I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes

Jason Kravits has appeared on stages and screens, large and small, for over 35 years. And though you may not know him by name, you may very well recognize his face... from his dozens of appearances on TV (Only Murders in the Building, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Young Sheldon, Gilmore Girls, The Practice, The Undoing), Film (A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Lyle Lyle Crocodile, Disney’s Snow White) or Theater (The Drowsy Chaperone, Sabbath’s Theater, and currently The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee). Jason will be doing his new show WHATS HIS FACE at So and So's Piano Bar NYC o...

Jim Weaver is currently the Associate Artistic Director and Director of Education at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe in Sarasota Florida. Prior to this, he was part of the original Broadway cast of Michael John LaChuisa's Marie Christine (alongside Audra McDonald) and the ensemble of the 2009 Broadway revival of Ragtime. His voice can be heard on the original cast recording of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden as he was in the national premiere of the production at Paper Mill Playhouse. He can now be seen as The Raconteur in Sophisticated Ladies at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe alongside your h...

Currently making his Broadway debut as Doc in the Tony Award winning Best Musical Schmigadoon, Juan Pablo Di Pace is an Argentine-born actor, dancer, musician and film director who has worked across stages in Europe and the U.S. His TV credits include Fernando on Netflix’s “Fuller House,” Jesus in NBC’s “A.D.: The Bible Continues” (Movieguide Award, Best Actor), Ricardo Somocurcio in Mario Vargas Llosa’s “The Bad Girl,” Nicolas Treviño in “Dallas,” “Angie Tribeca” and “The Catherine Tate Show.” Pace’s film credits include Mamma Mia!; Dashing in December; The Mattachine Family; Survival Island; and Holiday Unplugged (Hallmark...

Rachel Potter is a recording artist and Broadway actress who you may have seen on screen on The X Factor US and The Search for Elle Woods and on Broadway in The Addams Family (Wednesday) and Evita (2012, Mistress)! She's now returning to The Addams Family at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville where she'll be leading The Addams Family Live in Concert on October 30th and 31st! Next she'll be playing Elsa in Nashville Rep's upcoming production of Frozen! We get to talking about all of that, her time in reality TV, dealing with the struggles of social media hate...

Elena Shaddow is a Broadway veteran who on October 29th will be taking on the challenge of revisiting and singing the entire score of Nine at 54 Below in her new show Elena Shaddow Sings Nine...All of It! Her previous Broadway credits include Nine (2003 revival), La Cage Aux Folles, The Bridges of Madison County, Sweet Smell of Success, Les Miserables and The Woman in White and The Visit! We go through each one of those shows, discuss the biggest lessons she's learned from working with Chita Rivera and John Lithgow and the challenges of being an understudy! Go see...

Steven Skybell has become most well known as Tevye in the Yiddish version of Fiddler on the Roof which has done multiple NYC runs since 2019. Next up he'll be starring Off Broadway in the new play Aftermath by David Zax which starts performances at A.R.T./NY’s Mezzanine Theatre with performances beginning October 19th! Most recently he was seen on Broadway alongide Bebe Neuwirth in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club as Herr Schultz! His other Broadway credits include The Full Monty, Wicked, Pal Joey and many more! He'll reprising the role of Tevye in the Yiddish ve...

Chad Beguelin is a Tony Award nominated lyricist whose work has been seen on stage and screen! Most notably him and writing partner composer Matthew Sklar wrote The Prom (which was adapted into a Ryan Murphy helmed Netflix film starring Meryl Streep), Elf the Musical and The Wedding Singer! He also wrote additional lyrics alongside Alan Menken for the Broadway adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin (still running on Broadway having recently celebrated 11 years) finishing the work of an inspiration of his, Howard Ashman! Most recently, he penned his first novel Showmance which was released in 2024! We get to discussing hi...

Larry Fuller is a Tony Award nominated choreographer who’s career in the theater spans decades on and offstage. His work as a choreographer includes the original Broadway productions of Evita, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Roll Along! As a performer himself, he was a swing in the original Broadway cast of West Side Story, the original production of The Music Man and Funny Girl starring Barbra Streisand! We get to discussing it all as well as his new book to be released in the spring of 2027!

