On this On the Rocks, curtain up, light the lights! We welcome the Boys of Broadway, double Tony nominee Gavin Lee from Mary Poppins, SpongeBob SquarePants, Les Miz, and more with theatre stud Jacob Dickey from Aladdin and Company, as we chat about their career, playing iconic Disney characters, handling mental health on the road, being star struck, and all about their time in Sondheim’s Old Friends alongside Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga headed to Broadway...hosted by your sassy host with the sassy most, Alexander Rodriguez. Raise a glass, it's On the Rocks!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Strawt Media. Hello on the Rockers Curtain up, light the lights.
We are chatting with the boys of Broadway. Tony nominee
Gavinley from Mary Poppins, The SpongeBob Musical and many more,
and Theari stud Jacob Dicky is here from Aladdin and Company,
both enjoying the run in Sonheim's old friends headed to
Broadway with me, your sassy host with the sassy most
Raise a glass with the drinks begin. Here's to us
(00:22):
who's like us, Damn for you, Damn for you. Life
is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Time.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I'd like to propose a TOAs this is on the
Rocks with Alexander, where I drink with your favorite celebrities
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and well that's about it. So pop a cork, lean back,
and raise a glass to arm the Rocks.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Less in your seas.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Starting buttons and and panty hose. On The Rocks Podcast,
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(01:18):
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for podcasting. All right, let's get the show on the road.
(01:41):
Gavin Lee giving us some English flare. It is no
stranger to the West End or Broadway with leading roles
in Mary Poppins, for which he received Onlivia in Tony
nomination and won the Drama Desk Award. Well excuse us,
fan to pants. He also appeared around the globe in
Layman's rob has appeared a squid word in SpongeBob SquarePants
again and earning a Tony nomination. He's also been seen
(02:02):
in How the Grins Stole Christmas Beauty and The Beast,
Oliver Joseph show up saying in the Raid, and the
list goes on and on. He's currently appearing at the
Aminston in Los Angeles alongside Miss Bernadette Peters and Leah
Salanga in an all star cast and Someheimes Old Friends
Until it heads to Broadway. Please welcome Gavin Lee, Wow,
there we go, Hello, Also joining us today as part
(02:27):
of our Boys of Broadway. Jacob Dickey made his Broadway
debut in Aladdin. He also shared the stage with Patti
Lapone in company. He's also peered as Moses and Stephen
Schwartz's Prince of Egypt and appeared in productions of Mama Mia, Emojiland,
and Next to Normal. He is the Wolf to Bernadette
Peters's Little Red Riding Hood and George to Bernadette's Dot
and Sonheim's Old Friends. Well, he isn't showing off his chest,
(02:47):
He's showing off his choice, his voice, and sometimes he's
doing both at the same time. Please welcome Jacob Dickey. Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello,
I'm just gonna tell our audience again. I was there
for opening night of Sometime's Old Friends, and I'm going
back later tonight to for my second time. So I'm
very very excited. I just want to know, you know,
(03:10):
before we deep dive into it. What was your first
exposure to musical theater growing up?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Me?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I did community theater from when I was about.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Nine, and I'm showing my age here. My first dance
class that I ever went to was disco dancing. You
used to be able to go to a class to
learn how to do disco dancing. I clearly wanted to
be John travolt exactly n F. So yeah, community theater
was how I kind of got into it. And then
I think I knew by about twelve or thirteen that
(03:45):
this is what I thought I wanted to do. And
my dance teacher was like, well, then you'll be going
to miss College in London because that's the one she
went to.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So that's kind of a part I took.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And Jacob and you were in a military family, so
you kind of moved around a little bit.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was in both my parents were Marines,
and I got my start in church choirs and church productions,
and then similarly transition to community theater. We moved all
the time, so it was like always finding a little community,
and it eventually became community theater as my community. And
(04:19):
did it through high school and went to college for
that and here we are.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So Jacob, I have to know, you know, being part
of a military family, and from the research I did,
you came from a very conservative Christian family. We know
you sang at church. How did that kind of counteract
with your burgeoning sexuality, like when you started to notice
that maybe you were a little different than the other boys.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
You know? I, interestingly enough, all through high school I
was very aware I was attracted to men, but I
never just because of the way I was raised, it
never even crossed my mind that like I was gay.
It just was a part of me. And then of
course I went to musical theater college and was like, oh,
this is what that is. And you know, it's a
(05:03):
journey for my parents. My parents are so much more liberal,
thank god, than they were growing up. But they were
amazing parents. They were always so supportive of like me
and my brothers. And I have an older gay brother,
younger straight brother, so they've had to deal with a
lot of different paths and experiences and they've handled it
very well in my opinion, and so they've been very
supportive and I'm so grateful for that.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Okay, so your gay brother, what's his name and phone number?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
His name is Cody Diease, a chef. He is married
and monogamous, which is upsetting.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
That's like a unicorn. I know, Gavin, we share a
coming out story, so I just want to know, you know,
at what age did you come out as straight? In theater?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
You know, when I went I went off to college
at sixteen.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
I went down to London and went to college and
my mum and the lady years said, oh, we thought
that you were you were turning gay because you were
coming back from college like in the first semester, and
it was like I was. I mean, I'm I can
be the campus person in the car, so tell you
that much. But yeah, my mom was a bit confused
(06:08):
for a while, as You're like, no, Mom, I'm just
now with people that I just want to express love
with and be camp with. And so yeah, now I'm
very happily married with three kids.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
But I get mistaken the gay many times. I don't
know why.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
You know, it's so funny. My friends and I play
a game English are gay.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Well, I can do both of these if you want
me to.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Yeah. Now, both of you have taken leads in a
Disney musical. Creatively. You know, we grew up on Mary Poppins,
we grew up on Aladdin creatively. As an actor, how
did you create your character? So to speak? When we
know these iconic characters, you pay homage to what the
audience expects to see, but you also have to make
(06:51):
it your own. How did both of you do that?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Well? I came into a lot in a few years
into it, so I was a kind of in a
replacement situation, which can feel a little daunting because you
want to be exactly what they want to be, but
you also want to bring your own energy. And for me,
my experience with the Aladdin Disney was very open to
as long as you hit the marks they need, because
they've already said it, you can fill it in with
whatever personality you have. And I was lucky enough to
(07:22):
be with the show for almost four years, so to
see my own growth as an actor and a person
through the character of Aladdin was really special and I
feel like I walked away a better person and a
performer because of it.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Now, because you were the understudy for Aladdin, did you
have like an all about Eve moment and that's how
you got to take on the Yeah, not matchic carpet malfunctioned, No.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
No, I just I was Honestly, it was all timing.
I got there and then I ended up being like
the interim Aladdin. Anytime we had a gap of a
month or two between full time Aladdins, I would step
in and be Aladdin for a month or two months
that went out on tour and covered for Adam Jacobs
for two months. And yeah, so I've just done it
Oliver for a variety of times.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
And it must have been amazing to be like, Okay,
the role is now yours. You can sit in it,
you can be comfortable in it. You're headlining on Broadway.
I mean, as you know, how does that feel to
the young Jacob you know, as a little kid growing up,
It's like you are playing Aladdin on Broadway?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Oh, I mean it was crazy. It was crazy. My
in the first month of me in the first month
of me joining a company, I was playing Aladdin full
time and my mom came on Mother's Day and singing
proud of your boy to your mom who dressed you
up as Aladdin when you were like four years old
for Halloween. It's unreal, like, it's unmatchable. So it was
such a cool experience.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I have to tell you growing up, when I saw Aladdin,
that's when I knew I might be a little different.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Oh I feel like everybody.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, absolutely, he's everybody's crush. Girl.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Guy, do you think he's everybody's great?
Speaker 1 (08:54):
He is, Damn and Gavin, I know that you actually
auditioned to be the understudy of Bert, but then they
just gave you the role.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I did, but I didn't know that at the time.
I thought I was going into, you know, an audition
for the role. And of course the Disney show Mary
Poppins is in conjunction with Cameron Macintosh, who is our
fabulous producer or friends and.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Cameron.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I feel like Cameron likes to discover his new leads himself.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So the other people on the creative team that I
had worked with before I hadn't worked with Cameron before.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
They knew it wouldn't be good pushing my headshot in
front of him saying this is our Bert, this should
be him. So they went about and saying let's get
him in, Let's tell Cameron for an understudy and see
what Gavin does.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
And luckily that paid off.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You know, I did my first audition and Cameron said, fabulous.
Can you go straight to my office and I've got
a pianist there and learn some more but songs that
come back tomorrow, which for me was like, oh my god,
I'm going to the camp.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You know, it's in Bedford Square in London.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
It's his fancy offices and like I'd never I've walked
past it and that was about it. And I've never
been in a camera show, so that was pretty cool
and unlike Jacob to originate a role. But of course
you've got the iconic Dick Van Dyke who played it
in the film. I was just very glad that from
(10:29):
day one we were told we're not doing the film.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You know. The reason why it's.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
A Disney and Camera McIntosh collaboration is one of them
had the rights to the songs and one of them
have the rights to the books and the story, so
they had to come together if it was ever going
to happen. And I was very glad that we weren't
doing just a carbon copy of the film. We were
going back to the original books, which there are six
Harry Poppins books and picking different stories. And so I
(10:55):
was never told, can you be a bit more like
Dick van Dyke, which was you know, even though he's fantastic,
I never want to do a carbon copy of someone else.
I'm happy to as an actor. I'm happy to steal
ideas from another actor who's played a role before. But
so it was great, I know if I was stepping
into his shoes because I was doing the stage version,
not not like a remake of a film version. So
(11:18):
it was brilliant. And what I like now is I
did the show, of course for eight years in total
in England on Broadway around here at the Armandstone.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Which is really cool to be back here fifteen years later.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I go and see regional productions or high school productions,
and I know there's certain bits in.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
The script and kind of in the choreography.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
That are in there because I was there on day
one and I put that in there. I made that up,
and so it's really nice to know that that role
I helped create in the first place, and certain bits
that I did will forever be in the script and
in the music. I mean, I've had a few actors
say to me, Jesus, but so low because I'm a baritone,
(12:02):
and because in rehearsal, I'd be like, like, can we
bring back down a bit? And so when you're an
original creating a role, you can put the keys wherever
you are.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It'stabulous. Squid Wood in SpongeBob I'm.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Not a loser was way high until I got the
job and I was like, no, I'm not saying about
every night.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Now, Kevin. Do you remember where you were when you
found out you were first nominated for a Tony Ah?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
I was in my fabulous apartment up in one hundred
and eighty first with my wife, and my agent called
me at about eight in the morning. And of course
you'd already had the out of Critics circle, you already
had the drama deskinal, you have the nominations of other things,
so you knew it was happening that day. I guess
I thought I'm not going to wake up at seven
in the morning because I didn't know when they were
(12:45):
going to be announced in my agent called and said,
you've been nominated and it was amazing, And then it
sounds like I was showing off. But the second time
I got nominated for Tony, you.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Had to throw that in there, didn't hear, Jacob?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I deliberately it was by then it was on the TV.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
It was like on CBS that morning show, and I was,
you know, girl King was going to announce it.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
And I deliberately took my youngest.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
To school because I couldn't stand the way because I
didn't know when my category would come up, and so
I was expecting a call from my wife to say
yes or.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
No as I was walking home.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
But actually I dropped her off and got back and
they still hadn't announced it. So I was watching TV
and that was very cool. To get announced on the
TV on you know, a network show.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
That's very cool. Both experiences have been.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Amazing, well, such such a talent. I seen you both
on stage that whole cast with old friends. I mean
I was there opening a night, like I said, and
you heard that applause that just would not end, and
it was so full of stars and celebrities, but you
could hear a pin drop between the transitions. I mean
the way that you guys have captivated the audience. Is
(13:55):
it's amazing Now for both of you, what was a moment,
What is a role that you've played that has spoken
to the most. You're like this, this is so I
get this. You put your teeth into it, and it's
something that really affected you the most from all the
roles that you've done.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I would actually when I when I was part of
the Broaday Company for of company, I was an understudy
and I covered three different roles, and one of those
roles was Paul, which in our production was the husband
of Jamie or Matt Doyle, and I got to go
on a lot. It was second wave covid Era, and
(14:37):
so I was Paul for a majority of my time there.
