Theater People: Michael Mayer

Michael Mayer's work has been seen by many, having directed hit shows Spring Awakening, American Idiot, Thoroughly Modern Millie, just to name a few.  Now, his latest show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, is taking Broadway by storm.

Michael Mayer was asked to direct the orignal production of Hedwig, but his own musical, Triumph of Love, got a theater.  He told Patrick that he had to make a "Sophie's choice."  Now, the show has made its way back to him.  

Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of Hansel, a man who fell in love with a US soldier in East Berlin.  In an effort to be with the love of his life, undergoes a botched sex change and becomes Hedwig.  The story is told as one giant flashback, in the form of a giant monologue from Hedwig.

       

Neil Patrick Harris, most known for his roles on Doogie Houser, MD and How I Met Your Mother, is now headlining the show as Hedwig.  This is a new role for Harris, which Michael says is "delicious."  There is an opportunity for fans of Harris and fans of Hedwig to come together in one place.  Neil, according to Mayer, has a lot of freedom in the role, which can be seen in recent news.  If he wanted to, Neil could come out into the audience and interact with them.  Along with him, Kinky Boots star, Lena Hall, is playing the role of Yitzhak.  In a few short months, the rocker has transformed from Charlie Price's fiance to Hedwig's transgender husband.  

Michael Mayer is credited with discovering and/or kickstarting the careers a long list of performers, including Allison Janney, Kristin Chenoweth, Jonathan Groff, Jessie Mueller, Lea Michele and Lindsay Mendez - just to name a few.  It is not that he looks for star power, but he has been blessed with performers that match well with the work.  

Michael and Patrick discuss his many works: Thoroughly Modern Millie, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Spring Awakening, and American Idiot.  

For more information about Hedwig, follow Neil Patrick Harris, Lena Hall, and Michael Mayer on twitter. 
Get more information on tickets here.

Be sure to check out the upcoming episodes of Theater People, as they are sure to be great interviews!! 
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow them on twitter!

Band Together's 2014 Main Event

On May 3 Band Together will hold it's annual Main Event.  This year's headliners will be Hall and Oates and the concert will benefit Communities in Schools of Durham and Wake County.  The event will be held at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre and doors will open at 6 pm.  Get your tickets here before they sell out!

Band Together was started in response to September 11, 2001.  After the towers fell the founders, Danny Rosin, Phil Gruber, Shellie Gruber, Tom Lyon and Skip Mangum made the decision to take action and become the change they wanted to see in the world.  Every year since, they have put together a Main Event with a well-known headlining artist. We discussed the upcoming event and the organization with Brand Together's Executive Director, Matt Strickland.

September 11, 2001 sparked a national feeling that something needed to be done.  The aforementioned founders of Band Together choose a different approach to funding local causes than many organizations that were started as a result of the tragic events. Matt explained that "they got together and they knew they wanted to do something, and they thought about doing normal event-based fundraising ideas like golf tournaments, wine tastings, etc., but they were all young at the time and  they all loved music so they decided to give it a try and use music as their platform for social change."

Prior to Matt's hiring in 2011, the organization had been mainly volunteer based and driven, and they brought on an executive director to take the organization to "even dizzier heights". Having an executive director has helped the organization to grow and prosper.  When asked about his role, Matt added "We keep growing the brand within the community.  The money raised has jumped from $556,000 to last year $862,000 and this year we are trying to hit $1,000,000.  We are also trying to make the organization as a whole better."

The community has been welcoming of Band Together since their initial event over twelve years ago.  "They planned their first event in six weeks and were able to raise $60,000 from the thousands of people who attended.  To make money on a concert and have that many people show up is pretty fantastic."

What does the future hold for the organization? Matt says "We are trying to figure out how we want to expand in the future whether it be expanding to larger music event in which multiple bands or events happen over a weekend, or package a band machine up and franchise it to other communities. In the next couple of years, we are content to focusing on growing our monetary contributions in support of the local community and we'll see what happens.  The Board of Directors is definitely entertaining some of those larger ideas to figure out what our next steps are going to be in the next five to ten years."

Band Together is a fantastic organization and they are always looking for volunteers for their events! If you can't volunteer you can support the cause by attending their Main Event featuring Hall & Oates on May 3!

Follow Band Together on Twitter to stay up to date on all of their events!

