Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 602
(upbeat music) - Hello everyone and welcome back into a fantastic new Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. I'm so excited about today's show. We are covering two amazing things in one. This is incredibly exciting. Joining us from the Stage Whisper, creators picked from the Broadway, the Tony Award-winning Broadway show. We have Nico De Jesus, Rachel Manalo, and Oscar Whitney Jr. All of these wonderful artists and performers in the Tony Award-winning musical, "Elle's Kitchen", which is now playing at the Schubert Theater. You can get your tickets and more information by visiting telecharge.com. And they're not just here to talk to us about this amazing show, but also a great event that's going on called Kids Night on Broadway. That's happening Tuesday, August 20th. And you can get tickets for that as well as more information by visiting kidsnightonbroadway.com. We've got a jam-packed episode in store for you. So let's not waste any more time. Let's go ahead and welcome in our guests, Nico, Rachel, Oscar, welcome into Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. - Thank you. - Thank you. - I'm excited to have all of you here. - Thank you for being here. - I mentioned before we started, I love the show. It is obviously a creator's pick on our end. It's so fantastic deserving all of the accolades that it has received. And you're also joining us to talk about this great event, Kids Night on Broadway. So let's start at the beginning of all of this. And Rachel, why don't I start with you? Can you tell us a little bit about your show, "Elle's Kitchen" and what it's about? - Yeah, so "Elle's Kitchen" is the story of a young 17-year-old Allie living in the area of Manhattan, "Elle's Kitchen" in the '90s. And it's a show that really celebrates community and like growing pains and someone coming in to find themselves and finding the community that kind of empowers and lifts her up. - Yes, a thousand times to all of that, all of that. Now, Nico, I wanna ask you, you know, how did you come upon this amazing piece? - I was opening another show called "Angeliet" and at the same time, someone was like, I got invited to be part of the workshop for "Elle's Kitchen" auditioned and I was opening "Angeliet" and in the morning times, I was going over to "Elle's Kitchen" and doing the workshops for that. And it was one of the best times of my life because it was so amazing to go to Broadway and do my show, but what made it even more special was coming and being with like real dancers, like dancers, like everybody in our ensemble, like we are dancers versus foremost and it was cool to be in such a creative space like that. And that is how I came apart of "Elle's Kitchen". - And also during that first workshop, it was also Nico's birthday and I just met Nico and we also celebrate your birthday, that first workshop. - Sure did. - Celebrate my first birthday. - Your first birthday. - And look how far you've come now, you know? - Well, Oscar, I wanna bring you in the conversation now and I wanna build on that thought. You know, what has it been like developing the amazing musical with the brilliant music of "Elle's Kitchen"s? - It's been very rewarding and amazing to say it at least. I joined the process quite late actually. I was, I think I joined the cast like about almost a month into rehearsals, three, four weeks into rehearsals. So like, I jumped on a train that was moving and not stopping and we just kept going, going, going. And it taught me a lot and it's been really cool to see like each creative was like processed from our director, Michael Grive to Camille Brown and the dancers with the choreography and even like Alicia Keys coming in and like telling us how she would like this song to be sung and what part is to sound like this and can we get a little more of this here? It's really wild and super interesting to watch, you know, those great minds work in the show. - That is amazing. I can only imagine how incredible that must have been to work with three of the greatest geniuses in the arts of our time right there. So Nico, I wanna come back to you to kick off, you know, the other thing we're covering, which is "Kids Night on Broadway." Can you tell us a little bit about this, about this program? - Oh, you know, I would love to do that. Yeah, so on August 20th, "Kids Night on Broadway," it's returning back. It's since 1996, "Kids Night on Broadway" has welcomed more than 200,000 kids to the theaters. Bring your kids to the theater. It's such an important thing. I just personally speak on it. I'm from the West Coast, I'm from San Diego. So like Broadway was something that was not introduced to me very much. We got spurts of it when like, those art theater would bring in broad national tours and everything. I had no idea I could have a career in theater unless I went to the theater, you know? So I think it's so important that parents bring their kids to the theater so they can see the magic of what happened inside of the theater. There's so much that goes on to put on a show that just happens to be on what happens on stage, you know? Every, it's such a big thing that I feel like anybody that goes to the theater said that comes to the theater kid, whoever, they'll be able to connect to something. And it's so cool that on August 20th, we get to celebrate that and bring the kids, bring the next generation of theater goers and people get being in theater and partake in all of it. Yeah, so it's really important that you bring your kids to that. - I love it, yes. It is so important that we inspire the next generation of theater makers. And this is a great way to do that. Rachel, coming to you, I would love to know, you know, they're calling it kids then on Broadway, but who exactly qualifies to participate in this and how do they participate? - Yeah, so what's really exciting about kids and Broadway is that it's not just for the kids. It's you, if you're