relationship because everyone got invested through that two and a half hours.

[33:54] Judson Mills: Yeah, we're involved now.

[33:55] Lara Scott: You know, that's a great point.

[33:58] Lara Scott: Uh uh that's a really great point. Um and that's something that social media I think really is wonderful for.

[34:05] Lara Scott: You do get a sense of of you know who these characters are as as people, you know, you get a sense of us as uh, you know, for who we are as human beings and the things we like and don't like, and our sense of humors and and all that, what we're doing in our personal lives.

[34:19] Judson Mills: And so that is a really nice kind of uh an addition to all this, you know, when the bodyguards come into your town or any show or whatever, you know, you can get to sort of know people uh so that when you see them, yeah, you are a little more invested and feel like you've got a friend up on stage or something like that.

[34:35] Judson Mills: And we're lucky this this group has been really tightly uh tightly uh knit from the beginning.

[34:41] Judson Mills: Uh Deborah and I really tried to make an effort from from the first day in rehearsal of uh setting a tone of inclusion and of equality.

[34:50] Judson Mills: We really tried to um embrace the whole cast as an ensemble and tried to support, you know, the fact that we all succeed together as our show and really tried to get away from there being any deline uh delineation between the stars or the principals and the rest of the cast.

[35:11] Judson Mills: And I think it's everybody's rowing the boat together.

[35:15] Lara Scott: Yes, that's right.

[35:44] Lara Scott: Well, your life doesn't stop just because you're the sign up for six months to do a tour.

[35:48] Judson Mills: It's like and it's about experiences and stuff like that, and making it something that for the rest of your life, your entire cast will look back and just be like, that was awesome.

[35:55] Judson Mills: So good for you.

[35:57] Lara Scott: Agreed.

[35:57] Judson Mills: Yeah, agreed.

[35:58] Judson Mills: Yeah.

[35:58] Judson Mills: It's been a it's been a really magic, you know, uh experience. Sometimes you hear, you know, people talk about movies or or shows or things after the fact, and you'll hear them say in interviews, yeah.

[36:08] Judson Mills: We knew from day one that we were really involved in something special.

[36:11] Judson Mills: And I have to be honest, this is one of those moments.

[36:13] Judson Mills: From the word go, when Deborah and I met, uh, you know, the way that this came together uh for her and for me, and then and then the experiences in the group that we were able to put together, uh, we knew from the beginning that there was something special going on.

[36:27] Judson Mills: You know, my friend Alex Dinalaris is my college roommate.

[36:30] Lara Scott: Oh wow.

[36:31] Judson Mills: Yeah.

[36:32] Judson Mills: We went to college at Barrie University together and and stayed up late in the theater drinking Core's extra gold, talking about winning Oscars and going to Broadway.

[36:41] Judson Mills: And when they could not cast the bodyguard in this in this show, after a year and a half or two years or whatever, they'd been looking in London and New York, they were gonna hire somebody.

[36:50] Lara Scott: Sure.

[36:51] Judson Mills: Uh and uh my understanding is, you know, it was kind of a well, I guess, you know, we'll hire him because we're not you know and so Alex was like no hold on a minute.

[37:01] Judson Mills: And uh was coming out to LA to pitch a show for somebody and uh gave me a call.

[37:06] Judson Mills: And so he goes, listen, I would you want to travel.

[37:11] Judson Mills: And uh he said the bodyguard doesn't sing, blah blah blah and I said what do you mean by that?

[37:16] Judson Mills: And um we got together and put some stuff on an iPhone and uh they made me an offer like the next day or something.

[37:25] Judson Mills: So it was all very inspired from the beginning and and very interesting. It's very special process.

[37:29] Judson Mills: And God bless the iPhone for that because you're so fantastic.

[37:35] Lara Scott: Exactly and the fact that the two women have their roles, they have the music of Whitney Houston that they can reach out and grab every single person in their seat and you don't have that luxury and you still are able to do that and to connect with the entire Pantages theater.

[37:51] Lara Scott: It's just incredible and so I just applaud all of you for a wonderful performance and I encourage everyone to either see it at the Pantages while it's here or see it in your town.

[38:02] Lara Scott: We'll talk about those dates in a minute and Judson we know you have a show to get ready for tonight.

