ToB: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025; ‘Liberation’ press day

Summary

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BroadwayRadio: Today on Broadway

Episode: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 – ‘Liberation’ Press Day
Hosts: Matt Tammini & Grace Aki
Air Date: October 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of Today on Broadway delivers a fast-paced blend: first, all the major Broadway news of the day, followed by a rich series of interviews with the cast and creatives of “Liberation,” the buzzy new play transferring from Off-Broadway to Broadway. Host Grace Aki visits the “Liberation” press day, sharing wide-ranging and personal conversations that dive deep into the play’s evolution, its themes of feminism and change, and what it means to bring such a vital piece to the Broadway main stage.

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Key News Stories on Broadway (00:00–10:50)

1. “Dog Day Afternoon” Adaptation Coming to Broadway (02:11)

• New stage adaptation of the iconic film written by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Pulitzer winner).
• Leads: Jon Bernthal (as Sonny) and Evan Moss Bacharach (as Sal).
• Venue: August Wilson Theatre, reverting to a proscenium setup.
• Notable: Only a 20-day preview; opening night March 30, 2026. Directed by Rupert Goold.
• Grace’s excitement: “I mean, you know, this is the show for me. I'm very excited about everything having to do with it. I am getting the privilege to work and be a part of it in some capacities.” (03:22)

2. “Fire and Rain” – James Taylor Musical Update (03:41)

• Writer: Tracy Letts, with David Cromer directing.
• Style: Inspired by “Girl from the North Country” and “Mamma Mia!” – original story, familiar music.
• Letts noted the musical is “a little too sad,” but workshops continue, with notable names attached (Andrew Barth Feldman, Samantha Williams, Alicia Umphress, among others).
• Quote: “[Producers said] ‘we’re not quite there. We need more time’ ... the note being that it’s a little too sad, which if that’s not a Tracy Letts epitaph, I don’t know what is.” (04:08, Matt)

3. “The Hunger Games” Stage Adaptation Cast Announcement (05:43)

• Venue: Troubadour Canary Wharf (London), performances from October 20.
• Headline: Mia Carragher as Katniss; John Malkovich as President Snow—appearing only in pre-filmed video segments.
• Grace’s reaction: "I freaked out. I just think that that's like the coolest thing I've ever seen. ... I love that this is happening." (06:33)

4. Off-Broadway Casting Updates (06:50–08:14)

• Pen Pals (extended into 2026): New additions include Montego Glover, Randy Graff, Beth Leavel, Melissa Gilbert, Vianne Cox, and Mercedes Ruehl.
• Marcel on the Train: Ethan Slater to star and co-write (about Marcel Marceau, Jewish rescue in WWII France). Joining cast: Julie Benko, Maddie Corman, Max Gordon Moore, Aaron Sirotsky, Alex Weiss.
  • Grace on Ethan Slater: “He has consistently shown us that commedia dell'arte ... is a passion project of his. ... I trust him entirely with it." (08:44)
• Extentions: “Mexicus,” “Prince F,” and John Leguizamo’s “The Other Americans” all extend their runs.

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“Liberation” Broadway Press Day: Cast & Creatives Interviews (10:50–33:20)

Grace Aki conducts a series of intimate, enthusiastic interviews delving into the transition of “Liberation” from Off-Broadway to a Broadway stage, and the personal and societal resonance of the play.

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Liberation Star – Charlie Thurston (10:50–12:35)

• Anticipation for the Move: “There’s just such history in that building and it’s really exciting to play to that bigger audience ... Whitney’s just pushing us to find that all these characters have really powerful wants. So I think that’ll help us send it to the back row.” (11:07, Charlie Thurston)
• Personal Impact: “I was raised by a really strong woman ... who taught me, my brother and I, both to be feminists. And so very much this is devoted to home.” (11:54)
• Joy & Humor in the Play: “It’s so funny. I mean, it’s like a group of unexpected characters ... the way they celebrate each other and challenge each other creates all these moments of joy and laughter and challenge. Like, the best kind of clownish challenge.” (12:14)

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Betsy Adam on Audience and Expansion (12:40–14:59)

• Broader Reach: “Opening up to ... the general public, more mothers and daughters, maybe some more men who might, like, learn something about what has happened with feminism in the last, you know, 50 years, the second wave of feminism. ... It’s a thrill to come back." (12:42, Betsy Adam)
• Staging & Space: “We’ve really cracked it back open and stretched it out in ways that are very vital and exciting ... there’s more physical movement ... it’s the same space. It’s a rec room. So that is really exciting that we get to do that.” (13:27)
• On Women in Comedy & the Play’s Impact: “I just think women collectively are incredibly funny ... this is gonna open up your heart and your eyes and your mind to where we should be going in this country yet again.” (14:59)

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Audrey Corsa on Originating a Role (15:55–18:24)

