Living the Dream with Darren Criss

Talk about living the dream! One of McKinley High's finest is starring in a new hit musical on Broadway, and no, it's not a Glee episode, it's real life!

Darren Criss joins Jenna and Kevin to talk about why he is so happy with his role in 'Maybe Happy Ending!' He shares his hopes for the future of the show, the games the crew plays backstage, all the Glee friends who have come to New York to see him, and Jenna reveals she auditioned for the show! Plus, news on Elsie Fest 2025! 

For more information on 'Maybe Happy Ending' visit maybehappyending.com and the cast recording is available March 14th! 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
And That's What You Really Missed with Jenna.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
And Kevin An iHeartRadio.

Speaker 3 (00:06):
Podcast Welcome to You and That's what You Really miss podcast.
He have the one and only Darren Chris here today
to talk about Glee, but most importantly about his newest
venture on Broadway. He's an original broadwaycast member of Maybe

(00:28):
Happy Ending. Everybody we've talked to is just said how
refreshing this show is, how joyful and sweet. And for
the record, I did audition for it and I listened
to the music and was like, oh wow, I love this.
So I'm super happy to talk to him today and

(00:52):
you will.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Get a vibe for how how he's doing.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yes, it sounds like you and I have not seen it.
Sounds like the most wonder full show. Everybody and who
has seen it has absolutely loved it. And get ready
because Darren tells us all about it. So this is
Darren Chris.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
Hello, Darren, Welcome back, my friends. We had to have
you back because you are now starring on Broadway in
a hit musical that made its way from South Korea.
And we're very I personally am very happy about we
hear it's wonderful. A lot of Glee friends have gone
to see it and had spoken people speak volumes about it.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
We're so proud of you.

Speaker 4 (01:35):
Congrats, thank you. I feel so lucky. It's crazy, you know,
these things are It wasn't part of the itinerary for
people to take to it. You hope for it, mantra.
I've said many, many, many times in many venues. It's
like my general like mantra, and life was like, you know,

(01:56):
hope for everything, expect nothing.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
So right.

Speaker 4 (01:59):
I did this because I thought it was beautiful. I
had the good fortune of being available, and usually those
two things don't always line up right. And this, this
experience has been just a polite reminder of the value
of of how following your heart is sort of a

(02:21):
zero loss game. Michael Arden, who Kevin knows and Janet
you has both known. I talked about both of you
do Michael Arden. Yeah, there's an old friend of mine
via our mutual buddies. You know. His husband is my
classmic from Michigan, Andy Mienttez, and so we've been friends
for years and his career as a director has blossomed

(02:41):
to like a huge degree in the past several years.
And so anytime you have friends that are smashing on
that level. There's this thing in the back of your
mind of like, really cool to do something, but that's
not why your friends and yeah, yeah, you're praying that
the happy quin and having something that you could do

(03:02):
would come up. But you know, again, that's not why
I hang with him. But it happened to come up
at a very fortuitous, serendipitous time. And I'm so so
grateful because I kind of balk at the alternate dimension
where I'm like watching the show, going what I wouldn't

(03:23):
give to be in this.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
What a gift?

Speaker 4 (03:26):
It is such a gift.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
That's the dream I think for everybody is to and
I've heard that the amount of people who I've talked
to about the show, people who know that I know you,
and people who don't, who just are telling me about like, oh,
I'm going to happen this weekend, Like I'm going to
New York and everyone says, I have to see is it? Maybe?
I'm like maybe happy end? Like everyone came and I

(03:48):
was like, oh, what did they say about it? And
everyone says the exact same thing, which is how you
know it's real. Yeah, I'm the most special thing they've seen.
They go they win in not knowing much about it
and left feeling like so warm and feeling like they
had just seen yeah inspired.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
Like I mean, I've said this like after every show,
to every guest, to every person. I've said this in
every possible interview, and I will say it again until
I go horse. This show is the most remarkable, most
singular thing I've ever had the pleasure of being a
part of. Sorry sorry Glee, but also I also joined Glee,

(04:32):
so it's a different thing. Like I'm a part of
this in the way that you guys are a part
of Lee. You were there from the beginning, like you
didn't know and then suddenly you did, and you're kind
of part of the very nucleus of what it started as,
barring it's it's inception in Korea, which obviously was not

(04:55):
part of as far as the Broadway version of this
goes forever and ever, Amen, I'm like now baked into
and that is such a remarkable I've never gotten to
do that before. But on a personal note, this whole
thing is the greatest possible thing that could be happening
to me personally, professionally, mentally, spiritually, emotionally at this point

(05:17):
in my life from me and my family. There is
no higher rung in the ladder. I am just dripping
with gratitude and an overwhelming joy and I cannot believe.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
My looking luck.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
It is so extraordinary, and I'm glad that it's something
that people can come to it times a week because
I need witnesses.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Right. It's a beautiful put it. And also, like you,
you've always been very present and like very aware of
what was going on. But I also think you're at
a different place in your life than when we were
all working together to where like you do have kids,
that schedule is not easy on its own, and now
you're doing this show, but you're also aware of the

(05:59):
gift of the show and that schedule and the gift.

Speaker 4 (06:02):
And the and the the show is like a living,
breathing hug. That hug comes home with me, and the
hug from home goes to it. Now. Don't get me wrong,
I love me a three hour you shout fest like
you did American Buffalo like two years ago. But I'm
not missing bedtime six to you know seven, you know

(06:23):
five or six seven times a week or whatever the
math is on that, I'm not missing bedtime several times
to leave and like spread like negative energy for three
and a half hours. Yeah, it's a tight, hopeful, resilient, cute, funny,
beautiful under two.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
Hour god bless.

Speaker 4 (06:44):
Like like pa. It's just really really sweet and it's
a political It's for everybody of any age group. And
it sounds like I'm just giving, like you know, the
the bullet points of like a but it's it's just true.
It's like I've never been part of something. You know,
even when Glee was on, there'd be people like, oh,
can my kids watch it? I'd be like maybe, Like

(07:07):
I'm still careful with how I there's things that I've
been in where I'm like, maybe not for you. Maybe
Auntie so and so won't be so into it. Uncle
so and so will love it, your girlfriend might not
be into Like I have to make kind of concessions
and qualifications. This is like unanimously oh yeah, absolutely no,
you'll dig it. You can know everything about theater and
find something in it hopefully and no, absolutely nothing. There's

(07:30):
no requirement. You know, you can just go and be
like wow. And again that's why it makes it so
singular and remarkable, like we now know too much everybody
knows too much. We've experienced too much, either because of
age or just because of your phone, having the access
to everything everywhere, all at once. So when you can
have the thrill of getting to experience something genuinely new

(07:52):
and me on stage having the frankly glee, the sheer glee,
which was a word before was the show, the glee
of getting to witness or feel people in real time,
go yeah, yeah, you know that is such such a privilege.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
I'm just curious because of likely, like we were part
of that nucleus where like you didn't know what was
going to happen when I read this and listened to
the music, and I've heard you know, I audition but
some of it like I was crying when I was
learning it, Like it's it's very.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
Very moving.

Speaker 4 (08:36):
It's a very pie.

Speaker 1 (08:38):
You know that, right, we know that piece. You just
hope that other people take to it as well.

Speaker 4 (08:42):
Were advertising this or we're letting people know that you
auditioned for it.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
Yeah, no, it's fine. I auditioned for it. I was like,
let's work together again.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
Michael didn't show you like, I mean it's been around
for a while.

