March 9, 2026 • 40 mins
The latest episode of the Building Black Biz podcast features David Montague in conversation with Alex Joseph Grayson, an actor and musician from Watertown, NY. His resume includes Parade, Into the Woods, Girl from the North Country (Swing), and more. He is currently staring in The Outsiders on Broadway. In Partnership with @DriveToyota
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everyone. You are listening to the Building Black Biz Podcast.
My name is David Montague. This podcast is presented by Toyota.
Today we are here with Alex Joseph Grayson, who is
currently in The Outsiders on Broadway right now, correct, correct, Yes,
Welcome Alex.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
David, thank you so much for having me, no problem,
thank you. I'm only in the show for two more weeks.
My last performance is March fifteenth. So for anybody out
there that is a Broadway fan, if you love musicals
or you love The Outsider's book or film, come through.
I'm leaving with a bunch of original cast members who
(00:40):
are making their way on to bigger, brighter things. All
come join us before March fifteenth.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I'm definitely looking forward to hearing about your story and
how you got started and how you ended up at
The Outsiders and what's next for you after. But we're
jumping a couple of parts. Don't want to okay, get there,
want to get there on a nice pace. So let's
talk about who you are and your background a little bit,
(01:07):
and how we got to the Alex that's sitting in
front of me today. Yeah, yeah, how did and how
did everything get started? For you. Where did you grow up?
Let's start there first.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So I was born in Watertown, New York, and the
where did you grow up question is it's an interesting question.
Both of my parents are Army veterans and separated divorced.
I was. I was a back and forth kid, you know.
My mom had custody and I would visit my dad,
(01:37):
but due to both of them being in the Army,
there was a lot of moving around that occurred. So
while I was born in Watertown, I lived in Rochester,
New York for a period of time. My dad's from Buffalo,
spent a lot of time in Buffalo. I lived in
Georgia for like six years. I traveled abroad to Germany
(01:59):
when I was like nine years old, and I was
there for a few months. I actually went to school
in Germany for a bit, came back to the States.
I've lived all over the place. And then this acting
career has sort of mirrored my upbringing in that I've
traveled internationally on some of these cruise gigs that I've
(02:22):
done and some of these performance contracts, and it's it's
been a pretty seamless transition into that work. And the
thing about being a nomadic military kid, is you don't
get a sense of community in the same way that
someone who sort of grows up in one town around
(02:42):
the same people, stays in the same school district that
might have that sense of community and identity based in
that community.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
So my sort of survival skill that emerged from this
is really sort of like assessing social circles and hierarchies
and how certain personalities sort of rise to the top
(03:10):
and you know what it takes to sort of avoid
embarrassment or distract because I don't know, I don't know
what other kids go through, but I know for me
it was like, Okay, I don't want to get bullied,
and I know that that's a thing. So I think
I've always been a bit of a bit of a
(03:34):
performing exhibitionist. While you know, later in life I found
out about acting in theater in an organized sense, but
it really wasn't until I was nineteen. I was a
kid who was always vocalizing the sounds that I heard.
Most likely I you know, got some of that echolalia
(03:55):
thing that appears with kids on the spectrum, like I
would just repeat what I heard on the radio. I
was obsessed with Michael Jackson. I would do these sort
of impromptu thriller performances on the street. My mom tells
me about this all the time, and there's a video
of me at like four years old doing doing thriller
or something.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Now, are you getting money? Were you busking?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
No? No? Yeah, No. For the love of the game, truly,
for the love of the game, And and that carried on.
I think every every space that I entered into, it
became a bit of a stage. And I do recall
saying to myself when I was very young. I think
at one point when I was feeling a little a
(04:38):
little hurt about having to move yet again, I remember
telling myself, Okay, well, if I'm going to go to
a new school, a new town and be around new people,
I'm going to be a new person. And my way
of sort of taking control of this instability is I'm
(05:00):
gonna I'm gonna reshape myself. I'm going to step into
a new identity. And I think that was something that
served me and worked for to a certain degree. But
in my adult life I have definitely struggled to and
it's an ongoing process of really centering myself in my
(05:21):
own identity, especially in the acting work because it's literally
what we do. We're assuming all of these different identities. Yeah,
character it's a slippery slope. Yeah, it's a very slippery slope.
And I think that's one of the reasons why focusing
on mental health and grounding the nervous system and understanding
(05:44):
personal traumas it's so so important.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That was such a very heavy answer, But you know what,
I think, like you just dissected our whole half hour
podcasts like there are that was a thess of everything.
You know, you talked about moving and reshaping who you
are because the people at this new place don't know
who you are, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Most people don't have that opportunity. Yeah, you're in in
like I mean literally our environment and the culture we're
in it informs us.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah. I was gonna say, just going back to the
you're talking about moving to Buffalo and then to Georgia,
I was gonna blame you for the cold weather okay
the past couple of days, but then you were I
think we were talking about seventy eighty degrees next week. Okay,
so hopefully by the time you know, people hear this.
So that's that's maybe the Atlanta side coming out of you.
(06:42):
But what was moving around a lot being a preteen, right,
Like how does that shape who Alex became? You know,
like what were some of the moments. Do you have
any teachers that like fit out to you that were like, hey,
like maybe you should think about acting or was that
even a thought like were you was there an Alex
(07:03):
that you know that didn't exist or I'm sorry, doesn't
exist now that did back then?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
One? Yeah, But what I will say is I was
not I was not great in academia. The in the
classroom for me personally, Uh, it felt a little bit
like a jail cell. And I think that my interest
being like a kid who definitely was showing ADHD symptoms
(07:34):
I was. I was constantly talking. I was constantly getting
in trouble for talking during lessons or or not paying
attention to what was going on in the room. And
I was more engaged in like what what are what's
the behavior? What what kind of reactions can I get?
Because it was a it was a stage for me.
I was instinctively gearing into this sort of performance space
(07:59):
because I was so caught up in performing identity, you know,
trying to trying to mirror what I thought was appropriate
for fitting in. And I was much more interested in
that than whatever was on the lesson plan in the
(08:20):
social studies class in fourth grade or whatever. So and
that's something that affected my grades and everything. So when
I was nineteen years old, I was living in Oakfield,
New York, and I is that that is our state,
New York. So that's like about halfway between Rochester and Buffalo. Okay, Yeah,
(08:40):
it's very cold up there. There's more cows than people.
But my dad lives there. That's that's where his home is.
He travels a lot. So I was playing guitar and
singing in the church band, and I was like, I
was raised Catholic and I haven't really been in the
church in a while, but at that period of time,
(09:01):
I was playing in the band and one of the
band members, who was a young guy, he's a little
bit younger than me, he just suggested that I try
out for the community theater musical, which was a production
of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
And I didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
I didn't know anything about musicals. I didn't like I didn't.
That didn't mean anything to me, but I knew at
that time, which was right after I had actually come
back to the States from a period of time in
the Philippines. We can get into that later.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Whatever you've seen a map of like where having you been?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Right? So I showed up at this high school theater space,
which is where the community theater was doing their shows.
