Mamas Talkin' Loud

As the first BIPOC (and mother!) to play Jenna in Waitress, this weeks guest, Nicolette Robinson, made history. She joins us to share how the state of her career actually led her to motherhood, how her love of Waitress the Musical is the greatest proof of manifestation, and how the two seem undeniably intertwined. During lockdown she and husband, Leslie Odom Jr., shot and executive produced ‘Love...

Continuing our “Journey to Motherhood” series, two time Tony Award winner and star of the hit television show, Younger, Sutton Foster shares her path to becoming a mom. After struggling with infertility for years, choosing adoption brought her incredible daughter into her life and the knowledge that this path was always meant to be. Between balancing motherhood, life on the set of Younger, and a m...

Continuing our “Journey to Motherhood” series, two time Tony Award winner and star of the hit television show, Younger, Sutton Foster shares her path to becoming a mom. After struggling with infertility for years, choosing adoption brought her incredible daughter into her life and the knowledge that this path was always meant to be. Between balancing motherhood, life on the set of Younger, and a m...

Kicking off our Black History Month celebration, actress turned director, writer, (and mother), Schele Williams knows the value of being a storyteller, how it is our obligation to the art form itself that mandates diversity and inclusion. She shares her journey through different roles in the theater industry, the racism and misogyny she has faced, and her commitment to always look for who is NOT i...

Broadway dancer turned fitness guru, Amanda Kloots has endured unspeakable loss on a very public stage. Her husband’s battle and eventual passing due to COVID-19 became a national tragedy through which people rallied and mourned the immense grief our world has faced through this pandemic. In addition to running a fitness empire, co-hosting "The Talk" and raising her adorable two year old as a sing...

Renee Elise Goldsberry earned a Tony Award for her performance as Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, has an incredibly full television and film resume including the starring role in the powerful The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and she can currently be seen on the new series, Girls5Eva as Wickie Roy. This mama joins us today to share how prioritizing life and keeping the faith buoyed her on the em...

Emily Loftiss is a former Radio City Rockette and Broadway performer turned television host, personal stylist and creator of “Everyday Glam”. She is building an empire of female empowerment and positivity while juggling motherhood and the three year infertility journey that got her there. Emily is the ultimate example of speaking you dreams into existence while finding joy and feeling fabulous alo...

Continuing our Pride Month celebration, Broadway Stage Manager, Julia Jones’, story is not to be missed. Together with her wife, they have journeyed through foster care, adoption, an endless array of special needs, and the reality that they are white women raising black children in an unjust society. Her story is a lesson in leading with love, always having your heart open for what life may bring,...

Kicking off Pride Month, The Broadway Husbands, Bret Shuford and Stephen Hanna, share their ongoing journey toward becoming fathers. Five years into this process, they have come up against seemingly endless obstacles, and still don’t have a baby on the way, but they have never lost hope. Their story is one of honesty, perseverance and an abundance of love not only for their future child but for ea...

Becca Lee was coming off her biggest year yet, making her Broadway Debut, getting married, and getting pregnant, when Covid-19 changed the world. She is now navigating her role as mom in a new world and being super honest and open about the mental load of motherhood and her own personal journey with anxiety. Even though her social media presence has shifted a bit from Broadway to Babies, she conti...

A longstanding voice for the AAPI community, Erin Quill, joins us to share her experiences as a minority in our industry and beyond. Her blog, The Fairy Princess Diaries is a brutally honest take on social justice, the LGBTQ community, and its inherent connection to all things entertainment. She is a roaring advocate for representation of the AAPI community in show business and she’s funny as hell...

Everyone’s favorite drama teacher, (thank you, High School Musical, The Musical, The Series), Kate Reinders, joins us this week to share her rather unexpected motherhood journey, how she cares for her mental health and what it's like to be the 'mom' of East High School. As a young performer on Broadway, therapy was always an integral part of her life, and as she navigates her new identity as a mot...

