The Ensemblist

The 63rd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 7, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall and hosted for the first time by Neil Patrick Harris. Heading into the ceremony, Billy Elliot the Musical led the pack with 15 nominations, followed by 11 for Next to Normal and 8 for Shrek The Musical. The Public Theatre revival of Hair led the revivals, also with 8 nominations. Also in the running for Best Musical and...

The Tonys are quickly approaching, and we could not be more excited to continue our celebration of the 2019-20 Broadway season and the dazzling ensembles bringing each musical to life. Today, we’re looking back at Tina: The Tina Turner Musical! Tina opened on Broadway on November 7, 2019 after a spring 2018 world premiere on London’s West End. Not only does this biomusical feature high-octane perf...

The 42nd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 5, 1998 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre and hosted by Angela Lansbury, at that time a four-time Tony Award winner for Best Actress in a Musical. Heading into the ceremony there were three shows tied for the most nominations: Into the Woods, The Phantom of the Opera and the Patti LuPone-helmed Lincoln Center revival of Anything Goes. The season’s other t...

Broadway ensemblist and friend of the pod Timothy Hughes has created a new online community called Performer's Puzzle: an online membership community that helps define and celebrate our personal passions. We chatted about the purpose of the new community and how his acknowledging his status as "the tall guy" helped him create creative opportunities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Happy Tony Season! Our team at Ensemblist HQ could not be more excited to join the theatre community in celebrating the 2019-20 Broadway season and its incredible ensembles this fall. First up is Moulin Rouge! After a July 2018 premiere in Boston, Moulin Rouge! opened at Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre on July 25, 2019. Boasting a large cast of Broadway veterans & plenty of show-stopping spectacl...

The 42nd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 5, 1998 at Broadway’s Minskoff Theatre and hosted by Angela Lansbury, at that time a four-time Tony Award winner for Best Actress in a Musical. Heading into the ceremony there were three shows tied for the most nominations: Into the Woods, The Phantom of the Opera and the Patti LuPone-helmed Lincoln Center revival of Anything Goes. The season’s other t...

Last week, Will Blum released a 12-minute filmed presentation of Floyd Collins shot entirely inside his new New York City apartment. We talked about how the idea went from concept to reality, as well as what it means to be creating "theatre" in quarantine. Watch the film here: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFBZgSSj0Ma/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I chatted with Broadway veteran Tamika Lawrence (Caroline or Change, Come From Away, Matilda The Musical) about the launch of her new apparel line: Ready Set Wear Apparel. We chatted about how her mother (kindly) tricked her into starting the venture, and how the Spice Girls were a stylistic influence on her design. Here's our conversation... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

The 52nd Annual Tony Awards were held on June 7, 1998 at Radio City Music Hall. Hosted by Rosie O’Donnell for the second year in a row,  Going into the ceremony, Ragtime led the pack with 13 nominations, followed by The Lion King with 11. The acclaimed Roundabout Theatre Company revival had 10 nominations, with Side Show and The Scarlet Pimpernel as new musicals, and 1776 and The Sound of Music as...

On March 12, 2020, the Broadway League suspended performances for all Broadway shows through April 12 amidst rising Coronavirus concerns and bans on large gatherings. Six months later, most industries are reopening, television/film production is resuming, and many office employees are settling nicely into remote work routines.  Yet staying masked, practicing social distancing, and avoiding large c...

After two years at New York’s Beacon Theatre, the 2013 Tonys were broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall. From the moment the nominations were announced, the ceremony seemed destined to be a showdown between Kinky Boots and Matilda The Musical, with revivals of Pippin, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CInderella and The Mystery of Edwin Drood following close behind.  Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the c...

In our final installment of this series, we’re sharing our favorite moments from our interview with Bob Stillman. Bob first appeared on Broadway in 1988’s Legs Diamond, although his role was cut during the show’s 72 previews. Bob has since performed on Broadway in Grand Hotel, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Dirty Blonde, Souvenir, Grey Gardens, Act One, It’s Only a Play, and Living on Love. Also a comp...

