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Matt Rodin
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Matt Rodin
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Matt Rodin
Oh my God.
Interviewer
Hey. I am here at the newly atmospheric and immersive distillery at St. Luke's Theatre, the new home of out of the Box Theatrics, where the hit off Broadway musical beau has recently transferred to Midtown. And I have the very exciting chance to sit down with show star rising off Broadway musical theater star and my friend. Oh my God. Hey, Matt Rodin I like that you.
Matt Rodin
Said hit Off Broadway musical. I love that. Like, I'm dating. I'm. I'll take that. I'm not mad about that. Also, like rising Off Broadway star, I feel like this year has been a little bit crazy. Yeah, yeah.
Interviewer
This is your Off Broadway ascendancy because two runs now of Beau and previous to that. Was it the start of this year or the end of last year?
Matt Rodin
All the Worlds are staged in the spring. We did. We were there in like March, April, May. Yeah. So we went. I had one day off between the end of all the worlds of stage at King Company, which was at Theater Row. And then we started rehearsal for this like a day after we closed that. So it's just been crazy. And then we had four weeks between the downtown run of this and then this run.
Interviewer
Yeah. And all the Worlds of Stage was your New York performance debut. So. Hell of a year, really.
Matt Rodin
Can you believe, like, I got back from tour, from the Company tour in October of last year with nothing on the horizon. Like, we were in January and it was bleak. I was working at Warby Parker, like, I did not know what was gonna happen. And then all the worlds of stage kind of fell into my lap. There were two other very well known actors that were supposed to do it that ended up doing other off Broadway shows and so.
Interviewer
Hugh Jackman.
Matt Rodin
That's correct. Yep. And so it ended up falling into my lap in a crazy way. And then I got the call, like a day after they announced all the World's stage that this was gonna happen in like the summer. So it just has been crazy. But what a blessing of a year. I mean, wild. And so nice to be living at home after being on tour. Like, so nice to be with the dog and the husband, but mostly the dog. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah.
Interviewer
Plenty for us to talk about with all of those shows. But rewinding even before then, you were this inspiration to me years before I ever held a microphone in my hands and doing Broadway.com's red carpet challenges, opening nights in like, I wanna say, mid-2010s was the era.
Matt Rodin
Yeah, yeah. It would be like probably What? Like probably 16, 17, 18. Cause I feel like the last opening that I did would have been in 2019, I think. And then after the pandemic, it just never. We never came back.
Interviewer
It was a great few years of openings, though. It was like Evan Hansen come from away. It was great.
Matt Rodin
Great waitress. Like that whole first year, which I was at Playbill before I was@broadway.com, that was like Waitress, the Fiddler revival. Yeah. That was, like, the time of my life. It also feels like another lifetime. And I also forget. I don't think that anyone knows about it. Like, I forget people say it to me, and I'm like, oh, people watch those videos. Like, it was a big deal for me, obviously, because I was working so hard. Cause I was not only hosting and writing, but I was also editing, as you know. And, yeah, it was so much fun. And I met literally everybody. And I feel like I really got, like, immersed in the industry and in the community and in the business in a way that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. But all the while, I had this show and others, but, like, this performing thing, like, sort of in my back pocket, hoping that one day I would be able to, like, turn around and be on the other side of the rope. And didn't know how or when that would happen. But I feel like that period of my New York time and my career was, like, just such a. Such a gift. It gave me such a great perspective on the business and understanding that, like, the pomp and circumstance and the glamour of it all is, like, not that glamorous. And it, like, lowered the stakes of what this could have been for me. Right. That, like, coming into even the tour, like, I was excited and thrilled, but I didn't feel the, like, pressure that I think I would have felt had I not had an understanding of what was going on behind the scenes at these red carpets. Step and repeats, which I like to call steps, because there weren't much. There's not much of a repeat. It's mostly just, like, a step. Yeah, I. That. It's so crazy, and it's so cool to have, like, you and Joel and, like, all these people, Tyler and, like, all the theaterly people. Like, everybody's playing games on carpets now. Like, that is the thing. And at the time, that was, like, so taboo. People were like, what? Paul. I remember