And I didn't really audition. It was more about are
you Are you a guy that is tall enough to
expand the sort of ensemble look of this company because
(09:59):
they needed more boy yeah in the production.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So I didn't I did an audition, but I showed
up and they're like, yeah, you're so, we're going to
use you for this. And it was my first time
on stage in a musical, and I like, I fell
in love with the process, like being around so many
talented kids that were being invited to express themselves. I
had never been in a space where collectively a group
(10:22):
of people were invited to literally express what was inside
of them, whether that was through singing, dance, whatever, And
that was like a complete shock to my system because
I was like, wait a minute, wait a minute, this
is what I have been sort of like getting in
trouble for not at home. Not at home, by the way,
my parents have been extremely supportive of all of my interests,
(10:47):
and it's like kind of remarkable when I think back
on it. My mom has told me many times in
my youth, you know, you can you can become whatever
you put your mind to. But it's just a matter
of like putting your mind to it and sticking to
it and following through and you can literally do anything.
Like that plays over in my mind, and it was
(11:08):
not translating at school, you know, so we had systemic
evidence that maybe that wasn't okay. But you know, home life,
if the home life doesn't match what the system is saying,
that's that's a disconnect, right, But having that invitation in
the theater space was like a big light bulb moment
(11:28):
for me. And then when I was in college, I
was sort of like a genet. I was going to
this community college in Batavia, New York, which is very
close to Oakfield, and I was just genet. I was
interested in becoming a physical therapist at that period of time,
but I had to sort of do these prerequisites first,
and I was doing observation hours at like school for
(11:50):
the Blind and like just going to some different different
medical settings just to kind of figure this out I
was on that path. My mother is a nurse, my
dad was a medic, so I had that sense of like,
this is something that I was doing. I was working
as a lifeguard at the time, so it was all
sort of going in that direction. But it had nothing
to do with that sort of expressiveness that and love
(12:13):
of music and dance that was living in me. So
while I was in college, I just took an acting
class on a whim. It was an it was an elective.
I took it immediately. I was like, whoa drop everything,
this is this is what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
And would you go to undergrad?
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So ASSUNI Forredonia Okay, Yeah, And I transferred from this
community college, Gennessee Community College and Batavia, New York, and
then Forredonia is a town and they have this university
that is it's it's a it's an art school, but
they also have a lot of people that go there
for they go for music education, theater, dance. I I
(12:53):
feel like they, I don't know if they have an
engineering program. They've got a lot right on over there.
You were there for practice, yes, and yeah, that taking
that acting class literally changed my life. And what's so
funny is as soon as that was a path forward
in the academic setting, all my grades improved because it
was just like, oh, this is I just need these
(13:15):
to get these prerequisites out of the way to get
to the core of what I want. And then all
of a sudden, it was like, here we go this
identity shift into I'm I'm an actor, I'm a thespian,
I'm a theater person, I'm a technician, I have a goal,
I have something that I'm striving for. And it was
(13:35):
actually quite shocking to me that I could be successful
in that academic sense. So then I stuck on that
path and I've it was like once I got on
that stage, and once I started working in that space,
all of a sudden, all of these people started emerging
that I didn't know, people in audiences, people who had
(13:57):
a chance to see my work that were like, Okay,
have you thought about Broadway? Have you have you you know,
maybe New York City? What do you want to do?
You're really good at this. So this validation started from strangers,
from from strangers, from from friends, people that were like
seeing me in this space were just providing proof that
(14:23):
this was the right path for me.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
As we look at your resume, so mentioned the Outsiders currently, right,
we talked earlier off air about you being into into
the Woods and there's parade, there's Girl from the Girl
from the North Country. A Bronx Tail. What started all
(14:46):
of this? What was your first Hey, this is this
is the call is Broadway? What was that first production? So?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
My Broadway debut was A Bronx Tail, the musical, and
I guess for any listener is out there, it's like
that are wondering, like, how do you get to Broadway?
It's different for everyone, Right, It's different for everyone, and
it's this is not meritocracy by any means. It's just
(15:14):
because you have the skills doesn't mean you're gonna like
make it immediately. And some people they before they even
graduate from their college program, it's like, oh, they go
to an audition and they book a show and then
they they start and they got to leave school and
do whatever, and their life changes immediately. It took me.
(15:35):
It took me two years of being in New York
auditioning regularly, and this show A Bronx Tale, I had
auditioned for I want to say on three different occasions,
but they kept calling me back in I was getting
appointments for this show. So that told me, okay, something
(15:55):
is right about about me me and in this what
I year?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Was this around?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Uh so twenty twenty seventeen, twenty.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Seven, okay, so before COVID before yes, everything.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Okay, that's what I mean. And I moved to New
York in twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Twenty fifteen. Yeah, so that call from the Bronx sale
comes finally, not not for you know, a callback, You're
You're in it?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (16:20):
What was that feeling like?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Uh? It was like, oh, okay, this is this is
that thing, This is like the holy Grail that everyone's
been talking about. But it's so this is this is
the interesting I I remember crying on the phone when
I got a call from my agent that I had
made it. But at the same time, this is not
(16:43):
something that had been a lifelong goal. This is a
this is a place that I had been sort of
guided and directed towards.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Was it a new dream? Would you say it? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (16:55):
It was. It was sort of like, you know, I'm
I feel like I'm very practical. Yeah, I I don't
think that this career that I'm in is practical. The
numbers don't support pursuing a career in this field. Like
it's it's like like do something else if you can.
But I am a very practical person, so I when
(17:15):
I when I come up with like things that I
want to pursue, it's like it has to make sense
to me as far as like being accessible, does my
does my skill level and aptitude match what this job requires.
So it's sort of like when when it was presented
(17:36):
to me, like oh, Broadway is the thing you can do,
it was sort of like a oh, okay, yeah, okay,
and this is this is sustainable pay for you know
what if if I'm required to work, this is this
is something I could do and it's what I It's
what I love to do. Okay, Yeah, this is a
this is a box to check, but not the ending
point by any by any means, because I was I
(17:58):
was doing just fine as a and uh you know,
an artist with without even knowing what that is. So
it's just it is like one, it is one place
to to work and perform and express and be an artist,
but there's so many other realms that a performing artist
(18:22):
can go and feel fulfilled, uh, be compensated for what
actually brings them joy but this was just one that
like it was a I don't want to say it's
a it's a path of least resistance, but it it
became like a clear landing place. And when I'm when
I made it, I was just like, oh wow. It
(18:42):
was the first time I felt like, Okay, this is
I have really achieved something that I've set my mind to.
So it was great. And then I was a swing.
At first, I thought I was auditioning for an on
stage role, just one role that I played every night,
but then when the offer came around, it change to
being a swing. I had no idea what that was.
(19:02):
And to define swing, that means that you are you're
like a bench player in a way, so you have
to be ready to go on if there's an injury
or a vacation for one of the few roles that
you cover. And I I don't know if there are
any legal limits on how many how many roles you
(19:24):
can cover as a swing. I only covered four, so
you're setting those four roles, yes, and you have to
be ready to go on for any of those four.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
I'm so glad you explained that, because I had I
thought swing was the same as like ensemble. Oh yeah,
thank you for answering the.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Questions and to add a little bit more context to
that for a swing. It's different on every job, and
like the contracts are changing. But on that show A
Bronx Tale, I had to show up at work. But
if I didn't need to be on, I'm just sitting backstage.
So my job is really to just be present and available.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
So even when you know this seven o'clock show, right,
you're not performing as the ensemble either way, You're just
you're in the back.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
I'm in the building. I'm an extra body in the building.