Princess Anna and Mental Health Warrior, Patti Murin, joins us to share what it’s like to be pregnant during COVID-19. From Cadbury egg cravings to enduring 5 weeks of what was presumably the virus, growing a human in quarantine has definitely been a challenge, but her “one day at a time” mentality has helped her cope in ways she never anticipated. Having always been open about her struggles with...

Disney Darling and Drama Desk nominee Ashley Brown, joins us this week to share everything from playing the Mother Abbess until she was 8 months pregnant to struggling with postpartum depression, secondary infertility and the undeniable pressures that come with being a mother in show business. As a result of pandemic, and the space and time it has provided, she is looking to the future with a clea...

In a time of great loss for our entire world, Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles shares her continuous journey through grief - how she puts one foot in front of the other on a daily basis, with a healthy dose of Hope. A member of the AAPI community and herself a victim of the awful hate that is rampant these days, she shares that, while fearful when out in the world on her own, she is hopeful, as...

It's been one year since Broadway went dark and life moved into lockdown, and co-hosts Cara and Jessica are checking in on this bonus #minisode. A lot has changed in some ways since they initially recorded for the first time remotely - kids are in school, homeschool, Jess and family have finally come back from La Jolla, and, most importantly she and Cara have kick ball changed and made their own #...

From playing Alma Wheatley in the Netflix hit, The Queen’s Gambit to directing the Oscar nominated films A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Marielle Heller is paving the way for more women to be in positions of power everywhere. Knowing first hand how the punitive hours of film industry affect her family, she has fought for more sustainable schedules and supportive w...

Last week Cara and Jessica had the honor of moderating a panel for Women’s Day on Broadway a celebration of female identifying people, who are working in - or are fans of - the Broadway, Off-Broadway and professional theater industry. Each event Women of Broadway hosts is meant to offer an opportunity to share experiences, struggles, and victories with the goal of supporting each other to make our...

The first ever Asian Tony Award Winner for Costume Designer, Linda Cho joins us to share her experiences as a woman of color and accomplishment in a male dominated industry. As our first guest who is a designer, she shares the ins and outs of costuming a show, how the decimation of the theater as an industry has a much farther reach than most imagine, and the ways in which she is moving the conver...

Oscar and Grammy Winner, currently featured on WandaVision, Kristen Anderson Lopez, shares what being a woman songwriter really means and the impact it can have. From the writing of Frozen, and how being a mother facing the “princess question” was essential to creating the story we all know and love, to the unconscious bias she faces daily as a female in a male dominated field, she is constantly r...

Tony and Emmy Award winner, currently appearing on The Blacklist, the one and only LaChanze joins us this week. From making history along side her daughter, starring on Broadway in the same season, to her work as one of the founding members of Black Theater United, she has met her career with joy and gratitude, recognizing the power that theatre has to heal not only our personal grief, but our soc...

Ziva Meditation founder/CEO Emily Fletcher joins us once again to celebrate the upcoming launch of her meditation program for children, ZivaKids. This Broadway dancer turned entrepreneur and meditation guru developed the program over the past two years with experts from Sesame Street and Harvard, and gives us the inside scoop on how to manage stress and cultivate joy in your family. The challenges...

Mother of 7, yes you read that right, 7, Beverly Jenkins has been managing Broadway productions (and her family) for almost 30 years. Her attention to the well-being of her companies can only be described as “motherly”, striking the right balance of support and structure, love and respect. As one of the founders of Broadway and Beyond: Access for Stage Managers of Color, she is bringing connection...

Tony Award winner, Kelli O’Hara joins us to kick off 2021 with a healthy dose of positivity and purpose. Now a mother of two, she faced her onstage pregnancies, performing postpartum and being a working artist mother with the same joy and passion she brings to all her roles. From her work on the advisory board of Say.org to using her platform to #sharethemic, Kelli is also keenly aware that it is...

Becoming a mother for the first time during a global pandemic means readjusting your vision of what your journey will be. This week’s guest, Betsy Wolfe, shares not only what it has meant to have a newborn in the midst of COVID-19, but also how she has advocated for herself as a mother in showbiz when she returned to work starring in the first fully realized musical to be filmed in virtual product...