After two years at New York’s Beacon Theatre, the 2013 Tonys were broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall. From the moment the nominations were announced, the ceremony seemed destined to be a showdown between Kinky Boots and Matilda The Musical, with revivals of Pippin, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s CInderella and The Mystery of Edwin Drood following close behind.  Hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, the c...

The 45th Annual Tony Awards were held on June 2, 1991. They were broadcast on CBS from the Minskoff Theatre and hosted by Julie Andrews and Jeremy Irons. The telecast featured performances from the four nominated musicals: Miss Saigon, Once on This Island, The Secret Garden and The Will Rogers Follies. It also included a special salute to ‘The Year of the Musical Actor’ featuring Robert Morse, Top...

Broadway alum Anthony Wayne has collected a group of Black men in theatre to form a racial equality group to support fellow members of their community and industry. Black Broadway Men is open to all self-identifying Black men who work on stage or behind the scenes in theatre. We spoke to Anthony about the process of creating Black Broadway Men and their plans for the future. Here's our conversatio...

Today, we share a story of love from Daniel Switzer. Not only about falling in love with a person, but also a city - and how both of those relationships bloomed over a years-long courtship. Here, in his own words, is Daniel Switzer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome listeners to a new mini-series, bringing you all the drama behind the drama of a theatre season in Broadway history. In each podcast episode, we will watch a Tony telecast and then delve to the theatre season. We will each have the following week to research the season as a whole and then bring you our most surprising findings about how the telecast did and didn’t reflect the year on Broad...

This week, we’re sharing highlights from our chat with John Eric Parker. After growing up in New York City and attending LaGuardia High School, John Eric Parker performed in the national tour of The Wiz and German production of Starlight Express before making his Broadway debut in Rent. He’s since performed in the original Broadway casts of All Shook Up, Memphis, and The Book of Mormon. Here’s our...

Welcome back, listeners to our tongue-in-cheek wrap up of what is television’s most detailed depiction of the theatre industry. And yes, for the last time, we’re talking about Smash, the NBC series that chronicled the creation of not one, but TWO Broadway musicals and all of the drama that ensued along the way.  We’ve been going back to see how this supposed love letter to Broadway has held up ove...

Smash’s series finale “The Tonys” premiered on May 26th, 2013. It was the second part of a two-part series finale event that night. The finale was written by season 2 showrunner Joshua Safran, and directed by Michael Morris, who directed the previous episode as well (again, two-parter). And surprise, surprise, the viewership stayed the same from the previous episode (which was an hour ago) which c...

The shutdown of Broadway theatre has paused the careers of 414 ensemblists, including many making their Mainstem debuts. Back in February, Mrs. Doubtfire swing Brian Martin wrote a story for our blog about finally feeling ready to make his Broadway debut. Six months later, we asked Brian to revisit the story and share how the last six months have affected that readiness. Here, in his own words, is...

On this week’s episode, we’re sharing our favorite moments from our interview with Ann Harada. After getting her start as a PA and office assistant for theatrical producers, Ann Harada made her Broadway debut in M. Butterfly. She’s since performed on Broadway in Seussical, Avenue Q, Les Mis, 9 to 5, and Cinderella. From originating the role of Christmas Eve in Avenue Q to playing Linda on TV’s Sma...

Jessica Rush has performed in a remarkable six Broadway musicals in the last ten years, but a large chunk of that time was spent in the ensemble in Jersey Boys. She is also the co-host of the very great, very good podcast Mama’s Talkin’ Loud, also available on the Broadway Podcast Network. Having spent almost six years and more than 2,300 performances in Jersey Boys, Jess shares how working a long...

The penultimate episode of season 2, “The Nominations,” premiered on May 26th, 2013. It was written by Bryan Goluboff, who last penned “The Dramaturg” earlier this season, and was directed by Michael Morris, who has written a number of season 2 episodes. The viewership jumped up by .43 million viewers from the last episode, bringing the total viewership to 2.44 million. We had three featured songs...

This week, we’re sharing highlights from our conversation with Alma Cuervo. With an impressive SIXTEEN Broadway shows to her name, Alma is a true veteran of the New York theatre. Some of her many credits include Once in a Lifetime, Cabaret, Beauty and the Beast, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and most recently On Your Feet! In our interview, we chat all about her life on the stage - fr...