• Long-Term Involvement: “I’ve been with this piece now for about two years because I did the first workshop ... just to see it transform from that into what it is now ... getting to breathe life into these characters ... has been just, like, the honor of my life.” (15:55)
• On the Large Stage: “It’s a lot ... more physical than it was. ... every rehearsal is something new ... we are coloring it in. It is becoming a lot more detailed and specific, and it’s just thrilling to watch these people work.” (16:59)
• Key Hope for Audiences: “I'm hoping that people feel like they can ask hard questions of each other, and ... that this is a conversation that can continue to happen." (17:58)

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Crystal Lloyd on Bringing “Liberation” to Broadway (18:58–22:30)

• Fulfilling a Dream: “It’s definitely part of a dream ... to be able to bring an original play to Broadway. I got to do it with a musical [Dear Evan Hansen] ... now having this part of my journey ... is very exciting.” (18:58)
• Rediscovering the Joy: “It was great to get back together and to be reminded of everyone's clown, everyone's goofy bone. And there are ... more laughs in the show, and I think even more joy than there was before.” (19:25)
• Family & Feminism Connections: “I definitely wanted to talk to my mom just to see what her experience with the feminist movement was. And it turns out she had zero ... so it was very new ... Because so many women I grew up with in the south, the feminist movement was scary ... I really think that this piece offers a lot of room for conversation about the feminist movement and about the current culture today.” (20:55)

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Susanna Flood on Complexity and Generational Change (22:34–33:20)

• Expanding Without Losing Intimacy: “Usually when you get to a larger space, the impulse is to make it bigger, and that can often kind of crush the soul ... but ... we were not mic’d Off Broadway, and now we are mic’d. And that is allowing for a kind of intimacy in a different way. That is so exciting.” (28:54, Susanna Flood)
• What Hooked Her About the Script: “The relationship between these characters and their complexity and healthy fighting and growth and how they each represent kind of a different subsection of the feminist movement, but they are not at all two dimensional.” (29:38)
• Audience Reactions: “Some people had just, without even saying, like, great job, they just started talking about the female line of their ancestry. Which I was like, that's, like, the best compliment.” (30:35)
• On Progress and Arguying: “I hope that people take away that the smallest action is still an action and that we may never see the outcome of our actions, but they absolutely will impact the future generations and also the power of arguing in a healthy way that we don’t have to shy away from.” (32:54)

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Notable Quotes – Insight, Wit, and Emotional Resonance

• On Feminism’s Messiness:
  • “People can relate to the need to be freer, to have more control over their bodies and their destinies. That is something I relate to, that I think a lot of people relate to.” – Audrey Corsa, (24:54)
• On Conversation Starters:
  • “Every time I would send somebody to see the show off Broadway, and they would go, I gotta call my mom, like, every time.” – Grace Aki (30:17)
  • “Let this [play] be the door [to conversation].” – Grace Aki (22:16)
• On the Hope for Impact:
  • “I hope that people take away that the smallest action is still an action and that we may never see the outcome of our actions, but they absolutely will impact the future generations.” – Susanna Flood (32:54)
• On Women’s Comedy and Substance:
  • “Women collectively are incredibly funny ... this is gonna open up your heart and your eyes and your mind to where we should be going in this country yet again.” – Betsy Adam (14:59)
• On Intergenerational Legacy:
  • “I also feel like in my own personal life, when I became a parent, I had all of these feelings and beliefs that came up in me that I realized were not mine. They had been passed down to me.” – Susanna Flood (31:42)

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Essential Takeaways

• “Liberation” is a play about more than a singular moment in feminist history—it’s a living dialogue on how women, and society more broadly, change, challenge, and support each other across generations.
• The transition to Broadway has allowed the actors to deepen their portrayals, rediscover the play’s humor and heart, and seize the chance to connect with an even broader audience—while retaining the show’s signature intimacy.
• A recurring theme: nearly every cast member and the host notes that the play sparks an urge to reach out to mothers or female relatives, reinforcing its resonance and authenticity in depicting women’s lived experiences.
• The team’s excitement about the historic James Earl Jones Theatre and what it means to “take up space” with this story speaks to the ongoing evolution of Broadway itself.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dog Day Afternoon Announced – 02:11
• Fire and Rain Workshop Update / Tracy Letts Quote – 04:08
• Hunger Games Casting Surprise – 05:43
• Pen Pals, Marcel on the Train, Off-Broadway News – 06:50–08:14
• Liberation Press Day Interviews Begin – 10:50
  • Charlie Thurston – 10:50
  • Betsy Adam – 12:40
  • Audrey Corsa – 15:55 / 22:43
  • Crystal Lloyd – 18:58
  • Susanna Flood – 22:34 / 28:52–33:20

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Final Thoughts

This episode embodies everything Today on Broadway does best: blending concrete news with the enthusiasm and heart of artists making theater. The “Liberation” interviews offer a backstage pass to a show anticipating its Broadway future, revealing how the play’s themes are lived out both in fiction and in the lives of its cast—a powerful reminder of why these stories matter now more than ever.