Album Review: Lights Out - Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid Michaelson has been flying under the radar for most of her career, finding her greatest success from her songs’ placement on various television shows and commercials, such as Grey’s Anatomy and One Tree Hill.  Her pen-ultimo album, Human Again, gained her greater exposure and success peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on U.S. iTunes charts.  Her new album, Lights Out, proves to be her best work yet. 

I cannot say enough amazing things about the album! Michaelson pours out her heart and soul breathing life into every track, every note.  She sings of loves lost, love found and life itself.  The album has a more pop sound than her previous albums with the pop-synth sound of “Handsome Hands”, and the more upbeat tacks such as “Girls Chase Boys” and “Afterlife”.  The album still has the simple, yet powerful, feel that is expected, and welcomed, from singer-songwriters.  It is composed of songs that require active listening in order to understand their true depth with a dash of songs that are just fun to sing along with.

Human Again was a great album in and of itself, but the inclusion of other artists on this album adds a layer of variety which aids in taking the album to a completely different level.  Adding another voice to a song provides the potential to explore two intertwining perspectives within one story which Michaelson is able to do well with Storyman and Mat Kearney, as well as the other artists on the album. 

The music on Lights Out is poetically simple and alive.  It combines a tracklist of varied sounds into a harmonious mix that plays seamlessly together.  If she keeps working to improve her craft and refine her sound I can’t imagine how amazing future albums will be. 

Buy the album and see her live when she comes to your town!

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IRTE's Nannette Deasy Brings "The Scary"

Nannette Deasy is an actor, improviser, and sketch writer.  She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English and began to perform professionally.  She is currently the Artistic Director for IRTE, the Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble.  IRTE's newest show, "The Scary," opened April 12.  We got to speak with her about the show, IRTE, and improvisational acting.

S: How did you get interested in improv?

N:  I was invited to see some shows at an improvisational comedy theatre, called Chicago City Limits.  This was before places like UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade) and the PIT (People's Improv Theatre) opened.  The Magnet Theater also opened, which led to an explosion of improv in New York.  I remember being blown away by how immediate and fun [the shows at Chicago City Limits] were.  There was nothing really written, but the improvisational element was alive and immediate for me!  It felt like, Wow, they could make up everything!  I got interested, so I started taking classes.  UCB Theatre opened and I took some classes there.  I also studied at the Gotham City Improv, once it opened.  I became really involved in improve there and became one of their main company members.  I still am actually.  In fact, that's how I met many of the cast members from IRTE there, since they were involved as well.

I've been performing and studying improv for fifteen years.  I've done some acting with certain material, as well.  But, I've always loved imrpov for how exciting it is.

M: Who, or what, are some of your influences? And how do you begin the process of improv?

N:  Our pieces, at IRTE, are very much genre and character based.  We develop the shows by getting the creative team together and pitching different ideas, during the pre-production period.  There are seven of us, and once we all pitch our ideas, we vote.  Once the show is chosen, its creator is in charge of molding it. They can either direct it or appear in it.  I have a strict rule that no one can direct a show and perform in it; in order to direct a show you have to be outside of it. For "The Scary," I decided that I really wanted to perform.  Everyone else in the group wanted to perform, as well.  So, we hired an outside director: Pat Shay, from PIT and, originally, Second City in Chicago.

However, one of my influences was always Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, and Harvey Korman.  I grew up watching her show.  I always wanted to be her so badly.  I remember thinking they were so brilliant and funny, and they seemed to be having so much fun.



S: Obviously, "The Scary" is based on Stephen King's works.  What were some of your exact influences for the show?

N:  A lot of them.  I first thought of this, because I have, I think, read everything he has written.  What really sparked the idea was reading, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, his book on advice for writers and is, also, part-autobiographical.  I remember thinking that a lot of his comments about writing related very well to improv.  For instance, the writing is filled with characters that are in very unusual circumstances, but the plot centers around "What if?"  He doesn't really plot, which is something we don't do in improv.  We don't plan the ending, we stay in the immediate.  He also has very archetypal characters: the unpopular girl with paranormal abilities, a group of lovable loser kids, an evil pet, an evil clown, or even an alcoholic writer.

The audience, at "The Scary," gets to choose one of these characters to be the hero or heroine.  They will recognize those archetypal.  They can also choose the problem, a pandemic or something like that.  If you, and the audience, are familiar with the archetypes, then you have freedom to play with the role and bring them to life for the audience.

