Breaking the Curtain

We are delighted to be joined by Broadway's Katie Rose Clarke to chat all about Merrily We Roll Along!

Katie shares insight into playing Beth in the Broadway revival, the recent midnight surprise cast recording drop, reuniting on stage with Lindsay Mendez and so much more!

Katie Rose Clarke is an actress and singer who has starred in both the Broadway and National Tour productions of hit shows THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA and WICKED, and she was also featured in the Original Broadway Cast of ALLEGIANCE and in the revival of legendary musical MISS SAIGON. Katie is currently on Broadway in the revival of Merrily We Roll Along.

We're beyond thrilled to be joined by Allison Sheppard who plays Bella in the National Touring Production of Jagged Little Pill!

Allison chats with us about her audition journey, insight into her powerful character, loving Alanis Morissette, fan interactions at the stage door, her real-life friendship with Dillon Klena (Nick Healy) and so much more!

*Trigger warning: sexual assault

Listen up Queendom! We're joined by Julia McLellan who is currently in the Canadian company of SIX: The Musical as the alternate for Jane Seymour, Katherine Howard and Anne Boleyn.

Julia has performed on stages across North America, including three companies of the Tony award winning hit Kinky Boots The Musical-- on Broadway, the Broadway 1st National Tour, and the original Canadian cast. She has had the pleasure of leading shows on some of Canada’s most prestigious stages: starring as Val Clark in The Stratford Festival's A Chorus Line, as Persephone in the North American premiere of Mythic, in the original cast of Musical Stage Co.'s world premiere of Kelly v. Kelly, Doralee Rhodes in Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 at the Citadel theatre, and alternating the role of Dorothy Gale on the 1st National tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of Oz. 

Her stage career intertwines with her climate activism, as she is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Canadian Green Alliance, the national not-for-profit dedicated to bridging the gap between theatre and sustainability.

We are beyond thrilled to be joined by one of our favourite performers, Will Branner!

Will is best known for appearing in the National Touring Productions of Mean Girls and Bat Out of Hell: The Musical as LeDoux. He recently made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Back to the Future: The Musical and starred in the internet sensation: Nerdy Prudes Must Die as Max.

We chat with Will about the phone call he received with news of his Broadway Debut, the epic fan response to Nerdy Prudes Must Die, the sudden closure of the Bat Out of Hell US Tour and much more!

Do you believe Broadway's Marquis Theatre is cursed?

We dive deep into 'The Great Theatre Massacre of 1982', which brought down five theatres including the historic Morosco Theatre and the original Helen Hayes Theatre to make room for the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

Could a curse upon the location be the reason why many shows have been unsuccessful flops at the Marquis Theatre?

It's hard to ignore the eerie coincidence that many shows have struggled to find success at the Marquis Theatre. Some even say that the ghost of the Morosco Theatre haunts the location, seeking revenge for its demolition. Regardless of the reason, we discuss the flops and successful productions that once played at the Marquis including Cry-Baby, Nick and Nora, Evita, 9 to 5, Beetlejuice, Once Upon a One More Time and more!

Meet The Plastics! We got to sit with Maya Petropoulos, Kristen Amanda Smith and MaryRose Brendel who play the iconic roles of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith in the Touring Production of Mean Girls: The Musical to chat all about life on the road, their audition experiences, what they hope people take from seeing the show, their favorite costumes and so much more! It was so fetch!

This is an extra special episode because we're chatting with Natalie Shaw who recently set out on her first National Touring Production playing Cady Heron in Mean Girls: The Musical!

We chat with Natalie all about adjusting to life on the road in a musical theatre production, the audition process for Mean Girls, which character she relates to the most, the time she fell down a 10-ft orchestra pit... And so much more!

Great Scott! We're joined by Back to the Future: The Musical's Liana Hunt, who currently stars in the Broadway production as Lorraine Baines.

Liana chats with us all about playing the iconic role in this epic history changing musical! She also shares her pre-show routine, the fan response to the musical adaptation, what it was like meeting Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson at the Broadway opening and more!