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Transcript

[Grace Aki]

Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.

[Betsy Adam]

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[Grace Aki]

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[Matt Tammini]

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[Grace Aki]

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[Betsy Adam]

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[Grace Aki]

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[Betsy Adam]

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[Grace Aki]

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[Matt Tammini]

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[Grace Aki]

So what are we having for lunch? Dude, my work here is done.

[Matt Tammini]

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[Grace Aki]

Tell me on a Sunday podcast. Grace. Aki.

[Matt Tammini]

Grace. We're going to have a hybrid episode today. We're going to run through a decent amount of news here, but on the back half you got an opportunity to go over and talk to the cast of the upcoming Broadway transfer of Liberation. So we're going to have your interviews with all of those folks in the second half of this episode. Real quick, what was the vibe? What was the takeaway from the Liberation press day?

[Grace Aki]

I loved getting to talk to all of the people involved in the show and obviously like, you'll hear this, but I kind of bring up a number of times the fact that when something is off Broadway and it's being brought to Broadway, there's often this expectation that it needs to get bigger and expand. And what I am excited about is just hearing so many of those artists talk about how they've just gotten to fall more in love and deeper into these characters and that the direction is able to see still flourish in the rec room that it's set in. So I'm really excited for people to see and performances start in a week and it's just. It's very exciting. I know it's so soon, guys, it's October.

[Matt Tammini]

It is. It is Definitely October. So stick around for that and we'll have information on where you can purchase tickets in the show notes. But let's start with some news that we have. We're going to start on Broadway with the new adaptation of the iconic film Dog Day Afternoon that's been penned by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adley Girgis that is starring regular screen co stars John Bernthal and Evan Moss Bacharach. We knew that this was coming to Broadway, but we didn't know exactly when or where. But now we do. It'll begin performances on Tuesday, March 10th over at the August Wilson Theater, no longer the Kit Kat Club, being turned back into a proper proscenium space and it will have an opening night on Monday, March 30th and interesting, only a 20 day preview period for them. So that is very exciting. We don't yet know the full casting or the full creative team, but we do know that it's being directed by two time Olivier Award winner Rupert Gould and Bernthal is playing Sonny while Evan Moss Bacharach is playing Sal. I know, Grace, this is one that you are excited about not only because you're working on it, but because of the, the film that it is based on and the hot dog tie ins.

[Grace Aki]

I mean, you know, this is, this is the show for me. I'm very excited about everything having to do with it. I am getting the privilege to work and be a part of it in some capacities. When a film's turned into a play, especially at this caliber, I'm not gonna not be there.

[Matt Tammini]

So of course, well, going from one Pulitzer Prize winner adapting familiar IP to another one, we got an update on the upcoming musical Fire and Rain, which takes the music of James Taylor and turns it into an original story written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts. It is being directed by David Cromer and we got it from a semi unusual source, one of the greatest podcasts in the history of podcasting, Marc Maron's wtf which is winding down here in the fairly near future. Tracy was a guest on the show and he explained that it is much more in the template of Girl from the north country or even Mamma Mia. Where it takes the songs and creates an original story. But he said, quote, we've done a couple of workshops and I thought we were ready to go into production. Not on Broadway. I thought we'd start somewhere at a regional theater. A couple of months later the producers came back to me and said, quote, we're not quite there. We need more time and then Tracy said, the note being that it's a little too sad, which if that's not a Tracy Letts epitaph, I don't know what is. But they've done a couple workshops and I don't think I've talked about this on the show, but I was leaked a little bit of the cast list for the one that happened over the summer and I'll just run through some of the familiar names that were involved with that workshop. Again, no idea if that means that any of these people will be involved when it eventually has an out of town try it and if it ever comes to Broadway. But the stars of the show were Andrew Barth Feldman, Samantha Williams. Also in there was Alicia Umphress, Bubba Wheeler, Robert Lindsay, Jeremy Kushner, Jane Bruce and more. So I love James Taylor, I love Tracy Letts and this seems like a really, really fascinating combination. Grace.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, I mean, I feel like we are finally out of the woods in terms of like getting those next projects and their next stages. I feel like for a long time we were then still in the limbo of like before 2020 projects coming up, you know what I mean? So I just, I'm seeing a lot of these different potential cast pods.

