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ToB: Thursday, April 17, 2025 | Julia Lester Chats ‘All-Nighter’
00:37:25
Theatre Stars in Time 100, Highlights from ‘Regency Girls,’ Matt Interview Julia Lester Since 2016, “Today on Broadway” has been the first and only daily podcast recapping the top theatre headlines every Monday through Friday.
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- [00:01]
Dennis Black
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- [01:02]
Matt Tammanini
Welcome to Today on Broadway for Thursday, April 17, 2025 on Broadway radio's Matt.
- [01:06]
Grace Aki
Tammanini and I'm Kelly on the Sunday podcast Grace Ake.
- [01:09]
Julia Lester
Grace, it is a little bit of.
- [01:11]
Matt Tammanini
A slow news day. All of the major openings and everything are kind of waiting until next week, so there's not a ton of news. So after we get through what we do have, I am going to include my interview that I had earlier this week with Julia Lester, who I think.
- [01:26]
Julia Lester
Is one of the most vibrant young.
- [01:29]
Matt Tammanini
Stars working especially in theater but also on screen. We had a great conversation about All Nighter that is currently running off Broadway and some of the other things she has done, including into the woods and High School the the series. So stick around for that. But let's dive into the news first. Grace so we're going to start with a bunch of Off Broadway stuff. We had previously discussed the fact that the new play by Jordan Tannehill, I guess Earmuffs for the Kids Prince, will begin performances on June 16th from Playwrights Horizons and Soho Rep, and yesterday they announced who would be in the cast. Leading the company will be Rachel Crowell, K. Todd Freeman, David Greenspan, Mihir Kumar, John McCrae and Naomi Allured Stewart, along with Tannehill, Shayak Misha Chaudhary will co direct the production. The press notes describe the show as a metaphysical satire and features a queer and gender expansive ensemble daring to imagine a monarch from their own community. This is one that I'd originally heard was actually planning on coming to Broadway, but it is Off Broadway now, so I would definitely keep an eye out for that one. Another Off Broadway show that announced its cast yesterday is the new musical from Douglas Lyons and Ethan D. Pakchar called bo. We already knew that Matt Rhoden was would be leading the company as Ace. We now know that he will be joined by Chris Blissett, Amelia Cormack, Andrea Goss, Corey Giacoma, Miyuka Miyagi, Derek J. Stoltenberg and Matt Wolpe. That production will begin performances from out of the box theatrics on June 6 at the Christopher Street Theater, formerly known as the New Ohio Theater. And then one last Off Broadway bit of news. Grace, the new play from Joy Behar, My First Ex Husband, has announced its closing date Off Broadway. It'll play through May 18th at the MMA Theater up on the Upper west side, I believe on 60th Street. This is after the recently announced new cast of Our Friend Mary Lou Henner, Marsha Mason, Julia Sweeney and Benja K. Thomas finished their run. They are going to begin performances on April 23rd and then take the show through its closing day on May 18th. And in the press release, they did say that there was going to be an announcement about a national tour coming up for this summer. So stay tuned for that.
- [03:45]
Julia Lester
And then Grace, in a cool thing.
- [03:47]
Matt Tammanini
Yesterday, Time magazine announced the time 100 for this year. And there are a ton of theater people included in this. Have you gotten a chance to look through that list and see everybody who's on it?
- [03:57]
Grace Aki
I saw Brandon Jacob Jenkins, but there's, there's a great number of people that I'm really excited to talk about.
- [04:04]
Julia Lester
Yeah.
- [04:04]
Matt Tammanini
In addition to Brandon Jacob Jenkins, you also had Daniel Day Kim, Nicole Scherzinger, John M. Chu, and then Broadway vets Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Bell, who, despite being Broadway bats, haven't been on Broadway for a while. And then you've got Lorne Michael, who's been a producer on Broadway. Some very, very cool stuff happening there. What's interesting for me on these things is always who is writing the entries for each person. So doing the One for Daniel Dae Kim is J.J. abrams, who kind of helped launch his wider television stardom with the show Lost. Did you see who did Nicole Scherzinger's Grace?