We hop in the DeLorean to travel through Liana's iconic career during a segment we called 'Back to the Future with Liana Hunt' where Liana shares with us memories from working on shows including Newsies, Wicked and Mamma Mia!

On this episode, we discuss the stories behind two haunted theatres in North America: The Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and the Nederlander Theatre in Chicago! We include the stories of our own personal hauntings inside the Royal Alexandra.

We also discuss potential hauntings and tragic events on Broadway based on old tales told on forums. Who knows... Maybe the 'Pearl Studios Shitter' is the real ghost of Broadway?

We are beyond thrilled to chat with Glinda Upland herself, Broadway's McKenzie Kurtz, who joined us to discuss the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Wicked!

In this episode, McKenzie shares her story of seeing Wicked on Broadway for the first time, booking the role, which Glinda costume is her favourite, her first flight inside the bubble and more!

McKenzie Kurtz made her Broadway debut as Princess Anna in FROZEN in February of 2020.

Most recently, and prior to her current role in Wicked, she appeared in NBC’s Annie Live! as the Star-to-Be, and as “Heather” in Marvel’s new television series SHE HULK on Disney+. In the fall of 2021, she performed in the out-of-town tryout of TRADING PLACES directed by Kenny Leon.

She graduated from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance with a BFA in Musical Theatre in 2019.

Welcome to our very first edition of THEATRE HOT TAKES where we anonymously read the Theatre Hot Takes our listeners submitted and discuss the topic with our own opinions!

00:47 - The BOOH LV cast was awesome

01:45 - Stunt casting should be given a chance

06:20 - Next to Normal is better than Dear Evan Hansen

09:07 - I love Hamilton and Wicked dearly, but they’ve had their day. They should close

11:30 - Audiences shouldn’t be allowed to drink alcohol at shows

14:46 - The New York Critics are harsh

17:08 - The West End is better than Broadway

21:16 - Hamilton is extremely overrated and not worth the hype

24:55 - Audience members are so entitled these days with no respect for the cast sometimes

25:20 - Cats is a genuinely good and enjoyable musical, people only bash it because it’s easy!

27:04 - Traditional soprano theatre voices <<<

34:43 - Bigger shows aren’t always the best, smaller shows are sometimes better

36:14 - If you’re going to a show set in high school you can’t really complain about “annoying teen fans”

37:43 - Diana The Musical is actually so good and campy. I think it'll come back like Carrie!

41:36 - Jukebox musicals are very overrated. I miss the old classic shows

45:39 - People can be a little too quick to defend their 'faves' when something is brought up that isn't good

47:35 - People take being a 'theatre fan' too seriously

Our 2023 Tony Interview Series continues with the highly talented and kind, Taylor J. Williams, who is nominated for his work on Broadway's Ain't No Mo!

Taylor J. Williams is a musician and sound designer who has been nominated for a Tony Award for his work on Broadway’s Ain’t No Mo’ along with Jonathan Deans. He has worked as an electronic music designer on more than 30 Broadway productions including Moulin Rouge, Beetlejuice, Be More Chill, King Kong, Disney’s Frozen, Falsettos, and The Who’s orchestral tour: The Who Hits Back.

Taylor’s role as Co-Sound Designer for Ain't No Mo was integral in bringing this vision to life, as his perspective as a Black man allowed him to serve on the sound team as a voice and advocate for the Black community. With his input, he was able to ensure that the sound design of the production accurately represented Black culture and history within the play. 

Working alongside three-time Tony Award nominee Jonathan Deans, Taylor’s specific focus for the project was to compose original music, build sound cues to appear between vignettes which were in dialogue with the play, and to speak for Miss Bag, a prop character who embodies the creations of the Black community in the U.S.

We had the absolute pleasure of speaking with the incredible Tom Kitt, who is nominated for the 2023 Tony Award for Best Original Score Written for the Theatre for Broadway's Almost Famous!

As huge fans of the show and score, we were thrilled to have an in-depth conversation about Tom's work with the piece.

