70. The Sky Is Not the Limit (with Mandy Gonzalez)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Sentimental Men – Episode 70: The Sky Is Not the Limit (with Mandy Gonzalez)

Release Date: April 14, 2025
Hosted by Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi
Guest: Mandy Gonzalez, renowned Broadway actress

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Introduction

In Episode 70 of Sentimental Men, Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi delve deep into the illustrious career of Mandy Gonzalez, a towering figure in musical theatre known for her powerhouse performances as Elphaba in Wicked and Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton. This episode, aptly titled "The Sky Is Not the Limit," explores Mandy's journey, the challenges she has overcome, and her multifaceted career both on and off the Broadway stage.

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Mandy Gonzalez’s Broadway Journey

Early Career and Wicked

Mandy Gonzalez begins her Broadway journey in the ensemble of Aida and later stars in Dance of the Vampires. Her breakthrough came when she joined the original Broadway cast of Wicked as Elphaba, stepping into a role that would define her career.

[16:31] Mandy Gonzalez: "My first touch point with Wicked happened during the first workshop of the first act. Being part of that ensemble was thrilling and exciting."

Mandy recounts her first exposure to Wicked during its workshop phase, where she met key figures like Christian Borle and Celia Keenan-Bolger. The real turning point was attending the Broadway premiere with her parents, witnessing Idina Menzel deliver a mesmerizing performance of "Defying Gravity."

[17:49] Mandy Gonzalez: "Seeing Idina perform was incredible. It solidified Wicked as something truly special right from the start."

Auditioning and Securing the Role

The decision to audition for Elphaba was not straightforward. Mandy was simultaneously involved in other projects, notably In the Heights. Her initial reluctance stemmed from the intense vocal and emotional demands of the role.

[19:56] Mandy Gonzalez: "I was terrified thinking about how much Elphaba sings and how she's on stage the whole time. It felt overwhelming."

However, with encouragement from peers like Idina Menzel and after building her confidence through roles in In the Heights, Mandy decided to embrace the challenge.

[25:18] Mandy Gonzalez: "Taking the role of Elphaba was a dream come true. It was a defining moment in my career."

Challenges and Triumphs as Elphaba

Playing Elphaba was both a joy and a struggle. Mandy discusses the isolation that comes with the role, being on stage for the majority of the performance, and the vocal strain it imposed.

[36:12] Mandy Gonzalez: "The biggest delight was embodying Elphaba’s vulnerability and strength. The biggest challenge was the isolation from the rest of the cast during performances."

She elaborates on techniques she employed to maintain her vocal health and emotional well-being, such as refining her vowel placement and embracing imperfection.

[43:12] Mandy Gonzalez: "Vocally, mastering Elphaba was about understanding my voice's placement and letting go of the need for perfection."

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Transition to Hamilton

After two impactful years in Wicked, Mandy transitioned to Hamilton, taking on the role of Angelica Schuyler. This move marked a shift from the solitary nature of Wicked to the collaborative and community-driven environment of Hamilton.

[35:11] Mandy Gonzalez: "With Hamilton, I felt more like an artist within a community rather than an employee. The camaraderie was invigorating."

She highlights the differences in the creative processes between the two shows, emphasizing how Hamilton fostered a sense of belonging and collective artistry.

[46:28] Mandy Gonzalez: "Starting together with the Hamilton cast created a bond that made the experience deeply fulfilling."

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Embracing a Multi-Hyphenate Career

Mandy's career is a testament to the modern Broadway artist's need to diversify. Beyond acting, she has ventured into singing, writing, and even authoring young adult novels.

[13:57] Kevin: "You gotta be a multi-hyphenate these days. You gotta be out here."

Mandy reflects on the pressures and benefits of being a multi-hyphenate, acknowledging both the exhaustion and the creative fulfillment it brings.

[14:39] Kevin: "Life is so tiring. It doesn't get easier, I hate to tell you."
[14:50] Mandy Gonzalez: "Being a multi-hyphenate allows me to explore different facets of my creativity, even though it can be exhausting."

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Recent Work: Sunset Boulevard

Mandy’s latest venture is a guest star role in Sunset Boulevard. Balancing her professional commitments with personal life, especially motherhood, showcases her ability to navigate the complexities of a demanding career.

[56:10] Mandy Gonzalez: "This show has allowed me to realize that I'm enough, and it's important to ask for what I want."

She discusses the audition process, working with creative talents like Jamie Lloyd, and the joy of performing Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic music.

[58:29] Mandy Gonzalez: "Sunset Boulevard has been transformative, reinforcing my belief in my worth and the importance of pursuing what truly makes me happy."

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Personal Insights and Mentorship

Throughout the discussion, Mandy emphasizes the importance of self-love, perseverance, and mentorship in the performing arts.

[61:36] Mandy Gonzalez: "We are here. I hope that I continue to show that, because I absolutely love what I do."

She shares wisdom imparted by Donna Murphy, highlighting the value of resilience and self-belief.

[62:44] Mandy Gonzalez: "Donna told me, 'You're doing all the right things.' It resonated deeply and kept me moving forward."

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Conclusion

In this heartfelt episode, Mandy Gonzalez opens up about her monumental roles, the evolution of her career, and the personal growth that accompanies success in the fiercely competitive world of Broadway. Quincy and Kevin facilitate a conversation that not only celebrates Mandy's achievements but also offers invaluable insights for aspiring theatre artists.

[63:56] Mandy Gonzalez: "I'm so lucky to be doing what I'm doing. It's all about loving the work, even without the constant glory."

Sentimental Men delivers an inspiring narrative of dedication, talent, and the relentless pursuit of artistic excellence, embodied by Mandy Gonzalez's remarkable journey.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Mandy Gonzalez [16:31]: "My first touch point with Wicked happened during the first workshop of the first act. Being part of that ensemble was thrilling and exciting."

• Mandy Gonzalez [19:56]: "I was terrified thinking about how much Elphaba sings and how she's on stage the whole time. It felt overwhelming."

• Mandy Gonzalez [25:18]: "Taking the role of Elphaba was a dream come true. It was a defining moment in my career."

• Mandy Gonzalez [36:12]: "The biggest delight was embodying Elphaba’s vulnerability and strength. The biggest challenge was the isolation from the rest of the cast during performances."

• Mandy Gonzalez [43:12]: "Vocally, mastering Elphaba was about understanding my voice's placement and letting go of the need for perfection."

• Mandy Gonzalez [35:11]: "With Hamilton, I felt more like an artist within a community rather than an employee. The camaraderie was invigorating."

• Mandy Gonzalez [56:10]: "This show has allowed me to realize that I'm enough, and it's important to ask for what I want."

