Matt Tamminini (2:45)

I think she's one of our national treasures.

Chris Getherd (2:47)

I'm obsessed. I'm such a gay theater nerd.

Matt Tamminini (2:51)

And I was thinking, well, who in the heck could this be to be playing Romeo and Michelle that would garner this much excitement? Well, we found out on Thursday, and playing Romy will be the one and only Laura Bell Bundy. And playing Michelle will be Kara Lindsay, two former Glindas there. By the way, they'll be taking on the roles that were originally played by Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow in the film. Of course, Mira Sorvino is going to be making her Broadway debut this fall in Chicago, but the performances of the show will begin on October 14th at Stage 42. Opening night is going to be on October 28th. I'll be honest with you, Grace. My interest in this show was at pretty low levels. I've never. Well, maybe I've seen the movie, like, on TBS back in the day, but it's not one that ever stuck with me. I didn't have never really been a huge fan of the videos that they put out from previous runs of this show. But you tell me, Laura Bell Bundy and Kara Lindsay, especially Kara Lindsay, who I've talked about for years as being one of my favorites. Like, I'm in, like, I am all in with this cast. And the ensemble is tremendous with those people that I mentioned and some others as well. They cast it, like, probably the only way that they could get me excited about this show. And they absolutely did it.

Grace Hockey (4:08)

I was thrilled at this. I loved the social spot that I saw in terms of this, you know, announcement activation. I love both of those women so much. So I think this is just going to be excellent.

Matt Tamminini (4:19)

Are you so, like, is this a movie that resonates with you or has ever resonated with you?

Grace Hockey (4:26)

Oh, yeah. I mean, Alan Cumming is in some of my favorite films. James Bond, Josie and the Pussycats. This one.

Matt Tamminini (4:33)

Yeah. One of the X Men movies as well. I'm sure that's up there, too. Yeah. So this is going to be interesting. It'll be a fun one. And I'm hoping that the show is as good as those two stars are. It will feature a book by the film's original screenwriter Robin Schiff and 80s and 90s inspired music and lyrics by Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay. So looking forward to, I guess, seeing this probably when I'm in town in November, because when I'm in town in October, we'll be right at the beginning and I probably won't get in there then. So stay tuned for a travelogue episode for my full thoughts on this sometime in a few months now while we have to wait a few months for Romy and Michelle's the Musical coming up on Tuesday, September 9th at 6:45pm Broadway will have its next communal light dimming. As you'll remember, this is the second time they are doing this where instead of having individual theaters memorialize the passing of Broadway icons, they are doing collective light dimmings to recognize groups of people who have passed in the most recent three months. The names that are being recognized in this light dimming are actor George Wyndt, producer Paul Libbon, director Mark Brokaw, playwright Richard Greenberg, dancer and choreographer Edie Cohen, producer Beth Neuberger, singer Chloe Lane, producer Jack Batman, and community leader Lloyd Williams. This will be taking place at all 41 Broadway theaters. Their marquees will simultaneously dim again. This will happen on Tuesday at 6:45. All right, let's get into some show and casting news here. Grace John Leguizamo's newest show, the Other Americans, is going to begin performances at the Public Theater coming up next Thursday on September 11, ahead of a September 25 opening night. It had originally been scheduled to play just for one month through October 12th. But yesterday, even before performances had begun, the Public Theater extended the show and is now going to play an extra week through October 19th. In the show, John Leguizamo plays Nelson Castro, a Colombian American laundromat owner in Queens grappling with a failing business and buried secrets. Also in the cast are Rosa Evangelina Arredonda, Sarah Nina Heyon, Rebecca Jimenez, Trey Santiago Hudson Bradley James Tejada and Luna Lauren Velez. Ruben Santiago Hudson, I wonder if he's related to the cast member with the exact same name will be directing the show. Speaking of a stage legend, yesterday we found out that Andre de Shields is going to be leading a very intimate Off Broadway production of Tartuffe. This is going to take place at the House of the Redeemer on the east side beginning on October 1st. It is a limited run just through November 23rd. It is only going to have 100 guests per performance and it is going to, I imagine, be a fairly interesting production because along with Andre de Shields will be Phoebe Dunne, Charlie Lubeck, Hannah Beck, Chris Hahn, Todd Bwanapane and Alexandra Soca. Some really fantastic performers. And that there will be additional cast members announced. This is obviously one of the classic shows in theatrical comedy history. Moliere wrote it in 1664. It's a satire. It follows Tartuffe, who is Andre de Choos is going to be playing as he misrepresents himself as poor for his own gain in the outing of his deceit. I kind of love these people, like big stars dropping into these super small, intimate off Broadway theaters, doing classic shows like we've got Michael Urie getting ready to do Was It Richard ii Coming up with Red Bull. You got Andre doing this. It's fun because, like, without those stars, these productions might happen and no one would know. But getting a name like Andre de Shields or Michael Urie really elevates not only those specific productions and companies, but also just the idea of doing these classic shows in these small, scaled back productions. Grace?

Grace Hockey (8:33)

Yeah, I'm really excited by kind of all of it. I've been looking at a lot of these other venues, obviously outside of Broadway spaces that are kind of like popping up with this great programming. So I'm thrilled.

Matt Tamminini (8:44)

Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of things that I am sure that you are thrilled about, this week we found out about the second half of your friend Mason Alexander Park's the Pansy Craze that is playing off Broadway. They had done three performances over the summer and they're gonna do three performances coming up this fall and each one is very different that looks at the evolution of queer media and things along those lines. The final three performances will happen from November 20th through the 22nd at Audible's Mineta Lane Theater. It is hosted by park and they are directed by Hunter Byrd and it features Lachlan Watson. Each episode of the Pansy Craze is being recorded live and is going to be released next summer, June 4th on on Audible. So you can hear about this all throughout. There will be special guests for each of these November shows. They haven't announced who those people are, but in June you had such names as Jackie Cox, Evan Rachel Wood and Laverne Cox. So I can only imagine who Mason is going to get for these upcoming fall shows.