Tom Kitt is a two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winner.  As a musical theatre composer, he has written the music for six Broadway shows: Next to Normal (Tony Award), If/Then (Tony Nomination), Flying Over Sunset (Tony Nomination), High Fidelity, Bring it On, The Musical, and Almost Famous. His work for the stage has also been seen Off-Broadway at 2nd Stage (Next to Normal, Superhero), The Public Theater (The Visitor, Shakespeare in the Park) and he has worked at some of the most prestigious regional theatres including The Old Globe, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, The Signature Theater, and ART.  In addition, Tom’s Broadway credits as an orchestrator include: Next to Normal (Tony Award), The SpongeBob Musical (Tony Nomination), Jagged Little Pill (Tony Nomination), Almost Famous, Head Over Heels, Everyday Rapture, and American Idiot.

Tom has also been active in the world of film and TV. As one of the vocal arrangers working on the Pitch Perfect films, Tom most notably helped create the classic “Riff-off.”  Tom also served as music supervisor/arranger/orchestrator for Grease Live and contributed songs for Royal Pains and Penny Dreadful.  He also provided music supervision for the NBC series, Rise and has written numerous songs for Sesame Street.  And he is known for his two original opening numbers for The Tony Awards, Live in 2019, written with David Javerbaum for James Corden, and the Emmy Award winning, Bigger in 2013, written with Lin-Manuel Miranda for Neil Patrick Harris.  Tom is also proud that his musical adaptation of Freaky Friday, co-written with Bridget Carpenter and Brian Yorkey was turned into an original movie musical for Disney Channel.  Most recently, Tom served as a Supervising Music Producer on the new Bobby Lopez/Kristen Anderson-Lopez/Steven Levenson/Thomas Kail musical television series, Up Here.

We're delighted to be joined by Benjamin Durham who plays the iconic role of Winnie the Pooh in the new musical adaptation now touring around the UK & Ireland!

The show features many of the original songs written by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman, who composed most of the music for the Winnie the Pooh franchise over the years. The puppets were lovingly crafted within the walls of Rockefeller Productions by a talented and dedicated team of artists, designers, patternmakers, builders, welders and fabricators; all influenced by Disney's seminal character designs with nods to E.H.Shephard’s original illustrations.

We're so thrilled to be joined by Jonathan Cullen to discuss playing the role of rockstar Stacee Jaxx in Toronto's Rock of Ages!

Jonathan Cullen has wowed audiences on stages across North America since 2010. Most recently he played a leading role on the 1st National Tour of the Broadway Smash-hit, The Book of Mormon. Jonathan helped Grammy Nominated Steven Page, formerly of Barenaked Ladies, workshop his new musical, Here’s What It Takes. Previously in his career, Jonathan worked with Tony Award Winning Director Stephen Daldry and Tony Award Winning choreographer Peter Darling along with multiple Academy and Grammy Award Winning artist Elton John on their ground-breaking Broadway success, Billy Elliot.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Calling all Fansies! We've got an exciting interview with Bronté Barbé and Michael Ahomka-Lindsay who play the roles of Katherine Plumber and Jack Kelly in the UK production of Newsies!

We're thrilled to be joined by Louise Camilleri who is currently playing Justice Charlier in the Toronto production of Rock of Ages!

Louise has been an entertainer for over 3 decades with appearances in television, film and commercials. Career highlights feature her in Musical Theatre shows throughout Canada to the Broadway stage. These include performing as a featured dancer in the U.S. national tour of Sophisticated Ladies produced by Mercedes Ellington, the role of Anita in West Side Story, the world premier production of The Lord of the Rings, the role of Tanya in Mamma Mia!, and the world premier production of Show Boat at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Film and television highlights include the movies Superstar, Blues Brother’s 2000 and Disney’s Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. Vocal highlights include performing as a guest soloist with The Tenors, a featured singer with Josh Groban in concert, performing and recording with The Parachute Club, and as lead vocalist with her band Mark Camilleri and The CT Project on their debut album.