Paul, like, when I was doing it at Playbill, was like, who the hell is this kid? Because I was a kid. I was in my mid-20s, like, playing games on the carpets. And now all the outlets are. All the. The press companies are like, no games. No more games. Everybody's been playing games. No more games. So I'm honored to have, like, opened that door. I don't think I was, like, the first. I think, you know, Billy on the street was sort of, like, kind of popping off at that time. And so that's sort of where the inspiration came from. But I was so thankful that so many people were so willing to play. I mean a Bernita Peters is like a perfect example, but even like a Groff and Kate Baldwin and Gavin, I mean it was just like so many loving, wonderful, fun, like memories. And yeah, with all these people that I admired so much and like adored and had these small moments and now to get to share like this with them is, it's. It's beyond. I, I could not have written it that way. You know, to have Kate Baldwin come see all the world's a stage and be like, I didn't know, like, okay, like the hope that I had back then about like one day being able to share it has come to fruition in a way that I couldn't have possibly like imagined. But it's been great. And to be in New York and to feel like I was in the community in that way and to now feel like I'm finally becoming a part of the community in this way has been like such a joy.
Interviewer
But like you said, having done that and now doing this, you do have this fascinating both sides perspective on the industry, a lot of which you're bringing to this brilliant newsletter that you have as well. Tell everyone about the Fourth Wall, my favorite regular reading.
Matt Rodin
Yeah, so I, in January, like I said, I had nothing going on and I had gotten back from tour and I've always been doing podcasts and stuff like that, but I was like, I feel like I want to channel the things that I'm observing and the conversations that I'm having into something that I can share that isn't a giant lift for me like a podcast is. It's just, I mean, you know, it's like video editing, audio editing, all of it. It's just a lot. So the idea of like writing something weekly was kind of new and exciting for me. And I was like, oh, there are newsletters that I read every week that I like, really enjoy. Maybe I can do something like that. And at the time it was like, oh, let me focus on the marketing piece, because that was what I was like most enamored by. But over the last year, which every single week this year, which is crazy that I've actually been able to do it, it's transformed into something I think wider and larger than that. It's more about, I think the experience of like being a theater person at large, like, it's just about the experience. And also I feel like I'm bringing my own personal experience of what this year has been into each of those and taking some observation that I'm having or some feeling that I'm having around. Like, I wrote a piece like two weeks ago called, like, why We Theater? And I was having this conversation with someone at the Stager last night, and she was like, it meant so much to me. And I was like, I needed it because I was in the slog of doing this show and feeling exhausted and tired and had sort of lost. Like, I was like, why am I even here? Like, what is the purpose of me doing this in the first place? And so the newsletter has become this sort of outlet for me to like, process and like, think deeply about some specific piece of the industry or the business or something that I'm experiencing and then share it. But that's everything from, you know, when like, Patti LuPone got canceled and the Dolly Parton casting controversy to the Jimmy Awards. Like, I think there's so much stuff that obviously for us as theater people is like, rich and I think worth exploring and talking about in a way that's like, not necessarily one sided or another. I really try to look at everything from a really nuanced perspective and see it from all sides so that I have a better understanding and that I can move through the world with of a lot, like, a little bit more peace. Because I'm like, stressed all the time anyways. And so to have a space to process in public has been like such a gift. And again, like, to have it happening in tandem with this year has been crazy. To be able to like, process the things that I'm experiencing in real time week to week to week has been great and I'm excited because now, similar to like the broadway.com vlogs, there's this like, archive of things that I've said and I like, stand by and I believe that, yeah, hopefully I'll turn into something else. I'm definitely gonna keep going, but I'm like, hoping I can turn into something that I can, like, give to people because I feel like it's the kind of thing I would have wanted as like a young artist or a young theater fan, period. So, yeah, I'm hoping that I can turn it into something like, tangible that then people can gift to the theater kid in their life.