Grace Hockey (9:49)

Grace, I was really thrilled. Listen, I'm very upset that this is not happening the week of my wedding, because that would have been really fabulous. My mom would have loved that. But the fact that this show is returning you, I mean, we've. I've talked about on Broadway radio extensively. But just to say again, this is my favorite new, like cabaret show that exists. I think it's such a strong piece of thoughtful theater. It is truly an incredible solo show that just keeps having these great iterations. I cannot recommend it enough and I wouldn't say that because I love Mason. I do. But like, it's an excellent piece and you all should buy your tickets right now so that it sells out and you're not waiting the week before. Like, it's just so good.

Matt Tamminini (10:30)

Yeah. And if for some reason you aren't going to be in town and you can't go see it again, you will have an opportunity to listen to it on Audible. Coming up in the summer of 2026. Grace, we have some really wonderful business organizational union news coming out of the Public Theater. On Thursday, it was confirmed that the production workers for the Public Theater have ratified a wide ranging union contract covering the entire production staff with the union iatsi, the International alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It was a near unanimous vote, 112 to 3. The agreement officially took effect on Monday, September 1, and it covers more than 250 employees that bring the shows of the Public Theater to the stage. The specific details of the contract were not shared publicly, obviously, which they never are. But the joint statement put out by the public and IATSI said that the newly ratified contract delivers, quote, meaningful wage increases and comprehensive benefits, providing long term stability and protections for the production workforce. They've been negotiating this for months now and both IATSE and the public have said that these were productive and constructive negotiations and they are excited about the future of what being a union house now on the backside of the stage means. And you know, Grace, we've talked, we talked about this every time. Like we are thrilled that all of these workers have union representation. It does, though, mean that oftentimes the prices of tickets go up or the amount of money that is invested in shows goes down. So these, it is one of those things where you have to kind of balance the good with the bad on these. But if there's any theater in New York City that you know, I think the workers have earned the right to fight for this type of union representation. Obviously, I think all of them do. But if there's any theater that I think should be leading the way on this, it is the Public Theater.

Grace Hockey (12:32)

You know, I always like when the Public Theater does a good and this is a good. So I agree.

Matt Tamminini (12:38)

Grace, you are seeing a couple Broadway shows between now and the next time we do an episode. One has been open for a long time. One is still in preview, so maybe we can talk about one of them after you see it. One will have to wait till opening night. But what is your theatrical schedule looking like for the next couple of evenings?

Grace Hockey (12:59)

This is a crazy week. You know, I'm going to be at Art on Friday. I'm very excited about that. Tonight I'm seeing the new cast of Moulin Rouge. There's a lot of theater happening, and I'm hoping that I get to see Saturday Church as well. So there's a ton of stuff happening that I'm just. I'm really excited to get back into the fall season of so much great theater.

Matt Tamminini (13:19)

So how many times is this going to be for you to see Moulin Rouge?

Grace Hockey (13:25)

I don't know. I think this might be six. I, gosh, I, I, I've lost count. Because when you can go, you can, can, can. And I'm going again.

Matt Tamminini (13:36)

So what is it about this show that keeps bringing you back?

Grace Hockey (13:40)

The color red. I love velvet. I love, I love. I love a lot of the songs that are in the show, like, in all honesty. And I like seeing different people do them different ways. I think I'm just a sucker for the aesthetic of the show because that is just something that I gravitate towards. So it could be, you know. But I also love Alex Tiber's direction. I think that what he is saying to the audience is, you are the bourgeois that I am laughing at in the show. I think that the Moulin Rouge is the Moulin Rouge in the show. I genuinely think that his direction is genius. I think that Alex is doing something really funny, cheeky, and cool in terms of the direction, where I think it could have just been very like, oh, here's a movie musical adaptation. I think that what he does is super fun and smart, and I love all of the different iterations of this cast, and I want to collect them all, like Pokemon. So Ashley Hufford has Hadestown. I have this.

Matt Tamminini (14:38)

Yeah, she definitely does.

Grace Hockey (14:40)

And Ashley. Ashley's back. Ashley's back as Satine, and I think she's so good. So I'm really excited to see Ashley Lauren, and she's so fantastic. Her firework is. Is my favorite firework. And I also want to say that if you go back to Taye diggs Instagram to 2016, I believe you will see a video of me talking about him and Hedwig, because his bodyguard interviewed me on my birthday, standing outside, seeing him in Hedwig. So there's a fun Easter egg for you. And now I get to see him on Brand again. Isn't it random? It's very weird and it does exist on the Internet.

Matt Tamminini (15:16)

Okay. All right, we have Ashley Lauren as team Christian Douglas as Christian, the aforementioned Taye Diggs as the Duke, and Wayne Brady as Harold Zidler. So seems like a great cast. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on that. Obviously, Art and Saturday Church are not yet open, so you can't talk about those for a while, but maybe we'll get an update on your Moulin Rouge trip next week. 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 BroadwayRadio. And if you want more Broadway radio, head over to patreon.com broadway radio radio grace. Where can people find you?

Grace Hockey (15:46)

You can find me at Grace Hockey.

Matt Tamminini (15:48)

All right, everybody, have a wonderful Friday, a wonderful weekend, and we'll be back to talk to you on Monday.

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