- [04:40]
Julia Lester
Because this one is pretty perfect. No, it is the one and only Patti LuPone.
- [04:45]
Matt Tammanini
So she we know, we talked about the fact that she had went and seen Sunset Boulevard. She wrote it for this, Michael R. Jackson did the write up for Brandon Jacobs Jenkins and then Michelle Yeoh who played Madame Morrible in the Wicked film, wrote the one for John M. Chu, which is very fun. So we will have the link to all of those TIME 100 collections. But there's some other great people in there. Adam Scott, Diego Luna, Daniel Deadweiler who has theater cred as well. Regina King wrote hers and some other just some really great people. So check that one out. That's always fun. And then the one recommendation I have before we dive into my conversation with Julia Lester is some highlights from the world premiere production of Regency Girls that is happening out at the Old Globe Theater in California right now. It is on stage through May 14th. This is a new show that features a book by Emmy winners Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allen, music by Curtis Moore and lyrics by Amanda Green. It was directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes and has a fantastic cast of stars including Isabel McCullough, Christina Alubbado, Kate Rockwell, Ryan Redmond, Nick Walker and more. We might hear a little bit more about this show from one of the people involved with it here in the next few days or weeks, so stay tuned for that. But this is one, Grace, that I've heard just great things about. We talked about it when it had been announced and then now that it's beyond performances out at the Old Globe like this is one that people are really excited about potentially making a move back across country to New York at some point.
- [06:22]
Grace Aki
Yeah, I mean, listen, that's it's kind of where we're sitting right now. I'm hopeful. But yeah, it's all of these in the pipeline shows are kind of like on the tips of everybody's tongue.
- [06:32]
Matt Tammanini
What are the other in the pipeline shows that you've heard about that haven't.
- [06:36]
Julia Lester
Like officially announced that you think are.
- [06:38]
Matt Tammanini
Like potentially things people need to keep an eye on when we're discussing 25, 26 or even 26, 27.
- [06:44]
Grace Aki
You know what sucks? I genuinely don't understand for my brain the difference in things I have talked about, things that I am under an NDA about and things that are understood. So I don't know the difference and for that reason I should shut the hell up.
- [06:57]
Julia Lester
Yeah, very fair, very fair. All right, well, let's dive into my.
- [07:01]
Matt Tammanini
Conversation with Julia Lester. Of course you can see her over at mcc, although it is not an MCC show in All Nighter that is playing into May. Of course I will have information in the show notes on where you can purchase tickets. Grace, I'VE seen All Nighter. You saw All Nighter. I think there is no doubt that Julia Lester is one of the brightest up and coming stars in theater. I've seen her in three different productions and she has been electric in all of them. I am very, very excited to watch what is next for her in her career. All right, well, let's get into that interview. And before we do that, I just want to say thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram odderradio. Grace, working people find you.
- [07:37]
Grace Aki
You can find me at. It's Grace Aki.
- [07:39]
Julia Lester
All right, everybody, have a wonderful Thursday.
- [07:41]
Matt Tammanini
And we'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.
- [07:44]
Julia Lester
Okay? So, Julia, I want to get your perspective on this. How would you describe Wilma, agent of chaos, incredibly spirited individual, old school theater kid. How would you describe Will?
- [07:58]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, my God. I don't know if I can even put it better than that. That was pretty good. One of my favorite ways that actually the other girls in the show describe Wilma is right at the beginning of the show, they refer to her as the Queen of Johnson. And Johnson is the ballroom where we pull our all nighters at this liberal arts college that we go to. And I feel like that just sort of like encompasses her entire vibe. Like, she sort of is a sort of like, separate entity that's sort of like above in some way, almost like, physically and spiritually. She sort of, like hovers above a bunch of different. A bunch of different social groups and a bunch of different sort of, like, scenes within the college. And so I think the girls refer to her as the Queen of Johnson. I think that's just sort of like a known title that she has gained throughout her four years at this college. So, yeah, I mean, she's a lot of things, but the Queen of Johnson definitely, like, captures, I think, all of it in one.
