Token Theatre Friends

This week, the Friends weren't able to record an intro together. But their guest is pretty epic. They welcomed Tony-winning actor/writer John Leguizamo, who is now adding director to his resume. He's starring in and directing a new film, Critical Thinking, where he plays a chess teacher who helps inspires a group of low-income Black and Latinx high-schoolers to national chess championship victory....

This week, the Friends react to the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards and the sudden death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman (who was also a playwright!). Then they discuss their experiences at Here We Are, a series of one-on-one plays produced by Theater for One where an actor performs, just for you! It's playing until Sept. 24. Then Shaun Bengson and Abigail Nessen-Bengson, of the musical duo The...

The Friends took a break last week because Diep was out of town. But this week, they're coming back in time to talk about the Tony Awards. It's happening! And the Friends have opinions about what the awards ceremony should look like this year. This week's guest is actor Daniel K. Isaac, who is a recurring character on the Showtime television show Billions. But did you know that Isaac is a big thea...

This week, the Friends talk about Godspell at Berkshire Theatre Group, the first musical to be performed in from of a live audience using union actors. There's a lot of plastic involved, and masks on stage, which is admirable but they can't help but wonder: Who would want to risk their health to go see a show right now? Then, the Friends review a show that is safe, the Zoom tarot readings currentl...

This week, the Friends open the show by talking about Black is King, Beyoncé's new visual album, and folklore, the new album by Taylor Swift that was written and released during quarantine. They talk about how these albums use storytelling as their primary driver, and what other artists can learn about producing during quarantine. And why are the Friends talking about music? That's because their g...

The Friends discuss two audio plays: Richard II by Shakespeare and Julia Pastrana by Shaun Prendergast. Richard II was presented by the Public Theater and WNYC, and starred André Holland as the king and Miriam A. Hyman as his foe Henry Bolingbroke. It's still available to download. Julia Pastrana is produced by Amphibian Stage Co. and is about the ugliest woman in the world. It's based on a true s...

This week, the Friends discuss immigration, or rather, how immigration is portrayed on the stage. First off is a review of The Copper Children by Karen Zacarías, a play that was performed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and is now being streamed by the theater. It's about a fight between white people and Mexicans in 1904 Arizona, throwing into question the arbitrary-ness of citizenship and whi...

Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda's epic (and very expensive) musical has moved from the stage to screen thanks to Disney+. A musical as big as Hamilton deserves a big discussion, a cabinet battle, if you will. The Friends are joined by actor and composer Heath Saunders, and theater critic Kelundra Smith. They discuss how Hamilton hits differently in 2020 than it did in 2015 when it premiered, how it's...

The Friends recorded on June 7. This week is a very special episode because there's not one, but TWO, podcast episodes. In the planning for this week, Diep and Jose realized that they had too much content and they didn't want to cut any of it. So this week will be a two-parter. Part one is an interview with George Salazar and part two will be a discussion of Hamilton on Disney+. George Salazar is...

The Friends recorded on June 29. They open the show by talking about Zoom plays, what's been working about them, what hasn't been working, and things they've seen on Zoom that they love. Then they talk about two shows they've seen. First, To My Distant Love from On Site Opera, an opera done over the telephone (remember those?). Then they talk about a play they watched on BroadwayHD: Pipeline by Do...

The Friends recorded on June 23 where they discussed the news that Broadway will not be back until January 2021 (at least). They also went into a deep dive on 2666 by Seth Bockley and Robert Falls—a five-hour play adaptation of the Roberto Bolaño novel, that is currently available to stream for free at the Goodman Theatre's website.  Then they hop on a Zoom call with Raúl Esparza, where Jose manag...

The Friends sat down and recorded over Skype on June 14 and talked about "We See You White American Theatre," an open letter that got more than 50,000 signatures (including from a bunch of celebrities) and what can be done to solve racism in the American theater. Then they whistle a happy tune and discuss The King and I. They watched a video of the 2015 Broadway revival and talk about how it's pro...

The Friends sat down and recorded over Skype on June 8. They discuss the recent discovery that Broadway theater owners the Nederlanders gave over $150,000 to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and why we should care. Plus, they talk about two theater productions that were filmed: Pass Over by Antoinette Nwandu (available on Amazon Prime) and American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown (available on...

On the first episode of the newly revamped Token Theatre Friends podcast, the Friends sat down and recorded over Skype on June 1. They discussed Black Lives Matter and the protests that have erupted around the world around the murder of George Floyd and police brutality. They also discuss how different brands have released statements to support BLM, including Broadway shows and theater companies a...