Cast Party: High School Theater Revisited

Michael Busani
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Guests reflect and rehash on their days doing high school theater. Follow us on Instagram at @castpartypod! Hosted by Michael Busani

Episodes

  1. 03/31/2023

    Joe Gulla

    Playwright/Actor/Reality Star Joe Gulla’s plays have been performed Off-Broadway, nationally and internationally. He is best known for his award-winning shows, “The Bronx Queen”, “Garbo”, “Gay.Porn.Mafia”, “Sleeping With The Fish” and his sold-out engagements at New York City’s Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater and Feinstein’s/54 Below. As an actor, Joe performed in San Francisco's “Tony & Tina's Wedding” for many years and Off-Broadway's “My Big Gay Italian Wedding”. He also starred on NBC's “LOST”, one of television's first adventure reality series. This summer, Joe Gulla returns to 54 Below with the World Premiere of his newest autobiographical monologue, “Swimming To Mongolia”. Later this year, “Reel Wood” written by and starring Joe has its World Premiere Off Broadway in NYC. Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com!

  2. 12/05/2022

    Julian Shapiro-Barnum

    Julian Shapiro-Barnum is a comedian and actor known for his viral online show, “Recess Therapy, where he conducts on-the-street interviews with children about their hopes, confusions, and dreams, eliciting thoughts on topics including climate change, love, stress, and most recently, corn. The show has over 3.6 million followers across platforms and his “Corn Kid” interview (with 6 billion views) was the most shared video of the summer. Guests on the show have included Michelle Obama, Drew Barrymore, Jenny Slate, and Daniella Pineda. Outside of Recess Therapy he’s interviewed all ages on red carpets and for his other on-the-street comedy shows. He was recently awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 as well as Variety’s Family and Entertainment award. He’s been profiled by the New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, The Today Show, and ABC’s Nightline. Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com!

  3. 09/30/2022

    JJ Niemann

    JJ Niemann is an NYC-based Broadway actor and content creator. After growing up in NC, JJ graduated in 2017 with a BFA in Music Theatre from Elon University. Shortly after, he joined the Broadway cast of “The Book of Mormon” as a Swing, where he performed for three years as a swing (and recently has returned to the production for several months as a vacation swing). In the content creation world, JJ has been lovingly dubbed as the “King of Theatre TikTok” by publications such as BroadwayWorld and has reached over 1 million followers and 350 million video views across his platforms. Some select acting credits are the World Premiere of BLISS at The 5th Avenue Theatre; Doody in Grease at Cape Playhouse; Footloose at The Rev Theatre Co.; Hairspray at The Muny; Shrek, Damn Yankees, South Pacific at Pittsburgh CLO; and the iconic TikTok musicals for you, Paige and Ratatouille. Connect with him on Instagram or TikTok @jjniemann Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support

  4. 07/08/2022

    Sean McManus

    Sean McManus is a New Jersey-based dancer, singer and actor who is currently a vacation swing in the Broadway company of Beetlejuice. He attended Summit High School, where he was seen in shows such as Mary Poppins, How to Succeed and Sweeney Todd. For the latter, he won the Paper Mill Rising Star Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. He was also featured in the PBS documentary, "I Can't...I Have Rehearsal". When not performing, he is passionate about arts advocacy and teaching. Check out "I Can't...I Have Rehearsal" on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/video/i-cant-i-have-rehearsal-3lfjyq/  Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  5. 06/20/2022

    Marji Eldreth

    Marji Eldreth has been the vocal and musical theater teacher at Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Wilmington, Delaware for over 20 years. She is also an artistic/music director, actor, singer, and steel pannist, working in venues around the tri-state area and internationally. Marji recently went viral on TikTok when she created a series of videos to determine next year’s high school musical, gaining 35k followers, over 650k likes, and inspired several other teachers to do the same in their classrooms. She has been featured in Rolling Stone, several podcasts, and ABC News. Along with teaching, Marji is a community theater performer and director, soloist for professional choral ensembles, and former rehearsal pianist for the Broadway Dreams Foundation. When she’s not at the theater, you can usually find her playing the steel drum, training her German Shepherds, or hanging out on an aerial hoop. Check out Marji on TikTok here to see what show Cab Calloway is doing! Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  6. 06/06/2022

