August 15, 2024 • 14 mins
Michael Riedel and Christine Nagy chatted with Sophie Carmen-Jones, who is starring in the Broadway production of MOULIN ROUGE! She talks about her journey from London's West End to Broadway. MOULIN ROUGE! is playing at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 nage.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well Christine Moulin Rouge. Big hit on Broadway, Hard to Believe.
It's celebrated its fifth anniversary last month.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I was there for the opening night.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It was a exciting show, terrific show, still going gangbusters
on Broadway. And one of the stars is Sophie Carmen Jones.
She plays Nani.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
She started this part in London, and you will, possibly
if you listen closely, detect an English accent when we
say hello to Sophie Carmen Jones. Hello, Sophie, how are you?
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Hello?
Speaker 5 (00:56):
I'm good?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Was Broadway something that you always wanted to do when
you were growing up in England or was mainly the
you know, the West End was where your sites were set.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Gosh, to be honest, I don't think I dared to
dream as far as Broadway. It just seems like such
an attainable goal. You know, Broadway is huge.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
It's it's the pinnacle.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
So I don't think I ever dared to so to
be here now it does feel like I've won the lottery.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
And such a special time too, because of Move On
Rues celebrating their fifth anniversary here on Broadway, and as
Michael said, we saw it and we loved it. This
is the kind of show that people are lining up
to see, So that's got to feel so good for
you up on stage.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Oh, it's incredible. Yeah, it's a huge achievement to have
been running for five years on Broadway. You know, it's
hard to keep a show open here and their audiences
are packed out every night. It does feel amazing. Like
sometimes Susi on weekends, it feels like I'm in a
rock concert. It's mad. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
And you've got original cast members. Aaron Tobay is with you,
and JoJo's in the show right now, right for a
limited time, right, And.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Ricky Rojas is in the show at the moment of Santiago.
He's the original. And there's actually a couple more Aaron Finley,
Caitlyn Mesh, Jackie Arnold. Yeah, there's a couple of originals
still sticking around or people will leaves to other things
and come back. It's yeah, it's a show that people
just love to come back to.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, well, you know, don't stick around forever. I remember
years ago Cameron McIntosh went to see Lenz robl on
Broadway and there are a lot of people who have
been in the original production and it was maybe ten
years later and Cameron thought, oh wow, these people are
too long in the tooth and he fired them all.
It was a controversy on Broadway back. No, yes, he did,
he did that.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
We came.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
He said, these people have been sticking around the show
too long and they're all out. And then they you know,
there was a big fight with actors equity and it's
quite the drama back in the day.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
So you know, gotta know what know when to move
on to the next show.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, you were cast in the London production and you've
got to get my I got to get my chronology
right here. Did Mulan Rouge begin in Australia and then
go to London and then New York?
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Is that how it went Broadway?
Speaker 6 (03:07):
Is the original?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I think they did out of town in Boston, right,
that's right, and then brought it to Broadway, so that, yeah,
is that's the original original and then the plan was,
I think, to do Australia, but because of COVID restrictions,
we actually ended up opening before Australia, I think, even
though it was meant to be Australia than Us within
like a month of each other, I think. So I
(03:30):
think we were actually the second company to open, and
I was going to be up in twenty.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
Twenty twenty one.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I think it was the original London company and we
had we had to shut down a few times because
of COVID stuff, but we got there in the end,
right right.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
How do you find the energy different from West End
as compared to Broadway or is it different in any way?
Speaker 4 (03:54):
It is different? Actually, yes, it feels it feels a
bit freer on Broadway, and I think this is because
it's the original company, so it doesn't feel as set
in stone, whereas doing it in London. There were certain
movements that were very precise because it was like we
were sort of copying it from the Broadway company, whereas
people are given a bit more license on Broadway I think.
(04:15):
But the show does still feel like super fun and
free in London it's just some things are a bit
more set. But audience wise, I think the audiences are
a bit more crazy in London. I think people like
to drink a lot. In London, it's a you know,
very much feels like a party show because of the
pop music and stuff. So we get some rowdy audiences
(04:37):
on the weekends, whereas I feel like on Broadway a
bit more respectful. Should I say that, I don't know,
but less shouting out, less crazy audiences and just enjoying
and watching the show rather than getting drunk enjoying and
watching the show.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You know, those theater people in London.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
When I used to go to London when I was
covering Broadway for the New York Post, I go to
London a couple times a year, and I'd always meet
with some of the big Broadway West End producers and
theater owners. And you would have these boozy lunches at
the Garrett Club that went on for three and a
half hours. I could barely move. I would have to
go back to the Covent Garden hotel and sleep for
(05:20):
two hours before that, and these guys went back to work.