Timothy Hughes is gearing up to star in the upcoming Broadway musical Wanted! Some previous Broadway credits include the original Broadway casts of Frozen and Hadestown, the latter earned him an article in The New York Times regarding his height (6'7"). Most recently on screen he was featured alongside Lisa Kudrow in the final season of HBO's The Comeback. Another major screen credit is The Greatest Showman, where he played Strong Man. You may have also heard his voice on Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis' concept album Warriors singing We Got You alongside Joshua Henry! Other Broadway credits include Chap...

Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf is cellist with more than 20 Broadway credits. She currently plays in the pit of The Great Gatsby on Broadway! Some of her theater credits include the original Off Broadway production of The Last 5 Years, The Bridges of Madison County, A Little Night Music (2009 revival) and many others. In 2021, she released her debut album Music of Broadway For Cello and Piano which featured new orchestrations of music by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Alan Menken and many more! We discuss all of that, the quote Elaine Stritch gave her for her website, and even get a LIVE CELLO PERFORMANCE IN...

Julia Murney is currently starring in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee as Rona at The Cape Playhouse running now to September 19th! She's most well known for having originated the role of Queenie in Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination! Her previous Broadway credits include Wicked (Elphaba) and Lennon the Musical! We get to chatting about all of that and more!

David Lindsay-Abaire is a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning playwright, book writer and lyricist whose work has appeared on screen and stage! He won the Pulitzer Prize for his play Rabbit Hole in 2007 (which was adapted into a feature film starring Nicole Kidman) and the Tony Award in 2023 for Best Book of a Musical as well as Best Musical for Kimberly Akimbo (a musical based on his play of the same name) which he wrote with Tony Award winning composer Jeanine Tesori. The show just concluded a national tour and has now begun performances in the UK starring Ma...

Al Tapper is a composer and producer who's composed more than a dozen musicals including his latest show After All These Years which opens at the AMT Theater on September 10th! He's produced the documentaries Broadway: The Golden Age and Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy which featured interviews from Broadway legends such as Stephen Sondheim, Carol Burnett, Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera, John Raitt, and many many more! We get to talking all about that, his experiences with Marlon Brando, Neil Simon, and Steven Spielberg and much more!

Howard McGillin is a 2 time Tony Award nominated Broadway actor who also holds the record for most performances as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. He also originated the role of Jasper in The Mystery of Edwin Drood on Broadway! He also led the cast of the Stephen Sondheim musical Bounce (as Wilson) which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC opposite Richard Kind, Michele Pawk and Gavin Creel. His other Broadway credits include the latest revival of Parade, Gigi, She Loves Me, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Secret...

Jody Reynard is a Broadway veteran currently playing Mr. Duvall in Mean Girls at The Cape Playhouse! He booked his Broadway debut as a swing in Fosse after an Ann Reinking led dance call! He also starred in Legally Blonde, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, and Taboo on Broadway! Part time, he teaches numerous classes at Broadway Dance Center! We get to talking about the key to Fosse technique, meeting Ben Vereen, and nailing musical comedy! Go see Mean Girls now through August 29th!

Jody Reynard is a Broadway veteran currently playing Mr. Duvall in Mean Girls at The Cape Playhouse! He booked his Broadway debut as a swing in Fosse after an Ann Reinking led dance call! He also starred in Legally Blonde, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, and Taboo on Broadway! Part time, he teaches numerous classes at Broadway Dance Center! We get to talking about the key to Fosse technique, meeting Ben Vereen, and nailing musical comedy! Go see Mean Girls now through August 29th!

Angie Schworer is a Broadway veteran with more than 10

Broadway credits! She's most well known for originating the role of Angie in The Prom, a role that was based on her and was played by Nicole Kidman in the Ryan Murphy Netflix film adaptation which we talk about as well! She made her Broadway debut in The Will Rogers Follies directed and choreographed by Tommy Tune. Her other Broadway credits include the original cast of The Producers, Some Like It Hot, Crazy For You and Sunset Boulevard. She's now taking up direction and choreography herself as she'll...