Interviewer
Yeah, it definitely started at this very insightful read, this very thought provoking read, and then it became something super rewarding in a different way that spoke to the kind of shared humanity of a lot of moments that we were all perceiving at the same time, things that we were all experiencing or not even thinking about. And then you'd write something, and I think, oh, wow, thank you for that.
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Interviewer
Yeah, yeah. But anyway, let's talk about the time spent on stage then. And let's talk about, did the company tour feel in many ways like a breakthrough for you?
Matt Rodin
Definitely. I had done so, like, right before the pandemic, I did Hedwig out and Milwaukee Rep, which again, was like a sort of crazy set of circumstances that three other people had fallen through. They needed someone. Last minute, I had an audition. It was on Zoom, which by at that time you remember, like, this is 2019. So Zoom was like, not a thing. And they had seen the red carpet videos and were like, oh, he can improv. So I go and do this production of Hedwig and I come back. We close on like March 9th. And then like four days later, I was supposed to be at the opening night of six on Broadway. And that was the end. That was it. So through the pandemic, I worked in marketing, but I was kind of like, okay, like, I had this moment of momentum maybe. Is that ever gonna translate? And it took until 2023, really, when I Got Rent at Paper Mill, that it felt like, oh, like someone is paying attention to me or someone sees what I'm able to bring to this thing that I love so much. But I don't. You know, you never know, like if it's actually going to translate or if you're going to get opportunities. So I was doing Rent, I had an audition for Company that went really well. It was like the best audition I've ever had. And I have the biggest shout out to my husband who was like, you need to get an accompany track, accompaniment track made. Because if you go in that room and the first time you hear the accompaniment for not getting married, that's the first time you're gonna, you're gonna bomb.
Interviewer
Oh, yeah.
Matt Rodin
So he was genius in saying that. I got it done and I went in and like killed the audition, went in for a callback, bombed the callback, awful, awful, awful. And was like, okay, like, it is, it has passed me. They hired someone else who ended up booking something else that ended up coming into Broadway. And so they came back around. I went back in for a callback and I was like, okay, this went pretty well. And then my final callback, infamously, was the day of my wedding. So I get married at like 11am and then 2pm I'm singing getting married today in a rehearsal studio Pearl, which is again, like, you couldn't write it, you know what I mean? So I got that job and I was, I couldn't, I could not believe my luck. And I'd always wanted a tour because I'm from Chicago. So I was like, oh, I've. That's how I saw theater. Especially like professional high end, whatever theater was through national tours. And so, yeah, it was, it felt like a shift just in terms of the perception of the industry at large, in terms of like what I'm able to bring. Especially because I was playing Matt Doyle's and Jonathan Bailey's role. Like this was a role that everybody and their mother wanted and everybody auditioned for. And I was. I could give you A list of 10 names of people who I thought were going to get the job over me. And the fact that I was able to get it and then to get to do it for a year was such an education. It was a dream fulfilled. Getting to go on a tour, like I said. But to play a role like that and to like have to step up in that way was just a totally new experience. And also the run of a show, I had never done a long run of a show, and that's a completely different beast that I just had not experienced. And I got to see the country. And also we were doing Company. Like, I love Mamma Mia. Don't get me wrong. But, like, we're talking about Firth and Sondheim. Like, the music is unbelievable. That is very, very clear and obvious. But the scenes that George Firth wrote are some of the greatest book scenes in a musical ever, that I didn't really know that they were. That in the process of doing the show, and especially our scene that comes at the end of Act 1, it is so rich. It's so funny. And Jamie, especially gets to, like, really experience, like, the full spectrum of emotion. I just couldn't believe that it felt like I was in acting class, like, every night. I was very lucky that I had Ali for the first three months, who then went on to play Tommy, and then Jardin came for the last, like, nine months of the tour. And every night was tennis. It. We were. It was never the same twice. And it was such a fun group of people. But, yeah, it definitely shifted, I think, the perception of what I was able to do and what I was capable of in the business. And I definitely felt like when I got back from tour and even the back half of tour, the auditions and the rooms that I was getting in were different than when I had left, which was cool and scary, but also, like, again, had required me to be like, okay, I guess this is what I'm capable of. I guess this is the level that I'm now competing at. Even though I don't feel like I should be or I don't. I feel like, out of place, some imposter syndrome. It's where, like, I ended up. And I. And it was. There were so many things that I was, like, right on the edge of booking, or I was so close, and I didn't get that. A friend ended up getting that. I'm, like, so thrilled. And now it feels like there's this, like, community of people, which I think is true for probably a lot of actors that, like, you end up going in for the same things with the same, like, core group of people. And to see them win is, like, even though obviously you want the job, to have people that you, like, love getting jobs and then doing, like, really, really, really good work is so rewarding. Just as, like, as a member of the community, to be like, oh, like, yeah, I'm so happy that you're getting to do that insane role, and you're gonna absolutely kill it. And then you get to go see these people. So, yeah, it was crazy. And then I got back, and again, like, the auditions were good, but it was kind of dried up. And then this year just, like, opened up. Opened things up in a crazy way.
