The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

“It’s going to be bumpy, but it’s going to be worth it”. Colin Donnell is a singer, actor, and musician who has starred on both the stage and screen. His stage credits include the Broadway productions of Jersey Boys, Violet, and Anything Goes (for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination), as well as many national tours including Mamma Mia! and Wicked. Colin made his TV debut in ABC’s Pan A...

Catapulting into the limelight after originating the role of Michael Mell in Be More Chill on Broadway, George Salazar speaks candidly about struggling with his identity growing up, as a child of a Filipino immigrant and an Ecuadorian immigrant. Watch the full video of this episode here. He recently created a video exploring his self discovery, titled “My Identity”, as part of a virtual commission...

“The key to success is figuring out how to survive in an industry that needs you, but doesn’t want you.” Keith Powell is best known as series regular James “Toofer” Spurlock on NBC’s Emmy-winning sitcom 30 Rock, where he received the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for Comedy Ensemble. Recently, Keith has mostly focused on writing and directing. He is currently writing a feature for Film 44 and HBO...

As the host of NY1’s “On Stage” and a microphone for the theatre community, this Emmy Award winner's stories have shifted from Broadway openings and red carpet events, to how people are surviving and pivoting while Broadway is on hold. Frank DiLella is the Emmy Award winning host of “On Stage” on Spectrum News NY1, the news channel’s weekly half-hour theater program. His celebrity interviews, alon...

Let's face it -- 2020 was a dumpster fire, at best. In this episode, Diana Salameh, the Director of Marketing and Communications at Serino Coyne, co-hosts the final episode of the year - a year which has been unprecedented for the theatre industry. And not only for performers. Serino Coyne, the nation's longest-running theatrical advertising agency, was just embarking on the beginning of the Sprin...

Krystal Joy Brown is a singer, dancer and actor who made her Broadway debut in 2009 in Hair. She is best known for her portrayal of Diana Ross in the Broadway musical Motown: The Musical. Her other Broadway credits include Leap of Faith, Big Fish, and Hamilton, where she will return to the role of Eliza when the industry returns. She is also a two-time Adele and Fred Astaire nominee for best femal...

Michael James Scott is an actor and singer who originated the role of Genie in the Australian production of Disney's musical Aladdin, which opened in Sydney in August 2016. He received a Helpmann Award in 2017 for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for his work in this production. Michael reprised his role as the Genie on the North American tour, The West End, and most recently, Bro...

Nik Walker is an artist, educator, and activist who made his Broadway debut in Motown The Musical. He spent 3 years with the Broadway and touring companies of Hamilton, adding both Aaron Burr and George Washington to his resume. Other stage credits include Peter and the Starcatcher (off-Broadway), and regional productions at La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe and The Denver Center, to name a few. H...

She thought theater was something she just needed to get out of her system, but many years and a successful career later this performer opens up about pursuing your dreams to avoid regret, and participating in the new virtual era theater finds itself in. No stranger to the stage, Carolee Carmello is a Broadway veteran with fourteen Broadway shows on her resume. She is a three-time Tony Award nomin...

When he’s not pursuing his dreams onstage, this performer spends his spare time translating musicals like Hamilton from English to Japanese, on a mission to bridge the gap between Japanese and American musical theater audiences. Gen Parton-Shin is a Japanese-British actor who made his professional debut as Angel in the Official Japanese cast of Rent in 2008. While pursuing his dreams in the US, he...

From The Land Down Under to The Big Apple, this singer-songwriter, pianist, writer and comedian just released his new album, Beetlejuice: The Demos! The Demos! The Demos!, and is showing other Australians that it’s possible to make the leap and find yourself working on a Broadway musical (or two). Eddie Perfect is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, comedian, writer and actor. He is now also...

Michael Riedel is an American theater critic, broadcaster, and columnist. He has been a controversial yet very influential Broadway columnist in the NY post for over 20 years. Michael is also the co-host of “Len Berman and Michael Riedel in the Morning” on 710 WOR in New York City, weekdays from 6-10am. Michael’s book Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway won the 2015 Marfield Prize for arts writ...

