Breaking the Curtain

We are beyond thrilled to be joined by one of our favourite performers, Will Branner!

Will is best known for appearing in the National Touring Productions of Mean Girls and Bat Out of Hell: The Musical as LeDoux. He recently made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of Back to the Future: The Musical and starred in the internet sensation: Nerdy Prudes Must Die as Max.

We chat with Will about the phone call he received with news of his Broadway Debut, the epic fan response to Nerdy Prudes Must Die, the sudden closure of the Bat Out of Hell US Tour and much more!

Do you believe Broadway's Marquis Theatre is cursed?

We dive deep into 'The GreatTheatreMassacre of 1982', which brought down five theatres including the historic Morosco Theatre and the original Helen Hayes Theatre to make room for the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square.

Could a curse upon the location be the reason why many shows have been unsuccessful flops at the Marquis Theatre?

It's hard to ignore the eerie coincidence that many shows have struggled to find success at the Marquis Theatre. Some even say that the ghost of the Morosco Theatre haunts the location, seeking revenge for its demolition. Regardless of the reason, we discuss the flops and successful productions that once played at the Marquis including Cry-Baby, Nick and Nora, Evita, 9 to 5, Beetlejuice, Once Upon a One More Time and more!

We're beyond thrilled to be joined by Samatha Pauly for the season final of Breaking the Curtain!

Samantha joins us to chat about playing the role of Jordan Baker in the Paper Mill Playhouse premiere of The Great Gatsby.

This world premiere musical adaptation of the acclaimed novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the impassioned tale of eccentric and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby in his tragic pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, the woman he’s loved since his youth. Directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful), this story of extravagance and longing in the lavish Roaring Twenties features a book by Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones) and a jazz- and pop-influenced original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen (Paradise Square)

Samantha Pauly is best known for originating the role of Katherine Howard in SIX the Musical on Broadway, as well as her portrayal of Eva Peron in Jamie Lloyd’s critically acclaimed West End revival of Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.
She has starred in many regional productions in Chicago including Betsy in Honeymoon in Vegas, Eva Peron in Evita, Jovie in Elf the Musical, and Amber von Tussle in Hairspray, to name a few. In 2018, Samantha starred as Valkyrie in the First National tour of Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell The Musical.

THE GREAT GATSBY

Meet The Plastics! We got to sit with Maya Petropoulos, Kristen Amanda Smith and MaryRose Brendel who play the iconic roles of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith in the Touring Production ofMean Girls: The Musical to chat all about life on the road, their audition experiences, what they hope people take from seeing the show, their favorite costumes and so much more! It was so fetch!

Our dreams came true! We were beyond honoured to speak with Tony Award winner Lena Hall all about starring as Kenna in the new musical In Dreams now playing at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto.

In Dreams tells the story of Kenna - a country-rock singer who brings her old bandmates back together for "the party of a lifetime" while keeping her true motivations a secret. Set in a Mexican restaurant in New Mexico that specializes in tacos, margaritas, and memorial services,this unexpected and moving new musical explores our longing for love and connection -all through the iconic songs of Roy Orbison.

Lena Hall is a Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee. Lena received widespread critical acclaim for her performance of the title role in the feature filmBecks, (winner of the U.S. Fiction Award at the L.A. Film Festival). Hall stared as Miss Audrey in the hit sci-fi drama “Snowpiercer” alongside Jennifer Connellyand has been seen on HBO’s “Girls,” Amazon Prime’s “Good Girls Revolt,” and Paramount Plus’ “Evil.”Following Lena’s Tony-winning Broadway run inHedwig and the Angry Inch,Lena toured North America with Josh Groban on his “Stages” tour, and portrayed the dual starring roles of both Hedwig and Yitzhak inHedwigand the Angry Inchin Los Angeles and San Francisco. Lena originated the role of Nicola in theKinky Boots on Broadway, she appeared as Sloane in the New York Premiere of Jim Steinman's Bat Out of Hell, starredopposite Marisa Tomei in Lincoln Center Theatre’s “How To Transcend A Happy Marriage,” andmost recently played Audrey in the hit Off-Broadway revival of “Little Shop Of Horrors.”

CLICK HERE TO BOOK TICKETS FOR IN DREAMS

This is an extra special episode because we're chatting with Natalie Shaw who recently set out on her first National Touring Production playing Cady Heron in Mean Girls: The Musical!

We chat with Natalie all about adjusting to life on the road in a musical theatre production, the audition process for Mean Girls, which character she relates to the most, the time she fell down a 10-ft orchestra pit... And so much more!

Great Scott! We're joined by Back to the Future: The Musical's Liana Hunt, who currently stars in the Broadway production as Lorraine Baines.

Liana chats with us all about playing the iconic role in this epic history changing musical! She also shares her pre-show routine, the fan response to the musical adaptation, what it was like meeting Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloydand Lea Thompson at the Broadway opening and more!

We hop in the DeLorean to travel through Liana's iconic career during a segment we called 'Back to the Future with Liana Hunt' where Liana shares with us memories from working on shows including Newsies, Wicked and Mamma Mia!

We recently attended the Opening Night performances of SIX and In Dreams.

Mirvish Productions is having such an incredible season and we’re so honoured to have been invited to attend these two amazing shows, which are the kick off of their 2023/2024 Season!

Listen to hear our review of these two epic shows!

Click here for more information!

On this episode, we discuss the stories behind two haunted theatres in North America: The Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and the Nederlander Theatre in Chicago! We include the stories of our own personal hauntings inside the Royal Alexandra.

We also discuss potential hauntings and tragic events on Broadway based on old tales told on forums. Who knows... Maybe the 'Pearl Studios Shitter' is the real ghost of Broadway?

We are beyond thrilled to chat with Glinda Upland herself, Broadway's McKenzie Kurtz, who joined us to discuss the upcoming 20th Anniversary of Wicked!

In this episode, McKenzie shares her story of seeing Wicked on Broadway for the first time, booking the role, which Glinda costume is her favourite, her first flight inside the bubble and more!

McKenzie Kurtz made her Broadway debut as Princess Anna in FROZEN in February of 2020.

Most recently, and prior to her current role in Wicked, she appeared in NBC’s Annie Live! as the Star-to-Be, and as “Heather” in Marvel’s new television series SHE HULK on Disney+. In the fall of 2021, she performed in the out-of-town tryout of TRADING PLACES directed by Kenny Leon.

She graduated from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance with a BFA in Musical Theatre in 2019.