"Backstage Babble"

 Dear Blog Readers,

Hi! This is Charles. I want to tell you all about a new venture of mine that I highly recommend you listen to. I have started a podcast, called Backstage Babble, which features Broadway actors, directors, designers, writers, and more. It has been a dream come true for me to interview some of my favorite people. Here, below, is my full list of interviewees and some stories (including some upcoming ones no one even knows about yet!)

Harold Holzer

Peter Filichia

Ken Bloom

Ken Kantor

Josh Ellis

Evan Pappas

Ken Bloom and Richard Carlin (Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm, and Race)

Rob W. Schneider

Beowulf Boritt

Stephen Mo Hanan

Joel Grey

Josh Bergasse

Rita Gardner

Gerard Alessandrini

Charles Busch

Sondra Lee

Penny Fuller

Chuck Cooper

Anita Gillette

Lee Roy Reams

The staff of MARIE'S CRISIS.

Michael Rupert

Steve Ross

Tom Jones

Eileen Casey

John Weidman

Here are some of the best stories so far:

Disastrous Productions:

Stephen Hanan tells of the Oliver revival, starring Peter Pan and Ron Moody. As Mr. Moody's understudy, Hanan was not allowed within ten feet of him. Also, Moody would carry a book of his previous adlibs and could be seen before the show deciding which pearls to "invent" that night.

Sondra Lee talks about Reuben, Reuben, the musical opera starring Eddie Albert. She had always wanted to meet Marc Blitzstein, so you can imagine her gratification when, at the audition, he pointed right at her and exclaimed "SHE'S IT!" However, she describes the show itself as a "musical about lack of communication that failed to communicate."

Joel Grey recounts being in "Hell" replacing in The Roar of the Greasepaint and other early shows. He says that they would force you to do exactly what your predecessor had done, with no change whatsoever.

Penny Fuller lamented the L.A. production of The Dinner Party, where they set an extremely intimate show in a large theater with no proscenium. "Sometimes you wonder where people's brains are," she lamented.

Anita Gillette told the story of one of the most notorious flops, Kelly. She recounts that even though the writers were not allowed to watch the rehearsal (!), they would put on disguises and attempt to sneak in anyway.

Stage Mishaps:

Dancer Eileen Casey tells of her first performance on Broadway, where she invited everyone she knew, only to have her scarf be trailing and finally falling on the ground during the dance number, with her male partner pulling her so fast that she never had time to pick it up!

Chuck Cooper recalls the night of the Sondheim play Getting Away with Murder where the gun noise did not in fact work, so the killer ran around the stage pretend-strangling each one of the seven actors on it.

There are so many stories like this, and ABOUT Jerome Robbins, Jack Davenport, and everyone in between!

You can listen at these links:

cbroadwaypodcast.podbean.com

https://open.spotify.com/show/6wLTEPJgjASqAzwuSM5oa

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/backstage-babble/id1526353692

I hope you enjoy!