I never understood how they did. It was amazing. The
company that British Theater lunch, the.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Wine at lunch. If I have a wine with my lunch,
I'm out for the afternoon. Exacting how to do it?
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Yeah, what is your routine like, especially on a day
where you have two shows? You how do you keep
your energy going?
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Well? Yeah, it's it is a lot. But I suppose
the gear is a little nap in between shows. I
think most people do that, a little power down, get
a little twenty minute nap and you have some food,
have a coffee and then awhere you go again.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
And do you drink before you go on stage?
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Boose always yeah and away.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I gotta tell you remember the wonderful old actor Richard Griffiths.
He was in he was Uncle Vernon in the Harry
Potter movies, and he was a good friend. He was
in his he was in the History Boys, and when
he came to New York with the History Boys, which
was a big hit back then. I would often meet
him at this restaurant across the street from the theater.
(06:23):
Angus mcindo is no longer there sadly, and Richard would
always have he would say, I'm going to have a
cup of coffee and I'm going to have some brandy
in my coffee, and he would say to the bartender,
he would say, now the brandy is going into the coffee,
so it cannot be expensive brandy. I want the cheapest
(06:45):
brandy you have because it is going into the coffee.
And then he would drink that and he always told
me it took the edge off before he went on stage.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Old school, old school.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Oh yeah, hey, why not.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
EXPI that's right, that's right. So, Sophie, what advice do
you have for somebody who would love to follow in
your footsteps working on West End shows and on Broadway.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The brandy in the coffee.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Besides the brandy in the coffee, that's the obvious.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
That sounds like great advice.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
And coffee, yeah, water combo.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Oh gosh, it's hard.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I suppose this will make sure you really want to
do it, because it is very hard and there's ups
and down contently, So you have to really want to
do it. And if you realize you don't and it's
just a hobby, that's totally fine. But if it's you know,
if it's in your bones and if it's in your
soul and you really have to do it. Then keep
stay determined, keep persevering, and keep working on yourself, always
(07:46):
keep growing, and also you know, try to stay happy
and finding the joy in it. Like, don't lose the
love and start to resent it, because remember why.
Speaker 5 (07:58):
You do it.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
If it is what you really really want to do,
then yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Keep loving before you run. So before you run? Were
you did you grow up?
Speaker 5 (08:06):
Grow up?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Grow up in London? Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
In England?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And actually from Wales?
Speaker 4 (08:11):
I grew up in Swansea, you know where that is?
The South Wales?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I do, I do?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
I love?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
And you grew up as a little kid who loved
musical who loved musical theater, to be honest, not.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Musical so much. It was I just loved dancing and
I loved acting separately. It wasn't really until like a
bit later that I realized first of all, that you
could actually do it as a job and get paid
and marry it all together.
Speaker 6 (08:38):
And it's musical theater.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I didn't really yeah I know that until a bit
later down the line. But at first it was just
a love of dancing and singing.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
See, you're going to stay in New York? Are you?
Are you finding that this is your home.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Oh gosh, I don't know. I do miss home so much.
Speaker 6 (08:54):
I love London and all my people there, but I'm
loving New York right now as well, and it feels excited.
And you know, I love working with new people, collaborating
and meeting new people as exciting. So so who knows,
Let's see what.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
The future brings, all right, Sophie Carmen Jones, she is
the star of Moulin Rouge now when it's fifth year
on Broadway.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Nice talking to you, Sophie. Thanks a lot, lovely to
meet you all.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Thank you, Sophie.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
The cheap brandy, the cheap brandy in the coffee, not
the expensive brandy, the cheap brands.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
That's right, Bye bye bye.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
It was so great to talk with Sophie Carmen Jones.
