Making one’s Broadway debut is a momentous occasion for every actor lucky enough to do so. Sometimes it happens years into a long run on a seemingly ordinary Tuesday, and other times, it happens on opening night of a highly anticipated Broadway juggernaut. On this episode of My First Time, we invited Carleigh Bettiol into our virtual studio to chat about making her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hamilton in 2015. We discussed how Hamilton came into her life, her incredible memories of working on the show, and how the experience shaped her as an artist. Here’s our conversation... Learn ..read more

What do you get when you cross Dracula with a podcast? Bite-sized episodes that will have you howling with laughter! Welcome to the official companion podcast for off-Broadway’s Dracula A Comedy of Terrors, now playing at New World Stages. Hosted by blood curdling Broadway veteran Andrew Keenan-Bolger, this podcast takes you inside the show’s (teeny tiny backstage) world with interviews and games featuring the cast and creatives that helped bring this hilarious comedy to life. So grab a wooden stake, a satchel of garlick, pull out your bloody mary recipe, and settle in under your favorite cape ..read more

Todrick Hall is a trailblazer in the world of video. His work has always sought to entertain and engage, uniting his love of music, theatre and Disney with unparalleled production quality. Blasting open the possibilities of online video, he’s also created studio albums, live touring productions and award-winning music videos. But Todrick’s first love was Broadway, as is obvious from the number of times he’s trod the broads on the mainstem. Last week, he finished a run as Ogie in Waitress the musical on Broadway. But he’s also played Lola in Kinky Boots, Billy Flynn in Chicago - both here and i ..read more

She’s defied gravity as an Elphaba standby, “werked!” as Angelica Schuyler, and controlled minds as Allison Hargreeves on Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. But before taking on these roles, Emmy Raver-Lampman had the unique experience of performing in the ensemble of the 2010 national tour of Hair, which ending up playing a Broadway theatre the following summer. Emmy joined me in the studio to chat all about making her Broadway debut and how her experiences as an ensemblist shaped her later work as a principal. Here’s our conversation... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho ..read more

“The Workshop” premiered on March 19, 2012. It was written by Jason Grote, and directed by Mimi Leder. The episode premiered to 6.56 million viewers, down about half a mil from the previous week. Being the workshop presentation, we basically saw excerpts of all the original music from Bombshell by Shaiman and Whitman that we have seen thus far, but we also saw a new original song called “On Lexington and 52nd Street” in its entirety which closed out the presentation. We also saw a cover of Colbie Caillat’s “Brighter Than the Sun,” but the tour de force number we got to see was “Everything’s Co ..read more

“Chemistry” premiered on March 12, 2012. The episode was written by Jacquelyn Reingold, and was directed by Dan Attias. It premiered live to an audience of 7.04 million viewers. The featured songs in this episode included two covers — Shake it Out by Florence & The Machine and Who You Are by Jessie J — and one original song by Shaiman and Whitman called “History is Made at Night.” Oh yeah, and Karen massacres “Hava Nagila,” if we wanna count that. Changes to the script and score are being made during the workshop of Bombshell, with scenes and songs being moved. Our director Derek Wills isn ..read more

We are in the midst of an unprecedented time right now. As artists, We thrive on human interaction, community, and togetherness. With all of that stripped away, it has been difficult for many of us to find ways to be creative. To find ways to have hope that the theatre industry will rise again. This industry we love so much has its ups and downs, its difficult struggles, and its moments of pure joy. I spoke with three talented ensemblists, and more importantly, excellent humans, about what they miss most about one night in the grind of an 8 show week. Taurean Everett recounts hi ..read more

Just last night, television viewers got to see what Broadway audiences fell in love with last year: SpongeBob SquarePants the musical. The big, little musical the could surprised fans of the production when it was announced earlier this fall that it would be taped for broadcast featuring much of the show’s original Broadway cast, including my guest for this episode Lauralyn McClelland. Lauralyn is a veteran of seven Broadway shows, including Rock of Ages, Matilda The Musical, My Fair Lady and SpongeBob, where she played an airborne mermaid among other fantastical characters. I asked her into t ..read more

This month, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical will shutter its doors after nearly six years on Broadway. Along the way during its 2,418 public performances, The Ensemblist has been lucky to share stories from many of its ensemble members. In honor of its closing, we wanted to share some of our favorites from our early years, as well as a new story to the podcast from one of the show’s touring cast members.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ..read more

Alicia Charles is currently twirling, gliding and tapping her way through Agrabah as part of the ensemble of Aladdin on Broadway. Although she made her debut in the show in early 2017, she was sidelined early into her tenure there when she underwent surgery to remove uterine fibroids. How do you recover well enough to sing and dance eight shows a week when there’s a giant scar healing on your abdomen? Well, here’s our conversation... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ..read more