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[0:00] Jeryl Brunner: From Shakespeare to Schwartz, from Fawcett to Alvin Ailey, from Sondheim to Borelis, from McNally to Faye, it happened to the greats, it still happens every day.

[0:10] Jeryl Brunner: When lightning strikes, it's the moment you know, when lightning strikes, where you're meant to go. You can stand and shout, Eureka, do whatever you like. You'll never forget the moment when lightning strikes.

[0:25] Jeryl Brunner: This is Jeryl Brunner, and you're listening to When Lightning Strikes!. Max Clayton stars in the hit musical Schmigadoon, which won this year's Tony Award for Best Musical.

[0:42] Jeryl Brunner: Clayton plays Dashing Danny Bailey in the show and won the Chita Rivera Award and received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for his riveting and show-stopping performance.

[0:58] Jeryl Brunner: His other stage credits include Chicago, The Music Man, Moulin Rouge!, The Musical, Hello, Dolly!, Pretty Woman, Bandstand, Something Rotten, On the Town, Gigi, A Chorus Line, and more.

[1:14] Jeryl Brunner: On screen, he can be seen in Kiss of the Spider Woman, White Noise, and Dear Edward. Well, welcome.

[1:22] Max Clayton: Thank you so much for having me.

[1:24] Jeryl Brunner: Thank you. It's such a joy for you to be here.

[1:28] Max Clayton: I'm very honored. Thank you.

[1:29] Jeryl Brunner: Oh, I'm so honored. I just think Schmigadoon is like, I just say it's like Prozac for the soul. It's the ultimate joy pill. And I want to know when it came into your life. You were in the out of town show at Kennedy Center, right?

[1:46] Max Clayton: That's correct. This show is, first of all, it's heaven in every way. But it also came at a point in my life when I really needed it the most. And it's so funny. I was actually doing White Christmas at Paper Mill and we were about to close and I called my agents who I just signed with and I said, look, I know we're trying to be picky and strategic on what I do next, but I'm at a place where I really just want to be in the room with wonderful people. If there are any opportunities that we may pass on, just bring them to my attention just in case. And the next week they called me with an offer to play Larry the fireman in Schmigadoon out of town in D.C. And they're like, it's two weeks. Just go have fun. Be with your friends. I had never worked with this creative team. And that yes, quite literally changed my life.

[2:33] Jeryl Brunner: What was it about the show that made you fall in love with it? I mean, I could tell you all about why I love it, but I want to hear it from you.

[2:41] Max Clayton: It's a show that requires every actor to sort of flex every muscle possible. Like I use every tool from the toolkit that we all have learned from various teachers and arts programs, etc. Like we really have to do it all. And everyone in this cast does that and some.

[3:03] Jeryl Brunner: If somebody were to ask you, how do you describe Schmigadoon? What would you say? It's a musical about? I'll let you tell it.

[3:13] Max Clayton: Schmigadoon, in its truest, simplest form, is a show that just celebrates everything Broadway has to offer. And it also is a show about love and loving the small things and just remembering, you know, your roots and celebrating all the wins and all the losses and just remembering to smile and laugh along the way.

[3:42] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah, that's so beautiful. And I think about how it's about opening your heart and letting love come through. I thought that's maybe a little cliché.

[3:53] Max Clayton: No, it's not cliché because it's real. And it's also a show that where there really is something for absolutely everyone. People who have never seen musicals before love the show. People who are Broadway history nerds, of course, love the show. But if you don't know a lot about the references, it doesn't make it any less enjoyable, which I think is such a brilliant. It's a testament to Cinco Paul, the writer for just absolutely knocking it out of the park. I mean, it's no surprise that he won best book and best score. Those were so deserved. They were so deserved. Truly the most magical man.

[4:30] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah, for a show that so lovingly celebrates classic musical theater. It's also so brilliantly original.

[4:45] Max Clayton: Correct. Every song you're like, of course, I know exactly what this is from yet. It's so new and original at the same time.

[4:53] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah, the nuts and bolts of it is, okay, it's two people in current day and present day, right? Two lovers. And what happens? How do you describe it?

[5:08] Max Clayton: Yes, it's an unmarried couple who decides to go on a couple's retreat. And well, you know, their life, you know, as any relationship is, it has its highs and lows, and they're in a low point, and they're trying to, you know, fix it. And they're in the woods, their cell phones are dead, it's raining out, and they're lost. And they're like, Oh, wait, there's this bridge over here. Let's go over this bridge and see if there's a town and they stumble into this town called Schmigadoon.