Tony Yazbeck is Broadway veteran who received a Tony Award nomination for the role of Gabie in the 2014 Broadway revival of On The Town! After making his Broadway debut as a child in the 1989 Revival of Gypsy, he’d then be in the 2008 Revival Gypsy this time as Tulsa however the journey getting there contained multiple twists and turns which we got to discussing at length! Other Broadway credits include A Chorus Line, Oklahoma, Prince of Broadway and most recently Flying Over Sunset! He’s currently playing Stone in Ogunquit’s production of City Of Angels! We get to talkin...

Cynthia Meng made history as first woman to ever conduct Ragtime on Broadway which now holds the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and closes August 16th at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway! Her other work on Broadway includes Company (2021 Revival), Dead Outlaw and Hadestown (for which she was a part of from the original Broadway production as a music assistant), and much more! Onscreen, she served as the Associate Vocal Supervisor for the film Spirited (starring Ryan Reynolds & Will Ferrell) as well as the 3rd season of the acclaimed Hulu series Only Murders in the...

Donna Lynne Champlin is currently starring in The Loved Ones as Cheryl-Ann at Irish Rep open now until August 2nd! Her most notable stage work includes playing Pirelli in the 2005 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd (directed by John Doyle featuring Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone as Sweeney and Mrs Lovett respectively), playing Older Helen in Hollywood Arms (a semi-autobiographical role created by Carol Burnett and directed by Hal Prince), and James Joyce's The Dead starring opposite Alice Ripley, Marni Nixon and Christopher Walken! Many may know her as Paula Proctor in the hit CW musical comedy TV series Crazy...

Joomin Hwang is a Broadway performer turned author currently in & Juliet (alongside Joey Fatone & Chrissy Metz!) which he's been in since it originally opened on Broadway in 2022! He made his Broadway debut in The Prom in 2018 after immigrating from South Korea where he was a competitive breakdancer! He's now written a self help book titled The Rule of Five Journal which is OUT NOW helping those struggling to balance negativity in their lives with positivity! 

Joel Blum is a 2 time Tony Award nominated actor with multiple Broadway, Off Broadway and National Tour credits! He received his Tony Award nominations for his performances as Frank in the 1994 Revival of Show Boat (directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Susan Stroman) and Buddy in Kander & Ebb’s Steel Pier respectively! Some of his earlier credits include being a part of the original ensemble of 42nd Street on Broadway and Debbie Reynolds’ Vegas act! In 2000, he starred as Marcellus in a Broadway revival of The Music Man alongside Craig Bierko, Eric McCormack, and Robert Sean Leonard! We get...

Ken Jennings is a Broadway star best known for originating the role of Tobias in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! His other Broadway credits include the original Broadway casts of Grand Hotel, Side Show, and Urinetown (originating the role of Hot Blades Harry)! Disney Parks fans will know him as a hologram in the short lived EPCOT attraction The Astuter Computer Revue! His one man show The Gospel of John which he performed off Broadway was nominated for the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Performance and he continues to tour the show across the...

Jack O’Brien is a theater legend whose work spans genres and across the globe. He’s directed classic Shakespearean plays (incuding Henry IV, MacBeth starring Ethan Hawke and more on Broadway), original Tom Stoppard epics (The Coast of Utopia, The Invention of Love and more on Broadway) and some of the greatest musical comedies of the contemporary era (Hairspray, Shucked and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)! Having directed more than 50 Broadway productions and 4 Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award he received in 2024), Jack has become one of the most prolific directors to ever work onstage. His work in the regi...

Stephanie Klemons is currently the Associate Choreographer for Hamilton (Broadway, National Tours and UK) as well as Heathers Off Broadway. She also appeared in the original Broadway casts of Hamilton, In The Heights (for which she also served as the Dance Captain) and If/Then! As a choreographer she worked on Rock & Roll Man, In the Heights (Kennedy Center), and numerous commercials and music videos. We get to talking about what it was like being in the room where it happened helping create the movement of Hamilton and In the Heights, working with Andy Blankenbuehler, the extent of an...