And that was my first experience playing amid my age,
contemporary gay man who's in a happy relationship and just
in love with his husband. You know, Like I've done
a bunch of I haven't actually played a lot of
gay characters. So it was a very special thing for me,
(14:59):
and especially on Broadway and obviously in that Doyle but
I realized like how special it was to just be
able to kind of go on stage and be myself,
especially in a musical and like like company. That was
really really incredible. Also, it's such an I mean, I'm
not sure if you've seen this, such an incredible scene,
and Paul get's like a really emotional moment, which is
(15:20):
so nice to just like let go like that in
front of so many people. I think it is. It's
one of my favorite things to do. So it was
really juicy and I loved it. That was fresh.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I think I'd have to say, throughout my whole career,
I've been very, very lucky to.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Play kind of song and dance roles. So nearly every
show i'd done up to the last sort of five
ten years as it has had major dancing in it
because that was my background start off with, and that's amazing.
But back in twenty fifteen when I got into La
MIAs on Broadway as Anadier too, that's the first time
(16:04):
I think I really got a character role, and it
was just so brilliant to not have the the pressure
of physically finding the energy you needed in a dance show.
Because doing burtin Mary Poppins for eight years, you know,
you even though you love the whole experience and of
(16:24):
course you love the role. I have to say I
didn't love by year six doing step in Time and
super Cow every night because they killed me. You're need
so to suddenly be in a show where I'm still
gonna sweat because I'm that type of person that's going
to put in so much energy to a character. But
to not have that physical exhaustion so much in a show,
(16:45):
and to be able to really concentrate on a character
because of course Anadier is so despicable and horrible and
disgusting but hopefully funny. That was just that's been my
favorite role to date. And I literally just before we
started this, I was I got to play again.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
We just did it.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
We've started a come and started a world tour, arena tour,
so I just got to do it for the last
six months. So to go back to a character that
you played ten years ago and see how you can
do it differently ten years on again, it's my favorite role,
still my favorite role I've ever played.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It's just brilliant.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Now being able to see kind of the evolution of
theater in the West End and a Broadway and Jacob,
you know, playing Company. Audiences were not just entirely sold
on the new version of Company because of the gender swap, sexuality,
all that kind of stuff. You know, Staunch audiences were
like what what? And now there seems to be this
focus on inclusion diversity. You know, Cynthia Rivo caused a
(17:50):
big sensation because I announced she'sing to play Jesus Christ
Superstar here at the Hollywood Bowl. We know that a
Vita casting got a lot of guff from both of
your perspectives. Is there such a thing as the either
getting too woke or or are we sacrificing any of
a show's original message and energy by trying to create
this kind of environment which is a hot topic right
(18:11):
now in movies and in theater.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Well, I mean I think you know when I first
heard about the Company in that I was in London.
First of all, Oh and Bobs a girl. I mean
I immediately was like, oh my god, isn't that fantastic?
We're all going to want to go and see Company
again now because it's totally changed the whole story. And
I'm sure more people have now seen Company and more
(18:36):
people have seen Company again because they changed it up
a bit.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
You there's no point in.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Just bringing back a show the same as it was
ten twenty years ago.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
You know.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
That's why, in my opinion, I love the new production of.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Sunset Boulevard with you know, Nikol hershing Goes.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
It's just didn't pronounce the name night sorry, but it's
so vastly different from the original Platela pone version of
Sunset Boulevard back in ninety three. So always reinvention and
gender swapping, you know, I have to be I have
to say yes, I'm up for gender swapping because in
Old Friends, I get to sing a song that is
a female song, and I'm singing that song as a
(19:18):
gay man, and that's just Cameron's choice. Oh, let's flip
this song and see why the audience like it if
a guy sings it instead of a girl. And so,
and I've had a lot of nice comments. Maybe they're
just being nice to meet to my face, but I
think it's great how in our show we're not doing
the songs as they are written in the show that
(19:41):
Somendheim wrote. We're taking that one song and we the
actor that's been chosen to do it is doing it
how they want to do it, out of context. And
I think that's why people are loving this show so much,
because they always knew that was a good song from
that show, but now I've seen it out of context.
It's a Brillian song as an entirety on its own.
(20:03):
And that's what I think most people are getting from
this show. They're getting a shmall with Bared of some time.
They're getting all the best songs from all of his
fabulous shows, but they're seeing these songs in a totally
different life. So I love all the swapping around of
genders and ages.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
And why not.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
And I have to tell you the way Old Friends
is presented. The orchestra is so lush, the sets are gorgeous,
the costume is great. With everything going on in the world,
it's like coming home. It's like you can breathe because
we know Sondheim backwards and forwards, and we've seen production
after production, and this celebrates that energy where you just
feel comfortable and it's like coming home. But the new
(20:44):
twist on everything makes it all new again. And it
unified that audience. The audience was old, young, gay, straight,
celebrity casual. You know, it was just everybody was unified
for those two and a half hours. It was just amazing.
But Jacob, talk about this woke theater from your experience
being in a woke production.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
You know, it was interesting because I was part of
the cast on Broadway, and then I also took the
show on a national tour, which are very different audiences
than you get in New York, and that's the point.
And on the national tour we certainly got some pretty
interesting reactions to the gay couple. We also on tour our,
Bobby was black. The first scene was also black couple
(21:28):
with Bobby, So the first interaction you're seeing is all
black people as normal couples relating and in as the
country where it stands right now, it kind of ruffled
some feathers in a surprising way to us, but also
in not surprising ways. But I think our biggest experience
with the gender swapping was like it either excited or
(21:52):
it repelled. And that's my favorite type of theater is like,
that's the most exciting type of theater. Either you like
completely love it or you're like, you know that's not
for me, no, thank you. And I'm so okay with
that because as much as I love just classic like
feel good theater entertainment based whatever the term is that
(22:14):
I'm not coming up with right now, I also love
polarizing theater. Do I think a company with just a
woman the lead is polarizing personally? No, because it makes
so much sense if you look at the text and
the original Bobby, if people went back and watched the
original show, he's a douchebat, and that is the story
(22:36):
is like he's a douchebat and you're watching this guy
who's privileged go through his life make terrible decisions and
you kind of don't really like him, but you do
like him because he's so charming. And then flipping it
into a woman, It's like all of those themes just
became even more prevalent to this society, to America, and
whether people want to accept that or not, that was
just kind of up to them. So I would rather
(22:57):
be exciting than the same, same or similar to it.
Kevin said, like, if you're can revive something, do something
with it.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Gavin, I want you to spill the tea just a bit.
You were in the film version of Phantom of the Opera.
You were in the masquerade scene. Uh huh, no offense,
good like spotting me, no offense to the movie. It was
a bit of a mess when you were filming it.
What was What was it like being on set? Do
(23:25):
you kind of know what direction the film was going in?
Was it a good experience? Spill all the team?
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Well? Do you know what?
Speaker 4 (23:31):
So I knew that this version of this they were
filming Phantom at some time with studios or whatever studio
was in London. I had nothing to do it. I've
never had anything to do with the Phantom show or anything.
And my agent called and said Peter Darling, who, of
course is an amazing choreography He choreographed Billy Elliott and Matilda,
(23:53):
two absolutely amazing Western Broadway shows with brilliant cogfee.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
He was a choreographer.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
I didn't know him, but he said, oh, Peter Darling's called,
would you like to be his dance captain for the
masquerade scene?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
And I was like, yeah, how do you know my name?
I've never worked for him?
Speaker 4 (24:10):
So, you know, as an actor, you always had it
when someone calls and says someone would like you for
a part or for anything, instead of would you like
to come an audition?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
So of course I jumped at it. And it was
they'd already him and his assistant had already been.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Working on the film for like four months. They were exhausted,
they were busted. They decided they'd bring someone else in,
a dancer, as someone who's done a bit of choreography,
to kind of just revive them a bit, because they
hadn't even started working out any of the chorography, and
they they left me to work out little sections on
the staircase with partners and things.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Like that was absolutely wonderful. And we then got to.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
The set and of course the Masquerade set is huge
and fabulous, and we I think it's always the same
when you're a dancer in one scene. We probably did
it in two or three days, the whole Masquerade scene
in a little ten twenty second chunks.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
That's all you do.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
And you know, you bet I barely saw Emmy Rosin
or jer R. Butler playing for their roles, or Patrick Wilson,
but it was cool to be on set. There they are,
and they were probably all a bit jet they've been
doing it for months, so just another scene for them.
But for us one hundred dancers, it was so cool
that we were on a set and we did this
(25:35):
number and we had no idea whether we would make
it to the final cut or not. And of course
it's Masquerade we're all in masks anyway. So when I
do see the film, like look out for me, I'm
the paperboy, meaning I'm in a costume made out of newspapers,
and I've got our newspaper mask on.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
And you you see, you know, I see me for
like five seconds. You would see me for a second
because you don't know what on that.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
But yeah, and then we all went to see it,
and I don't know if I thought it was great
because I didn't really know Phantom that well.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
So I really enjoyed the film. It was on.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
Even later my wife got into Phantom in the West End,
and so I went to see the original show two
or three times, and I was like, oh yeah, being
in the theater watching it rather than a movie theater
watching it on film.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
It was. It was brilliant, even its by then thirty
years old. It was. It's a brilliant piece of musical
theater in the theater.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
But I didn't think they did a terrible job of
the movie, but my part and it was this big,
so it's just can I.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Just y, can I say? I was obsessed with that
movie Woh there you go. And I watched the masquerade
scene so many times, and I didn't realize that was
you because I remember the newspaper costume because I was like.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
That's so cool.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I was obsessed with that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Thank you. Where was my award for that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Come on, we as an entertainment community, we've been talking
finally about mental health now, both of you with your
busy schedule, maintaining a family. Jacob, I know you're getting married.
You don't have to rub it in.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I'm already married.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
You are, yeah, yeah, so I am congratulations. But how
do you maintain your mental health? Especially now you know
you're in LA your show to show, You're traveling, you're rehearsing,
you're going on to the next project. Over the last
you know, few years, how have you maintained your mental health?
What are your go to practices?
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Well? I think it helps. My husband is a therapist.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Oh my, that's free.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
He is a full time speech therapist and not speech therapist,
talk therapy and he's kind of always been had those abilities,
even before he was credited with them and you know,
officially a therapist. So I've gone a lot of help
with my mental health from my husband, which I feel very,
very very grateful for. But I think also being on
tour the year before. For this, I think distance from
(28:02):
your home is the biggest thing for me that is
the hardest on mental health. Like I can do with
theaters anytime, but distance is really hard to deal with.
And so our biggest thing is just communication, is always
talking about it. It's making sure that like it's upfront
and we're honest about our feelings and we're not masking,
because masking doesn't help anybody. If you're the person who's involved,
(28:27):
I think you know it's difficult in a rehearsal process too.
