Theater People - Robin de Jesus

Patrick brings us another spectacular episode of Theater People.  This week's guest is Robin de Jesus, a movie and theater actor whom you may have seen in the 2003 movie Camp (which also starred Anna Kendrick) or remember from his amazing portrayal of Sonny in In the Heights.  

He started his Broadway career as an understudy/replacement in Rent, and went on to star as Sonny in the 2008 Broadway production of In the Heights and as Jacob in La Cage aux Folles receiving Tony nominations for both roles.  He can be seen in the New York Music Theater Festival's production of Mother Jones and the Children's Crusade.

I don't want to spoil why Mother Jones and the Children's Crusade is so special because no one can tell the story as well as he can, and it is an amazing story! The show is about Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, a turn of the century crusader working to end child labor.

His experience with Camp, the audition process, and what the movie meant for him is a great story and worth the listen! It is a great movie and worth the watch! I also love the way that Patrick brings in his own theatre camp experiences and takes the audience's connection with the story one step further.

Robin de Jesus and Joanna Chilcoat in Camp

After quitting his job at Bubba Gump's, and on a recommendation from his friend, he got a reading for In the Heights after the producers and creative team had seen Camp.  He was supposed to go to college a month later, but when his loans didn't go through and a few months later the same producers from In the Heights were doing Rent and cast him in the show. And while he was in Rent, they workshopped In the Heights.

Directors, especially those who had seen Camp, would only consider him for gay roles.  As an actor he wanted to play a larger multitude of roles and be seen as more than one dimensional/avoid typcasting, something that is hard for young actors to achieve.  As a result, he turned down a lot of roles, and has made a name for himself that is known for more versatile roles.  The take away from his experiences is that you can  be in control of your own career; which parts you choose and your work ethic are the only things you can control, so control them well because so many things are not in your power.

He shares an in-depth look at his experience with In the Heights which began in 2005.  It begins with the experience of building a show and the changes the script goes through to Karen Olivo almost punching a guy out to defend Robin at a restaurant. It is a must listen (and you won't want to miss the laughing attack that it sends Patrick into).

Robin goes on to discuss the Tony nomination that sent him to therapy, and  The Secret and vision boards that helped get the show to Broadway.  He finally had everything he wanted, but it was overwhelming and there was a lot of pressure  that he put on himself.  He needed to figure out why he was unhappy and work on it in therapy to find his happiness which he was able to do.

He also gives a detailed account of his experience with La Cage aux Folles.  He had quit In the Heights without having another job.  It is a wonderful story about being cast, being at a place in his life where he could turn down a Broadway show, working with Kelsey Grammar, being nominated for a Tony award.

The show ends with him talking about how Caroline, or Change impacted his life. He saw the show in previews and it hit home and you must listen to him discuss how Tonya Pinkins' role in the show changed his life and led him to understand what kind of theater he wanted to do!

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Robin de Jesus: Twitter

Theater People: Anthony Rapp

Patrick brings us another phenomenal episode! This week’s guest is the amazing Anthony Rapp! Aside from being a phenomenally successful Broadway star, Anthony has starred in many well-known movies (Adventures in Babysitting, Dazed and Confused) and had numerous TV spots (Psych the Musical, Law and Order: SVU).  He is also one of a small number of actors who was able to successfully transition from child star to adult.

One of the best things about this interview is the way that it begins.  Patrick’s passion for theatre is apparent in every interview, but the way he tells the story at the beginning of the podcast, a story of the first time he saw Rent on Broadway and what it meant to him, was moving.  It is such an iconic musical and the way he describes every detail of that night, it is simply phenomenal!

Patrick delves right into the interview, asking Anthony about his current starring role as Lucas in the musical If/Then.  He stars alongside his former Rent co-star Idina Menzel in a musical which he says “can be very moving for people, and it’s also very entertaining.  It is unusual in so many ways, and one of the ways in which it is unusual is the way it feels very personal and relevant to people’s real lives that they really live in the real world in ways that you don’t always feel when you go to see a musical theatre piece.”  They also discuss the ambitious nature of the musical as an original piece and the form it takes in terms of jumping between timelines, and the talented and hardworking creative team and crew who have worked to make it a success. And of course there was discussion of the talent and powerhouse that is Idina Menzel.

A great question posed by Patrick was how the New York presented in each show (Rent and If/Then) felt different to Anthony.  He answers by discussing how New York has changed and evolved from the city that took center stage in Rent to the place that is alive today and serves as the setting of If/Then.

Getting back to basics, Patrick and Anthony discuss how a kid from Joliet, IL was able to make his Broadway debut at ten years old.  His work in community theatre eventually led to his Broadway debut in a show that never officially opened, and then a part in the tour of The King and I.  He did eight shows a week as a kid and even became emancipated in high school so that he could continue to work.