• Mandy Gonzalez [58:29]: "Sunset Boulevard has been transformative, reinforcing my belief in my worth and the importance of pursuing what truly makes me happy."

• Mandy Gonzalez [61:36]: "We are here. I hope that I continue to show that, because I absolutely love what I do."

---

Connect with Sentimental Men:

Find Sentimental Men on Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). For inquiries, email [e-mail].

Transcript

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Hi, y'all. This is Kristin Chenoweth. Hi, I'm Gloria Stefan. This is Sara Bareilles. Hi, I'm Patti LuPone. This is Lin Manuel Miranda.

[Kevin]

You're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Sorry.

[Kevin]

That's okay.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Talking about Elphaba. Leave me alone.

[Quincy]

I'm Quincy.

[Kevin]

And I'm Kevin.

[Quincy]

And this is Sentimental Men.

[Kevin]

We're here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[Quincy]

There still be light, there still be dawn. You still have the time. You still had it there. So don't run away from death. Yes, everybody dies. So are you still alive live?

[Kevin]

Thank you for finding me and thank you for the care.

[Quincy]

Shout out to Zachary Noah Peyser in Redwood. He is singing down in Redwood.

[Kevin]

The house down. Like, house down. Nessarose is dead. Zachary Pizer is singing the penultimate song of Redwood.

[Quincy]

And I did have a little moment during that number. We saw Redwood on Broadway, and we're talking about it now.

[Kevin]

We sure did.

[Quincy]

I did have a little moment during that number seeing, like, a new age Bach with the OG Elphaba. Crying together, singing together, acting together. It was sweet.

[Kevin]

I didn't really have that moment until after, like, when I was, like, on my way home, I was like, oh, that was like a Bach and an Alpha Bach in the Alphabet.

[Quincy]

Okay, tell me what you thought of Redwood.

[Kevin]

Okay, what did I think of Redwood?

[Quincy]

The New York Times critics pick Redwood.

[Kevin]

Critics pick Redwood. This is what I have to say about Redwood. When I was leaving, when I was on my way home, my main takeaway is that Idina Menzel really is that girl like she is. First of all, I think this role is really a showcase for her as an actress. Obviously, she's singing, she's doing the Idina Menzel thing. But that moment, the long, long, long monologue into the song where the whole stage slowly goes black around her, I realized I was holding my breath halfway because she's just so captivating.

[Quincy]

It's over and over the nights without breathing. There's weight loss and hair loss, and there is a no cure.

[Kevin]

Yes, that one. I thought Adida was great. I thought, like, technically, obviously. The show is, like, so cool. That big tree in the middle of it, Stella, it made me gasp. I don't know what I was expecting to be on the other side of that thing when it turned around, but I was like, oh, it's a tree.

[Quincy]

I was like, kevin, what do you think we're doing here?

[Kevin]

The Muni is in their small cast era as well.

[Quincy]

I feel like, can you imagine that? Show at the Muni that four people on stage.

[Kevin]

Yes. It would actually be so gorgeous with the everything behind. I actually low key think it would.

[Quincy]

They could do into the woods. They could do redwood.

[Kevin]

A whole season of forest.

[Quincy]

It's one more tree musical.

[Kevin]

Once on this island. At the end, she turns into a tree.

[Quincy]

Into the woods. Redwood. Once on this island. That's the Sentmen Players rep company, season one. I had a thought.

[Kevin]

Tell me the.

[Quincy]

You know, Broadway is in a very commercial era and I feel like we have stars coming back to do revivals of well known musicals. But where does that lead the original new musical? And I do have to commend Ms. Menzel for committing her career to doing original musicals even at the level of star and fame she is at now. She is lending her fame to a new musical theater composer and this experimental commercial Broadway musical. And I just think it's really good for the industry and good for the art form and says a lot about her as an artist, which I think is easy to forget when people reach a certain level of fame.

[Kevin]

Yeah. And I think that's really the. That's really the thing is, like, I think she is like an artist. Like, she wants to be creating. She wants to be in that room crafting a character, figuring it out, catering it to her and her skills. Yeah. I'm like, I can't even obviously, like, I have a list of revivals. I would love to see Adina in Gypsy, Gypsy, Gypsy, Gypsy, Gypsy, Gypsy, Gypsy. But I do wonder, like, will we ever get that?

[Quincy]

I think not.

[Kevin]

I think no. Yeah.

[Quincy]

I also think we've noticed the thing, you know, there's the classic story of Adina as the reason why they took the end of Defying Gravity up. Idina is the reason why Let it Go is in such a high key. This role as well, which she had a very strong arm in crafting, is she's belting all the time. But she also sings so much throughout the entire show. Like it really rests on her.

[Kevin]

It's a big sing.

[Quincy]

Yeah. She didn't need to like craft a role this intense at this stage of her career.

[Kevin]

Yeah. Part of me wonders, like, I like, if you're Idina Menzel, do you feel pressure to give the people what they're expecting? Like you're saying she could have keyed all those songs down a step or two and it still would have been impressive. But I think it's crazy that she has four or five songs in that show that all end. The wizard and I, they all end on a Big Idina Menzel.

[Quincy]

Mm Belt.

[Kevin]

It's really crazy living.

[Quincy]

Living in the leaf.

[Kevin]

The instrument stands the test of time.

[Quincy]

Yeah. Oh. Last thing on Redwood is I did find the two emotional songs at the end to be profoundly moving. I was near tears, and then I cried on my walk home.

[Kevin]

Yeah. Yeah. I felt an energy shift to my left the closer we got to the end of the.

[Quincy]

But I also knew that, like, you were not there with me, so I was like, cry right now, Quincy.

[Kevin]

Oh, it's always safe to feel. To feel things around me. Quincy, I would never make fun of you for feeling.

[Quincy]

Well, no, I just. I didn't need to pull focus, you know.

[Kevin]

Oh, it would have been okay. Next time you let it out. Quincy, you are, in fact, the all American prophet, because you said here on this podcast that Liz Gillies should go into Little Shop of Horrors. And here we are mere weeks later.

[Quincy]

Yeah. At the time of recording this. She just debuted last night, I believe. Have you listened to the audios on TikTok?

[Kevin]

No, I haven't listened, but you know what is. I was outside walking my dog when her and Milo came out of the theater.

[Quincy]

Oh, really?

[Kevin]

And the crowd went wild. Yeah.

[Quincy]

Yeah. First of all, the Internet is so excited about this duo. I can't wait to see it. I'm seeing them next Wednesday at the time of recording. The audios are delicious. She's like. She's doing character, which is kind of slay great.

[Kevin]

I can't wait.

[Quincy]

I can't wait to, like, see it all in performance.

