The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales Broadway Musicals & Plays

Rachel Dratch recently had her Broadway debut in POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, a play by Selina Fillinger. With three decades of experience in the business, Rachel recalls her SNL days where she worked for seven years and compares the pressure that came along with it and how it differs from doing Broadway. She speaks candidly about her love for comedy, particularly improv and sketch, and whether she'll ever try drama on stage or in movies. Rachel also shares why she prefers sticking to the script and rarely improvises on a film, why she decided to leave SNL, and why you should have fun when you're in a "dip".
Rachel Dratch is an actress, comedian, and writer, whose latest stage credits include POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, her Broadway debut. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for seven years, where she had memorable characters like Debbie Downer, Boston teen Denise, and the "Lovers" professors with Will Ferrell. She was an alumna of the Second City Theater in Chicago, where she performed in four revues on the main stage, two of which she received the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress in a Revue. Some of her live comedy credits include ASSSCAT 3000 at the UCB Theater in New York, "Dratch and Fey". Her TV credits include "Frasier," "Ugly Betty," "30 Rock," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," and "Shameless," and some of her film credits include "Wine Country," "Click," and "Just Go with It."

In this episode, we talk about:

Having a minor in Psychology and wanting to be a therapist

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

Unexpectedly getting pregnant at 44

Living in Chicago for nine years and getting into The Second City

Her memoir, Girl Walks into a Bar . . .: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle


Connect with Rachel:

Twitter: @TheRealDratch

Instagram: @raedratch


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Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


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With two of his plays, Tambo & Bones and Exception to the Rule, being produced simultaneously, Dave Harris shares his chaotic but exciting schedule as he goes back and forth to LA and New York to help and make sure everything is in order on their openings. He talks about his relationship with writing and how switching from a public school to a private one influenced his writing as well as his love for theatre. He reflects on what makes theatre frustrating at times, why he chooses to write from an individual perspective, and how he uses playwriting to address his personal fears. Dave also shares why he’s happiest when he’s doing multiple projects, and why his friends’ imaginations motivate him the most.
Dave Harris is a poet, performer, and playwright whose recent works include Tambo & Bones produced at Playwrights Horizons and Center Theatre Group, and Exception to the Rule which will premiere this year at Roundabout Underground. He has won numerous awards, including the 2019 Ollie Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Award, Mark Twain Award from The Kennedy Center, the 2018 Venturous Fellowship from The Lark, and a Cave Canem poetry fellowship. Other works include Summertime, his adapted film that premiered at Sundance in 2020. His first full-length poetry collection, Patricide was also recently published from Button Poetry. His work has also been seen at Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival, Roundabout Underground, Manhattan Theater Club, Center Theatre Group, The Goodman, Victory Gardens, The Kennedy Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and many more.

In this episode, we talk about:

His fear of birds and how he got it

Getting into the Tow Foundation Playwright Residency Program

Joining the Callaloo poetry workshop

Reading Stephen King at a young age

Playing Elden Ring for a week straight


Connect with David:

Instagram: @staydancingdave

Twitter: @StayDancingDave

Web: staydancingdave.com


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Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


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2022 Tony Nominee(!!) David Morse is reprising his role for Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned to Drive, making it's Broadway debut! David recalls his journey from loving theatre in high school to joining the Boston Repertory Company and eventually moving to New York to join the Circle Repertory Company. He also shares what made him change his mind from vowing to never do TV early in his career to becoming an established actor with a long list of TV and film credits. He opens up about how acting and playing different characters helped him get through tough times when he was younger, giving up theatre when he was struggling financially, finding the silver linings and being grateful for the way things turned out despite any shortcomings. 
David has become an established actor with an incredible TV, film, stage, and acting career, boasting a long list of credits like “The Green Mile” and the Off-Broadway production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, “How I Learned to Drive” where he won numerous awards, including an Obie Award and a Drama League Award. He appeared in over 30 productions with the Boston Repertory Company and further his stage career with the Circle Repertory Company in New York before giving TV and film a chance. Some of his other notable credits include movies like “St. Elsewhere”, “12 Monkeys”, “Contact”, “The Hurt Locker”, “Proof of Life”, “Double Vision”, and a number of TV series like “Hack”, “The Chair”, and “House”.In this episode, we talk about:
In this episode, we talk about:

Auditioning for the Boston Repertory Company

Joining Neighborhood Playhouse to study for two years

Facing bankruptcy

Waking up Richard Donner in his hotel room to get a script from him

Doing a one-person play

Getting offered a film from Sean Penn


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Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


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A.J. shares how he had to learn Irish step dance for the new Broadway musical, Paradise Square where plays the role of Owen Duignan. He also talks about his acting career which started at a young age, from landing his first professional job for the national tour of the Sound of Music and living in New York to pursue his dreams, to moving back to Ohio after the 9/11 attacks. He also shares a fun anecdote about his years in Professional Children's School, where a girl from his math class turned out to be Scarlett Johannson. A.J. opens up about how there’s still so much to learn about America’s history despite being a history nerd himself, why Broadway feels intimate to him, and why he thinks storytelling is important to help us remember and find empathy.