M: What do you want people to take away from the show?

N:  Most importantly, I want the audience to have fun.  I want them to laugh.  It will be a spooky show, but we want people to embrace the humor in the show.  I want people to embrace the silliness of the show.

We also have live music.  One of the things we do, at IRTE, is bring a musical guest to play during intermission.  Sometimes, we can incorporate them into the show.  One show we did a few years ago took place in a high school, so we had the band play during a "special assembly in the auditorium."  This past Saturday, we had Craig Greenberg.  On April 19, we will have Pablo (Bluesboy) and on April 26, we will have Gift of Tongues.  Gift of Tongues will be the most fitting for Stephen King; he will fit in very well.  He will be in character for the show.  For example, he sang a lovely ballad at a previous performance, but the lyrics are about a serial killer.

I really hope they have fun, expecting everything and nothing.  One of the great things about this year, we have a residency at the producer's club.  Usually, theatres won't let their audiences bring food or drink into the auditorium. However, we let our audiences bring as much alcohol as they want.  We like our audiences to be a little tipsy.

M: Once a show has been created, how do you approach the rehearsal process for improv?

N: There is some structure to the show, but it is not scripted.  When you come into a show, you have no idea what role you are going to play.  No one knows who the focus is going to be on.  The character is played by whoever wants to play the role, then they are free to interpret the role as they choose.

As far as rehearsing, we will have a basic structure.  Start off with a prologue, maybe put a monologue into a scene as a flashback, and so on. We outline a possible frame, but we don't look at or address character interpretation.  It's basically a road map for the production.  We [at IRTE] have worked together for a long time, so we have developed a short hand for rehearsal.  We are very comfortable with each other.  That also helps for figuring out how to play the show together.  Plus, it gives us more play time.

S: As you perform "The Scary," you are in rehearsal for some other shows that are coming up for IRTE.  Can you tell us a little bit about some of these projects?

N:  At IRTE, we combine improvisation, spontaneity and comedy, with traditions and values of the traditional American repertory theatre.  So, we pitch the shows at the beginning of the season.  We have Small Claims, vIRTE Go-Go, and The Magic Zoo.  While we are performing one of the shows, we are rehearsing and developing the next show.  Once we complete the season, we bring the shows to different festivals.

We've been to festivals around NYC.  We've also traveled to places like Tampa, New Orleans, and Portland.  We want to travel more, so we've applied to some other festivals.  And they are amazing experiences - traveling with friends and performing for different audiences.  Plus, you can see different ideas and styles of improvisation in other areas.  You can really see the arts developing at those moments.

There will be performances of Nannette Deasy's show, "The Scary," on April 19 & 26.  For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, check out IRTE's website.

Follow Nannette and IRTE on Twitter for news and updates!

Theater People - Anika Larsen

This week's podcast features Anika Larsen. You may not know her name, yet,  but if you frequent the theater you have probably seen Anika Larsen on stage and you're bound to remember her.  She was in the Original Broadway Cast of Xanadu, she covered multiple roles in Rent, she was a replacement for Kate Monster in Avenue Q and then opened the off-Broadway show at New World Stages and in her first originating role she plays Cynthia Weil, Carole King's best  friend in Beautiful the Musical at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.

Photo credit: Broadwaybox.com

She had actually decided to quit the business the day before she got the call to play her part in Beautiful. After the multiple readings of the Beautiful script, the long process made her assume that she hadn't gotten the part and, along with all of the other pains that come along with working in the business, it was the straw that broke the camel's back.  The next day she received a call that she had gotten the part and she accepted it.  Then, four days after rehearsals began she had terrible stomach pains that turned out to be her colon flipping over on itself and creating a blockage.  She had to have surgery and was back in rehearsal a mere six days later.  The cast and crew were incredibly supportive of her and even said they would have recast for San Francisco but had her back for the Broadway run if she had needed to be out.  If you didn't already love the cast and creative team of Beautiful you will after listening to the podcast!

She extensively recounts the plot, and B-plot, of Beautiful and if you wanted to know more about the show this podcast will answer all of your questions and more! Carole King and Cynthia Weil's friendship is so real and they discuss how, had it been fictionalized, it would most likely be portrayed as catty,  but because it is a biographical story the musical portrays a wonderful friendship between the two women.