[38:06] Lara Scott: So uh happy early birthday you say your birthday was this month so it's joy.

[38:11] Judson Mills: Yeah tomorrow tomorrow's birthday thank you I appreciate it.

[38:14] Lara Scott: Happy birthday thank you so much for joining us and we're so thrilled and wherever you may be get up and come out and get bodyguarded folks.

[38:24] Judson Mills: He's coming for ya and also uh every social media platform you're at Judson Mills, right?

[38:30] Judson Mills: Yes, that's right.

[38:31] Judson Mills: Yeah.

[38:31] Judson Mills: Please, and I'm doing my best to try to interact with people.

[38:34] Judson Mills: You tweeted directly to me, and I I called that Lara and I was like, Lara, he's coming for me.

[38:41] Lara Scott: That's great.

[38:41] Judson Mills: Yeah, I try to do my best to connect with everybody.

[38:44] Judson Mills: I appreciate the support, and it's it's really uh it's overwhelming and very humbling to to see how people respond and to hear what people have to say.

[38:51] Judson Mills: So I appreciate all the support and everybody's uh coming out and and uh and hanging with us.

[38:56] Lara Scott: Well wonderful. Thank you so much, Judson.

[38:57] Lara Scott: Take care, and hopefully we'll talk to you again soon.

[39:01] Judson Mills: Yeah, thank you guys. I appreciate it.

[39:02] Judson Mills: Have a good one.

[39:03] Lara Scott: Thank you.

[39:04] Judson Mills: Bye.

[39:04] Lara Scott: Wow.

[39:05] Lara Scott: Oh my gosh, nicest guy in the entire world.

[39:07] Lara Scott: And Jasmin, oh my gosh, this is so fun.

[39:10] Lara Scott: Okay, so uh I think we have to start to wrap things up, but Will, you're like bouncing out of your chair.

[39:14] Lara Scott: So I just want to uh thank Judson so much for taking the time to speak with us, and thank you to Jasmin Richardson for calling in too.

[39:20] Lara Scott: I'm just so thrilled that we got to see the bodyguard, and it's at the Pantages until May 21st.

[39:24] Will Armstrong: Yes, oh my gosh.

[39:25] Lara Scott: And for tickets and for more information about the bodyguard here in LA, you can visit the official website for the Hollywood Pantages Theater, HollywoodPantages.com forward slash the bodyguard.

[39:35] Lara Scott: And you can also check out the bodyguardmusical.com.

[39:38] Lara Scott: And by the way, the show will be in Orange County in Costa Mesa at the Sagerson Center for uh for the arts uh starting on May 30th.

[39:44] Will Armstrong: And are you going down?

[39:45] Lara Scott: I'm gonna be there.

[39:46] Will Armstrong: Yeah, we're gonna be there on Tuesday, May 30th.

[39:48] Lara Scott: Let's see it again.

[39:50] Will Armstrong: I know.

[39:50] Lara Scott: I know.

[39:51] Lara Scott: I and I feel like there's so many things that you'll pick up the second time seeing it again.

[39:54] Lara Scott: So while you're online checking out all this bodyguard goodness, visit us at West of Broadway Podcast.com to check out some of our other apps and like us on Facebook at Will and Lara.

[40:03] Will Armstrong: Yes, exactly.

[40:04] Will Armstrong: I have nothing.

[40:06] Will Armstrong: Nothing, nothing with uh no.

[40:09] Will Armstrong: I want to run to you.

[40:11] Lara Scott: Yeah, we're gonna leave.

[40:12] Will Armstrong: Okay, let's let Deborah Cox sing us out a real rendition of I Wanna Dance with Somebody from her new EP.

[40:18] Will Armstrong: I Will Always Love You, available on iTunes.

[40:20] Lara Scott: And Will, I will always love you in this podcast.

[40:23] Lara Scott: Thanks so much for joining us here on Western Broadway.

[40:25] Lara Scott: I'm Clara Scott.

[40:26] Will Armstrong: And I'm Will Armstrong, and if you're looking for us, you can find us just west of Broadway.

[40:37] ♪ Musical number: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" — performed by Deborah Cox ♪