Speaker 4 (08:55):
It.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah, I mean, who knows who knows it's really beautiful,
and I thought like, oh, wow, this is going to
be something special, especially with you attached with Arden, attached
with the music the way it was. I was like, Wow,
this is going to be something I have a feeling
about it.

Speaker 4 (09:14):
I'm glad that you were still moved because that's how
I felt too. Yeah, when I I was like, this
is crazy.

Speaker 3 (09:28):
So what was the rehearsal process like leading up to
like the to preview to opening night? Like, what was
the talk or the feeling? Did you think it was
gonna do well?

Speaker 2 (09:40):
Did you not? Did you ignore it for a second?

Speaker 4 (09:43):
I forgot that this is a podcast and there are
app to interview questions we have to have. We're not
just going to talk, but we are talking. First of all,
I for anybody listening to this, uh and you guys,
I would encourage people to to know as little as
pop possible going in. I think the show rewards anonymity.

Speaker 2 (10:03):
That's what I'm doing. I don't you just think I'm
a bad friend. I have intentionally because I don't look
at it intentionally blocked trying to see and in general
for theater, I like to do that.

Speaker 4 (10:14):
Yeah, And God knows, we're like pushing a lot of
material because that's the way we have to promote things
and people, you know, need to have something to glob onto,
and it's it's smart marketing, and you know, it's the
twenty first century, so I get it. But for those
that really come in blind, I think they're rewarded with
the satisfaction of truly getting to experience and this is
a line that we always use and anything we ever promote,

(10:35):
but this is actually true something unlike they've ever experienced before,
Like that is such a rarer and rare experience. So
maximizing that for yourself is advantageous, I think, but also
knock yourself out. No matter what you see, it won't
compare it to seeing the real thing. So to your
point of what I was talking about earlier about following

(10:56):
your heart, like did I know is going to be
like take you know, catch a wave in the way
that it has. I didn't really think about it. I
didn't really know. I will say there was a point
in rehearsal where Michael this is this really wonderful thing that
I think he's somewhat infamous for now, which is every
rehearsal we kind of have circle time that will be
as short as five minutes or as long as an

(11:18):
hour and a half, and it's like a pretty you know,
I keep saying the word extraordinary. I'm being careful with
that adjective, but it is kind of an extraordinary way
to galvanize a creative effort because suddenly everyone is being
seen and voicing things, anything for the mundane to the profound,

(11:39):
or everything's being shared, and so everybody kind of feels
connected at all times in the making of something, which
is so like not required, like great directors don't do that.
He's not a great director because he does that. He's
a great director because he's smart and he's good instincts
and knows how to direct. But the fact that he
has this other thing that really gives everybody a left.
So there was a circle time that we had before

(12:00):
we moved into the theater, right before things started getting
out of our hands. When tech, you know, become kind
of takes over and the kind of creating, the cooking
in the lab kind of you know, starts cross fading
into the real. Nitt degree John you and are one
of our our music our music director and conductor said
something that I totally loved, which was He's like, I

(12:22):
feel impenetrable. He's like, I've fallen in love. I'm using
his words, but it's voicing how I feel or how
I felt. I feel impenetrable because what we've done and
what we've made here, I am so in love with that.
I don't if people don't necessarily agree or don't feel
the same way, it doesn't It doesn't bug me because

(12:45):
I will still have felt this way no matter what,
and will continue to feel this way, and no one
can take that away from me. So that is kind
of how I felt. I mean again, I was available,
and I thought it was beautiful exponentially as every day
rehearsal by I was like this, wait, this is like
this is really something else. Then I listen to myself

(13:09):
and listen to the cliche of the actor just sniffing
his own farts and being like, oh, yeah, it's so great.
Everyone's so wonderful. It's such a unique, interesting piece, you know.
And people would ask me, you know when I I
see friends on the street, Oh, how's that thing you're doing,
And I go, it's really that's kind of good, I think,
And you're careful with that kind of optimism because you

(13:31):
just sound like there's it just sounds like a cliche.
So the fact that it has taken on into other
people's minds with such enthusiasm and appreciation that matches that
of which we were feeling in the room is incredibly
encouraging and validating because now you're like absolved a feeling

(13:52):
like a cliche, right, and now co signed by other
people where you're like, oh, I'm not crazy, So yeah,
a little. It was crazy because I heard the music.
I'd seen a version at the at the Alliance Theater
in Atlanta, and just every day like just tables, and
like the show has a dazzle effect, it has a
dazzle not effect, has a dazzle factor that is very

(14:16):
much a Broadway spectacle and is in its own right
its own wonderful piece. But without all those bells and whistles, tables, shairs, binders, piano.
I was like on the floor so moved. And so
that means that like in basements and universities, in a
black box with a piano and four actors to you know,

(14:41):
giant production in Iceland twenty years like it. The meat
and potatoes are all there, like all the primary colors,
the basic numbers, it's all cooked. So it was like
this turnkey thing. When we show up and we just read,
we're like, wow, this is good. And then they're like, okay,
well here's the design ideas and you're like, whoa, be sure, okay,
good luck and then they actually do it, and then
then I hear the orchestrations like whoa, and then I

(15:03):
hear it just again exponentially has gone wow, this is
way more incredible than I had imagined. Wow. So anyway,
you guys tell me. I'm not one for short answers,
especially I'm passionate about.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
But I think like the dream is to be able
to work on something that you genuinely do, like yes,
and then of course yeah, you hope other people feel
the same way about it, but you can't ever hope
for and or like expect and as like a third
party sort of watching you know, the internet or word

(15:38):
of mouth from friends, see the actual word of mouth
spread about your show has also been like as a
friend of yours. So nice to see, thanks man, Because people,
it's so hard to make a show, last original show,
last on that I know, I mean, things get in now,

(16:00):
so they're closing openingly.

Speaker 4 (16:02):
Yeah, it's there.

Speaker 2 (16:04):
It's brutal, and it's expensive, and it's hard to take
a risk on something that is not already like proven
IP these days. And I'm just sort of in awe
and inspired by what you guys have done, even without
having seen the show already.

Speaker 4 (16:23):
Too, man, I mean we didn't know like like that.
I feel like that is the definition, or at least
a definition of like being fulfilled is when your enthusiasm,
at least if you're working on something artistic, that is
that is for public consumption, like when you're your feeling

(16:44):
of love or excitement matches those outside of your body.
Usually that polarity is like a spectrum. And so if
it's like even that's like you've hit the I feel fulfilled,
you know, because it's not like it's not one sided,
you know. But there was a point where we opened
where if you look down forty forty fourth Street, it

(17:06):
was all safe revivals and massive IP. Now, this is
not to trivialize those terrific productions that employees hundreds, if
not thousands of New Yorkers and several of our friends
that have worked their asses off to put them up.

Speaker 2 (17:20):
Theater is great, like theater is theater, Yeah, if you
can make it work exactly.

