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Special Episode: Jasmine Forsberg on the ‘bonkers’ journey that brought her to ‘Old Friends’
00:27:14
On this special episode of BroadwayRadio, Matt Tamanini is in conversation with a returning guest on a very special day. Just hours after he spoke with Jasmine Forsberg, she took to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in the first Broadway preview of “Steph...
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Matt Tammanini
Welcome to a special interview episode of Broadway Radio. My name is Matt Tammanini. On today's episode, I honestly think this is the first time in my entire career that I've ever had the opportunity to do this. I got a chance to chat with, first off, one of my favorite returning guests, but somebody who was getting ready to do the first preview of a new Broadway show in just a matter of hours. That is because yesterday I spoke with Jasmine Forsberg, who just later that evening was on stage at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater doing the first Broadway performance of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. As you can imagine, Jasmine was incredibly excited to start this second leg of the Old Friends journey, having done the show out of town in Los Angeles earlier this year. While last night was the Broadway debut of Old Friends, this of course is not Jasmine's Broadway debut. Despite just being a few years removed from graduating college, this is Jasmine's third Broadway show, all three in principal roles, two of them originating principal roles in Broadway shows. She made her debut as Imelda's inner voice in Here Lies Love, and then she went and played the role of Jane Seymour in Six on Broadway, having originated the role in the first national tour. And now she's coming back to Broadway in one of the younger women tracks in Sondheim's Old Friends, which we get into in detail. In our conversation, she tells me about what it's like working with so many incredible legends, the unbelievable experience of how she found out she was cast in the show, some of her favorite Sondheim memories, and much more. Of course, in the show notes, I'll have information on how you can purchase tickets to see Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater. And just about an hour after we wrapped up our conversation, it was announced that the show has extended, so you now have more opportunities to check it out. And if I'm reading the tea leaves of what Jasmine told me in our conversation, there does seem to be some room for some potential Further extensions depending on how things go over the next few weeks and months. So with all of that out of the way, here is my latest conversation with Jasmine Forsberg.
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Jasmine Forsberg
Foreign.
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Matt Tammanini
Jasmine, it is, as always, lovely to talk to you. Lovely to see your face here on Zoom. It has been quite a whirlwind since the last time we spoke. I think the last time we talked, you. You teased this. You told me like you had something coming, but you couldn't say what it was. So, to go from ending your running six straight into Old Friends, going to la, now you're back on Broadway, how has the last four or five months of your life been?
- [03:23]
Jasmine Forsberg
A whirlwind is a wonderful way of putting it. I am so excited. I mean, this. Your show is called Today on Broadway, is it not?
- [03:32]
Matt Tammanini
It is, yes.
- [03:33]
Jasmine Forsberg
And so today on Broadway, we are having our first preview of Old Friends. I'm just so excited. And I mean, it's so interesting going from doing a show like Six the Musical, which is 80 minutes or so of pure go, go, go energy, to doing a show, doing a review of Stephen Sondheim's works where I'm performing alongside these Broadway legends. And it's 2 hours and 30 minutes. I will say there's 40 plus numbers. I think 41 to be exact numbers of just a musical theater genius. And it's different than what I've been doing the last three years. And it's such a wonderful exercise for my actor brain to be able to occupy all of these different spaces. Because, I mean, one of the greatest things about Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends is that it's a sampling of his greatest works. I mean, he is so definitive in the musical theater canon, and we get to explore his material from left and right, top to bottom, and it's just so much fun. And, yeah, being in Los Angeles, the show was received so beautifully. The ahmanson theater is 2,000 seats, and now we're going to be performing in a theater that is 600 seats or so at the Friedman Theater here at Manhattan Theater Club. And so I'm excited for the intimacy to come in, not having to push so far to reach the audience members who are no longer a football field away. They're, in fact, maybe only 100ft away, which is really exciting. Really, really exc. And tonight, my energy is just off the charts. I'm excited.