[Kevin]

I feel like, given the fact that I live so close to the theater, I do feel like I deserve, like. Like a season pass punch card. Like, how you would get to go to. Yeah, like a punch card. Get my fifth Audrey Free. I feel it's a good idea. I just, like, I would see that show every night if I could.

[Quincy]

Yeah.

[Kevin]

I love Little Shop and I love this production. And I can't wait to go see another take on my favorite downtrodden girly.

[Quincy]

Kevin, who are we talking to today?

[Kevin]

Okay, Quincy, today we're talking to Mandy Gonzalez, I think an iconic supreme Elphaba. Definitely a voice from my headphones growing up.

[Quincy]

I am the one who made it out.

[Kevin]

She is so good. Mandy Gonzalez is a member of not quite a pipeline, but a new vocabulary word that I'm going to introduce, which is the Angelfaba Love. We have Mandy Gonzalez and Emmy Raver Lampman, who played Elphaba, then Angelica, and now we have Lancia, who played Angelica, and now Elphaba. So we're in. I don't know if it's because a pipeline would be all in one direction. So Maylencia be the first but not the last.

[Quincy]

What's interesting is like, Angelphaba makes sense. I could also see Elizabuz, which I don't think we've had.

[Kevin]

Elizabeth. That's interesting.

[Quincy]

Elphabis.

[Kevin]

I would think that of those three sisters, I would say that Elizas would be more likely to be a Glinda.

[Quincy]

You would put Philippa sue as a.

[Kevin]

In a broad stroke, yes. Before I would put her as an Elphaba.

[Quincy]

Are you joking?

[Kevin]

No, but I would say that. Don't you think that like the Peggy track, if we're just talking about those three, The Peggy track is more Elphaba than Eliza is.

[Quincy]

I think they're all Elphaba, those three.

[Kevin]

That's true. There are no Glindas in that show.

[Quincy]

Hamilton is not a time for Glindas.

[Kevin]

Call Solea Pfeiffer. Ask her.

[Quincy]

Soleya Pfeiffer has added Cynthia's Defying Gravity riff to the end of her. Diamonds are a girl's best friend in Moulin Rouge.

[Kevin]

Get out.

[Quincy]

Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

[Kevin]

Oh, my God. And the crowd goes wild. Oh, my God. All right, Quincy, let me hit you with Mandy's resume before she gets here. So in 2001, Mandy Gonzalez was in the Broadway production of Aida, standing by for Idina Menzel as Amneris. The following year, in 2002, iconic in the Dance of the Vampires as Sarah.

[Quincy]

Turn around.

[Kevin]

You want to talk about a video that is burned into my memory? It's that her on those giant steps. There's nothing I can do. A total eclipse. Oh, my God. What a beast. Following the all too soon closure of Dance of the Vampires, Mandy was back in Aida as The Principal Amneris 2003. In 2005, she was in the Broadway musical Lenin, which also had a limited run. Then in 2008, after doing the Off Broadway production, Mandy starred as Nina in In the Heights on Broadway. Following that, in 2010, she was in the Broadway production of Wicked as Elphaba. Straight to Broadway. No tour, no standby. Then in 2016, she goes into Hamilton as Angelica, where she stays until 2022.

[Quincy]

Wow.

[Kevin]

That's a long time to do one show.

[Quincy]

Yeah. And a pandemic in between.

[Kevin]

Well, and I was thinking about. And it's like the. The shutdown was like, only a little part of that towards the end of that, like she did four years in the show before the shutdown even happened. It's a long time. But that role just fit her so well. In 2019, she was in the who's Tommy at the Kennedy Center. Another favorite. All of this leading up to last year, 2024. Mandy Gonzalez back on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard as the guest star of Norma.

[Quincy]

I almost wish they did Monday night shows and had Tuesdays off so that it could be Mandy Mondays.

[Kevin]

That would have been cute. Cuz it was Rachel Tucker Tuesdays, right? Oh yeah, so that worked.

[Quincy]

Rachel Tucker's going into Gatsby on the West End.

[Kevin]

Oh, that's really good. You know what, Quincy? After we went to see Carrie ellis at Studio 54, I was like, 54 below or. Yeah, at 54 below. I mean, I was like, if Sunset runs long enough for a replacement, gotta be Carrie Ellis. She would be such a fabulous Norma. And I feel like. I feel like I could see her existing in the world of this production for sure.

[Quincy]

Yeah, that'd be fun.

[Kevin]

On screen, Mandy has appeared in Madame Secretary, Alice's Wonderland Bakery, and Disney's Better Nate Than Never, which I have never watched, but contains one of my favorite memes of that kid looking at his Wicked poster and being like, oh, yeah, because that's me. Every morning just like, all right, bye girls out the door. Her solo album Fearless led to her solo show of the same name at Cafe Carlisle. She is also the author of the Fearless series, which is a series of young adult novels. Currently has four installments. She does it all. She does it all. Listen, I feel like the theme of our conversations recently has been like, you gotta be a multi hyphenate these days. You gotta be out here.

[Quincy]

Is that the truth?

[Kevin]

You gotta be out here doing everything you know how to do. So yeah. So that's Mandy Gonzalez. I'm so excited to talk to her, Quincy.

[Quincy]

Me too. I can't wait. Do you ever think that being a multi hyphenate is like a total scam? No, it's like a New York City. I'm like coming to this like realization where New York is full of some of the most intelligent, talented, creative people in the world. And therefore everyone is just constantly like hustling and doing the next thing and trying to like. It just feels very competitive all the time. And I'm like, is that life or is that New York?

[Kevin]

I think it's a. Well, I don't think the idea of the multi hyphenate is exclusive to New York City, but I do think that New York City multi hyphenates get like Competitive and burnt out very quickly because it's just like, yeah, I could do that. Yeah, I can do that. I don't know how to do that, but I'll give it a try. I'll learn how to do that for you. It's exhausting. Who's got the energy? Who's got the time?

[Quincy]

Life is so tiring. I know.

[Kevin]

It doesn't get easier, I hate to tell you.

[Quincy]

Anyways, let's get into this interview with Mandy Gonzalez.

[Kevin]

No day, but today, baby. This episode is brought to you by Lifelock. It's tax season, and we're all a bit tired of numbers, but here's one you need to hear. $16.5 billion. That's how much the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud last year. Now here's a good number. 100 million. That's how many data points Lifelock monitors every second. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it, guaranteed. Save up to 40% your first [e-mail] podcast terms apply.

[Quincy]

Mandy Gonzalez, thank you so much for joining us on Sentimental Men today.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Thank you. I'm excited to be here.

[Quincy]

You have been on our list of dream guests for a long time. This has been a long time in the works. It feels.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Oh, thank you.

