Joe Pantoliano Did Not Have The Courage To Be In A Musical

Michael Riedel and Christine Nagy chat with actor Joe Pantoliano, a.k.a. "Joey Pants," about his role in the off-Broadway show "Rock and Roll Man." He has always wanted to do a musical and is happy to check it off his bucket list. "Rock and Roll Man is at New World Stages on West 50th until September 1st.

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
iHeart Radio Broadway presents Inside Broadway,the podcast about everything theater. It's where
you hear what happens from the ticketwindow to the stage door, with the
stars and creative forces that make itall come alive. Here are your hosts,
Wars Michael Reidal and Light FM's ChristineNage. All Right, so,

(00:24):
Michael, our guest today has beenin showbiz for fifty years now. WHOA,
yes, fifty years, over twohundred rolls. We're talking film and
television specifically the sopranos Chi won anEmmy. But right now and I believe
he is making his debut in amusical. He is starring in an off
Broadway musical, Rock and roll Man, which is playing at New World Stages.

(00:46):
Please welcome Joe Pansolano, Joey Pants. Hi, Joey, nice to
meet you. Hi. How areyou? We're good? Good, good.
Welcome to the show, Joey Pants. It's a pleasure to have you
on. So thank you. I'mglad to be here. So are you
you're not making your stage debut,are you with this? No? You're
making your off Broadway musical musical musich NO. I started out in New

(01:11):
York City. Uh in nineteen seventyand so I did. I did a
lot of theater. Uh and inthose days. And I was in the
original production of War Fans, inthe original production of John Patrick Shanley's h
a Tie in American Reconciliation with inhis directorial debut. Yeah, I know,

(01:36):
I've I've done a lot of theater. I always wanted to be in
a musical, but I didn't havethe courage. Uh. I just it
just I was paddock stricken. Ieven tried auditioning for musicals a couple of
times, and I was just sothis this was a very fortunate opportunity for

(01:57):
me and on my bucket list.Well, you're doing it. So you
have two roles in the show,and again this is your first time singing
on stage. It is a briefthing to do. Well, you know,
when you get to be my age, you I it's somewhat liberating because

(02:24):
the acting when I was starting outand for a very long time, it
was everything to me. I wasinvested in it to find who I was.
And now I don't need to doit anymore. It's it's it's just
not my life, you know.My life is evolved and my family and

(02:46):
my children and grandchildren, and andso this was an opportunity that I could
share my misfortune with my family aswell as the family of theatergoers. Now
Rock and roll Man is about thelegendary disc jockey Alan Freed played in distruction
by Constantine Marulus. Who do youplay in this? Who do you play

(03:08):
in the in the show? Whatreal character are you playing? There's Leo
Mince was the guy that introduced AlanFreed to this phenomenon that was occurring in
Cleveland at his record shop record rendezvous. This was nineteen fifty fifty one.

(03:30):
Enough, you know, in thein the thick of segregation at that time
they had they had colored radio stationsand white radio stations, and you couldn't
integrate that music over to the whitestations. So when Alan heard this music

(03:52):
and saw the integration of kids inthe record shop singing and dancing together,
he was in fired by the musicA and B. He wanted to share
it with the world. So heand Leo formed a partnership. And then
they they formed a partnership and inbringing these black artists, uh Little Richard,

(04:19):
Bo Diddley, Jayhawk and a lotof them from the Cleveland area to
two venues across the area in inin Cleveland, and and it was there,
you know, it was very successful. His radio station was against it,

(04:42):
but then their ratings went up andtheir sales went up as a result
of this, and so they wentwith the times. And then uh,
in Allen's success, he was offereda job at Wins in New York City
and he and his wife left todo that, and Leo stayed behind because
he had roots that he didn't wantto sever. And uh and then in

(05:09):
order to get into the New Yorkmarket, which was controlled by a lot
of guys with sharp elbows that connectsorganized crime, he got into bed and
made a deal with the devil,with Morris Levy, who owned Birdland Records

(05:31):
and let Records, and and andthen you know he the rest is history.
Wow, So you go from actuallythe guy eventually Leo Minces is the
guy that came up with the ideaof the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in Cleveland, Ohio. And hestarted it and he raised the money to

(05:57):
build it. And a lot ofpeople don't know that when Alan Freed was
the first inductee, and also hisacts were in the rock and roll Hall
of Fame for many, many,many years. Interesting. So you go
from Act one where you're Leo,to Act too where you're Morris. You
go from good guy to really badguy. Right, Yeah, like King

(06:19):
and Yang. I just I justfound it fascinating. And you know,
challenge acting, challenge to create twodiversely opposite the character's behaviorally without the use
of CGI or makeup. You know, it's the dying art form when you
think about that. We're on strikeright now, the actors and the writers