In many ways, it's easy in rehearsal process because at
least for me, you're so distracted by your work that
like everything else can kind of fade away in a
little bit, and then it's coming back into the show
schedule where you have to fall back into place, and
especially with what's going on in the world right now,
like be aware of that and absorb it and feel
(28:47):
how it affects you and move through it. But I
really just think honestly, having a husband who knows what
he's talking about is very help for me well.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
And a lot of people don't realize how isolating life
on tour can be. Even though you're in a company,
even though you're going from city to city and meeting
all these new people, it still can be very lonely
because you're moving from a city to city without being
able to like build relationships, put your roots down. You're
in a strange hotel, you don't even know what city
you're in, and it can get very very lonely.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
It can get very lonely. Yeah, I mean, I think
the biggest thing for me is also, like I grew
up moving around so like every years, so I have
kind of built in system where like, once you get
into a new city, you make it your home as
best as you can. You set up your things, you
have your books, you have your candles, you find your
coffee shop, you find your gym. As the quicker I
can make it feel like this is my community, the
(29:43):
better that I'm going to feel. And you know, touring
really helped me practice that. It was fresh.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
I mean, I'll just add I since you know, the
pandemic was terrible, you know, me and my wife and
three kids, just you know, as an actor, both of
us being actors, not no work at all, just it
was awful and the first job that came out after
the pandemic was getting to be loomy air in this
(30:12):
new production of Being the Beast that Disney put on
that started out as a UK tour and then went
to the Pladium in London, and I just I hadn't
really ever been away from my wife and kids at all.
I'd worked in New York and I, you know, and
it was like, we've got to work.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
One of us has to work.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
And so I went away for nearly a year and
a half and luckily I got weeks off, you know,
vacation to come back home, and they came to London
for summer holiday sort of thing it was. And then
I came back and I didn't work in New York
at all. And then the next job was old Friends,
(30:54):
last year, last last year in London, and so I
had to go away again. And then I came back
and then didn't work again in New York for nine months,
and then I just did this lame Miss World tour
and mostly Europe.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
And it was funny. By the third time I went away,
my wife and kids were like.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
See CEO. Four months it was It's amazing how you
can if you've if you've got a solid brilliant understanding partner,
which I do, and kids that they are kids, they
just have grown to understand that, oh, daddy's away again.
So you know, I came back after this four months
away with Lames in Europe and they had two weeks
(31:31):
at home rehearsing this old friend. And then I've come
to LA for six weeks. But thank god, we go
to Broadways two weeks time and I get to stay
there until summer. I'm actually in a New York show.
I'll have my days at home with my family. I
just have to go and do the show at night,
and that's that's all I want. That's all I want.
(31:51):
Being old, one of the older people in the cast,
having a wife and kids, is just got to the
stage where, oh, I just want to be able to
commute to work, do my job eight shows a week,
come home, pay the bills, be with my family. And
that hasn't happened since the pandemic. So this job. When
Cameron said would you like to do it again in
(32:14):
New York? Starting off in LA, it was kind of like,
oh my god, Cameron, this is what I so need
for me and my family. So but I, same as Jacob,
I just got this partner that I had to grow
to understand that this is how we have to live
until the New York job comes up again, because we're
both actors and and so it's been really hard. I'm
(32:36):
so looking forward to being home and getting to work
from home for a little while.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Now.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
With everybody that you've shared the stage with, have rubbed
elbows with, and all your theater years, do either one
of you still get starstruck.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Layers a little bit?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's what I mean.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Yes, my final callback was a chemistry test with that people.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Oh my, how do you even prepare for that?
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Oh my god, Jacob.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
I know, Gvin, you know a lot of people know
that it was. I didn't know how to prepare except
like just know the song and then like just do
the thing and are one of our assoistiate producers. Was
gave me a call and like just coming into your thing,
be chill, don't be too overdressed, don't be too serious,
like just chill. And then Bernardette walked in and was like, Okay,
what are we doing? And I was like, oh, okay,
(33:26):
so that's insane. Yeah, I definitely was deeply starstruck by BERNARDA.
Peters and Leah Salanga, I mean the second and I
first heard her singing, I am like, that's the voice
I grew up with, like reflections, that is my song,
like when I first saw that show, that movie in theaters.
(33:48):
It's stuck in my head weekly such a little gay
boy song. Yeah, I get absolutely starts strupping.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
I mean for me.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
You know, I bought I went to see Miss Saigon
at Drury Lane in London when it opened in nineteen ninety.
Immediately bought the LP really old and you always got
the LP, not the tape because the tape.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
The spoiler, get any pictures the LP. You got all
these yesses.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
Yes, and there's leir us longer as Kim in Miss
Sigone wore that record out so many scratches on it
because I played it so much.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
And then to walk into the room.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
And then hear her sing the songs she sings in
our show, and you close your eyes and it's eighteen
year old Kim's.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Voice coming out because her voice.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
Is for awless hasn't changed degraded at all in thirty years.
And butter there Peters. I used to watch the Into
the Woods and the Sunday in the Park with George
Pbs recordings. They were on BBC two in England in
the late eighties every Christmas for about four years in
a row.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
And I used to get the TV times and circle
when they were on and sit there and watch them.
So to just see her.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
In the room day one of rehearsals was ridiculous. And
now you know, I start on stage right with half
of the start stage right past stage at the top
of the show, Bernadette's then.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
She's always coming up, how's my gamon today? What do
you do?
Speaker 4 (35:14):
And she just of course she's a normal person, but
it's still better that is standing there. And in the
opening number, I don't if you notice, but I get
to actually goose her. I do her and she goes,
oh my that in comedy tonight, and I'm like, I
get to gooseett peas every night. Boom too much, it's
too much, They're too iconic.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Now the show starts and it does not stop. As actors,
all the transitions, all the sequences, going from comedy to
drama to comedy to drama, what is your warm up
process as an actor because you can't just focus on
one character, you have to do it all. What is
your warm up process to get ready.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Well, I have to say, and I'm jumping in a
lot here, Jacober.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
The great thing I love about this show is you
literally can't off from singing company like, oh, I put
on my distache now not seeing weekend in the country
and little light music. Then you're running off. Oh quickly,
let's put on our Sweeney Tod costumes because you're going
to sing the Ballad of Sweeney Todd. And then you're
gonna put your top pat on and then you sing
Sunday from Sunday in the Park.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
It's just you.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You just can't believe your luck.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
You're singing all the best songs from all these brilliant shows.
It's brilliant and there's no prep. It's just as long
as you're warm and you get in the groove of
you hear the intro. I think the audiences a number
finishes and they applaud wildly, and they hear the intro
of another song, and if you're a Sundeime fan, you're like,
and now we're getting this one, and that's how we
(36:38):
feel every night. And now we get to sing this
from this show and this from this show. So just
warm your voice up. Warm your body up, and let's go,
because it's like a bullet train of sundeime all the
way through.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Do you agree, Jacob, Oh?
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Absolutely. I was going to say, you can't really prepare
yourself beyond just like warming up the way you usually would.
And I think that's what's so nice about Like they
kept saying in the rehearsal process, like you are these characters,
but it's also your interpretation. It's also you. So in
a way, it's like you don't at least the way
I look like, I don't have to do a full
deep dive into like George's entire journey. I'm showing this
(37:15):
picture of George in this moment and then I have
to move on, and so it is like it's just
a fast moving train. And it's so fun in that
sense because you just as having understudied for so long,
I feel like I'm understudying this show, but I'm playing
every single role I'm understudying all at once. Like what
a cool experience.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
And the cool thing about this show is we have
two on stage swings and two offstage standby swings that
cover their They kind of cover our tracks, but they
don't necessarily cover everyone's solo, so we all we all
understudy each other's solos and duets. I'm back in London
(37:58):
when we did the show, after we'd all kind of
rehearsal them with it, we had one afternoon rehearsal, like
a dress rehearsal, and no one did their own song.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
So we kept running out into the auditorium and you'd
watch someone else singing an iconic song that Bernadette sung
and then you tell one in Anthor singing it instead,
or then instead of you know, me singing a song,
you'd had Jeremy second in our show doing it, and
then I did the Sweeney Todd section, and so it's it's.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Really cool that.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
Jacob you're saying, it's like I'm an understudy going on
for all the parts at once. We do, actually, all
of us, I think everyone in the show has some
understudy of some sort, so that we're all covering first
and second, covering each other's numbers in case we go off.
So that keeps us on our toes as well. Because
you're never just done with your show. You're like, oh,
(38:50):
I need to keep listening to Jeremy singing in Sweeney
or Jacob singing the Wolf because you never know, I
might have to go on in a month's time.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
It's that sort of thing. And so it's a real.
Speaker 4 (39:01):
Ensemble, isn't it, Jacob No One, even though we got
Bernadette and la about the title no One's a star
that those two are so brilliant at making us all
feel we have this one happy family that is celebrating
some time. And at the end of the show. I
love that the first thing we do before we bow
is we all turn and we applaud this fabulous picture
of him. Just feel such a privilege to be in
(39:24):
like a it's like a touring.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Company family that you know, we're all getting to just
show off his brilliant work.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
And what I was talking with Beth when she was
here last week is I have never seen an ensemble
have such grace towards each other, meaning very happy to
hand over the spotlight because everybody gets their moment and
everybody could lead that show. It is such a talented cast,
but there's so much grace given to each other on stage,
and that's palpable from the audience. I wrote a review
(39:56):
for The La Blade and I said, nobody runs away
with the show because all do, and all of you
guys are start and let's talk about this wolf. Okay,
we have seen into the Woods a million times. We
have seen into the Woods a million times, whether it's
our friends production at their high school, or it's Broadway
or whatever. How the hell did you make the wolf
(40:17):
fresh and new?
Speaker 2 (40:20):
You guys just now?
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Well what are you talking about?
Speaker 2 (40:26):
No?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
I mean I think coming in with Matthew director, you know,
their vision for it was very clear that kind of
like we're taking the wolf. And because you only see
I think with all these numbers, like you're only seeing this,
so like we have to tell the whole story in
this number just in case people don't know. And so
the wolf to me is like taking the wolf to
the nth degree, like he is full sexual, carnivorous, like
(40:52):
as far as you could go with the sex, and
with also like he might kill you kind of vibes.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
I love a bad boy.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
No, I know, right, and it's I just when they
told me I was gonna wear an ear, ears and
a tail and be shirtless, I was like, I didn't
realize that was my dream.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Until next to Bernadette Peters. No less, like that's the
gay man's fantasy is about cosplay, some nudity and Bernadette Peters.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
Well, and then and then the picture that I have,
I'm wearing my slacks, but those have since been changed
to leather pants.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
We noticed it.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
I'm sure you notice. And that is something that I
feel so cool about because I wore leather pants. I
have a pair of Vigeit leather pants that I wore
to like one of our final runs in the studio,
and our costume designer loved it so much that they
ended up being like, we should put them in leather pants.
So I actually got.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
And there's Jacob has something about your tail, the way
it's just on its own. Yeah, I know, literally follows
Bernadette around. Is like this tail is like.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
Hi yah, it is so wild and everythingual. It's no
sexual and she's so playful when at like every night
she does something like the other night she flicked a
curl that was on my hair, like pat in my
chest and it's like insane that it's Brenda Peters but
also just so fun. Yeah, you do every night.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
I have to tell you another just really powerful moment, Gavin.
You know, the show is going, going, going, And then
we come to a stop and it's you could I
leave you?
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Uh huh?
Speaker 1 (42:25):
That interpretation that moment on stage because the audience gets
a chance to take the breath, and then your interpretation
of that takes us on such a ride. We don't
know if we're laughing or crying or what the hell
that we're thinking. That must be a powerful moment as
an actor because everything is at a standstill and it's
just you. What goes through your mind when you get
(42:45):
to sit in that song and tear it apart because
it was really powerful?