Is that is ready to go? Ideally, I'm warmed up
because something could happen intermission. Something could happen intermission, and
it's happened the show that I'm in right now. It's
happened multiple times, like you know, uh, for whatever technical difficulty, injury,
and then there's an announcement such and such will be
taking over the role of arb.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Intermission.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
So yeah, but it happens, and it can be a
little stressful.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
But there has to be a sense of urgency or
like you know, chaos that you enjoy of that, right.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, I mean it's not it's not my favorite thing,
which is why I don't do it anymore. But it's yeah,
it's definitely. It's not for everyone, but there are people
that love being a swing and love being an understudy
and make a career out of it. And and that's
the thing. If you do that type of work, and
you do it well, and you're comfortable with it, and
you have the mind for it, you can work forever
(21:09):
and ever and ever. Because these producers and these companies,
they those are the most valuable roles in the show
because they keep the show going. They they keep the
show going.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yes, so we go from a Bronx sale, Yes, then
grow from a North Country or was there was there?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So I believe Girl from the North Country. If I'm
thinking of the year, Uh, that was a that was
a production that happened. I remember sort of late pandemic.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yes, and then they like changed theaters and stuff, and
yeah there was so, yes, because that show opened before
like right before the Broadway shutdowns, right, and then they
came back and I remember being there as a swing.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
We were dealing with the amak On strain, remember Abody out?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yes, Yeah, Broadway was like all right, we're back and
then we're not.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
It was tricky because we were doing that show and
every night there were less and less people, and not
not because they weren't interested in seeing the show, but because.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Everyone was getting sick.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
People were getting sick, and there was uncertainty and and
you know, this is that thing.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
With like refunds too. It's people, you know, we're by
taking refunds for live events.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Oh, it's got to be tough. I mean, I have
no idea what that's like. That's also that's part of
that's part of the theater thing. But also you know,
we we've got this thing in the theater space where
you know, the show must go on. Yes, that's the slogan, right,
but you know, is it is it essential work? We
(22:48):
just had a we just had a state of emergency
in New York during that snowstorm, and shows still happened
because the business says, well, we need to we need
to keep the show going. But is is it essential work?
If we have a travel ban unless you are an
essential worker or emergency or whatever, does it make sense
(23:10):
for employees at an entertainment venue to be traveling to
go do that show? And our businesses positioning themselves as
essential when they when they are non essential. That's that's
the question. But then as employees, who are we to
even touch that? We just we show up because that's
(23:33):
what the job says.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
I will say the blizzard, I guess a month ago now,
not the one that was you know, two weeks ago.
That one took a lot of people by surprise.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
It was like hey, and I was one of those.
I was telling my mom, like we went to go
see House Kitchen that night. Oh yeah, and I'm sorry
the day before and I said, there's no way we're
getting like twelve to fifteen inches, Like that's that's ridiculous,
especially this is our only snowstorm. And you know I
was wrong. Yeah, but I remember that night out with
Broadway still going on and the comments on Instagram and
(24:06):
read it. People were not very happy that the performances
were were so scheduled. But this most recent storm, everything
was closed that I saw at like after three o'clock.
It was more like, hey, we're taking this seriously this time.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Like yeah, yeah, because I think yes. And that's the
other thing too, Like we're in the social media age
of like people are interested in whether whether or not
these businesses are doing things ethically. Right, because everyone has
an opinion on that. And uh. And I think people
(24:41):
are starting to see systems a little bit more than
they have in the past. Uh. And that the whole
thing with the covid amicron thing is we were it
was all in experiment. We're adjusting. I remember back at
that and during that period of time, we were getting
swabbed every day. Yes, yes, yeah, which was a thing
weird to go to. Like we had to go to
a theater that didn't have a show in it, and
all the Broadway people would go in and they'd get
(25:02):
their test swabs and everything, and like you get if
you get sick, you're out for two weeks.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
So our events were like that here too, where every
major tent pole event you were getting swabbed and masking.
It was a lot. It's it was difficult at the time,
but I'm glad you know, things have I don't want
to say slowed down now, but it's it's different than
it was four five years ago. I want to talk
about the Outsiders.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Let's talk about the Outsiders.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And how was your experience. I know you're getting ready
to wrap up, but how is your experience being on
the show. Did you were you a fan of the book.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
I I did not read the book the movie, but
I read the script. I read the script.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Okay, I was, I said, I. When the opportunity comes
in front of me to see the show, I said, okay,
that's going to be my time to read the book
because I know the source material. I'm a fan of
the kind of want to be surprised. But so your experience,
how is the show beenen?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
So it's this is like the juiciest role that I've
ever played. Like, I mean, he's a Dallas Winston.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
He is.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Not the the lead, but he is sort of like
a co lead of the story almost in the sense
of like, what's what's a show that has like multiple
lead characters like Hamilton. Yeah, Like it's called Alexander, It's
called Hamilton. It's Alexander Hamilton's story, but the narrator is.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Aaron Aaron Burr. You're focused on him or you you
want to split?
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Like it's like you're getting two perspectives, and what one
perspective is happening inside the story and the other one
is outside dealing with the audience, and they're happening simultaneously.
And that's kind of the same way with the Outsiders,
because pony Boy is the narrator, but he goes he
goes from narrator to into the story, so he kind
(26:59):
of functions and that's same way. But Dally is very
much he holds a lot of weight. He he pushes
the sort of dramatic events throughout the piece. He he
is sort of like somebody that really makes things happen
throughout the narrative. And it's great, you know. He he
(27:20):
dies at the end, which is which is tough, I
know for me personally to have that responsibility and deal
with the moment that the audience realizes, oh, this is
what's happening after developing this relationship with a character. Yeah,
and that's that's really good storytelling, when you develop a
relationship with a character to the point where it actually
(27:42):
hurts when you when you lose them at the end
of the story. Yeah. I think it does affect me
because I can hear the I can hear that gasp
collectively and I'm like, ah, gosh, y'all, we're having such
a great time until.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Thistil this happened.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Absolutely, but you know, it's it's a great experience. And
then the fans are amazing. It's multi generational fans. You've
got all the kids who've read the book in school
because the book's been out for a while. Yes, yeah,
people who were fans of the movie. They're kids that
are like just Broadway fans that are fans because you've
(28:16):
got the younger Broadway fans that just love stuff because
it's Broadway. And then this show it's like the Beatles
are back. The Beatles are back on Broadway. I mean
they love the look, they love the boys.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, the show I remember seeing from our experience of
seeing you at Broadway and Brian Park and the cast
and everything, the fandom is is crazy happy. Though. It's
great to have this experience and this kind of cult
following back on Broadway that people haven't seen since Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's great energy. It's really it's really really great energy.
And then at the same time, it's like very very
physically demanding. Yeah, it's a show that requires me to
talking about mental health. It requires me to get very
very grounded in my nervous system. I try and do
whatever I can, Like I wake up in the morning,
(29:07):
I do a lot of breathing exercises, I do a
full physical warm up I'm really focusing on my sleep
and my nutrition and everything so that when I get
into that workplace, I feel like I have capacity for
anything that might come up, because there's any number of
things that people could be dealing with, and being able
(29:27):
to enter into the performance space with capacity means I'm
more flexible in performance. I can give more each show.
And it's like when you do a musical, you have
two and a half hours to get an audience to
fall in love with you.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yes, yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
They really do. And if you're successful in that and
you really really strive for infusing that characterization with dignity,
with as much authenticity as possible, will remember that performance
for years. And I've I've seen it for years, like
people that I've run into in the East Village that
(30:09):
somebody recognized me and they're like, oh my god, I
saw you in I saw you into the woods like
you were at that random performance that I was. I
was an understanding and they still remember it and it
means so much to people, and I just because that's
the thing about theater. It's not like when you go
to the movies, like yeah, we love we love movies,
(30:29):
but something about a live, living person in front of you.