Grace Yurchuk is a singer/songwriter and musical theater composer, and a 2024 graduate of NYU Steinhardt (B.M., Classical Vocal Performance). She is best known for Caesar: The Musical, as well as her self-produced theater-pop songs like “30 Seconds” and “Mixed Messages.” Grace built her audience for Caesar by sharing each draft for the show online as it was written, as well as other peeks into her creative process. She funded the show’s studio cast EP through a Kickstarter campaign which was selected as a Kickstarter “Project We Love,” ultimately surpassing its goal and raising over $36,000. In addition to her work as a compos...

Alejo Vietti is our first costume designer on the show! His work is currently represented on Broadway in the Tony Award nominated Titanique which he's been a part of since it's premiere in NYC. Other Broadway credits include SMASH, Holiday Inn, Allegiance and Beautiful: the Carole King Musical! Originally from Argentina, Alejo has worked with some of the most prominent costume designers to ever work in the industry including Ann Roth and Bob Crowley! He also worked as an associate to Jess Goldstein on the original Broadway production of Jersey Boys! We get to talking about what it means...

Jim Borstelmann is a Broadway veteran having been in the original casts of The Producers, The Addams Family and many more. Jim was in the ensemble of the 1996 revival of Chicago starring Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth and Joel Grey which is still on Broadway holding the record for the longest running Broadway revival. A self taught dancer, Jim made his Broadway debut working under the legendary Jerome Robbins having been a swing in Jerome Robbins' Broadway. His most recent Broadway appearance was in 2023 in New York, New York, marking his 4th Broadway collaboration with former guest and Broadway icon...

Kevin Adams is a 4 time Tony Award winning lighting designer who's currently nominated for his 9th Tony Award for his lighting design on the 2025 Broadway revival of Chess! His previous credits include the Off Broadway and Broadway productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Spring Awakening (for which he won his first Tony Award for). He's also worked on the original productions of Next to Normal, American Idiot, SpongeBob Squarepants, and The Cher Show! His work transcends musicals having worked on operas, Broadway plays, and one person shows including John Leguizamo's Sexaholix! Upcoming, he's working on a new...

Maulik Pancholy is currently starring as Reverend Howard Layton/The Leprechaun in Schmigadoon on Broadway! Onscreen he's best known as the voice of Baljeet in the Disney Channel sensation Phineas and Ferb and Sanjay in Sanjay and Craig on Nickelodeon. He's also well known as Jack Donaughy's assistant Jonathan on the hit NBC comedy 30 Rock! His former Broadway credits include It's Only A Play and Grand Horizons! Coming up, he'll be starring alongside Paul Giamatti, Julianne Moore, Bernadette Peters and more in Jesse Eisenberg's new untitled movie musical from A24. His new novel Will They, Won't They? will be...

Beowulf Boritt is a 2 time Tony Award winning scenic designer! His charity The 1/52 Project which focuses on amplifying marginalized designers has won the 2026 Tony Award Honor For Excellence In Theatre! Some of his work on Broadway includes Act One, New York, New York, On The Town, A Bronx Tale, Flying Over Sunset, The Scottsboro Boys, Sunday in the Park with George (2017), Prince Of Broadway and many more! His book Transforming Space Over Time released in 2022 and features a detailed look to the scenic design process as well as featuring interviews with legendary theater directors including Hal Prince, Susan Stroman...

FIFTH DREAM GUEST! Susan Stroman is a 5 time Tony Award winning Broadway director and choreographer! Her most iconic work includes directing and choreographing The Producers (working alongside Mel Brooks), Contact (for which she won multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical), the 2000 Broadway revival of The Music Man, Bullets Over Broadway (alongside Woody Allen), New York, New York and many more! As a choreographer, she's responsible for the original choreography of the smash hit Crazy For You, the 1994 revival of Show Boat, Oklahoma starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Trevor Nunn, Liza at Radio City Music Hall, and Steel Pier...