Speaker 4 (17:25):
It's not a competitive sports like I said so, but
when you look down, you know, I was very proud
of the fact that we were like one, if not
the only very few shows that had was completely original,
wasn't basically a book or movie or TV show. And
people are always asking, well, why are we making all
these remakes of movies? Why are musicals all just you know,

(17:48):
known properties, And I go, you try and get a
musical produced, man you want to like, you knock on
the door of the richest person you can find in
the Upper East Side and say, give me several millions
of dollars to make this thing that you've never heard
the music for or see the production of. It's like
they have to hedge their bets and like out of
a pandemic and out of a strike. I don't like
it's it's not a conundrum as to why that is,

(18:10):
why we have The Outsiders, which is a great show
and a great success, Why death becomes you know, my
friend Juli wrote the music for. These are all things
that that are great. They really are great. So before
anybody conflates this with like knocking those shows. I'm just
saying there's a reason for why they get produced with
more gas, because they have more familiarity. So yes, doing
the show was a huge swing. But you know, you

(18:33):
know what is it, No got snow glory right like this,
this show is a massive win for not only their
artistic community, but for audiences at large. I think the
pendulum is swinging back and forth to like, I want
to see something, I want to experience, I want to
take a chance on something that I've never experienced before
because the thrill is so refreshing exactly, and you know,

(18:56):
hopefully for any I was gonna say young writers I
now see, and writers that are trying to get their
pieces done that are perhaps a little not familiar with
with producing money or audience support, like this is now
a comp for that, which is like wildly exciting for
the next crop of whatever is trying to be made.

(19:17):
So yeah, just across every board, schedule, content, what it means,
what it has to say, what it offers this universe.
Like I'm so unbelievably beside myself, Like I just I'm
like praying and thanking the theater guys every day.

Speaker 3 (19:33):
Oh I'm so I'm so envious because and in the
best way, I'm not because I get that and I
remember that feeling. I haven't had that feeling in a
really long time, and you have the feeling.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
At all, Like I want that back, Yes.

Speaker 4 (19:47):
Yeah, exactly, Like it comes around like I've we've been
given the big stick before, so we know what it
feels like when you don't have it anymore. So when
you have it, you're like, I haven't. I know, it
is like I remember this. That's kind of where I'm
at and where that's why I'm just holding on and
appreciating it because there's only one place to go from
the top of the mountain.

Speaker 1 (20:07):
Man, for sure.

Speaker 2 (20:11):
I'm just trying to get comfortable as long as you can.

Speaker 4 (20:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:22):
I was talking with Austin yesterday about like the synergy
of when you're able and it's what you were going
what you said earlier, but like the synergy of the
audience and you and you're able to walk away from
this every night and be like I'm fulfilled in the
exact same way the audience is fulfilled. And to give

(20:43):
people a surprise in twenty twenty five and any sort
of medium of something they have not seen before and
you know you're doing that and you get to be
a witness of it and be in it.

Speaker 4 (20:56):
Yeah, I mean it also, you know, this play holds
a lot thematically and emotionally. I think art, certainly theater,
but art as a cultural construct at its highest function,
like holds the things that we don't know where else

(21:17):
to put or how else to put. And so there's
a big spectrum of things that people bring to this
show without getting into the weeds of what that is,
you know, but this show is, while very charming, it
posits some big ancient questions and deals with some pretty

(21:37):
profound ideas and whatever versions of love or loss people
have felt in their lives, whether it's from a recent
breakup to an actual loss of a person or a thing,
or a job or a house. You know, a lot
of those things that you know everybody, you never know
what people are going through. This holds it in a
really hopeful, resilient way. And so beyond getting to have

(22:00):
people feel fulfilled in some sort of way like oh,
that was a fun use of my time and money
at a Broadway show, there's this extra layer of something
that is additive to a positive degree that I think
is It's one thing to have the big stick, but
it's another to have the big stick and know that
it's adding some good into the world. It is part

(22:22):
of that. You know. It's one thing to be part
of a successful show. It's another to have been so
impactful in a positive way to so many people. Like
That's one of the great gifts of the show that
we did, is that it had this other element, Like
I've been like, look, it's always nice to be working.
You know, the bonus round shit is never guaranteed, nor

(22:42):
is it expected. So to have this other sort of
bonus level, unlocked vibe about anything that you work on,
it's just like the highest privilege I can think of
as far as being an artist for a living.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
I have a question for you.

Speaker 3 (22:58):
I know that you can like like Blaine can turn
Like we used to work together and it would be like, okay,
we're rolling, and Darren would be Darren. It would be
action and then it would be Tina and Blaine and
I could never do that.

Speaker 1 (23:14):
Kevin could ever do that, but Darren could do that.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
And you joked last time that you could like literally
like throw your wig on uh at like little shop
and like go I'm curious how early you show up
this when I go in.

Speaker 4 (23:29):
A little earlier, because well, little shop was amazing because
there was little to no make, no make at all.
I just show up and put h and the mic.
This is I don't know people know or have seen
the off brower production. This is so dumb it's genius,
or so genius it's dumb. The microphone, the head mic
for Seymour's in the.

Speaker 1 (23:49):
Glasses, Oh my god, I.

Speaker 4 (23:52):
Literally just put glasses on. Really, there's no head mics
or like your pieces of stag right there. So I
just put on glasses and the way you go this
because there's a pretty heavy lot drag beat that is
applied to my face and head.

Speaker 2 (24:10):
So the first time I saw some pictures of that,
I was like, am I seeing this correctly? I couldn't
figure out what. I was like, something looks different.

Speaker 4 (24:20):
I've got contacts in it's very like.

Speaker 2 (24:22):
Just what was happening? I was like, I have to
I have to see It's wild.

Speaker 4 (24:28):
Yeah, I like a little painted porcelain doll. There's so
many details that are like you can't see unless you're
up close. But there's like the way that the the
wig has talk about bonus round ship like you nobody
would see this unless you were next to me on stage.
But like the stitching of the hairline looks like like

(24:50):
hair pluggy Okay, you know, like that like a doll. Yeah,
and it's just like a small detail. It's really really cool.
And like when I look myself in the mirror, I'm like,
oh shit, well this is weird.

Speaker 2 (25:04):
So it just really because you have ships to put on.

Speaker 4 (25:07):
There's no market. I mean, I've been late and it's
like it's not it's not a fun experience. So I'm
there about an hour, hour and a half. I try
to be good boy, you know, I warm up and
I do all the things because you know, this is
a long haul show. I have passed just a couple
of weeks ago, the longest I've ever been in a
theatrical run.

Speaker 2 (25:25):
Oh my god, how exciting. Yes, it's exciting.

Speaker 4 (25:28):
I've only done like, you know, a littleit engagement, like
sixteen eighteen weeks tops, and now I'm over one hundred
and fifty something performances.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Yeah, and I'm wanting to the original Broadway cast recording exactly.

Speaker 4 (25:38):
Baby, I know I'm freaking out about that.

Speaker 3 (25:41):
Your cash recording comes out this week on Friday, very exciting.

Speaker 1 (25:46):
What was it like to do it like in OBC or.

Speaker 2 (25:48):
As Jenna, have you done OBC?

Speaker 3 (25:51):
I haven't.

Speaker 1 (25:52):
I joined Readrea.

Speaker 2 (25:53):
I joined after they o.

Speaker 4 (25:55):
And was weakening.

Speaker 3 (25:57):
I did Rue for King and I I did the
King and I, yes, I did, at nine years old
do my first broadcast recording.

Speaker 4 (26:03):
But you hear yourself on that album.

Speaker 2 (26:07):
Yeah, I had a solo that's crazy Internet.

Speaker 3 (26:14):
Getting getting to know You. Yes, so yes, we did kids. Yes,
I was one of the cut kids. And I had
the solo and I sang getting to know You and
we did it on the Macy's parade and so I
did the experience.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Getting to know you, getting.

Speaker 4 (26:33):
To know and it was just you as a little
little girl singing that.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
That's it, that's me.

Speaker 4 (26:40):
And then whoever sang next was because everybody would go.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
Oh, it was the group. It was the group. At
least it wasn't do a Murphy.

Speaker 3 (26:50):
Oh okay, anyway, tell me about the OBC because that's
it's just so cool.