Speaker 4 (42:51):
Oh thank you? I mean there is I do. I
do get insecure sometimes with that song because it's sandwich
between Bonnie Langford singing I'm still here in her sequin
pantsuit giving it and I'm here, and then straight after
you've got Jason Pennicook coming on, going ah, Buddy's Blues,
(43:13):
Buddy's Blues, which is so frantic, and to then just
hear Dirder and Dirda going in to leave you. It's
it is daunting, like, oh, I've got to because that
too is quite Boardville and quite it's solo solo. It's
the big solos that you expect in sundeims So to
(43:35):
shove that one in there, which isn't necessarily boardvillie or showy,
and then not too like when I knew I was
doing that number, AO is over.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
The moon because you know, people who might have.
Speaker 4 (43:51):
Seen me before you you haven't seen me do anything emotional. Really,
as I said earlier, I'm this song and danced man,
and no one put the tattoes on. So I was
over the moon that I got given this song. But
I also when I got it, I was like, oh,
let's have a let's have a study. So on Spotify,
I you know, listened to every recording, every woman who's
(44:12):
ever sung it, and then I youtubed Jan Maxwell's interpretation
from the Last Time Follows was on Broadway and she
just bores our eyes actually screaming at him and it's brilliant.
But Cameron was like, you're not angry and screaming at
him because you're playing it as a gay man. He
(44:32):
wanted to see the camp He wanted to see the
sarcasm because that song nearly every line is sarcastic. And
I was like, I haven't got anyone to sing it too,
so what's my scenario? And so with Matthew we worked
on well if I just walked out of a party
and she's just said, why don't you just fucking sorry,
(44:52):
why don't you just leave me?
Speaker 2 (44:53):
Excuse me for my language, that's fine.
Speaker 4 (44:56):
And so where am I in the backyard?
Speaker 2 (44:59):
Have I gone out of a patchy of doors?
Speaker 3 (45:00):
Is it late not?
Speaker 4 (45:01):
You know, it's all those scenarios. What am I going
to do with this? And I came up with this idea.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
It was like, it's a letter, the letter and the
stage management blessed the props people wrote me this whole letter.
Speaker 4 (45:10):
So I've been such an awful person. Da da da
da da. And the last line is I wouldn't be
surprised if you wanted to leave me. And so that's
where I'm starting the number from. And I I often
get when the director comes back, I get told to
pull it back because when you are lucky enough to
get some reactions from you, it's a laugh or two
(45:31):
during the number because you're being sarcastic.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
And queenie or whatever. You go for it too much
and then you start get angry and then CAMRA's just like,
I don't like you anymore because you're shouting at us.
So he always comes back and goes less less less.
You know, sometimes written a great song, it's all in
the text to sing the song, and so that's my problem.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
So in our situation, I love singing it, and I'm
always trying to find little little nuances rather than go
big with it, which is the first thing I always
want to do is go too big, and I do
and it's just like.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
It was fresh and it is that intimacy, it's that
magical quality. It's done so so well, Jacob. You know
a lot of the headlines, a lot of people talk
about your body, Addi Audie. We laughed about, you know,
the wolf bearing this chest. There's a lot of focus
on your body being part of entertainment. You know, we
(46:32):
know body image is huge, but then you're also part
of the queer community, which we know can be pretty vicious.
Have you had to deal with body issues? All the
focus and spotlight on your chest. I mean, I mean
it's funny, but I mean that also weighs on me.
It's like, well, you know.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
You know, I just recently talked about this with my
best friend, I before I even have this body. For
whatever reason, this is gonna sound and intense, But I've
always been sexualized in as an actor like high school.
My first role was Picnic, where I played the guy
who's naked and then makes out like steals the girl
(47:10):
away from the small town when I was like seventeen.
So in many ways, I've just gotten used to it.
And thankfully I think through that and through you know,
I lift weights, and I really do love my body,
and I'm very proud of the work I put into it.
I feel very confident when I'm shirtless, and honestly, I
(47:34):
actually think almost all of my roles I've been shirtless
and or in company, I was in my just my
underwear and socks for a full scene.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
We know, oh, we remember, we remember, damn, But I
don't know.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
It's something that like, I've kind of just built a
confidence and in many ways it's given me confidence. But
I think my biggest thing is specifically with Company, because
I was falling up Clip Elder, who had played on
the Rudder, who had this insane body. I went into
it being like, well, you know what, I'm not click
one Elder, and I love to eat. My biggest thing.
(48:11):
I love eating, So I'm going to continue eating and
I'll put in the extra work that I need to.
But whatever comes out is whatever comes out. Interestingly enough
though this show, because all you see is my chest
and my torso a little more exposed, even though I
was fully almost naked in company because companies like you
see the whole package. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, well together.
(48:34):
But this is like, oh, they're just seeing this part, bitch,
So like, okay, maybe this one is giving me a
little bit more of a head trip. But at the
end of the day, as long as I'm I'm working
out the way I like to work out, it really
brings me joy to work out, And as long as
I can eat what I want to eat, I'm like,
I'm a happy camper, So I'll take my clothes up anywhere.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
Well, we almost had a nudity clause for this episode,
but to go there, I actually so yeah, I just
want to I'm not giving anything away. But the show
ends on such a powerful note. Haha, pardon the pun.
It's so bittersweet. Like I said, it's it's comforting to
(49:16):
come home to Sondheim's music. It's comforting to see our
Broadway icons take the stage. It's it's that, it's that
you know, it's but it's it's melancholy because we've lost
Stephen Sondheim. You know, what is the future of his music?
You know, we know JukePop musicals and movie musicals and
Disney musicals and all of that. What do you think
the future of Broadway looks like? And is there a
(49:38):
place for sometimes legacy to continue as strong as it
is now?
Speaker 2 (49:44):
Oh? I think there is. I just think who who
doesn't think that Sometimes Cold Catalog isn't isn't just that
they're just the best musicals ever.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
They may not have ran for twenty years on Broadway,
you know, but they keep getting revived. They've all been
revived once twice on Broadway and in the West End,
and I just think they will continue to be just
like Oklahoma does you know? And Guys and Dolls does.
It's just that all of his are in that category.
(50:20):
For me that, you know, I'll go and see a
Sometimes show anytime there's a new production, because it's so
intricate and so great. And what I love about our review,
which is Theorty, it's a review.
Speaker 2 (50:35):
It's just a bunch of songs.
Speaker 4 (50:37):
So anyone that has ever thought, oh Sometimes not for me,
it's too intellectual, it's too clever. Here you're getting just
songs so what you've got this song, It's not related
to any other part of the show. It's just one song.
You can cope with that and you can listen to
the brilliance of it. And so I feel like this
(50:58):
show is a great introduction to anyone who's ever heard
Oh Sometimes not going to be for me because it's
not Wicked and it's not a Laddin or Poppins or
something I can easily just relate to. This show is
like this I've said already, the shortest board of Sometimes
is just the best of everything.
Speaker 2 (51:17):
But yes, in fifty years time, we'll still be doing
productions and instruits, all the high schools will be doing
all the Sometimes shows.
Speaker 3 (51:26):
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I think I mean the direction
of Broadway, he's getting more commercial, more and more like
that's what sells and IP sells. But I feel like
anytime there's a revival of Somedheime, it's like a little
hit of oh this is why we're here. Yeah, every
time a Sundtimes show comes around, I guarantee all of
the brilliant musical theater writers who are writing these musicals
(51:49):
based on hype and movies and books what have you,
I guarantee every single one of them will be like
sometimes the reason I'm here because he is. He is
the archetype. He is he created musical leader in many ways,
in many ways, you know, obviously there's a ton of
people who did that, but like Sondheim's language and his music,
he's the goat, and like he'll always come back. It'll
(52:12):
always be back, And even if it's done in the
same way like Sweet, this recent revival of Sweeney Todd
was very kind of true to the original Sweet Todd.
It's still so exciting to see new voices, hear new
voices and see new cases in it. And I just
think Sondheim will never go away. And it's such a
beautiful thing to see it now.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Jacob, everything that sondheims, I mean, we know that he
was a gay man. There's a queer sensibility to his music.
You as a gay man interpreting that, what's your connection
on a queer level with this material, and how does
it speak to you as a gay man coming from
a gay man.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
You know what's so interesting is I was joking with
my husband. I was like, it's so funny that I
want to actually think I might be the only gay
man in the show, which is the first time in
my life. But I don't play any gay characters in
this show. Like I said, like I am kind of
the like the Womanizer, Hi Candy track, And I was saying,
(53:14):
how funny, like I don't have any really sort of
like my queer representation. And my husband was like, no, baby,
you sing the Beginning of Being Alive. Yes, as a
gay man singing the Beginning of Being Alive. That is
one of Stephen Sondheim's most personal songs. Bobby is one
of his most personal characters because he was always the
outsider looking in, trying to find his way as a
(53:35):
gay man in a society that didn't want it to
be a gay man. So that was something I was like,
Oh my gosh, what an epiphany. Like I was already
excited to sing the Beginning of Being Alive because it's
being alive, but to be their center stage with the
spotlight on me being my out, queer gay self singing
his words that he wrote really about himself, I think
(53:58):
is so incredibly special. And that song turns into this massive,
stunning orchestration with everybody singing it so like it becomes
everybody's story, which is absolutely what someng Time would have wanted,
Like he wanted to write for everybody, and so for
that story, then extrapolate to everybody finding their own version
of it. Yeah, it's like for me, it's like gay
(54:18):
gay gay gay gay, and then it's everything.
Speaker 1 (54:23):
Gentlemen, I can't thank you enough for sharing your performance
day with us here. It's been it's been a pleasure
to chat with you. My final question to you both
is what is your message to your fans and tell
us where we can find and follow you.
Speaker 2 (54:40):
Uh, come and see this show.
Speaker 4 (54:43):
If you're a fan of me, I hope you'll come
to see this show and you'll see me doing some
different things. That's why I love doing this show so much.
You know, I'd never been in a songlime show before this.
I've got from one tiny production of Saturday Night many
years ago in London.
Speaker 2 (55:03):
So come and see this show.
Speaker 4 (55:05):
Because we're not just waxing lyrical about how great we
think the show is. We really do think the show
is amazing and the reviews have said so. So Uh,
come come to the show. You've got two more weeks
in Los Angeles. We're on Broadway for a good few
months there, and follow me. Follow me on Instagram at
Gavine Official family.
Speaker 1 (55:26):
Love it, love it, thank you, thank you, and Jacob.
Speaker 3 (55:30):
I mean I have the same message. Please come see
the show for for for my fans. I am naked
to get already talked about it, so I just want
that you can get it and then you get a
lot of other cool stuff and follow me. I'm only
on Instagram at js underscored Dickie, so I'll be there.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
Maybe, and you're only fans.
Speaker 3 (55:52):
I'm my only fans. I want to start one every day,
so I'll let you know when it happens.
Speaker 1 (55:57):
Yes, gentlemen, thank you, thank you, Thank you. Old friends.
Runs until March ninth. Go to Centertheatergroup dot org to
get your tickets, and you better snatch them up. I'm
telling you they are going fast. It's one of the
hottest commodities right now in Los Angeles. And that's all folks.
It's always a grab bag of fun here every weekend
on the Rocks. Big thank you to our engineering station
(56:17):
owner Tony Sweet. Please like, share, subscribe so we can
continue bringing this fabulous programming coming your way for free.
Until next time. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay sexy, and
if you drink, stay tipsy. We'll see you next week.
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(56:38):
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Strawt Media. Hello on the Rockers Curtain up, light the lights.
We are chatting with the boys of Broadway. Tony nominee
Gavinley from Mary Poppins, The SpongeBob Musical and many more,
and Theari stud Jacob Dicky is here from Aladdin and Company,
both enjoying the run in Sonheim's old friends headed to
Broadway with me, your sassy host with the sassy most
Raise a glass with the drinks begin. Here's to us
(00:22):
who's like us, Damn for you, Damn for you. Life
is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Time.