[Matt Tammini]

Yeah, it should be fun. Speaking of a really incredible casting coup that is a little bit different than you might expect. We are getting ready to have the first performances of the Hunger Games stage adaptation start at the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theater, which is like this purpose built venue created for, for the show that's going to be happening over in the UK on October 20th. We already knew that Mia Carragher is going to be playing Katniss Everdeen. We have the entire cast in the show notes. But what is interesting is that the one and only John Malkovich is going to be playing President Snow in this production. Except it's all in filmed scenes that'll appear on screen. When I first saw the announcement, I was like, oh my God, John Malkovich is doing this. And then I realized it was all filmed, but nonetheless still pretty exciting to have somebody of John Malkovich's stature a part of this production.

[Grace Aki]

I freaked out. I just think that that's like the coolest thing I've ever seen. Like, I love this opportunity. I reshared it. I don't even like Hunger Games. I don't care. But it's not something I hate and I love that this is happening. So yeah, I was actually really excited by this announcement today.

[Matt Tammini]

Yeah, it's very cool. Going to some other More traditional casting news, more stars have been announced to be joining the rotating lineup. The Off Broadway return engagement of Pen Pals, which has now been extended into 2026 at the Dr. 2 Theater. Joining some of the previously announced folks will be Montego Glover, Randy Graf, Beth Leavel, Melissa Gilbert, Vianne Cox, and Mercedes Ruhl. There's Tony Oscar winners in there, Obie winners, Emmy winners. What an incredible group. They're joining some names like Kathleen Chalfont, Priscilla Lopez, Marcia Cross, Sharon Lawrence, Maureen McCormack, Paige Dav, Emily Skinner, Donna Lynn Champlin. So if you want to see who's paired up with whom, we will have that in the show notes. The one I will note is that Mercedes Rue, we don't know who she's going to be playing opposite in early January, but that is an incredible group of women to be doing this show. And then we also got some exciting Off Broadway casting news yesterday. Grace. We already knew that Ethan Slater would be leading the Off Broadway cast for the new play Marcel on the Train. He is co writing the show with Marshall Pallet. It is going to be playing the classic ST company from February 5 through March 15. We now know who is going to be joining him in the cast, and those actors are Julie Binko, Maddie Corman, Max Gordon Moore, Aaron Sirotsky, and Alex Weiss. There will be additional casting announced at a later date, but as I said, the show Begins performances on February 5th. It's going to through March 15th with an opening night on February 22nd. I'm fascinated by Ethan Slater playing Marcel Marceau. Like, this just feels like such an interesting project that you think, okay, like, big Broadway guy writing a show that'll be fun. But, like, it seems, I don't know, like, the idea of a mime, a show about a mime's life just seems really interesting to me.

[Grace Aki]

I mean, if you look at Ethan's work, he's always written about people like he has a Buster Keaton project. He has this Marcel Marceau project. The way that he did his physicality in SpongeBob, him playing Joel Gray in Cabaret on Fosseverdon on FX, he has consistently shown us that commedia dell' arte and all of these things are a passion project of his. So I just think that, like, if we're gonna have someone in our. In our community that is kind of like the beacon of continuing that art form, it's very much him, and I trust him entirely with it.

[Matt Tammini]

Yeah. And this is not just about, like, him being a mime. It follows Marcel Marceau in the Years before his fame, during his time in the World War II era, French Resistance, saving Jewish children from the Nazis. They a developmental workshop at the Williamstown Theatre Festival last year and along with Slater, Benko and Sirotsky were also a part of that. So they are returning to this show and real quick have three shows Off Broadway that have gotten extensions announced. The first one is Mexicus, which we've talked about a number of times that are getting great reviews. It is now going to be playing through November 1st. Then Prince F also got extended over at Studio Seaview. And it is going to be playing now through November 30th. And then downtown at the Public Theater. John Leguizamo's the Other Americans will Now play through November 9th. All right, Grace, we're going to turn it over to you and the cast and maybe some crew and creative of Liberation. The show is going to begin performances, as you said, next week, October 8th, Wednesday, October 8th, at the James Earl Jones Theater. It is a new play written by Bess Wool and directed by Whitney White. I saw it off Broadway. Just an absolute fantastic production and absolutely incredible cast. And really looking forward to hearing everything that you talk about in this interview.

[Grace Aki]

We're now in conversation with Liberation star Charlie Thurston. How does it feel to be a dude? How does it feel to be, you know, in this play, obviously, off Broadway. It was so intimate and I'm just kind of like focusing on how you're expand or you feel the pieces expanding with the James Earl Jones Theater.

[Charlie Thurston]

Yeah, it's a good question. We're not in the space yet, but I'm excited. I mean, there's just such history in that building and it's really excited to play to that bigger audience and just open it up to more folks. I think it's such an important, beautiful story. And, you know, Whitney's just pushing us to find the. That all of these characters have really powerful wants. So I think that'll help us send it to the back row.