Two-time Grammy Award nominee Lisa Lampanelli was known for more than 30 years as “Comedy’s Lovable Queen of Mean.” A constant on the comedy scene, with countless tours, 13 NBC “Tonight Show” appearances, and sold-out performances at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall under her belt, she became well-known for her roasting skills, publicly lambasting everyone from David Hasselhoff to Flavor Flav to Pamela Anderson on Comedy Central. In 2016, Lisa decided to do something a little different. She wrote “Stuffed,” a four-person play about food and body-image issues, which enjoyed two off-Broadway runs! Her charitable efforts -- she raised $130,000 for the Gay Me...

Stephen Kramer Glickman is most well known for the beloved role Gustavo Rocque on the hit Nickelodeon series which created the boy band of the same name, Big Time Rush, a band and TV show Elbi was absolutely obsessed with growing up! His theater history is also vast having originated the role of Shrek in the pre Broadway developmental workshops of the musical rendition for YEARS as well as helping develop the role of Frankenstein's Monster along with Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman for Young Frankenstein! His voice can be heard as Pigeon Toady alongside Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston...

Jeffrey Seller has impacted the theater industry forever. Best known as the lead producer of Hamilton, Rent, In The Heights, and Avenue Q (all of which won him the Tony Award for Best Musical), Jeffrey is the only person to have produced two Pulitzer Prize winning musicals. On top of this, Jeffrey alongside his former producing partner Kevin McCollum created the rush and lottery discount ticket options 30 years ago with Rent! He's now written a memoir titled Theatre Kid which is available on paperback beginning May 6th! In this very special episode, we get to talking about the state...

Carey Renee Sharpe is currently starring in the Off Broadway show which she also co-wrote, Blood/Love at Theater 555! A former nurse from Wisconsin, Carey decided to pivot her career after renovating a venue in her hometown. Alongside her writing partner Dru Decaro (Grammy nominated producer for Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Sabrina Carpenter and many more) the two have spent the last 6 years developing and writing the world premiere vampire pop opera Blood/Love which is open now to May 10th!

Claybourne Elder is a Broadway star whose work spans decades on stage and screen. His new album If The Stars Were Mine is streaming everywhere now and you could also look out for his solo shows where he performs songs from the album, sharing their relation to his journey to Broadway, his childhood, current fatherhood and beyond! He originated the role of Hollis in one of Stephen Sondheim's final musicals, Road Show. Aside from Road Show, his work on Sondheim projects includes the most recent Broadway revival of Company (Andy), Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, Sondheim on...

Mark Evans is an actor whose stage work spans multiple continents having starred in multiple West End AND Broadway shows! His Broadway debut was The Play That Goes Wrong which he's now the Associate Director of Off Broadway at New World Stages. Some of his other Broadway credits, include Waitress, Mrs Doubtfire, and Tammy Faye! His West End credits include originating Troy Bolton in High School Musical, Sam in Ghost, Fiyero in Wicked, and swing in the Original London Cast of Spamalot amongst many more! He currently runs his own acting studio, Mark Evans Studio which holds weekly classes...

Simon Leary is a New Zealand based actor who's making in his NYC debut off Broadway in a new play titled Heartbreak Hotel at the DR2 Theatre running now until April 19th! Originally from Timaru, NZ, Simon has since moved to Wellington where he's performed in numerous productions at the Circa Theatre including The Glass Menagerie, A Servant to Two Masters and more! On top of all this, he's written and starred in many pantos which are family friendly productions based on fairytales that are especially prominent in the UK as well as New Zealand. We get to talking...

Michael Sommers is a drama critic currently working for New York Stage Review. He served as the president of the New York Drama Critics Circle for two terms as well as freelanced for the The New York Times and Backstage to name a few. Michael was a longtime chief of The Star Ledger as well as the Newhouse News Service! We get to talking about the history of drama critics, whether or not being a critic still holds much weight in a time where influencers' opinions dominate, and what he's looking forward to this season.