- [09:01]
Julia Lester
Well, it's so funny because, like, and again, you're the actor. Please feel free to tell me if this is wrong. But while the other four girls are a little bit more grounded and take a little bit more traditional arcs in the show, Wilma is like all of the emotions all at once, which is obviously accurate for some people, but I have to imagine that that's a lot of fun to play, to just kind of be able to walk into a scene and throw literally everything out there all at once.
- [09:30]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that was my entire sort of process with this show, was being given the freedom and permission by the playwright Natalie Margolin and our director, Jackie Bradley. To basically just try anything like this. She's definitely a kind of character that has no limits and no. No right or wrong. And so as an actor, that's really fun because when I'm in the rehearsal process exploring this character, I can basically do anything. And it feels in the world of Wilma. And then Natalie and Jackie both can sort of hone me in. In the areas where they can find the moments that I am presenting and show me which ones feel correct in the tone of the show and in the tone with the rest of the girls. But, yeah, as an actor, this is like a dream role, because basically anything goes, and there's. There's no limits and there's no rules. So that was really fun.
- [10:33]
Julia Lester
Was there something where you tried something in the rehearsal room and either Natalie or Jackie was like, okay, Julie, let's pull that back a little bit.
- [10:43]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, yeah. Basically, like, every other thing that I tried was just. I mean, again, it was sort of like the freedom and permission to do whatever I want. And you don't always get that luxury in the room. And so I really took advantage of that. And, I mean, I did some insane things. There's a part of the show where I slide down into the splits. And that was a choice that I had made after, like, trying 20 different things. And that was sort of like, the biggest, most wild choice I could come up with, Almost as kind of like a joke, because we're all great friends, and we had a lot of fun in the room. And that was actually one that took me by surprise, where Jackie was like, you know what? Actually, that's gonna be the one that you do in the show, which I was not expecting. So that was really fun. But, yeah, I mean, like, one time I, like, ate a clementine hole with the peel still on. I collapsed onto the table as if I, like, fainted. And Jackie had to, like, call a 5 so that we could all sort of, like, calm down and get back in the world of the show. So that was really fun. And, you know, it was really fun to sort of basically, like, just float in and out and add some, you know, levity and fun to whatever was being discussed in the. In the play.
- [11:58]
Julia Lester
The. The splits moment just looks like you. You're like. People talk about, like, chewing the scenery, like that is devouring, like, you when. The night I was there. And I don't know if you do this every night, but, like, you just kind of looked at the audience and, like, you were like, yes, I'm doing this. And because it. It's not a. It's not a fast split either. Like, it's a slow descent into full splits.
- [12:21]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. And that, that was because Jackie let me know, she was like, the audience is. Doesn't know if you're gonna make it down there or not. And so I was like, all right, well, I'm gonna make a meal out of it then and really surprise them by. Yeah, but I. Yeah, it's. It's super fun. And the audience reaction every night is. Is. Is really cool because I think it's just. They're not expect. I don't. I don't know if there's anything to expect from Wilma, but I think that doing the splits is for sure not on their radar. So it is really fun to take them by surprise every night.
- [12:56]
Julia Lester
Well, and you mentioned one that you're all friends and the freedom that you have in the room, but this is a show where the entire cast is young women. The director and the writer are both women. A lot of the creative team. Well, not all of it, but a lot of the creative team is women as well. How did that play into the vibe that you had in the rehearsal room? And how did that change how you were able to kind of learn and discover and try things that, you know, not throwing shade on any past jobs that you've had, but, like, might be different from other experience that you've had in your career?