And don't forget to catch Mulan Rouge the Musical. It's
fifth anniversary. You can get tickets at Mulan Rougemusical dot
com now playing at the Al Hirstfield Theater. What do
we have to look forward to? What's what's the latest
Broadway news?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Well, I actually I was going to tell you a
little story. So I'm working on a on a book
and one of the chapters is lakajo Full. So I
was talking to Harvey Firestein yesterday because he wrote the
the script to lakajo Full, the Jerry Herman musical from
nineteen eighty three, and Arthur Lawrence directed it. Jerry Herman
(10:08):
wrote the score. And Harvey was just a kid. He
was thirty one years old, just coming off the success
of Torch Song Trilogy, and he'd never been on Broadway
before in his life. I mean, he was an off
Broadway LaMaMa.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Experimental theater guy.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
And they hired Harvey to write this Broadway musical with
Jerry Herman and Arthur Lawrence, and he said, and he
was so excited. And they were going out of town
to Boston the Colonial Theater to preview with there before
they came to New York. And he got up to Boston,
he went to the Copley Plaza hotel and he went
to Jerry's room, and Jerry had this gorgeous suite, two
(10:43):
floors with this grand piano in the center of the room,
right with a spiral staircase that took you up to
the bedrooms. And Harvey was like, oh my god, these
Broadway people, they know how to live and then he
went to Arthur's room in the Copley Plaza Hotel, and
Arthur had a four bedroom suite with this huge bar,
(11:04):
and he thought, oh.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
My god, I've arrived. This is tremendous. I can't wait
to see my room.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
He had a tiny room on the second floor, overlooking
the alley. And it was Jerry and Arthur's way of saying,
where are the stars of this show? Kid, you're the
newcomer on the block. You get the small room overlooking
the alley.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
You're gonna have to work your way up.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
That's right. I thought that was very, very very typical.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Of a very telling Yes, exactly right.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So yeah, so what are we looking forward to coming up?
I'm kind of curious about the Tammy Faye Baker music. Yeah,
music by Elton John in the book by my friend
James Graham, who wrote to several good plays, including a
terrific play called Ink about Rupert Murdoch that I saw
several years ago. So a Tammy Fay, I mean, an
interesting subject for a musical. I don't know what do
you make of that?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
It seems like it would lend itself because everything seems
to work as a musical because Anybody was a fascinating
life story. I love that Michael Servius has been added
to the CASTI he's one of my favorite Broadway.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Aft He's not playing Tammy Fay though, not that I
know of.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
I'm checking. I'm checking. No, it doesn't look like it
he's playing.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
He's playing Jim Baker. I think Tammy Fay's.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Husband would make more sense, right, I remember.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
That scandal back in those days where you are you
old enough to remember.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
The whole gym ball a? Yeah, I know, I remember
a lot of Miss Scara. That was a big deal.
They would talk about Tammy face, Miss Scarra. Somebody just
played her on television. Jessica Chastaine. Jessica Chastain, didn't she?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yes, that's right when in a word, they had the
big TV show, huge, I mean, had millions of viewers
and followers. And then remember it turned out he was
having an affair with the secretary and he was in
bezzling money from their entire network.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
So the whole thing fell apart. He went to jail,
and then she.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Strangely as a and she was a fundamentalist Christian, but
she became a gay rights activist after all that.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Oh so her story is really interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
No, it is.
Speaker 5 (12:59):
There's a famous there's a big journey there.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Well, Elton.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
I was talking to Alton John not too long ago,
and he told me, he said, the reason I was
interested in this is that she and Baker they were
Christian fundamentalists, which meant, you know, they certainly were not
in favor of gay marriage, and they were not in
favor of homosexuality at all. But she had this guy
on the show who had AIDS, he was dying of AIDS,
and she embraced him on television, and she became this
(13:24):
Christian fundamentalist who accepted gay people who were dying of AIDS.
And it became a big cultural moment in the country,
and gay people went from hating them to loving her
because she in this one moment, she changed everything by
embracing this man who was dying of AIDS at a
time when people didn't want to touch people who win.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Its so interesting story.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
It's going to be so that begins previews October nineteenth.
And then I was hearing a lot about Stranger things,
the First Shadow, which has been playing on the West End.
They said to sold out crowds, because I love I'm
such a big fan of the show. So that's going
to be coming to Broadway. We don't get that until
the spring. But that like predates what we see in
Stranger Things on television. This is going back to like
(14:05):
the fifties rather than the eighties.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
You know, I must confess I am not familiar with
Stranger Things. I've never seen the it's a TV show, right, Yeah,
I love.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
It so much. I'll fill you in on it so
we can go see the show together, all right.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Absolutely, Okay, so lots to look forward to.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Definitely, we'll see it for us. Yeah, I think that's
it for us, So we'll see you next time I'm
inside Broadway.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Bye bye,
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 nage.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well Christine Moulin Rouge. Big hit on Broadway, Hard to Believe.