(06:43):
because of this AI thing. Youknow, it's still an opportunity to see
your favorite performers live and in person. Right So, speaking of the sag
after a strike, I see alot of my friends on the picket lines
in Times Square and any movement onthat front. You know, I don't

(07:04):
know right now that the MPa isrefusing to talk. They may be interested
in talking to the writers again,you know, the idea of divide and
conquering. I know that our unionis is giving interim agreements to independence and

(07:26):
anybody that wants to sign up withus that would say, you know,
we agree with the guild and wewill adhere to the final demands of what
is finally negotiated because it's an interestingendeavor where you got this partnership between the

(07:48):
the motion picture producers that are nowall gobbled up by corporate America that doesn't
really understand what we do, andthey it's only a market share as far
as they're concerned. So so theidea of us dividing and conquering them because

(08:11):
they're you don't have a story,and you don't have people to perform those
stories. You don't have an industry. Yeah, you know, I thought
it was very certainly would have beenupsetting you guys for the one studio executive
came out inside of the actors.Well, we'll just wait them out until
they start losing their apartments in theirhouses. I mean, that is brutal.

(08:33):
That's that's what they do. Thisis this is what's the word.
It's a microcosm of what's happening inour country. You know, thirty years
ago, forty percent of America wasrepresented by unions. If you could do
if you do on camera interviews,now most of them are robotic. They've

(08:54):
eliminated the cameraman, they've elived there, they've elimited effect makeup artists, they've
eliminated. They're they're in the processof eliminating hair and makeup uh departments,
because you can you can make upyour actors digitally. And so I think

(09:15):
everything that we're going through is aMicael cousin what's happening in America? And
it's just greed and everything is motivatedby greed, selfishness, and uh,
you know, it's getting to thepoint we have five hundred Americans that have
all of the wealth and and it'sit's to me, it sounds like a
Russian business model, doesn't it.You have five hundred American oligaques that are

(09:39):
controlling everything. The apartment building thatI'm living in temporarily while I'm doing this
play, I noticed that it's hardto even get into the building during delivery
time because everybody shops on online.So all of the storefronts are closing because

(10:03):
it's convenient. Well, it's itgets less convenient when you can't find your
boxes, right, that's true.Well, how have the audience has been
are they coming out to see rockand roll man? And and how's their
reaction? It's been wonderful. It'sas as we be. We're like,
I think eight weeks in now likeyou know, forty five performances in and

(10:24):
so it's become an interactive experience.People sing with us. Uh, you
can see them dancing in their seats. Some people stand up and dance.
You know, they boo the badguys and they applaud the good guys and
you know, and there's this hushin the audience. Without giving away the

(10:48):
ending, but there's a there's ait's somewhat of a history lesson to what
happened and and the and a mirrorto what continuing where the religious fanatics were
demonizing rock and roll and demonizing theidea of white and colored children because that's

(11:11):
what they called African Americans and werecolored people, uh, that they're interacting
and kissing and you know, andthat was a bad thing. And do
you do audiences younger audiences even knowwho Alan Freed is was. I don't
know who he was as much asthey know what the what the music was.

(11:33):
And so a lot of the kidscome to hear the music because it's
still you know, it's it's justimpossible, it's impossible to stand still even
in the wings all of our allof the kids that are running the show.
You know, the hair, makeupprops crew. They're singing and dancing

(11:58):
along with us. They know theroutines as well as the actors on stage
too. That's because you've got classicsongs. Do you have some originals in
the show as well? Yeah,yeah, yeah we do. Gary Gary
Cooper, Uh, not the actor, if he's in the show, that's
something there. He wrote the music. The book is written by Larry Marshack,

(12:24):
Rosecaelo and and Gary Cooper as well. And and you know, the
audiences are thrilled with it and we'reyou know, that's why we've been extended
to November because we're getting a lotof advanced out Yeah, Joey, it's
great to talk with you. SoI guess the best way I'm looking up

(12:46):
your Instagram. People know you bestas Joey Pants, so that's the best
way to connect with you on socialand follow everything you're doing. Joey Pants.
Who dubbed you Joey Pants? Youknow it started when I was a
kid, uh in Hoboken, NewJersey. The old Mustache pizza we called

(13:07):
the first generation Italians, you know, the ones that spoke very little English,
our grand you know, in somecases, our parents and they would
see me and they say Pantaloni waspantliano. Pantaloni means pants in Italian,
very similar. So then my friendsin the next generation, you know,

(13:31):
shortened it, didn't want to callme a pair of pants, so they
call me Joey pants. There yougo. They're editors at heart. All
right, great talking, do youhave, have a blasted rock and roll
man, and good luck on yourfledgling musical theater career. I'm seeing Funny
Girl next. Thank you. There'sthere's a lot of talk that I might
be replacing Toba coming in with thenext cats. We just said Toba on