Her take on being able to tailor a role and create a role when you are the first person to play it is insightful and clever.  The way that the songs and jokes are tailored to the original cast because this person can land this joke every time or this actor can't sell this song here.

Anika Larsen is a lovely and intriguing person. She is one of ten children, six adopted. She discusses her parents who were incredibly supportive and her upbringing.  She went to the Yale School of Drama and gives her experience of going through the program and actually not being a big fish in a little pond.  She talks about working with her friend to start Jaradoa Theater which is no longer around, but was an amazing outreach program that affected the lives of many people, young and old alike.  

Anika Larsen is a beautiful person, and if you get a chance you must see her tell Carole King's Beautiful story along with the incredible Jessie Mueller! Purchase tickets to see Beautiful here.

Be sure to subscribe to the Theater People Podcast on iTunes! Patrick and Vonia are the greatest and they have many more amazing theater people coming up on the Podcast!

Patti LuPone: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda... played that part with the NC Symphony

Broadway Legend Patti LuPone brought her show "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda... Played That Part" to the Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh, NC.  In the show, LuPone plays parts she could have played, should have played, and did play.  This is the first time that LuPone has performed in North Carolina in 38 years, when she was still a member of The Acting Company before her breakout role in Evita.

The North Carolina Symphony played the first act of the performance with works from Offenbach, Youmans, and Gershwin, and LuPone came on after intermission to perform her show during the second act. Through the majority of the performance, she took us on a journey through her life and career mirroring her amazing memoir.  She recounted her first role, her audition for the Juilliard School Drama Division, her first starring role on Broadway, roles she thought she should have played and roles she played but didn't want to play.

Highlights of the night included her renditions of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from Evita and "Never Never Land" from Peter Pan. She sang "Don't Rain on My Parade" as her "go-to audition song" when she was first auditioning for Broadway roles; however, the night's rendition gave the impression that she was trying to get out of the venue as quickly as possible and she messed up a few of the words while singing at the accelerated tempo.  Her microphone, or the speaker system, seemed to be at a much lower volume than perhaps it should have been to carry the quieter songs throughout the concert hall.  "Meadowlark" from The Baker's Wife was good, but it was difficult to understand due to the aforementioned sound issues.

"Everything's Coming Up Roses" from Gypsy and "Invisible" from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown were both songs we were excited about and she performed both of them beautifully! The only thing that could have made the night more magical (excluding the sound issues) would have been if Laura Benanti had made a surprise appearance. She came back out twice after ending her set, she sang an encore of "Invisible" and then came back out a second time to serenade the audience with a blessing.

       

                                  Photo credit: Amy Arbus                                                      Photo Credit: Broadway.com

The show was fantastic overall, and Patti LuPone commands the stage, even stopping people in their tracks when she came back out to sing her a cappella blessing "A Hundred Years From Today".  We waited after the show by her car and both she and her staff were incredibly gracious about meeting us and others.  She proves to be a Broadway legend by embodying the qualities of a quintessential performer; she has the talent. the grace, and humility that every great performer should possess.

If you have the chance to see Patti LuPone live, you should take it! See a list of upcoming dates here.
A list of upcoming NC Symphony events can be found here.

"A Little Potato and Hard to Peel" - An Interview with David Harrell

David Harrell's off-off-Broadway show, "A Little Potato and Hard to Peel" is making its way around the country, and soon the world, and is getting ready to make its appearance at the Paper Lantern Theatre in Greensboro, NC April 10 - 13.  

Tickets to his performances in Greensboro can be purchased here.

Luckily, we got a chance to talk with him about his inspirational show!

M: How did you get interested in acting?

D:  That's a good story.  I played a lot of sports when I was growing up, but I always did little performances in my church.  Although, I wasn't really serious about acting until I was in high school.  One day, I was in the library with a girl, that I had a crush on.  She told me that I might be cute if I performed on stage.  She said that I was funny and might be good on stage.  So, I auditioned for the drama class - thinking she might go out with me.  I was in the class and fell in love with theatre and not so much with her.  She never became my girlfriend, but the impulse to get into acting led to something that I felt like I was good at.