Speaker 4 (26:56):
It is really cool. I mean, I've told so many
of my Broadway colleagues that they are like radio stars
in my car, more so than you know, the Taylor
Gaga and Bruno or Beyonce combined because I listened to
so much Broadway ExM that, Like, I just like I'm

(27:16):
always hearing Stephen Pascal or Victoria Clark or I'm just
don't know why I'm saying those people randomly today, Like
I listen, you know, they come up, you know, every
now and then I hear you guys, you know from Lee.
So the people that I see like around campus with
the people that I listen to in my car less
so in New York's I drive last New York. But yeah,

(27:38):
I love those albums and you know, growing up for us,
at least for social media, cast albums were like the
way to have a connection to New York City. It
was the Tony's and the Cast albums were the only
way I would know what was going on. So it's exciting,
but it's also daunting. I mean, this show is this

(27:58):
I would describe the music. It's like chamber pop. It's uh,
it's got this sort of which which is an actual
It's like elevated it's musical theater chamber pop because it
falls a lot of sort of old school. I wouldn't
say rules, but guidelines and so harmonically, there's a lot

(28:20):
of nostalgic things happening because there's a lot of mid
century sort of jazz standards things going on. But it's
also very backrack. I think Jesse Green at the Times,
who you know, is something of a tricky, u divisive
character in the Broadway critic world, but he said something
that was really great. He said the music fell somewhere
between Sondheim and backrack backrack at Sondheim. I was like,

(28:41):
that's really on and also a huge, like okay, cool,
huge compliment. I set that to our composers, be like,
this is a feather in your cap. So because it's
not Roger Hammerstein, there's not a bigness to it. The
album is smaller. It's like the radio play version. So

(29:04):
you know, Glee gave us all master's degree and recording
recording vocals, not performing vocals, recording vocals. Kevin had a lead,
had like a head start on this because of your world.
You know, your experience with recording booths, all of us
by the end clocked in. You know, thousands of hours

(29:24):
of recording music that you know really teaches one to
know the difference between singing live and singing in a booth,
and how they are different.

Speaker 2 (29:33):
It's a completely different skill.

Speaker 4 (29:35):
Exactly, but they are separate, you know, attentions to detail
and so what we do on stage and what I
do eight times a week, you know, more than one
hundred and fifty something times. Now, is it exists in
this mold that I really like and the album is
not that we had to undo a lot of that
because suddenly what you're doing on stage feels too big

(30:00):
the record, So I happen to be able to switch, okay,
But when I listen to it and it sounds beautiful,
it's definitely meant for the album. It's the radio edit
as of you know, just in its performance and how
people will be able to ingest it now. The only
thing that I have trepidation about is people hearing that

(30:20):
and then seeing it live going like that's not Those
aren't the shows that I know. But hopefully they will care.
They'll be so enraptured with the show. But that's the
first time I've had to think about it, because like,
seeing it now is such a rarefied air because people
don't have the cast albums, so they can genuinely come
in not knowing anything, and that's so exciting, Like if
we're lucky, if we're lucky man, and I say this

(30:42):
with kind of a bit of humor, but if we're
lucky in like this, this show's running for several years.
I hope it runs for decades a decade. Hope it
runs forever. But with any luck, people love the cast album,
and in like four or five years, somebody who's on
the final outskirts of like the groundswell of knowing about
a Broadway show. It's like the guy that doesn't see

(31:04):
Broadway shows, the guy that couldn't like doesn't look like
this is he heard this was good from somebody, but
like five years ago and I was finally seeing it.
We'll come see the show and go, I don't know,
it's a little overrated because there will have been so much.
It's like seeing Hamilton now or Book a Mormon now.
It is now so popular that the tide shift, that

(31:28):
the chide shifts. The bar is no longer the new
sexy hot spot. People will come and they start hating
on it because it's it's becomes a popular So that's
like if you're lucky, right, but that'll be enforced by
things like cast albums and people being used to it
or expecting certain things. So that kind of scare me

(31:51):
a little bit, but it gives me a new feeling
that I've never felt before, which is like, I don't
know how to feel. It'll be great to give people
access to the show outside of New York, outside of
the Alasco Theater, and for that, I'm extremely grateful and
very excited for people to get excited about. But it
will be different than what we do, and of course
only I will notice these things, Like right, there's a
couple of dialogue bits that you know are baked in

(32:12):
there that I listen to and it's mastered, like it's
in the in the thing, and I'm like, no, that's
not how we do it, and like forever, it's gonna
bug me forever, but I'm excited.

Speaker 2 (32:25):
That's part of the charm of a cast word though
exactly Like you listen to those and I think, honestly,
I know it probably feels crazy, but objectively, like my
nerdy music Braden, some there's a big difference between certain
I won't name shows, but when they try to do

(32:45):
what's on the stage exactly on the recording, it doesn't translate,
it doesn't it doesn't sound good, it's not recorded. Well,
there's certain shows more recently who have done sort of
like what you're talking about. It's a bit more i
don't know, polished or it's toned down whatever capacity for
the recording studio, and it hits. Yeah, and like the

(33:08):
talking bits you know, sometimes feel a little off, but
like that's sort of like what happens theater its theater.

Speaker 4 (33:15):
Listen, I think it's gonna I haven't listened to it yet.
I think we're in very, very very capable hands the
people whose whose tastes and minds and hearts have gotten
us as far as we've gotten. Yeah, I'm pretty sure
we'll know how.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
To sounds like a full team effort, Like everybody has
really shown up for your Guys show on every single level,
in every single department, and they all because they all
have the same feeling, that positive feeling we are doing
something great and we're getting something great from it.

Speaker 4 (33:46):
Well, A very important thing to denote here is that
this is a small group of really passionate people being
given a lot of support. That is the alchemy that
is allowing for this. Because if like for instance, one
of my best buddies from San Francisco. I've known this
Pirl since she was five, who grew up doing theater

(34:07):
together at San Francisco. Julia Madison is one of the
two writers on the music for Death Becomes Her. You know,
I don't think I'm saying anything that would be slightly controversial,
but you can imagine that working under a situation like
it's a it's a popular movie universal and in case

(34:29):
anybody from universals listening to this, I'm not saying anything bad,
but I'm just saying it the negotiation between a lot
of approvals and people can be can can make things
a little yeah, a lot of hoops. And again I'm
being careful with my words because I don't want to
try and make it sound like any Yeah, it's just

(34:51):
that that's that's just there's there's more people to consider.
It's a different process. And to be fair, it's like
you have people who are protecting the empire and have
an established empire to look out for, and so there's
a lot of fear and concern in the way. You know,
parents being careful, don't touch that. We don't have to, like,
you don't know what's going to be good or bad,

(35:13):
but you're doing your best. Everyone's doing their best right
as opposed to because there's no empire to protect or
to be worried about. It's this thing that I like
to call castle building. Right before you have to worry
about protecting the interests of the empire, and you can
just be this is a big musical theater queen reference,
but you can just be Mickey and Judy putting a
show like hey kids, let's put on a show in

(35:33):
the barn, and you're just building it. You now have
a sort of freedom to just like build it, just
to sure why not? And I think some of the
most exciting things that have ever happened in creative culture
history and pop culture history is when we're castle building.
Is when people who have the support and the resources

(35:56):
just kind of go forth into thing. The Disney Renaissance
is because of that. Disney had everything to lose in
the late eighties and suddenly they went excuse me, they
had nothing to lose because they were so in the
tank that the idea of making you know, let's make
fair tale musicals again. Oh no, it's a horrible idea. Boys.
We need to make g I Joe and change me
Nina Turtles and the idea that some you know, young

(36:19):
turks had to go let's get the guys from a
little Shop of Horrors, right, that weird musical off Broadway
to write a musical about you know, about Hans Christian
Assent tale Like sure, fine whatever, just go like there
is something of value to you know, to be gleaned
from that. So, yeah, there's a lot of passion there
because it's a smaller group of people that can really

(36:42):
you know, exercise their creative muscles not unchecked, but like
with support.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
You know, totally totally Now that makes that makes sense.