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I'd like to propose a TOAs this is on the
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Less in your seas.
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Starting buttons and and panty hose. On The Rocks Podcast,
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(01:18):
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(01:41):
Gavin Lee giving us some English flare. It is no
stranger to the West End or Broadway with leading roles
in Mary Poppins, for which he received Onlivia in Tony
nomination and won the Drama Desk Award. Well excuse us,
fan to pants. He also appeared around the globe in
Layman's rob has appeared a squid word in SpongeBob SquarePants
again and earning a Tony nomination. He's also been seen
(02:02):
in How the Grins Stole Christmas Beauty and The Beast,
Oliver Joseph show up saying in the Raid, and the
list goes on and on. He's currently appearing at the
Aminston in Los Angeles alongside Miss Bernadette Peters and Leah
Salanga in an all star cast and Someheimes Old Friends
Until it heads to Broadway. Please welcome Gavin Lee, Wow,
there we go, Hello, Also joining us today as part
(02:27):
of our Boys of Broadway. Jacob Dickey made his Broadway
debut in Aladdin. He also shared the stage with Patti
Lapone in company. He's also peered as Moses and Stephen
Schwartz's Prince of Egypt and appeared in productions of Mama Mia, Emojiland,
and Next to Normal. He is the Wolf to Bernadette
Peters's Little Red Riding Hood and George to Bernadette's Dot
and Sonheim's Old Friends. Well, he isn't showing off his chest,
(02:47):
He's showing off his choice, his voice, and sometimes he's
doing both at the same time. Please welcome Jacob Dickey. Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello,
I'm just gonna tell our audience again. I was there
for opening night of Sometime's Old Friends, and I'm going
back later tonight to for my second time. So I'm
very very excited. I just want to know, you know,
(03:10):
before we deep dive into it. What was your first
exposure to musical theater growing up?
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Me?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I did community theater from when I was about.
Speaker 4 (03:23):
Nine, and I'm showing my age here. My first dance
class that I ever went to was disco dancing. You
used to be able to go to a class to
learn how to do disco dancing. I clearly wanted to
be John travolt exactly n F. So yeah, community theater
was how I kind of got into it. And then
I think I knew by about twelve or thirteen that
(03:45):
this is what I thought I wanted to do. And
my dance teacher was like, well, then you'll be going
to miss College in London because that's the one she
went to.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
So that's kind of a part I took.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And Jacob and you were in a military family, so
you kind of moved around a little bit.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was in both my parents were Marines,
and I got my start in church choirs and church productions,
and then similarly transition to community theater. We moved all
the time, so it was like always finding a little community,
and it eventually became community theater as my community. And
(04:19):
did it through high school and went to college for
that and here we are.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
So Jacob, I have to know, you know, being part
of a military family, and from the research I did,
you came from a very conservative Christian family. We know
you sang at church. How did that kind of counteract
with your burgeoning sexuality, like when you started to notice
that maybe you were a little different than the other boys.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
You know? I, interestingly enough, all through high school I
was very aware I was attracted to men, but I
never just because of the way I was raised, it
never even crossed my mind that like I was gay.
It just was a part of me. And then of
course I went to musical theater college and was like, oh,
this is what that is. And you know, it's a
(05:03):
journey for my parents. My parents are so much more liberal,
thank god, than they were growing up. But they were
amazing parents. They were always so supportive of like me
and my brothers. And I have an older gay brother,
younger straight brother, so they've had to deal with a
lot of different paths and experiences and they've handled it
very well in my opinion, and so they've been very
supportive and I'm so grateful for that.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Okay, so your gay brother, what's his name and phone number?
Speaker 3 (05:26):
His name is Cody Diease, a chef. He is married
and monogamous, which is upsetting.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
That's like a unicorn. I know, Gavin, we share a
coming out story, so I just want to know, you know,
at what age did you come out as straight? In theater?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
You know, when I went I went off to college
at sixteen.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
I went down to London and went to college and
my mum and the lady years said, oh, we thought
that you were you were turning gay because you were
coming back from college like in the first semester, and
it was like I was. I mean, I'm I can
be the campus person in the car, so tell you
that much. But yeah, my mom was a bit confused
(06:08):
for a while, as You're like, no, Mom, I'm just
now with people that I just want to express love
with and be camp with. And so yeah, now I'm
very happily married with three kids.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
But I get mistaken the gay many times. I don't
know why.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
You know, it's so funny. My friends and I play
a game English are gay.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Well, I can do both of these if you want
me to.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
Yeah. Now, both of you have taken leads in a
Disney musical. Creatively. You know, we grew up on Mary Poppins,
we grew up on Aladdin creatively. As an actor, how
did you create your character? So to speak? When we
know these iconic characters, you pay homage to what the
audience expects to see, but you also have to make
(06:51):
it your own. How did both of you do that?
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Well? I came into a lot in a few years
into it, so I was a kind of in a
replacement situation, which can feel a little daunting because you
want to be exactly what they want to be, but
you also want to bring your own energy. And for me,
my experience with the Aladdin Disney was very open to
as long as you hit the marks they need, because
they've already said it, you can fill it in with
whatever personality you have. And I was lucky enough to
(07:22):
be with the show for almost four years, so to
see my own growth as an actor and a person
through the character of Aladdin was really special and I
feel like I walked away a better person and a
performer because of it.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Now, because you were the understudy for Aladdin, did you
have like an all about Eve moment and that's how
you got to take on the Yeah, not matchic carpet malfunctioned, No.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
No, I just I was Honestly, it was all timing.
I got there and then I ended up being like
the interim Aladdin. Anytime we had a gap of a
month or two between full time Aladdins, I would step
in and be Aladdin for a month or two months
that went out on tour and covered for Adam Jacobs
for two months. And yeah, so I've just done it
Oliver for a variety of times.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
And it must have been amazing to be like, Okay,
the role is now yours. You can sit in it,
you can be comfortable in it. You're headlining on Broadway.
I mean, as you know, how does that feel to
the young Jacob you know, as a little kid growing up,
It's like you are playing Aladdin on Broadway?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Oh, I mean it was crazy. It was crazy. My
in the first month of me in the first month
of me joining a company, I was playing Aladdin full
time and my mom came on Mother's Day and singing
proud of your boy to your mom who dressed you
up as Aladdin when you were like four years old
for Halloween. It's unreal, like, it's unmatchable. So it was
such a cool experience.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
I have to tell you growing up, when I saw Aladdin,
that's when I knew I might be a little different.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Oh I feel like everybody.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
Yeah, absolutely, he's everybody's crush. Girl.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Guy, do you think he's everybody's great?
Speaker 1 (08:54):
He is, Damn and Gavin, I know that you actually
auditioned to be the understudy of Bert, but then they
just gave you the role.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I did, but I didn't know that at the time.
I thought I was going into, you know, an audition
for the role. And of course the Disney show Mary
Poppins is in conjunction with Cameron Macintosh, who is our
fabulous producer or friends and.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Cameron.
Speaker 4 (09:21):
I feel like Cameron likes to discover his new leads himself.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
So the other people on the creative team that I
had worked with before I hadn't worked with Cameron before.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
They knew it wouldn't be good pushing my headshot in
front of him saying this is our Bert, this should
be him. So they went about and saying let's get
him in, Let's tell Cameron for an understudy and see
what Gavin does.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
And luckily that paid off.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
You know, I did my first audition and Cameron said, fabulous.
Can you go straight to my office and I've got
a pianist there and learn some more but songs that
come back tomorrow, which for me was like, oh my god,
I'm going to the camp.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
You know, it's in Bedford Square in London.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
It's his fancy offices and like I'd never I've walked
past it and that was about it. And I've never
been in a camera show, so that was pretty cool
and unlike Jacob to originate a role. But of course
you've got the iconic Dick Van Dyke who played it
in the film. I was just very glad that from
(10:29):
day one we were told we're not doing the film.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You know. The reason why it's.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
A Disney and Camera McIntosh collaboration is one of them
had the rights to the songs and one of them
have the rights to the books and the story, so
they had to come together if it was ever going
to happen. And I was very glad that we weren't
doing just a carbon copy of the film. We were
going back to the original books, which there are six
Harry Poppins books and picking different stories. And so I
(10:55):
was never told, can you be a bit more like
Dick van Dyke, which was you know, even though he's fantastic,
I never want to do a carbon copy of someone else.
I'm happy to as an actor. I'm happy to steal
ideas from another actor who's played a role before. But
so it was great, I know if I was stepping
into his shoes because I was doing the stage version,
not not like a remake of a film version. So
(11:18):
it was brilliant. And what I like now is I
did the show, of course for eight years in total
in England on Broadway around here at the Armandstone.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Which is really cool to be back here fifteen years later.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
I go and see regional productions or high school productions,
and I know there's certain bits in.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
The script and kind of in the choreography.
Speaker 4 (11:42):
That are in there because I was there on day
one and I put that in there. I made that up,
and so it's really nice to know that that role
I helped create in the first place, and certain bits
that I did will forever be in the script and
in the music. I mean, I've had a few actors
say to me, Jesus, but so low because I'm a baritone,
(12:02):
and because in rehearsal, I'd be like, like, can we
bring back down a bit? And so when you're an
original creating a role, you can put the keys wherever
you are.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
It'stabulous. Squid Wood in SpongeBob I'm.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
Not a loser was way high until I got the
job and I was like, no, I'm not saying about
every night.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Now, Kevin. Do you remember where you were when you
found out you were first nominated for a Tony Ah?
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
I was in my fabulous apartment up in one hundred
and eighty first with my wife, and my agent called
me at about eight in the morning. And of course
you'd already had the out of Critics circle, you already
had the drama deskinal, you have the nominations of other things,
so you knew it was happening that day. I guess
I thought I'm not going to wake up at seven
in the morning because I didn't know when they were
(12:45):
going to be announced in my agent called and said,
you've been nominated and it was amazing, And then it
sounds like I was showing off. But the second time
I got nominated for Tony, you.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Had to throw that in there, didn't hear, Jacob?
Speaker 2 (12:56):
I deliberately it was by then it was on the TV.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
It was like on CBS that morning show, and I was,
you know, girl King was going to announce it.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
And I deliberately took my youngest.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
To school because I couldn't stand the way because I
didn't know when my category would come up, and so
I was expecting a call from my wife to say
yes or.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
No as I was walking home.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
But actually I dropped her off and got back and
they still hadn't announced it. So I was watching TV
and that was very cool. To get announced on the
TV on you know, a network show.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
That's very cool. Both experiences have been.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Amazing, well, such such a talent. I seen you both
on stage that whole cast with old friends. I mean
I was there opening a night, like I said, and
you heard that applause that just would not end, and
it was so full of stars and celebrities, but you
could hear a pin drop between the transitions. I mean
the way that you guys have captivated the audience. Is
(13:55):
it's amazing Now for both of you, what was a moment,
What is a role that you've played that has spoken
to the most. You're like this, this is so I
get this. You put your teeth into it, and it's
something that really affected you the most from all the
roles that you've done.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
I would actually when I when I was part of
the Broaday Company for of company, I was an understudy
and I covered three different roles, and one of those
roles was Paul, which in our production was the husband
of Jamie or Matt Doyle, and I got to go
on a lot. It was second wave covid Era, and
(14:37):
so I was Paul for a majority of my time there.