[Grace Aki]

Right. It's like all these people had so much conversation after they saw the piece off Broadway. Specifically. I sent so many people, like, to the Roundabout. I was like, you got to see this play. You got to see this play. And so many. The thing that I kept hearing was, I gotta call my mom. That was the takeaway every single time. Was that something that came up for you when you were reading the piece? Like, what. What kind of came up?

[Charlie Thurston]

Absolutely, yeah. No, my. I was from the Midwest, liking the play, and I was raised by a really strong woman. Who taught me, my brother and I, both to be feminists. And so very much this is devoted to home.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, it's a. It's a hard but necessary piece, but I think some people don't realize there's so much joy in it. It's actually, like, very funny. It's, like, riveting.

[Charlie Thurston]

It's so funny. I mean, it's like a group of unexpected characters, and the. The way they celebrate each other and challenge each other creates all these moments of joy and laughter and challenge. Like, the best kind of clownish challenge. And, yeah, it's super funny, super quirky, and I think people are really gonna dig it.

[Grace Aki]

Awesome. Thank you so much. Thanks for taking the time now for a conversation with Betsy. Adam.

[Audrey Corsa]

I love the fact that we are.

[Betsy Adam]

Opening up to, like, something that's larger than a subscription, so the general public, more mothers and daughters, maybe some more men who might, like, learn something about what has happened with feminism in the last, you know, 50 years, the second wave of feminism. So I'm excited that it's just going to be a wider audience in general, and it's always exciting to be on Broadway. You know, there's some things there.

[Grace Aki]

We have the.

[Betsy Adam]

Some newbies this time, but I. You know, for me, it's just. It's a thrill to come back.

[Grace Aki]

Good.

[Betsy Adam]

Yeah.

[Grace Aki]

Good. Now, I always say that this is such a beautiful theater because of the way that James Earl Jones has been revamped. Do you feel like the piece is literally physically expanding with the, you know, more space, or do you feel like it's still just as intimate? Like, what do you feel like? The takeaway is?

[Betsy Adam]

I think we've really. We've really cracked it back open and stretched it out in ways that are very vital and exciting, and every single character is kind of grabbed onto some new characteristics and arcs that are engaging the whole group differently. You know, we have a larger playing space, which. So there's, like, more physical movement. And I think that it's. It's great that we have, like, a larger playing space, and yet it's the same space.

[Grace Aki]

Right.

[Betsy Adam]

It's a rec room. So that is really exciting that we get to do that.

[Grace Aki]

I feel like there are so many plays that have often gotten to utilize, like, a rec space or like, a gymnasium or something like that, where it's like, you know, it all takes place within this, like, little semicircle. But so much action happens within that text that you're kind of transported a little. Yes, of course.

[Betsy Adam]

And I'm also really honored to be in the James Earl Jones Theater. I got to meet him when I was doing all the Way, and he came backstage and, you know, and met all of us and was so gracious and so lovely, and I just admired him. I saw him do Oedipus on Broadway when I was in my 20s. So I just feel like just the ghosts of. Of who's been in this theater when it was the court, and now it's in his honor, and so it's very. It's very satisfying.

[Grace Aki]

I got to go to the Court a number of times, and so I'm. I'm also, like, transitioning into. I have to label it as James Earl Jones. We have to honor him. It's so good. But I appreciate that a lot. Yeah. Is there anything else that you want to share in terms of how you're excited about audiences welcoming this on Broadway? I know we kind of said that, but is there anything else you want to, like, share for our Broadway radio listeners?

[Betsy Adam]

I just think women collectively are incredibly funny, and I think they're incredibly entertaining. And I think people who might have any kind of pause about, like, oh, is this gonna be, like, polemic? And it's like, oh, no, this is gonna. This is gonna open up your heart and your eyes and your mind to where we should be going in this country yet again.

[Grace Aki]

Okay, agreed on a million percent. I'm going to pass you over to my dear friend Richie. There you go. These are like minis by Sam Adelman. I can't recommend them enough. And now a Conversation with Audrey Corsa. Tell us a little bit about being a part of this project. I know it sounds like such a blah question, but, like, everyone's experience with this piece is so different. So I'm curious, like, how this has been for you.

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, I've been with this piece now for about two years because I did the first workshop of it, which was an unbelievable experience. Just to see it transform from that into what it is now. I mean, it's always been just such a human piece of. But getting to breathe life into these characters and do this with this group of people has been just, like, the honor of my life, really.

[Grace Aki]

I feel like so many people don't often get the privilege, if you want to call it that, you know, to do an original play. Yes. Like, I know that sounds so crazy, but, like, as an artist, like, how has that been for you, working through this text now for two years?

[Audrey Corsa]

Well, to originate a character, too, and live with her, too, for a couple of Years. Also, my, you know, sort of go in and out of working on the play and still carry Dora with me has been just so. So such a gift and. Yeah, a privilege. A privilege for sure.