Speaker 4 (36:51):
I will say this has definitely made me, like I
was thinking of there's a lot of musicals I was
thinking developing that were based on pre existing things that
this processes made me go, what am I doing this?
Just just do something original just that way you have
more room. Well, it's hard. If I knew if we
if we could all just do that, we all we'd
all do it. It's hard.

Speaker 1 (37:14):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (37:14):
I get it. I get it.

Speaker 4 (37:17):
You can see me walking the nagshells about saying anything
about it as it comes her. I'm just I'm just
being careful just because like that is a different process.

Speaker 2 (37:26):
Well, it's in a different process. It's also like with success,
like you were saying, in five years when this, when
your show is like still going and is being redone
all around the world and in schools and things, then
now that is the castle that needs to be protected, right,
so people.

Speaker 4 (37:41):
Will feel like we got it exactly.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
It's a different it's a different step in the process.
And so you guys are at the beginning of that
creating the original piece where death becomes her for example,
when that's and that was the sand castle building. Now
they're protecting the Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
Good point.

Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yeah, that's absolute. Right.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
You've had a lot of Glee friends come and visit
and see your show.

Speaker 4 (38:04):
Yeah, where have you guys been?

Speaker 3 (38:06):
I know, I said, we're gonna we're gonna mention this
and we're going to draw attention to the fact that
we haven't been there.

Speaker 4 (38:12):
Guys, I don't you don't live in New York. It's
really okay. I'm always touched when people come through and like,
sorry took some like there's no like requirement to to
see anything.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
It's okay.

Speaker 4 (38:22):
I appreciate you about it.

Speaker 2 (38:24):
I'm going to text you after this because I have
a plan in my head to come see you soon.

Speaker 4 (38:31):
Okay, guys, like, with any luck, I'll be in the
show for as long as the theater gods will have
me as long as I can do it. So you
have you have a long run with ye.

Speaker 2 (38:40):
Yes, Kristin.

Speaker 1 (38:41):
Kristin Chanleer just came on the show and she said
you were wonderful.

Speaker 4 (38:44):
She came, Yeah, I know. She she was a really
we just opened. It was a big week, like basically
the entire Wicked.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
Like, yeah, that's cool.

Speaker 4 (38:54):
Cynthia came like the day after the movie opened, and
I was like, I feel like I'm talking like the Queen.

Speaker 3 (39:03):
But it's funny because those people are like, I'm back
in New York.

Speaker 1 (39:06):
I gotta go see some shows. I gotta see theater.
I need it, you know.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
Like no, I was very grateful that Chris.

Speaker 4 (39:14):
Chris had the greatest posts. I thought that was hilarious.
Somebody showed me. You guys know, I'm not really an Instagram,
but somebody showed to me. I was like, that's so good.

Speaker 3 (39:22):
We the fans are crazy now. They're like, oh, the
Clean Clan has gotten divorced from the show, like.

Speaker 4 (39:28):
A yeah, we still have.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
You know, I love it.

Speaker 3 (39:43):
Kevin also mentioned and I'm pitching this now to you
because Kevin mentioned that we uh, he's never sang it
Elsie Fest, and I was like, well, I can't see
the same because I have sang it Elsie.

Speaker 4 (39:54):
Yeah, but I still owe you about a zillion unicorns.

Speaker 1 (39:57):
I joke about it, but it's fine.

Speaker 3 (40:00):
But Kevin's like, we have to sing Breakaway and Loser
like me because now we're in season five.

Speaker 1 (40:04):
I'm wondering the remake. The remake, Yes.

Speaker 4 (40:08):
Yes, we are. We announcing that right now? Do you guys?
When do Elsie twenty twenty five?

Speaker 1 (40:12):
Yeah, we'll come in there.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Sure, well you you brought it up, not me.

Speaker 1 (40:16):
We're pitching ourselves door.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
You have to decide, yes, you have.

Speaker 4 (40:22):
You can come on, you can. You're always welcome to
Elsie Fest. Like, I'm so lucky to have anybody from
the show. I don't ask you out of being polite,
like I don't want to make you guys do this,
but we did.

Speaker 1 (40:39):
We did talk about it.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
We talked about it, and we're like, would we be
able to actually sing Breakaway live?

Speaker 4 (40:44):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (40:45):
Yeah r And I'm like it would be so great
the three of us rising on stage. Michael Well, I
will say.

Speaker 3 (40:52):
Though, like the fans are amazing there. It's exactly our audience.
It's so much fun. You're like, I'm back on tour,
Like I would love that.

Speaker 4 (41:02):
I would absolutely love if you guys came more. The
more the merry, as far as.

Speaker 2 (41:06):
You got to get cord In on it for me
and then were good to go.

Speaker 4 (41:10):
Chord showing up to sing Billy Joel this past year, just.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Maybe I cannot.

Speaker 4 (41:17):
Showing up like you see the sunglasses on. Maybe not
have Okay, I'll throw you guys. I mean, I don't
like throwing tea, but this will be the most to
throw anybody under the bus. Chord shows up and I'm
just like Homie, I can smell the tequila from like
the dressing room, Like, yeah, I'm having fun in New York.

(41:39):
I'm like, I can smell that.

Speaker 1 (41:40):
That's a good impression.

Speaker 4 (41:44):
Yeah, we had a great time. We do, we do.

Speaker 1 (41:48):
Wait, so we are on season five and this is
a Glee podcast.

Speaker 3 (41:51):
I have to ask you why you're Blaine has met
Shirley McLean. Now Blaine is with Shirley McLean.

Speaker 4 (41:56):
Oh my god, what a fever?

Speaker 1 (41:58):
Dream that was totally what was that?

Speaker 4 (42:01):
Like, I was just eating it up with a spoon.
I just was unabashedly like just bending her ear at
every possible moment and just asking her stories. And I think,
you know a person like that. I don't know if
this is true, but I'd like to think this is true.

(42:22):
Like I was hopefully thinking like a young person getting
excited about her career would be fun for her and
not like I'm pandering like I was. It's like everybody
wins in this.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
You're the right person to pair with her, Yeah, I
think so.

Speaker 4 (42:37):
I was like trying to say, like, no, I'm genuinely interested,
like telling you this son of this son or this,
and like she would And so I don't know if
I was annoying her. Maybe I was, but I got
the sense that she was cool with sort of shaping.
I've kind of forgotten everything specifically, but like it was
just being able to talk about all of her days
with Frank and Sammy and Dean. I mean, she was

(42:58):
the she was she was the the girl of the
rat pack, and so she would I would ask her,
is there anything you can't This is one thing I
do remember. It is like there anything you can't, like,
what's like the craziest story that you have. She's like, well,
I can't tell it because some of the Mob guys
are still alive. And I was like, I didn't say

(43:18):
that they're going to do with the mob, like you
just you said it, not me, but her like hesitation, yeah,
question answered, there's something the farious enough that she can't
say because there are people of scary organized crime ability
and power and resources that would make it an issue
for her to tell this guy on set, so totally.