- [05:19]
Matt Tammanini
No, that's amazing. And you talk about all of the other people that you get to do this show with. Obviously, you've worked with Leah before. In Here Lies Love but now you throw in folks like Bernadette Peters and Beth Leavel and so many folks from, you know, Joanna, writing from the West End, Gavin Leigh, who's been back and forth. I know how. I mean, I've known you or known of you since you were in high school. So, like, I know how much of a theater kid you were as you get to, like, start to step onto stage, not only to sing these songs, but with those people. What has that meant for you? And you've talked about the energy, I would imagine there was a little bit of theater kid giddiness going on on those rehearsal rooms.
- [05:59]
Jasmine Forsberg
1,000%. I swear, that first. The first day that we were in rehearsal, it was in fact just the newcomers. So Beth Leavel was a newcomer just like me to this material, which gave me a sense of peace, honestly. When she walked in, oh, she just so funny, her personality on stage and off. She just is a spark of lightning, I swear. And when the alumni cast came in from the West End, they came in about a week after we had all been rehearsing, the newcomers had been rehearsing here in New York City. And the energy of everybody in the room to have. I mean, the show is called Old Friends. And so to see these beautiful reunions happening for people who haven't seen each other in a little bit of time, because the show was done in 2023 in the West. It. It was so beautiful to witness all of these different energies culminating together and all these different life experiences. I mean, we have Bernadette Peters, of course, Broadway legend. I wore out my copy of Annie, and she played Lily St. Regis in the movie of Annie, of course. Like, just seeing all these people, I mean, definitely there were nerves. There was still a little bit of, like, I don't even know how to talk to these people. And yet here I am writing a happy Broadway debut card to Joanna Riding, because this is her Broadway debut. So to remind myself that we're all experiencing, even the legends of this industry are also experiencing firsts at the same time. It's a lovely breath of fresh air to remind myself, like, I'm exactly where I need to be alongside these wonderful people who have such different bodies of work and experiences. And it's. It's wonderful.
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Matt Tammanini
Yeah, you. You mentioned people experiencing first, so that leads to something I wanted to ask about. What was your first Sondheim show, either that you did or that you, like, really fell in love with?
- [08:03]
Jasmine Forsberg
There are two experiences that I can think of firsthand when I talk about first Sondheim and they weren't necessarily. They weren't necessarily the very first moment I encountered Sondheim's work, but it was the time that it really resonated with me the most. Being from Orlando, I got to see. Right before I left for college, I saw a production of into the woods at the Garden Theater. Directed by.
- [08:30]
Matt Tammanini
I saw it. Yeah.
- [08:31]
Jasmine Forsberg
Yes. Steve McKinnon was a childhood mentor of mine through and through, and he. I believe he directed that show, if not music directed. But I remember listening to no One Is Alone and Children Will Listen and just the. The lushness of the score and knowing that I was about to go away a thousand miles off to Penn State from Orlando. I was just so tender. I remember being an absolute puddle of tears by the end of that show. And it just goes to speak of how even Sondheim's fantastical works, like into the woods, it is fairy tale, and yet he is so. His. His way of manifesting the human connection into. Into his. His songs and into his. His theater. It's just so impactful and so moving. And the other experience that I can think about is also going back to Florida roots. I did a solo for the Florida Thespian competition when I was a senior in high school. I did Everybody says Don't from Anyone Can Whistle. And. And those lyrics. At that time, I was auditioning for musical theater programs left and right. And those lyrics were so inspiring and reminded me that I am limitless. Nobody can put a box on me, Nobody can put these labels on me. I. I don't have to be afraid because I'm every. Everything that I need to be and more is like, it's right where I am in this moment. And those lyrics make just a ripple. Come on, be brave this time, a ripple next time, a wave. It was just so encouraging. And so I. And little. Little did I know that senior year of high school, Jasmine would be performing alongside Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga and all of these legends in her first ever true Sondheim production on Broadway. So what a. What a way to make an introduction to Sondheim is. Is that this stage of the game? For sure.
- [10:37]
Matt Tammanini
It's wild to me that you never have done a. Any Sondheim show before. I mean, no Little Red for you? No, you know, nothing like that. All right, so walk me through this process. When you. Whether when you auditioned or went the whole process like that or even when it got into rehearsals, were these tracks set in stone? Were these like, okay, this is the track that was done in the London Version. So you're coming in and these are the songs that we know you're going to do. Or was that kind of figured out in the process once you got there?