His show "A Little Potato Hard to Peel" is based off of a story his 'grandfather used to tell the story of his little league baseball team, “The Little Potatoes and Hard to Peel.” He said they were smaller than the other boys and maybe not as talented but they always played with their hearts. So no matter if they won or lost they never got down because they were tough…and hard to peel. David was born without his right hand and his journey of discovering what is normal will inspire, entertain and hopefully answer the question, “Are we truly more than the sum of our parts?”'

S: How did you get started working on "A Little Potato and Hard to Peel"?

D:  I worked in a children's theatre, when I had just finished undergraduate school.  The artistic director suggested that I write a play, having heard some of my stories about growing up.  He said that he thought audiences would really respond to them and find them funny and interesting.  I had this idea and would tell everybody that I was going to write one, but I had this in mind for four years.  I had a friend in North Carolina, who worked with the Raleigh Ensemble Players Theatre Company, and he worked with me to get a solo show started.  This resulted in The Quest, which was my first solo show.  I performed it in Raleigh and took it to a festival.  Once I finished graduate school, at UNC-Greensboro, I knew that I wanted to develop my show more and make some changes.  I moved to New York and took a workshop at the PIT, or People's Improv Theatre, on solo performance.  Using that workshop, I was able to develop the show and begin to make it what it is today.  I produced it in New York in 2009 and I've been doing festivals and touring the show in schools, churches and universities.  So, it's has really grown and developed.

S: Do you think audiences are surprised by your humor and lax discussion of your disability in your show?

D:  I like to think that people are pleasantly suprised by the humor.  I wanted the show to be funny.  My personality - I like to laugh and make people laugh.  It's not meant to be a funny show.  There are moments of humor, but there are also moments that are poignant.  

S: Do you think that your humor is a way to communicate advocacy for people wth disabilities?

D:  I think so.  You know, people say that when you make people laugh, they are more receptive and open to new ideas that they may not have considered before.  And I don't think it is just the humor that does this.  I, also, think it is the idea of the universality of our shared humanity that communicates with the audience.

Through my specific story, people can see that we all face circumstances and limitations, whether they are put on by other people or by ourselves.  However, it's the idea that those circumstances, whatever they may be, do not define who we are.  People could look at my circumstances and I can look at other circumstances, and we wonder how we would deal.  But what makes us the same is that we are all on this earth now and we are together.  We don't let those circumstances take control, we see ourselves as valuable individuals and the differences should be celebrated.   My hand is just one small difference in a larger collection of differences and that's a good thing. 

M: What's your most popular anecdote in the show that people respond most to?

D: Probably my mother's character.  Everyone loves her tag-line, "I'll show you how we do it South-Georgia-style."  It seems to be the most popularly quoted line after the show.

M: Do you have other upcoming projects?

D:  Next month, I'll be taking "A Little Potato and Hard to Peel" to Toronto for the Canadian Premiere.  I am really excited to do that.  I've only ever been to Canada when I crossed Niagra Falls, so to actually go for a performance is very exciting.  I will also be taking the show to a festival in Eastern Europe over the summer, which is exciting - for the show to be taken outside the States.  

Last summer, I did an off-Broadway play for a festival written by Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale and A Bright New Boise).  He wrote this play for me and a friend.  He has adapted the play into a screenplay for us to do a short film. So, that is another project that I will be working on.  

David was a pleasure to talk to.  If you are in the Greensboro and Wiston-Salem areas, please go see David and his amazing one-man-show, "A Little Potato and Hard to Peel."

Follow David on Twitter.

49th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards

The Band Perry opened the show with their song Chainsaw and dumped "sawdust" confetti over the whole of the audience which as you can imagine the stars were overjoyed about.  Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton hosted the awards together for the second year in a row.  Their opening monologue came off as somehow ill-prepared.  Shelton attacked Britney Spears and the tangent they ran through about Broadway and country stars not only didn't make sense (given that Reba and Dolly have already done Broadway shows) but also came off as very rude to Carrie Underwood who is already snubbed at the big country music awards shows. The remainder of the monologue dug into social issues and name dropped any star they could think of (Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, etc.) and was the extreme opposite of the class that Ellen exhibited as Oscar host, but then no one said this was supposed to be a classy affair I suppose.  

There were many, many performances, so many in fact that an hour of the show passed before a single award was presented.  Many of the performances were great and some of the night's highlights included a performance of "Golden" and "Rhiannon" by Lady Antebellum and Stevie Nicks and of course the legendary, the King himself George Strait performing "I Got a Car", and a tribute to Merle Haggard by Miranda Lambert and George Strait.

