October 13, 2024 • 17 mins
Michael Riedel and Christine Nagy recently chatted with Sky Lakota-Lynch and Emma Pittman, who are starring in the 2024 Tony Award-winning Best Musical THE OUTSIDERS. They talk about the excitement of being in a show with so many cast members making their Broadway debuts; with a dynamic original score, THE OUTSIDERS is a story of friendship, family, belonging, and the realization that there is still good in the world. THE OUTSIDERS is currently playing on Broadway at The Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
iHeartRadio Broadway presents Inside Broadway, the podcast about everything theater.
It's where you hear what happens from the ticket window
to the stage door, with the stars and creative forces
that make it all come alive. Here are your hosts,
wo Rs Michael Riedle and Light FM's Christine Nagy.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Christine, I had the pleasure of going to see the
Tony Award winning Broadway musical The Outsiders a couple of
weeks ago, and I brought with me my good friend
Clive Davis, legendary music mogul, And you know, I thought
the show was terrific. But I can tell you this,
Clive was knocked out by the young cast of the show.
(00:45):
He thought those guys and those women could sing the
hell out of those songs.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
He had the best time.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
And I'm telling you, if Clive Davis likes a show,
you know, that's the show that you have to go see.
It is The Outsiders at the Bernard Jacobs Theater. And
we are joined now by Sky Lakota Lynch. He plays
Johnny Cad in the show. And uh, Sky, I I
just want to spring this on to you. Did you
have any idea that you were performing in front of
Clive Davis, who discovered Whitney Houston.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
No, I did not know that this moment. That's wild.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
Wow, that's fantastic. That's so just a glowing review then
from Michael Reedle and Clive.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Davis, because I think we told you. If we told
you Clive was there, you might have been a little
bit nervous, but I would have cracked.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
A couple of times.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
Probably, But this effor we we're nominated for a Tony Congratulations,
I mean.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Thank you so much. It was wild. I was not
expecting that to happen because it's such a busy season.
You know, you just don't know where the chips are
going to fall, you know.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
So sky when I was going through the cast list
as I always do in the playbill, so many of
you are making your your Broadway debuts in this music.
I mean, it's you represent a whole new generation of
musical theater kids coming up through the ranks with this show.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
It must be exciting to be there.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yeah, it feels like it's a renaissance. It feels like
Broadway's finally coming back from the pandemic and the kids
who graduated college during that time are finally getting their
chance at the bat, and I'm just happy to be
there with my comrades and see musical theater changing slowly
and see new faces coming. It's it's an exciting time.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
This is the kind of show too. It just seems
like it has such a huge following builds into it
between the film and social media. I like, you've got
a really strong fan base for this show. So do
you feel do you feel that excitement and very supportive
when you're on stage?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Oh my gosh. You just never know what a show
is going to do. And I've been with the Outsiders
since the very first workshop, so like seeing it become
this little seed of an idea to being this like
sort of phenomenon for these kids, It's just such a
good feeling and stepping out on that stage and hearing
the audience like have entrance applause for care. It's just
something I never imagined. So I'm just elated. I'm just
(03:04):
so happy that people still love the story after all
these years.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
You know, well, that's it because it's based on based
on a famous book by se Hinton. Now did you
had you read the book when you were a kid,
or did you read it when you got cast in
the show.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
It was the first book I ever finished a completion.
I was a kid with dyslexia, so I could not
read it all. I was in special education, and my
teacher tricked us into reading the book by showing us
the movie first, and of course, like we all made
fun of the movie and were like calling each other
dally or a pony boy. Then we settled into the
plot and like fell in love with it, and we
popcorn read the book and the rest is history. And
(03:41):
I fell in love with the book. And so when
I heard there was a musical, I was like, what, Like,
I got a me in that.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
So tell us about the story then, if we're not familiar,
it's kind of the haves and the have nots, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
It's the haves and have nots in Tulsa in nineteen
sixty seven, which was such a dicey time during that time,
especially in Oklahoma, and just pony Boy and his chosen
family and his actual family and navigating life through this
divided line in Tulsa, and how platonic friendship can carry
you through life. I think it's a very unique story
(04:15):
in that way that shares about boys being vulnerable with
their friends, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
You know Essie hitting, Susan Eloise hitting. If I'm not
number saken, She's still alive. Has she seen the show?
