Nik Walker is an actor, cinephile, theme park nerd and collector of talented frenemies. Currently leading the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud (after 3 years as Aaron Burr in the Broadway and touring companies of Hamilton), he’s also been seen in Motown the Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher, on TV in Law and Order SVU, and regionally at La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe and The Denver Center, to name a few. A playwright, he is the co-writer of Company One’s ARTiculation, and the creator of The Bloody Boston Trilogy. He is cohost of the talk show The Chaos Twins, hosted by BroadwayWorld, and his movie podcast, Little Justice, is streaming with the Broadway Podcast Network. @nikkywalks
EPISODE 196- LENA HALL
Lena Hall is an American actress, singer and songwriter best known for her work on Broadway originating the role of Nicola in Kinky Boots, and her Tony Award-winning performance as Yitzhak in the 2014 revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which also earned her a Grammy nomination for the musical's official album. She made history by becoming the first person to play both Hedwig and Yitzhak in the same production during the national tour of the musical in 2016. Her other Broadway credits include Cats, 42nd Street, Dracula, the Musical and Tarzan, the Musical.
Hall has also starred in Off-Broadway productions such as Radiant Baby, Bedbugs!!!, Rooms: A Rock Romance, The Toxic Avenger, Prometheus Bound, Chix6, and the 2017 original play How to Transcend a Happy Marriage. Hall has appeared in films such as Sex and the City (2008), The Graduates (2008), Born from the Foot (2009), The Big Gay Musical (2009), and Becks (2017), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She has also appeared on TV shows like ABC's All My Children, HBO's Girls, Amazon Prime's Good Girls Revolt, and voiced the role of Countess Coloratura on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. In 2020, she will star on TNT's science fiction epic Snowpiercer.
Hall was the lead singer of the band The Deafening, they released an album with original songs in 2012 titled Central Booking. In 2015, Hall released her first solo album, Sin & Salvation: Live At the Carlyle.
EPISODE 195- TAYLOR TRENSCH
Taylor Trensch was most recently seen in To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway almost directly after taking over the title role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. Other credits include the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, in which he played Barnaby Tucker. Other Broadway credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Matilda and Wicked. He also was featured in the off-Broadway productions of Bare and Rent and on the first national tour of Spring Awakening. He's been seen in world premieres at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Dallas Theater Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Barrington Stage. On screen, he's been seen in Nickelodeon’s Nella the Princess Knight.
Photo of Taylor - James Emmerman Photographer
EPISODE 194- NOAH GALVIN
Noah Galvin - Film: Booksmart (Dir Olivia Wilde), Assassination Nation (Dir Sam Levinson). TV: "The Real O'Neals" (ABC). Broadway: Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen. Off-Broadway: MCC, NYTW, Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Vineyard, Signature, Barrow Street, Rattlestick, and more. Regional: Huntington, Bay Street Theatre, Goodspeed, and more. Tours: Les Miserables (3rd National). Audiobooks: "Perks of Being a Wallflower", "What if it's Us", and others. 2019 Audie Award Nominee.
EPISODE 193- REBECCA NAOMI JONES
REBECCA NAOMI JONES is an American actress and singer best known for her performances in the Broadway rock musicals Passing Strange, American Idiot, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Jones was born in New York City, New York, to a musician father. Her mother is Jewish and her father is African-American.[1] Jones performed in the children's chorus of the Metropolitan Opera as a youth and graduated from the Berkeley Carroll School in 1999. "I did theatre all throughout middle school and high school and was really into it, the same with singing," she said.[2] Jones received her BFA in drama from the North Carolina School of the Arts, and appeared in the national tours of Rent and Caroline, or Change.
In 2007 Jones made her Off-Broadway debut in Passing Strange, which transferred to Broadway on February 28, 2008. She created the role of Whatsername in the Green Day rock opera American Idiot, which opened on Broadway on April 20, 2010.[1] Paper magazine said of Jones, "She's carved out a nice niche for herself as the girl to call when there's a cooler-than-thou musical in town."[3]
In 2012 Jones played the Narrator in Manhattan Theatre Club's Off-Broadway musical Murder Ballad, for which she received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress. Jones returned for the show's engagement at the Union Square Theatre, which ran from May 22, 2013, to July 21, 2013.[4] Later that summer, Jones appeared in a new musical adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost at Central Park's Delacorte Theater.
On June 2, 2014, Jones received a Lilly Award, a prize designed to honor women in the theater.[5]
On April 14, 2015, Jones replaced Lena Hall as Yitzhak in the Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Jones played the role through the production's end on September 13.
In 2017 she starred as Vanessa in Significant Other on Broadway.
In 2018 Jones starred as Laurey Williams in Daniel Fish's production of Oklahoma! at St Ann's Warehouse. The production transferred to Broadway at The Circle In The Square Theatre in March 2019.
EPISODE 192- ERIKA HENNINGSEN
Erika most recently starred as Cady in Mean Girls on broadway. She has also been seen as Fantine in the recent Broadway revival of Les Miserables, Kim Ravenal in PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center: Show Boat and Beth in Signature Theatre’s world premiere of Kathleen Marshall/Sheryl Crow’ musical, Diner. She was featured opposite Tyne Daly in York Theatre Company’s staging of Jerry Herman’s Dear World and has also starred as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Sophie in Mamma Mia! at PCLO. She is the recipient of Alan Eisenberg Actors’ Equity Award and graduate of University of Michigan BFA Musical Theater.