Interviewer
Yeah. Yeah. And all the world's the stage. First time I got to see you on stage, doing that show. Lovely little musical. One of those nice little moments when theater people, as writers, as performers are telling a story for that community about that community. Yes.
Matt Rodin
And we're. And we have it. We're doing an album. We recorded an album. Yeah. So the album will come out hopefully sometime in the new year. Yeah. Adam Guan wrote this, like, little love letter to theater people, and I got to play another nuanced queer character, which, again, feels like a crazy stroke of luck that I have done Hedwig. And then I got to do Company and play gay for a year, which was, like, such a gift to not feel like I have to, like, hide any piece or part of me, and then all the world's a stage again. Another, like, really rich, just not simple gay character, and then carry that over into this, which, again, is, like, another nuanced queer character, which I just. I love. I, like, love that that's sort of where things have fallen. And that's not to say that I don't want to play straight roles. Like, I'm open to it. I'm fine with that. But the fact that this is sort of where things have fallen in the last couple years has just been, like, amazing and helped me love more of me. And I. I. Adam really was so generous in the way that he writes and the way that he collaborates. He is. Everything is a conversation. Everything is. We're all. It's so clear we're all working towards the same goal, which is, like, telling the heart of this story and. And being able to, like, be trusted to contribute in a way not just as, like, another, like, part in the machine, but, like, as a valued collaborator is. That's the kind of spaces that, like, I want to work in. And Adam, like, really exemplifies that. Everybody at Keen, honestly, like, they're amazing.
Interviewer
Yeah.
Matt Rodin
Yeah.
Interviewer
I can't wait to listen to the album of that one.
Matt Rodin
Me too.
Interviewer
And. But super meaningful, too, because you talk about getting to play gay on stage, which is a lovely and freeing thing to get to do, but with a story like that and a character like that as well, where it's really in conversation kind of with the current social landscape and everything as well, and you're playing someone who is using, like, coming to terms with making their truth public in order to help connect to a young person and serving the community through theater.
Matt Rodin
Like that's the thing. It was like it was so meta that it was all happening at that moment. And again, to be doing like my first show in New York in a show that was like a love letter to theater. Yeah, I can't believe it. I still, I like this morning I was crying in the shower just thinking about like how crazy this year has been and the fact that I've gotten to like meet you and Kade and like just the whole community. I feel like I feel a part of it in a way that like I did not feel pre tour but even while I was on tour and now to be here like in the city and to feel like, okay, something has like congealed in a way that I couldn't have imagined is yeah, I'm, I'm very.
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Matt Rodin
It makes me very emotional.
Interviewer
And this is the real arrival. Now with Beau and there was an interesting story about how you came to Be involved in this. That goes years back.