Complete List of Winners

Tim McGraw and Miranda Lambert were the top nominated artists with seven nominations each, followed by Keith Urban with six nominations.  Lambert took home awards for Single Record of the Year for "Mama's Broken Heart", Female Vocalist, Musical Event for "We Were Us" with Keith Urban and McGraw won Video of the Year for "Highway Don't Care". Urban shared the wins with both McGraw for "Highway Don't Care" and with Lambert for "We Were Us".  Merle Haggard was honored with the Crystal Milestone award for lifetime achievement, and on his 77th birthday no less.  The best was saved for last as the big award of the night, Entertainer of the Year, went to George Strait who was by far the most deserving of the nominees!

Next year, for their 50th anniversary, the awards will be held in Dallas Texas at Cowboy stadium.

Fashion

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Carrie Underwood looked stunning in this gown by Oscar de la Renta gown. Underwood graced the carpet looking flawless as ever, and showing off her new hair color.  She has our vote for best dressed and best hair!

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Miranda Lambert sparkled in a traditional Diamond gown from Randi Rahm. Her dress was elegant and flowed spectacularly as she walked the red carpet into the event.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Danielle Bradbery looked gorgeous in this dress with a sheer skirt.  The Voice winner completed the look with Sarah Richey jewelry.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Taylor Swift took a break from her usual old-Hollywood glam look to show off a different side in this crop top and high slit skirt. Whether the look was a hit or a miss is up for discussion, some will hate it and some will love it.

Theater People: Andrew Keenan Bolger

Another great episode is coming your way from Theater People!  This week: Andrew Keenan-Bolger. Having been on Broadway for most of his life, Bolger is most known for his portrayal of Crutchie in Newsies and his wonderful creation: the web series Submissions Only.  However, he has also been seen in Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, Seussical, and A Christmas Carol!  As Patrick notes, Andrew is not only able to act and sing ("it's in his blood"), he is a writer, director, and a cinematographer.

(photo courtesy of broadwayworld.com)

Listen to the full interview here!

Patrick, as a new fan of Submissions Only, wanted to know just how the show came to be.  Andrew says that he met his co-creator, Kate Wetherhead, in a production in Dallas, Texas.  Once the show was over, both of them were unemployed and moving back to NYC.  Around that time, her husband suggested that they create a web series.  From there, the ideas came flooding into their minds.  Andrew states that he had no idea what he was doing in terms of film-making and read books about filming and watching videos online to learn his technique.  Luckily, the show is popular now that they have experienced staff to help them with production.  

The show follows actors auditioning in NYC.  The third series, which premiered March 3, focuses on the development of a musical within the show.  The interactions between the characters brings the comedy to life, in addition to the professional situations that the characters find themselves in.   

Another fun part of the series is that show has had many guest stars.  Some of the most recent include Kelli O'Hara, Chita Rivera, Jeremy Jordan, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Sweson, Adam Pascal, former Theater People guests Annaleigh Ashford and Michael Urie, and Hunter Foster among others.  

After discussing the show, the duo moves on to twitter questions.  One of our favorite questions was "What role would you play right now?"  Andrew says he would want to be Girl in Once.  Another thing that Andrew tells a twitter fan, that his dream role is to star opposite his sisters, Maggie and Celia.  He answers several other questions, so take some time to listen to the podcast!!!

Another big part of Andrew's career is originating the role of Crutchie in Newsies.  Patrick notes that the show is a Disney underdog, which is partially due to the fact the original film was a bomb.  However, the show was a smash on Broadway.

The interview also covers Keenan-Bolger family history, including growing up with Sutton and Hunter Foster!  Andrew made his Broadway debut in Beauty and the Beast, which begins his record as a Disney performer.  Once Andrew and Maggie were introduced to the world of performing on Broadway, the Keenan-Bolger family moved to NYC to help the kids' theatre careers thrive.  He made his "adult" Broadway debut in Mary Poppins.  What a life!

Guys, this is an amazing interview. So, PLEASE check it out!!!

For more information about Andrew, check out his website and follow him on twitter!

Be sure to follow Theater People on twitter and like them on Facebook!  The podcasts are also available on iTunes!