Have you met her?
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Yeah? So we actually flew out to Tulsa with our
producer Angelina Jolie, and we got to spend a lot
of time with Susie and we got to see where
pony Boy and Johnny grew up, and we got to
see the east side of Tulsa, and I got to
ask her all kinds of questions like why did you
write Johnny Kaid and why pony Boy? And they were
all based off of real people in her life and
(04:52):
what was going on around her. And she was only
fourteen when she started writing this book, and by the
time it was published, she was sixteen. So it's coming
from the mouth of an action teenager. And it's just
so interesting to see how the female gaze saw these
boys in Tulsa.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
You know, how is the audience responding to it? Do
you think people are finding some hope in these stories?
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah? I mean it's really wild. Like I would say
about ninety five percent of our audience are little girls,
And I kind of really love that because it's like
they see themselves in these characters, because it is through
the female gaze that you get to see these boys
be vulnerable, you know, and I think that's unique in
a way. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Well, I can tell you, Christine, when I was there,
because you know, these very good looking cast I have
to say, and they all take their shirts off and
dance in the rain, and the girls were going absolutely
nuts with when you guys take your shirts off and
dance in the rain, the girls are fainting dead away.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I can tell you that, s guy.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
I tell well, it hurts to Jason Schmidt, who plays
Soda Pop. He's like one of the most beautiful people
in the world.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's true.
Speaker 5 (05:56):
Yeah, what's this I was gonna say, was it like
at the backstage door? Then?
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Oh, they're all while they're there, it's like the Beatles
have landed on Broadlands. It's wild right.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Okay, Sky, Michael, we have a special guest joining us
jumping in. We're so happy you're here, Emma Pittman, who
plays Cherry in The Outsiders. Emma, so nice to meet you.
Speaker 6 (06:17):
It's so nice to me you. Thank you for having
me today.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
Well, thank you so much for being here. Sky. I
feel like maybe you should be introing Emma. You're going
to know her better than any of us.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Sky, Emma Pittman is the greatest person on earth. Where
both Libra's we are clowns together in this show, we
actually love each other even though we might quote unquote
not like each other on stage. So, yeah, that's Emma Pittman.
She's the best.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, right, Well, Emma plays She plays the girl from
the right side of the tracks, and Sky of course
you're from the wrong side of the tracks. And this
is a music about the have and have nots, and Emma,
when you just joined us, we were laughing and joking
about how all of the teenage girls who see the show,
because these guys take their shirts.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Off in the rain, and they girls are just going
crazy for that.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Are you upstage by all these cute guys with their
shirts off in the rain?
Speaker 6 (07:06):
I think it's just it's a different type of fandom
for me personally, because I know that people who come
to see the show, especially if they've read the book,
they're not necessarily fans of miss Cherry because I think
on the surface, on the page, she can be pretty,
you know, surface level, there's not much to her, but
then when people come to see her, they're like, wait,
(07:26):
you kind of gave Cherry a little you know, this
musical gave Cherry a little something something and I liked that.
So I think the fandom is more towards the character
for me, less about the you know. I mean, Cherry
doesn't really take her shirt off, does she know?
Speaker 5 (07:42):
She does not know there a whole different show.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
She keeps her skirt on and her shirt on. So
there you go.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I'm always curious about when you are in a show
and you begin to realize that you're in a hit.
Was there a moment Sky and Emma for both of
you thought Wow, this show is going to be a
little little bit more than I bargained for.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
First preview, people were screaming, and I was like, wait,
what they actually like this because I just don't know,
like you just have no idea, like you could be
creating something and it could not be for everyone. And
I think we knew after first preview that we had
something special. Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
You know, Sky and I have very interesting, like completely
different perspectives when it comes to when we joined the show.
This guy's been doing the show for longer than longer
than our director has been a part of it. So
Guy's been in it and seeing so many different versions
of it, and I've had the privilege of being on
the tail end of it. I just joined in the
fall of last year, and I will never forget being
a part of that workshop and hearing that music and
(08:43):
hearing those words and thinking, oh, wow, this is something
like I personally had a feeling then before we even
got into rehearsals and got into the theater. But I
think adding I think i'd have to also echo Sky,
like adding all of the tech and stuff made it
just that much more amazing.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
So you both originated your roles in this show. Have
you've been in shows where you've replaced an actor and
how is that experience different?