It's celebrated its fifth anniversary last month.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I was there for the opening night.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It was a exciting show, terrific show, still going gangbusters
on Broadway. And one of the stars is Sophie Carmen Jones.
She plays Nani.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
She started this part in London, and you will, possibly
if you listen closely, detect an English accent when we
say hello to Sophie Carmen Jones. Hello, Sophie, how are you?
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Hello?
Speaker 5 (00:56):
I'm good?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Was Broadway something that you always wanted to do when
you were growing up in England or was mainly the
you know, the West End was where your sites were set.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Gosh, to be honest, I don't think I dared to
dream as far as Broadway. It just seems like such
an attainable goal. You know, Broadway is huge.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
It's it's the pinnacle.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
So I don't think I ever dared to so to
be here now it does feel like I've won the lottery.
Speaker 5 (01:22):
And such a special time too, because of Move On
Rues celebrating their fifth anniversary here on Broadway, and as
Michael said, we saw it and we loved it. This
is the kind of show that people are lining up
to see, So that's got to feel so good for
you up on stage.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Oh, it's incredible. Yeah, it's a huge achievement to have
been running for five years on Broadway. You know, it's
hard to keep a show open here and their audiences
are packed out every night. It does feel amazing. Like
sometimes Susi on weekends, it feels like I'm in a
rock concert. It's mad. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 5 (01:57):
And you've got original cast members. Aaron Tobay is with you,
and JoJo's in the show right now, right for a
limited time, right, And.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Ricky Rojas is in the show at the moment of Santiago.
He's the original. And there's actually a couple more Aaron Finley,
Caitlyn Mesh, Jackie Arnold. Yeah, there's a couple of originals
still sticking around or people will leaves to other things
and come back. It's yeah, it's a show that people
just love to come back to.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, well, you know, don't stick around forever. I remember
years ago Cameron McIntosh went to see Lenz robl on
Broadway and there are a lot of people who have
been in the original production and it was maybe ten
years later and Cameron thought, oh wow, these people are
too long in the tooth and he fired them all.
It was a controversy on Broadway back. No, yes, he did,
he did that.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
We came.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
He said, these people have been sticking around the show
too long and they're all out. And then they you know,
there was a big fight with actors equity and it's
quite the drama back in the day.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
So you know, gotta know what know when to move
on to the next show.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yeah, you were cast in the London production and you've
got to get my I got to get my chronology
right here. Did Mulan Rouge begin in Australia and then
go to London and then New York?
Speaker 5 (03:06):
Is that how it went Broadway?
Speaker 6 (03:07):
Is the original?
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I think they did out of town in Boston, right,
that's right, and then brought it to Broadway, so that, yeah,
is that's the original original and then the plan was,
I think, to do Australia, but because of COVID restrictions,
we actually ended up opening before Australia, I think, even
though it was meant to be Australia than Us within
like a month of each other, I think. So I
(03:30):
think we were actually the second company to open, and
I was going to be up in twenty.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
Twenty twenty one.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I think it was the original London company and we
had we had to shut down a few times because
of COVID stuff, but we got there in the end,
right right.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
How do you find the energy different from West End
as compared to Broadway or is it different in any way?
Speaker 4 (03:54):
It is different? Actually, yes, it feels it feels a
bit freer on Broadway, and I think this is because
it's the original company, so it doesn't feel as set
in stone, whereas doing it in London. There were certain
movements that were very precise because it was like we
were sort of copying it from the Broadway company, whereas
people are given a bit more license on Broadway I think.
(04:15):
But the show does still feel like super fun and
free in London it's just some things are a bit
more set. But audience wise, I think the audiences are
a bit more crazy in London. I think people like
to drink a lot. In London, it's a you know,
very much feels like a party show because of the
pop music and stuff. So we get some rowdy audiences
(04:37):
on the weekends, whereas I feel like on Broadway a
bit more respectful. Should I say that, I don't know,
but less shouting out, less crazy audiences and just enjoying
and watching the show rather than getting drunk enjoying and
watching the show.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You know, those theater people in London.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
When I used to go to London when I was
covering Broadway for the New York Post, I go to
London a couple times a year, and I'd always meet
with some of the big Broadway West End producers and
theater owners. And you would have these boozy lunches at
the Garrett Club that went on for three and a
half hours. I could barely move. I would have to
go back to the Covent Garden hotel and sleep for
(05:20):
two hours before that, and these guys went back to work.