- [13:27]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, I mean, I think there's also definitely having it be an all female casting and mostly female creative team. And also just like, this is such an intimate cast as well. I think there's also just. There's five of us, you know, in the show, which is also completely different than anything I've done before. And so I think that the intimacy of it all also added into the environment that we were in, which was just basically every day felt kind of like a big slumber party in a way. And also I think that the tone of the show and what we're talking about is all female centric girls discovering themselves on the cusp of adulthood and reality settling in. And that's something that all of us have obviously dealt with in our real lives. And so there was a really strong and pretty immediate bond that we all had with each other because of the topics that we discuss in the show. And I think that we would not be able to accurately represent or portray what we're talking about if we didn't also have those conversations behind the scenes and have that bond behind the scenes. So I think just the nature of the show and what we were presented gave us the ability to bond and play and have fun in that way. And I think that it really is a huge key part in why the show works so well and why people are so connected to it.
- [14:53]
Julia Lester
Okay, when was the last time that you pulled an all nighter for anything? Was it like an opening night party? Was it just like a really great night with friends? What's the last time, if ever?
- [15:06]
Unnamed Cast Member
That's a good question. Our opening night was pretty. Was a pretty long night in the best way possible. That was really fun. Also, getting to stay up to the wee hours of the morning with these girls specifically was just very meta and feels correct for what we were celebrating. So that was pretty fun. Oh, actually, this past summer, I went to London to visit my oldest. I have two older sisters. Our oldest sister, Jenny, was doing a master's program in London and we went to go visit her on the last week of her program. And we got to hang out with her cohort. And I think we were up until probably the sun rose, which was really fun, just sort of talking and chatting and I got to know all the people that she had spent a year with. So that was really fun. I guess that would be a true all nighter. But yeah, I think us girls too, I think we want to, like, pull a true all nighter one of these days that we don't have a show the next day for sure. And, like, really. And like, really experience what that would feel like together.
- [16:16]
Julia Lester
Well, it sounds like from some of the things you've said, like, this cast is as close as the young women are in the show. Talk about these other women. Because, like, this is a group of, you included, that are like, I think the website even. I'm not. I'm gonna quote it. Well, there was a quote in there. It's like this is like a cast full of, like, it girls. And I don't know if that term is appropriate, but, like, you're all at the beginning of your careers and you all are like kind of the exciting stars of the next generation. I'm sure it doesn't feel like that. That might be a weird thing to, like, put into context of your relationships with your cast members, but, like, it's a really cool and special group. So what is it? What are all of these people like as people? Not just the people we see on stage and on screen.
- [17:02]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah. I mean, before I knew any of them or before I had met any of them, they were sort of like what you were describing to me, like people that I had deeply admired from TV and film and stage and music and you know, all of, I mean, all of these girls are so multi talented and have, you know, exercised their talents in so many different areas of art. So before I got to know them, I was definitely a fan and definitely excited to work with them. And it's really, really fun when you admire somebody's work so much and then you get to meet them and they are like the most wonderful, down to earth, lovely, generous people you can imagine. I mean, I really like, I could go on and on about each girl specifically. It's really like my mind is so blown and my heart is so filled with like love and admiration for each of these girls. And everybody came into this process feeling so deeply connected and passionate about this project, which I think, you know, is such a great way to start out. Any sort of like bonding with anybody is being in love with sort of, you know, a common thing, which was this show. And we all have such deep love and respect for the characters that we play and how they relate to each other. And so I think that that also plays a lot into our chemistry on and off stage because every day we show up for, you know, quote unquote work. But it's something that we all are deeply passionate about and that we love. And I mean, we just have the most fun backstage. I mean, they're like my sisters, my newfound family. It really is like just as amazing as everybody hopes it is as they watch us on stage, you know, love and support each other. You know, it really is exactly what I hope people think it is backstage, which is just like, you know, fun and love and support. And we laugh and we scream and we dance and we sing and it's loud and rowdy up there in the dressing rooms and backstage and we just have a good time. We have a good time. I love these girls deeply. And it's really cool that they are now going to be a part of my life for forever, if they'll let me.