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Yeah, I mean I've replaced Will Rolling in Deervin Hanson,
and I was the first male of color in that show,
so it was so different, you know, and having to
step into a role. I had never seen Deervan Hanson
at that time because I was working on a TV show.
So when I auditioned, I just showed up as me,
and I guess Tera Ruben must have seen something in
me that could have been a Jared Climb in and
so I stepped into like a mega hit. At that time.
(09:38):
Didn't know that Deervon Hansen was a mega hit. I
was just like, oh cool, this kid's arm is broken
and I'm gonna make fun of him. So like, I
just didn't know, but it was it was tough to
step into someone else's shoes. I don't know if I'd
ever do it again. It was pretty pretty tough. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Wow, and Emma, you went into Chicago. I think you
played Roxy. If I'm not mistaken, right, I.
Speaker 6 (09:56):
Was gonna say, yeah, I have also had the privilege
of stepping into other people shoes. But I think the difference,
the big difference with Chicago is Chicago is like this
machine made for people to step in. You know. The
writing is so excellent and can handle all different types
of people from all different walks of life as well
as walks of the theater. I mean, I made my
(10:17):
Broadway debut in that show, and so did Pamela Anderson
right before me. Like, it just has so much space
to hold different types of people. And I was very
grateful to have the chance to step into that role
because I remember seeing it when I was young and
being absolutely blown away by the choreography, by the story,
and to be a part of something so timeless like
(10:38):
that was really cool. And then after I actually got
to join the company in the ensemble and understudy Roxy
in the fall of that year. So that is a
show that I do enjoy coming in and out of
because it's something that you can like beautifully age with.
I've seen, you know, you've got so many icons who's
made it, Like Robin Herder is an excellent example. She
(10:59):
was in the ensemble when she started in that show,
and now she's playing Belle Mkelly. It's just something that
you can kind of grow with, which is super cool.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
It was a contest the search for Roxy Heart. That
was yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
Yeah, that was twenty nineteen, and I had the chance
to meet and ranking through that before she passed away.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Yeah yeah, and it was amazing.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
We wort the material together. It was fabulous.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I saw Melanie Griffith in it years ago when she
was married. She was with Antonio Banderas and he was
in a revival of nine and I remember I called
I called up my good friend Barry Weisler, you know,
friends of Chicago, And I called Barry and I said,
how's Melanie Griffith. He said, well, she can't sing and
she can't dance, but she's absolutely brilliant as Rocky.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Who can't sing or can't dance. She really was.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
She was terrific.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
She was so amazing, so cool.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Hey, we got to wrap it up here, folks. But
I want to ask you a sky before you run.
Where are you from and what made you fall in
love with the theater.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I had a girlfriend who walked
into an acting class and my only way of being
with her in a class was joining the theater troupe.
And then I stayed there forever.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Where is right now?
Speaker 3 (12:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (12:19):
And you, Emma, I'm from Mississippi. And when I moved
to a new town in the ninth grade, they had
a theater like situation in their high school. And I thought, well,
you know, I've listened to a couple of theater tracks
in my life. My mom and dad brought home The
Wicked CD, the Hairspray CD, the Rent CD, and like
the early two thousands, and so I was like, let
(12:41):
me give it a try. And I remember auditioning for
The Jitterbug and the way the choreographer explained the dancing
as storytelling. I was like completely enthralled. I was like
a snake under a spell with a little like flute.
I was like, wait, this is everything to me.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
All right. The show was The Outsider that the Bernard B.
Jacobs Theater won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Great choreography,
by the way, terrific choreography. It's got some really hard
edged stuff there too, some violence, but some beauty as well.