Anthony discusses his experience of doing John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation as an eighteen year old.  He goes on to discuss the shows and movies he completed in his career between Six Degrees and Rent which includes many wonderful productions, some with impressively big names attached to them.

Rent was a huge success and changed the lives of all of the cast members.  Its reputation as a phenomenal piece has stood the test of time and continues to resonate with fans.  As such, Anthony has been asked a multitude of questions over the years about his experience in the show, but Patrick asks a new one: where would Mark be now? Anthony says he hopes that Mark’s film would have been good and that he would have continued to make meaningful pieces.  Further discussion about Rent includes: the formation of the show in the workshop and working with Jonathan Larson, his first encounters with some the songs from the show, his process of writing his book Without You. 

Make the 44 minutes to listen to the podcast; you won’t regret it! It is great and Anthony is a great actor with an amazing career and story!

Go see Anthony (and Idina) in If/Then at the Richard Rogers Theatre!

Follow Anthony on Twitter and Tumblr.

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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.

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Theater People - Laura Osnes

Theater People, Patrick and Vonia, bring us another incredible podcast! They never disappoint; always asking intriguing questions and confirming that fans of the topic make the best interviewers!

Listen here!

Their fourth episode brings us an interview with the lovely and humble Laura Osnes! She is best known for her roles as Ella in Cinderella on Broadway, as well as her roles as Sandy in Grease, and Bonnie Parker in Frank Wildhorn's Bonnie and Clyde among others.  Patrick and Laura take us on a journey from memory lane to what's ahead for the Broadway starlet.

The interview begins with a recap of Laura's hobbies, which so far don't include biking , but may in the future.  If you didn't realize how down to earth and all around amazing she is, her list of hobbies immediately inspires a feeling of genuineness which with she lives her life.  Her hobbies include: scrapbooking, journaling, dancing, baking and board games.

Her soft-spoken and innocent demeanor leads Patrick to ask how she feels about the city as a whole.  She recounts her first trip with her high school theater group which led to her parents bringing her for long weekends here and there, and which helped to solidify her love of the city.  When she moved to New York after winning the NBC reality show Grease: You're The One That I Want she came to the city with a support system of her husband, Nate, and her cast members.  She stipulates that had she not come with such support it may have been a much harder transition.

A look back at her 'early days' before she was a staple of the Broadway scene, takes us on a trip from her favorite cast albums to her Broadway debut and beyond.  As a child she loved listening to cast albums, particularly Les Miserables, Jekyll and Hyde, Miss Saigon, and The Secret Garden.  In middle school and high school she began working in theatrical roles in Minneapolis and was even able to receive high school credit for her work.  She spoke about her time with the Children's Theater in Minneapolis and how taking a job there was more right for her than continuing in college.  That is not to say that she doesn't value education, quite the opposite is true, and musical theater programs have come along way in the ten years since she left college to pursue her passion.

She recounts how she auditioned for Grease: You're The One That I Want and how she made it all the way to the winning pair! She was actually playing Sandy at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre when her aunt heard about auditions and she was able to leave (for what she thought would be a short time) the dinner theatre show early and go to California to audition.  She explains her experience on the show as: "I had this strange sense of peace whole time that I was where I was supposed to be, like I was supposed to be there." We're certainly glad she won! A talent like hers deserves to be recognized!

Her work in the theater in Minnesota  prepared her for the work in the larger theater league that is Broadway.  She says "the work is the same, just at a higher level and with more money involved." The reality show also acted as a cushion for her.  She knew the part of Sandy quite well after having sang it to keep her on the show and she knew Max Crumm very well from doing the the show with him.  But the press part of the role was new to her.

Laura talked about her time working with Kathleen Marshall. She discussed her motherly nature towards the cast while they were doing Grease after the reality show ended. Then, getting to work with her again to do Anything Goes.  She went on to discussed working with Sutton Foster and her amazing nature and sparkling smile.

What was one of her career changing moments? She says it was when she was cast in South Pacific and the whole audition process.  Also replacing someone she had seen just a few years before on the stage was incredibly gratifying for her, and she credits "23" as one of her best years.

Laura talks about her journey through Bonnie and Clyde from the audition for Wonderland, to the out of town gigs, then finally landing on Broadway, and her eventual Tony nomination for the role!

Of course, the interview wouldn't be complete without talking about Cinderella! She had this is say about the show "Every day I love going to work, walking into the building and knowing that we're about to inspire all these young kids that are coming, and surprise the adults who think the show is for kids..." Hearing Laura talk about Cinderella is almost as magical as experiencing the show itself! She is so passionate and true to the characteristics of Ella herself. She talked about her exit from the show which is of course so sad, but since she's doing The Threepenny Opera it makes it not quite as side.

I don't want to spoil any of the fan answered questions because they're pretty great, so you'll have to listen to hear them and what comes after (hint: she sings).

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