The Playbill Podcast: A Show on Broadway

Cats: The Jellicle Ball with Junior LaBeija, Bill Rauch, and Zhailon Levingston

"Was there ever a Cat(s) so clever?" That is what people are saying about Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the outstanding revival based on the award-winning and long-running musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber, itself based on TS Elliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.  This reimagining has breathed extravagant new life into the work by setting Cats in an entirely different context: the legendary Ballroom scene, filled with runways, house mothers, and inspired runway choreography. The production began its life at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in 2024 under the ideation and direction of Artistic Director Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston. It was brought to Broadway this season to immediate fanfare, earning a whopping 9 Tony Award nominations and three Tony Award victories, including Best Direction, which went to both Rauch and Levingston. In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's COO and SVP) talks to a theatre friend who’s seen the show and suggests it for those who ask them, "What should they see on Broadway?” And then he brings on his special guests, the Tony Award-winning directors of the show, Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston, as well as Junior LaBeija, an icon of the Ballroom scene. Junior was the emcee in the famous Paris is Burning documentary, and currently plays Gus in this production.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Lost Boys with Patrick Wilson, James Carpinello, and Marcus Chait

If you’ve ever moved to a new town, you know how much of a pain it is. For the Emerson family in the 1980’s, they feel that in a major way as they move to Santa Carla, California. Their biggest obstacles, it turns out? The vampires who reside there.  If this sounds familiar to you, then you remember the 1980’s classic Joel Schumacher movie with the same title, The Lost Boys. The stage musical adaptation has taken Broadway by storm, with direction by two-time Tony winner Michael Arden and set design by Tony winner Dane Laffrey. The musical stars Shoshana Bean as Lucy Emerson, and her boys, Michael and Sam, are played by LJ Benet and Benjamin Pajak, respectively. They run into trouble thanks to David, a resident bad boy and vampire, played by Ali Louis Bourzgui, and his band of vampires.  This show has earned 12 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. If you want to dive deep into the making of it, the lead producers of the project hosted a three-part series right here on the Playbill Podcast called Time To Kill, so head on back to earlier this year to check those out if you’re interested.  But we wanted to give the show the official Playbill Podcast treatment, so host Alex Birsh (Playbill's COO and SVP) brings on a theatre friend to hear why they believe The Lost Boys is very much worth the price of admission. And then he brings on his special guest: lead producers Patrick Wilson, Marcus Chait, and James Carpinello, and they go into what it’s been like to make so many changes during previews and how much of a thrill it is to see audiences drink up this mega musical of theirs. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Joe Turner's Come and Gone with Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Joshua Boone

Throughout his life, the legendary and groundbreaking playwright August Wilson wrote ten plays chronicling the Black experience, decade by decade, throughout the twentieth century; what has been referred to as The Pittsburgh Cycle. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone takes us to the earliest chapter, 1911, just a few decades removed from the end of slavery, in the middle of the Great Migration, when hundreds of thousands of Black Americans were making their way north. The play unfolds in a Pittsburgh boarding house run by Seth Holly, played by Cedric the Entertainer, who always seems to have a steady stream of wanderers passing through his doors. His wife, Bertha, played by Taraji P. Henson, keeps the household warm, steady, and welcoming. In their world is Bynum Walker, played by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and he’s considered a “conjure man” who speaks in riddles and visions, and of a "shiny man" he once encountered on the road, as this man carries the secret of binding people to their purpose, to “their song” as he says.  And then there's Herald Loomis, played by Joshua Boone. Seven years before the time of the play, Loomis was captured by Joe Turner, who is based on a real historical figure -- a white man in Tennessee connected to the governor who would capture Black men off the roads and force them into years of illegal servitude on his chain gang. By the time Loomis escapes, he has lost everything, including his sense of self. He arrives at the boarding house with his young daughter Zonia, desperate to find his wife Martha. That is the setting of the play, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and everything that follows is truly must-see theater, thanks to the outrageous cast, the direction from Broadway legend Debbie Allen, Costume Design by Paul Tazewell, and Set design by David Gallo. In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill COO and SVP) brings on Tony nominee Joshua Boone and Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who was nominated for his portrayal of Bynum, to discuss their experience in the play and why this show is so meaningful to them. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Chess with Aaron Tveit

How does a simple Chess rivalry become more than just one person against another? How about...when both players are involved in a love triangle? And the two players are American and Russian, with their nations locked in a Cold War? This is the backdrop of the musical CHESS, the epic tale by Sir Tim Rice and two members of ABBA, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. Originally conceived in the early 1980’s as a world-renowned concept album by Rice, Andersson, and Ulvaeus, it had a successful run in London before it was brought to Broadway in the late 80’s. It was changed quite a bit for its American run, and the newer version of the show only made it through 68 performances on Broadway in 1988. So many fans over the years have clamored for this show to get a proper Broadway revival, and we finally got it thanks to a new book by Danny Strong, direction by Michael Mayer, and a remarkable cast at the helm: Lea Michelle as Florence, Aaron Tveit as Freddie, and Nicolas Christopher as Anatoly.  In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's C.O.O. and SVP) brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks them, "what should I see on Broadway?" And then he brings on his special guest, one of the stars of the show, Aaron Tveit, and who talks about the challenges and the joys of bringing this production to fans each night. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Schmigadoon! with Alex Brightman and Sara Chase

Have you ever wished to find yourself IN a musical? That is the fate of boyfriend and girlfriend Josh and Melissa, who get trapped in the town of Schmigadoon, influenced by the Golden Age of musical theatre (and named after the Broadway classic Brigadoon). First performed at The Kennedy Center in 2025, the stage rendition of the streaming series of the same name (on AppleTV+) has just been nominated for a staggering 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. In this episode, host Alex Birsh (Playbill's COO and SVP) brings on a theater friend who suggests the show when someone asks what to see on Broadway. And then Birsh brings on the two stars of the show, Alex Brightman and Sara Chase, the latter of whom earned her first Tony award nomination for the role. The two of them talk about what it's like to take on characters who are stuck in a musical. Get ready to cross that bridge and try some corn puddin', as we head to the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street for Schmigadoon!  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.