So all right, check it out, The Outsiders, the Tony
Award winning Broadway musical. It's been a pleasure talking to
Sky Lakota Lyn she plays Johnny Cage Johnny Kate, I
(13:20):
should say. And Emma Pittman, she plays Cherry Valance.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
They're from the opposite sides of the tracks.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
But what's great about this musical is that at the
end of the day, people from opposite worlds do begin,
I think at the end of the play to appreciate
each other and respect each other, which is I think.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
What we could use a little bore in this world.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
Well said, absolutely, all right, Michael. Since last we've spoken,
we've lost some beloved theater Broadway actors. James Earl Jones
passed away, and we've just recently learned that Gavin Kreole
has passed away.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, you know, listen, James, Jimmy. Jimmy was a great guy, great,
great actor.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I saw him in so many shows.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I saw him in Fences in nineteen eighty six. He
won the Tony Award for that, just a monumental performance.
And when I was a kid in college in the eighties,
I saw him in a Fellow with a Christopher Plumber
and I think he was nominated or may have won
a Tony Award.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I can't remember, but just a.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Great actor and the loveliest guy on the planet. I
would go backstage when he was in the revival of
the Kaufman and Heart play You Can't Take It with You,
and he played the patriarch of the family, and I
would just go backstage because I was pretty close to
Elizabeth Ashley, who was in the play, and I just
go backstage just to say hello to them. And I'd
sit with Liz and Jimmy in their dressing rooms and
(14:40):
the two of them would swap war stories about being
in this show and this director who was a jerk,
and this writer who was terrific, and they had so
many fun, fun stories.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
He was a great guy.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
He died at I think early nineties. Yeah, that's the.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Natural course of things.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
The really one that hit Broadway heart was Gavin Kreele
I just at forty eight years old.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
He was diagnosed with.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
A rare form of cancer just two months ago and
he's gone now. And Gavin was great. I mean, I
remember him when he was in Thoroughly Modern Milly, he
was in the revival of Hair. Really good looking guy,
incredibly charming, great singer, great dancer, great actor.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
I'm glad I was able to see him on stage.
I interviewed him and he was absolutely lovely. And everyone
that I know who knew him seems to be really
suffering his loss. That he was just this all around
beautiful person.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
No, it was a total shock.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
And you just think how much more, how many more shows,
more TV shows, movies, Broadway shows that Gavin had ahead
of him. So anyway, well we say goodbye to James
Earl Jones, a great actor and Gavin Crele a great
musical theater actor and just an all around good guy.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
Yeah. So do you have plans to see anything? Is
there anything coming up for you? Michael going too.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I'm sort of decompressing from my hurricane ex experience.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Yeah, you had quite the experience I did.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yes, I was stranded there in Ashville with no water,
no power for about five days.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
But we got out. We're okay.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
We fared better than Sadly, a lot of people there, Christine,
in our on hundred and sixty people have died and
some people are still missing. And yeah, there's still no water,
no power in Ashville. So I'm thinking about the friends
of mine I met in the neighborhood who looked after us,
who had cookouts for us. Wow, who had food for us,
had water for us. So I just hope that they're all, yeah,
(16:29):
faring well. So once I settled back into the routine
here in New York, I'll tell you this, I am
definitely taking my wife to the opening of Sunset Boulevard
with Nicole Scherzing.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
I saw it in London. Phenomenal. Absolutely, that is going
to be the big show of the fall.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
If you haven't bought your tickets by them now, because
once that show opens, you will not be able to
get into it.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
It is going to be an absolute smash it.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Oh, this is good to know. Also, I'm seeing death
becomes her uh oh yeah, yeah right and the movie right, yes,
so advance word on that. Have you heard anything yet?
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I have not.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
I have not, I have not.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
I'm also looking forward to Elton John's new musical, the
Tammy Faye Baker Musical. Oh right about the old Evangelist,
and I hear that's really quite good. That's coming from London.
Got good reviews in London, and I was I'm not
going to drop a name here, but I was in
touch with Elton, and Elton feels that this is his
best score since Billy Elliott, which is a terrific screen
for the Wonderful.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
I kind of feel like anything he touches is going
to be golden because he's just so good. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
So, so we have high.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Hopes for the Tammy Faye Baker Musical Way John.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
So it sounds like a lot to look forward to
for this.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Seasonally busy, busy, busy season.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
One way, all right, all right, we'll check back in
with you guys next time here on Inside Broadway.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Christine, you take care of yourself, you.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Too, Michael, I see you soon.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I've
iHeartRadio Broadway presents Inside Broadway, the podcast about everything theater.