under 18 and you get to go for free if you are accompanied by full-paying adult. And what's beautiful about "Hell's Kitchen" specifically is that I think there's something for everyone in the show, everybody. It's for someone who wants some 90s nostalgia. It's for the youth who are looking to confine themselves. It's for anyone who has any familial relationships or is looking to feel and remember word trees. And it's really overall for anyone and any person, not just the theater enthusiast and not just for like the theater Mavericks. It's really for everybody, which I think is so important this day and age. And especially on "Kids Night" when we're trying to empower the next generation of people who can feel like the theater is accessible. That is so wonderful. Oscar, I'm gonna come there to you now and I wanna turn back to "Hell's Kitchen" and I'm curious to know this great coming-of-age story of a young artist. What is the message or thought you hope that the audience is gonna take away from it? - I think like Rachel was saying, there's something to grab from the story for everyone. And what's unique about this show, I think is that it is a bit of a love story, but it's more so around the mother and the daughter, Allie and her mother, Jersey. And that's, I feel like that's the relationship that I haven't seen often on stage or movies that's been so focused on. So I really hope that maybe there's that. Maybe you really love your parents and you're like, oh my gosh, like I really need to see that or like you're missing your mother. Or if you have a mentor, like Ms. Liza Jane to Allie, her piano teacher, that relationship too is just so, it's so powerful to watch Allie kind of go through these things like even like with, from each relationship between her and her boyfriend, her and her mother, her and her mentor. I really think there's a lot to grab, but I think the overarching thing, like the biggest thing I want people to take from it is finding your voice and your place in a community. She's been, Allie's been kind of rained in by her mother, her overprotective mother. And she's like, I just wanna get out there and do something. And then she finds the piano. And that really puts her on a trajectory to be like, oh my gosh, this is something that I can do, that I can learn, that I love doing. And I have someone who loves doing it with me. And like, yeah, I think finding your voice and being a part of a community and knowing that like, you can do the things that you put your mind to. I think that's a pretty important message to grab from the story. - That is a fantastic idea, I love it. Rachel, I'm gonna come to you to start this next set of questions. And the first part I wanna ask to you is, who are you hoping to have access to Hell's Kitchen? - I really think I would love to see young people of color coming to the theater. I remember when we were off Broadway at the public and we had a student matinee full of young, vibrant energy in the house. And I think it's been my favorite performance to this day because they are, they use our brutally honest and they're brutally like open to receiving and to have this like energy exchange in the house. And the story is so important there. You can see how the people on stage reflect them in the house and yeah, we just need more, more young folk in the house. And I think this story is really a springboard into like reflecting on yourself, especially as a young person. I love that idea. And in fact, that is a great jumping off point to my final question, which I'm actually gonna send your way, Nico, because you mentioned something about how you grew up on the West Coast, you grew up in San Diego and your introduction to Broadway was like the touring shows and that. And this program that we're also talking about, this kid's not on Broadway. I mean, it's done by the Broadway League. It's something that's, it's a nationwide initiative and it's designed to introduce new generation of theater goers. Research has shown that 63.5% of Broadway audiences have reported that they attend a theater as a child, which helped them establish a long, or an early lifelong love of the arts. So with all of that, with your experience in mind, who are you hoping have access to kids night on Broadway? Or me? - Well, Mr. Whisper. (laughing) No, I, who do I hope has access? I hope that I just, I, honestly, I just hope that there is a little kid out there that has, that has no idea about the arts. And all they just need is a little glimpse of something. They just need, they just, they, I, if there's something special about walking into a theater, sitting down, looking through the playbill, seeing someone that looks like you and then seeing someone that looks like you in the show, knowing that, oh, hey, this person, this person kind of grew up where I'm from. Whoa, that's, that's pretty amazing. And then being able to put yourself on that stage. So I just think that it's the person who, I just want that little kid who has, who doesn't have access to have access. No matter where they are in the country, it's so important that they're able to see that. Just like it's so important that they're able to play soccer, a little kid is able to soccer. Go to gymnastics, go, go to karate, go do whatever. I think it's important that they're able to go and have some taste of the arts as well. (upbeat music) For the second part of our interview, we love to give our listeners a chance to get to our guests a little bit better. Pull the curtain back, if you will. And yeah, I just want to jump straight to my favorite question to ask guests. And I'm really excited to hear all of yours. And that, of course, is what is your favorite theater memory? I think it might have been stage-doring Cynthia Rivo after watching The Color Purple, which is crazy because now we've met her. She's come to Hell's Kitchen and I, you know, I got to see their gorgeousness in person. But I think young me to meet eyes with someone who is an absolute