And that was my first experience playing amid my age,
contemporary gay man who's in a happy relationship and just
in love with his husband. You know, Like I've done
a bunch of I haven't actually played a lot of
gay characters. So it was a very special thing for me,
(14:59):
and especially on Broadway and obviously in that Doyle but
I realized like how special it was to just be
able to kind of go on stage and be myself,
especially in a musical and like like company. That was
really really incredible. Also, it's such an I mean, I'm
not sure if you've seen this, such an incredible scene,
and Paul get's like a really emotional moment, which is
(15:20):
so nice to just like let go like that in
front of so many people. I think it is. It's
one of my favorite things to do. So it was
really juicy and I loved it. That was fresh.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
I think I'd have to say, throughout my whole career,
I've been very, very lucky to.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Play kind of song and dance roles. So nearly every
show i'd done up to the last sort of five
ten years as it has had major dancing in it
because that was my background start off with, and that's amazing.
But back in twenty fifteen when I got into La
MIAs on Broadway as Anadier too, that's the first time
(16:04):
I think I really got a character role, and it
was just so brilliant to not have the the pressure
of physically finding the energy you needed in a dance show.
Because doing burtin Mary Poppins for eight years, you know,
you even though you love the whole experience and of
(16:24):
course you love the role. I have to say I
didn't love by year six doing step in Time and
super Cow every night because they killed me. You're need
so to suddenly be in a show where I'm still
gonna sweat because I'm that type of person that's going
to put in so much energy to a character. But
to not have that physical exhaustion so much in a show,
(16:45):
and to be able to really concentrate on a character
because of course Anadier is so despicable and horrible and
disgusting but hopefully funny. That was just that's been my
favorite role to date. And I literally just before we
started this, I was I got to play again.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
We just did it.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
We've started a come and started a world tour, arena tour,
so I just got to do it for the last
six months. So to go back to a character that
you played ten years ago and see how you can
do it differently ten years on again, it's my favorite role,
still my favorite role I've ever played.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
It's just brilliant.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Now being able to see kind of the evolution of
theater in the West End and a Broadway and Jacob,
you know, playing Company. Audiences were not just entirely sold
on the new version of Company because of the gender swap, sexuality,
all that kind of stuff. You know, Staunch audiences were
like what what? And now there seems to be this
focus on inclusion diversity. You know, Cynthia Rivo caused a
(17:50):
big sensation because I announced she'sing to play Jesus Christ
Superstar here at the Hollywood Bowl. We know that a
Vita casting got a lot of guff from both of
your perspectives. Is there such a thing as the either
getting too woke or or are we sacrificing any of
a show's original message and energy by trying to create
this kind of environment which is a hot topic right
(18:11):
now in movies and in theater.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Well, I mean I think you know when I first
heard about the Company in that I was in London.
First of all, Oh and Bobs a girl. I mean
I immediately was like, oh my god, isn't that fantastic?
We're all going to want to go and see Company
again now because it's totally changed the whole story. And
I'm sure more people have now seen Company and more
(18:36):
people have seen Company again because they changed it up
a bit.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
You there's no point in.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Just bringing back a show the same as it was
ten twenty years ago.
Speaker 2 (18:48):
You know.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
That's why, in my opinion, I love the new production of.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
Sunset Boulevard with you know, Nikol hershing Goes.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
It's just didn't pronounce the name night sorry, but it's
so vastly different from the original Platela pone version of
Sunset Boulevard back in ninety three. So always reinvention and
gender swapping, you know, I have to be I have
to say yes, I'm up for gender swapping because in
Old Friends, I get to sing a song that is
a female song, and I'm singing that song as a
(19:18):
gay man, and that's just Cameron's choice. Oh, let's flip
this song and see why the audience like it if
a guy sings it instead of a girl. And so,
and I've had a lot of nice comments. Maybe they're
just being nice to meet to my face, but I
think it's great how in our show we're not doing
the songs as they are written in the show that
(19:41):
Somendheim wrote. We're taking that one song and we the
actor that's been chosen to do it is doing it
how they want to do it, out of context. And
I think that's why people are loving this show so much,
because they always knew that was a good song from
that show, but now I've seen it out of context.
It's a Brillian song as an entirety on its own.
(20:03):
And that's what I think most people are getting from
this show. They're getting a shmall with Bared of some time.
They're getting all the best songs from all of his
fabulous shows, but they're seeing these songs in a totally
different life. So I love all the swapping around of
genders and ages.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
And why not.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
And I have to tell you the way Old Friends
is presented. The orchestra is so lush, the sets are gorgeous,
the costume is great. With everything going on in the world,
it's like coming home. It's like you can breathe because
we know Sondheim backwards and forwards, and we've seen production
after production, and this celebrates that energy where you just
feel comfortable and it's like coming home. But the new
(20:44):
twist on everything makes it all new again. And it
unified that audience. The audience was old, young, gay, straight,
celebrity casual. You know, it was just everybody was unified
for those two and a half hours. It was just amazing.
But Jacob, talk about this woke theater from your experience
being in a woke production.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
You know, it was interesting because I was part of
the cast on Broadway, and then I also took the
show on a national tour, which are very different audiences
than you get in New York, and that's the point.
And on the national tour we certainly got some pretty
interesting reactions to the gay couple. We also on tour our,
Bobby was black. The first scene was also black couple
(21:28):
with Bobby, So the first interaction you're seeing is all
black people as normal couples relating and in as the
country where it stands right now, it kind of ruffled
some feathers in a surprising way to us, but also
in not surprising ways. But I think our biggest experience
with the gender swapping was like it either excited or
(21:52):
it repelled. And that's my favorite type of theater is like,
that's the most exciting type of theater. Either you like
completely love it or you're like, you know that's not
for me, no, thank you. And I'm so okay with
that because as much as I love just classic like
feel good theater entertainment based whatever the term is that
(22:14):
I'm not coming up with right now, I also love
polarizing theater. Do I think a company with just a
woman the lead is polarizing personally? No, because it makes
so much sense if you look at the text and
the original Bobby, if people went back and watched the
original show, he's a douchebat, and that is the story
(22:36):
is like he's a douchebat and you're watching this guy
who's privileged go through his life make terrible decisions and
you kind of don't really like him, but you do
like him because he's so charming. And then flipping it
into a woman, It's like all of those themes just
became even more prevalent to this society, to America, and
whether people want to accept that or not, that was
just kind of up to them. So I would rather
(22:57):
be exciting than the same, same or similar to it.
Kevin said, like, if you're can revive something, do something
with it.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
Gavin, I want you to spill the tea just a bit.
You were in the film version of Phantom of the Opera.
You were in the masquerade scene. Uh huh, no offense,
good like spotting me, no offense to the movie. It was
a bit of a mess when you were filming it.
What was What was it like being on set? Do
(23:25):
you kind of know what direction the film was going in?
Was it a good experience? Spill all the team?
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Well? Do you know what?
Speaker 4 (23:31):
So I knew that this version of this they were
filming Phantom at some time with studios or whatever studio
was in London. I had nothing to do it. I've
never had anything to do with the Phantom show or anything.
And my agent called and said Peter Darling, who, of
course is an amazing choreography He choreographed Billy Elliott and Matilda,
(23:53):
two absolutely amazing Western Broadway shows with brilliant cogfee.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
He was a choreographer.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
I didn't know him, but he said, oh, Peter Darling's called,
would you like to be his dance captain for the
masquerade scene?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
And I was like, yeah, how do you know my name?
I've never worked for him?
Speaker 4 (24:10):
So, you know, as an actor, you always had it
when someone calls and says someone would like you for
a part or for anything, instead of would you like
to come an audition?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
So of course I jumped at it. And it was
they'd already him and his assistant had already been.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
Working on the film for like four months. They were exhausted,
they were busted. They decided they'd bring someone else in,
a dancer, as someone who's done a bit of choreography,
to kind of just revive them a bit, because they
hadn't even started working out any of the chorography, and
they they left me to work out little sections on
the staircase with partners and things.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Like that was absolutely wonderful. And we then got to.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
The set and of course the Masquerade set is huge
and fabulous, and we I think it's always the same
when you're a dancer in one scene. We probably did
it in two or three days, the whole Masquerade scene
in a little ten twenty second chunks.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
That's all you do.
Speaker 4 (25:12):
And you know, you bet I barely saw Emmy Rosin
or jer R. Butler playing for their roles, or Patrick Wilson,
but it was cool to be on set. There they are,
and they were probably all a bit jet they've been
doing it for months, so just another scene for them.
But for us one hundred dancers, it was so cool
that we were on a set and we did this
(25:35):
number and we had no idea whether we would make
it to the final cut or not. And of course
it's Masquerade we're all in masks anyway. So when I
do see the film, like look out for me, I'm
the paperboy, meaning I'm in a costume made out of newspapers,
and I've got our newspaper mask on.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
And you you see, you know, I see me for
like five seconds. You would see me for a second
because you don't know what on that.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
But yeah, and then we all went to see it,
and I don't know if I thought it was great
because I didn't really know Phantom that well.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
So I really enjoyed the film. It was on.
Speaker 4 (26:06):
Even later my wife got into Phantom in the West End,
and so I went to see the original show two
or three times, and I was like, oh yeah, being
in the theater watching it rather than a movie theater
watching it on film.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
It was. It was brilliant, even its by then thirty
years old. It was. It's a brilliant piece of musical
theater in the theater.
Speaker 4 (26:26):
But I didn't think they did a terrible job of
the movie, but my part and it was this big,
so it's just can I.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
Just y, can I say? I was obsessed with that
movie Woh there you go. And I watched the masquerade
scene so many times, and I didn't realize that was
you because I remember the newspaper costume because I was like.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
That's so cool.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
I was obsessed with that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Thank you. Where was my award for that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Come on, we as an entertainment community, we've been talking
finally about mental health now, both of you with your
busy schedule, maintaining a family. Jacob, I know you're getting married.
You don't have to rub it in.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
I'm already married.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
You are, yeah, yeah, so I am congratulations. But how
do you maintain your mental health? Especially now you know
you're in LA your show to show, You're traveling, you're rehearsing,
you're going on to the next project. Over the last
you know, few years, how have you maintained your mental health?
What are your go to practices?
Speaker 3 (27:33):
Well? I think it helps. My husband is a therapist.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Oh my, that's free.
Speaker 3 (27:40):
He is a full time speech therapist and not speech therapist,
talk therapy and he's kind of always been had those abilities,
even before he was credited with them and you know,
officially a therapist. So I've gone a lot of help
with my mental health from my husband, which I feel very,
very very grateful for. But I think also being on
tour the year before. For this, I think distance from
(28:02):
your home is the biggest thing for me that is
the hardest on mental health. Like I can do with
theaters anytime, but distance is really hard to deal with.
And so our biggest thing is just communication, is always
talking about it. It's making sure that like it's upfront
and we're honest about our feelings and we're not masking,
because masking doesn't help anybody. If you're the person who's involved,
(28:27):
I think you know it's difficult in a rehearsal process too.
In many ways, it's easy in rehearsal process because at
least for me, you're so distracted by your work that
like everything else can kind of fade away in a
little bit, and then it's coming back into the show
schedule where you have to fall back into place, and
especially with what's going on in the world right now,
like be aware of that and absorb it and feel
(28:47):
how it affects you and move through it. But I
really just think honestly, having a husband who knows what
he's talking about is very help for me well.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
And a lot of people don't realize how isolating life
on tour can be. Even though you're in a company,
even though you're going from city to city and meeting
all these new people, it still can be very lonely
because you're moving from a city to city without being
able to like build relationships, put your roots down. You're
in a strange hotel, you don't even know what city
you're in, and it can get very very lonely.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
It can get very lonely. Yeah, I mean, I think
the biggest thing for me is also, like I grew
up moving around so like every years, so I have
kind of built in system where like, once you get
into a new city, you make it your home as
best as you can. You set up your things, you
have your books, you have your candles, you find your
coffee shop, you find your gym. As the quicker I
can make it feel like this is my community, the
(29:43):
better that I'm going to feel. And you know, touring
really helped me practice that. It was fresh.