It's where you hear what happens from the ticket window
to the stage door, with the stars and creative forces
that make it all come alive. Here are your hosts,
wo Rs Michael Riedle and Light FM's Christine Nagy.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Christine, I had the pleasure of going to see the
Tony Award winning Broadway musical The Outsiders a couple of
weeks ago, and I brought with me my good friend
Clive Davis, legendary music mogul, And you know, I thought
the show was terrific. But I can tell you this,
Clive was knocked out by the young cast of the show.
(00:45):
He thought those guys and those women could sing the
hell out of those songs.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
He had the best time.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
And I'm telling you, if Clive Davis likes a show,
you know, that's the show that you have to go see.
It is The Outsiders at the Bernard Jacobs Theater. And
we are joined now by Sky Lakota Lynch. He plays
Johnny Cad in the show. And uh, Sky, I I
just want to spring this on to you. Did you
have any idea that you were performing in front of
Clive Davis, who discovered Whitney Houston.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
No, I did not know that this moment. That's wild.
Speaker 5 (01:21):
Wow, that's fantastic. That's so just a glowing review then
from Michael Reedle and Clive.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Davis, because I think we told you. If we told
you Clive was there, you might have been a little
bit nervous, but I would have cracked.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
A couple of times.
Speaker 5 (01:37):
Probably, But this effor we we're nominated for a Tony Congratulations,
I mean.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
Thank you so much. It was wild. I was not
expecting that to happen because it's such a busy season.
You know, you just don't know where the chips are
going to fall, you know.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
So sky when I was going through the cast list
as I always do in the playbill, so many of
you are making your your Broadway debuts in this music.
I mean, it's you represent a whole new generation of
musical theater kids coming up through the ranks with this show.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
It must be exciting to be there.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Yeah, it feels like it's a renaissance. It feels like
Broadway's finally coming back from the pandemic and the kids
who graduated college during that time are finally getting their
chance at the bat, and I'm just happy to be
there with my comrades and see musical theater changing slowly
and see new faces coming. It's it's an exciting time.
Speaker 5 (02:28):
This is the kind of show too. It just seems
like it has such a huge following builds into it
between the film and social media. I like, you've got
a really strong fan base for this show. So do
you feel do you feel that excitement and very supportive
when you're on stage?
Speaker 4 (02:42):
Oh my gosh. You just never know what a show
is going to do. And I've been with the Outsiders
since the very first workshop, so like seeing it become
this little seed of an idea to being this like
sort of phenomenon for these kids, It's just such a
good feeling and stepping out on that stage and hearing
the audience like have entrance applause for care. It's just
something I never imagined. So I'm just elated. I'm just
(03:04):
so happy that people still love the story after all
these years.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
You know, well, that's it because it's based on based
on a famous book by se Hinton. Now did you
had you read the book when you were a kid,
or did you read it when you got cast in
the show.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
It was the first book I ever finished a completion.
I was a kid with dyslexia, so I could not
read it all. I was in special education, and my
teacher tricked us into reading the book by showing us
the movie first, and of course, like we all made
fun of the movie and were like calling each other
dally or a pony boy. Then we settled into the
plot and like fell in love with it, and we
popcorn read the book and the rest is history. And
(03:41):
I fell in love with the book. And so when
I heard there was a musical, I was like, what, Like,
I got a me in that.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
So tell us about the story then, if we're not familiar,
it's kind of the haves and the have nots, right, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
It's the haves and have nots in Tulsa in nineteen
sixty seven, which was such a dicey time during that time,
especially in Oklahoma, and just pony Boy and his chosen
family and his actual family and navigating life through this
divided line in Tulsa, and how platonic friendship can carry
you through life. I think it's a very unique story
(04:15):
in that way that shares about boys being vulnerable with
their friends, you know, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
You know Essie hitting, Susan Eloise hitting. If I'm not
number saken, She's still alive. Has she seen the show?
Have you met her?