    Carly Heitner

    Carly Heitner is a producer, social media manager and content creator. She mainly runs influencer marketing and content creation at YesBroadway. You can find her producing shows at 54 Below as well as uploading interviews, vlogs and more to YouTube. In addition to a good night at the theater, Carly lives for a great reality TV watch party with a well crafted charcuterie board. You can follow Carly at @carlyheitner Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  7. 05/18/2022

    Jennifer Vazquez

    Jennifer Vazquez is a songwriter, guitarist, mindset coach and declutterer. She currently has four albums, two EP’s and three singles out. She’s also the owner of ‘JV The Coach’ where she declutters people’s minds and homes for a living. You can follow Jennifer at @jvthecoach @jennifervazquezmusic   Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com!  Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  8. 04/26/2022

    Hannah Schweitzer

    Hannah Schweitzer is a strategist at TBWA/Chiat/Day and former strategist for Boston University's COVID-19 safety campaign, F*ck It Won't Cut It. She is a distinguished alumni of Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she developed her passion for both performing and advertising. At Boston University, Hannah served on the Executive Board of Liquid Fun and produced several BU on Broadway productions. Hannah has worked with many nonprofit organizations including Wild Swan Theater, Mediagirls, and Dignity Matters.  Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  9. 03/14/2022

    Brendan Stackhouse

    Brendan Stackhouse is a director and choreographer turned teacher. He currently serves as the Resident Director for Hemlock Theatre Company on Staten Island, where he has created revamped productions of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Assassins, Big Fish, Dog Sees God, and Next to Normal. Brendan has worked on Broadway as the Assistant Choreographer to Danny Mefford on the 2015 Tony-Award winning production of Fun Home. Off-Broadway, he was the Assistant Director for the Transport Group revival of Once Upon a Mattress, starring Jackie Hoffman. He was also the Associate Director for the 2016 revival of The Marvelous Wonderettes at Theatre Row. He has developed new plays and musicals at Dixon Place, NYTB Choreographers Lab, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Hudson Guild Theatre, The Little Victory Theatre, and through student organizations at Wagner College. Have you ever listened to Zombie Prom? Do yourself a favor and check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCBA2E5CCC1EC582D  Follow us on Instagram!   Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  10. 03/07/2022

    Corey Steinfast

    Corey Steinfast is Director of Sales at Broadway Plus, the first and only company to create and promote VIP packages and virtual VIP experiences for Broadway shows. Corey previously spent four years on the Sales & Ticketing team at Disney Theatrical Group. Prior to Disney, Corey held General and Company Management roles at Manhattan Theatre Club, the National Theatre, PW Productions, and 321 Theatrical Management. He is also a former reality TV star, having appeared on MTV's "True Life". Check out Corey as Tommy right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs3ZuS9mphw Follow us on Instagram!   Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  11. 02/28/2022

    Hali Letlow

    Hali Letlow is a lifelong theater kid and former Broadway theater marketer. She is also an alumni of the Freddy Awards, Lehigh Valley's high school musical theater awards competition. She currently works in the cosmetics industry but still discusses shows with anyone who will listen. In her free time, she runs social media for nonprofit theater, produces live events, and listens to 96,000 on repeat. Check out Hali on the Freddy Awards right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQddHx1ZqHA&t=80s (Did Tristan mess up the harmony?) Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  12. 02/21/2022

    Rocco Natale

    Rocco Natale is a Newington-Cropsey Fellowship recipient for dramatic writing and research. Rocco's plays ("Great Expectations", "Smoke Signals", "Room at the End of the Hall") have had the honor of being performed in countries around the world to audiences of all ages. Rocco’s work "Room at the End of the Hall" has been a semi-finalist in the Eugene O’Neill National Playwright’s Conference and Premiere Stages and was last seen at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Rocco has had the pleasure of working with Signature Theatre Company, Urban Stages, New York Theatre Workshop, The Cherry Lane Theatre, Mirror Repertory Company, The University of Connecticut and Shakespeare on the Sound. Rocco is also the Executive Director of Open Arts Alliance, a non-profit social service organization that uses therapeutic arts programs to educate students and engage senior citizens.  Follow us on Instagram! Questions? Comments? Send us an email at castpartyshow@gmail.com! Help support the show by donating at https://anchor.fm/michael-busani/support  Editing and mixing by Ben Seaman

  • 12 Episodes

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

Guests reflect and rehash on their days doing high school theater. Follow us on Instagram at @castpartypod! Hosted by Michael Busani

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