The Ensemblist

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#397 - The Line (Soft Power - feat. Leigh Silverman, Jennifer Ashley Tepper) Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

In this exploration of the history of musical theatre through one of its most effective devices, I wanted to bring along one of our artforms most knowledgeable and personable historians. Jennifer Ashley Tepper is a theatrical icon of her own, most notably for authoring her book series “The Untold Stories of Broadway.” But she’s also a proverbial vault of theatre history, recognizing the connective tissues of musical theatre in ways that others may not have seen before.

Jen’s statement about the line as a political function intrigued me. Sure, Soft Power is a musical about politics. But is the line itself a political act. So I went to the source, the woman who staged the line into Soft Power herself: Leigh Silverman, director of Soft Power.

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#396 - Tony Telecasts (2004 - Avenue Q, The Boy from Oz Caroline or Change, Wicked) Part 1 Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

The 58th Annual Tony Awards were held June 6, 2004 at Radio City Music Hall with Hugh Jackman as the host, also a nominee this year for portraying fellow Aussie Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. Leading the pack this year was Ozian juggernaut Wicked with 10 nominations, followed by six for Avenue Q, five for The Boy From Oz and six for Caroline, or Change. In a rare year where four productions were nominated for Best Revival of a Musical, a Roundabout Theatre Company production of Assassins led with seven, followed by six for Fiddler on the Roof, five for Wonderful Town and two for Big River.

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#395 - Broadway Shutdown (feat. Mikey Graceffa, Lauren Zakrin) Oct 12, 2020

Show notes

I’m not sure why this postponement of Broadway’s reopening stung more than the last time. On Friday morning, the Broadway League released a statement: “Ticket sales for Broadway performances in NYC are now suspended through May 30, 2021. Dates for each returning and new Broadway show will be announced as individual productions determine the performance schedules for their respective shows. The League will provide updates to the public as more information becomes available.”

When I started hearing rumblings of this announcement this night before, I began to text friends and colleagues asking if they had heard similar news about an impending announcement. With each person I checked in with, the reaction was similar: disheartened but not surprised. No one I knew really believed that the New York theatre industry would be back up and running by January, and yet to see it in print that there is at least another seven months ahead of this is just so sad.

I say “at least” because that’s all we know so far: not that performances will begin Tuesday, June 1st but that they could begin on June 1 at the earliest. It might be next Labor Day, or further into the future.

But like I said, it’s not just the lack of an end date to this “intermission” that is disappointing. It’s that much of this could have been prevented. With better leadership, better preparedness, more mandates, perhaps we could have been back in theatres by now. It wasn’t always inevitable that this shutdown would last more than a year, but now it is our sentence to wait.

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#394 - The Line Oct 09, 2020

Show notes

It was one of the most arresting - and uncomfortable moments I’ve experienced in the theatre in quite a long time. There I sat, in The Public’s Newman Theatre, watching a performance of the show Soft Power.

In the song, a reprise of a number called “Democracy,” the full company of actors comes down to the edge of the stage. There, standing shoulder to shoulder, 15 performers looked directly into the audience to recognize our presence in the space.

What is it about this line?! Why is it that, in an industry known for spectacle, does stillness provide the most arresting visual images. Why is that, in an artform full of Ziegfeld’s Follies and falling chandeliers, nothing is as effective as doing nothing?

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#392 - Jagged Little Pill (feat. Antonio Cipriano, Logan Hart, Heather Lang) Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

In the final installment of our series highlighting musicals from the fall 2019 season and their brilliant ensembles, we’re celebrating Jagged Little Pill. After a world premiere at Cambridge, Massachusetts’ American Repertory Theatre in 2018, Jagged Little Pill opened on Broadway on December 5, 2019. Adapted from Alanis Morrisette’s hit album of the same title, this musical features a diverse ensemble of individuals helping to bring the story of the Healy family to life.

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#391 - Tony Telecasts (1982 - Dreamgirls, Nine, Joseph..., Pump Boys and Dinettes) Oct 06, 2020

Show notes

The 36th Annual Tony Awards were held on June 6, 1982 and hosted by Tony Randall. That season, there were a number of Broadway theatres being demolished to make way for the Marriott Marquis, so the theme of the telecast was to celebrate a great Broadway theatre at the home of that night’s celebration: the Imperial. Going into the Awards ceremony, Dreamgirls led the pack with 13 nominations, followed closely by 12 nominations for Nine. The original production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was nominated for seven awards, while the fourth contender, Pump Boys and Dinettes was nominated for just one. Only one musical was nominated for Best Revival, a Rex Harrison-led production of My Fair Lady.

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#390 - Hurt and Healing (feat. Cristy Candler) Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

Cristy Candler worked as a Broadway performer for over a decade in hit shows including Aida, Wicked, Chicago, and Rock of Ages. But when an injury brought her career to a pause, Cristy’s non-surgical approach to recovery inspired her to focus on another passion of hers: the healing arts. Cristy and I spoke about making this career transition and how the healing arts can be helpful as we live through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about Cristy and Sound Body at ofsoundbody.com. You can take her "Yoga for people who hate Yoga" class online: https://linktr.ee/cristycandler.

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#389 - Tony Telecasts (2009 - Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages, Shrek) Part 2 Oct 02, 2020

Show notes

The 63rd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 7, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall and hosted for the first time by Neil Patrick Harris. Heading into the ceremony, Billy Elliot the Musical led the pack with 15 nominations, followed by 11 for Next to Normal and 8 for Shrek The Musical. The Public Theatre revival of Hair led the revivals, also with 8 nominations. Also in the running for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival were Rock of Ages, Guys and Dolls, Pal Joey and West Side Story.

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#388 - Chris Chats With (feat. Chanel DaSilva) Oct 01, 2020

Show notes

This week, we're turning over the mic to Christine Shepard. Featured in the Broadway companies of Head Over Heels and Mean Girls, Chris is a fierce advocate for providing opportunity for all. In her first two-part episode, Chris takes on art education.

Education is an ongoing topic of debate in our country. The arts, forever America's favorite face rag, has its own education that continues to lose acknowledgement and funding in schools nationwide. There are opportunities to learn outside of school, but those don't come without a price. Education has a lot of systemic issue, but this episode focuses on how arts education has helped shape the lack of representation seen on Broadway currently.

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