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Yeah? So we actually flew out to Tulsa with our
producer Angelina Jolie, and we got to spend a lot
of time with Susie and we got to see where
pony Boy and Johnny grew up, and we got to
see the east side of Tulsa, and I got to
ask her all kinds of questions like why did you
write Johnny Kaid and why pony Boy? And they were
all based off of real people in her life and
(04:52):
what was going on around her. And she was only
fourteen when she started writing this book, and by the
time it was published, she was sixteen. So it's coming
from the mouth of an action teenager. And it's just
so interesting to see how the female gaze saw these
boys in Tulsa.
Speaker 5 (05:07):
You know, how is the audience responding to it? Do
you think people are finding some hope in these stories?
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah? I mean it's really wild. Like I would say
about ninety five percent of our audience are little girls,
And I kind of really love that because it's like
they see themselves in these characters, because it is through
the female gaze that you get to see these boys
be vulnerable, you know, and I think that's unique in
a way. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Well, I can tell you, Christine, when I was there,
because you know, these very good looking cast I have
to say, and they all take their shirts off and
dance in the rain, and the girls were going absolutely
nuts with when you guys take your shirts off and
dance in the rain, the girls are fainting dead away.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
I can tell you that, s guy.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
I tell well, it hurts to Jason Schmidt, who plays
Soda Pop. He's like one of the most beautiful people
in the world.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
That's true.
Speaker 5 (05:56):
Yeah, what's this I was gonna say, was it like
at the backstage door? Then?
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Oh, they're all while they're there, it's like the Beatles
have landed on Broadlands. It's wild right.
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Okay, Sky, Michael, we have a special guest joining us
jumping in. We're so happy you're here, Emma Pittman, who
plays Cherry in The Outsiders. Emma, so nice to meet you.
Speaker 6 (06:17):
It's so nice to me you. Thank you for having
me today.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
Well, thank you so much for being here. Sky. I
feel like maybe you should be introing Emma. You're going
to know her better than any of us.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Sky, Emma Pittman is the greatest person on earth. Where
both Libra's we are clowns together in this show, we
actually love each other even though we might quote unquote
not like each other on stage. So, yeah, that's Emma Pittman.
She's the best.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, right, Well, Emma plays She plays the girl from
the right side of the tracks, and Sky of course
you're from the wrong side of the tracks. And this
is a music about the have and have nots, and Emma,
when you just joined us, we were laughing and joking
about how all of the teenage girls who see the show,
because these guys take their shirts.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Off in the rain, and they girls are just going
crazy for that.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Are you upstage by all these cute guys with their
shirts off in the rain?
Speaker 6 (07:06):
I think it's just it's a different type of fandom
for me personally, because I know that people who come
to see the show, especially if they've read the book,
they're not necessarily fans of miss Cherry because I think
on the surface, on the page, she can be pretty,
you know, surface level, there's not much to her, but
then when people come to see her, they're like, wait,
(07:26):
you kind of gave Cherry a little you know, this
musical gave Cherry a little something something and I liked that.
So I think the fandom is more towards the character
for me, less about the you know. I mean, Cherry
doesn't really take her shirt off, does she know?
Speaker 5 (07:42):
She does not know there a whole different show.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
She keeps her skirt on and her shirt on. So
there you go.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I'm always curious about when you are in a show
and you begin to realize that you're in a hit.
Was there a moment Sky and Emma for both of
you thought Wow, this show is going to be a
little little bit more than I bargained for.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
First preview, people were screaming, and I was like, wait,
what they actually like this because I just don't know,
like you just have no idea, like you could be
creating something and it could not be for everyone. And
I think we knew after first preview that we had
something special. Yeah, I think that.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
You know, Sky and I have very interesting, like completely
different perspectives when it comes to when we joined the show.
This guy's been doing the show for longer than longer
than our director has been a part of it. So
Guy's been in it and seeing so many different versions
of it, and I've had the privilege of being on
the tail end of it. I just joined in the
fall of last year, and I will never forget being
a part of that workshop and hearing that music and
(08:43):
hearing those words and thinking, oh, wow, this is something
like I personally had a feeling then before we even
got into rehearsals and got into the theater. But I
think adding I think i'd have to also echo Sky,
like adding all of the tech and stuff made it
just that much more amazing.
Speaker 5 (09:05):
So you both originated your roles in this show. Have
you've been in shows where you've replaced an actor and
how is that experience different?
