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- [00:00]
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Lauren Molina
Foreign.
- [00:37]
Matt Tamnini
Welcome to a special interview episode of Broadway Radio. My name is Matt Tamnini. On today's episode, I'm in conversation with one of the theater's most talented multi hyphenates, Lauren Molina. She is currently preparing to begin performances in a new Actor Musician production of Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye's long suffering wife Goldie at the Ocelo Rep in Sarasota, Florida. From her Broadway debut in John Doe's 2005 Tony winning actor Musician production of Sweeney Todd, audiences have long known that not only is Lauren an incredibly talented actor and singer, but she is also a phenomenal cellist, having been in numerous other shows that allowed her to show off her cello playing ability, including a critically acclaimed production of youf Good Man Charlie Brown that she co conceived. Along with her regular collaborator Nick Searle, she has become a staple in the cabaret scene in New York and around the country, playing the cello in her underwear in the band the Skivvies, which she co founded with Searle. In our conversation, Lauren and I discuss how the Actor Musician concept can help explore nuance and depth in shows including those that we think we know incredibly well, like Fiddler on the Roof. What Fiddler has to say about the world today, why Goldie is a dream role that she never really knew she had, and how Lauren dealt with a plague of love bugs on a Florida beach. The Ocelo Reps Actor Musician production of Fiddler on the Roof runs in Sarasota from April 11 through May 24. And of course I'll have information on where you can purchase tickets in the show notes. All right, with all of that out of the way, here's my conversation with Lauren Molina. Well, Lauren, you just told me that you are getting ready to move in to the theater tomorrow. So how has rehearsals been going? How have they been? This is, I would imagine, a Fairly complicated rehearsal process given the actor musician aspect. But how have things been going since you've gotten down to Sarasota?
- [02:32]
Lauren Molina
I have been having such a blast here at Asolo Rep playing Golda in Fiddler. It is. I didn't know it was a dream role. I always loved Fiddler. It was, you know, just a part of my ancestry and family. Herit, we grew up with this music. I played Huddle in high school, and now to get to do the role of the mama with such an amazing cast and to do it in this actor musician way, it feels like I was sort of destined for this Venn diagram to happen of musicals and the way it's being directed. And so I have been having the time of my life. It's been so much fun and it's been challenging and, you know, just like as many. As many laughs as tears. And I really think it's going to resonate with a lot of people.
- [03:33]
Matt Tamnini
Obviously, you are no stranger to actor musician productions. Personally, I am always a sucker for this concept. I generally. I weep at every show, but I generally weep even more during actor musician shows. But I'm interested in your perspective as one of our foremost experts in this context. Why do you think the simple fact of having actors playing instruments seems to open up texts and scores that we think we know really well and can, you know, if done well, reveal so much more depth and nuance than we would anticipate, especially from a classic show like Fiddler?
- [04:11]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, well, obviously, just to start it off, the instruments that we all play are just extensions of our characters. And especially I played the cello, and it has such a mournful and human voice like quality. So it really can sing and have another layer of the emotional impact of the music. So in that regard, I feel like it connects to the characters in a way that can be both beautiful, humorous, sorrowful, and most of all, joyful, especially in the way that we are all playing together. You know, I think that the idea of Fiddler as a actor musician piece really brings a sense of community and spirit and chutzpah. I guess you could say to, you know, people may try to tear us down, but we're gonna just keep playing. And the idea of just the actor musician concept, when you can see an instrument and they're not in the pit, there's just something to the magic of, you know, seeing how an instrument is played and people, I think audiences just sometimes forget that. That actors are capable of doing that too. So it's just like everyone's on stage being A real hero. Just doing all these, you know, these multi hyphenates and uber talented people just doing a real feat of technique and talent and also having emotional depth in their acting. I just, I think that this, this concept is particularly powerful for this piece. But, you know, it makes you hear the lyrics in a new way, makes you hear the orchestrations in a new way and certain melodic lines that you might not have caught before or that could be just like lifted from a different arrangement of instruments in the orchestration.