I never understood how they did. It was amazing. The
company that British Theater lunch, the.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Wine at lunch. If I have a wine with my lunch,
I'm out for the afternoon. Exacting how to do it?
Speaker 5 (05:36):
Yeah, what is your routine like, especially on a day
where you have two shows? You how do you keep
your energy going?
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Well? Yeah, it's it is a lot. But I suppose
the gear is a little nap in between shows. I
think most people do that, a little power down, get
a little twenty minute nap and you have some food,
have a coffee and then awhere you go again.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
And do you drink before you go on stage?
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Boose always yeah and away.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
I gotta tell you remember the wonderful old actor Richard Griffiths.
He was in he was Uncle Vernon in the Harry
Potter movies, and he was a good friend. He was
in his he was in the History Boys, and when
he came to New York with the History Boys, which
was a big hit back then. I would often meet
him at this restaurant across the street from the theater.
(06:23):
Angus mcindo is no longer there sadly, and Richard would
always have he would say, I'm going to have a
cup of coffee and I'm going to have some brandy
in my coffee, and he would say to the bartender,
he would say, now the brandy is going into the coffee,
so it cannot be expensive brandy. I want the cheapest
(06:45):
brandy you have because it is going into the coffee.
And then he would drink that and he always told
me it took the edge off before he went on stage.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Old school, old school.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Oh yeah, hey, why not.
Speaker 5 (07:00):
EXPI that's right, that's right. So, Sophie, what advice do
you have for somebody who would love to follow in
your footsteps working on West End shows and on Broadway.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
The brandy in the coffee.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
Besides the brandy in the coffee, that's the obvious.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
That sounds like great advice.
Speaker 6 (07:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
And coffee, yeah, water combo.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Oh gosh, it's hard.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I suppose this will make sure you really want to
do it, because it is very hard and there's ups
and down contently, So you have to really want to
do it. And if you realize you don't and it's
just a hobby, that's totally fine. But if it's you know,
if it's in your bones and if it's in your
soul and you really have to do it. Then keep
stay determined, keep persevering, and keep working on yourself, always
(07:46):
keep growing, and also you know, try to stay happy
and finding the joy in it. Like, don't lose the
love and start to resent it, because remember why.
Speaker 5 (07:58):
You do it.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
If it is what you really really want to do,
then yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Keep loving before you run. So before you run? Were
you did you grow up?
Speaker 5 (08:06):
Grow up?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Grow up in London? Where are you from?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
In England?
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And actually from Wales?
Speaker 4 (08:11):
I grew up in Swansea, you know where that is?
The South Wales?
Speaker 3 (08:16):
I do, I do?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
I love?
Speaker 2 (08:19):
And you grew up as a little kid who loved
musical who loved musical theater, to be honest, not.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Musical so much. It was I just loved dancing and
I loved acting separately. It wasn't really until like a
bit later that I realized first of all, that you
could actually do it as a job and get paid
and marry it all together.
Speaker 6 (08:38):
And it's musical theater.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
I didn't really yeah I know that until a bit
later down the line. But at first it was just
a love of dancing and singing.
Speaker 5 (08:47):
See, you're going to stay in New York? Are you?
Are you finding that this is your home.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Oh gosh, I don't know. I do miss home so much.
Speaker 6 (08:54):
I love London and all my people there, but I'm
loving New York right now as well, and it feels excited.
And you know, I love working with new people, collaborating
and meeting new people as exciting. So so who knows,
Let's see what.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
The future brings, all right, Sophie Carmen Jones, she is
the star of Moulin Rouge now when it's fifth year
on Broadway.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Nice talking to you, Sophie. Thanks a lot, lovely to
meet you all.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Thank you, Sophie.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
The cheap brandy, the cheap brandy in the coffee, not
the expensive brandy, the cheap brands.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
That's right, Bye bye bye.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
It was so great to talk with Sophie Carmen Jones.
And don't forget to catch Mulan Rouge the Musical. It's
fifth anniversary. You can get tickets at Mulan Rougemusical dot
com now playing at the Al Hirstfield Theater. What do
we have to look forward to? What's what's the latest
Broadway news?
