I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes

Joel Blum's I Wanna Be Like You!

Joel Blum is a 2 time Tony Award nominated actor with multiple Broadway, Off Broadway and National Tour credits! He received his Tony Award nominations for his performances as Frank in the 1994 Revival of Show Boat (directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Susan Stroman) and Buddy in Kander & Ebb’s Steel Pier respectively! Some of his earlier credits include being a part of the original ensemble of 42nd Street on Broadway and Debbie Reynolds’ Vegas act! In 2000, he starred as Marcellus in a Broadway revival of The Music Man alongside Craig Bierko, Eric McCormack, and Robert Sean Leonard! We get to talking about his parents’ history in vaudeville, working with Robert Morse & Elaine Stritch on Show Boat and the numerous lessons he’s learned over the course of his multi-decade long career!

Ken Jennings' I Wanna Be Like You!

Ken Jennings is a Broadway star best known for originating the role of Tobias in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! His other Broadway credits include the original Broadway casts of Grand Hotel, Side Show, and Urinetown (originating the role of Hot Blades Harry)! Disney Parks fans will know him as a hologram in the short lived EPCOT attraction The Astuter Computer Revue! His one man show The Gospel of John which he performed off Broadway was nominated for the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Performance and he continues to tour the show across the country!

Jack O'Brien’s I Wanna Be Like You!

Jack O’Brien is a theater legend whose work spans genres and across the globe. He’s directed classic Shakespearean plays (incuding Henry IV, MacBeth starring Ethan Hawke and more on Broadway), original Tom Stoppard epics (The Coast of Utopia, The Invention of Love and more on Broadway) and some of the greatest musical comedies of the contemporary era (Hairspray, Shucked and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)! Having directed more than 50 Broadway productions and 4 Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award he received in 2024), Jack has become one of the most prolific directors to ever work onstage. His work in the regional theater has not gone unnoticed either, having served as the Artistic Director of The Old Globe for 25 years overseeing the world premieres of Sondheim & Lapine’s Into the Woods, and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson! Now, he’s making his acting debut alongside Lisa Kudrow in the final season of the HBO comedy The Comeback! We get to talking all about that, his podcast with screenwriter Alan Fox, Notes With Jack, and his upcoming projects! A very special episode - Jack O’Brien’s I Wanna Be Like You!

Stephanie Klemons' I Wanna Be Like You!

Stephanie Klemons is currently the Associate Choreographer for Hamilton (Broadway, National Tours and UK) as well as Heathers Off Broadway. She also appeared in the original Broadway casts of Hamilton, In The Heights (for which she also served as the Dance Captain) and If/Then! As a choreographer she worked on Rock & Roll Man, In the Heights (Kennedy Center), and numerous commercials and music videos. We get to talking about what it was like being in the room where it happened helping create the movement of Hamilton and In the Heights, working with Andy Blankenbuehler, the extent of an Associate Choreographer's job---- especially on a long running, international Broadway hit and much more!

Grace Yurchuk's I Wanna Be Like You

Grace Yurchuk is a singer/songwriter and musical theater composer, and a 2024 graduate of NYU Steinhardt (B.M., Classical Vocal Performance). She is best known for Caesar: The Musical, as well as her self-produced theater-pop songs like “30 Seconds” and “Mixed Messages.” Grace built her audience for Caesar by sharing each draft for the show online as it was written, as well as other peeks into her creative process. She funded the show’s studio cast EP through a Kickstarter campaign which was selected as a Kickstarter “Project We Love,” ultimately surpassing its goal and raising over $36,000. In addition to her work as a composer, she runs a private songwriting studio, mentoring artists as they develop and release original music. Across all of her projects, she is driven by a commitment to storytelling and bringing original work to life. Instagram: @graceyurchuk, TikTok: @itsthegraceplace