The Ensemblist

Latest Episodes:

#462 - The Phantom of the Opera (feat. Polly Baird, Satomi Hofmann, Janet Saia, Jacob Keith Watson) Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

On today’s episode, we’re celebrating the 33rd anniversary of Broadway’s longest-running show, The Phantom of the Opera. Although the Majestic Theatre remains dark because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve dug deep into our archives to revisit some of our favorite stories from Phantom ensemblists.

First, we’ll hear from Jacob Keith Watson about performing in three Broadway shows over the course of one season. Then, Polly Baird will chat about joining the cast as a replacement and later putting replacements into the show herself as dance captain. Finally, Jackson Cline reads a 2018 interview with long-running cast members Satomi Hofmann & Janet Saia.

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#461 - Tony Telecasts (2019 - Ain't Too Proud, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, The Prom, Tootsie - Part 2) Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

The 73rd Annual Tony Awards were held June 9, 2019 at Radio City Music Hall with James Corden hosting for his second time. Heading into the ceremony, Hadestown led with 14 nominations, followed by Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations with 12, Tootsie with 11, Beetlejuice with 8 and The Prom with 7. In the running for Best Revival of a Musical were just a pair of shows: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! and the Roundabout Theatre revival of Kiss Me, Kate.

The 2018-2019 season was the last complete season on Broadway, since the 2019-2020 season was cut short this past March for two weeks...er, for two months...just kidding, we’re still here, due to the coronavirus pandemic, but I digress. 2019 marked the 3rd year of President Donald Trump’s term in office, and while he was rarely -- if not ever -- mentioned by name, his presence definitely loomed in the broadcast; from poignant speeches speaking out against demagoguery and systemic discrimination, to other beautiful speeches uplifting representation and opportunity for immigrants and the disabled, and even in the content of the work being celebrated itself, this telecast -- and this season as a whole -- seemed to stand against all the hate and intolerance being shepherded by the recent administration…

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#460 - Hamilton (feat. Antuan Raimone, Alexia Sky, Kim Taylor Cox, Rebecca Covington Webber) Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Over the years, The Ensemblist has had the sublime opportunity to speak with four performers from a variety of Hamilton companies, each with their own unique memories and takeaways from the experience.

Special thanks extend to performers Antuan Magic Raimone, Alexia Sky, Rebecca Covington Webber, and Kim Taylor for recalling their experiences with us.

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#459 - The Addams Family (feat. Steve Bebout) Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

One of the not-so secret secrets in this show about secrets is that The Addams Family went through massive structural changes multiple times on its way to becoming the most popular musical in America. Many of the changes were noted in my previous discussions with Rick Elice and Dontee Kiehn: solidifying the focus on the family, the addition of the wedding curtain call. But both Rick and Dontee had been with the show since before rehearsals for its pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago. I wanted to speak to someone who was a part of the changes made on the show’s journey to Broadway. So I called up Steve Bebout.

Steve Bebout has worked as the associate director on four massive Broadway musicals, including Something Rotten!, The Book of Mormon and Sister Act. But, like me, The Addams Family was Steve’s Broadway debut. We both initially were outsiders entering the world of this lumbering imperfect production. So I wanted to get his take on what made the show work from when he first joined the team in late 2009.

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#458 - Tony Telecasts (2019 - Ain't Too Proud, Beetlejuice, Hadestown, The Prom, Tootsie - Part 1) Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

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#456 - The Shows We Need (Jagged Little Pill - feat. Marc Kimelman, Kei Tsuruharatani) Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

It’s 2021, and the theatre industry is still shut down. In this new series, “The Shows We Need”, Michael Fatica will try to identify pieces that we as a community need to come back when the theatre world resurfaces.

We begin with Jagged Little Pill, which deals with many big social issues and starts new conversations. Guests Kei Tsuruharatani and Marc Kimelman chat about the creation of the show, how it has affected them, and more.

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#454 - The Addams Family (feat. Dontee Kiehn) Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

The original production of The Addams Family was choreographed by Tony Award winner Sergio Trujillo. Once a Broadway ensemblist himself, The Addams Family came along when Sergio had four productions running simultaneously on Broadway: our show, the long-running Jersey Boys, the sparse but beautiful musical staging in Next to Normal, and the Tony-Award winning production of Memphis. With this many shows under his purview, Sergio employed a team of talented associate choreographers to maintain his vision and keep the staging clean. And at The Addams Family, Sergio’s associate was the highly kind and highly capable Dontee Keihn.

Also a former ensemblist, Dontee had been in the original Broadway ensemble of the famed 42nd Street revival, as well as the Bernadette Peters-led revival of Gypsy. Her journey with The Addams Family began as the associate choreographer for the show’s pre-Broadway tryout in Chicago. She maintained that position for the show’s Broadway run, as well as the national tour and stagings in both Brazil and Australia. She then took over the dual roles of associate director and associate choreographer for two more “replica” productions in Argentina and Mexico City. She was with the show as long as anybody, so she knows the staging of The Addams Family intimately and thoroughly.

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#453 - Creativity in Coronavirus (Let's Hear It For The Choice - feat. Jimmy Larkin) Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

It’s time to start 2021 with some joy. And what better way than to share something that’s been bringing me joy over the last few months: Let’s Hear It For The Choice. Created by Jimmy Larkin, Let’s Hear It For The Choice is a celebration of great musical theatre performances large and small. Jimmy has been sharing compilations of these bold statements, or “choices,” on his Instagram channel along with a heavy dose of dry but loving humor. He joined me recently to share what he thinks makes a great “choice” and some of his favorite ensemble choices of all time. Here’s our conversation…

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#451 - Tony Telecasts (1987 - Les Miserables, Me and My Girl, Rags, Starlight Express - Part 2) Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

The 41st Annual Tony Awards were held June 6, 1987 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre with Angela Lansbury hosting for her third time. Heading into the ceremony, Me and My Girl and Les Miserables were neck in neck leading the pack for most nominations (with 13 and 12, respectively.) Behind them were Starlight Express with seven nominations and Rags with five. Although the category is titled “Best Revival of a Play or a Musical,” this season there were no musicals nominated.

The 1986-87 season was smack-dab in the middle of a volatile time, but not particularly bombastic itself. We found ourselves in the middle of President Ronald Reagan’s second term, with both the Cold War, the War on Drugs, and the AIDS epidemic raging. (Interestingly enough, a week after this telecast is when Reagan makes his famous speech in Berlin where he asks Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”) Also, this season occurred during the end of the Iran-Contra affair -- a political scandal that embroiled the country for about a year and a half, where the Reagan administration was found to be bartering arms for seven US hostages in the middle east...gotta love a quid pro quo…

On Broadway, the British invasion was HERE. With three out of four of the Best Musical nominees being British imports, Cats alive and well at the Winter Garden, and Phantom opening in the West End and waiting in the wings for their Broadway house, it seemed like Cameron Mackintosh, the RSC, and all their contemporaries were taking over the Great White Way.

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#450 - Movin Out (feat. Paloma-Garcia Lee) Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

So many of us experienced the unexpected in 2020. When the world stopped, we were forced to reckon with who we are without busy lives to distract us. That reckoning was most uncomfortable for the busiest among us, who were moving so fast they never took the time to stop.

Paloma Garcia-Lee was one of the busiest of those artists. A verteran of six Broadway shows, she spent 2019 as an original company member of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, as well as playing a featured role in F/X’s Fosse/Verdon and playing Graziella in the upcoming Stephen Speilberg helmed feature film of West Side Story. She was running on all cylinders until March 12. Here, with what happened next, is Paloma Garcia-Lee.

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