Broadway Drumming 101

He showed up to watch. 9:28 AM. Carroll’s Rehearsal Studios. The Tina Turner Broadway show is about to start. Jared’s a college student at NYU. He’s not there to play. He’s there to observe — to see how a real Broadway drummer handles a real Broadway rehearsal. He’s looking at the chart on the stand. Not touching anything. Just studying. 9:30 hits. The drummer isn’t there. Contractor John Miller s...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. When I recorded this in February of 2022, Rodney was in his drum room. Blue Pearl kit behind him. Meshell Ndegeocello shirt on — second album, Peace Beyond Passion . We both agreed it's her best record. If you've never heard it, fix that before you do anything else today. Now h...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I chatted with Rodney Howard in February of 2022. He was in his drum room — blue kit behind him, Meshell Ndegeocello shirt on — and what started as a podcast felt more like a conversation between two guys who just happened to both live in this world. I had a great time revisiti...

Morgan grew up in a small town in Kansas. No blueprint for this. No obvious path to musical theater. She found her way to NYU, studied West African music under Valerie Naranjo — which rewired the way she hears everything — and started building relationships one sub at a time. Now she’s 600 shows into the national tour of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. And the way she talks about this...

Morgan is the drummer on the national tour of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. Six hundred shows in. Almost quit drumming in high school. Grew up in a small town in Kansas with no real map for any of this. Found her way to NYU, subbed MJ and Yiddish Fiddler simultaneously, and landed a tour that’s run nearly two years. Her path is not the one anybody draws up. And the way she talks abo...

This is the video of last week’s podcast — and another one in the Broadway Drumming 101 Classic Episode Series. This episode takes us back to January 2022 with one of the most respected drummers in both Broadway and jazz, Jared Schonig. Since we recorded this conversation, Jared has moved into the drum chair for Just in Time at Circle in the Square Theatre, but this episode still holds up because...

This is a clip from my upcoming Broadway Drumming 101 conversation with Morgan Parker, currently holding the drum chair for A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. Morgan dropped a lot of wisdom in this episode, but this part really stood out to me. One of her mentors told her that you’re going to feel overwhelmed when the phone won’t stop ringing… but you’re also going to feel overwhelmed wh...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is another one in the Broadway Drumming 101 Classic Episode Series. This episode takes us back to January 2022 with one of the most respected drummers in both Broadway and jazz, Jared Schonig. Since we recorded this conversation, Jared has moved into the drum chair for Jus...

Noah Hadland Is Subbing Seven Broadway Shows at Once. He didn’t get there by sending cold emails and waiting. He got there by running after a stranger with a stick bag outside the Book of Mormon stage door. By sight-reading act one of MJ on Broadway with 45 minutes of prep. By buying the right person a beer in 2019 and not asking for anything until 2023 — when that same person handed him a Broadwa...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. He came out of NYU convinced he should already be playing Hamilton. He isn’t playing Hamilton. He is subbing seven Broadway shows at once. That didn't happen because he sent the right email. It happened because he ran after a stranger with a stick bag outside the Broadway stage...

Noah Hadland on the Broadway Drumming 101 podcast, saying the thing I wish someone had told me when I was coming up. He was hungry. Eager. Doing everything right — and still couldn’t figure out why Broadway wasn’t happening faster. What he landed on isn’t a hack or a contact or a shortcut. It’s this: our careers are long. Play your first Broadway show at 50? That’s still a Broadway show. There’s n...

In this clip from my conversation with Noah Hadland on the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast, we get into something most drummers don’t think about. I asked him what the hardest part is about subbing multiple shows at once. Most people would say the music. It’s not. If you’ve done the work, the notes aren’t the problem. The real challenge is touch. Every drummer you sub for plays differently. Some dig...

Like I said I would, I want to show you what it’s really like to build a Broadway show. Not the opening night photos, the red carpet, or the reviews. I’m talking about the early days. The first speeches. The moment when everyone realizes what they’ve actually signed up for. On the first day of Cats: The Jellicle Ball at New 42 Studios, we had our official meet and greet. The cast, creative team, a...