There's a there's a transference of energy, of energy, and
it's really really powerful. So I just say that so
that any anyone who has that platform knows the potential
that there is for the magic to happen. And and that's
(30:50):
why I think it's important to strive for excellence in
performance at every opportunity.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Talking as were finally the you're not I don't want
to say finalizing your career, but getting into that next step.
You know you're time with Out of the Out of
the Woods, please the outsiders, combining your shows? What's next
for you? Can you talk about what we'll see you
(31:17):
next to work?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Yeah? Well, I do have a I do have a
scheduled performance coming up on the thirtieth of March at
the Met Opera. It's a it's like a one night
concert event, Lamb of God, and the story centers around
the Passion of the Christ. It's coming up on Easter,
the Easter. Yeah, and I actually haven't met most of
(31:39):
the team in person, but some of the other people
in the lineup are Norm Lewis, Joy Woods, Jesse Mueller,
Santino Fontana, a lot of a lot of Broadway greats. Yeah,
and we're all gonna sing this music on March thirtieth,
so I'm really looking forward to that. It's at the
Met Opera, which is huge, Like yeah, so I can't believe.
(32:00):
I really can't believe that I'm performing there, which is
it's it's really amazing. And and then me personally, I'm
I'm actually developing some educational content. I am trying to
make this work that I do accessible for people who
may not have the resources to go to art school,
(32:21):
because what my theory is about acting is it is
truly developing an awareness of how how we live and breathe,
understanding what what makes us tick, because there's a there's
an actor in everyone, because this is just this is
(32:42):
just human life on display. And I I have learned
so many things in my short career and I really
have a desire to arm people with those with those
tools as well. So I'm I'm devising that material right now.
I've got some really wonderful actor friends who have agreed
(33:04):
to help me out, and we're filming some content right
now and just trying to make it digestible. And I'm
going into off season training as well. You know, this
is this is a sport. I'm looking forward to having
a month or two of not being on this schedule
because I want to be the best actor I can be, lax,
and I want to be the best business person that
(33:25):
I can be. Uh, there's there's so much that I
haven't been able to put my focus into because I'm
working six out of seven days, just crazy, just trying
to make sure that I'm physically and mentally ready for that.
So yeah, trying to be the greatest of all time
in my in my world, that fine, that's fine what
I'm saying. Absolutely, Maybe not to anybody else, but in
(33:46):
my in my world, alex.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
As, somebody's going the person that recognized you from into
the woods at the West Villas, You're I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Yeah, yeah, whatever whatever inspires.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Really, final two questions would be the one, what does
self care look like for you? When you talked about
you know, you're resting and you're taking this break to
be the best you can be. What is what is
that off day?
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Right? Yeah, it's you know, I'm I wouldn't say that
I'm like a bio hacker. I know that that's like
a that's that's a big thing. People are. What do
the kids say, look smaxing and you know do it
doing their their blood tests and everything. I'm not doing
all of that. But my philosophy is, you know, being
(34:35):
somebody who's from upstate New York, being from cold environments,
Like when when it's cold outside and the road is frozen,
you don't just go outside, start the car and get
on the road. Yeah, you turn that car on and
you let the engine warm up. You you clear the ice.
You have to take care of the vehicle before you
(34:56):
put it in operation. And this is the vehicle. Body
is the vehicle, and the same thing applies. So when
I get up in the morning and when I go
to bed, it's like I'm I'm I'm entering into a
space of that. My day is entering into a space
of like ambulating, get having this body in motion. And
(35:19):
I first and foremost I'm grounding myself. I'm investing in balance.
I'm connecting my brain to my body and muscles, and
and I'm stretching and making sure that my I'm not
holding my breath. I have a lot of a lot
of exercises. There's so many methodologies in the theater space
that are directed at this very thing because that this
(35:40):
is the type of connection work we do in usually
in school and a lot of actors, myself included, we
do this in preparation for roles. But when you apply
it to the beginning of your day, actually you find
yourself I can only speak for myself, you find yourself
more flexible and ready to face the many, many challenges
(36:03):
that will appear. And my main thing is, like, I
want to be as present as possible, which is hard
with social media, with our the stresses of jobs, all
the all the messaging we get. I'm just trying to
get to a place where I'm expanding my capacity by
having presence. And yeah, that's that's really what it is taking,
(36:28):
taking as much care of this vessel that I have vehicle. Yeah,
and I I also you know, I wouldn't say that
I'm a super religious person, but you know, I think like,
if if there's something spiritual for me, it is it
is honoring my body, because that's sort of like the blessing,
the blessing that I have. That's this is what I've
(36:49):
been blessed with, and every decision I make in my life,
this my body is forced to adjust. It's and it's
amazing that it shows up every day no matter what
stress I'm hit with, whatever decisions I make, It's like
I just like, oh, I'm still here despite all of that.
(37:09):
So to be able to direct my focus back down
into this too, to be to express gratitude for this
vessel and doing that repetitively is helping me develop more
self love, you know, and more happiness. Yeah, And and
this all get comes back to how how do I
(37:31):
derive validation internally and not externally? Yeah, That's where I'm at.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Wrapping things up. Obviously. This podcast is on our iHeartRadio
app if there was a station that was Alex curated
what I know. You talked a little bit about Michael
Jackson earlier, where we have some show tunes from various shows,
what music artists you know? What would you genre is?
(37:58):
What would you feature on your own own iHeart Radio station?
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Shot a first and foremost some Luther Vandross Uh, Chris Cornell,
Sound Garden.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Two very different and the spectrum.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
There yeah, yeah, and then a lot of a lot
of instrumental jazz. I love Pat Metheny, Dave Cause is
another one, Yellow Jackets. I think my dad for this
and then, believe it or not, this is good, it's
gonna be out of left field. And yeah, very I
(38:35):
was a day without rain.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
I'm speechless.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
I know the uh you can say where the road goes.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
I I'm gonna have to google some of those.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
But she's on the she's on the Lord of the
Rings soundtrack. You've probably heard some of her.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Yes, yes, I know the the one I think song
that was using like commercials and trailers in like the
early two thousands. But other than that, I'm not a
and yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
Blame that's my father for any of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
So Alex, where can people keep in touch with you?
Speaker 2 (39:07):
I'm on so I'm on Instagram. I'll be posting there more.
Alex JG sings on Instagram and I'm also on on
TikTok as Alex Joseph Grayson. I don't I don't post
there that much. Uh, this will still be expanding as
content expands.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
I think you should do a day of your life
like for your last show. Okay talk yeah, okay, cool.
That way we can see what goes into the vehicle
and the machine and okay, yeah absolutely. I would like
to see that as a swing too, like when you're
you know, but we can't go back in time, not yet.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Yeah, yeah that was I know. That was a great opportunity,
a great opportunity back then.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
But thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you
for also not bringing your the coldness of Buffalo to
New York. Yes, and looking for to having more weathers
like your Atlanta background.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
If we suffer, you suffer.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Oh hate that, hate that. Once again, this is David Montu.
Thank you for listening to the Building Black Bizs podcast.
Thank you to our friends at Toyota for sponsoring this
podcast series. Toyota Let's go places. We will see you
next time.