- [06:38]
Matt Tamnini
And you talked about the fact that, like, instruments can, you know, sing together as the actors are singing together. And I've noticed from the promo images, it looks like you and the three daughters are all playing stringed instruments. Is that something dramaturgical or is that just. That's what happened when they cast the show and that's what everybody could play.
- [07:00]
Lauren Molina
Very good observation. I brought that up and I was like, I love that my daughters all play the instruments that I play. And, you know, I have a special bond with Bava, who plays the cello. You know, there's a viola and a guitar. I asked them and they said it just worked out that way. And I was like, well, it was a happy accident because I love it and it does dramaturgically make so much sense that, you know, I would like teach my daughters. And we kind of weave that in. Little spoiler, but we weave that into just, you know, the storytelling of it. And it's quite sentimental and just beautiful, you know, how you can. How playing instruments. It's like my personal family, you know, just like we're all string players and it has been passed down and taught. So, yeah, it's a beautiful connection. And it was a happy accident.
- [08:09]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, it really would have thrown something off if one of the actresses that they cast was like a percussionist or played like the oboe or something.
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Lauren Molina
But, yeah, well, I do have my littlest daughters, Sprinta and Bielke. They play like tambourine and finger cymbals.
- [08:24]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, well, they're still growing into it. They're the younger daughters, so that makes sense. But I do think you said, correct me if I'm wrong, and I think we've talked about this before, many, many years ago. But, like, your father was a string player in Detroit, right?
- [08:38]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, he still is. He's actually still the assistant principal bassist with the Detroit Symphony, and he was the personnel manager for many, many, many, many years, but retired that job a couple years ago. And so, yeah, he's still playing. My brother is a bassist in an opera orchestra. In Valencia, Spain. And you know, my sister's an artist too, but not so much a string player. Plays a little guitar. But yes, it definitely runs in my family. And even though I was sort of the black sheep, you know, playing the cello, I was good at it. But I wasn't, you know, going to go to. I wasn't about to play in an orchestra, you know, and it just conveniently ended up on my special skills when the role of Joanna in John Doyle Sweeney Todd in 2005 was being cast and I just had all the right skills at the right time.
- [09:32]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, well, you had all the right skills, but I'm interested because normally when we think of the cello, obviously it's not as big as the bass, but like it's a fairly big instrument. It's hard to move around on stage, I would imagine. But I've seen you play some very, very small cellos with the skivvies. And from what it looks like from the little promo video that Asolo put out, like this one moves fairly well. Are there different types of cellos? Like there are different types of like saxophones and trumpets?
- [09:59]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, absolutely. And I actually have a. The one that I play with the skivvies is an electric cello which is just like a skinny stick. And yeah, there's all different sizes of string instruments. So the one that I've actually, that my dad had custom made for me in high school is a 3 quarter size cello which I still play to this day. So it does look smaller. And I can obviously play a full size cello. I just don't own an acoustic one. So I'm in the market, I have been for quite some time. But I just love my little cello. It's so easy to play, easy to move around. When it comes to actor musician pieces, it's really. I feel kind of comfortable with throwing it around at this point.
- [10:52]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah. Well, getting back to the show, it's interesting to me that actor musician for Fiddler on the Roof, it makes so much sense. Obviously the title of the show is about. Even though it's mainly a metaphor, it's about a musician in this town. Do we get to see that kind of is that I guess what inspires this production to have everybody playing as part of a community, which is essentially what this show is all about.
- [11:22]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, yeah. And what's really, really cool is that our fiddler is a 16 year old refugee from Ukraine. He and his older brother, who is named Yuri, his older brother, who is 21, just got into Juilliard on a full ride for Clarinet.
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Matt Tamnini
Unbelievable.