Speaker 4 (29:52):
I mean, I'll just add I since you know, the
pandemic was terrible, you know, me and my wife and
three kids, just you know, as an actor, both of
us being actors, not no work at all, just it
was awful and the first job that came out after
the pandemic was getting to be loomy air in this
(30:12):
new production of Being the Beast that Disney put on
that started out as a UK tour and then went
to the Pladium in London, and I just I hadn't
really ever been away from my wife and kids at all.
I'd worked in New York and I, you know, and
it was like, we've got to work.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
One of us has to work.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
And so I went away for nearly a year and
a half and luckily I got weeks off, you know,
vacation to come back home, and they came to London
for summer holiday sort of thing it was. And then
I came back and I didn't work in New York
at all. And then the next job was old Friends,
(30:54):
last year, last last year in London, and so I
had to go away again. And then I came back
and then didn't work again in New York for nine months,
and then I just did this lame Miss World tour
and mostly Europe.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
And it was funny. By the third time I went away,
my wife and kids were like.
Speaker 4 (31:10):
See CEO. Four months it was It's amazing how you
can if you've if you've got a solid brilliant understanding partner,
which I do, and kids that they are kids, they
just have grown to understand that, oh, daddy's away again.
So you know, I came back after this four months
away with Lames in Europe and they had two weeks
(31:31):
at home rehearsing this old friend. And then I've come
to LA for six weeks. But thank god, we go
to Broadways two weeks time and I get to stay
there until summer. I'm actually in a New York show.
I'll have my days at home with my family. I
just have to go and do the show at night,
and that's that's all I want. That's all I want.
(31:51):
Being old, one of the older people in the cast,
having a wife and kids, is just got to the
stage where, oh, I just want to be able to
commute to work, do my job eight shows a week,
come home, pay the bills, be with my family. And
that hasn't happened since the pandemic. So this job. When
Cameron said would you like to do it again in
(32:14):
New York? Starting off in LA, it was kind of like,
oh my god, Cameron, this is what I so need
for me and my family. So but I, same as Jacob,
I just got this partner that I had to grow
to understand that this is how we have to live
until the New York job comes up again, because we're
both actors and and so it's been really hard. I'm
(32:36):
so looking forward to being home and getting to work
from home for a little while.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Now.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
With everybody that you've shared the stage with, have rubbed
elbows with, and all your theater years, do either one
of you still get starstruck.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Layers a little bit?
Speaker 1 (32:52):
That's what I mean.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Yes, my final callback was a chemistry test with that people.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Oh my, how do you even prepare for that?
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Oh my god, Jacob.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
I know, Gvin, you know a lot of people know
that it was. I didn't know how to prepare except
like just know the song and then like just do
the thing and are one of our assoistiate producers. Was
gave me a call and like just coming into your thing,
be chill, don't be too overdressed, don't be too serious,
like just chill. And then Bernardette walked in and was like, Okay,
what are we doing? And I was like, oh, okay,
(33:26):
so that's insane. Yeah, I definitely was deeply starstruck by BERNARDA.
Peters and Leah Salanga, I mean the second and I
first heard her singing, I am like, that's the voice
I grew up with, like reflections, that is my song,
like when I first saw that show, that movie in theaters.
(33:48):
It's stuck in my head weekly such a little gay
boy song. Yeah, I get absolutely starts strupping.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
I mean for me.
Speaker 4 (33:58):
You know, I bought I went to see Miss Saigon
at Drury Lane in London when it opened in nineteen ninety.
Immediately bought the LP really old and you always got
the LP, not the tape because the tape.
Speaker 2 (34:11):
The spoiler, get any pictures the LP. You got all
these yesses.
Speaker 4 (34:14):
Yes, and there's leir us longer as Kim in Miss
Sigone wore that record out so many scratches on it
because I played it so much.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
And then to walk into the room.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
And then hear her sing the songs she sings in
our show, and you close your eyes and it's eighteen
year old Kim's.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Voice coming out because her voice.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
Is for awless hasn't changed degraded at all in thirty years.
And butter there Peters. I used to watch the Into
the Woods and the Sunday in the Park with George
Pbs recordings. They were on BBC two in England in
the late eighties every Christmas for about four years in
a row.
Speaker 2 (34:53):
And I used to get the TV times and circle
when they were on and sit there and watch them.
So to just see her.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
In the room day one of rehearsals was ridiculous. And
now you know, I start on stage right with half
of the start stage right past stage at the top
of the show, Bernadette's then.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
She's always coming up, how's my gamon today? What do
you do?
Speaker 4 (35:14):
And she just of course she's a normal person, but
it's still better that is standing there. And in the
opening number, I don't if you notice, but I get
to actually goose her. I do her and she goes,
oh my that in comedy tonight, and I'm like, I
get to gooseett peas every night. Boom too much, it's
too much, They're too iconic.
Speaker 1 (35:36):
Now the show starts and it does not stop. As actors,
all the transitions, all the sequences, going from comedy to
drama to comedy to drama, what is your warm up
process as an actor because you can't just focus on
one character, you have to do it all. What is
your warm up process to get ready.
Speaker 2 (35:53):
Well, I have to say, and I'm jumping in a
lot here, Jacober.
Speaker 4 (35:57):
The great thing I love about this show is you
literally can't off from singing company like, oh, I put
on my distache now not seeing weekend in the country
and little light music. Then you're running off. Oh quickly,
let's put on our Sweeney Tod costumes because you're going
to sing the Ballad of Sweeney Todd. And then you're
gonna put your top pat on and then you sing
Sunday from Sunday in the Park.
Speaker 3 (36:13):
It's just you.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
You just can't believe your luck.
Speaker 4 (36:17):
You're singing all the best songs from all these brilliant shows.
It's brilliant and there's no prep. It's just as long
as you're warm and you get in the groove of
you hear the intro. I think the audiences a number
finishes and they applaud wildly, and they hear the intro
of another song, and if you're a Sundeime fan, you're like,
and now we're getting this one, and that's how we
(36:38):
feel every night. And now we get to sing this
from this show and this from this show. So just
warm your voice up. Warm your body up, and let's go,
because it's like a bullet train of sundeime all the
way through.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Do you agree, Jacob, Oh?
Speaker 3 (36:52):
Absolutely. I was going to say, you can't really prepare
yourself beyond just like warming up the way you usually would.
And I think that's what's so nice about Like they
kept saying in the rehearsal process, like you are these characters,
but it's also your interpretation. It's also you. So in
a way, it's like you don't at least the way
I look like, I don't have to do a full
deep dive into like George's entire journey. I'm showing this
(37:15):
picture of George in this moment and then I have
to move on, and so it is like it's just
a fast moving train. And it's so fun in that
sense because you just as having understudied for so long,
I feel like I'm understudying this show, but I'm playing
every single role I'm understudying all at once. Like what
a cool experience.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
And the cool thing about this show is we have
two on stage swings and two offstage standby swings that
cover their They kind of cover our tracks, but they
don't necessarily cover everyone's solo, so we all we all
understudy each other's solos and duets. I'm back in London
(37:58):
when we did the show, after we'd all kind of
rehearsal them with it, we had one afternoon rehearsal, like
a dress rehearsal, and no one did their own song.
Speaker 4 (38:07):
So we kept running out into the auditorium and you'd
watch someone else singing an iconic song that Bernadette sung
and then you tell one in Anthor singing it instead,
or then instead of you know, me singing a song,
you'd had Jeremy second in our show doing it, and
then I did the Sweeney Todd section, and so it's it's.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
Really cool that.
Speaker 4 (38:28):
Jacob you're saying, it's like I'm an understudy going on
for all the parts at once. We do, actually, all
of us, I think everyone in the show has some
understudy of some sort, so that we're all covering first
and second, covering each other's numbers in case we go off.
So that keeps us on our toes as well. Because
you're never just done with your show. You're like, oh,
(38:50):
I need to keep listening to Jeremy singing in Sweeney
or Jacob singing the Wolf because you never know, I
might have to go on in a month's time.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
It's that sort of thing. And so it's a real.
Speaker 4 (39:01):
Ensemble, isn't it, Jacob No One, even though we got
Bernadette and la about the title no One's a star
that those two are so brilliant at making us all
feel we have this one happy family that is celebrating
some time. And at the end of the show. I
love that the first thing we do before we bow
is we all turn and we applaud this fabulous picture
of him. Just feel such a privilege to be in
(39:24):
like a it's like a touring.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Company family that you know, we're all getting to just
show off his brilliant work.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
And what I was talking with Beth when she was
here last week is I have never seen an ensemble
have such grace towards each other, meaning very happy to
hand over the spotlight because everybody gets their moment and
everybody could lead that show. It is such a talented cast,
but there's so much grace given to each other on stage,
and that's palpable from the audience. I wrote a review
(39:56):
for The La Blade and I said, nobody runs away
with the show because all do, and all of you
guys are start and let's talk about this wolf. Okay,
we have seen into the Woods a million times. We
have seen into the Woods a million times, whether it's
our friends production at their high school, or it's Broadway
or whatever. How the hell did you make the wolf
(40:17):
fresh and new?
Speaker 2 (40:20):
You guys just now?
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Well what are you talking about?
Speaker 2 (40:26):
No?
Speaker 3 (40:27):
I mean I think coming in with Matthew director, you know,
their vision for it was very clear that kind of
like we're taking the wolf. And because you only see
I think with all these numbers, like you're only seeing this,
so like we have to tell the whole story in
this number just in case people don't know. And so
the wolf to me is like taking the wolf to
the nth degree, like he is full sexual, carnivorous, like
(40:52):
as far as you could go with the sex, and
with also like he might kill you kind of vibes.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
I love a bad boy.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
No, I know, right, and it's I just when they
told me I was gonna wear an ear, ears and
a tail and be shirtless, I was like, I didn't
realize that was my dream.
Speaker 1 (41:08):
Until next to Bernadette Peters. No less, like that's the
gay man's fantasy is about cosplay, some nudity and Bernadette Peters.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
Well, and then and then the picture that I have,
I'm wearing my slacks, but those have since been changed
to leather pants.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
We noticed it.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
I'm sure you notice. And that is something that I
feel so cool about because I wore leather pants. I
have a pair of Vigeit leather pants that I wore
to like one of our final runs in the studio,
and our costume designer loved it so much that they
ended up being like, we should put them in leather pants.
So I actually got.
Speaker 4 (41:43):
And there's Jacob has something about your tail, the way
it's just on its own. Yeah, I know, literally follows
Bernadette around. Is like this tail is like.
Speaker 3 (41:53):
Hi yah, it is so wild and everythingual. It's no
sexual and she's so playful when at like every night
she does something like the other night she flicked a
curl that was on my hair, like pat in my
chest and it's like insane that it's Brenda Peters but
also just so fun. Yeah, you do every night.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
I have to tell you another just really powerful moment, Gavin.
You know, the show is going, going, going, And then
we come to a stop and it's you could I
leave you?
Speaker 2 (42:24):
Uh huh?
Speaker 1 (42:25):
That interpretation that moment on stage because the audience gets
a chance to take the breath, and then your interpretation
of that takes us on such a ride. We don't
know if we're laughing or crying or what the hell
that we're thinking. That must be a powerful moment as
an actor because everything is at a standstill and it's
just you. What goes through your mind when you get
(42:45):
to sit in that song and tear it apart because
it was really powerful?