Welcome everyone. You are listening to the Building Black Biz Podcast.
My name is David Montague. This podcast is presented by Toyota.
Today we are here with Alex Joseph Grayson, who is
currently in The Outsiders on Broadway right now, correct, correct, Yes,
Welcome Alex.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
David, thank you so much for having me, no problem,
thank you. I'm only in the show for two more weeks.
My last performance is March fifteenth. So for anybody out
there that is a Broadway fan, if you love musicals
or you love The Outsider's book or film, come through.
I'm leaving with a bunch of original cast members who
(00:40):
are making their way on to bigger, brighter things. All
come join us before March fifteenth.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
I'm definitely looking forward to hearing about your story and
how you got started and how you ended up at
The Outsiders and what's next for you after. But we're
jumping a couple of parts. Don't want to okay, get there,
want to get there on a nice pace. So let's
talk about who you are and your background a little bit,
(01:07):
and how we got to the Alex that's sitting in
front of me today. Yeah, yeah, how did and how
did everything get started? For you. Where did you grow up?
Let's start there first.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So I was born in Watertown, New York, and the
where did you grow up question is it's an interesting question.
Both of my parents are Army veterans and separated divorced.
I was. I was a back and forth kid, you know.
My mom had custody and I would visit my dad,
(01:37):
but due to both of them being in the Army,
there was a lot of moving around that occurred. So
while I was born in Watertown, I lived in Rochester,
New York for a period of time. My dad's from Buffalo,
spent a lot of time in Buffalo. I lived in
Georgia for like six years. I traveled abroad to Germany
(01:59):
when I was like nine years old, and I was
there for a few months. I actually went to school
in Germany for a bit, came back to the States.
I've lived all over the place. And then this acting
career has sort of mirrored my upbringing in that I've
traveled internationally on some of these cruise gigs that I've
(02:22):
done and some of these performance contracts, and it's it's
been a pretty seamless transition into that work. And the
thing about being a nomadic military kid, is you don't
get a sense of community in the same way that
someone who sort of grows up in one town around
(02:42):
the same people, stays in the same school district that
might have that sense of community and identity based in
that community.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Right.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
So my sort of survival skill that emerged from this
is really sort of like assessing social circles and hierarchies
and how certain personalities sort of rise to the top
(03:10):
and you know what it takes to sort of avoid
embarrassment or distract because I don't know, I don't know
what other kids go through, but I know for me
it was like, Okay, I don't want to get bullied,
and I know that that's a thing. So I think
I've always been a bit of a bit of a
(03:34):
performing exhibitionist. While you know, later in life I found
out about acting in theater in an organized sense, but
it really wasn't until I was nineteen. I was a
kid who was always vocalizing the sounds that I heard.
Most likely I you know, got some of that echolalia
(03:55):
thing that appears with kids on the spectrum, like I
would just repeat what I heard on the radio. I
was obsessed with Michael Jackson. I would do these sort
of impromptu thriller performances on the street. My mom tells
me about this all the time, and there's a video
of me at like four years old doing doing thriller
or something.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Now, are you getting money? Were you busking?
Speaker 2 (04:16):
No? No? Yeah, No. For the love of the game, truly,
for the love of the game, And and that carried on.
I think every every space that I entered into, it
became a bit of a stage. And I do recall
saying to myself when I was very young. I think
at one point when I was feeling a little a
(04:38):
little hurt about having to move yet again, I remember
telling myself, Okay, well, if I'm going to go to
a new school, a new town and be around new people,
I'm going to be a new person. And my way
of sort of taking control of this instability is I'm
(05:00):
gonna I'm gonna reshape myself. I'm going to step into
a new identity. And I think that was something that
served me and worked for to a certain degree. But
in my adult life I have definitely struggled to and
it's an ongoing process of really centering myself in my
(05:21):
own identity, especially in the acting work because it's literally
what we do. We're assuming all of these different identities. Yeah,
character it's a slippery slope. Yeah, it's a very slippery slope.
And I think that's one of the reasons why focusing
on mental health and grounding the nervous system and understanding
(05:44):
personal traumas it's so so important.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That was such a very heavy answer, But you know what,
I think, like you just dissected our whole half hour
podcasts like there are that was a thess of everything.
You know, you talked about moving and reshaping who you
are because the people at this new place don't know
who you are, you know, and.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Most people don't have that opportunity. Yeah, you're in in
like I mean literally our environment and the culture we're
in it informs us.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
Yeah. I was gonna say, just going back to the
you're talking about moving to Buffalo and then to Georgia,
I was gonna blame you for the cold weather okay
the past couple of days, but then you were I
think we were talking about seventy eighty degrees next week. Okay,
so hopefully by the time you know, people hear this.
So that's that's maybe the Atlanta side coming out of you.
(06:42):
But what was moving around a lot being a preteen, right,
Like how does that shape who Alex became? You know,
like what were some of the moments. Do you have
any teachers that like fit out to you that were like, hey,
like maybe you should think about acting or was that
even a thought like were you was there an Alex
(07:03):
that you know that didn't exist or I'm sorry, doesn't
exist now that did back then?
Speaker 2 (07:11):
One? Yeah, But what I will say is I was
not I was not great in academia. The in the
classroom for me personally, Uh, it felt a little bit
like a jail cell. And I think that my interest
being like a kid who definitely was showing ADHD symptoms
(07:34):
I was. I was constantly talking. I was constantly getting
in trouble for talking during lessons or or not paying
attention to what was going on in the room. And
I was more engaged in like what what are what's
the behavior? What what kind of reactions can I get?
Because it was a it was a stage for me.
I was instinctively gearing into this sort of performance space
(07:59):
because I was so caught up in performing identity, you know,
trying to trying to mirror what I thought was appropriate
for fitting in. And I was much more interested in
that than whatever was on the lesson plan in the
(08:20):
social studies class in fourth grade or whatever. So and
that's something that affected my grades and everything. So when
I was nineteen years old, I was living in Oakfield,
New York, and I is that that is our state,
New York. So that's like about halfway between Rochester and Buffalo. Okay, Yeah,
(08:40):
it's very cold up there. There's more cows than people.
But my dad lives there. That's that's where his home is.
He travels a lot. So I was playing guitar and
singing in the church band, and I was like, I
was raised Catholic and I haven't really been in the
church in a while, but at that period of time,
(09:01):
I was playing in the band and one of the
band members, who was a young guy, he's a little
bit younger than me, he just suggested that I try
out for the community theater musical, which was a production
of Jesus Christ Superstar.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
And I didn't.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
I didn't know anything about musicals. I didn't like I didn't.
That didn't mean anything to me, but I knew at
that time, which was right after I had actually come
back to the States from a period of time in
the Philippines. We can get into that later.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Whatever you've seen a map of like where having you been?
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Right? So I showed up at this high school theater space,
which is where the community theater was doing their shows.
And I didn't really audition. It was more about are
you Are you a guy that is tall enough to
expand the sort of ensemble look of this company because
(09:59):
they needed more boy yeah in the production.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So I didn't I did an audition, but I showed
up and they're like, yeah, you're so, we're going to
use you for this. And it was my first time
on stage in a musical, and I like, I fell
in love with the process, like being around so many
talented kids that were being invited to express themselves. I
had never been in a space where collectively a group
(10:22):
of people were invited to literally express what was inside
of them, whether that was through singing, dance, whatever, And
that was like a complete shock to my system because
I was like, wait a minute, wait a minute, this
is what I have been sort of like getting in
trouble for not at home. Not at home, by the way,
my parents have been extremely supportive of all of my interests,
(10:47):
and it's like kind of remarkable when I think back
on it. My mom has told me many times in
my youth, you know, you can you can become whatever
you put your mind to. But it's just a matter
of like putting your mind to it and sticking to
it and following through and you can literally do anything.