Matt Rodin
Yeah. So while I was doing. I don't know if I was doing carpets yet. I feel like I was doing carpets, I was hosting this thing called Broadway at the W, which was, like, a night where, like, a Broadway show, the people in that show would come and, like, sing a pop song or whatever. So they had asked me to come host, and I was hosting. I think it was Beautiful or Bronx Tale or something like that. And Douglas, who wrote. Douglas Lyons, who wrote the book and the lyrics and co wrote the music with Ethan Pak Char for Beau came to the show that night, saw me and was like, huh. There's something about the vocal quality that feels, like, interesting and sort of what I'm after for this new thing I'm working on. He approached me, he told me. I was like, okay, really nice to meet you, I guess. And then, like, a month later, it was me and him and Jeb, who they had done beautiful together in a rehearsal room, reading this unfinished script that did not have all the songs of this little concert musical, play thing that was gay as hell. And again, like, just different than anything I had really seen before. And, you know, you hope that maybe they'll keep you, you know, along, like, when you get on something new. And thankfully, like, they just kept bringing me along. And so it was a series of. I mean, I literally can't even tell you the number. Number of readings and workshops that we did. And also, the thing I feel like I need to say, too, is that, like, the number of people that have touched this thing, the fact that, like, Andrea, who plays Leanne and the piano, she was in, like, a really early reading of the show, and Ryan did a reading of the show later while I was on tour, so I wasn't in that one, but. And like, Max, who's in this production, was. Has been there for six years, the same amount of time that Amelia, who plays my mother, has been there. But Jeb and I have been there, like, from the very beginning. And again, like, to get to see something all the way through is so rare, and it feels very much like we are a part of it. So as much as I feel like I'm an actor in it, I also feel like it is, like, I feel. Not a sense of ownership. That's not the right word. But, like, I just love this piece so much. I care so much about it. I've put so much love and care into it that to now get to be sharing it with people and to have it be received in the way that it's being received is like beyond what I could have, you know, asked for.
Interviewer
Yeah, yeah. For people who don't know, Beau, is this beautiful gig theater emerging into queer coming of age story with. Would you call it like country, pop, rock, contemporary, musical theater school?
Matt Rodin
Yeah, I would say that I. The. The phrase that Douglas used was like James Taylor meets James Brown, which is great. But yeah, I think there's. I think it's like queer country, folk, pop, and there's a couple of like musical theater songs in there too. But, you know, the. The framing of the show is this concert that we're at, which feels rare in the way that like I'm trying to think of like once. Not really like, that's actor, musician, Hedwiggy. It's Hedwiggy for sure, which I obviously love. Hedwig is maybe like the closest comp in terms of the framing. Passing strange. It's got. There's some of that in there too. That there is like a story that's emerging out of this. This tale that we're telling. I just. For me, it. It transports me in a way that like a traditional proscenium musical can't really do. And maybe that's just like the music of it all. But yeah, I love that people have been like, so taken by that. And now we're doing it in this crazy, immersive bar space, which when we started, we did a production up in the Adirondacks for like six days. And it was proscenium. It was a proscenium show. It hadn't quite figured out, like, what it wanted to be be. And then we filmed a movie in 2021. The show, like, emerged from the parts of this bar and then that has now informed what this has become. And then the production downtown was like, I would say like semi proscenium. It was immersive, but not like this. Yeah, this is now this takes another.
Interviewer
Step out into the audience.
Matt Rodin
Yeah, I mean, quite literally, like I am on top of people. We're stepping on toes. They build the secondary stage. And so center the bar is now not. The bar used to be like next to the stage. Now it's like a separate entity. So, yeah, I think all those things combined is what makes the show unique. And I'm talking about everything from like the immersiveness to the concert to the queer coming of age story. Right. That it is about this, like, young kid in the south who doesn't know that he has a grandfather and ends up having a grandfather. But he discovers himself through the gift of music that was given to him from his grandfather. And they have a connection that is deeper than words can say. Again, like, I've just been doing. I've been with the show for so long that I'm so happy that we're finally getting to do it and share it. And to hear sniffles every night is like. You're like, okay, it's working.
Interviewer
And you'll hear them and you'll see them because of the proximity.
Matt Rodin
Oh, my God. I mean, we are literally on top of people. It feels like you're in a movie because people are sitting. I'm, like, sobbing on that stage, and people are sitting literally right there. And I'm also screaming in some people's faces.