Jeanna de Waal originated the title role of Diana, Princess of Wales in Diana at La Jolla Playhouse and at the New York Stage and Film Powerhouse Theatre reading at Vassar College. Her previous Broadway credits include starring as Lauren in Kinky Boots and Heather in American Idiot. Jeanna originated the role of Dawn in the A.R.T. production of Waitress by Sara Bareilles, and the role of Mary Barr...

Hailed by the New York Times for her “attractive soprano voice,” and for having “total control of the stage,” (Broadway World) coloratura soprano Meghan Picerno currently stars as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. In 2017 Meghan collaborated with legendary director Hal Prince as Cunegonde in his production of Candide at the New York City Opera. She quickly became one of the m...

Anthony Veneziale, also known by his stage name ‘Two-Touch’, is the conceiver and co-creator of the improvisational hip-hop comedy musical group Freestyle Love Supreme, as well as the FLS Academy. He has been performing and teaching improv for more than 20 years and is a leader in the field of musical improvisation. Anthony has used these techniques for endeavors with names such as Tommy Kail, Lin...

Listen to a quick discussion about the 74th annual Tony Award nominations that were announced yesterday for the shortened 2019-2020 Broadway season. While COVID-19 and the resulting Broadway shutdown did ensure that shows like SIX, Company, and Sing Street would not yet see their opening nights, the shows that were able to make the eligibility cutoff - Moulin Rouge, Jagged Little Pill, Tina, and a...

Isabella Rossellini is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, filmmaker and model. She is the daughter of Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. A Golden Globe and Emmy award nominee, she started out her career as a successful model, appearing on the covers of numerous magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. She is also n...

Amber Ardolino is a dancer, singer and actress who made her Broadway debut in Hamilton, and was also in the original Chicago company. She is currently part of the Broadway cast of Moulin Rouge!. Amber has previously been seen as Mopsa in Head Over Heels on Broadway, Sherrie in Rock of Ages in Las Vegas, as well as on national tours of Flashdance, West Side Story, Legally Blonde, and both the Phili...

John Lloyd Young is a multi-award winning performer, who originated the role of Frankie Valli in Broadway’s Jersey Boys. He is the only American actor to date to have received a Lead Actor in a Musical Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Theatre World Award for a Broadway debut. John also starred in Jersey Boys on London’s West End, and was hand-picked by director Clint Ea...

Mo Brady is a jack of all trades - a broadway actor turned social media specialist turned podcaster. After working for many years as a performer in Seattle, Washington, Mo made his Broadway debut in The Addams Family musical in 2010. He later landed work as a recurring character on the second season of the NBC TV hit show Smash. These days, Mo works as the Communications Project Manager for Broadw...

Alice Lee is an actress, singer and musician who made her Broadway debut in 2008 when she joined the cast of Spring Awakening. Her other New York theater credits include Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark on Broadway, as well as Off-Broadway productions of Bare and Heathers: The Musical. While she is no stranger to the stage, she is also no stranger to the screen. Alice was a contestant on the ABC reali...

This multifaceted, multi-talented performer takes us on a trip into her psyche, sharing how she lives by the idea that “competence breeds confidence”, which encourages her to continue to learn and grow even after achieving great success.  Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer is a Cuban-American actress, author, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She performed as Cha Cha in Fox’s Grease: Live, Vanessa...

Montego Glover is an actor, singer and voiceover artist who made her Broadway debut in the original Broadway production of The Color Purple as Celie and Nettie. She went on to create the role of Felicia Farrell in the Broadway musical Memphis, for which she received a Tony Award Nomination, and won both the Outer Critics’ Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award. Montego also received acclaim for her...

Adam Pascal is an actor, singer, and musician most widely known for originating the role of Roger in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway. Rent was not only his Broadway debut, it also earned him a Tony Award nomination, a Theater World award, and an Obie Award. He went on to originate the role of Radames in Aida, as well as play the Emcee in the 1998 revival of Cab...

A go-getter spirit at heart, a spirit which has taken her from singing in church to singing on a Broadway stage, this Broadway veteran shares how she is finding new focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how her Girl From The North Country Family is helping sustain her. Jeannette Bayardelle is a Broadway veteran seen most recently as Mrs. Neilson in the new Bob Dylan musical Girl From The North C...