[Kevin]

Yeah, definitely sentimental man.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I love it.

[Kevin]

And it feels like as time has gone on, you have just become more and more our perfect guest with, like, the sunset of it all. Like, we are just. You're ticking all of our boxes one by one.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I love it.

[Quincy]

Okay, so we start every interview with asking, how did Wicked, the musical, come into your life as a person? What was your first touch point with the show?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Okay, so my first touch point with the show happened during the first workshop of the first act. So I was asked to be in the ensemble. At that time, I was in Aida on Broadway, and I was asked to be part of that ensemble, and that's where I first met Alex Lacamore. And it was. Who was in the ensemble? It was me, Christian Borrell, Celia Keenan Bolger, and it was Adina.

[Quincy]

Yeah.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Really?

[Quincy]

Tell us everything.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Ye. Yeah, sorry.

[Kevin]

What a stacked ensemble.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

It was fantastic. And I think my dear friend Marcy Hariel was Nessarose. And gosh, it was like the first time that they were hearing all of the first act music. So it was thrilling and it was so exciting. And, you know, the ensemble vocals were on point. And, yeah, it was like a week of just, what is this? And what is this gonna be? And I remember, you know, thinking that this was something that was going to be really big and different. And then I think it was. I don't know if it was a year later or maybe two years later. And I had done other shows after that, but I remember when they opened on Broadway that I got tickets for for my parents and I to go and see it, and I saw Idina do Defying Gravity, and I was just like, oh, my God, like, she did it. This is just incredible because she was also in Aida with me. And I remember at that time, she was saying, there's this new musical, Wicked, and I think it was. Is it Warner Brothers that produced it originally?

[Kevin]

I can't remember.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Universal, it was like a really big movie company. And she was like, I don't know, you know, if they're gonna take me, I don't know what's gonna happen with it. And you know how we all feel when we're doing something that we love. But are they gonna take me? I don't know, like, what's gonna happen? And. And I was like, they're gonna take you. You know, I was such a. I just loved her so much. Don't worry, you're great. And. Yeah. And so I feel my encouragement. That really helped her. No, it was. She was. She was just meant for that role and that part and to go on that journey, and she was so. Just so ready for that, I think, and to see her shine up there. When I went to see the show with my parents, it was like, I just cried. I was so excited, and I was so happy for her. And also, it was just so good. And to see, like, how amazing it was. And Wayne Cilenta's choreography, because it wasn't actually like a workshop, it was more of a reading. So there was no choreography and no blocking, that kind of thing. It was really just.

[Quincy]

And you just did one reading.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah, I just did one reading.

[Quincy]

Okay.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

And then my life kind of took off, and Wicked took off in this other direction.

[Kevin]

Yeah. Was there a point either in that reading or when you went to see it in its finished form, where you were like, oh, maybe I could be in more than the ensemble of this show? Like, was there a moment where Elphaba kind of became a possibility to you?

[Quincy]

Especially because you had done the same track as Idina and Aida?

[Kevin]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yes. And I. Yeah. Automatically I was like, I want to do that role. I was, congratulations. This is so great. And what can I do?

[Kevin]

Do you still need a standby? Yeah.

[Quincy]

Yeah.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Like, when can I do it? And so I think that it became One of those roles very similar to my love of Maureen in Rent and Mimi. It was like, oh, my gosh, I want to play that role, which never happened for me in Rent. But I was like, maybe you could.

[Quincy]

Go either way in Rent.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah, well, that's what they said. That's why I never got the job. They're like, we don't know where to place you.

[Kevin]

Taylor's oldest time.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Exactly.

[Kevin]

So then when you were watching the show with your parents, do you remember their reaction as having not seen the show before, having not done the workshop?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Oh, I think that they absolutely loved it. My family were definitely big wizard of Oz fans, and I grew up watching that film, and I'm a huge Judy Garland fan because of my grandmother's love of Judy Garland and her music. And so I think that they were just really. They didn't read the book by Gregory Maguire. And so I think they were just super psyched to see all these characters to take a different story, you know? So I felt like they felt like they were. They could relate to it and they were part of it. But my parents are not showbiz parents at all. So they're not like, you should do that part, Mandy. They're like, oh, that was good. Let's go and get some cheesecake. Or, you know, my parents are not like, it all is deep within myself, you know, so it was really like one of those shows that my parents were like, that was good. That's, like what my dad said. That was really good.

[Quincy]

So now tell us, when was the first time that auditioning for Wicked came across your desk?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Gosh. For Elphaba. So, yeah, I think that that happened. It happened before in the Heights. So I think it happened when I was doing the show Lennon on Broadway, which it didn't last very long, but I remember being called in and going in to sing for the entire team, and Steven Schwartz was there. I was so psyched. And I sang Defying Gravity and Wizard, and I. And I felt like I nailed it. You know, I think my audition was, like, at 10 in the morning, which is so unfair for anybody. And it was in Bernie Telsey's old office. And I felt like there was only one room at one of the Telsey office, like at that old Telsey office that had good reverb. So I definitely was not in that room. And so I was just like, man. Cause you know that when you get into those rooms to audition and then the sound kind of swallows, you know, like you're singing this big note and then it's just like you're singing into nothing, you know? But if you're in a good reverb room, you're like, yes, this is great. And it definitely wasn't that room, but I definitely felt like, oh, I put a stamp on it. And Joe Mantello got up out of the desk and he talked to me and he worked with me. And so I felt like that was good. That's a good sign. And then I got in the Heights and I did the reading for in the Heights. Soon after that.

[Quincy]

Was it a situation where you had to say no to Wicked to do in the Heights, or did Wicked kind of fizzle out?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Wicked didn't go anywhere at that moment. But then in the Heights did a reading, and then in the Heights had a workshop. It's like in the Heights as a person. In the Heights had a workshop, and then they went to dinner and. No, but. So they did the workshop, and then we were supposed to go off Broadway. But, you know, getting to Off Broadway, it just takes time. And I remember at that time, Lynn was working on Breathe, and he was rewriting different parts of Breathe, and I ended up off Broadway singing this song, Fire Escape. And we worked on that. And so I was just really in love with that show and that musical. And then all of a sudden, in between that time when I'm waiting to see what's gonna happen within the Heights, I get a call to say, would you come and do Elphaba and Wicked on Broadway? Yes. And I was like, what? And I remember at that time, like, you know, it's a dream role, you know, when that happens, but so is Nina. And I just needed to see where that was going to go. I didn't know what was going to happen with it. I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it. And. And so in that moment, I had to decide, and I decided to stay and to do in the Heights Off Broadway, which was the best decision that I could have made because it completely changed my life for the better.