Speaker 4 (09:16):
Yeah, I mean I've replaced Will Rolling in Deervin Hanson,
and I was the first male of color in that show,
so it was so different, you know, and having to
step into a role. I had never seen Deervan Hanson
at that time because I was working on a TV show.
So when I auditioned, I just showed up as me,
and I guess Tera Ruben must have seen something in
me that could have been a Jared Climb in and
so I stepped into like a mega hit. At that time.
(09:38):
Didn't know that Deervon Hansen was a mega hit. I
was just like, oh cool, this kid's arm is broken
and I'm gonna make fun of him. So like, I
just didn't know, but it was it was tough to
step into someone else's shoes. I don't know if I'd
ever do it again. It was pretty pretty tough. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Wow, and Emma, you went into Chicago. I think you
played Roxy. If I'm not mistaken, right, I.
Speaker 6 (09:56):
Was gonna say, yeah, I have also had the privilege
of stepping into other people shoes. But I think the difference,
the big difference with Chicago is Chicago is like this
machine made for people to step in. You know. The
writing is so excellent and can handle all different types
of people from all different walks of life as well
as walks of the theater. I mean, I made my
(10:17):
Broadway debut in that show, and so did Pamela Anderson
right before me. Like, it just has so much space
to hold different types of people. And I was very
grateful to have the chance to step into that role
because I remember seeing it when I was young and
being absolutely blown away by the choreography, by the story,
and to be a part of something so timeless like
(10:38):
that was really cool. And then after I actually got
to join the company in the ensemble and understudy Roxy
in the fall of that year. So that is a
show that I do enjoy coming in and out of
because it's something that you can like beautifully age with.
I've seen, you know, you've got so many icons who's
made it, Like Robin Herder is an excellent example. She
(10:59):
was in the ensemble when she started in that show,
and now she's playing Belle Mkelly. It's just something that
you can kind of grow with, which is super cool.
Speaker 5 (11:07):
It was a contest the search for Roxy Heart. That
was yeah.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
Yeah, that was twenty nineteen, and I had the chance
to meet and ranking through that before she passed away.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Yeah yeah, and it was amazing.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
We wort the material together. It was fabulous.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
I saw Melanie Griffith in it years ago when she
was married. She was with Antonio Banderas and he was
in a revival of nine and I remember I called
I called up my good friend Barry Weisler, you know,
friends of Chicago, And I called Barry and I said,
how's Melanie Griffith. He said, well, she can't sing and
she can't dance, but she's absolutely brilliant as Rocky.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Who can't sing or can't dance. She really was.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
She was terrific.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
She was so amazing, so cool.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Hey, we got to wrap it up here, folks. But
I want to ask you a sky before you run.
Where are you from and what made you fall in
love with the theater.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I had a girlfriend who walked
into an acting class and my only way of being
with her in a class was joining the theater troupe.
And then I stayed there forever.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Where is right now?
Speaker 3 (12:16):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (12:19):
And you, Emma, I'm from Mississippi. And when I moved
to a new town in the ninth grade, they had
a theater like situation in their high school. And I thought, well,
you know, I've listened to a couple of theater tracks
in my life. My mom and dad brought home The
Wicked CD, the Hairspray CD, the Rent CD, and like
the early two thousands, and so I was like, let
(12:41):
me give it a try. And I remember auditioning for
The Jitterbug and the way the choreographer explained the dancing
as storytelling. I was like completely enthralled. I was like
a snake under a spell with a little like flute.
I was like, wait, this is everything to me.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
All right. The show was The Outsider that the Bernard B.
Jacobs Theater won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Great choreography,
by the way, terrific choreography. It's got some really hard
edged stuff there too, some violence, but some beauty as well.
So all right, check it out, The Outsiders, the Tony
Award winning Broadway musical. It's been a pleasure talking to
Sky Lakota Lyn she plays Johnny Cage Johnny Kate, I
(13:20):
should say. And Emma Pittman, she plays Cherry Valance.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
They're from the opposite sides of the tracks.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
But what's great about this musical is that at the
end of the day, people from opposite worlds do begin,
I think at the end of the play to appreciate
each other and respect each other, which is I think.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
What we could use a little bore in this world.
