Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

Hosted by actress Ilana Levine
  • 4.8 (486)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Weekly

With her unique style of hosting, Ilana Levine gives her listeners up close and personal access to today's biggest stars from Broadway, Film and Television. Her intimate and revealing conversations with Tony Award, Academy Award, Grammy Award and Emmy Award winners gives listeners the feeling they are part of a conversation between old friends. Guests include Julianne Moore, Matthew Broderick, Isabelle Huppert, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Platt, Uma Thurman, Matt Bomer, Aasif Mandvi, Octavia Spencer, Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Beanie Feldstein, John Slattery, Judith Light, Molly Ringwald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp, Jason Alexander, Tony Shalhoub, Griffin Dunne, Kaskade, Laura Linney and many more. New episodes are released on Mondays.

  1. 2d ago

    Episode 510 - Geraldine Hughes

    Geraldine Hughes is a Northern Irish film, television and stage actress. Geraldine Hughes might not be an easily recognizable face for most, but she has quietly accumulated a long list of film, television and theater credits, most notably as the character of Little Marie in 2006’s film Rocky Balboa. Born in West Belfast, she moved to America after receiving a scholarship to attend university, graduating from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. In 2005, she wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed play Belfast Blues, a true story from Hughes’s perspective about coming of age in Belfast in the 1980s. Performed in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Belfast and London, the play received the Los Angeles Ovation, Garland and Drama Critics Circle Awards, and Hughes won a Drama League Nomination for Outstanding Performance. Most recently, she appeared in the Irish Repertory Theatre’s production of Ulster American with Matthew Broderick. The production transferred to Ireland in the summer of 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    38 min

  2. May 25

    Episode 509 - Dane Laffrey

    Dane Laffrey is a Tony Award-winning designer, creative and producer based in New York City. He studied at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art and resided in Sydney from 2002 - 2006. On Broadway he’s designed the set for The Lost Boys (Palace) Maybe Happy Ending (Belasco) which won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Musical and for which Dane won Tony, Drama Desk Awards and Henry Hewes Awards, Parade (Jacobs) which won the 2023 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical; set and costumes for Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (Nederlander), which he co-conceived with director Michael Arden and for which he is nominated for Hewes and Tony Awards; the 2018 Tony-winning revival of Lynn Ahren's and Stephen Flaherty's Once On This Island (Circle in the Square) for which he received Henry Hewes, Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations; set and costumes for the acclaimed Deaf West revival of Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s Spring Awakening (Brooks Atkinson); set for the Broadway premiere of Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love (Friedman). In New York, around the US, and internationally Dane has designed world premiere plays and musicals by writers including Todd Almond, Will Aronson and Hue Park, Nell Benjamin, Rachel Bonds, Nilo Cruz, Lindsey Ferrentino, David Greenspan, Noah Haidle, Lucas Hnath, Sam Hunter, Sarah Jones, Tom Kitt, Michael John LaChiusa, Dan LeFranc, Matthew Lopez, Craig Lucas, Charles L. Mee, Alan Menken, Kim Rosenstock, Martin Sherman, Jenny Schwartz, Stephen Schwartz and Jen Silverman. Dane’s work in New York has been seen at theatres including Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theatre, The Public Theatre, Second Stage Theatre, Atlantic Theatre Company, Transport Group, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, B.A.M. Harvey, Vineyard Theatre, The Joyce, SoHo Rep., Labyrinth, The New Group and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, among others. His work has been seen at major theaters around the US including Center Theatre Group, The Geffen Playhouse, The Goodman, The Humana Festival, The Hollywood Bowl, The Old Globe, Huntington Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Baltimore Center Stage, Deaf West / Wallis Annenberg Center, Shakespeare Theatre D.C., Denver Center Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, South Coast Rep., Baltimore Center Stage, Seattle Rep., Woolly Mammoth, Two River Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, The Studio Theatre D.C, Yale Opera, Long Wharf Theatre, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Signature Theatre Company, and others. Internationally, Dane has worked in Hamburg, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Oslo and throughout Australia. Dane has served on the advisory committee for Lincoln Center Theatre's LCT3 and as a guest artist / guest designer at Yale School of Music, The Juilliard School, NYU, Carnegie-Mellon University,  Interlochen Arts Academy, The University of Western Sydney and NIDA. He has served on the faculty of Purchase College. Dane won a 2017 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Set and Costume design and has been nominated for 3 Tony Awards, 3 Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, 9 American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Awards, 5 Ovation Awards (winning 2), and a Sydney Theatre Award, as well as numerous regional accolades.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    37 min