[Grace Aki]

Do you feel like having a larger stage to play on? Have you all found anything within the piece that you're able to feel like, oh, wait, we have more literal room for this now. How has that been?

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah, I mean, it's a lot. It's more physical than it was. And we're still finding things now. I mean, every rehearsal. Because we're just about to go into tech. Every rehearsal is something new, and it feels like as poignant and perfect as I felt our last mounting of this production was, we're really, like. We are coloring it in. It is becoming a lot more detailed and specific, and it's just thrilling to watch these people work.

[Grace Aki]

Good. No, I think that, like, between your design team, I can't stress enough how good the team at James Earl Jones is. My fiance did Heart of Rock and Roll here, and literally everybody in this building is, like, full of love. You're being set up in the best position possible. That's so great to hear.

[Audrey Corsa]

It's a beautiful theater. It's like, oh, my God. Just walking in there the other day, I was bowled over.

[Grace Aki]

It's stunning. If people haven't seen the play yet, which, shame on them. If they haven't yet, what are you hoping that people take away when they see it?

[Audrey Corsa]

I'm hoping that people feel like they can ask hard questions of each other, and I'm hoping that people feel like even if those questions, those difficult questions aren't answerable, that this is a conversation that can continue to happen. That.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, I agree. I hope that that is the takeaway. So thank you so much. Have a great day. Thank you. I'll pass. Pass you along to. Where can I bring. Okay. I feel like here and then Richie will. Now we can hear from Crystal and Lloyd. I'll say this. This is primarily for Broadway radio, so we don't have to, like, play a bunch to that. But I'm just doing it for social content. Really excited to talk to you today. It's very special to be in this theater. It's very special to be bringing liberation to Broadway. I think a lot of audiences were very excited for it, for Off Broadway, and then the joy of an original play being brought here. How does it feel for you to have had this journey with this piece?

[Crystal Lloyd]

It's definitely part of a dream. I had to be able to bring an original Play to Broadway. I got to do it with a musical. Dear Evan Hansen. And so getting to have this part of my journey, like, come into fruition is very exciting.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah. It's like, I think that this piece, obviously, it's like, people say it's very important, and it's like, it's. It's timely and all these things, but I think people also maybe forget that it's also, like, joyful and funny. Like, how has that experience been in the room working with everybody?

[Crystal Lloyd]

It's great. It was great to get back together and to be reminded of everyone's clown, everyone's goofy bone. And there are. There are a lot of new moments and new laughs in the show, and I think even more joy than there was before.

[Grace Aki]

Right. There's something about, like, the kind of co sign from Broadway is not a human being, but, like, there's like. And you get to go here. It's like going to Disney World. How has it felt to kind of expand the piece, like, physically, literally, mentally into this next iteration? Have you found new things within your character, like, in your body? Like, how's that been?

[Crystal Lloyd]

Absolutely. We have no choice but to do that. And getting to do it a second time around is a privilege as an actor, because a lot of times when you're off Broadway, you're being introduced to the piece while it's also changing. And so by the time you get into performances, you've locked something in for the sake of survival.

[Grace Aki]

Right. You go from feeling like you're in a put in to being like, I've developed this, though. Like, this was meant to be me. I'm doing it. It's a little different.

[Crystal Lloyd]

Yeah, it definitely feels like we're. The skin is wrapping around us even more so with the characters.

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah.

[Grace Aki]

Did you feel like when you first read this piece, like, I'm sure it was, like, sent to you. Like, hey, you're gonna get seen for this, or whatever it was. Was there something that you immediately took away from it? Because, like, the most. The things that I hear people say most often when they leave the theater, they go, I've got to call my mom. Like, that's the first thing I hear. Was there anything that kind of brought. I mean, I'm sure there's tons of things. What was brought up for you in that sense?

[Crystal Lloyd]

I definitely wanted to talk to my mom just to see what her experience with the feminist movement was. And it turns out she had zero. The feminist movement didn't touch where she was in Beaumont, Texas. And so it was very new to be able to talk to her about what affinity groups are and what CR groups were and the purpose of the feminist movement. Because so many women I grew up with in the south, the feminist movement was scary. It was this thing that's gonna turn you into something other than a real woman. And the ambition that women have is.

[Grace Aki]

Bad, you know, and so it's almost embarrassing, right? Yeah.

[Crystal Lloyd]

It feels like you're doing something wrong by subverting culture and deciding, maybe I don't want to have kids at 23. Maybe I want to wait till I'm in my 40s to have kids and if at all, and that should be okay. And I really think that this piece offers a lot of room for conversation about the feminist movement and about the current culture today.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, I can't agree more. I'm from North Georgia. My mom's an immigrant. Like every. When I described this church, she was like, I don't know. So I'm like, why don't we go see it and decide for ourselves?