Interviewer
Yeah. I was gonna say from touring with Company around some of the country's, like, most gorgeous and grand proscenium stages, gorgeous to where you would, like, be throwing it out into the darkness. And there's people up and out there somewhere having a nice Friday night with Company that's come to town to here, where you can see. See, like, the whites of everyone's eyes. And there's nowhere truly in this production other than if you come right up here and face up stage and there's one moment where we can't see your face. But for the most part, you can't hide from anyone.
Matt Rodin
No, no. Which I love. Like, I mean, the venues that we love the most on tour with company, like, the fox is cool in St. Louis because it's a giant grand theater, but it's, like 4,000 seats. And so you're like, what are we doing? And also with Company, we're doing this, like, little musical that's very quaint and contained, especially these scenes that are so, like, really, really tight. The venues that we love the most was the small ones. Like, when we were at 1100 seats, 1200 seats. I'm thinking of, like, Philadelphia, where, like, we're, you know, eight feet from the pit is down underneath, and. And we're, like, 8ft from the house, and we can play the scenes. Like, they're actually scenes. And then here, I mean, like you said, there's nowhere to hide, so it's really nice. And sometimes I have to remind myself, like, oh, yeah, I don't have to, like, project so much. Like, we're right next to these people. And I think the hardest part is, like, staying connected to whoever you're in the scene with while someone is sitting, like, two feet from you and making sure that, like, you're still Engaged with this. Even though, like, you are aware that someone is here, you're still like, I'm in this reality without this person. Which is why I think the concert parts are so nice. Because I get to like, play host, which is part of the thing that's so cool for me as the red carpet challenges, like, have now come back into this part of my life. And then I get to like, play host in this room and I get to like, fuck around with the audience a little bit.
Interviewer
Final question that I could ask you so many things about your beautiful performance in this show. It's so lovely. It's such a rewarding piece of theater. Is there anything that you have discovered about the show? Is there anything that's really shifted in coming back to it after that original run back in the summer, in bringing it up to midtown? Is there anything that sort of shifted in your relationship to this material and what you find in it?
Matt Rodin
You know, the piece is about family and it's about relationships, but it also is like, it is about self love. It is about, like, self acceptance. There's a lot of that in there. And I think the more time I spend with the show and the more time I spend on stage as Ace, the deeper I'm like forced to find acceptance for, like, myself as a human being, but especially as like a performer and an actor. Like, the gift that the show has been for me, the biggest gift that the show has given me is that, like, I have been forced to just be present with the day to dayness of like, who I am in any given moment and to find, like, comfortability and confidence and joy in the, like, singing of this really, really challenging score and quite challenging journey that I have to go on every night. Like, I stand back there before the show every night and I'm like, okay, here we go. Like, I'm gonna have to do this again. Never leaving the space, never leaving the space.
Interviewer
Accompanying yourself, trying not to be tripped over, right?
Matt Rodin
It's. It's like, it's a lot. And it has forced me to like, find self love and self acceptance for me, for myself as an actor. Like the fact that I get to go home and I have to go to bed with myself every night, you know, like, I have to go to sleep and have peace about the peace that again, I don't think I would have been able to do that at 27. I don't. I think being 33 and now getting to do it, like, the timing is so, so divine because I think the combination of Hedwig Tor the red carpets, all of that, getting married, all of it has given me the space to, like, exist in this night to night in a way that's not, like, harmful to myself, which I know that sounds so, like, esoteric, but. But it's. For me, it's like very, very real that I have to exist in this person every night and, like, find love for him, but find love for me within him every night. No matter what happens, like, if I can't get to tears in this moment or that note doesn't come out the way that I want it to, to be able to leave the space every night and just have acceptance and be like, great. That's what that was tonight. And it moved people or it moved one person. Like, that is enough. I think that has continued to grow and shift as we've revisited it this time, but also again, like, over the last eight years. Because if you think about me, the first time we did this, I was 25, 26. I couldn't get through the show. I couldn't sing through the show once without completely losing my voice. And the fact that I'm now doing it seven times a week is. I, like, marvel at my own body. I like. I'm so. I feel so thankful for, like, whatever is carrying me through this thing. Supporting, like, having to support myself as an actor, as an artist and an artist in this piece so that I can support everyone around me because I am the frontman of this band. So I have to be a leader not only in the band, but also in the real life band. And I have to carry the audience, like, they have to trust me that I've got it like, that I'm not going to let the thing fall like I'm carrying this thing. So. Yeah, that's such a good question. Thank you.