Speaker 5 (13:39):
Well said, absolutely, all right, Michael. Since last we've spoken,
we've lost some beloved theater Broadway actors. James Earl Jones
passed away, and we've just recently learned that Gavin Kreole
has passed away.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, you know, listen, James, Jimmy. Jimmy was a great guy, great,
great actor.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I saw him in so many shows.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
I saw him in Fences in nineteen eighty six. He
won the Tony Award for that, just a monumental performance.
And when I was a kid in college in the eighties,
I saw him in a Fellow with a Christopher Plumber
and I think he was nominated or may have won
a Tony Award.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I can't remember, but just a.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Great actor and the loveliest guy on the planet. I
would go backstage when he was in the revival of
the Kaufman and Heart play You Can't Take It with You,
and he played the patriarch of the family, and I
would just go backstage because I was pretty close to
Elizabeth Ashley, who was in the play, and I just
go backstage just to say hello to them. And I'd
sit with Liz and Jimmy in their dressing rooms and
(14:40):
the two of them would swap war stories about being
in this show and this director who was a jerk,
and this writer who was terrific, and they had so
many fun, fun stories.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
He was a great guy.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
You know.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
He died at I think early nineties. Yeah, that's the.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Natural course of things.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
The really one that hit Broadway heart was Gavin Kreele
I just at forty eight years old.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
He was diagnosed with.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
A rare form of cancer just two months ago and
he's gone now. And Gavin was great. I mean, I
remember him when he was in Thoroughly Modern Milly, he
was in the revival of Hair. Really good looking guy,
incredibly charming, great singer, great dancer, great actor.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
I'm glad I was able to see him on stage.
I interviewed him and he was absolutely lovely. And everyone
that I know who knew him seems to be really
suffering his loss. That he was just this all around
beautiful person.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
No, it was a total shock.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
And you just think how much more, how many more shows,
more TV shows, movies, Broadway shows that Gavin had ahead
of him. So anyway, well we say goodbye to James
Earl Jones, a great actor and Gavin Crele a great
musical theater actor and just an all around good guy.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
Yeah. So do you have plans to see anything? Is
there anything coming up for you? Michael going too.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I'm sort of decompressing from my hurricane ex experience.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Yeah, you had quite the experience I did.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Yes, I was stranded there in Ashville with no water,
no power for about five days.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
But we got out. We're okay.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
We fared better than Sadly, a lot of people there, Christine,
in our on hundred and sixty people have died and
some people are still missing. And yeah, there's still no water,
no power in Ashville. So I'm thinking about the friends
of mine I met in the neighborhood who looked after us,
who had cookouts for us. Wow, who had food for us,
had water for us. So I just hope that they're all, yeah,
(16:29):
faring well. So once I settled back into the routine
here in New York, I'll tell you this, I am
definitely taking my wife to the opening of Sunset Boulevard
with Nicole Scherzing.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (16:41):
I saw it in London. Phenomenal. Absolutely, that is going
to be the big show of the fall.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
If you haven't bought your tickets by them now, because
once that show opens, you will not be able to
get into it.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
It is going to be an absolute smash it.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Oh, this is good to know. Also, I'm seeing death
becomes her uh oh yeah, yeah right and the movie right, yes,
so advance word on that. Have you heard anything yet?
Speaker 3 (17:06):
I have not.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
I have not, I have not.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
I'm also looking forward to Elton John's new musical, the
Tammy Faye Baker Musical. Oh right about the old Evangelist,
and I hear that's really quite good. That's coming from London.
Got good reviews in London, and I was I'm not
going to drop a name here, but I was in
touch with Elton, and Elton feels that this is his
best score since Billy Elliott, which is a terrific screen
for the Wonderful.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
I kind of feel like anything he touches is going
to be golden because he's just so good. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
So, so we have high.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Hopes for the Tammy Faye Baker Musical Way John.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
So it sounds like a lot to look forward to
for this.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Seasonally busy, busy, busy season.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
One way, all right, all right, we'll check back in
with you guys next time here on Inside Broadway.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Christine, you take care of yourself, you.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
Too, Michael, I see you soon.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I've
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