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[0:00] Larry Scott: It's curtains up on another episode of West of Broadway.

[0:04] Will Armstrong: I'm radio host, writer, and theater enthusiast Larry Scott, along with celebrity publicist and theater veteran Will Armstrong. Welcome.

[0:11] Larry Scott: Hey.

[0:11] Will Armstrong: All right. Well, we're gonna be talking to Valerie Perri today and finding out all about The World Goes Round, presented by Reprise 2.0.

[0:19] Larry Scott: But first.

[0:20] Will Armstrong: Oh, yeah, this really isn't uh LA news, but it's it kind of is. Um, Megan Hilty is um going to be playing Audrey in Little Shop at the Kennedy Center.

[0:28] Larry Scott: And she's joining Josh Radnor um from How I Met Your Mother from October 24th to the 28th.

[0:33] Will Armstrong: You know what? It's kind of LA news because we're claiming them as our own.

[0:35] Larry Scott: Exactly. Right? Like Josh was on the TV show. Megan, she did something I think at the Hollywood Bowl, and we love her.

[0:40] Will Armstrong: Yeah.

[0:40] Larry Scott: Also, community programming continues at the Pasadena Playhouse this fall with three very exciting productions in the Carrie Hamilton Theater.

[0:47] Will Armstrong: First up is American Hero by Bess Wall and directed by James Eckhouse, September 15th to October 21st.

[0:53] Larry Scott: Followed by Detroit 67 by Dominique Morisseau and directed by Greg T. Daniel, uh, November 8th through 10th.

[1:00] Will Armstrong: And then The Receptionist by Adam Bach and directed by Andy Chapman, November 16th and 17th.

[1:05] Larry Scott: Please let us know, by the way, if we're pronouncing anyone's names wrong.

[1:08] Will Armstrong: I'm fine going on the record and correcting myself because we want to get it right.

[1:12] Larry Scott: So apologies, by the way, if we ever do get it wrong, let us know.

[1:15] Will Armstrong: And for more info on those three shows, check out Pasadena Playhouse.org.

[1:20] Larry Scott: It's so funny that you say that because I can't sleep the night before we record because I'm stressing out on how I'm gonna pronounce some names that I'm not familiar with.

[1:26] Will Armstrong: We need to just start reaching out to people on Twitter going, Can you send me phonetically?

[1:29] Larry Scott: Exactly their YouTube video where they say it.

[1:32] Will Armstrong: Exactly. And uh Reprise 2.0 is presenting Kander and Ebb, The World Goes Round at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, September 5th through the 16th.

[1:40] Larry Scott: And we are so thrilled to be joined by award-winning singer and actress Valerie Perri, whose career began with starring as Eva Perón in the Broadway National Tour of Evita, which was for the legendary director and producer Hal Prince.

[1:53] Will Armstrong: She also worked with director and choreographer Jerome Robbins.

[1:56] Larry Scott: I feel like he's so much more than that, right? Like iconic director and uh choreographer Jerome Robbins and the Broadway National of Jerome Robbins' Broadway.

[2:04] Will Armstrong: She's recently been seen in The Graduate here locally at the Laguna Playhouse and also Sunset Boulevard as Norma Desmond at Musical Theatre West and also Moonlight Amphitheater.

[2:13] Larry Scott: And you may also know her from her many TV appearances on shows like Criminal Minds and ER. Valerie, welcome to West of Broadway.

[2:18] Valerie Perri: Thank you.

[2:22] Larry Scott: Thank you for joining us this morning on West of Broadway.

[2:25] Valerie Perri: Oh, thank you very much for asking me.

[2:27] Larry Scott: You're busy right now 'cause you're getting ready, I think to head to auditions.

[2:30] Valerie Perri: Or rehearsals.

[2:31] Larry Scott: Rehearsals.

[2:32] Valerie Perri: Not auditions.

[2:36] Larry Scott: No, one show at a time.

[2:38] Valerie Perri: Yeah.

[2:38] Larry Scott: So you're getting ready to head over there.

[2:40] Valerie Perri: Yeah. I am, I am. We uh we're getting to the home stretch now as far as all the rehearsals go and everything has been going so extremely well and it's uh an absolutely fun show, a terrific cast and wonderful uh creative team and crew. They're all just top notch and it's going to be uh an evening of mesmerizing and fabulous music and dance and it's just so much fun.

[3:10] Larry Scott: Now Valerie, you've done this show before what's different for you this time?

[3:15] Valerie Perri: Yes, I did do the show actually uh several years ago. I did it up at California Music Theatre.