[Crystal Lloyd]

My mom, my dad came to see it. I had a brother that came to see it, a nephew and niece and uncles and aunts. So we had a lot of good conversation at the table after.

[Grace Aki]

Good, good. I think this show is for everybody that needs to have those conversations. Let this be the door.

[Crystal Lloyd]

I agree. I'm bringing my 14 year old niece to opening, so she doesn't know yet. I'm calling her today and giving her the good news.

[Grace Aki]

Thank you so much for this. Congratulations. I can't wait to see the show.

[Crystal Lloyd]

Thanks, Grace.

[Grace Aki]

Of course. Have a good day. Me too. Yeah. Hi. Playing Lizzie, we have Susanna Flood. It just actually picks up better than our other amazing.

[Audrey Corsa]

That's great.

[Grace Aki]

Congratulations.

[Audrey Corsa]

Thank you so much for being this play.

[Grace Aki]

Thank you. It's so special to have, like, seen. I've sent so many people off Broadway to see it.

[Audrey Corsa]

Oh, thank you for that.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, it's like this weird co sign when you're like, oh, and now we're bringing it to Broadway even though you don't need that, but there's also some level of like, you need that.

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah.

[Grace Aki]

How's it felt for you?

[Audrey Corsa]

I mean, it's thrilling. Like, you know, this is the.

[Grace Aki]

This is.

[Audrey Corsa]

This is literally what I dreamed of when I was a school age child thinking that I wanted to do this for a living. And now we get to do it not just on a script that I like or a role that I like, but it's a moment where I get to talk about something that feels very personal and that I'M personally invested in directly, one on one to an audience. And not just an audience and a kind of they're out there somewhere, but individual audience members. And I, I actually don't feel like I see a lot of that on Broadway where, like, where a narrator character gets to actually look individual people in the eye and talk to them about something that is happening in the moment. And I'm genuinely curious and really excited and feel really lucky to have the experience of, like, what that will be like on Broadway and how that will be different from off Broadway, because certainly that happens a lot off Broadway and people are kind of prepared for it.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah.

[Audrey Corsa]

And I don't. I don't know how people are going to react. I'm really curious. I mean, I really want the data set. I'm interested.

[Grace Aki]

It's funny because, like, now you have, you know, a mezzanine and a balcony and you've got all of these things. But also there's some level of joy to be like, we're sharing it with so many more faces.

[Audrey Corsa]

Completely. Yeah, yeah. And to say that a story like this is a commercial story and deserves to take up space in which people it's attracting, it's searching for a national audience, that people are gonna travel to New York to see it. Like they would travel to New York to see anything else on Broadway, that is an audacious thing. It's an audacious project. And I, and, and, and I think, I think that it's a valuable one.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. There was, when you received this piece, whether it was from, you know, agents, whoever, like, yeah, review this, read this. Was there something that you immediately like, oh, I have to be a part of this. I have to tell this story. Like, what was that?

[Audrey Corsa]

I mean, you're the second person asked me this, and it was everything, every single thing about it, you know, like, I'm. I'm a person who feels very, like, identified with my career, you know what I mean? But I'm also a mom, so I. So in my life, I understand attention that I think is in the play about loving two things more than one thing in your life unconditionally and wanting to devote your life to more than one thing unconditionally and not being able to share space and time with both of those things, you know, and so I. So that felt like, totally personal. And then also the idea of sort of like, of being in a feminist conversation. And I don't just mean, like, men can be feminists too. You know what I mean? A conversation about female Experience or about human experience, that is. That is searching for freedom because people can relate to the need to be freer, to have more control over their bodies and their destinies. That is something I relate to, that I think a lot of people relate to. And so I wanted. I felt like, attracted to the cottage.

[Grace Aki]

You know, it's not deeply gendered. I think in the past we felt like it was.

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah.

[Grace Aki]

But I think that kind of across the board now there's just so many levels of marginalization that this is why this is so exciting. Yeah.

[Audrey Corsa]

I think that women's rights are human rights, trans rights are human rights. You know, civil rights are human rights. Like the. There are a lot of ways into the feeling that you need to.

[Grace Aki]

Fight.

[Audrey Corsa]

A little fight upstream a little bit to carve out the space to be yourself.

[Grace Aki]

And.

[Audrey Corsa]

I think people are hungry to have that conversation with each other, you know, and the different ways in which that's true for people is always going to produce a little bit of friction, you know what I mean? And that is healthy. And in being able to, like, do a piece where you're in that conversation, different groups with each other, we have an opportunity to sharpen the way we actually think about all these questions, like fundamental questions about what we owe each other. So I feel privileged to be able to enter into that as well.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah, I think what's going to be great is like, in 20 years, there's going to be a liberation, the squeakle. And it's going to be like liberation, part three, the next wave of it, I hope.