(13:58):
the show last week. Actually she'salso celebrating congratulations to the together. What
we were in The Idol Maker?Oh yeah, I guess, I guess
I should say that. For somereason, I was in a lot of
musical films where I didn't sing,uh the Idol Maker. I know,

(14:26):
I'm missing like three or four uhoh Eddie and the Cruisers. Oh yeah,
sure sure, And I got intothese uh oh, the in crowd,
Yeah, the in crowd. Soit's it's it's finally I get to
sing. All right, Well,good luck to great speaking with you.
Take here. Thank you so much. I hope you coming to it.

(14:50):
Yes, thank you. Uh so. I love thrillers. But I haven't
had a chance to see gray Houseyet. But it's closing a little,
a little early. It closed.Yeah, I saw it just before it
closed. I'm glad I got inthere and saw it because it's fantastic.
Performance. Is really interesting. Ihave a lot of questions. I would

(15:13):
say disturbing more than scary, veryvery psychological thriller. Right, Yeah,
there's a there's many layers to it, and it is. It is a
lot to think about. And Isee there's they've been doing. They had
been doing talkbacks after the show.Is because people have theories without laying out
exactly what it's about. I justwish you had seen it, Michael,

(15:35):
because because I could explain it toyou. Yeah, exactly. No,
I think I got like I gotI think I got it. I think
I have it. But you know, this is like one of those situations
where I wish I could talk tothe play right right, I know exactly
what he was going for, butI'm look really interesting. I'm looking forward
to seeing the play about the makingof Jaws. What'll Yeah, the Shark
is broken. The Shark is broken. Yeah, anybody who's seen that they're

(16:00):
reviews is loving it. So I'mgonna go check it out this week.
Horrific act, so I can reportback on that. Yeah, very good.
Well, I read the book that'sbased on because there was a lot
of crazy stuff going on behind thescenes at Jaws the making of it.
You know, Richard Dreyfus was bangedout of his mind and cocaine back in
those days. And Robert Shaw,who played the captain the boat of the
small boat there, he was bombedout of his mind. How we're gonna

(16:22):
need a bigger boat. We're gonnaneed a bigger boat. Gay. Robert
Shaw was a great actor. Bythe way, if you have there's a
movie you should see him in.I've ever seen the original The Taking of
Pelham one, two three, Yes, the original classic, the original.
Yeah, yeah, Robert Shaw,he plays the lead terrorist. I did
see that. Yes, Yeah,he was a terrific actor. His son
is in is in this play,playing the role that his dad played in

(16:44):
the movie, which would explain whyhe looks so much like him exactly.
That's right, that's right. Soso yeah, I'm looking forward to that
and then everyone's looking for a theater, and they're going to be some theaters
available because a lot of shows aregoing to be going down by Labor Day,
So the a lot of stuff isout there but hasn't really announced yet
because they're just waiting. They don'twant to announce a theater when there's a
show in there that hasn't announced it'sclosing yet. Yeah, they kind of
got to wait until they pulled theplug on something before you can say,

(17:07):
well, and we're going to beopening too this time, and this is
the theater when so a lot ofpeople are waiting. A question that I
get from a lot of friends ofmine that maybe you could answer for us,
something like when we went to seeGray House, it was a full
house. It was sold out thatwhole weekend New York New York shows that
seemed to be doing really well,but they closed earlier than we expected.
Right, So we're just trying tounderstand why what happened because they cost too

(17:29):
much money to run each week,and the ticket prices, the average ticket
prices is a lot lower than itwas before COVID. Oh really, yeah,
so you've got an economic model that'sbroken. You've got rising costs,
yes, and lowering ticket prices right, no way, you know, they
got they gotta figure they got tofigure that out. But the ticket prices,

(17:52):
I just think they make it moreaccessible for more people. So that's
important that the prices have come down, right, Well, then you got
to get the costs down too,because you know a lot of people will
come to see the show. Butif you can't make your weekly running costs,
should lose money and clothes. That'sa situation right now. Okay,
that's a quandry. Man. Youlook at what was a gray House.
Yeah, that was a seven milliondollars show, a play, not a

(18:14):
musical. It was that was aplate seven million dollars cost to put that
on. That was quite a set. Yeah, yeah, there was a
lot happening there and he had agreat cast. It was it was just
it was just too expensive. Ipepp wow. Lower the costs, longer
the run. Okay, that's howit works on Broadway. That's true economic
lesson for the day. Thank you, Michael. We appreciate it. All

(18:37):
right, We'll talk to you nexttime. Inside Broadway