[Quincy]

How did. When you actually accepted the role. Okay, so then take us through the whole process. Mandy.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Oh, my gosh, you're so sweet. I'm like, my memory. So I. You know, I had said that I couldn't do it, and then I did in the Heights off Broadway. We moved to Broadway. I did Broadway. Yes. I originated the role. We had the cast album. I was on in that show for about two, almost two years on Broadway. And then Wicked called again and said, would you do Elphaba on Broadway? Would you come and. And do that show. And I was ready at that point to try and to leave and to go, let's see what this is. And I remember you couldn't tell anybody because they wanted to announce it. So it was very important that they were the ones that said something. And so I told in the Heights, you know, everybody there, because I was leaving, so they had to, you know, have my replacement come and all this kind of stuff, but we couldn't say anything. But then my last show, Lin Manuel walked up on stage at my bow, and he. I think he wore a green shirt and a witch's hat. And then he handed me flowers. And then Alex Lacamore switched the exit music to represent Wiccan. And so it was like, oh, my gosh, like, everybody knows. So then everybody was like, man, if Manny Gonzalez doing Elphaba, Manny Gonzalez doing Alphabet. And it really wasn't that time that we have now where social media is everywhere. You know, it was a little over 10 years ago and. Or more than 10 years ago. Like 15. I don't even know.

[Kevin]

We don't have to count. We don't have to count.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

No, but it's like. It's like I don't even know how old I am sometimes. I just feel like it all just goes. But, yeah, so it was really this Broadway kind of secret that was so exciting. And then I moved up the block, you know, I moved up, like, the four blocks, and I started my journey with Wicked.

[Kevin]

Was there anything about the timing pre in the Heights versus Post in the Heights that you felt more ready or differently ready to take on a role like Elphaba that is undoubtedly, like, on stage the whole time, Truly, like the leading lady of the show.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yes. I think it. Yeah, sorry. I think it wasn't about that for me. It was about my confidence level at that time because I had gone from Aida to a show called Dance of the Vampires, which didn't do well, and it closed. Yeah. Recipes.

[Kevin]

As both of us have these huge smiles on our face, we're like, aha.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Dance. Yeah, you can watch it on YouTube and all those things. But as I think I was 23 or 24 at that time, and the show closed within. I mean, we previewed for three months, and then the show closed, like, maybe a month or a month and a half later. And so it was a big disappointment for me, you know, which allowed me to feel those feelings that Nina had when she was singing Breathe and going through in the Heights and wanting to please your parents and to do Better for yourself in the neighborhood, like, all those things. So then after Dancing Vampires, I went and I did a show called Lennon on Broadway, which also closed very quickly. It wasn't perceived well. And so having that, I felt like. I mean, I used to have friends that were like, well, three's the charm or whatever, like, what are you gonna do now? You know, I had so many friends that would just say things. And so I felt like, well, am I this thing of, like, is it just not meant for me, or am I always gonna be in this place where I almost get it? Like, I'm almost at that place. And I think that if I went straight into Wicked, I don't think that I would have established myself as much as a leading actress as. Even though I had done that in shows prior, the community didn't accept that for me until I did in the Heights. At least in my own mind, you know, community is what it is. But I was very down on myself before in the Heights, and I was very worried to have another failure because I felt at that time, you know, to be very Nina, like, that it was on my shoulders, that it was because of me. And I think sometimes as we grow, we realize that that's not the case. But I think Wicked, because I had in the Heights allowed me to. I think I allowed myself to feel more free within that time, as I would have put too much pressure on myself, I think, had in the Heights not happened.

[Kevin]

Totally. I think it's interesting too, that, like, even though even Dance of the Vampires and Lenin, you were original companies of those shows, but those were not original music in its entirety, that was pre existing music. And then within the Heights, like you're saying, here's this role that's kind of built around you. Your strengths, your voice, your emotional energy. So then to take all of that into, okay, now I know how to be me in a role, now I'm ready to step into with all of.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

The baggage that comes with, you know, the time that I've spent on Broadway. And I think when I got to Wicked, when I moved out the block and I was sitting in the audience, I think it was D. Ruscioli, Rascioli that was on as Elphaba at the time. And I remember watching that and just being like, oh, my God, like, what have I done? Like, how am I going to do this? As much as I told you, like, I had confidence. I have confidence. I was totally terrified. And I was like, oh, my God, like, I can't do this. Like, she's on the stage the whole time. Look at much. How much she has to sing. And look at. You know, it was just like, I overwhelmed myself. And I remember going to my dear friend Andrea Burns, like, anything that she is the ultimate sister, because anytime that I have anything going on in my life, she is always the person that I call and confide in. She's just that person for so many people. And I think she was actually at a spa waiting to get a massage, and I went and I To meet her, and I was like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't think I can do it. And she's just like, calm down. Let's talk about it. So, you know, like, the spa where you have, like, that little waiting room beforehand, and it's like, there's a waterfall, and it's, like, twinkling. Like, I totally killed that moment for her. I was totally just like, this is like. And she was like, it's gonna be great. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then she was probably like, what is wrong with this? But then I started to do the rehearsals, and I remember the assistant director, Lisa, I remember being really nervous, and I was singing the songs, and I'd be like, the wizard. And, like, my voice just wouldn't come out. I was so terrified. I just, like, put too much on myself. And then Lisa, I guess, recognized that, because I think a lot of people do that. And she said, you know, there's a treadmill upstairs, and I would really love you to start running on that treadmill and singing the music. So you just get out of your head. And I had never done that before, but it was the best thing I could have done, because all of a sudden, besides, like, getting ready physically for the show and all of the running I was gonna be doing, I started to let go of what a hard thing it was. I started to let go of that thought process, and it taught me so much about myself, about my voice, and about my feelings of, like, perfection and of how it all has to be perfect and I have to hit the same note and I have to do the same thing every day. And it has to be perfect, because somebody might tape it and it might go on YouTube and, you know, like, all these crazy thoughts. I let go of all of that, and I just was able to.

[Kevin]

And all these thoughts that are brand new around 2010 of, like, the YouTube of it all was probably not something you had to worry about in Aida.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Absolutely not. Like, I don't think you could even find a video of me in Aida, you know what I mean?

[Kevin]

If you give us enough time, we might be able to.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

But yeah, it was like all these things that what I'm doing on stage could be caught and be there forever. And it's such a terrifying thing to think about. Like I think about young people today, like and so much of them that I love is. They're just like whatever, if it's there, who cares? And you know, I've learned a lot from this younger generation on forgiveness and self love and all of those things. But yeah, I just, I freaked myself out but I went through the freakout and I came out a lot stronger for it.