This is weird. It's weird. Very weird. F**king weird.

When RENT opened in London’s West End in 1998, the poor reviews from the British press would eventually become the least of their issues surrounding a UK-based production of this iconic musical.

In 2007, Jonathan Larson’s work would be flipped into a tragic, reworked West End production named Rent Remixed. Yup, you heard that right. We’re going to dive deep into the history of the first non-replica production of RENT and give detailed accounts of the remixed songs and scenes. We also discuss what we believe the differences are between British Theatre VS American Theatre and why certain shows flop following a transfer to the West End/Broadway.

As a special bonus, we play a game called 'NAME THAT RENT REMIX' where Jocelyn, a massive 'renthead', listens to the remixed clips and tries to guess which song it is.

The Bat is back in London! We're thrilled to be joined by returning guests Glenn Adamson (Strat) and Kellie Gnauck (Raven) to chat about their recent journey with the show's Arena tour in Australia and New Zealand, exciting new information about the upcoming London run, overcoming anxiety, what they think Strat and Raven would gift each other for Valentine's Day and more! 

Bat Out of Hell The Musical is a Rocky-Horror, Romeo-and-Juliet celebration of star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the tracks caught in a city teetering on the brink of disaster. When Raven falls in love with the rebellious Strat, all bets are off in this love-at-all-costs, rock-and-rollercoaster story based on uncompromising youth.

Bat Out of Hell plays a limited season at the Peacock Theatre beginning Feb 17 - April 1, 2023!

Rouge, baby! Happy Valentine's Day, chickens! Join us as we break down the history behind the real Moulin Rouge, Baz Luhrmann's iconic film and the process of adapting it for the stage, the 2020 Covid-19 Broadway Shutdown, our favourite songs in the show and more!

We're so thrilled to be joined by Rachel Webb to discuss Broadway's & Juliet, the hard work and dedication that goes into being an understudy, which pop/rock artist and Shakespeare play should get the & Juliet jukebox musical treatment and more!

It's our first messy updates episode of Season 4! Join us as we recap Crissy's birthday, Groundhog Day The Musical ft. the death of Fred la Marmotte, Aaron Tveit's return to Moulin Rouge! on Broadway (our cheeks are ROUGE with adoration, baby!), Sunset Boulevard at the Kennedy Center, the icky Glee Documentary, our upcoming guests in February and more! 

In the early years of the 2000s, we began to see a rise in the modern movie musicals with film adaptations of Dreamgirls, Hairspray, RENT, The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Mamma Mia and more. It was the era of Myspace, fansites and forums. The trilogy release of Disney’s High School Musical, would only mark the beginning of what would spiral into 'theatre fandemonium', with musical theatre making its way to the forefront of mainstream media outlets and finally gaining in popularity.

It took the following year after the final High School Musical film to set the world ablaze with covers of show tunes populating on YouTube and climbing the iTunes charts weekly. Soon enough, not only did the entire world know what it meant to be a ‘theatre geek’, they celebrated and dubbed themselves as a new word that would sweep social media in the years to follow - ‘gleeks.’

So, where exactly did the term ‘gleek’ come from? Well, if you clicked on the episode or you consider yourself a “Gleek’, then you already know it stems from the hit Fox TV Series Glee.

Join Cris and Joce as they recount the early days of the Glee Phenomenon, the impact the series and songs had on the theatre community, The Glee Project competition, the ultimate decline in viewer numbers and more!

Two stagey best friends interview their idols and break down the history behind your favourite musicals from popular shows like RENT and Beetlejuice to iconic flops like Carrie and Bonnie & Clyde - we cover them all!

And if you like what you hear, consider giving our show the ol’ razzle dazzle by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcast!

In this very special BONUS episode of Breaking the Curtain, we're joined by the phenomenal Rob Colletti who stars as Lester Bangs in Almost Famous on Broadway!

We chat with Rob all about the genius that is Cameron Crowe, the wonderful support from the fans, the real Lester Bangs and the current state of Broadway in the era of Covid.