[3:22] Larry Scott: Wow, I love that.

[3:22] Valerie Perri: And uh the challenging thing for me this time around is that they've given me a different track. So it was all uh a lot of the songs that I hadn't sung at the first uh go around. So I was learning some new material and uh this show has a whole lot more choreography in it.

[3:42] Larry Scott: Wow.

[3:43] Valerie Perri: So it's uh it's it it's nonstop. So um we hardly ever leave stage. The concept um that the uh director, Richard Israel has uh provided us is that we when you come into the uh theater, you're going to be coming into a really elegant cabaret setting. And we are also part of it as the performers watching all the other people as well, you know, each one as they perform. So we're all in this together and therefore when we're not performing, we are sitting and watching like we are at that cabaret with you. So it is um it's just nonstop and uh if we're not doing a lead in a song, we're backing up the other performers in a lot of instances.

[4:34] Will Armstrong: Uh-huh.

[4:35] Valerie Perri: So it's just I would not mind a lot of energy.

[4:37] Will Armstrong: I would not mind having Valerie Perri singing back up for me.

[4:40] Valerie Perri: That would be great.

[4:41] Will Armstrong: That'd be a cool moment, right?

[4:45] Valerie Perri: Oh thank you so much. Valerie, you uh use the term track. Like so, um for those listeners who aren't familiar, how is this show different than a traditional book show?

[4:55] Valerie Perri: Well, it is a review and uh what they do is they give you like this is woman one, woman two, man one, man two, and we don't really like to refer to it that way. But in terms of uh what you do in the show, you follow a certain track and a lot of the times, in fact in this particular show, uh, um Richard Israel has changed it around. For instance, in the original version of the show, the Kiss of the Spider Woman was sung by a male.

[5:31] Will Armstrong: Right.

[5:32] Valerie Perri: And uh at the time that they originated the role, I was actually talking to my friend Karen Ba who was in the original production of it in New York. And she said at the time that they did the show, Kiss of the Spider Woman was not a uh a theater piece yet. It was it was just a song.

[5:49] Will Armstrong: Wow.

[5:49] Valerie Perri: So they had the baritone sing it. And now in our version I get the opportunity to sing it. So uh now that you know, Chita has made the role and it's quite fabulous. So that's kind of exciting for me to be able to uh to take on that uh particular song and and there's a lot of other things that Richard decided, well, you know, let's do it this way and instead of that character singing in this song, let that character. So it's just um you know, it's hard to say that we follow the same kind of tracking that we did the first go around. It's very, very varied in this particular instance. But as far as what I was trying to say is that there are so many different songs that I get to perform in this particular uh and dish than I did from the first time. So it's challenging.

[6:43] Larry Scott: Now is there a favorite song that I mean, that's like your song when you get to do it or that you just love to sing from Kander and Ebb?

[6:49] Valerie Perri: Oh, gosh, I love Kander and Ebb. I mean, I have always loved them. Gosh, since the first time I did a production of Cabaret in college and I just every time I people ask me about what's your favorite song, it it has to be whatever song I'm listening to or singing at that time. That's my favorite.

[7:10] Will Armstrong: It's like picking a favorite child.

[7:13] Valerie Perri: Yes, exactly, exactly. Well, there's not people who say they have a favorite side.

[7:17] Will Armstrong: Yes.

[7:18] Valerie Perri: People can. But I think that people that come to the theater are going to uh really enjoy all of the songs that they know, like "Cabaret" and "All That Jazz" and all the stuff that they're so used to hearing, but then they're going to be those lesser known to the ear, but still has that Kander and Ebb stamp on it, which they go, Oh wow, you know, I that's the first time I've heard that song. That's fabulous. So I think that it's going to be really uh wonderful for audiences that are familiar and for those who are not yet familiar with some of their music.

[7:55] Will Armstrong: Could you talk a little bit about the rest of your ensemble, like the rest of the cast?

[8:00] Valerie Perri: Oh, they're so super. I've been a fan of Don Lewis's forever and I'm so excited to see her. Don Lewis is just magnificent and she starts the show and you when you come into that theater and you hear her sing, you're going to sit back and you're gonna go, Wow, we are so in for a treat. She's absolutely terrific and she's a great gal and she's funny and she is just all around a super lovely, lovely woman.

[8:29] Will Armstrong: It's so nice.

[8:30] Valerie Perri: Kelly Dorney is like so comfortable. She is just a sweetheart, um really uh petty and and and fun and and she's she she's kind of an every woman. She sings, she dances, uh you know, she's just great. And Larry Cedar is such a wonderful character actor. And he sings "Mr. Cellophane" in the show. And you are just gonna fall in love with him.