Interviewer
Now, a lot to be said for trusting the process as well and this brilliant journey that you've had already in the industry. I can't wait to see the exciting things that you're going to do next. But for now, everyone needs to come to the distillery at St. Luke's Theatre here. It's in midtown, it's not a while downtown. It is a stone's throw from some Broadway houses.
Omaha Steaks Announcer
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Matt Rodin
We have also crazy cool show times. So we have like 5o', clocks, some 1o'. Clocks. Like, we do show times that are just. We have a Monday night show. So the hope is that you can fit it in to other things that you're seeing too, because again, I think this will enrich your experience of Seeing other theater, because this is different and unique.
Interviewer
This is not the kind of theatrical experience people think they're necessarily gonna have in midtown Manhattan.
Matt Rodin
That's right.
Interviewer
But you're here in an intimate, gorgeous little atmospheric, beautiful little space inches away from top quality Broadway performances.
Matt Rodin
I love you. Thank you so much for this.
Interviewer
Thank you for taking the time to tell us about it.
Matt Rodin
Oh, my God, I'm so honored. And I just. Yeah, it's crazy to be 33. And I feel like it's the beginning of my career. I'm like, okay, here we go.
Interviewer
Watching very eagerly to see everything that you do. People need to buy tickets to Beau and where can we make sure that we're all getting the fourth one?
Matt Rodin
Fourth wall news? And also, I feel like if you, like, Google my name, I feel like. You know what I mean? I feel like you find like that's. I'm always like, I don't just name my tag because I'm like, people will. You'll find me. And we're here till January 4th. Right now is when we're running till. So hopefully longer than that, but at least through the holidays, which would be amazing to get to like, share the holidays with people.
Interviewer
People will be able to listen to all the worlds of stage before tomorrow.
Matt Rodin
I can't wait. I'm so excited to hear it. I haven't heard anything. So I. So I'm like, that score is so gorgeous. And Michael Starabin did the orchestrations who orchestrated Sunday in the park with George. Like, it is gorgeous. And they added a bass, which is. That's breaking news. Breaking news is that they added a fifth instrument to the score. And I'm like, I can't wait for people to hear it. It's so gorgeous. And hopefully we'll get to do another recording of this too, because there's a concept album that's out, but I only sing run in and I sing one other song on that. But hopefully we're gonna get to capture this in some way, shape or form.
Interviewer
I can't wait for absolutely all of it. Thank you so much.
Matt Rodin
I love you.
Grow Therapy Announcer
Thank you.
Interviewer
Lovely to see you. For ten more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh, my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
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Date: November 22, 2025
Host: MickeyJoTheatre
Guest: Matt Rodin, actor (Beau, Company, All The World’s A Stage)
This episode features an in-depth conversation between host Mickey-Jo and Matt Rodin, acclaimed musical theatre performer known for his roles in Beau, the Company tour, and All The World’s A Stage. The discussion covers Matt's whirlwind rise in the Off-Broadway scene, his journey from theatrical journalism to starring roles, the evolution of his original projects, the emotional and professional rewards of inhabiting queer characters, and the personal growth he’s experienced through this exceptional year.