- [11:42]
Lauren Molina
So we have them both as musicians in the show, and, you know, but they're on stage the whole time and, you know, are present in the community. They just don't really have. They react, but they don't, you know, have dialogue so much, but just that symbolism and that connection to life and that they are literally from the land that, you know, Fiddler on the Roof would have taken place on and in Anatevka. You know what I mean? And so that is really, really special. And, yes, it does inspire the community of it. And, you know, the idea of a fiddler of a fiddle, you know, when. When people are being oppressed and have to move and move what is a portable instrument that they can. That they can bring with them, you know, and that's the fiddle. So. So, yeah, I do think that it inspired the piece. And, you know, our director has never done an actor, musician piece like this before. So it's a wonderful collaboration to discover fun moments of, you know, not just standing there and playing, but, you know, how to integrate the instruments into the story.
- [13:05]
Matt Tamnini
In speaking of those two young musicians in the. In the cast, I'd have to imagine that during the. Especially the early stages of the rehearsal process that you as a company discussed what it means to be doing Fiddler at this time in the world. We're recording now, you know, just a couple days into Passover as well. What were those conversations like? Did that, I guess, reveal more things about what this production would be than maybe even anybody had thought about during Pre Pro.
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Lauren Molina
Yeah, I mean, I would be remiss to say that nobody's thinking about that. Everybody's. Everybody's thinking about that. It's obviously, it's a very volatile, scary time. And, you know, I feel that, you know, this time of Passover, it's a time to recognize, you know, that we are not free until all people are free, and to recognize. Recognize that we all. That the whole world needs liberation. And no matter if you're a Jew, a Muslim, if you're from Palestine or Congo or Sudan or Ukraine, that these senseless wars are happening to so many different types of people. And, you know, fascists running the world are not okay.
- [14:30]
Matt Tamnini
So.
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Lauren Molina
So, you know, to try to be plain about it, I think that this is a timeless story. It's always resonant that, of course, Jews have been oppressed, and now we can look at it from all different types of people's perspectives, and that this story just reflects, unfortunately, realities that we're seeing constantly.
- [14:57]
Matt Tamnini
Obviously, we've talked about like the actor musician part of like the cast working together, but from the cast itself. Have you worked with Jeremy before? Have you worked with any of the other cast members? What has the process been like of like figuring out who all of these obviously multi talented performers are?
- [15:15]
Lauren Molina
Well, fun fact, two of the performers in the show were with me in the actor musician revival of Sweeney Todd. Including, including Ben Magnussen who was Anthony played playing opposite my Joanna.
- [15:30]
Matt Tamnini
I didn't know he was in the show.
- [15:32]
Lauren Molina
Yes, he was a last minute replacement and it was wild when he arrived. And so he's, you know, he's there and Diana DiMarzio who played the beggar woman in that production is here and she's playing accordion and clarinet and playing for miserable hilariously. And yeah, I. So I've worked with them before and I've never worked with Jeremy, but he is fantastic. And when I tell you like you meet people along your journey and you know, sometimes it's just an instant connection and you're like, oh, you're an old brother to me. But like we finish each other's sentences and mind meld within seconds. It's just like, it's this weird thing. We get along so well. We have a shared sense of humor and especially like borscht belt Jewish, kind of like that Mel Brooksian. You know, the puns never stop. And so it's really fun to play with him and be the nudge to him on stage.
- [16:46]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, that's awesome. And the Sweeney connections as well, I hadn't realized. So that's fantastic. But very, very cool. I know while you're in Florida, you've already gotten over to the beaches a little bit. I saw that you were introduced to love bugs, which I'm sorry about that.
- [17:05]
Lauren Molina
Oh my God. I never, ever. I know that Florida is famous for bugs, right? But yeah, we were just hanging out at the beach and it's, you know, it was a lovely day and then all of a sudden these swarms and I'm just like. It wasn't just like a few little clusters. It was like hundreds and hundreds of non biting flies just were attacking us and swarming us and getting on us and going into our bags. And apparently it's a very common thing, especially as the weather gets warmer. They can stick to your car and like peel paint off.
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Matt Tamnini
It's awful.
- [17:47]
Lauren Molina
Aw. They were like trying to go in your mouth and anyway, it was. Yeah, it felt apocalyptic. I'm like, I know that Passover is near. I know that it does feel like the world is on fire. And is this one of the plagues? It just might be.