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Well, I actually I was going to tell you a
little story. So I'm working on a on a book
and one of the chapters is lakajo Full. So I
was talking to Harvey Firestein yesterday because he wrote the
the script to lakajo Full, the Jerry Herman musical from
nineteen eighty three, and Arthur Lawrence directed it. Jerry Herman
(10:08):
wrote the score. And Harvey was just a kid. He
was thirty one years old, just coming off the success
of Torch Song Trilogy, and he'd never been on Broadway
before in his life. I mean, he was an off
Broadway LaMaMa.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Experimental theater guy.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
And they hired Harvey to write this Broadway musical with
Jerry Herman and Arthur Lawrence, and he said, and he
was so excited. And they were going out of town
to Boston the Colonial Theater to preview with there before
they came to New York. And he got up to Boston,
he went to the Copley Plaza hotel and he went
to Jerry's room, and Jerry had this gorgeous suite, two
(10:43):
floors with this grand piano in the center of the room,
right with a spiral staircase that took you up to
the bedrooms. And Harvey was like, oh my god, these
Broadway people, they know how to live and then he
went to Arthur's room in the Copley Plaza Hotel, and
Arthur had a four bedroom suite with this huge bar,
(11:04):
and he thought, oh.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
My god, I've arrived. This is tremendous. I can't wait
to see my room.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
He had a tiny room on the second floor, overlooking
the alley. And it was Jerry and Arthur's way of saying,
where are the stars of this show? Kid, you're the
newcomer on the block. You get the small room overlooking
the alley.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
You're gonna have to work your way up.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
That's right. I thought that was very, very very typical.
Speaker 5 (11:29):
Of a very telling Yes, exactly right.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
So yeah, so what are we looking forward to coming up?
I'm kind of curious about the Tammy Faye Baker music. Yeah,
music by Elton John in the book by my friend
James Graham, who wrote to several good plays, including a
terrific play called Ink about Rupert Murdoch that I saw
several years ago. So a Tammy Fay, I mean, an
interesting subject for a musical. I don't know what do
you make of that?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
It seems like it would lend itself because everything seems
to work as a musical because Anybody was a fascinating
life story. I love that Michael Servius has been added
to the CASTI he's one of my favorite Broadway.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
Aft He's not playing Tammy Fay though, not that I
know of.
Speaker 5 (12:08):
I'm checking. I'm checking. No, it doesn't look like it
he's playing.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
He's playing Jim Baker. I think Tammy Fay's.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
Husband would make more sense, right, I remember.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
That scandal back in those days where you are you
old enough to remember.
Speaker 5 (12:19):
The whole gym ball a? Yeah, I know, I remember
a lot of Miss Scara. That was a big deal.
They would talk about Tammy face, Miss Scarra. Somebody just
played her on television. Jessica Chastaine. Jessica Chastain, didn't she?
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yes, that's right when in a word, they had the
big TV show, huge, I mean, had millions of viewers
and followers. And then remember it turned out he was
having an affair with the secretary and he was in
bezzling money from their entire network.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
So the whole thing fell apart. He went to jail,
and then she.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Strangely as a and she was a fundamentalist Christian, but
she became a gay rights activist after all that.
Speaker 5 (12:56):
Oh so her story is really interesting.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
No, it is.
Speaker 5 (12:59):
There's a famous there's a big journey there.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Well, Elton.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
I was talking to Alton John not too long ago,
and he told me, he said, the reason I was
interested in this is that she and Baker they were
Christian fundamentalists, which meant, you know, they certainly were not
in favor of gay marriage, and they were not in
favor of homosexuality at all. But she had this guy
on the show who had AIDS, he was dying of AIDS,
and she embraced him on television, and she became this
(13:24):
Christian fundamentalist who accepted gay people who were dying of AIDS.
And it became a big cultural moment in the country,
and gay people went from hating them to loving her
because she in this one moment, she changed everything by
embracing this man who was dying of AIDS at a
time when people didn't want to touch people who win.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Its so interesting story.
Speaker 5 (13:43):
It's going to be so that begins previews October nineteenth.
And then I was hearing a lot about Stranger things,
the First Shadow, which has been playing on the West End.
They said to sold out crowds, because I love I'm
such a big fan of the show. So that's going
to be coming to Broadway. We don't get that until
the spring. But that like predates what we see in
Stranger Things on television. This is going back to like
(14:05):
the fifties rather than the eighties.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
You know, I must confess I am not familiar with
Stranger Things. I've never seen the it's a TV show, right, Yeah,
I love.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
It so much. I'll fill you in on it so
we can go see the show together, all right.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
Absolutely, Okay, so lots to look forward to.
Speaker 5 (14:19):
Definitely, we'll see it for us. Yeah, I think that's
it for us, So we'll see you next time I'm
inside Broadway.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Bye bye,
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!