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah, I hope so too. I mean, you know, I really didn't know that much about second wave feminism as an actual period of history. So like now in the. In the hiatus between like, Off Broadway and Broadway, I've, like, done some more research and it's interesting. You know, there's like four or five. We're like on the fifth wave of feminism now and. And you feel that each wave is building on the gains of the. Of the past and also responding to sort of like the current historical events in which like this particular rave is like, occurring, you know, so. So I'm sure that there will. This is an ongoing conversation. People will general. The generations keep. Need to having it, you know.

[Grace Aki]

Well, they will. And thanks to this play, they will do so immediately following the show. So congratulations. Thank you again.

[Audrey Corsa]

Thank you again.

[Grace Aki]

Thank you. Appreciate it. This is a Dina Verson. This is an incredible look. Cannot wait. So this is for Broadway radio, but I'm just doing a little bit of social so don't mind that. Just for whatever. Obviously, off Broadway, this was beloved. Now it's moving to Broadway, and I want to encourage people to. If they didn't see it, they got to see it now. And if they already saw it, you got to come back again. What are you feeling in the playfulness of getting to set this now at a large space?

[Susanna Flood]

It's so exciting.

[Audrey Corsa]

Yeah.

[Susanna Flood]

It's strange because usually when you get to a larger space, the impulse is to make it bigger, and that can often kind of crush the soul of something that was off Broadway. But interestingly, we were not mic'd off Broadway, and now we are mic'd. And that is allowing for a kind of intimacy in a different way. That is so exciting.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah. The quiet can actually be quiet.

[Susanna Flood]

Yeah.

[Grace Aki]

Right.

[Susanna Flood]

Yeah.

[Grace Aki]

What did you feel like when you first read this? I'm assuming you were able to go, oh, I have to be a part of this in some capacity. Like, what. What kind of ignited for you that you hope people are taking away with them as well?

[Susanna Flood]

Reading it at first, like, what sold me 100% on the show was the relationship between these characters and their complexity and healthy fighting and growth and how they each represent kind of a different subsection of the feminist movement, but they are not at all two dimensional. Yes. So that's what I took away reading it, and I just loved it so much. And what was the second half of the question?

[Grace Aki]

Oh, just more like, you know, every time I would send somebody to see the show off Broadway, and they would go, I gotta call my mom, like, every time. And I'm like, wow, it's crazy that so many people are like, I've gotta call somebody. Like, I need to, like, have a conversation. Do you find that when you have people come to see this show that they're saying the same thing in some way?

[Susanna Flood]

Yeah. A lot of people are like, I have to come back and bring my mom, bring my sister. And also, some people had just, without even saying, like, great job, they just started talking about the female line of their ancestry. Yeah. Which I was like, that's, like, the best compliment. I think that this is. The women's liberation movement often can kind of be the butt of a joke. And I think that this play luckily kind of dissolves that joke and makes it very clear how much. How many games we actually did make and how it's just ingrained in the fabric of our society today.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah. It's funny because I think that often when I see the word on paper, I'm like, oh, it feels performative or there's some level of that. And what I loved is that once people see this play, they want to have a thousand conversations. They want to reignite. Like, wait a second. Maybe I misunderstood this. Hopefully it encourages people to talk more because there's so much incredible dialogue in this piece.

[Susanna Flood]

Yeah. I also feel like in my own personal life, when I became a parent, I had all of these feelings and beliefs that came up in me that I realized were not mine. They were. They had been passed down to me.

[Grace Aki]

They were dictated to. This is what it needed to be.

[Susanna Flood]

Yes. And also, I think it might just be, like, in my inner DNA. Like, you know, it's not just my mom. Like, I think it's. It's generationally and. And it was. It's been so incredible to learn about this era and kind of be able to put words and reasoning to the fabric of my body.

[Grace Aki]

Yeah. Like, I know it's a weird thing to be, like, I don't think at this point, the conversation is so gendered as it was. You know what I mean? Like, it feels like in 20 years, there's gonna be liberation to Electric Boogaloo, and hopefully we'll have a third wave, 20th way of conversation. So I hope that that's what this does. Is there anything that you want people to take away that you hope to impart to audiences on Broadway?

[Susanna Flood]

I hope that people take away that the smallest action is still an action and that we may never see the outcome of our actions, but they absolutely will impact the future generations and also the power of arguing in a healthy way that we don't have to shy away from.

[Grace Aki]

I appreciate that argument in a healthy way, which is what everyone needs to do right now with everything ever. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

[Matt Tammini]

All right, everybody, that's all that we have for today. Thanks for listening to Today on Broadway. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Rodrigo. If you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadwayradio Grace, where people find you.

[Grace Aki]

You can find me at Grace. Aki.

[Matt Tammini]

All right, everybody, have a wonderful Thursday. We'll be back to talk to you tomorrow.