[8:59] Will Armstrong: Fantastic.

[8:59] Valerie Perri: And Mike Starr is the first person that I the only person I should say in the show that I hadn't worked with. But now that we are way deep in rehearsals, I am so happy to get the chance to work with him because he is a major talent. And uh he actually does "Arthur" with me. We do "Arthur" in the afternoon, and it is so much fun, and I am so confident with him because he has to lift me and throw me around and and he's just marvelous. They're all absolutely wonderful. And and also they're all very supportive. You know, we we are all very supportive of each other up there, and it's um you know, I refrain from saying it's a lunch fest 'cause you know that that's going a little too far. But it's a family. We definitely can really appreciate each one's strength. Each one's strength and and their their talents and abilities and uh it's well cast.

[9:55] Will Armstrong: That's so wonderful to hear. And as uh Lara and I created this show to celebrate musical theater in Los Angeles and on the West Coast. And thank you so much for bringing such incredible performances uh um uh here to Los Angeles in the LA area.

[10:10] Valerie Perri: I'm so thrilled to have the opportunity, honestly. It's it's really my pleasure and my honor.

[10:15] Will Armstrong: Well, um I know that you're very, very busy and you have to get to rehearsals, so Valerie, I just want to uh thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us and uh good luck with uh the finish amp rehearsals and we look forward to seeing the show.

[10:26] Larry Scott: Forget to be the night after opening night.

[10:27] Valerie Perri: I wish we could see it tonight after talking to you. I'm so excited.

[10:29] Larry Scott: But yeah, we'll we'll see it next week.

[10:32] Valerie Perri: Yes.

[10:33] Will Armstrong: Oh, well, fantastic. Please come on and say hello afterwards.

[10:36] Valerie Perri: Absolutely.

[10:37] Larry Scott: Oh my gosh, we totally will.

[10:39] Will Armstrong: Thank you so much, Valerie. It was such a pleasure speaking with you. Have a wonderful afternoon.

[10:43] Valerie Perri: Take care.

[10:43] Larry Scott: You too.

[10:44] Will Armstrong: I know. That was awesome.

[10:47] Larry Scott: Well, wonderful. I I that was so sweet.

[10:49] Will Armstrong: And she's so sweet. And what an honor to be able to speak with such a legend.

[10:52] Larry Scott: I'm just that's awesome. Don't you feel like because she started her career, you know, decades ago?

[10:57] Will Armstrong: And that kind of attitude, beyond having incredible talent, you know, a beautiful singing voice, but just her sweet, positive attitude.

[11:05] Larry Scott: I mean, a lot of people in entertainment get jaded.

[11:07] Will Armstrong: I heard none of that. Just supportive and happy and excited.

[11:10] Larry Scott: And I just I love her already.

[11:12] Will Armstrong: That comes with talent and it comes with confidence and it comes with appreciation and uh for fellow cast members and for the experience and for the love of theater, which is what it's all about.

[11:22] Larry Scott: That'd be a great podcast name for the love of theater, right?

[11:25] Will Armstrong: There you go.

[11:25] Larry Scott: So thank you so let's give her more applause. She's just awesome.

[11:28] Will Armstrong: Absolutely. And go see her in The World Goes Round. It's at UCLA Freud Playhouse, September 5th through the 16th.

[11:34] Larry Scott: And tickets and more information are available at reprise2.org.

[11:38] Will Armstrong: And that's the number two.

[11:39] Larry Scott: Yes, reprise2.org. And we would love for you listening to be one of our West of Broadway iTunes subscribers.

[11:46] Will Armstrong: That way you'll know when a new episode comes out, and you'll be one of the first to hear us talking about what we thought of The World Goes Round.

[11:52] Larry Scott: We're gonna try to get that up like the day after we see the show, so it's still really fresh.

[11:56] Will Armstrong: And also we would love to hear from you about anything that's on your mind related to theater in Southern California on Instagram and Twitter.

[12:02] Larry Scott: I'm at Radio Lara, and that's Radio L A R A.

[12:06] Will Armstrong: And I'm on Twitter and Instagram at Will Armstrong P R.

[12:09] Larry Scott: And you can find us also on our Facebook page West of Broadway.

[12:12] Will Armstrong: All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us here on the podcast.

[12:15] Larry Scott: And if you're looking for us, you can find us just west of Broadway.

[12:20] Will Armstrong: Yay. There we go.