- [11:12]
Jasmine Forsberg
Well, when I auditioned for the show, it was back in April of last year. That was my first audition and it was a pretty streamlined process. It was very much audition for the casting team, audition in front of the music supervisor, audition in front of the team, or call back in front of the team, I suppose. And then there was. What was interesting is after my callback, I didn't think it was necessarily a final callback, but it was. Immediately after a callback, I get a call from my agent saying they want you to come back in tomorrow for a sort of chemistry read. Cameron McIntosh wants to kind of put pieces of the puzzle together. And so I go in the next day and they actually have me sing. I'm auditioning for what. What was a track that sang different songs than what I currently sing in the show right now. And so the next day when I went chemistry read, I was singing the all the other, the alternate young female track of the show. And so I was like, okay, interesting. I didn't, I didn't know, like, I didn't come necessarily. I didn't know the songs. So I was learning them on the fly by the, alongside the piano in the room. And that was, that was a lot of fun. It was definitely a little bit stressful for me as somebody who loves to come in as prepared as possible. But what was very once again a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief, if you will, was that my castmate, my now castmate, Maria Wearies, she was in the room for this chemistry read. And when I walked in, I didn't know if we were going in for the same track. I didn't know if it was a, you know, once again putting the pieces of the puzzle together. But when we finally got in the room, when we were doing this tonight quintet medley, the tonight quintet of the show, she got to sing Maria, got to sing the Maria track. And I san the Anita track, which is how it is in the show today. And Maria and I for a little bit of backstory, we went to school together at Penn State. And so, you know, sigh of relief. I was seeing somebody who genuinely was an old friend in my life. And oh my gosh, if there's a story for the future memoir, it is definitely that after the chemistry read, we get finished with like the two numbers that we're doing with the other gentlemen in the room and whatnot and casting tells us, hey, you're free to go. Thank you so much for coming in. And sir macintosh comes up to Maria and I and he just puts his arms around our shoulders and he says, you're just gonna have so much fun. You're gonna have so many features. We're so excited. This is just gonna be a really great in the room. And no, it's, it's just gonna be so fun. We're, we're really looking forward to this. And Maria and I walk out and we're just looking at each other so confused. We say, thank you so much, Karen. Thank you so much. And we' and we walk out and ask each other, did Cameron McIntosh just give us the part? Is that what that was? And casting. Our wonderful casting directors follow us out and they're like, did he just tell you? And both Marie and I are like, we think so. And Peter Van Damme is like, okay, we're going to go call your agents, go call your moms, like, do, do what you need to do. You just got, you got offered the show. We want you to be a part of the show. And so, wow, what a, what a journey that was. That was wonderful to be able to call my mom in the elevator on the way out of the rehearsal studio and tell her that I, that I got this job. And I mean, that was nine months prior to us even starting this, this journey together because we started rehearsals back in January. And so I didn't know when I was offered the track because I went into audition for, so for, for basically two different tracks. I was like, I'm not sure exactly how it's going to shake out in the room. So the last six months or so were spent pretty much just learning all of the potential songs that I would have the opportunity to sing. And what is very unique in this production is that there's so much internal coverage. So we have. I get to cover Lea Salonga. I get what? I get to cover my idol, Lea Salonga singing Loving you from Passion. I mean, Beth Leavel covers Bernadette, Send in the clowns. We have legend covering legends, which I, I, I'm pretty sure is unheard of. But this, this show is pretty unique in that everybody kind of chips in and picks up some of the pieces when, when one person's out. And hopefully, you know, that rarely, if ever happens, but we have true professionals who are ready to go at the drop of a hat. So, yeah, it's, it's been unique, but putting the pieces together, I think it's Been a little bit more like what was done on the West End. So there hasn't been necessarily as much flexibility with, oh, we're actually going to have you do xyz. But it's been still so fun to see everybody's different interpretations. And I'm excited to do my own interpretation when I get the chance to go on for certain roles and stuff like that.