[Quincy]

And you are a rare Elphaba, even to this day. But especially at that time to go into the Broadway production having not done tour or regional sit down production prior.

[Kevin]

Totally standing by even.

[Quincy]

Can you talk to us about what it was like to come into this role cold and learn it from the get go and then just do it on Broadway?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah, yeah, I think that I never thought about that. But then Katie Rose Clark was my Glinda and she had been in the show for a long time before that on tour. It was a very lonely creative experience, I think. But I think that that helped me as Elphaba because I was very. Not shunned from the cast. Cause I wasn't. But it was like I was in another room with the stage manager and the dance captain and the assistant director and I was being put in to the show. So I had a month of just me. It is kind of one of those roles that's very isolating. At least it was for me because.

[Quincy]

You hear that a lot.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah. I mean, just to be honest, you know.

[Kevin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Quincy]

What would you say was the biggest delight of your contract as Elphaba and what was the biggest challenge for you in that role?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I think my delight is Elphaba. Sorry, sorry. On an interview. Sorry, it's my husband. Sorry.

[Kevin]

That's okay.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Talking about Elphaba.

[Kevin]

Leave me alone.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

My biggest delight as Elphaba was, gosh, just that whole journey that I, you know, was able to take in her skin. You know, I think that was the biggest joy was the work because you know, she was just so. She's so vulnerable and beautiful and she goes, you know, she lets you in to her innermost secrets and thoughts and I just, I loved that. And then I loved being able to, to grow with her and how she changes and she starts to see what, how things are and the way that she thinks about things is different than other people. Because of how she was raised. And so I think it was the work that was the biggest delight for me. And then I think the biggest challenge for me was, I would say, the isolation from the company because of the way that it was of being put in and not being part of that creative process.

[Kevin]

I was just going to say, even now, this is like. I would say even maybe since the pandemic now, I feel like they are in the habit of bringing an Elphaba and a Glinda in. In at the same time so that at least they get to rehearse together. But you're saying Katie was in the show before you, so you were joining her.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I mean, I think we came in to. No, I think that she was in the show before me. I can't remember. I just know that she had been doing the show for a while, off on tour.

[Kevin]

Yeah, it was. She was not learning it alongside you.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

No.

[Kevin]

Getting used to it. She was. It was in her body already.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yes. And she, like, just came from tour, so she was, you know, in a whole different place of like, you know, having to get settled in New York and all of these kind of things. So it wasn't like that wasn't easy, you know, And I think that. I think that that's good that they. They're bringing in people together. And because you're starting at the same place and you're building that together, which I think is really, really lovely.

[Quincy]

We hear a lot from the actresses who have played Elphaba, a lot of whom have done multiple contracts of Elphaba, that either they felt really happy with their final contract and had closure with it and were ready to move on, or they really felt like they needed to come back for another one. You are a rare one and done run Elphaba. Talk to us about how you felt as your contract was ending and if you were ready to move on, if you felt like you maybe wanted to do this down the line or you wanted to extend, what were your thoughts as your contract was ending?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I think I was. So I was ready, you know, before I took this contract, I was in. In the Heights. And at that time I really was thinking about I really wanted to have a baby and I really wanted to start a family with my husband. And I was thinking a lot about that as my time at in the Heights, I guess, was coming to an end. I don't think that it was at that time, but it was just something I talked about all the time. I talked with my friends that did have kids in the show. And I just said, oh, this is what I want. This is what I want. And then I get the offer for Wicked. So it was kind of like I put that to the side. And then when I was ending my contract with Wicked, I was like, this is the time, and I'm ready to take a minute for myself and for my family. And I want to have a baby, like, more than anything in the world. And so I think that I didn't know what that was going to be or where that was going to take my career. I had so many people that were like, you shouldn't do this and you shouldn't have a baby and you shouldn't.

[Quincy]

But that's just a transition to time when you're.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah. And there's no perfect time and there's no perfect thing, but when you know in your heart, like, that's what you want, you just gotta go. Okay? And I. So I felt very complete with my time at Wicked. I felt very grateful that I had that experience. And then it was like, all right, let's go. And then I think. Yeah. And then I think I was. I was pregnant, like, two months after I left Wicked. So it was like, all right. I was just. She was waiting for me.

[Quincy]

So what I'm hearing is everything has timed out pretty perfectly for you in your career.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I guess so.

[Kevin]

Yeah.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah. It's been so great and so easy.

[Kevin]

No hiccups.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah. I mean, let's talk about life after I'm a baby in the business.

[Quincy]

Okay. So before we move on from Wicked, are you a wizard and I defying gravity or no good deed? Alphaba. It can mean whatever you want it to mean. All we ask is that you explain why.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Okay. I think I'm a no good deed because I freaking loved having to run and run with Kathy, my dresser, and have to go into that crouching position and then, like, come up like Janet. Like, I was just like, oh, my God. Like, I was like, oh, my God. Like, I felt like a total rock star. And I freaking loved.

[Quincy]

Is so funny because Jackie Burns hates that. She was like, I hate. No, Guttita, you have to run. You have to crouch. You gotta get up.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I loved it because I was just like. You know, I just. I thought it was such. Just a total high. Like, I was just like, yeah. And then when I got done, it's like, I made it through all the big songs and like. Yeah, yeah. And it was just like. You think it was just like telling the audience you think I'm done. Well, you know, Fiera it just, like, doesn't stop. And so I just. I love that. I love that push and pull with the music. I love the push and pull with the audience and how the audience just is like, yeah, we thought it was done, but no, she's still belting, so I love that.

[Kevin]

Speaking of belting, I do want to ask you. I think you have, like, one of the, like, Broadway belt voices that we think of when we think, like, belting. How, vocally, how was Elphaba for you?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Vocally, Elphaba was. Was, I would say, a thrill once I figured out how to do manage that in my voice and in my. You know, a lot of it for me was vowels, and, I mean, we could go into, like, the techniques of things, but a lot of that was how I was placing my vowels and not spreading too wide on different things. And so I think that it was, like, figuring out how it fit in my voice and how you know me. Like, how's that? How can I do that? Eight shows a week, you know, that kind of sound. And even when I sing Defying Gravity now, I go to that same place placement in my register because my body knows, like, okay, this is what you do. This is where you breathe. This is where you're placing it. So I could stay. I needed to stay healthy through that process. And so for me, once I master, like, I feel like I mastered that, and I felt very proud of it, because then it was like, it's not like I would do it. I would want to do it nine shows a week, but eight shows a week, I was like, I got this.