- [19:25]
Julia Lester
Well, okay, so correct me if I'm wrong because I tried to do some research. I don't think you went to college, is that correct? It was like. Because right about the time when you would have been going to college is when High School Musical, the musical, the series started. So I feel like between that show into into the woods into I can get it for you wholesale, which was one of my favorite shows of 2013. I love that show so much. I want to talk about that.
- [19:49]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, amazing.
- [19:50]
Julia Lester
And into this, like that Even though that was work, was that kind of your college experience doing those projects back to. Back to back?
- [19:58]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, I mean, especially, especially you mentioned High School Musical. That was four years and four seasons, which is exactly the amount of time you would spend in college. I started doing that show when I was, I had just turned 19 the day before our first table read, and I felt finished the series when I was 22, almost 23. So that was basically a college experience, which was really cool. And you know, I, I would have gone to school for, you know, performing in some way and so getting to do it and like be on a set for four years and like learn the craft by actually, you know, living it was, was a really huge luxury and privilege and I got to like be friends with that cast also, who I still am obsessed with. And we talk all the time. Those are like, what would be like my college roommates or my college best friends. So yeah, it's, it's really, really cool. And yeah, yeah, I think that I would say that that was definitely my college experience for sure.
- [20:58]
Julia Lester
What's like one nugget that you learned from the High School Musical experience that you take away? Like, okay, it might not have been like college exactly, but like, this is the one big piece of education that I got from that experience.
- [21:13]
Unnamed Cast Member
Wow. Oh my God, I learned so much. I mean, even just like, I mean, I learned so much about how like a TV show is made, which is just like, you know, an insane thing to learn when you're like 19, 20. But I guess, like, on a more like, personal note, I learned a lot about myself throughout that process. That is like such a formative time for any young person discovering who they are, discovering how they want to be perceived in the world and who their people are and who they want to surround themselves with. I mean, those are the years when you start to figure it out. So, yeah, I learned a lot about supporting each other in community and I learned how to have a voice and ask questions and be curious about the things that I was doing in the show and the different jobs and different areas that I'll make up a TV show. Like, I just, I learned how to like, have a voice and like, you know, be. Yeah, I guess, I guess I would, I guess I would say that like in a, in a simple way is like, I learned how to like, have a voice and ask a lot of questions and, and a lot of self discovery in that time too.
- [22:27]
Julia Lester
Yeah, you, you mentioned the fact that like, you learned how to make a TV show, but like, you come from a. A long line of actors like your parents and grandparents. And even going further back than that for you, coming from a family who has been through some of these things in the past. And like, we should mention that you, like, just until a couple of weeks ago, you were doing All Nighter, like, three blocks from where your dad was doing cabaret on Broadway, which is. That has to be so wild. So, like, how did coming from a family of actors prepare you for, I don't want to say overnight success, but, like, for a lot of people, like, kind of being blasted out into the world for a lot of folks in High School Musical and then in a different world on Broadway with Into the Woods.
- [23:10]
Unnamed Cast Member
Wow, that's such a nice question. I mean, I love my family so much. We are so supportive of each other. And it's really. I mean, it's not something that I. What I'm about to say is not something that I realized until I was an adult. But, like, I grew up in a family of performers and parents constantly auditioning and doing, you know, we. We grew up in Los Angeles doing musicals in Los Angeles and readings and workshops and commercials and, you know, bouncing back and forth between X, Y and Z. And for me, growing up, I just thought that that was, like, normal for everybody. Like, I just thought that, like, you grow up and you become an actor, which is just so silly because obviously when you grow up and you realize the world is so much larger than what your family has built around you. But of course, for me, I grew up obviously also having the passion and drive and excitement to follow in the footsteps of my family as well. Of course, if I had been passionate about something else, that would have been totally nurtured and loved and, you know, from my parents, they would have, of course, supported me in anything I wanted to do. But I basically, you know, popped out tap dancing. So I was. I was ready to sort of like, follow in the legacy in a way. I just found it so exciting. And I think it's definitely a part of my identity and, you know, to grow up in a family that understands exactly what you are striving towards and what you want is, you know, really sort of the recipe for any sort of quote unquote, success is having support and people that love you and cheer you on and make sure you feel seen and heard in anything that you're passionate about. So I think that that was definitely a big. A big part of it.