[5:36] Max Clayton: Life is a musical every day. And they soon learn that you cannot leave until you have found true love. And they learn that by right at the top of the show, they cross the bridge to get back out and they wind right back in Schmigadoon. They cross again, they wind right back in Schmigadoon. And they're met with a darling little leprechaun who sort of explains the ropes to them. And then the most amazing thing happens.

[6:00] Jeryl Brunner: That's so wonderful. And what do you love about Dally? Oh my god, who you play Dally Bailey?

[6:08] Max Clayton: It's a pinch me moment role. It's everything I love about musical theater wrapped in one character. I get to be, you know, he's the Rapscallion, he's the broody, tough guy, but at the same time, he has like the most massive heart and he really just wants to open up and celebrate, celebrate her, celebrate everything. Like he, I think when he meets Melissa, he really is shocked at how much he's able to like get into his heart. And I love that I get to show that side of him. And as far as the skills required, it's truly a triple threat role through and through. I don't really know another role.

[6:43] Max Clayton: Yeah, that like I we have ideas like I think like Tulsa, but I'm like, well, Tulsa's not doesn't have this. You know what I mean? Like, other than really, I did Gaby on the town, but that's still it's like, the departments were, they were separated. And I felt it was more compartmentalized, like, okay, now it's a ballet. Now it is this, whereas Danny Bailey, I really have to do all three, all at once the whole time.

[7:12] Jeryl Brunner: And I think about how you're watching the number, you can't tame me, the 11 o'clock number. It's so delicious. And you think, wait, wait, he can. And he's, and you think it can't get any better. And then you're I don't even want to spoil it for people.

[7:32] Max Clayton: Thank you. That's very kind of you. It was a dream to create with Christopher Telly and David Chase, our supervisor for music and Cinco and Stephen Malone, like we really were able to just play in the sandbox and pick and choose from the best of the best MGM, Hollywood movies, and Broadway shows and just pick and choose and kind of create our own version. And it was like, it's heaven. And I think about how, what I love also with everyone, especially Danny, is that you're also genuine and authentic. You're never winking, you never say, oh, this is, you know, a spin. It's so, so genuine. So we're allowed to enter this world in such a rich way. And what was that like for you? Because I could see that it could be that some people might get lost in that other track of making that real.

[8:38] Max Clayton: Yeah. You know, Chris Scatelli really drilled that into us. He was like, this is not a parody. This is we're honoring and spoofing, but it's not, we're not making fun of it. We, and this is what our town is. So my favorite, one of my favorite lines of the show actually takes place right after I do my first big number, You Can't Tame Me. And I have just for four minutes, five minutes danced and done everything you can imagine. And after the song, Melissa says to me, wow, that was a really handsome song. And I say, song? What song? I think that is the moment. And she's like the one you were just singing. And I say, singing? And that's the moment I think for the audience when they're like, oh, got it. This is really happening. This is their real life. They are not putting musical numbers on. That is truly a part of their day to day. And I think that's just so brilliant.

[9:34] Jeryl Brunner: It's brilliant. And that you're, you're able to have these two people from modern day, if you will, who can be the conscience of the audience. You know, it can say, wait a minute, but or they want us to sing that. And the show is packed with so many references for theater fans and all the Easter eggs. I mean, of course, it's joyful and wonderful. Even if you haven't ever seen musical theater before, it's still so delicious. But is there an Easter egg that you love that audiences might miss? Or if you can't give it away, I understand that you would say.

[10:17] Max Clayton: There's a few that I love that I that I can't give away. But I love the balloon moment I get to do, which was a Donald O'Connor, a nod to Donald O'Connor and a brilliant number he did that I get to kind of play and pop balloons with my feet. And I really love the sing in the rain lamppost nod where I get, you know, we have one of those, I take, I'm a carny. So our set takes place in a carnival and I have one of those strongman machines where you like have a big hammer and you whack it and you the light goes up and hits the bell ding. And I get to jump on that and sort of take my hat off and do sing in the rain directly to Melissa, who at the top of the show says sing in the rain changed my life. And I think that's such a great way to tie that in right at the top of the show, because I do it for her and she's like, Oh, my God, dream with a callback.

[11:14] Jeryl Brunner: And has performing in Schmigadoon changed the way you see classic musicals or think about them? How has it transformed?