[Kevin]

You figured out how to do it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Like, once I figured it out, it was like, all right, like, this is good. And I'm. And I told you. It's also that letting go of that perfection of what I think it should be, and also part of my thing, even though I'm. You know, I love the women that have played that role and the green girls, but I think it was like, you have to make it your own. And somebody else that says, well, I had these issues, and I had this problem, and I did this. Like, you can't take that on. You know, you can't take on somebody else's, like, because their journey is their journey. And I learned that as well, to not go, well, this person has said that they had this, and I should look out for it. It was like, no, well, let's see what you can do for yourself. Like, you know, I appreciate the feedback and all that, but I think it's about really tuning out and focused on your journey.

[Quincy]

Yeah. You know, we talk a lot with our guests about how Wicked as a job can sometimes feel very different than a lot of the other Broadway jobs you take as an actress. Because Wicked is such a corporation at this stage. And you have also transitioning into Hamilton. You participated in two Corporation. Corporation musicals.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yes.

[Quincy]

Can you speak to your experience in these two shows and how they were maybe similar and different?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah, I think that's a really good question. I've never thought about it before, but I think with Wicked, for me, because of the isolation, I felt very much like an employee in that world, if that makes sense. And I was doing my job, I did what I could do. But for me, for Hamilton, I felt very much like much more of an artist within that community. And I'll tell you.

[Quincy]

Is that because you built it in the Heights family? Sorry, I just.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

That's a big. That was a big part of it. And because I had that support from the creative team to say, you do you. And that's where. Put your stamp on it, you know, like, it wasn't about. It has to. You have to step here and you do because of the lighting. But it wasn't so much like, as big of a thing, like. But I guess it was in some ways. But when I started Hamilton, I lucked out. My friend Karen Olivo, now ko they were doing an opera or something out of town, and so I was asked to come in and rehearse with the Chicago company. So the Chicago company was just starting rehearsals, and. And so I was asked to come in. So that time that they were not there, I could come in and do that role with the company. So I was with everybody when I started. And that was a big difference for me because it felt like we were in it together and it wasn't. We were creating this scene work beforehand instead. Where Wicked, it was like, oh, we'll create our scenes and we'll feel the flow of the scenes once we get on stage in front of an audience, you know, but this, when you don't have an audience and you get to just live in what it is and not think about, oh, this moment has a laugh, or this has this. It's like, you're not thinking about those things. You're thinking about the work with the other actors. And so that was really, really different for me and Hamilton was that the Richard Rogers is like my home. You know, I was in my same dressing room that I was in the Heights, and it was very much an open Door kind of policy. Like, I kept my. My dressing room door open. The other sisters were also on that floor. So we all. We all shared a bathroom. Like, it was just. It felt like a community and less of a corporate kind of thing.

[Kevin]

You were in Hamilton for a long time?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah, I was.

[Kevin]

And I'm curious if you can speak to, especially with the hindsight of you. Like, we were talking about going into Wicked Fresh with some cast members who had the show under their belt already. Then when you're, you know, in your second, third, fourth, fifth year of Hamilton and you're having new sisters come in, did you feel any kind of way about being able to, like, take them under your wing and kind of help them acclimate to the show or. I guess, how did the community of it manifest in. In that way?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I think it all starts, in my opinion, starts from the top. And Tommy Kail, I feel like, brings in people that normally are gonna mesh. Like, there's just something about that person. It's. It's so much about talent, but it's also like, do I want to be in the room with this person for a year? Do I want to be, you know, this person? What is their. What's the vibe? You know? And I think that's a part of it, too. And I think for the sisters, because I was there for a while, and I think that I was very protective of all of the sisters, and I wanted to make sure that they felt that. That they could come to me if they needed something or I was definitely like a big sister during that time. And also. Yes, yes.

[Kevin]

Passing it on.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Exactly. But I also wanted to let them have their experience and not go, well, Jasmine used to do this and blah, blah, blah, blah. And this is what we did. Because I had been through. I had been a standby. I had been a star of a show. I had also been a replacement in a show. And I know what it's like when you are an actor trying to come into a show and somebody's trying to tell you, aside from the director, what to do, first of all, it's not allowed. But it's also like, watch yourself. You know what I mean? You do what you gotta do, you know? Because sometimes somebody would ask me, well, you know, is this okay? Is this okay that I'm doing this? And I just feel like if the director's not telling you, like, something, don't ask me, like, do what you feel like, is it okay for you? And so I think that the sisters that came in taught me a lot because they were so open as who they were, and I learned so much from them, and I absolutely loved each and every one of them.

[Quincy]

Okay, so you've stood by in a show. You've led a show. Let's talk about being an alternate in a show.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Guest star.

[Kevin]

Guest star. Guest star.

[Quincy]

Sorry, Guest star. No, please correct us.

[Kevin]

That's even more fabulous.

[Quincy]

Sunset is one of my favorite shows. This is one of my favorite productions of Sunset. I've seen it three times. We are still getting into See you. Yeah.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Really?

[Quincy]

Yes. Let my publicist know scheduling is just doing its thing, but we.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Tuesdays are tough.

[Quincy]

Yeah. It's in the works, though. Talk to us about how this guest star role came across your desk.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah. You know, I had left Hamilton. I'd been through a lot in my life through that time, as well as we all had during the pandemic. And I just wanted to, after I left Hamilton, to just kind of sit and do you know what I wanted to do? That was the beauty of Hamilton and allowed me to have some time to also just. I wanted to just be home and be with my kid and do bedtime and all of those things that I wasn't able to do. So as I'm doing those things, I get a call from my agent and they say, said they are doing a production of Sunset Boulevard, the production that was coming from London. I hadn't seen it, but I had heard a lot about it. I have friends that had flown to London to go see it. And they said, nicole only wants to do seven shows a week. And they said, it's kind of a different situation. We're not sure if you're interested in this. And they said, but they're looking for somebody, a Broadway star to do this once a week. Would you be interested? And I was like, I don't know. You know, is this something I would want to do? And then I got off the phone and I thought about it, and I was like, okay, pluses are, what are the good things? I would be able to sing Andrew Lloyd Webber's music for the first time professionally, which is an absolute dream. I saw the show when I was a kid with Glenn Close in Los Angeles, and it definitely became part of my musical theater library in my head. And I absolutely loved the score. And so that was like a plus. I would get to work with Jamie Lloyd. I was coming in, and I was guaranteed to be going on one show a week.