Like that plays over in my mind, and it was
(11:08):
not translating at school, you know, so we had systemic
evidence that maybe that wasn't okay. But you know, home life,
if the home life doesn't match what the system is saying,
that's that's a disconnect, right, But having that invitation in
the theater space was like a big light bulb moment
(11:28):
for me. And then when I was in college, I
was sort of like a genet. I was going to
this community college in Batavia, New York, which is very
close to Oakfield, and I was just genet. I was
interested in becoming a physical therapist at that period of time,
but I had to sort of do these prerequisites first,
and I was doing observation hours at like school for
(11:50):
the Blind and like just going to some different different
medical settings just to kind of figure this out I
was on that path. My mother is a nurse, my
dad was a medic, so I had that sense of like,
this is something that I was doing. I was working
as a lifeguard at the time, so it was all
sort of going in that direction. But it had nothing
to do with that sort of expressiveness that and love
(12:13):
of music and dance that was living in me. So
while I was in college, I just took an acting
class on a whim. It was an it was an elective.
I took it immediately. I was like, whoa drop everything,
this is this is what we're doing.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
And would you go to undergrad?
Speaker 2 (12:32):
So ASSUNI Forredonia Okay, Yeah, And I transferred from this
community college, Gennessee Community College and Batavia, New York, and
then Forredonia is a town and they have this university
that is it's it's a it's an art school, but
they also have a lot of people that go there
for they go for music education, theater, dance. I I
(12:53):
feel like they, I don't know if they have an
engineering program. They've got a lot right on over there.
You were there for practice, yes, and yeah, that taking
that acting class literally changed my life. And what's so
funny is as soon as that was a path forward
in the academic setting, all my grades improved because it
was just like, oh, this is I just need these
(13:15):
to get these prerequisites out of the way to get
to the core of what I want. And then all
of a sudden, it was like, here we go this
identity shift into I'm I'm an actor, I'm a thespian,
I'm a theater person, I'm a technician, I have a goal,
I have something that I'm striving for. And it was
(13:35):
actually quite shocking to me that I could be successful
in that academic sense. So then I stuck on that
path and I've it was like once I got on
that stage, and once I started working in that space,
all of a sudden, all of these people started emerging
that I didn't know, people in audiences, people who had
(13:57):
a chance to see my work that were like, Okay,
have you thought about Broadway? Have you have you you know,
maybe New York City? What do you want to do?
You're really good at this. So this validation started from strangers,
from from strangers, from from friends, people that were like
seeing me in this space were just providing proof that
(14:23):
this was the right path for me.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
As we look at your resume, so mentioned the Outsiders currently, right,
we talked earlier off air about you being into into
the Woods and there's parade, there's Girl from the Girl
from the North Country. A Bronx Tail. What started all
(14:46):
of this? What was your first Hey, this is this
is the call is Broadway? What was that first production? So?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
My Broadway debut was A Bronx Tail, the musical, and
I guess for any listener is out there, it's like
that are wondering, like, how do you get to Broadway?
It's different for everyone, Right, It's different for everyone, and
it's this is not meritocracy by any means. It's just
(15:14):
because you have the skills doesn't mean you're gonna like
make it immediately. And some people they before they even
graduate from their college program, it's like, oh, they go
to an audition and they book a show and then
they they start and they got to leave school and
do whatever, and their life changes immediately. It took me.
(15:35):
It took me two years of being in New York
auditioning regularly, and this show A Bronx Tale, I had
auditioned for I want to say on three different occasions,
but they kept calling me back in I was getting
appointments for this show. So that told me, okay, something
(15:55):
is right about about me me and in this what
I year?
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Was this around?
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Uh so twenty twenty seventeen, twenty.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Seven, okay, so before COVID before yes, everything.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Okay, that's what I mean. And I moved to New
York in twenty fifteen.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Twenty fifteen. Yeah, so that call from the Bronx sale
comes finally, not not for you know, a callback, You're
You're in it?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (16:20):
What was that feeling like?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Uh? It was like, oh, okay, this is this is
that thing, This is like the holy Grail that everyone's
been talking about. But it's so this is this is
the interesting I I remember crying on the phone when
I got a call from my agent that I had
made it. But at the same time, this is not
(16:43):
something that had been a lifelong goal. This is a
this is a place that I had been sort of
guided and directed towards.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
Was it a new dream? Would you say it? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (16:55):
It was. It was sort of like, you know, I'm
I feel like I'm very practical. Yeah, I I don't
think that this career that I'm in is practical. The
numbers don't support pursuing a career in this field. Like
it's it's like like do something else if you can.
But I am a very practical person, so I when
(17:15):
I when I come up with like things that I
want to pursue, it's like it has to make sense
to me as far as like being accessible, does my
does my skill level and aptitude match what this job requires.
So it's sort of like when when it was presented
(17:36):
to me, like oh, Broadway is the thing you can do,
it was sort of like a oh, okay, yeah, okay,
and this is this is sustainable pay for you know
what if if I'm required to work, this is this
is something I could do and it's what I It's
what I love to do. Okay, Yeah, this is a
this is a box to check, but not the ending
point by any by any means, because I was I
(17:58):
was doing just fine as a and uh you know,
an artist with without even knowing what that is. So
it's just it is like one, it is one place
to to work and perform and express and be an artist,
but there's so many other realms that a performing artist
(18:22):
can go and feel fulfilled, uh, be compensated for what
actually brings them joy but this was just one that
like it was a I don't want to say it's
a it's a path of least resistance, but it it
became like a clear landing place. And when I'm when
I made it, I was just like, oh wow. It
(18:42):
was the first time I felt like, Okay, this is
I have really achieved something that I've set my mind to.
So it was great. And then I was a swing.
At first, I thought I was auditioning for an on
stage role, just one role that I played every night,
but then when the offer came around, it change to
being a swing. I had no idea what that was.
(19:02):
And to define swing, that means that you are you're
like a bench player in a way, so you have
to be ready to go on if there's an injury
or a vacation for one of the few roles that
you cover. And I I don't know if there are
any legal limits on how many how many roles you
(19:24):
can cover as a swing. I only covered four, so
you're setting those four roles, yes, and you have to
be ready to go on for any of those four.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
I'm so glad you explained that, because I had I
thought swing was the same as like ensemble. Oh yeah,
thank you for answering the.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Questions and to add a little bit more context to
that for a swing. It's different on every job, and
like the contracts are changing. But on that show A
Bronx Tale, I had to show up at work. But
if I didn't need to be on, I'm just sitting backstage.
So my job is really to just be present and available.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
So even when you know this seven o'clock show, right,
you're not performing as the ensemble either way, You're just
you're in the back.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
I'm in the building. I'm an extra body in the building.