A.J. stars as Owen Duignan in the new musical Paradise Square which opened recently on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater. He has also been seen on Broadway in Bright Star; The Sound of Music; National Tour: Bright Star; La Cage aux Folles, and more. Some of his other Off-Broadway/stage credits include February House (The Public); Brigadoon (Irish Rep); The Suitcase Under the Bed (Mint); Unlock’d (Prospect); A Contemporary American’s Guide to a Successful Marriage (Cherry Lane); Things To Ruin (Second Stage). He was also recently seen in television shows, including CBS's “Bull” as Jerry McConnell and HBO Max's “Julia” as Chef André Soltner. A.J.’s Film and TV credits also include “Hunters”, “The Blacklist”, “Madam Secretary”, “Younger”, and “Homeland”.

In this episode, we talk about:

Being on tour with The Sound of Music when he was 12 years old

Attending the Professional Children’s School

Living in New York when 9/11 happened

Getting the role of Jean-Michel for La Cage aux Folles right after he graduated

Watching Douglas Hodge's Tony-winning performance every night for a year


Connect with A.J.:

Instagram: @aj_shively

Web: ajshively.com


Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


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Alyssa May Gold recently made her Broadway debut alongside Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse in the long-anticipated Broadway premiere of How I Learned To Drive. She was previously seen in WP Theater/Second Stage’s acclaimed world premiere of Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, and other New York credits include Arcadia (Broadway), Juliet + Romeo, Julius Caesar, The Maid’s Tragedy (Pocket Universe), Middle of the Night, Lemon Sky (Keen Company), and Brilliant Traces (Art of Warr). Alyssa’s Film and TV credits include “Rebel in the Rye,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” “Taking Woodstock,”and “Law &Order: SVU.” She is also the founder of Pocket Universe, a theater/film production company dedicated to reconsidering and re-imagining classic stories and conventions. 
Upon being asked how she first became involved in theater, Alyssa recalls seeing the Annie movie when she was four years old, and says she hasn’t stopped since. She talks about the inspiration and creation of her production company, Pocket Universe, revealing the meaning behind its title and how it relates to string theory. Alyssa also opens up about the great responsibility she feels to the audience as part of How I Learned To Drive, saying the play “is putting a handout to the people who need to be pulled up through hell back to Earth” – “…that's why there are doctors who do heart surgery, and then there are actors who work on your heart.”
In this episode, we talk about:

Why she considers this her actual Broadway debut 

Playing in the World Series of Poker in Vegas  

Her love for science and metaphysical discussions

Playing the oldest and the youngest woman in the story, and what makes her track beautiful

Why Mama Mia is one of her favorite musicals of all time 

Listening to the things that light your heart on fire


Connect with Alyssa:

IG: @heylyssamay


Web: alyssamaygold.com


Pocket Universe


Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


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Actor Simon Bailey hails from London, where his career on the West End is booming. He trained at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, and his West End credits include Heathers: The Musical, Jersey Boys (Tommy DeVito), The Phantom of the Opera (Raoul), Enjolras in the 21st Anniversary cast of Les Miserables, I Can’t Sing! The X-Factor Musical, Romeo and Juliet -The Musical, Pharaoh in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, We Will Rock You, and more. SImon can be seen now in the West End production of Moulin Rouge as The Duke at the Piccadilly Theatre.
Simon reminisces about his experience as part of the original workshop for Heathers: The Musical in London, and shares why it holds such a big place in his heart. He opens up about landing the role of The Duke, why he’s had so much fun building and developing a darker character, and also talks about why he particularly loves the first 10 minutes of the show when he’s able “to look out and see everybody… just completely entranced in this thing.” Simon also reflects on working as an understudy, and why he feels it’s such an important ground to start from and build on. 

In this episode, we talk about: 

The community working on the West End 

Attending the National Youth Theatre, and bypassing drama school 

Why being an actor now is very different than it was pre-2020

His experience as a swing in We Will Rock You 

Creative freedom from Alex Timbers


Connect with Simon:

IG: @simonbailey1210


Twitter: @SimonBailey1210



Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast


Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast


TikTok: @thetheatrepodcast


Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast

TheTheatrePodcast.com

Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales


Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think.


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