- [18:07]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah. And, like, I don't know if they've started, like, combining because they're called love bugs because, like, it's actually two bugs. Like, they combine so they're together, and it's. It's very gross. And driving down the interstate in Florida during the summer months is horrific to say the least. But I'm sorry that you experienced that. Are you.
- [18:26]
Lauren Molina
I do love nature, but sometimes you got to draw a line. But I've loved bird watching. Here we are. They have us in a really nice housing complex. Condos that have a pond. And, you know, I do. I do admire all of the beautiful birds that you can see daily here, from the herons to the osprey to the gorgeous, like, ducks and geese and, I mean, it's truly every. Cranes and. Yeah, I saw a bald eagle the other day, so it does feel like it's. There's wildlife all around us and even snakes and frogs and turtles and snails, like, just lizards walking down the sidewalk. So I'm really enjoying that element of nature that we don't always. In a different way than we get in New York, because I definitely know that there's lovely birding in New York City, too.
- [19:30]
Matt Tamnini
Are there anything else? Once you get the show up, once the rehearsal aspect of your time in Florida kind of winds down a little bit, are there other things, Florida type things that you were looking forward to doing?
- [19:41]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, I've learned that there's a bunch of museums down here, art museums, Ringling Museum, and so I definitely want to check out some of those things, go to some more beaches. I haven't been to Disney World since I was a child, so I have a friend who works there who will hook me up, and so I'll probably. Probably spend a day there. I'm by no means a Disney adult, but I could be for a day. Yeah, I think just kind of. I've been to a local cat cafe and a cat rescue, which.
- [20:26]
Matt Tamnini
Well, that's big for you.
- [20:27]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, yeah. No, it's just part of who I am. I have to check out how they're rescuing local cats in the neighborhoods. Just making sure, you know, touching base with the rescuers and making little donations here and there where I can. So, yeah, I heard there's some hikes around, but, yeah, I definitely. When I have energy and time and I don't have to be practicing, I really can't wait to get out more and. Yeah, yeah.
- [21:05]
Matt Tamnini
Well, I don't want to take too much more of your time. But as we said, you are getting ready to move into the gorgeous historic theater over at Oslo. Is there something that you are specifically looking forward to seeing on the full stage with the full set with all the lighting and everything that you've really kind of enjoyed in the rehearsal room, but are like really amped up to see in its, in its full spectacular glory on stage?
- [21:34]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, well, we've actually been really lucky in the rehearsal room. It's a giant rehearsal room. And I mean, Oslo rep is not, I mean, donate to them, of course, but they are not hurting for funding. They have just so many resources and the costumes and the set pieces that are being built are just so stunning and so detailed. And so, you know, I've seen mine. I've seen a handful of things in the. I've seen my costumes, obviously, and seen a handful of other costumes. In our dream sequence, we have these incredible masks that people are using and I'm really excited to just see everyone all together because there's so many of us. And I'm most excited because we're in a rehearsal room and we are a full orchestra and the singers aren't on. They're unamplified when we're rehearsing.
- [22:35]
Matt Tamnini
Right.
- [22:36]
Lauren Molina
Sometimes it's hard to hear, to be honest. It's, you know, the balance is tricky. When there's musicians playing on one side of a rehearsal room, it's like, you know, 100ft away. And so the. I'm really excited to be able to hear everyone really well. And I know that's like, that might seem underwhelming to say, but like, I just know that when there's balance with the amplification, it's going to be stunning and also improve. Everyone's playing together and, and listening and. Yeah, I'm obviously super excited to see the full stage and the sets because the renderings are gorgeous. And you know, just the. In act two, it's, we go from like summer to winter or you know, fall or whatever and it snows. And I just like, I'm, I'm excited for the stage pictures because I just know that it's going to be stunning. But I also know how tech goes and I know how a two person actor musician show goes. A five person actor musician show goes. A 10 person actor musician show goes. And this is what, 22 people, 23 people. So we were saying that some pit orchestras can only fit nine people. You know what I mean? And so this is like more orchestral than some productions get to have because we're on stage.