[11:23] Max Clayton: Absolutely. It absolutely has. I think I appreciate them and love them even

[11:30] Max Clayton: I always have. It's been my, like, favorite genre. It's what I grew up loving and what I grew up watching with, like, my grandfather who loved, he taught me all about Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, all the greats. But now I think I can go back, watch those films for the millionth time and just love them even more because truly they're the reason why we're here and why this art form exists. And it's just like, come on, it doesn't get better.

[11:57] Jeryl Brunner: It doesn't get better. It doesn't get better. And I'd love to know your Lightning Strikes! moment or when you knew this was the path for you. I read you were from New Hampshire, right, and that you saw your sister, Missy. Do I have that right, Dan?

[12:16] Max Clayton: Yes.

[12:17] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah. And, you know, I'll let you tell it. What was it or what made you realize, okay, this is my path?

[12:26] Max Clayton: No, and I love that that is like the mission statement of your podcast, because it's so it's just so smart. And it's also been keeping me up at night because I'm like, I have so many.

[12:36] Jeryl Brunner: You can tell me a couple.

[12:39] Max Clayton: I definitely I will always say watching my sister, Missy, who's just a couple years older than me, perform and light up the stage when she's like the second she stepped on, I just saw her and Missy was always like a shy, sweet, sweet, gentle soul. And then she'd get on stage and like unleash and she would just be so alive. And like, it was so she's so herself and so incredibly talented. And I just saw the spark it caused inside of her. And I always will remember that as being her little brother watching the recitals and the shows. That was the first one. And so then when I was in the second grade, they were doing a production of The Sound of Music at a professional theater in New Hampshire. It's called the Palace Theater, where actually Jen Samard grew up performing there as well.

And my best friend who was in Schmigadoon, and she's about to have her baby, Kaylee Cronin, we all grew up at the Palace. They were doing a production of Sound of Music. And I had no training. I'd never done shows. I was just like, I'm a little kid. And I secretly wanted to do it so bad. So I auditioned, I got Kurt Von Trapp. And there was, you know, the iconic moment on the stairs, we had these big, big grand staircase and the Von Trapp children are coming down the stairs and I tripped and literally like fell, my knees bleeding, right? And then it was like Captain Von Trapp said, Well, if it isn't Kurt Von Tripp, and the audience like blew up. And in that moment, I was so embarrassed, scared, nervous.

Oh my god, it was the worst moment of my life. And then when I heard him say that little spoof of a joke line, and the audience blow up with laughter, it changed my life. I was like, this is magical. This is magical. And then after doing that one show, I got the bug, but I was so scared to pursue it. I was an athlete. So I just continued doing sports and occasionally like tipping my dipping my toe in but never feeling like I fully could. And that was definitely the moment. I'll never forget it. He said, Well, if it isn't Kurt Von Trapp, and the whole place like blew up, and I was just smiling. And I knew I'm like, this is a special place. And I need to do more of this.

[14:53] Jeryl Brunner: So is that what led you to CCM? Ultimately?

[15:24] Max Clayton: changed me. Like I had never seen a show with like a crazy budget and insane cast and the most hilarious script and brilliant songs. And my mind was blown. Like completely, completely blown. And fast forward years after that, I was lucky to do Something Rotten in the St. James Theatre and do it with so many people who were in that very production. It's just like crazy. I know I've only like little Max new.

[15:57] Jeryl Brunner: I love the full circleness of it all.

[16:00] Max Clayton: Yeah.

[16:01] Jeryl Brunner: Is it possible to describe how it makes you feel when you're performing when you're doing Can't Tame Me and getting that applause like little Max Von Trapp?

[16:15] Max Clayton: It's kind of, it's kind of impossible to articulate how I feel I'm on stage. But what's crazy is with Schmigadoon. I am like actively aware of the fact that like, I'm so happy. So happy. I get to do this. It's a dream. And no matter what kind of day I have. And it's hard. I'm not I'm not going to just pretend like this is not a difficult or challenging show and role to do for everyone. Like everyone is working their butts off. But then I get here and I everything's better. Like truly I sound so I don't know. I don't mean for it to sound cheesy, but it's the truth, which is why I'm like the fact I can like acknowledge that. And it is. It's the best. It's the best. I can have a crummy day. And it can be tough to sometimes be like, all right, I have to like put it on and do the thing. And then the second the show starts and I am doing it, I'm like, oh, this is this is why.