(43:42):
Or maybe that's just a really good line that she
gave me. Either way, that's the way. It was a
very memorable moment. Yeah, I spent a lot of time
with it was so weird and awesome, Like, what a
kooky lady. I just rewatched your charity again the other day.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
Oh my god, you're just.

Speaker 4 (43:58):
Like damn this girls. If you guys, who was the
last time you just watched The Apartment?

Speaker 2 (44:03):
Oh good, I've ever seen it.

Speaker 4 (44:06):
She's so fucking good, dude. It's crazy. It's a great movie.
I mean, first of it's like a famous movie. It's
not like yeah, like wow, I discovered this little movie
like The Apartment is amazing she's so good in it.
Jacqu Lemon is amazing and just like, wow, you were
very good about the Pajama Game. You guys know how
like you guys know her like famous story, right, Kevin,
this is like some musical theater trivia for you. I'm

(44:27):
assuming so Shirley McLean's sort of like famous moment, her
stepping out. I forget the name. I should know. I've
lot of people will probably get mad at for this,
but famously the Pajama Game, which is like a hit
musical and browd. I forget sixties and sixties, uh, I
forget the actress that was out. But it was one

(44:49):
of these sort of you know, the you know, showbiz
moments like you're on kid, yeah, and like I just
want a chance and and apparently she just ate like
so hard and like and then I don't know if
she ended up replacing her whatever, it was like the
moment had enough heat on it. She and that was

(45:11):
her skyrocket oh wow, or so the story goes.

Speaker 1 (45:16):
But like it was Carol Haney. She had a sprained ankle.

Speaker 4 (45:19):
Are you looking it up? Yeah, there's there like I've
heard in sort of in popular culture, like at this
Tonight's performance. The role the role of Blah will be
played by Shirley Klain. Is like the meaning of and
and now that the era of this this person will commence. Wow,
which is a cool story because you've heard that kind

(45:39):
of like trope and she's like the the like patient
zero on that trope.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
Wow. Yeah, I had no idea.

Speaker 4 (45:47):
Yeah it makes sense.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
I mean watching her in the episode, her first episode,
it's just like, I mean, she's some people just have
it and doesn't matter how old she is, she steps
in there and is so comfortab. She's doing like her
own bit. And yeah, yeah, she was very there. Yeah,
because she's been doing it for so long. Do you

(46:10):
while we're doing musical theater trivia, Kevin Quick, what musical
I'm gonna know anything?

Speaker 4 (46:15):
Is the song that we sang together from extra points
if you can, if you can say who just who?
Also won the Tony for singing. It went on its
revival recently.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
Oh god, now I'm forgetting the song. You're just throw them?

Speaker 4 (46:28):
Oh then time the time you given time to make
time season in just no time at all. I don't know,
it's all right, I knew you wouldn't, so this is unfair.
It's from Pippin by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote the

(46:51):
music for the music called Wicked.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
Yes, and Gods, I know that one.

Speaker 4 (46:55):
Uh yeah, it's from Pippen and Andrew Martin won the
return as I forget the character's name, but at that
revival that Beatina Miller also won.

Speaker 1 (47:07):
Yes, we haven't seen that. We haven't seen that song yet.
Yeah we're not.

Speaker 4 (47:15):
Oh, I thought, I don't see I don't know where
things are.

Speaker 3 (47:17):
I know, I know we're tapping Peace of my Heart,
the one you sang with her.

Speaker 4 (47:22):
I forgot that that even happened.

Speaker 2 (47:25):
Yeah, wild it was started, and I was like, wait,
I also had never seen this episode because I'm not
in it, so I hadn't watched it.

Speaker 1 (47:34):
This is a wild one. This is a wild one.
We are such a blurt.

Speaker 4 (47:38):
But yeah, I don't remember anything to If you had,
I wouldn't have remembered that that we're saying. And now
you're open.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
Yeah, I don't miss getting the musical thing.

Speaker 3 (47:50):
Yeah, yeah, you're planning a variety show. You're planning a show.
She's planning to like, like, you know, make talent, right.

Speaker 4 (47:59):
Is she singing that song at like a gala?

Speaker 2 (48:02):
Yes? Yes, she calls on stage and you do a
duet because she's raising money.

Speaker 1 (48:07):
Chris Kurt was the one who saw her first art
gallery space.

Speaker 2 (48:12):
Yes, I do remember that because that was Eric Roberts.

Speaker 1 (48:15):
Yes, Oh my god, that's right.

Speaker 2 (48:20):
There.

Speaker 1 (48:22):
Unclear unclear.

Speaker 3 (48:24):
Did he have a part rest of this season is
like a little weird.

Speaker 4 (48:29):
Did he have a part of part I just forgot
what it was.

Speaker 2 (48:31):
No, he had like three lines.

Speaker 1 (48:34):
That's wow, so weird.

Speaker 2 (48:37):
Was he like close to Shirley McLain. Was that part
of the deal?

Speaker 4 (48:41):
Yeah? I think he played well. You guys don't have
to remember that at this point in Glee's life, like
the guest stars, he was like, wow, you have to
be on like Lee was it? It's like all the
people that we were watching Friends. You're like, oh wow,
like we're on friends. His Friends was a hit show.
Lee was a hit show. So every you know, Shirley
McLean was on it. Something like Eric Roberts is like wow,
hey dude like mc cleans and is that like that's it?

(49:02):
That makes sense?

Speaker 1 (49:03):
Yeah, yeah, I don't know, we'll see.

Speaker 4 (49:07):
I forgot that he was there, that's right. Yeah, that's
where I met him, And I remember that day because
we were shooting it. I'm a big architecture la architecture nerd.
And there's that famous building because of the s that's
something building. There's all these beautiful like steel elevators and
all this beautiful like like iron lace.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
Yes, it's gorgeous.

Speaker 4 (49:28):
Yeah, that's where like that's where holding was and we're
just sitting there. That's why I was like asking. One
thing I didn't ask her enough about was like the
extraterrestrial stuff, alien stuff, because she's really into all that,
and I wish i'd gotten more into that. I remember
asking her about like this like blood transfusion thing that

(49:49):
like her and like Keith Richards and all these other
people that are like essentially vampires just like staying young
and spry, like do regularly, like she would go to
like some partisans Czerl to just like get new blood,
you know. And I was like, work, dude, Yeah, yeah, exactly.

(50:12):
If it's working for you, if you're not hurt anybody,
as long as there's nothing as long as there's no
mob guys involved in this, right, you seem to be
in great health. So that sounds just just sdandy for you.

Speaker 1 (50:23):
I would love to have heard.

Speaker 4 (50:25):
I'm probably misquoting that I was a blood transfusion, but
in my mind that's what it sounded like.

Speaker 3 (50:30):
It's like the vampire facial where people the blood put
on exactly exactly, so she's getting well.

Speaker 1 (50:36):
Now it's the salmon jizz or something like that.

Speaker 4 (50:41):
What Sam es, Yeah, that is It's like ancient remedy salmon.

Speaker 2 (50:45):
Yeah what now, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (50:49):
I'm just her Kevin. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (50:51):
There is a thing now look it up.

Speaker 4 (50:54):
Salmon jes unicorn blood. I don't whatever.

Speaker 1 (50:59):
Why I make that up? Because I am not mafia? Okay,
why y Yeah, we're talking about this.

Speaker 4 (51:05):
There's too there's too many mafia people still live for
you to talk about sandwiches like that's keeping on the
d L.