- [24:17]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah. And what's so interesting is, like, I never thought about it with, like, an actor, musician show that, like, you don't get that magical moment of having a. Of a sits probe, really, because, like, you're all doing it throughout. So, like, kind of when you're on stage and everything's finally amplified and you can hear everybody. That is effectively the sits probe. Because, like, you can finally see, however, hear how everything works together, even though you've been doing it in various ways in the rehearsal room throughout the process.
- [24:44]
Lauren Molina
Yes. Especially having vocals in the monitors. That's gonna be a game changer.
- [24:50]
Matt Tamnini
Absolutely.
- [24:51]
Lauren Molina
But, yeah, we're all. We're ready. You know, it needs to.
- [24:56]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah.
- [24:57]
Lauren Molina
And also, I'm so ready for an audience. There comes a point when you can make jokes and not have a creative team laugh because they've heard it or they know the line's coming. And I'm like, this is always the point of a rehearsal process where I'm like, am I funny? Am I?
- [25:17]
Matt Tamnini
And that's what's so great about this show, is because, as we talked about, there's so much depth and emotion and history in this story. I mean, the musical is 60 years old, but these stories are, like 120, 125 years old. But it also is funny. It balances so much of the. The full range of human emotions. And also shows that, like, humor during the worst of times actually might be some of the best coping mechanisms, as is also music as well.
- [25:45]
Lauren Molina
Yes. And it's such a Jewish thing, you know, to find humor in hard times. And I think that that's what this show really, really does express. And, you know, and also the message of just the importance of having an open heart. And I, you know, being down in Florida, like, surprise, surprise. Like, there are a lot of people down here who don't think the same way that I do about peace and progressive kindness and acceptance of all types of people and, you know, equality for all. Truly meaning that and freedom for all and justice for all. Weird. Sounds like something in the Constitution, but. Yeah, but clearly there are a lot of people who are misinformed and brainwashed to believe that bigotry is cool and not, you know, an unacceptable thing. So, you know, this show really does. I mean, I'm hoping that people of all. All styles come to see this show because it might. It might open some eyes. It might open some hearts.
- [27:13]
Matt Tamnini
Well, I'll wrap up on this question. Earlier, you said that Goldie was a dream role, that you didn't know you had. You've seen the show. Obviously you said you did it in high school, but, like, is there something that diving into her has taught you either about her as a character or you as an individual or you as a performer? Or has she unlocked something about Fiddler on the Roof that you hadn't considered before?
- [27:36]
Lauren Molina
Yeah, I think the weight of Golda and the importance of how a mom, a mama, a mother can keep has to just, like, hold the family together. She is holding it together. She does everything and, you know, just shout out to the moms of the world. They are the strength. They are the power. They are, you know, the brains and. And, you know, the. The, you know, having. Having the daughters and. And thinking of, like, how to move through the world, especially at that time, and just, like, wanting the best for your children and. And doing, you know, whatever you can to help them get it. And I know that we all, you know, want the best for our kids, and we all want the best for each other, but, you know, just, like, thinking. Thinking that you have to go, that things have to be done a certain way. And I just think that what's unlocked in me, I think, is just the weight of the character and the. You know, I sort of. I sort of thought about Golda, I guess, in the past, as. As, you know, as she's, you know, kind of just like this curmudgeony mom who wants to just, you know, who's. Who's just, like, nagging Tevye. But, like, why. Why. Why does she nag Tevye? You know, it's like, because his head's in the clouds. And, you know, but truly, I feel like over more than anything else, it's like, giving me a relationship to my grandmother. Like, it makes me feel like I'm playing. I'm playing my grandmother, and. And I can just. I hear her as I'm saying the lines, and that's bizarre to me. I just, like, I hear her voice coming through me, and. And she was a complainer, but it's. It's being channeled, so I think that's really fun.
- [30:07]
Matt Tamnini
Yeah, I love that. Well, thank you so much for talking about this show. I cannot wait to check it out later in April. And I hope the transition into the theater and all of the tech process goes smoothly, and you have a wonderful run out there in Sarasota.
- [30:22]
Lauren Molina
Thank you so much.