Speaker 4 (42:51):
Oh thank you? I mean there is I do. I
do get insecure sometimes with that song because it's sandwich
between Bonnie Langford singing I'm still here in her sequin
pantsuit giving it and I'm here, and then straight after
you've got Jason Pennicook coming on, going ah, Buddy's Blues,
(43:13):
Buddy's Blues, which is so frantic, and to then just
hear Dirder and Dirda going in to leave you. It's
it is daunting, like, oh, I've got to because that
too is quite Boardville and quite it's solo solo. It's
the big solos that you expect in sundeims So to
(43:35):
shove that one in there, which isn't necessarily boardvillie or showy,
and then not too like when I knew I was
doing that number, AO is over.
Speaker 2 (43:47):
The moon because you know, people who might have.
Speaker 4 (43:51):
Seen me before you you haven't seen me do anything emotional. Really,
as I said earlier, I'm this song and danced man,
and no one put the tattoes on. So I was
over the moon that I got given this song. But
I also when I got it, I was like, oh,
let's have a let's have a study. So on Spotify,
I you know, listened to every recording, every woman who's
(44:12):
ever sung it, and then I youtubed Jan Maxwell's interpretation
from the Last Time Follows was on Broadway and she
just bores our eyes actually screaming at him and it's brilliant.
But Cameron was like, you're not angry and screaming at
him because you're playing it as a gay man. He
(44:32):
wanted to see the camp He wanted to see the
sarcasm because that song nearly every line is sarcastic. And
I was like, I haven't got anyone to sing it too,
so what's my scenario? And so with Matthew we worked
on well if I just walked out of a party
and she's just said, why don't you just fucking sorry,
(44:52):
why don't you just leave me?
Speaker 2 (44:53):
Excuse me for my language, that's fine.
Speaker 4 (44:56):
And so where am I in the backyard?
Speaker 2 (44:59):
Have I gone out of a patchy of doors?
Speaker 3 (45:00):
Is it late not?
Speaker 4 (45:01):
You know, it's all those scenarios. What am I going
to do with this? And I came up with this idea.
Speaker 2 (45:05):
It was like, it's a letter, the letter and the
stage management blessed the props people wrote me this whole letter.
Speaker 4 (45:10):
So I've been such an awful person. Da da da
da da. And the last line is I wouldn't be
surprised if you wanted to leave me. And so that's
where I'm starting the number from. And I I often
get when the director comes back, I get told to
pull it back because when you are lucky enough to
get some reactions from you, it's a laugh or two
(45:31):
during the number because you're being sarcastic.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
And queenie or whatever. You go for it too much
and then you start get angry and then CAMRA's just like,
I don't like you anymore because you're shouting at us.
So he always comes back and goes less less less.
You know, sometimes written a great song, it's all in
the text to sing the song, and so that's my problem.
Speaker 4 (45:54):
So in our situation, I love singing it, and I'm
always trying to find little little nuances rather than go
big with it, which is the first thing I always
want to do is go too big, and I do
and it's just like.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
It was fresh and it is that intimacy, it's that
magical quality. It's done so so well, Jacob. You know
a lot of the headlines, a lot of people talk
about your body, Addi Audie. We laughed about, you know,
the wolf bearing this chest. There's a lot of focus
on your body being part of entertainment. You know, we
(46:32):
know body image is huge, but then you're also part
of the queer community, which we know can be pretty vicious.
Have you had to deal with body issues? All the
focus and spotlight on your chest. I mean, I mean
it's funny, but I mean that also weighs on me.
It's like, well, you know.
Speaker 3 (46:49):
You know, I just recently talked about this with my
best friend, I before I even have this body. For
whatever reason, this is gonna sound and intense, But I've
always been sexualized in as an actor like high school.
My first role was Picnic, where I played the guy
who's naked and then makes out like steals the girl
(47:10):
away from the small town when I was like seventeen.
So in many ways, I've just gotten used to it.
And thankfully I think through that and through you know,
I lift weights, and I really do love my body,
and I'm very proud of the work I put into it.
I feel very confident when I'm shirtless, and honestly, I
(47:34):
actually think almost all of my roles I've been shirtless
and or in company, I was in my just my
underwear and socks for a full scene.
Speaker 1 (47:41):
We know, oh, we remember, we remember, damn, But I
don't know.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
It's something that like, I've kind of just built a
confidence and in many ways it's given me confidence. But
I think my biggest thing is specifically with Company, because
I was falling up Clip Elder, who had played on
the Rudder, who had this insane body. I went into
it being like, well, you know what, I'm not click
one Elder, and I love to eat. My biggest thing.
(48:11):
I love eating, So I'm going to continue eating and
I'll put in the extra work that I need to.
But whatever comes out is whatever comes out. Interestingly enough
though this show, because all you see is my chest
and my torso a little more exposed, even though I
was fully almost naked in company because companies like you
see the whole package. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, well together.
(48:34):
But this is like, oh, they're just seeing this part, bitch,
So like, okay, maybe this one is giving me a
little bit more of a head trip. But at the
end of the day, as long as I'm I'm working
out the way I like to work out, it really
brings me joy to work out, And as long as
I can eat what I want to eat, I'm like,
I'm a happy camper, So I'll take my clothes up anywhere.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
Well, we almost had a nudity clause for this episode,
but to go there, I actually so yeah, I just
want to I'm not giving anything away. But the show
ends on such a powerful note. Haha, pardon the pun.
It's so bittersweet. Like I said, it's it's comforting to
(49:16):
come home to Sondheim's music. It's comforting to see our
Broadway icons take the stage. It's it's that, it's that
you know, it's but it's it's melancholy because we've lost
Stephen Sondheim. You know, what is the future of his music?
You know, we know JukePop musicals and movie musicals and
Disney musicals and all of that. What do you think
the future of Broadway looks like? And is there a
(49:38):
place for sometimes legacy to continue as strong as it
is now?
Speaker 2 (49:44):
Oh? I think there is. I just think who who
doesn't think that Sometimes Cold Catalog isn't isn't just that
they're just the best musicals ever.
Speaker 4 (49:57):
They may not have ran for twenty years on Broadway,
you know, but they keep getting revived. They've all been
revived once twice on Broadway and in the West End,
and I just think they will continue to be just
like Oklahoma does you know? And Guys and Dolls does.
It's just that all of his are in that category.
(50:20):
For me that, you know, I'll go and see a
Sometimes show anytime there's a new production, because it's so
intricate and so great. And what I love about our review,
which is Theorty, it's a review.
Speaker 2 (50:35):
It's just a bunch of songs.
Speaker 4 (50:37):
So anyone that has ever thought, oh Sometimes not for me,
it's too intellectual, it's too clever. Here you're getting just
songs so what you've got this song, It's not related
to any other part of the show. It's just one song.
You can cope with that and you can listen to
the brilliance of it. And so I feel like this
(50:58):
show is a great introduction to anyone who's ever heard
Oh Sometimes not going to be for me because it's
not Wicked and it's not a Laddin or Poppins or
something I can easily just relate to. This show is
like this I've said already, the shortest board of Sometimes
is just the best of everything.
Speaker 2 (51:17):
But yes, in fifty years time, we'll still be doing
productions and instruits, all the high schools will be doing
all the Sometimes shows.
Speaker 3 (51:26):
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I think I mean the direction
of Broadway, he's getting more commercial, more and more like
that's what sells and IP sells. But I feel like
anytime there's a revival of Somedheime, it's like a little
hit of oh this is why we're here. Yeah, every
time a Sundtimes show comes around, I guarantee all of
the brilliant musical theater writers who are writing these musicals
(51:49):
based on hype and movies and books what have you,
I guarantee every single one of them will be like
sometimes the reason I'm here because he is. He is
the archetype. He is he created musical leader in many ways,
in many ways, you know, obviously there's a ton of
people who did that, but like Sondheim's language and his music,
he's the goat, and like he'll always come back. It'll
(52:12):
always be back, And even if it's done in the
same way like Sweet, this recent revival of Sweeney Todd
was very kind of true to the original Sweet Todd.
It's still so exciting to see new voices, hear new
voices and see new cases in it. And I just
think Sondheim will never go away. And it's such a
beautiful thing to see it now.
Speaker 1 (52:31):
Jacob, everything that sondheims, I mean, we know that he
was a gay man. There's a queer sensibility to his music.
You as a gay man interpreting that, what's your connection
on a queer level with this material, and how does
it speak to you as a gay man coming from
a gay man.
Speaker 3 (52:50):
You know what's so interesting is I was joking with
my husband. I was like, it's so funny that I
want to actually think I might be the only gay
man in the show, which is the first time in
my life. But I don't play any gay characters in
this show. Like I said, like I am kind of
the like the Womanizer, Hi Candy track, And I was saying,
(53:14):
how funny, like I don't have any really sort of
like my queer representation. And my husband was like, no, baby,
you sing the Beginning of Being Alive. Yes, as a
gay man singing the Beginning of Being Alive. That is
one of Stephen Sondheim's most personal songs. Bobby is one
of his most personal characters because he was always the
outsider looking in, trying to find his way as a
(53:35):
gay man in a society that didn't want it to
be a gay man. So that was something I was like,
Oh my gosh, what an epiphany. Like I was already
excited to sing the Beginning of Being Alive because it's
being alive, but to be their center stage with the
spotlight on me being my out, queer gay self singing
his words that he wrote really about himself, I think
(53:58):
is so incredibly special. And that song turns into this massive,
stunning orchestration with everybody singing it so like it becomes
everybody's story, which is absolutely what someng Time would have wanted,
Like he wanted to write for everybody, and so for
that story, then extrapolate to everybody finding their own version
of it. Yeah, it's like for me, it's like gay
(54:18):
gay gay gay gay, and then it's everything.
Speaker 1 (54:23):
Gentlemen, I can't thank you enough for sharing your performance
day with us here. It's been it's been a pleasure
to chat with you. My final question to you both
is what is your message to your fans and tell
us where we can find and follow you.
Speaker 2 (54:40):
Uh, come and see this show.
Speaker 4 (54:43):
If you're a fan of me, I hope you'll come
to see this show and you'll see me doing some
different things. That's why I love doing this show so much.
You know, I'd never been in a songlime show before this.
I've got from one tiny production of Saturday Night many
years ago in London.
Speaker 2 (55:03):
So come and see this show.
Speaker 4 (55:05):
Because we're not just waxing lyrical about how great we
think the show is. We really do think the show
is amazing and the reviews have said so. So Uh,
come come to the show. You've got two more weeks
in Los Angeles. We're on Broadway for a good few
months there, and follow me. Follow me on Instagram at
Gavine Official family.
Speaker 1 (55:26):
Love it, love it, thank you, thank you, and Jacob.
Speaker 3 (55:30):
I mean I have the same message. Please come see
the show for for for my fans. I am naked
to get already talked about it, so I just want
that you can get it and then you get a
lot of other cool stuff and follow me. I'm only
on Instagram at js underscored Dickie, so I'll be there.
Speaker 1 (55:49):
Maybe, and you're only fans.
Speaker 3 (55:52):
I'm my only fans. I want to start one every day,
so I'll let you know when it happens.
Speaker 1 (55:57):
Yes, gentlemen, thank you, thank you, Thank you. Old friends.
Runs until March ninth. Go to Centertheatergroup dot org to
get your tickets, and you better snatch them up. I'm
telling you they are going fast. It's one of the
hottest commodities right now in Los Angeles. And that's all folks.
It's always a grab bag of fun here every weekend
on the Rocks. Big thank you to our engineering station
(56:17):
owner Tony Sweet. Please like, share, subscribe so we can
continue bringing this fabulous programming coming your way for free.
Until next time. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay sexy, and
if you drink, stay tipsy. We'll see you next week.
This has been another episode of On the Rocks. Tweet
me and slide into my dms on Twitter and Instagram.
On the Rocks on air, find everything on the Rocks
(56:38):
cot freet on the Rocks Radio show dot com, Subscribe, like,
review and share. Until next week, Stay fabulous,
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