Thank You Half Hour! w/ Thom Christopher Warren

Singer, songwriter, filmmaker, Broadway actor...Pierre Marais takes being a multi hyphenate to a WHOLE new level!  Originally from Capetown, South Africa, and a great pal for fourteen years, Pierre currently stars in Jamie Lloyd's groundbreaking revival of Sunset Boulevard, and has previously appeared on Broadway and in the National touring production of Disney's Aladdin, as well as the tour of A...

Shereen Pimentel was starring on Broadway before hitting her teen years. Where to go from there? Finish high school, attend the acclaimed Juilliard School and triumphantly return to Broadway as Maria in Ivo Van Hove's magnificent revival of the classic West Side Story, Jellylorum in the recent reinvention of Cats; The Jellicle Ball and working alongside Heather Headley in Encores' Into the Woods a...

Today I had the opportunity to chat with the one and only Ann Harada; brilliant, golden-voiced, and hilarious in all she does! A graduate of Brown University, Ann made her broadway debut in David Henry Hwang's "M. Butterfly," and boasts a resume overflowing with Broadway and regional credits, including original companies of "9-5," "Seussical," "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella," and revivals o...

My guest today is someone I've called a "lifer, " or lifelong friend since nearly the day we met - back in the early 2000's when she brilliantly played Jo March in a production of "Little Women" I had the excellent fortune to direct at her alma mater, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. Since then, I have watched her star rise from her Broadway debut in "Cry Baby" to taking the country by st...

I couldn't keep my fangirling at bay when chatting with my new pal, Julie Boardman; co-founder and Executive Director of the Museum of Broadway; a spectacular new experience in Times Square for theatre lovers and practitioners alike. A multiple TONY Award winning Broadway Producer, Julie is currently keeping busy with smash hit revivals of  Romeo and Juliet, Sunset Boulevard, Cabaret at the Kit Ka...

L. Steven and I first met over a decade and a half ago, while sharing the stage in the Broadway Company of The Lion King and traveling together with the National Tour, during which time he had the honor of performing at The White House. Always in demand, Steven's many credits include Ataria, Cutman, G Word, Miss Saigon, Songs For A New World, Godspell, and A Chorus Line. He's been seen on film and...

Christy Altomare and I first met when I had the honor of directing her in her college production of  Little Women.  Immediately after graduating from Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, she led the 1st National company of  Spring Awakening,  starring as Wendla, and her star has only continued to rise ever since. She originated the role of Anya in the Broadway production of Anastasia for whic...

Daria and I first crossed paths when she was a soon-to-graduate Senior at Otterbein University and her star power was immediately clear; fiercely intelligent, ever-mindful in her storytelling, and filled to brimming with joy and grace, she has continued to lead with an open heart and mind whether touring the country on the National Tour of  Spongebob Squarepants; The Broadway Musical  as Sandy Bot...

Sara and I met through my husband (then boyfriend) when they lived together post-college. A beloved classmate of Adam's, we followed Sara's career as she stunningly bounced from National Tour to Broadway to Paper Mill or Nyack or wherever the work brought her, and at every turn she was nothing short of brilliant. Currently starring in the magnificent Broadway production of "Water for Elephants," S...

Most of America knows this rock star as the runner-up to Season 3 of American Idol, but I know Diana DeGarmo as the hard-working, empathetic, ferociously generous actor, singer/songwriter, philanthropist with whom I had the honor to share the stage in a Columbus production of "Into the Woods." In this episode, Diana shares her stories of Idol, song-writing, being married to someone who is frustrat...

Brian d'Arcy James and I first crossed paths when we shared the stage in Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's glorious (and we thought Broadway Bound)  Harmony  nearly twenty years ago. Even then he'd already established himself as a bona fide Broadway and Off Broadway star ( Titanic, Sweet Smell of Success, The Wild Party, Carousel ) but his accomplishments since then in theatre, TV and Hollywood ha...

Beth Malone and I met only recently under the most bizarre of circumstances, and I immediately recognized a kindred spirit. You will likely recognize Beth from her TONY nominated turn in the exquisite  Fun Home , and in our time chatting she shared so many extraordinary details of how the piece came together. Sharing stories of the business, not only existing but thriving as a queer artist, and di...