  3. May 18

    Episode 508 - Zhailon Levingston

    Zhailon Levingston  is a Louisiana-raised storyteller, director, and activist who co-directed CATS: The Jellicle Ball, an immersive reimagining of the classic musical that premiered in 2024 at New York City’s Perelman Arts Center. The production earned him an OBIE Award (co-directing) as well as a Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Outstanding Direction of a Musical.  Zhailon’s first “Broadway” job was selling tickets to Broadway shows in Times Square. In 2017 he sold concessions for multiple Broadway theaters. At 27 years old, he became the youngest Black director in Broadway history, directing the Broadway production of Chicken and Biscuits. His other directing credits include Wonderful Town at New York City Center Encores!; Reconstructing at Brooklyn Academy of Music (co-directed with Rachel Chavkin); Little Miss Perfect (Olney Theater Center); Patience at Second Stage Theater; and Table 17 at MCC Theater (Lortel Award nominee for Outstanding Direction) and currently at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse.  Levingston is a board member of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, Artistic Director of Inheritance Theater Project, and co-created a ‘Theater of Change’ course at Columbia University School of Law that is still being taught today. Once a year he returns to his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana to direct. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    27 min

  4. May 11

    Episode 507 - Michael James Scott

    Michael James Scott plays Nurse Francois on Scrubs.  His previous television credits include Apple TV’s critically acclaimed animated series CENTRAL PARK, Showtime’s BLACK MONDAY and Hallmark’s A HOLIDAY IN HARLEM. Michael is no stranger to commanding an audience. He is currently making history as the longest-running Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, a performance that has earned him critical acclaim and a devoted fan base. A powerhouse in the theater world, he was also an original cast member of The Book of Mormon, Something Rotten!, and Hair, cementing his reputation as a versatile, scene-stealing performer. Beyond the stage, Michael showcased another side of his artistry with his 2020 holiday album A Fierce Christmas, featuring beloved classics like “Christmas Time Is Here,” “This Christmas,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    33 min

  5. May 4

    Episode 506 - Secret Mall Apartment - Michael Townsend

    Michael Townsend draws on everything. For over twenty years he has been spear-heading collaborative drawings using low-adhesive tapes that can be stuck on facades, sidewalks, walls, whatever without permanent repercussions. The drawings started as nightly guerrilla raids on the surfaces of Providence, Rhode Island and as interest in these ephemeral works grew he has been invited to perform over 500 of his Tape Art creations on walls around the world. His work with the Tape Art medium has optimized his efforts as a community artist and he has worked collaboratively with tens of thousands students both young and old. The uniquely accessible nature of his teaching practice have made this participatory work a good fit for prisons, hospitals, psychiatric facilities, nursing homes and communities struggling to have their voices heard. When he is not pressing tape onto walls, Townsend might be found in front of a computer editing footage from his films, choreographing short dance pieces, working on a subterranean sculpture pieces or working relentlessly on one of his epic secret projects. Townsend and his collaborators became an international curiosity when it was discovered that they were building a fully-functioning apartment space inside the Providence Place Mall that they had occupied, undiscovered, for four years. The project was ended abruptly before the wood floors were installed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    54 min