- [25:00]
Julia Lester
And you said part of that is having people to cheer you on. Your dad made his Broadway debut in Cabaret, which. How did that mean for you to be able to cheer him on?
- [25:11]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, my God. I don't know if I could cheer. I was bawling my eyes out. I was more like sob, crying, cheers at him on the stage. It was really, really special. My family, we grew up in la, so New York wasn't real. I mean, my parents lived in New York for a time when they first got married, but primarily their adult lives. And my life up until a few years ago was in Los Angeles. So New York wasn't even really on our radar until more recent years. So I didn't even come to New York until I was like, in high school on a theater trip and saw my first Broadway show. So I think it was more just sort of like a very distant, like, dream that you have and you can definitely strive for, but not something that you think is so within reach until it happens. And then you're like, holy shit, how did I get here? So, yeah, and especially, you know, for my dad, who's been in this industry for 40 plus years, 45 plus years. I mean, that again, that's something that feels just like, you know, such a, such a lifelong dream that was like, fully realized in this show. And we all got to sit in the audience and like, be like, oh, my God, like, you know, dream, like dreams can happen at any age, at any time in your life. And there we were sitting there watching him achieve something that he had strived for for forever. So it was really, really cool.
- [26:35]
Julia Lester
Yeah. And he was, I, I always loved seeing him on stage, especially when he was kind of like one of the, the Kit Kat dancer parts of his track, because it's like he's obviously a bit older than the rest of the men and women in the Kit Kat Club. And just kind of to watch him almost his character look like his soul was sucked out of his body at times, just kind of like, okay, going through it was so much fun. I always loved checking him out whenever he was on stage for that. But, yeah, well, you. You talk about, like, maybe Broadway wasn't, you know, the immediate dream. It was kind of far away. But for a lot of folks going from High School Musical, I think there was a certain subset of theater people who knew who you were because of that. But then to kind of burst out for the entire theater community, first at City center as Little Red and then onto Broadway, there is a little bit, I feel like, of DNA from Ashlyn into Little Red, even into Wilma, I think there's probably a through line from there but, like, you were part of this insane cast of people in all versions of into the woods at City center, and then the different incarnations that it had on Broadway, what was that like? That just had to feel like for a person who has been in the industry for their entire life to be thrown into a Broadway community with all of those. Like, with Sara Bareilles of all people, like, that's wild, right?
- [27:56]
Unnamed Cast Member
Unbelievably wild. Beyond wild. I mean, Sarah specifically, like, everybody knows this by now, because I cannot shut up about her. But I have been obsessed with her and her music since I was, like, in elementary school. School. She has been a huge part of my, you know, like, I guess, journey as an artist. Like, she's so deeply inspiring to me, and her music means so much to me from so many different areas of my life. Even for one of my High School Musical auditions, like, I sang one of her songs, and because I sang one of her songs, it was written into Ashlyn's storyline that she was a Sara Bareilles fan and that she wanted to, you know, have a songwriting career that mimicked sort of Sara Bareilles esque, you know, like, it all sort of was connected. And then all of a sudden, I was cast in this show with her, and then I met her, and she's the most wonderful, gracious, loving, you know, mentor without trying to be a mentor. Like, just watching her exist and perform. I learned so much in how to lead a company, in how to carry yourself in. In a room of, you know, Broadway vets and to carry herself through a process of a show that's, you know, difficult and beloved and all the wonderful things. And, I mean, it's. And that's just her specifically. And there were, like, you know, a cast of, you know, 20, 30 more people in the show, you know, in both iterations that also were deeply inspiring to me. But she's sort of, like, the easiest one I can pinpoint because at this point, I've just, like, I talk about her all the time, but with good reason.