Whether tap dancing on ceilings, delighting audiences as an ill-tempered anthropomorphic octopus, or robbing the citizens of French Revolutionary era Paris, Gavin Lee has been a mainstay on Broadway and the West End for decades. Creating the roles of Bert in both West End and Broadway productions of  Mary Poppins , Squidward in the ever-produced  Spongebob Squarepants  and most recently seen (by m...

I first met John when my father-in-law asked if I would spend some time coaching one of his students for his upcoming CCM audition. Self-aware, incredibly gifted, and kind as can be...John (who was already marvelous and needed absolutely no coaching from me) attended CCM and in no time was charming the city and lighting up the theater scene through star turns as Raoul in Broadway’s The Phantom of...

For decades, Tom Viola has been the face of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, and thus, the face of Broadway itself. The Executive Director of BC/EFA since 1998, Tom has been at the forefront of our Industry’s war against the ravages of the AIDS epidemic, fighting on the front lines against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Theatrical and political landscape, and helping to raise over $300 milli...

From the moment we met, back in August of 1997, I knew that Patrick Wilson had that special something which sets him apart from mere mortals. Gorgeous? Sure. Talented? Absolutely. Funny? Too funny for our own good.....but there’s also that something special that makes a star. Twenty-seven years later, he’s all of those things as well as one of Broadway’s most sought after leading men, a remarkable...

My guest today has a resume that one can only call ‘dizzying!’’ Broadway, Film, Red Carpets and TV hosting; all squarely in the wheelhouse of Haley Podschun, who hasn’t stopped working in decades! Familiar to Hairspray fans as Tammy in the film adaptation of the wildly popular musical, Haley also appeared in the show on Broadway and on tour, as well as starring in Broadway and/or touring productio...

I was forewarned that today's guest was nothing short of a delight, and the rumors are TRUE! Grey Henson talks about his formative years as a little boy who loved (and excelled at) ballet in Macon, GA and how those years of dance and working in youth and community theatre helped him to be the award-winning stage actor he is today. Most recently seen as one of the storytellers in Broadway’s Shucked...

Joining me today are the Lunts of Broadway - ok, if you don’t know that reference, please head directly to google; Sandra Joseph and Ron Bohmer. Each of them a Broadway star in their own right, they now spend much of their time inspiring others - particularly other creatives and young artists - through teaching, keynote speaking and writing. Holding the world’s record as Broadway’s longest running...

When I think of the worker bees of Broadway - those actors whose faces show up in production after production and whose chameleon-like character skills allow them to seamlessly morph from role to role and show to show...Gaelen Gilliland is at the top of an imposing list! With a resume that spans the length of a CVS receipt, Gaelen has appeared in Wicked, Legally Blonde, 9-5, Honeymoon in Vegas, Ki...

Robert Anthony Jones, or “Raj” as he’s known among his friends - has a comedic mind and open heart which sets him apart from mere mortals. I’d known OF Raj for decades due to mutual friends and finally had an opportunity to sit and laugh with him while he was in town starring in “The Prom” at Columbus’ own Short North Stage. A veteran of off-Broadway (“Bunnicula” by legendary playwright Charles Bu...

The Mark Fisher Fitness (or, MFF for those in the know) website leads with “Serious Fitness, Ridiculous Humans,” and the brand built upon that foundation is one of the most remarkable business ventures I have had the honor to witness. Mark is a dear old pal from his days as a working actor, during which time he began to train his friends as a side hustle. Over the past decade, Mark and his team of...

Stephanie Amber - one half of the Columbus-based Indie Soul band “Honey & Blue” sits down and talks shop! Her history with musical theatre is what inspires her and her partner as they continue to build Honey & Blue’s sexy, soulful catalog of music; all while doing much of the hands-on work of recording, editing, mixing, and filming themselves. Steph and I met a few years back when I had th...

Having only recently completed a star turn as Velma in the Broadway smash hit “Chicago,” I was able to catch up with the magnificent Kimberly Marable just as she was catching her breath from back to back runs in “Chicago,” and the National Tour of “Hadestown,” in which Columbus audiences will recognize her as the Lady of the Underworld herself, Persephone. Kimberly and I go back to sharing the sta...

When one considers the consummate interpreters of the work of Stephen Sondheim, it’s impossible not to hear the voice of Pamela Meyers singing about the streets of New York - meeting one another “at parties through the friends of friends who they never know,” or “walk(ing) together past the postered walls with the crude remarks.” ANOTHER HUNDRED PEOPLE has become a part of Musical Theatre literatu...