  6. Apr 27

    Episode 505 - Jamaal Fields-Green

    Jamaal Fields-Green is a multi-hyphenate talent, with experience and accolades across acting, singing, writing, and directing. A Musical Theatre graduate, Jamaal refined his theatrical skills and began to craft his identity as an artist during his time at the prestigious Hartt School. Most recently, he starred as Michael Jackson in MJ the Musical on the West End. A globally recognised role, Jamaal’s portrayal showcases his ability to embody a character and is a testament to his deep understanding of his craft across music and acting. Prior to MJ the Musical, Jamaal brought to life the characters of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in the Chicago company's rendition of Hamilton: An American Musical and appeared on TV with appearances on Freeform’s That Thing About Harry and Chicago PD. Beyond acting, Jamaal wrote and directed an award-winning short film - The Inevitable - and recently released an EP of original songs titled ‘What Was the Reason’. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    43 min

  7. Apr 20

    Episode 504 - Rafael Monserrate

    Rafael Monserrate is an accomplished Producer and Director with more than two decades of experience creating acclaimed unscripted and narrative content. He has executive produced and directed over a dozen television series, including History Channel’s Alone, the award-winning survival series hailed by The New Yorker as “the best reality show on television,” now in its 13th critically acclaimed season and streaming on Netflix. A two-time feature film director, his credits include Peel (Sony Pictures), starring Emile Hirsch and Amy Brenneman. His work spans large-scale competition formats, intimate documentaries, and character driven narrative films, unified by a cinematic sensibility and a commitment to emotional truth. Most recently, he directed, executive produced, and completed production on Teenhood, a four-part docuseries of unprecedented access to four American teens over 50 transformative days. He is currently developing The Colony, a feature film exploring the formative years and ideological awakening of Malcolm X. Across formats, Rafael crafts stories that are intimate yet expansive, grounded in lived experience, and designed to resonate long after the screen goes dark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    51 min

  8. Apr 13

    Episode 503 - Hailey McAfee and Rosie Glen-Lambert

    Rosie Glen-Lambert is a bicoastal theatre director originally from Los Angeles and currently based in Brooklyn. She is the Artistic Director and Founder of The Attic Collective, an award-winning Los Angeles based theatre company. Rosie is also a proud Kilroy who fights for and believes in the importance of gender parity in the American theatre. Rosie was recently the associate director of Babbitt, written by Joe DiPietro, directed by Christopher Ashley, and starring Matthew Broderick (La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre Company). Recent directing work includes Swallows (La Mama), The Robots: A New Chamber Opera (Project [BLANK]), नेहा & Neel (Wagner New Play Festival), and a benefit performance of Love Letters (La Jolla Playhouse, Featuring Matthew Broderick and Ellie Kemper). Rosie was a 2025 Director for Moxie Arts NYC's Incubator Lab. Rosie received her MFA in directing from UC San Diego. Hailey McAfee is an actor, writer, director, and associate artist of The Attic Collective. Recent acting credits include Three Exorcisms and Iphigenia in Splott (LA Theatre Bites Best Solo Show Winner, Best Actress Nominee, Hollywood Fringe Best of The Broadwater Winner, Best Solo Show and Top of Fringe Nominee). Directing credits include The Hostage Situation (Inkwell LAB) Here Comes the Night (SheLA Festival), Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin (Inkwell LAB) and Hedda Gabler (Hollywood Fringe Best of The Broadwater Winner, Best Drama Nominee, LA Magazine Top Pick of Fringe). She has a degree in Theater Arts from UC Santa Cruz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    35 min
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4.8
out of 5
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About

With her unique style of hosting, Ilana Levine gives her listeners up close and personal access to today's biggest stars from Broadway, Film and Television. Her intimate and revealing conversations with Tony Award, Academy Award, Grammy Award and Emmy Award winners gives listeners the feeling they are part of a conversation between old friends. Guests include Julianne Moore, Matthew Broderick, Isabelle Huppert, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Platt, Uma Thurman, Matt Bomer, Aasif Mandvi, Octavia Spencer, Edie Falco, Allison Janney, Beanie Feldstein, John Slattery, Judith Light, Molly Ringwald, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Rapp, Jason Alexander, Tony Shalhoub, Griffin Dunne, Kaskade, Laura Linney and many more. New episodes are released on Mondays.

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