Speaker 2 (51:11):
Dude, I'm in New York. We all need to play mafia.
That's what we need to do.

Speaker 4 (51:16):
Yeah, there's I mean, I keep saying why this show
is so fun Outside of the show, there is like
the fun of being in a show, right, a small show.
So it's a small community. We love each other. It's
so wonderful. And as I like to joke, it's like, well, guys,
there's time, you know, just wait till this enough seasons
go by now, but we we we truly love each

(51:36):
other and like that. I there are days where just
the other day, we played a company wide game of
Traders that belonged over several weeks and oh, dude, one
of our assistants stage managers, it's such a good job
of Like we had our weekly meetings and we voted
and we had all the ship. It was so well

(51:56):
put together and such a robust thing. And it was
the reveal was last week and everybody went sucking nuts
and like weeks and weeks and weeks, and after that
final meeting, I just went, there can't be a more
fun place to work, Like, I just think it was
so much fun. It's like we're in camp. It's so
much fun. Cool people are coming to see it. And

(52:16):
then on our in between time we're playing like Traders.

Speaker 1 (52:20):
Oh it's so good.

Speaker 2 (52:21):
I'm just so happy for you. You're like you're smashing it,
You're nailing it.

Speaker 4 (52:25):
It's a blast. I can't wait to share with you. Guys.

Speaker 1 (52:27):
Do you play Dollar Friday?

Speaker 3 (52:29):
No, you guys don't do Dollar Friday. It's a small cast.
If it's really small, then we've all We'll.

Speaker 4 (52:36):
Tell you what we are doing now and I'm and
I'm leading this. In fact, when we're done, I have
to I have to do this. I didn't want to
do this when we were on Glee together, but like,
languages are a big part of my life, Like I
speak a few different Nagers, and like it's one of
my biggest hobbies, is like learning, Like like I know
if I said this when we're talking over the pandemic,
but over the pandemic, Like I seriously dove into learning

(52:56):
how to read and write and speak Japanese. I took
two hundred days and I actually taught myself to peak Japanese.
And this is like a thing that I've gotten really
into with different languages and getting other people involved and
kind of it's like having workout buddies and holding people
in travel. So for the month of March, because March
first was Korea's Independence Day, because of the thirty it's
a thirty day program, I was like, for the month

(53:18):
of March, We're going to do a thirty day learning
Korea challenge. Yeah, every day I wake up and I
listen to my Korean and it's such like a wonderful
part of my day.

Speaker 1 (53:29):
I mean, it's a very a good way to exercise
your brain as well.

Speaker 4 (53:32):
It is. It's something that's tony separate from like peering
land or theater land. Just creating new neural pathways and another.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
Places a smart hobby to have.

Speaker 4 (53:43):
Yeah, but wait, hold on, what's dollar Friday?

Speaker 3 (53:45):
Okay, So Dollar Friday is it probably works better with
bigger casts. So where everybody donates a dollar on Friday,
and then intermission, a cast member draws out you write
your name on your dollar, and you cast member draws
out a dollar, and whoever's name on it wins the pot.
And so somebody wins like a pot of.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
However much money was in there.

Speaker 3 (54:10):
And like when we did it in The King and I,
it was like a cast of I.

Speaker 1 (54:15):
Think fifty two people. We had a really good cast, yeah,
and so we would all.

Speaker 3 (54:18):
Participate and so people would make like, you know, you
could throw in a dollar, you've done, five dollars, whatever
you want, and so you would like make a bunch
of money, and different cast members on each Friday would
either do a home or a song. And so they
had like the kids do a riff on tomorrow, and
we did like a dollar Friday song.

Speaker 1 (54:39):
And it's just a fun way to like have you know,
bring more. Yeah, good for morale.

Speaker 3 (54:44):
It's kind of like snob like Saturday Night on Broadway.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
But yeah, we used to do Dollar Friday.

Speaker 4 (54:50):
That is so fun. Yeah, it's a small cast. Probably
couldn't do the whole casting company. Yeah, yeah, will come up.
I mean luckily I would. We'll run for a while,
so there's room for that. There's room for another month
of Korean Another game of Traders. You know it's.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
The Trader is brilliant. I'm so jealous of that.

Speaker 4 (55:13):
Yeah, it was. It was intense, dude, like people were
like getting real like taking it personally.

Speaker 2 (55:20):
How many traders were there?

Speaker 4 (55:21):
There were three, And it's too hard to like explain
the interworkings of what happened, but let's just say the
reveal was like the best the Deceit was at an
all time high. The person that people were protecting with
every fiber of their being like turned out to be
the trader. It was. It was delicious. It was so

(55:43):
I was I was a townsperson. I was kind of
open I could do something like be a trader, but uh,
I wasn't. But just ship like that. It's just so fun.
It's so yeah, well, when you guys come, we'll uh, well,
we'll have to tie one on afterwards. We'll have we'll
do a nice little Broadway posting. Would you guys be
in a situation where you came together in New York

(56:04):
or would you be separately?

Speaker 2 (56:06):
Probably probably to separate, maybe there in spirit together exactly. Yeah. Yeah,
I'll come back when Jenna can go and see it again.

Speaker 4 (56:17):
I'll say this, I don't see Broadway shows more than once.
Typically it's a lot of time, it's a lot of money,
it's a lot of you know, you can't always do that,
especially there's so many things to see and other you
know that you have to prioritize. But I've had friends
that aren't even theater people that have come back more
than more than once. I love that because there's there's
it's more difficult. It works. Yeah, I mean like there's

(56:40):
a lot of things I would say, you don't, Like
I'm in place where somebody said they're going to come back,
and you're like, you don't have to. This one has
there's a real watchability to it that is really fun.
People people want to sit in different sides of the
house see different things.

Speaker 1 (56:57):
I also love how short it is, or how compact
it is.

Speaker 4 (57:01):
For you you were saying. I was like, there's your
problem right there.

Speaker 2 (57:05):
We don't have to that's right.

Speaker 3 (57:06):
You don't have an intermission. It's like, come from away,
how good? Ah, so satisfied out the door. It's really
really really really great.

Speaker 4 (57:15):
Yeah, guys, I'm just a pig and.

Speaker 3 (57:16):
Ship honestly though, like that's the dream, that's the dream.

Speaker 4 (57:22):
I'm really Yeah, there's no other way to say it.
It's a terrifying thing to say because you're like, of course,
well now what, but also there's no other way, but
you have so you just say it.

Speaker 1 (57:31):
You have it, and not everybody gets that.

Speaker 2 (57:34):
Most people don't.

Speaker 4 (57:34):
So one day when it's not here, I will get
to say it was.

Speaker 2 (57:39):
There, Yeah, and I was there present. You're aware of it,
you're appreciative of it in the moment, and that's all
you can ask for it.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
Yeah, you'll do a recap podcast about it.

Speaker 4 (57:48):
Yeah, yeah, maybe happy recap. I mean, look, that's what's
nice about all of our involvement in Glee and the
way that I feel about the show is that you know,
the the thing, those things areier than us, and they
with any luck with the you know, hopefully we'll outlive
us in a way that is uh you know uh

(58:10):
again positive and enduring and in this in the sweet,
wonderful ways that we would hope anything that you're a
part of can can live. So yeah, getting to be
able to be the forefront of that for this is
is is a really fun exciting thing. Man. Like I
like in the way that I had such a great
time on Glee and I'm happy to talk about it
and show up for it. I already feel that way

(58:30):
about this show. I've been barely in six months, So
bring it on.

Speaker 1 (58:36):
Can't wait to see you in it. Thanks for taking
time on your day because.