- [16:18]
Matt Tammanini
Absolutely. Well, you. You said you got to call your mom, let her know that you booked your third Broadway show in, like, not that much time. I mean, it is really crazy when you think about your talk about Penn State. You're not that far removed from being in college, Jasmine. And you have done a number of off Broadway shows, regional shows, tours. This is your third Broadway show. As somebody who, as you know, I've kind of watched and followed your entire career, it's wild. So I can't imagine what it's been like for you to go from national tour to opening a new Broadway show to going on Broadway and then going into this show. What are the emotions like for you? Like, is it still kind of. Do you have to pinch yourself to think about, like, however old you are? This is my third Broadway show. Second, originating a principal role, like, it's kind of. It's kind of bonkers.
- [17:12]
Jasmine Forsberg
Bonkers is a phenomenal word to put it, because I sometimes I still can't wrap my head around how incredibly spontaneously wonderful this journey has been. And simultaneously, just like everybody else in the industry, I also have those moments where I'm like, okay, like, when. When's that opportunity gonna happen that either the shoe drops type of thing, and. And I. There's such a duality to all of it. There is such a gratitude and an active practice of wanting to stay present for the current moment. And then there is also. I mean, this. Old Friends is a limited engagement. This show only goes, like, max 16 weeks. And so there is that part of me. I mean, I knew about this show nine months prior to us starting rehearsal, and now the end of my contract is, like, less than four months away type of thing. And so there is that part of me, of course, I think, like, anybody that's like, hmm, I don't. I don't really know what's going to come next. And so when people ask me, like, what's happening after this, I'm like, I don't. I genuinely don't know. So I'm going to just practice. I. I'm encouraging myself to just practice staying present in this given moment and staying grateful for this given moment. Because I swear every single opportunity thus far has topped the last one. And I don't know if it will always be that way. In fact, I. I guarantee in this career path of. Of what I hope to Long, long career, there will be ups and downs and there will be. It'll be a constant ebb and flow and give and take of what I'm trying to focus on in this given moment. And what is so wonderful is being. Being among the younger members of this cast right now. I get to see firsthand these people who have had decades to their career, and they get to share with me, oh, like, this is when I took a break to go have children and start a family. Or this is I. I started a family while simultaneously doing XYZ Broadway shows or XYZ regional theaters or tours or etc. Etc. Etc. And so it's so encouraging in this moment in time for me to be able to see firsthand that every journey is not linear. Every journey is going to be completely different. And I keep saying sigh of relief, but I think this show for me has been such an experience of being a sponge and just learning as much as I can and learning from observation, learning from experience. Everything is different. And I'm kind of just trying to remind myself, stay present, practice, gratitude, and the next thing will come when it comes. But for now, I'm just so excited and happy to be here. And let's get this first preview under our belt. Go.
- [20:14]
Matt Tammanini
Well, you mentioned gratitude, and that is obviously important in life, let alone in a profession in the arts. But the other side of that is also, like, you've worked hard. You can't just fall into three Broadway shows over the course of a couple years. You talk about the learning, but you also mentioned earlier how, like, you've gone from doing six on and off with a little bit of a respite in between for two, three years or whatever. Now you're going into having to flex different acting muscles playing multiple roles. How has, I guess, one. How do you keep those things going when you're in a show like Six that you've been doing for a long time? How do you make sure that you're maintaining those skills so that when you have an opportunity like this, you're ready? And then knowing for nine months that you're gonna do this show? What did you do to prepare to make sure that you were ready when you did walk into that rehearsal room with all of those legends?