Is that is ready to go? Ideally, I'm warmed up
because something could happen intermission. Something could happen intermission, and
it's happened the show that I'm in right now. It's
happened multiple times, like you know, uh, for whatever technical difficulty, injury,
and then there's an announcement such and such will be
taking over the role of arb.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Intermission.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
So yeah, but it happens, and it can be a
little stressful.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
But there has to be a sense of urgency or
like you know, chaos that you enjoy of that, right.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
Yeah, I mean it's not it's not my favorite thing,
which is why I don't do it anymore. But it's yeah,
it's definitely. It's not for everyone, but there are people
that love being a swing and love being an understudy
and make a career out of it. And and that's
the thing. If you do that type of work, and
you do it well, and you're comfortable with it, and
you have the mind for it, you can work forever
(21:09):
and ever and ever. Because these producers and these companies,
they those are the most valuable roles in the show
because they keep the show going. They they keep the
show going.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yes, so we go from a Bronx sale, Yes, then
grow from a North Country or was there was there?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
So I believe Girl from the North Country. If I'm
thinking of the year, Uh, that was a that was
a production that happened. I remember sort of late pandemic.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yes, and then they like changed theaters and stuff, and
yeah there was so, yes, because that show opened before
like right before the Broadway shutdowns, right, and then they
came back and I remember being there as a swing.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
We were dealing with the amak On strain, remember Abody out?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Yes, Yeah, Broadway was like all right, we're back and
then we're not.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
It was tricky because we were doing that show and
every night there were less and less people, and not
not because they weren't interested in seeing the show, but because.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Everyone was getting sick.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
People were getting sick, and there was uncertainty and and
you know, this is that thing.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
With like refunds too. It's people, you know, we're by
taking refunds for live events.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Oh, it's got to be tough. I mean, I have
no idea what that's like. That's also that's part of
that's part of the theater thing. But also you know,
we we've got this thing in the theater space where
you know, the show must go on. Yes, that's the slogan, right,
but you know, is it is it essential work? We
(22:48):
just had a we just had a state of emergency
in New York during that snowstorm, and shows still happened
because the business says, well, we need to we need
to keep the show going. But is is it essential work?
If we have a travel ban unless you are an
essential worker or emergency or whatever, does it make sense
(23:10):
for employees at an entertainment venue to be traveling to
go do that show? And our businesses positioning themselves as
essential when they when they are non essential. That's that's
the question. But then as employees, who are we to
even touch that? We just we show up because that's
(23:33):
what the job says.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
I will say the blizzard, I guess a month ago now,
not the one that was you know, two weeks ago.
That one took a lot of people by surprise.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
It was like hey, and I was one of those.
I was telling my mom, like we went to go
see House Kitchen that night. Oh yeah, and I'm sorry
the day before and I said, there's no way we're
getting like twelve to fifteen inches, Like that's that's ridiculous,
especially this is our only snowstorm. And you know I
was wrong. Yeah, but I remember that night out with
Broadway still going on and the comments on Instagram and
(24:06):
read it. People were not very happy that the performances
were were so scheduled. But this most recent storm, everything
was closed that I saw at like after three o'clock.
It was more like, hey, we're taking this seriously this time.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Like yeah, yeah, because I think yes. And that's the
other thing too, Like we're in the social media age
of like people are interested in whether whether or not
these businesses are doing things ethically. Right, because everyone has
an opinion on that. And uh. And I think people
(24:41):
are starting to see systems a little bit more than
they have in the past. Uh. And that the whole
thing with the covid amicron thing is we were it
was all in experiment. We're adjusting. I remember back at
that and during that period of time, we were getting
swabbed every day. Yes, yes, yeah, which was a thing
weird to go to. Like we had to go to
a theater that didn't have a show in it, and
all the Broadway people would go in and they'd get
(25:02):
their test swabs and everything, and like you get if
you get sick, you're out for two weeks.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
So our events were like that here too, where every
major tent pole event you were getting swabbed and masking.
It was a lot. It's it was difficult at the time,
but I'm glad you know, things have I don't want
to say slowed down now, but it's it's different than
it was four five years ago. I want to talk
about the Outsiders.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Let's talk about the Outsiders.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
And how was your experience. I know you're getting ready
to wrap up, but how is your experience being on
the show. Did you were you a fan of the book.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
I I did not read the book the movie, but
I read the script. I read the script.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
Okay, I was, I said, I. When the opportunity comes
in front of me to see the show, I said, okay,
that's going to be my time to read the book
because I know the source material. I'm a fan of
the kind of want to be surprised. But so your experience,
how is the show beenen?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
So it's this is like the juiciest role that I've
ever played. Like, I mean, he's a Dallas Winston.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
He is.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Not the the lead, but he is sort of like
a co lead of the story almost in the sense
of like, what's what's a show that has like multiple
lead characters like Hamilton. Yeah, Like it's called Alexander, It's
called Hamilton. It's Alexander Hamilton's story, but the narrator is.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Aaron Aaron Burr. You're focused on him or you you
want to split?
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Like it's like you're getting two perspectives, and what one
perspective is happening inside the story and the other one
is outside dealing with the audience, and they're happening simultaneously.
And that's kind of the same way with the Outsiders,
because pony Boy is the narrator, but he goes he
goes from narrator to into the story, so he kind
(26:59):
of functions and that's same way. But Dally is very
much he holds a lot of weight. He he pushes
the sort of dramatic events throughout the piece. He he
is sort of like somebody that really makes things happen
throughout the narrative. And it's great, you know. He he
(27:20):
dies at the end, which is which is tough, I
know for me personally to have that responsibility and deal
with the moment that the audience realizes, oh, this is
what's happening after developing this relationship with a character. Yeah,
and that's that's really good storytelling, when you develop a
relationship with a character to the point where it actually
(27:42):
hurts when you when you lose them at the end
of the story. Yeah. I think it does affect me
because I can hear the I can hear that gasp
collectively and I'm like, ah, gosh, y'all, we're having such
a great time until.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Thistil this happened.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Absolutely, but you know, it's it's a great experience. And
then the fans are amazing. It's multi generational fans. You've
got all the kids who've read the book in school
because the book's been out for a while. Yes, yeah,
people who were fans of the movie. They're kids that
are like just Broadway fans that are fans because you've
(28:16):
got the younger Broadway fans that just love stuff because
it's Broadway. And then this show it's like the Beatles
are back. The Beatles are back on Broadway. I mean
they love the look, they love the boys.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, the show I remember seeing from our experience of
seeing you at Broadway and Brian Park and the cast
and everything, the fandom is is crazy happy. Though. It's
great to have this experience and this kind of cult
following back on Broadway that people haven't seen since Hamilton.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's great energy. It's really it's really really great energy.
And then at the same time, it's like very very
physically demanding. Yeah, it's a show that requires me to
talking about mental health. It requires me to get very
very grounded in my nervous system. I try and do
whatever I can, Like I wake up in the morning,
(29:07):
I do a lot of breathing exercises, I do a
full physical warm up I'm really focusing on my sleep
and my nutrition and everything so that when I get
into that workplace, I feel like I have capacity for
anything that might come up, because there's any number of
things that people could be dealing with, and being able
(29:27):
to enter into the performance space with capacity means I'm
more flexible in performance. I can give more each show.
And it's like when you do a musical, you have
two and a half hours to get an audience to
fall in love with you.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yes, yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
They really do. And if you're successful in that and
you really really strive for infusing that characterization with dignity,
with as much authenticity as possible, will remember that performance
for years. And I've I've seen it for years, like
people that I've run into in the East Village that
(30:09):
somebody recognized me and they're like, oh my god, I
saw you in I saw you into the woods like
you were at that random performance that I was. I
was an understanding and they still remember it and it
means so much to people, and I just because that's
the thing about theater. It's not like when you go
to the movies, like yeah, we love we love movies,
(30:29):
but something about a live, living person in front of you.