- [29:37]
Julia Lester
With good reason.
- [29:38]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, yeah. I will talk about her any day of the week. Like, it is. It is my joy to talk about her and also to now know her and know that she is just the most wonderful person. It's. It's really cool. It's like what I was saying earlier, when you deeply admire somebody and then you meet them, and it. You know, the admiration goes even deeper because they're just incredible on a human level. So, yeah, it was really, really crazy. I was so lucky to have that experience which led into, you know, the encores experience, which led into, you know, making my Broadway debut and fulfilling a dream of mine was really, really crazy.
- [30:16]
Julia Lester
I want to end on an all nighter. A couple questions here in a second, but like I mentioned earlier, I loved. I can get it for you wholesale. And I have to talk about that because, as I said, Ashlynn, Little Red, Wilma, they feel like different versions of similar themes there. Ms. Marblestein was a bit different from all of those characters, but another. A great performance from you amongst a sea of wonderful performers. So what was that opportunity like? Why was that an opportunity that coming off of the heels of High School Musical into the woods, where you're like, you know what? This makes sense for something that I want to do?
- [30:58]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah. Well, first, I so appreciate how much you enjoyed that show. I think it was a really cool.
- [31:05]
Julia Lester
So good.
- [31:06]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, it was definitely like. I don't know if hidden gem is the right word, but it was definitely, like, a very small moment in time where we got to revive that show in a very small, intimate theme theater, which I, you know, is. I mean, it was, you know, it was only a year ago, but it feels almost like it was a historic event getting to be a part of that show. So I really appreciate how much you enjoyed it. But, yeah, I mean, you know, as I have so much appreciation and admiration for classic musical theater and that show, to me, getting to do a period piece and getting to wear, like, a wig and like, you know, all of the things that go hand in hand with, like, you know, doing a classic musical theater role, I mean, that was. That's definitely something I've always wanted to check off of my bucket list. And I have up until Wilma, I sort of had a little running theme of getting to be in some really incredible revivals, which was really, really cool. And so I can get it for your wholesale. Was one of those. One of those role Secret Garden as well. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So that was really cool. It felt like a really amazing running theme that I had where I got to, like, be a part of these, like, new age productions of these shows that were so beloved by, you know, different generations at what, you know, at different times that they were up and running. So that was really cool. And definitely another thing that I got to check off my bucket list list. And getting to do a Barbra Streisand role was just really, you know, just unbelievably cool.
- [32:44]
Julia Lester
Yeah. Well, okay, so getting back to All Nighter, you play Wilma, but if. If all of these women in this show were like different character types. Are you more Wilma? Are you a Jacqueline? Are you a Darcy? Tessa? Lizzie? Where do you fall in the spectrum of all night characters as your real life personality?
- [33:06]
Unnamed Cast Member
I love that. I think as the show goes on and the months go on, I think I'm really just like really allowing myself to accept that I am a Wilma at heart, who we love. We love her. There is nothing wrong with Wilma. I will say. She is loud and crazy. I'm a little bit more self conscious about being loud in public. I will say that.
- [33:32]
Julia Lester
Okay.
- [33:33]
Unnamed Cast Member
But, but I think that her, like, heart and humor and realness is very cool. And I think that I hopefully have some of those qualities. Some of those other girls, you know, people that have seen the show will know that a lot of those other girls have a lot of flaws that I hope I do not have. But sans the flaws, I guess I would say, like, I'm, I'm like a Jacqueline, I think. Yeah, I'm definitely deeply loyal to my friend groups and want to keep everybody together and feel a need to sort of like, you know, I don't know if Jacqueline takes on a mother role in the show, but I think that she definitely, like, has a more let's keep the group together sort of mentality and she is deeply loyal to her friends. And I hope that I have some of those qualities. But yeah, I guess maybe at face value, I'm like a Wilma Sun. Jacqueline Moon Darcy, I was gonna say. Yeah, yeah.
