I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes

Maulik Pancholy's I Wanna Be Like You!

Maulik Pancholy is currently starring as Reverend Howard Layton/The Leprechaun in Schmigadoon on Broadway! Onscreen he's best known as the voice of Baljeet in the Disney Channel sensation Phineas and Ferb and Sanjay in Sanjay and Craig on Nickelodeon. He's also well known as Jack Donaughy's assistant Jonathan on the hit NBC comedy 30 Rock! His former Broadway credits include It's Only A Play and Grand Horizons! Coming up, he'll be starring alongside Paul Giamatti, Julianne Moore, Bernadette Peters and more in Jesse Eisenberg's new untitled movie musical from A24. His new novel Will They, Won't They? will be released in January 2027 but right now you can catch him eight times a week at the Nederlander Theater in the musical tied for the most Tony Award nominations of the season, Schmigadoon!

Beowulf Boritt's I Wanna Be Like You!

Beowulf Boritt is a 2 time Tony Award winning scenic designer! His charity The 1/52 Project which focuses on amplifying marginalized designers has won the 2026 Tony Award Honor For Excellence In Theatre! Some of his work on Broadway includes Act One, New York, New York, On The Town, A Bronx Tale, Flying Over Sunset, The Scottsboro Boys, Sunday in the Park with George (2017), Prince Of Broadway and many more! His book Transforming Space Over Time released in 2022 and features a detailed look to the scenic design process as well as featuring interviews with legendary theater directors including Hal Prince, Susan Stroman, James Lapine, Jerry Zaks and Kenny Leon! Upcoming, he’ll be scenic designing the new musical Wanted and The Imaginary Invalid both transferring to Broadway this fall!!

Susan Stroman's I Wanna Be Like You!

FIFTH DREAM GUEST! Susan Stroman is a 5 time Tony Award winning Broadway director and choreographer! Her most iconic work includes directing and choreographing The Producers (working alongside Mel Brooks), Contact (for which she won multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical), the 2000 Broadway revival of The Music Man, Bullets Over Broadway (alongside Woody Allen), New York, New York and many more! As a choreographer, she's responsible for the original choreography of the smash hit Crazy For You, the 1994 revival of Show Boat, Oklahoma starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Trevor Nunn, Liza at Radio City Music Hall, and Steel Pier to name a few! Her work on screen includes directing and choreographing the film adaptation of The Producers as well as choreographing numbers in Curb Your Enthusiasm! Upcoming, she'll be at the helm of the new Ahrens and Flaherty musical Little Dancer which will open in the West End in 2027 with many more projects in development! We get to talking about the biggest things she learned from Hal Prince , what she looks for in new work, why she's made a pointed effort to only work on new works and much more.

Lisa Lampanelli's I Wanna Be Like You!

Two-time Grammy Award nominee Lisa Lampanelli was known for more than 30 years as “Comedy’s Lovable Queen of Mean.” A constant on the comedy scene, with countless tours, 13 NBC “Tonight Show” appearances, and sold-out performances at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall under her belt, she became well-known for her roasting skills, publicly lambasting everyone from David Hasselhoff to Flavor Flav to Pamela Anderson on Comedy Central. In 2016, Lisa decided to do something a little different. She wrote “Stuffed,” a four-person play about food and body-image issues, which enjoyed two off-Broadway runs! Her charitable efforts -- she raised $130,000 for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis during season 5 of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” and won $50,000 for the same organization on Fox’s “Celebrity Weakest Link” – are among her proudest achievements. She is currently serving as Associate Producer of “The People Versus Lenny Bruce," which has begun performances Off Broadway at Theatre Row now until June 28th!

Stephen Kramer Glickman's I Wanna Be Like You!

Stephen Kramer Glickman is most well known for the beloved role Gustavo Rocque on the hit Nickelodeon series which created the boy band of the same name, Big Time Rush, a band and TV show Elbi was absolutely obsessed with growing up! His theater history is also vast having originated the role of Shrek in the pre Broadway developmental workshops of the musical rendition for YEARS as well as helping develop the role of Frankenstein's Monster along with Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman for Young Frankenstein! His voice can be heard as Pigeon Toady alongside Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston and Andy Sandberg in the animated film Storks! He also has a long time history as a stand up comedian having came up with Gilbert Godfrey and Dave Chapelle to name a few! Most recently, he reunited with the Big Time Rush guys to join them on their international tour, In Real Life where he toured multiple continents performing some of his hit renditions of songs like Crazy, Bad Guy and Pink Pony Club! We get to talking all about his theater history, his stand up career and of course all things Gutavo Rocque and BIG TIME RUSH!