Thank you for being a longtime listener of Broadway Drumming 101. I’ve been thinking about doing more solo episodes for a while, and I’m finally starting today. Over the past week, I’ve been deep in rehearsals for Cats: The Jellicle Ball , and this version is even stronger than what we did at PAC. Everything feels sharper and more focused. We officially open on April 7th, and I’m excited for peopl...

Guest: Elena Bonomo , drummer for SIX. Originally released January 14, 2022. This is one of those conversations that still holds up years later. In this episode, Elena Bonomo talks through what it actually looks like to build a career in theater music from the ground up. Elena shares how early musical experiences with her family shaped her connection to music, why drums always felt like fun instea...

Joe Bergamini on Subbing, Broadway Reality, and Building a Real Music Career In this episode of the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast, I sit down with Joe Bergamini —drummer, educator, author, and one of the most thoughtful voices in the drum world. Joe has subbed on more than 15 Broadway shows, toured nationally, taught for decades, and written some of the most respected drum books out there. But wha...

This is a Broadway Drumming 101 Classic . Originally released in December 2021, this episode features Rich Rosenzweig , recorded on the very day Company officially opened on Broadway. The timing alone makes it special. Rich was stepping into an opening night shaped by grief, history, and pressure, following the passing of Stephen Sondheim, while carrying the responsibility of yet another major Bro...

This Classic episode goes back to 2021 with drummer Rich Rosenzweig . At the time, he was playing the drum chair for Company . Today, he is the drummer for Ragtime at Lincoln Center . Part One focuses on his early years, his training, and his path into the Broadway world. What we cover in this episode * How Rich transitioned from piano lessons to drums. * Growing up in a home filled with music and...

I went back to one of my classic Broadway Drumming 101 conversations this week, and it reminded me why I started this series in the first place. Years ago I sat down with Rich Rosenzweig when he was holding the drum chair for the revival of ‘Company.’ Now he’s driving the bus for Ragtime at Lincoln Center , and revisiting this talk brought everything back. We got into the real work of subbing on B...

In this episode, I sit down with drummer Tom Jorgensen . He’s been playing drums on the Beetlejuice national tour for the last three years. Tom talks about what makes the Beetlejuice drum book one of the most physically demanding on the road and how Shannon Ford’s original approach set the tone for everything that followed. We dig into: * The sheer physical challenge of playing Beetlejuice eight t...

Coming Soon: The Tom Jorgensen Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast Episode There’s a line that’s stuck with Tom Jorgensen ever since he first heard it from jazz legend Michael Carvin : “It’s not about what you’re playing — it’s about what you’re doing.” It sounds simple. But as Tom explains in the upcoming episode of the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast , that one sentence completely changed how he approac...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast — Episode: Larry Lelli Larry Lelli has done just about everything a Broadway drummer can do. From marching snare in Wisconsin to playing The Producers on Broadway, his story is about hard work, timing, and versatility. In this conversation, Larry t...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I’m excited to share that a new Broadway Drumming 101 podcast episode with Larry Lelli will be re-released soon. I originally sat down with Larry back on December 16, 2021, and since then, his career has kept growing in remarkable ways. Larry isn’t just a veteran Broadway drumm...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Today’s guest is a little different. Usually, I feature drummers on this podcast, and we’ve had some incredible ones—plus music directors like Nate Patten and music coordinators like Michael Aarons and Michael Keller. But this time, I wanted to bring on someone I’ve known and p...

Originally posted December 2021 In this episode of Broadway Drumming 101 , I sit down with Dena Tauriello , the drummer for Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theatre. From her first sparkle kit inspired by Karen Carpenter to a career that’s taken her from rock arenas to Broadway pits, Dena shares a powerful story about perseverance, adaptability, and passion. Dena spent nearly two decades wit...