There's a there's a transference of energy, of energy, and
it's really really powerful. So I just say that so
that any anyone who has that platform knows the potential
that there is for the magic to happen. And and that's
(30:50):
why I think it's important to strive for excellence in
performance at every opportunity.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
Talking as were finally the you're not I don't want
to say finalizing your career, but getting into that next step.
You know you're time with Out of the Out of
the Woods, please the outsiders, combining your shows? What's next
for you? Can you talk about what we'll see you
(31:17):
next to work?
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Yeah? Well, I do have a I do have a
scheduled performance coming up on the thirtieth of March at
the Met Opera. It's a it's like a one night
concert event, Lamb of God, and the story centers around
the Passion of the Christ. It's coming up on Easter,
the Easter. Yeah, and I actually haven't met most of
(31:39):
the team in person, but some of the other people
in the lineup are Norm Lewis, Joy Woods, Jesse Mueller,
Santino Fontana, a lot of a lot of Broadway greats. Yeah,
and we're all gonna sing this music on March thirtieth,
so I'm really looking forward to that. It's at the
Met Opera, which is huge, Like yeah, so I can't believe.
(32:00):
I really can't believe that I'm performing there, which is
it's it's really amazing. And and then me personally, I'm
I'm actually developing some educational content. I am trying to
make this work that I do accessible for people who
may not have the resources to go to art school,
(32:21):
because what my theory is about acting is it is
truly developing an awareness of how how we live and breathe,
understanding what what makes us tick, because there's a there's
an actor in everyone, because this is just this is
(32:42):
just human life on display. And I I have learned
so many things in my short career and I really
have a desire to arm people with those with those
tools as well. So I'm I'm devising that material right now.
I've got some really wonderful actor friends who have agreed
(33:04):
to help me out, and we're filming some content right
now and just trying to make it digestible. And I'm
going into off season training as well. You know, this
is this is a sport. I'm looking forward to having
a month or two of not being on this schedule
because I want to be the best actor I can be, lax,
and I want to be the best business person that
(33:25):
I can be. Uh, there's there's so much that I
haven't been able to put my focus into because I'm
working six out of seven days, just crazy, just trying
to make sure that I'm physically and mentally ready for that.
So yeah, trying to be the greatest of all time
in my in my world, that fine, that's fine what
I'm saying. Absolutely, Maybe not to anybody else, but in
(33:46):
my in my world, alex.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
As, somebody's going the person that recognized you from into
the woods at the West Villas, You're I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Yeah, yeah, whatever whatever inspires.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Really, final two questions would be the one, what does
self care look like for you? When you talked about
you know, you're resting and you're taking this break to
be the best you can be. What is what is
that off day?
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Right? Yeah, it's you know, I'm I wouldn't say that
I'm like a bio hacker. I know that that's like
a that's that's a big thing. People are. What do
the kids say, look smaxing and you know do it
doing their their blood tests and everything. I'm not doing
all of that. But my philosophy is, you know, being
(34:35):
somebody who's from upstate New York, being from cold environments,
Like when when it's cold outside and the road is frozen,
you don't just go outside, start the car and get
on the road. Yeah, you turn that car on and
you let the engine warm up. You you clear the ice.
You have to take care of the vehicle before you
(34:56):
put it in operation. And this is the vehicle. Body
is the vehicle, and the same thing applies. So when
I get up in the morning and when I go
to bed, it's like I'm I'm I'm entering into a
space of that. My day is entering into a space
of like ambulating, get having this body in motion. And
(35:19):
I first and foremost I'm grounding myself. I'm investing in balance.
I'm connecting my brain to my body and muscles, and
and I'm stretching and making sure that my I'm not
holding my breath. I have a lot of a lot
of exercises. There's so many methodologies in the theater space
that are directed at this very thing because that this
(35:40):
is the type of connection work we do in usually
in school and a lot of actors, myself included, we
do this in preparation for roles. But when you apply
it to the beginning of your day, actually you find
yourself I can only speak for myself, you find yourself
more flexible and ready to face the many, many challenges
(36:03):
that will appear. And my main thing is, like, I
want to be as present as possible, which is hard
with social media, with our the stresses of jobs, all
the all the messaging we get. I'm just trying to
get to a place where I'm expanding my capacity by
having presence. And yeah, that's that's really what it is taking,
(36:28):
taking as much care of this vessel that I have vehicle. Yeah,
and I I also you know, I wouldn't say that
I'm a super religious person, but you know, I think like,
if if there's something spiritual for me, it is it
is honoring my body, because that's sort of like the blessing,
the blessing that I have. That's this is what I've
(36:49):
been blessed with, and every decision I make in my life,
this my body is forced to adjust. It's and it's
amazing that it shows up every day no matter what
stress I'm hit with, whatever decisions I make, It's like
I just like, oh, I'm still here despite all of that.
(37:09):
So to be able to direct my focus back down
into this too, to be to express gratitude for this
vessel and doing that repetitively is helping me develop more
self love, you know, and more happiness. Yeah, And and
this all get comes back to how how do I
(37:31):
derive validation internally and not externally? Yeah, That's where I'm at.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Wrapping things up. Obviously. This podcast is on our iHeartRadio
app if there was a station that was Alex curated
what I know. You talked a little bit about Michael
Jackson earlier, where we have some show tunes from various shows,
what music artists you know? What would you genre is?
(37:58):
What would you feature on your own own iHeart Radio station?
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Shot a first and foremost some Luther Vandross Uh, Chris Cornell,
Sound Garden.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Two very different and the spectrum.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
There yeah, yeah, and then a lot of a lot
of instrumental jazz. I love Pat Metheny, Dave Cause is
another one, Yellow Jackets. I think my dad for this
and then, believe it or not, this is good, it's
gonna be out of left field. And yeah, very I
(38:35):
was a day without rain.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
I'm speechless.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
I know the uh you can say where the road goes.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
I I'm gonna have to google some of those.
Speaker 2 (38:47):
But she's on the she's on the Lord of the
Rings soundtrack. You've probably heard some of her.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Yes, yes, I know the the one I think song
that was using like commercials and trailers in like the
early two thousands. But other than that, I'm not a
and yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:00):
Blame that's my father for any of that stuff.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
So Alex, where can people keep in touch with you?
Speaker 2 (39:07):
I'm on so I'm on Instagram. I'll be posting there more.
Alex JG sings on Instagram and I'm also on on
TikTok as Alex Joseph Grayson. I don't I don't post
there that much. Uh, this will still be expanding as
content expands.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
I think you should do a day of your life
like for your last show. Okay talk yeah, okay, cool.
That way we can see what goes into the vehicle
and the machine and okay, yeah absolutely. I would like
to see that as a swing too, like when you're
you know, but we can't go back in time, not yet.
Speaker 2 (39:44):
Yeah, yeah that was I know. That was a great opportunity,
a great opportunity back then.
Speaker 1 (39:49):
But thank you so much. I appreciate it. Thank you
for also not bringing your the coldness of Buffalo to
New York. Yes, and looking for to having more weathers
like your Atlanta background.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
If we suffer, you suffer.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Oh hate that, hate that. Once again, this is David Montu.
Thank you for listening to the Building Black Bizs podcast.
Thank you to our friends at Toyota for sponsoring this
podcast series. Toyota Let's go places. We will see you
next time.
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