[17:19] Jeryl Brunner: I totally I can see that I can feel that. And I think about all the elements. I mean, you've hand painted sets, right? The sets are gorgeous. And is it true that you're the ensemble alone has what like 130 credits?

[17:37] Max Clayton: Yeah, it's a hundred and thirty credits within the ensemble and like one hundred and eighty something within the whole onstage company, our whole cast. I mean, that's not that's not that this is like a numbers game, but that is not normal when they say, all right, who's making their Broadway debut first day of rehearsal? And there's nobody raises their hand. It's like, we what? And of course, our little Carson, but they weren't in the room in that moment. So we were just like, wow, this is crazy. And the average is just like, I mean, Afra, who got our legacy, has like 13 shows. There's tons of people with 10 Broadway shows. It's like everywhere I look, I can't believe I get to do it.

[18:21] Max Clayton: You know what? Sarah Chase said this to me during rehearsals while we were at New 42. Because I'm like, I feel so happy and I feel so lucky. And I know this is not normal. I'm going to cherish this whole process. And she said, you know what this feels like, you know, when you're growing up as a kid, and you have you dream of being on Broadway, and you dream of putting on a show and you dream of creating a show and making a new musical and opening a new show on Broadway? She's like, this show and process feels exactly like what that dream was. When in the reality, this business is really tough. And it is not always this way. We've all been fortunate to do so many shows and be a part of incredible productions and processes that also can be very difficult and very, it takes the joy out of it. This is a business. This show was truly like beginning to where it's not the end. So beginning to now has been like, everything I thought Broadway would be as a kid.

[19:23] Jeryl Brunner: That's so beautiful. I also think about how incredibly resourceful you also have a real estate license. I'm so obsessed with that. You got your real estate license right after the pandemic or during the pandemic?

[19:39] Max Clayton: Yeah, and I do. It's so funny. There's so many people, the pandemic shifted everyone's mentality, I think around like having another job. It used to sort of be, or be looked at as you have one foot out the door. And now it's celebrated and embraced because the pandemic just shook everyone. But I'm so, so grateful. I work with the most amazing woman, Maggie Goldseelig, who just took me under her wing during the pandemic. She's a huge Broadway supporter. And she's, she taught me with the best of the best. And then once we came back, I was doing The Music Man as Hugh's standby. I just decided not to keep, I decided to keep both balls in the air because I knew I'd have a lot of time backstage. And I'm so grateful I did. And I've never stopped and I don't plan to because it's a great, it's a great thing to have. And I really enjoy it.

[20:33] Jeryl Brunner: That's incredible. I just, I love that, that you have this duality. Well, we all contain multitudes. And I think about just within the multitudes of you also as a performer, that you're this incredible triple threat. And I wondered, because you're such a beautiful dancer and actor, do you approach a role, you know, with one vocabulary and then expand it? Or how does that, or it depends on the role or with Danny?

[21:03] Max Clayton: It depends on the role. But at the end of the day, you always have to approach it as the actor first. And let the other things sort of be the special sauce and the extra bells and whistles. But I think it's always important to just approach everything as the actor, which was something I learned in college. I was mostly just like excited to dance and, you know, hide behind that. And when I went to school, I had incredible voice teachers and acting teachers who were like, No, Max, you can do more like you are more. Let's, let's dive in. And they just brought me out of my shell and gave me confidence. Because when I went to college, I never thought I would be playing, I would play roles at school, let alone here in New York. And now it's like, that's what I love to do.

[21:47] Jeryl Brunner: What do you hope people come away with after seeing Schmigadoon?

[21:52] Max Clayton: I hope that it, you know, I hope at the end of the day, when you leave Schmigadoon, you are so excited to see another show, whatever that is. But I think it's a great, it's like a palate cleanser. It's just it feels so good. You walk out feeling better than when you walked in. And I hope that that excites people. I hope it excites new theater goers. I hope it excites the people who appreciate the old school stuff. And just I hope that it encourages people to see more theater. We need butts in the seats.

[22:26] Jeryl Brunner: Absolutely. Oh, you're so wonderful.

[22:31] Max Clayton: Thank you for what you do.

[22:33] Jeryl Brunner: Well, have a beautiful day, Max.

[22:35] Max Clayton: I'll talk to you later.

[22:37] Jeryl Brunner: Okay, take care.