Almost Famous runs on Broadway until January 8th, 2023. You do not want to miss this special show!

SURPRISE! Last week, we took a trip to New York City to spend time under the bright lights of Broadway in preparation for our upcoming season to bring you even more exciting content! On this final episode of Season 3, we chat all about seeing Wicked, Almost Famous, Moulin Rouge and MJ. We also tell you all about our experience at the Museum of Broadway, visiting 508 and Rise NY!

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, an Enchantress turned a cruel Prince into a hideous Beast. To break the spell, the Beast must learn to love another and earn her love in return before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose…

In the final Show History episode of Season 3, we're chatting all about the history behind Disney's first Broadway production, Beauty and the Beast, and the drama that followed as the big mouse signed a 49-year revenue-based lease at the New Amsterdam Theatre, the Disney Channel stunt-casting era, the iconic Toni Braxton, and more! 

In this very exciting episode of Breaking the Curtain, we're joined by Jade McLeod who is currently playing Jo in the North American Touring Production of Jagged Little Pill!

Jocelyn and Jade attended college together, making this episode a lovely chat and reunion! 

Jade is a proud non-binary Canadian, working artistically in both Canada and the US as an Actor, Writer, and Singer.

Since graduating from St. Clair College in 2017, Jade has worked on shows across Canada, such as Mamma Mia! and Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (Both with Stage West Calgary), and enjoyed a brief stint with Carnival Cruise Lines.

Having found their voice first as a singer, then as a songwriter, actor and activist, Jade now uses their platform to explore issues related to the LGBTQ+ community, feminism, and mental health.

In this episode, we chat all about how Tina Fey made fetch happen by bringing one of our favourite Y2K movies to the stage!

If you don’t know what Mean Girls is about because you live under a rock or got hit by a bus, Mean Girls: The Musical tells the story of Cady Heron through the point of view of her friends, Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard.

Join us as we discuss the process from book to movie to stage production, the fearlessness of a performer who literally saved a performance by stepping into a role they did not cover, the changes made between the out-of-town run to Broadway and the stunt casting of Cameron Dallas.

We’re back with another interview! Last month we sat down with Travis Cormier who plays Strat; the leader of the Lost in Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell The Musical in Las Vegas.

In this episode of Breaking the Curtain, we’re joined by Alizé Cruz who is talented beyond words and the literal sweetest person ever! Alizé plays the role of Raven Falco; the daughter of Falco who catches the eye of Strat. She chats with us all about the audition process, her favourite part of the show and more! 

Starbucks and stars and sharks... Oh my!

It's another updates episode and you're in for a laugh! Can you believe it's already November? Get cozy with us as we sip our Starbucks holiday drinks and round up the past two months of our Stagey Spooks Series episodes, chat all about seeing the National Touring Company of Mean Girls, sensing spirits inside a haunted theatre, Crissy's 'snoring habits' in hotel rooms, seeing The Shark is Broken and the latest cast recording releases.

Happy Halloween! After receiving many requests, we're finally covering the history behind the Canadian musical; Ride the Cyclone... Which is kind of like Cats, if Grizabella was decapitated and carried around a headless doll...

We discuss how social media plays a major role in bringing a newfound fanbase to this epic show, the creation behind Atomic Vaudeville and bringing the musical to off-Broadway!

He's there... The Phantom of the Opera!

Join us as we deep dive into the history behind one of the most beloved musicals of all-time, The Phantom of the Opera. 

Listen up! In this episode, we're joined by the beautiful Maddison Firth who plays the role of Heather Chandler in the West End production of Heathers and can also be seen playing the role in the Roku Channel pro-shot of Heathers!

After a wide search in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York over the course of several months, the team behind Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell The Musical finally found their lead - Canadian artist, Travis Cormier! 

We are so thrilled to be joined by Travis Cormier on this episode of Breaking the Curtain where we discuss everything from his Strat audition process to his Tim Horton's order!

In this episode, we discuss the creation behind Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's Little Shop of Horrors. You know, the horror comedy rock musical about a florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.