legend and masterclass and to see them with the facade of the stage and then to see to stage them and be like, "You're a person." Oh my gosh, as a little theater nerd, that was a great memory of mine. Yeah, I didn't get theater until later in my life. And I didn't get Wicked. Like, I didn't get it. I was like, cool. Like, I don't know. Like, I don't know why people, like, I cool. And then I watched it probably like less than five years ago. And then I was like, okay, I get it. So like, that was a big theater thing for me, just 'cause everyone's like, wicked. And then this song, blah, blah, blah. And they would quote songs like, cool. And then I finally watched it. And then I was like, okay. Do you want to be a flying monkey? I did. I wanted to be a flying monkey. Oh, I didn't see it until later in life. So there you go. - Nice. - I love those. So far, those are two amazing memories. Absolutely. Oscar, what is your favorite theater memory? - You know, I'm over here shuffling between, 'cause there's, I have so many. But I think, I think the, my favorite theater memory, was the first, well, technically the second time that I watched "The Lion King" on Broadway. The second time, it was similar, similar thing. Like I watched it the first time when I was probably like 11 or 12, 'cause they were touring to Denver where I'm from. And we were in the mezzanine and I didn't really, I was like, I was missing, you know, the stuff that happens in the aisle. I was like, I ain't gonna spoil it for nobody. But it had the top of the show. And the second time I seen it, I was 17. And it was like a theater, my high school theater trip to New York. And we were sat on "In The Orchestra" and "Lion King" was like one of my favorite movies of all time, that in Jurassic Park. And we were sat there and the show starts, you know, the sun's coming up. Rafiki is singing and all the animals start coming to life. And I felt like I was transported to like, to the African Savannah. And I was like, whoa, what the heck? And the music is tingling and everyone's just so, like Julie Tay Moore's brilliant. And I just remember watching that whole time by the end of it, I cried. And he's literally on my watch symbol in "The Lion King" because that was a dream role of mine. That was a dream realized, right there. I was like, I gotta do this, I gotta do this. - That is an amazing memory. All of you, thank you so much for sharing those incredible memories. Well, as we wrap things up, I would love to know, if our listeners would like more information about "Hell's Kitchen" or "Kids Night" on Broadway, or any of you, maybe they'd like to reach out to you. How can they do so? - You can follow us on social media, "Hell's Kitchen" in Broadway, or "Beway", I think it's "Hell's Kitchen", "Beway". If you wanted to talk to any of us individually, you could probably hit our personal socials. I'm on Instagram as Oscar Whitney Jr. all over case. - Yeah, and also, if you want more info on "Kids Night" on Broadway, it's on August 20th. And the website is kidsnightonBroadway.com. You should come through, come through and see the show. - Yeah, come in and come in the shoot with the ear. That's funny. You could find me there. I love you. (laughing) Hey, Ran. - Perfect. Well, Rachel, Nico, Oscar, thank you all so much for taking the time to speak with us. It has truly been an honor. Thank you for all the hard work you're doing in your incredible show. And thanks for talking to us about this incredible event happening. So, appreciate all of your time. - Thank you, Ms. Porter. - Thank you for having us. - Thank you. - My guests today have been three amazing, amazing performers. Nico de Jesus, Rachel Manalo and Oscar Whitney Jr. All three of them are part of the Tony Award-winning musical "Hell's Kitchen" which is playing now at the Schubert Theater. You can get your tickets and more information by visiting telecharge.com. And they also joined us to talk about this great event from the Broadway League, Kids Night on Broadway. That's happening Tuesday, August 20th. And you can get tickets and more information about that by visiting kidsnightonbroadway.com. We also have some contact information for our guests which we'll be posting in our episode description as well as on our social media posts. But I think they said at best, come through, get your tickets, get them while you can. I mean, they keep selling out like nobody's business. But you need to get your tickets, check out this Stage Whisper Creators pick, "Hell's Kitchen." And if you're 18 or under or you've know someone 18 or under, get those tickets for the 19 participating shows on Broadway for Kids Night on Broadway on Tuesday, August 20th. And we want to add for our American listeners that election day is November 5th. Make sure you are registered to vote. You have a plan to get out and vote and you do your democratic duty. You can find out how and where you can register to vote by visiting vote.gov. The future demands that we fight for it now. So until next time, I'm Andrew Cortez, reminding you to turn off your cell phones, unwrap your candies. And keep talking about the theater. In a stage whisper. Thank you. (upbeat music) If you like what you hear, please leave a five star review, like and subscribe. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at Stage Whisper Pod. And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at stagewhisperpod@gmail.com. And be sure to check out our website for all things Stage Whisper and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets, and more. Simply visit stagewhisperpod.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazar and Billy Murray. You can also become a patron of our show by logging on to patreon.com/stagewhisperpod. There you will find all the information about our backstage pass as well as our tip jar. Thank you so much for your generosity. We could not do this show without you. (upbeat music) ♪ Take care anywhere near your town ♪ ♪ Break me down ♪