[Quincy]

I would have a life.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I get to have a life. I get to do. I get to have time with my family, I get to. What else do I get to do? I get to do my concerts, which I absolutely love to do, because a lot of times with other shows, you would kind of have to put that to the side. And I had built this whole concert career, and I wanted to keep going with that, and so I didn't have to sacrifice that in order to do this job. And so I said, you know. And they wanted me to audition, which I was like, what? And that was another thing. But I was like, well, okay, I'll go in. And so I learned the material, and I went in and I sang for them, and I did the scene work. And during. We were doing the scene with Joe and the other actor who was fantastic in the room, Jamie asked him to stand behind me during the scene, and we would do the scene together. And I was like, whoa, this is really cool. And I had all of these different experiences because of just that simple move of him being behind me and me not being able to see him. And I was just like, this is really fabulous. I want to. I'm interested in this. And then Jamie said, and I do terrible accents, so I won't even try. But he said, so what about this whole one show a week thing? And I said, well, if I get to work with you and do this music and get to work with the whole creative team, I say yes. And then they were like, okay, come back and dance. And I was like, okay. And, you know, this is how it is.

[Kevin]

Come back and what this is.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

This is how it is, kids. If you want it, you gotta. You gotta show. You gotta show up. And so you put your pride aside. And I went and I danced with Fabian, and, oh, gosh, we learned the tango. And I did my hair before. I did my hair and my makeup before the session, that next session, like I always do. And I thought I would sing first, you know, but they had me dance first. And the tango, I was like, oh, my God. Like, I'm a singer who moves well. Like, well, you know, and he had me, like. And I was with this incredible dancer, and it was just like, oh, my God. He was throwing me all over the place. Like, my hair looked terrible. My makeup was all sweated off. I was just like, oh, my God. And then they're like, okay, now let's sing. And they were videotaping the whole thing for Andrew Lloyd Webber to watch. And so I don't know how I looked in that tape, but I was like, this is the craziest thing I've ever done. But then it was one of those things where, like, I really want this. I really want this, and I want to see where this is going to go. And it was another thing that I was very lucky in the creative process with it, because Nicole, I think she was doing another job at the beginning of rehearsals, and so she wasn't there. And so I got to be with the company for, like, the first few weeks of their journey. And some people had come from London, but some. Most people were from New York, and it was like we were all starting together, and that made a big difference. And then Tom Francis came in from London and he did all the scene work with me. And he's really just so spectacular. I'm just like, give him the Tony. Like, he's just. He's just so wonderful to work with. But also, just on stage, he's wonderful. And I just thought it was pretty stand up for him to come out and to rehearse as he should with me for this, to make it what it needed to be for those Tuesday nights. So we had that rapport going in.

[Quincy]

So how has this chapter of your career changed you as a. An artist? What is this show done for you?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Oh, I said this, I think, the other day, where I feel like this show has allowed me to realize that I'm enough, that it's important for me and I should ask for what I want when it comes to things, because I have established myself in this business and this community. I've worked so hard to be here, and I deserve to be here. And I think that that was something that I needed to, I guess, remind myself of. Sometimes when you're auditioning for things or you're going in for things and you feel like, oh, gosh, like, or this. You see the same people getting the roles, and you're just like, come on. Or you get told, like, they're not looking for this role for. To be ethnic, you know, still, they're not looking for this role. They want that, you know, the mom, the girl next door. And it's just like, well, I'm all those things. I'm a mom.

[Kevin]

I have neighbors. Yeah, I live in New Jersey.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

I'm living in New Jersey, you know. But it's just like, you get in this business, you get so put into, like, what people think you should be and what you are like. And you have to be the one to fight and say, no, I am here. And that's why it's important for me to say, no, I am the guest star. Because when you're Buying a ticket for a show on a Sunday, on a Tuesday. Last week was Sunday. But if you're buying on a show mostly on a Tuesday, you are buying that ticket to see Mandy Gonzalez. And I deserve that. I deserve that respect. You know what I mean? Like, somebody had told me that somebody said, I wasn't sure if I was gonna see the show because it was an understudy or something on a Tuesday. And I wasn't sure, but I'm so glad I went. And I'm just like, yeah, dude, I'm so glad you went, too. Because that's theater. When you go, you got to have this experience. But also, it makes me, like, that's why I get so passionate about it. Cause it makes my blood boil a little bit that theater actors are not given their due as much as they used to. And we used to build different people for an audience, and we used to create stars.

[Quincy]

And all the industry's not making theater stars anymore. We're taking.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

They're not. And so you have to make sure that you let people know that that still exists. And we are here. And so that's why it's important for me to come and to talk to you and to say, hey, yeah, come and see what I'm doing. Because I'm at a point in my career, I think it's the best work I've ever done. And I can say that, and I'll say it without getting an award and without getting those things. And that's hard, but that's what it is sometimes when you just want to do the work, and that's okay.

[Quincy]

I mean, people still talk about the Donna Murphy Tuesdays and hello, Dolly, I think.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yeah. Well, to be put in a category with Donna is truly. It's humbling. And she was one of my first calls when I was going to take this job because I wanted to see how it felt. And I think that we took these jobs at exactly the right time in our lives when we needed to. And I think that whatever you're doing, whether it's you are in the ensemble, whether you're a guest star, whether you're the understudy, whether you matter. You matter in the theater. And I think. I hope that I continue to show that, because I absolutely love what I do. It's like, you know, I feel so lucky to be doing what I'm doing. I don't know if I said too much, but anyway.

[Quincy]

Did Donna offer any insight that has proven to be valuable to you?

[Mandy Gonzalez]

She did. I mean, very personal, but I think that one of the things that I can share with you is that she said, you're doing all the right things. You're doing all the right things. And, you know, and I just felt like she knew what it was like to go through this kind of experience and just keep going, you know, because this is just one part of my journey. Like, who knows? The sky is not the limit. Like, it's, you know, if anything Elphaba taught us, like, it's just, you just have to keep going. And your story, you don't know who it can inspire, you know, but my hope is that it inspires all of these young people that are going to school and working so hard to just get a chance in this world because it's. You are valid. That's valid to study your craft and to work hard and to be here. Because sometimes it happens without the glory. But if you do it without that even, I think, then you truly. You truly love it.

[Quincy]

Yeah. Mandy, this has been so delightful. Thank you for joining us.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Quincy]

And we will be seeing you at the St. James.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Yes.

[Kevin]

You'll hear us.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

All right. Fantastic. Thank you guys so much.

[Kevin]

Yeah, thank you, Mandy.

[Quincy]

All right, bye.

[Kevin]

Bye. Good luck on your self tape.

[Mandy Gonzalez]

Thanks.

[Quincy]

You've been listening to Sentimental Sentiment.

[Kevin]

We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone at the Broadway Podcast.

[Quincy]

Network and a special thanks to Mikayla Reynolds and Julia DiMarzo, our photographer and logo designer. You can find Sentimental men on Instagram, TikTok and X Entmenpod, or you can.

[Kevin]

Email [e-mail] till next time.

[Quincy]

I'm Quincy.

[Kevin]

And I'm Kevin.