- [21:05]
Jasmine Forsberg
Yes. Yes. I mean, something very wonderful with Six is that I was a part of it. For so long. And, I mean, I auditioned for the show for the first time when I was 21, and I ended my run when I was 25. So much life experience happens in those years. They're so formative. And Heart of Stone was one of those numbers that you could really drop in and go on a journey yourself as an actor as well as the character, and take the audience on a journey with you. And as so much life experienced happened, I mean, in full transparency, I started the show never having had a romantic love in my life, a deep romantic love in my life. And then I fell in love, and then I made the decision to step away from that. And then by the end of the run, we found our way back to one another after a full year of, like, being together. And it's just all of that life experience was, like, layered into that performance. And as. I mean, I think the more life experience you have, the better you conserve the material that you're working with in that time. And so what was beautiful with six is the circumstance that I used for Heart of Stone shifted, it seems. You know, every performance was a different moment, you know, to drop in and find something new. And over the course of three, three years of doing the piece, it was fun to be able to find different ways into the role every single night, different ways into that song. And having had so much time to prepare this material with Stephen Sondheim's work, there was a lot of. I mean, my musical theater brain was turned on, for sure. I was nerding out and listening to all the cast recordings and just doing my research. And Jennifer Tepper. I have not had the opportunity to watch this documentary, but Jennifer Tepper, one of my dear friends, an incredible Broadway historian, she sent me a documentary to watch. She was like, there are so many sources you can pull from, but this is a phenomenal one to watch. It is in my inbox right now. I just saw her wonderfully conceived production of the Jonathan Larson project down at the. And so we had an opportunity to reconnect. And she sent me that documentary not too long ago, just a few days ago, actually. And so I'm excited. Like, I'm even still learning as the run goes on. And so it's just. It's wonderful. And I feel like every night when I get to watch my castmates bring their unique experiences to these orals, and also to go through, understudy and watch different castmates bring their unique experiences into these roles, it is so. I mean, it's just masterclass after masterclass after Masterclass. And I am happy to be a part of it. I'm happy to be working alongside them. And I think we're all just Broadway musical theater nerds living our dreams at this point.
- [24:10]
Matt Tammanini
Well, I'll wrap you. I know you've got a bunch going on today, so I'll wrap up with a couple of quick questions here. You mentioned being able to watch all of your incredible castmates. What's the moment that whether you're on stage, whether you're listening through a monitor, whether you're in the wings, what's a moment where you're like, I have to see hear this every time that's humanly possible?
- [24:31]
Jasmine Forsberg
I think something that is so special in this iteration of Old Friends is getting to do. Sunday, it's our act one closer. Bernadette reprises her role as Dot, which she, you know, she originated. And to see her, after all of this time revisit that role on Broadway, it is just so special, and it gives me goosebumps every single time. I think the audience will be deeply moved when they get to hear that. And it's a moment, too, where all of us are on stage together. This piece, there are standout highlight moments, for sure. Everybody has their shining moment on stage, but it is an ensemble piece. And so to be able to stand alongside Bernadette and Leia and Kate Jennings, Grant and Gavin Lee and all of these incredible artists, it's just for me, I get chills just thinking about that. And I think for the audience, it'll be a very special moment. Whether you have appreciated Sondheim for decades and decades and decades, or this is your first experience seeing all of Sondheim's different works in full. It's so special. And that's the moment I look forward to every single night.
- [25:54]
Matt Tammanini
All right, last question. You said people ask you what's next? You have no idea. I know that's a terrible question to ask actors, so forget what's next. But down the road, what is a Sondheim role or just show in general that you would like to. To do in some form or another?
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Jasmine Forsberg
My idol, Lea Salonga, is about to do into the woods in the Philippines alongside Ariel Jacobs as Cinderella. I just love the fantastical elements of that show. It is so special. It is so lush. I think that one would be really, really fun. Really, really fun. Not exactly sure even what role tbd, but could be fun.
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Matt Tammanini
I mean, have they cast a Little Red for that production yet?
- [26:41]
Jasmine Forsberg
I mean, like, I think they have. In fact, I'm not sure But I don't know, maybe you'll catch me in Manila later this summer. We'll see.
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Matt Tammanini
Maybe. Maybe. Well, Jasmine, you know that I am always incredibly excited to see you on stage and just incredibly overwhelmed by everything that has happened for you. And I cannot wait to see this show. I get like, Maddie's on the call. I think it's like in a week and a half. I'm seeing it in a couple weeks. So, so excited and cannot wait to just revel in all of the Sondheim goodies that you guys are going to throw to us at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater.
- [27:12]
Jasmine Forsberg
I can't wait to see you, Matt. And please tell little Joey I said hi.
- [27:16]
Matt Tammanini
I will. I will let him know I took a screenshot of this zoom so I can show him after school today. So he will be very, very excited. So thank you again for everything. Have a great first preview and I'll talk to you soon.
- [27:28]
Jasmine Forsberg
Thanks, Matt. Bye.
- [27:44]
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