Speaker 4 (58:42):
Precious rehearsal, or lack of rehearsal, because we'll just do
it on the day and no.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
Pres I rehearsed Indre in apartment. Yeah I remember that bedroom. Yeah,
I came over and learned it and like, I.

Speaker 4 (58:56):
Don't know, and that's a hard song and you smashed it.

Speaker 2 (58:59):
That was really special.

Speaker 1 (59:00):
It was hard, but it was really fun to do.

Speaker 2 (59:02):
So yeah, I don't have those theater brains that you
two have. It takes me a little longer. I'm gonna
need some rehearsal.

Speaker 4 (59:07):
Wait, Kevin. How how was it? I'm sorry I missed it.

Speaker 2 (59:11):
I was I fell it was so much fun?

Speaker 4 (59:14):
Would you would you come back and do Broadway?

Speaker 2 (59:16):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (59:18):
Yeah it. You know everybody always goes from the outside
looking in, like wow, how do you do it? And
I'm like, yeah, because you do it well.

Speaker 2 (59:28):
I still don't fully understand how you do it because
I only had to do like eleven shows and it
was like a full month process, and which was perfect
for that show we did, you know, you can totally
We put that show up in two weeks and did
it and then but I also something about that show
where you know, people are coming in and enjoying it

(59:50):
and they're laughing and it's snarky and it's all the
things I love in it show or you know, entertainment
experience and so like that was also fulfilling on that
side of it. So doing that type of show was
so much fun. That was like, I don't know how
people go do like serious plays for three and a
half hours.

Speaker 4 (01:00:10):
Yeah. I don't envy our Queen Audra down the street
at all. I do not do the She's obviously she's
an animal and she's doing extraordinary work. But I'm like,
whoa that is? That is tough because not only is
it a hard enough feet, but you also have the
weight of everyone's expectation in comparison and the legacy of
that production and that that that part and that show.

(01:00:34):
It's like whoa that. I mean she has the muscles
for it, right, but like and I don't envy that.

Speaker 2 (01:00:39):
Yeah, no, that's so I'm happy to be part of,
you know, like a cog in the machine, happy to
just be part of like a crew like that.

Speaker 4 (01:00:46):
And it was I'm still voting for you guys to
do a little shop.

Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
Thanks.

Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
Yeah, but I the b has started.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Yeah, we're going in there like it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:58):
I'm going to London next month to do a show there.

Speaker 4 (01:01:01):
So what I'm sure you're doing the focks. Oh I've
somebody told me about this awesome.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
Yes, that's incredible fun And that will be like a
little longer. That's like a six week grow in London. Yeah,
you're kind of yeah in a way.

Speaker 4 (01:01:15):
I mean it's relative to what what you expect your
body to do. Like I've been pretty diligent about like
the way I'm treating my body and everything because I
know this is a long haul. Like if I know
it's for a certain amount of time, I kind of
get a little funky, you know, yeah, yeah, take some
risks maybe, but yeah, you just do what you have

(01:01:37):
to do. I mean, I you have the muscle for it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:40):
I mean yeah, totally.

Speaker 4 (01:01:41):
You already know what you're doing. And I what makes
it fun is that it's a different audience every day,
you know, so it always feels new and fresh. And
if you like the work enough and you like the
people you're working on with, you can do You can
do it for a long time. Like I dude, I've
been doing. Like I said, I passed my threshold, like
I think it was one hundred and twenty performances, was
the most ever done it show. I'm now well past
that and it doesn't feel like a lot at all.

Speaker 2 (01:02:03):
That's so nice.

Speaker 3 (01:02:05):
It's surprising, Like you learn after that first like stint
of like three two months, and you're like, I know
where I have to be, Like I know how far
I can push it, I know how far I have
to take it back.

Speaker 1 (01:02:17):
And then you just know and then your body.

Speaker 3 (01:02:19):
Does it and you're like, oh, even after a day
where you're like, I don't know if this is gonna
happen today and you do, You're like, Okay, it wasn't
my back, but yeah, but you know.

Speaker 4 (01:02:28):
But you know how to do it. What's the longest
run you've ever done.

Speaker 3 (01:02:31):
Jenna, Well, as a kid, I did a year Spring Waken,
I did a year.

Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
But that was also a swing you know thing, so that.

Speaker 4 (01:02:40):
Was truly theater every day, like ready to go.

Speaker 3 (01:02:42):
Yeah yeah, and I wasn't on stage swing too for
a part of it, so and we went on a lot,
so we were very lucky. And then a waitress I
did for three months, so that was I don't know, yeah, three.

Speaker 4 (01:02:55):
Months is it's not too bad. It's like fifteen sixteen
weeks and.

Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
Something that it's great. It's great.

Speaker 4 (01:02:59):
Yeah, I mean, Kevin, your Broadway moment is inevitable.

Speaker 1 (01:03:03):
It's coming.

Speaker 2 (01:03:05):
I don't know, yes, but great time. Also, like the
community of it, the process of it. I really really enjoyed.

Speaker 4 (01:03:16):
I have you kids, Yeah, you can really go enjoy yourself,
like you can do all the fun things that I
could do like ten years ago, which was like you
do a show and you have dinner at like eleven,
I'm like out taking Mae crisis.

Speaker 2 (01:03:32):
Well, I get sick with a gust of winds, so
I have to really.

Speaker 4 (01:03:38):
Be careful, so I take that back.

Speaker 2 (01:03:40):
But all the same anything.

Speaker 4 (01:03:42):
But but you can sleep all day, yes you can.
People with kids can't do this like you can just
sleep all war. That's the that's the hardest challenge. So
that's why I'm rooting for you to do it. So
I can live vicariously through your ability to.

Speaker 2 (01:03:56):
Say I am fully down. If anyone will have me,
I'm willing, and.

Speaker 4 (01:04:02):
I know people that know people that would be.

Speaker 2 (01:04:04):
So fun to have you.

Speaker 1 (01:04:07):
People, Darren, We love you, Thank you.

Speaker 4 (01:04:13):
Yes, I can't wait to.

Speaker 2 (01:04:15):
Wait to see stage come Happy Ending playing.

Speaker 4 (01:04:18):
Now at the Alasko Theater. I will be in it
for many many, many many more months, if not longer
than that. You get your tickets wherever you get tickets.

Speaker 1 (01:04:25):
The cast album comes out Friday.

Speaker 2 (01:04:29):
Get the cast recording. Hell yeah, thanks.

Speaker 4 (01:04:31):
Guys, Thank you, bye, Thank you so much, Darren Chris.

Speaker 3 (01:04:39):
Everybody go see maybe Happy Ending and so happy so happy.

Speaker 1 (01:04:45):
There you have it our very own Blaine.

Speaker 2 (01:04:48):
He deserves he deserves us. Thank you Darren for coming
back again. See the first person to come on here
three times from Glee three three two. We did the
Christmas episode and then he's done two separate interviews. I
think he may be Christmas episode. Remember we filmed it
on stage at the iHeart Theater.

Speaker 1 (01:05:08):
Oh oh oh oh. Technically, you're right, you're right.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
He's MVP.

Speaker 1 (01:05:15):
You're right, and he is the busiest of anybody.

Speaker 2 (01:05:19):
But it makes sense. He's always always up for whatever
he shows up. Well, go see a show, listen to
the cast recording. Thank you, Darren and That's what you
really miss Thanks for listening, and follow us on Instagram
at and That's what you really miss pod. Make sure
to write us a review and leave us five stars.
See you next time.