“I got back from tour, from the Company tour in October of last year with nothing on the horizon...I was working at Warby Parker, like, I did not know what was gonna happen. And then All The World’s A Stage kind of fell into my lap.” (03:11–03:39)
“I was not only hosting and writing, but I was also editing...I really got, like, immersed in the industry and in the community and in the business in a way that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.” (04:42–06:03) “The pomp and circumstance and the glamour of it all is, like, not that glamorous. And it, like, lowered the stakes of what this could have been for me.” (06:03–06:30)
“Everybody’s playing games on carpets now. Like, that is the thing. And at the time, that was so taboo...So I’m honored to have, like, opened that door.” (07:04–07:36)
“To have Kate Baldwin come see All The World’s A Stage and be like, ‘I didn’t know, like, okay.’ Like, the hope that I had back then [is] come to fruition.” (07:36–08:17)
"The newsletter has become this sort of outlet for me to...process and think deeply about some specific piece of the industry or the business or something that I'm experiencing and then share it." (08:30–09:40)
“I’m hoping I can turn it into something that I can give to people, the kind of thing I would have wanted as a young artist or a young theater fan.” (10:50–11:39)
“My final callback, infamously, was the day of my wedding. So I get married at 11am, and then 2pm I’m singing ‘Getting Married Today’ in a rehearsal studio...” (15:22–15:45)
“The scenes that George Firth wrote are some of the greatest book scenes in a musical ever...Jamie gets to like, really experience the full spectrum of emotion. I just couldn’t believe that it felt like I was in acting class, like, every night.” (16:28–16:55)
“It definitely shifted, I think, the perception of what I was able to do...” “Now it feels like there's this community of people...you end up going in for the same things with the same core group.” (17:44–19:49)
“Adam Gwon wrote this little love letter to theater people, and I got to play another nuanced queer character...It's helped me love more of me.” (20:12–20:55)
“He [Adam Gwon] is—everything is a conversation...We’re all working towards the same goal...That’s the kind of spaces that I want to work in.” (21:10–21:33)
“Douglas Lyons saw me hosting and was like, ‘There's something about the vocal quality.’...a month later, it was me and him and Jeb...reading this unfinished script.” (24:50–25:43) “To get to see something all the way through is so rare...I just love this piece so much. I care so much about it.” (26:43–27:29)
“I am on top of people. We're stepping on toes. It feels like you're in a movie because people are sitting...I'm sobbing on that stage, and people are literally right there.” (29:23–30:18)
“There's nowhere to hide, so it's really nice. And sometimes I have to remind myself, like, oh yeah, I don't have to project so much.” (31:00–31:40) "I think the hardest part is, like, staying connected to whoever you're in the scene with while someone is sitting, like, two feet from you..." (31:40–32:13) “I get to play host...the red carpet challenges, like, have now come back into this part of my life.” (32:13–32:29)
“The piece is about family…but it is also about self love, self acceptance. The more time I spend as Ace, the deeper I'm forced to find acceptance for myself.” (32:57–34:10)
“To be able to leave the space every night and just have acceptance and be like, great. That's what that was tonight. And it moved people or it moved one person. Like, that is enough.” (34:13–35:37)
“I don't think I would have been able to do that at 27...being 33 and now getting to do it, the timing is so, so divine.” (34:13–35:10)
“It's crazy to be 33. And I feel like it's the beginning of my career. I'm like, okay, here we go.” (37:29–37:38)
“I guess this is the level I’m now competing at. Even though I don’t feel like I should be...Some imposter syndrome. But it’s where I ended up." (18:17)
“...Not to say that I don’t want to play straight roles. Like, I’m open to it. But the fact that this is sort of where things have fallen...has helped me love more of me.” (20:26)
“To have Kate Baldwin come see All The World’s A Stage...the hope that I had back then [is] come to fruition in a way that I couldn’t have possibly imagined.” (07:36–08:17)
“Why We Theater?” — a reference to his newsletter essay on refinding purpose and connection through performing and writing. (09:50)
“I am literally on top of people. It feels like you’re in a movie because people are sitting...I’m sobbing on that stage, and people are sitting literally right there. And I’m also screaming in some people’s faces.” (30:18)
This episode is a testament to the unpredictable, rewarding, and profoundly human journey of a multi-talented artist who embodies theater’s evolving possibilities, resilience, and heart.