- [34:36]
Julia Lester
It's like Jacqueline Rising kind of thing.
- [34:38]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, yeah.
- [34:38]
Matt Tammanini
I love that.
- [34:39]
Unnamed Cast Member
Something like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [34:41]
Julia Lester
I don't know what any of that means, but it sounds good.
- [34:43]
Unnamed Cast Member
I would have to think about it more deeply and sort of maybe let go of some of the themes of the show. Cause some of those girls get into some scary shit that I hope that I never go into. But I think I, I let's. I'm. I think I'm a Wilma and I love that.
- [34:58]
Julia Lester
Yeah. All right, so I'll wrap it up on this. This can be, you can answer, like something that you're on stage for, something you're not on stage for, something that you're in the middle of, something you're watching happen, whatever. But is there a moment every night that you look forward to either witnessing yourself or like witnessing the audience witness when you're like, oh, this is, this is the thing. And you don't have to, I don't want you to spoil anything, but like, you can dance around the tub. But, like, what is the thing that you're like, yeah, this is it. This is the thing that gets me going every night.
- [35:28]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, that's a really good question. One of the things I get really excited. I mean, there's. I mean, there's so many things. I'm gonna try to just like, pinpoint whatever comes to my head because it could. It's truly, honestly the whole show. But there's a. I enter the show about 20 minutes in, and so, you know, about 10 minutes before my entrance, I'm backstage, you know, watching. Watching my girls shine. And the way that we do, the way that we portray time passing in the show is sort of this, like, fast motion, jerky, sort of like strobe light effect, you know, weird, whatever. And it's really fun watching the girls do it for the first time that it happens on stage, because the audience. The audience is seeing how we're going to portray that throughout the rest of the show. So we're setting. They set the tone for the first time it happens. And so hearing the audience's reaction to discovering that that's how we're going to make that happen is really fun because it's such an interesting part of the show. And I think people don't know that it's gonna happen until it happens. And then they're like, oh, we're in for a ride. This is gonna become a theme. This is what we're gonna see. I think that's when they start to really settle into the tone of the show and they know what they're in for. And then, of course, without giving spoilers, there's lots of reveals that happen in the show throughout the whole thing. And each reveal is so well written that it warrants such an exciting audience reaction. So I definitely always love either if I'm on stage or off. I love listening to those lines and those moments hit and hearing sort of the big roar or erupt from the audience of. Of either discovery or excitement or frustration or whatever they're feeling. Those are really cool, too.
- [37:14]
Julia Lester
Yeah, no, absolutely. So that moment you're talking about, when with a passage of time for people of my generation, we obviously recognize that as fast forward. Are you too young to, like, know what fast forwarding a video, what looks like? Because, like, you didn't.
- [37:27]
Unnamed Cast Member
Yeah, no, I'm not too young to know what fast forwarding is, but I. That is so funny because that is such a valid question. Question is so valid. But I did grow up with, like, VHS tapes, so. Yeah, okay.
- [37:39]
Julia Lester
Because, like, Once you get to DVDs, like, you don't really fast forward. Like you skip to scenes and like in streaming. Okay, that is true.
- [37:46]
Unnamed Cast Member
That's very valid.
- [37:47]
Julia Lester
But yeah, I just wanted to make, make sure that there wasn't a huge generational divide because.
- [37:52]
Unnamed Cast Member
No, no, no.
- [37:53]
Julia Lester
That made me feel very, very old.
- [37:55]
Matt Tammanini
Okay.
- [37:55]
Julia Lester
All right. Well, thank you so much for chatting about this, Julia. I loved the show and I've loved you in everything that I've seen and I cannot wait to see what's next. You are out of college, your college era now and kind of moving into whatever is going to happen in your career. And I cannot wait to follow along and watch and enjoy it for the rest of the rest of your career.
- [38:13]
Unnamed Cast Member
Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. This was so fun. Thanks for having me on.
- [38:25]
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