EPISODE 190- WAYNE BRADY
Multiple Emmy award-winning and Grammy Award- nominated Wayne Brady has made his mark on stage and screen as an actor, singer, dancer, improviser, songwriter and television personality.
In December 2019, Brady was named the winner of season two of “The Masked Singer,” arguably the biggest performance competition show in the world. His musical artistry won over the judges and audiences all across the country. On the heels of his win, Brady dropped a brand-new original single, entitled “Flirtin’ w/ Forever,” which quickly climbed the streaming charts, as well as an accompanying music video.
Long an accomplished singer and performer, Brady’s debut album was released in September 2008, with his version of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" earning him a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance category.
Brady is known across America as host of the iconic CBS game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” which has earned him two Daytime Emmy Awards – Outstanding Game Show Host and Outstanding Original Song. His previous foray into daytime television, “The Wayne Brady Show,” earned him two consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show Host. Brady was also nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards – winning one – for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for his stellar work on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
In 2004, Brady teamed up with Dave Chappelle in the now classic “Chappelle’s Show” sketch spoofing the film, “Training Day.” The clip became legend and is constantly quoted and listed as one of the top sketches in the history of that show.
Brady’s additional television credits include a recent role on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” which earned him yet another Daytime Emmy Award nomination. He also recurred on the 2018 USA Network series, “Colony,” 2016’s SyFy series, “Aftermath,” and on the CBS comedy series, “How I Met Your Mother.” Guest appearances include roles on “Key and Peele,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” and “30 Rock.” Wayne can soon be seen on ABC’s “Mixed-ish,” CBS’s “The Neighborhood” and has a major recurring arc on CW’s “Black Lightning.”
On stage, Brady made his Broadway debut starring as ‘Billy Flynn’ in the long-running hit musical, “Chicago.” In November 2015, Brady starred as ‘Lola’ in “Kinky Boots,” Broadway’s Tony Award- winning Best Musical, with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein. His interpretation of the lead role was so popular, he was asked to return for a limited run in spring 2016. In January 2017, Brady assumed the lead role of ‘Aaron Burr’ in the Chicago production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award- winning “Hamilton” for three months. In Fall 2019, he reteamed with Miranda, making several appearances in the improvisational hip-hop spectacular, “Freestyle Love Supreme.”
Wayne Brady currently resides in Los Angeles.
EPISODE 188- GEORGE SALAZAR RETURNS
George Salazar is best known for originating the role of "Michael Mell" in Be More Chill (coming to the Signature off-Broadway this summer) and for his Drama Desk-nominated performance in off-Broadway's The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. Most recently he starred in the Pasadena Playhouse production of Little Shop of Horrors. He was previously seen off-Broadway in Keen Company's Drama Desk-nominated revival of tick, tick... BOOM! and in David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's hit off-Broadway immersive musical, Here Lies Love. George made his Broadway debut singing "Light of the World" in the 2011 Revival of Godspell and toured with the second national company of Spring Awakening prior to that. Regional credits include the world premiere of Joe Iconis and Joe Tracz's Be More Chill, the world premiere of Joe Iconis, Lance Rubin, and Jason "SweetTooth" Williams' Broadway Bounty Hunter, the world premiere of Raging Skillet, and "Chip Tolentino" in ...Putnam County Spelling Bee. He was also a cast member of the 10th Annual CBS Diversity Showcase in Los Angeles.
George's TV credits include CBS' BULL, HBO's DIVORCE, & appearances on CBS' LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, ABC'S THE VIEW, OWN'S THE ROSIE SHOW, and the 2012 TONY AWARDS telecast. He appears on various recordings including GEORGE SALAZAR AND JOE ICONIS: TWO-PLAYER GAME (Ghostlight), BE MORE CHILL (Ghostlight), THE LIGHTNING THIEF (Broadway Records), GODSPELL (Sh-K-Boom), BROOKLYN CRUSH (Broadway Records) and MOMENT BY MOMENT.
For more information, follow him on Instagram and Twitter @georgesalazar or visit his website at www.thegeorgesalazar.com
EPISODE 187- THE SHOW MUST GO ON...EXCEPT WHEN IT CAN'T
On March 12th 2020 Broadway shows and performances all over the United States came to an immediate halt but the voices of all the artists are going strong while waiting for shows to re- open or mourning the shows that will not be able to come back.
Listen to Ilana and her friends Joe Iconis, Kristin Chenoweth, Judy Kuhn, Beth Malone, Kathryn Gallagher and Jonathan Marc Sherman tell their tales of shows ending abruptly and what that means to them and the community at large.
EPISODE 186- ELIZABETH STANLEY
Elizabeth Stanley is a Drama Desk Award nominee, and widely recognized stage and screen actress.
She can currently be seen starring as Mary Jane Healy in Jagged Little Pill featuring the beloved music of Alanis Morissette, a book by Diablo Cody, orchestrations by Tom Kitt, and directed by Diane Paulus. Stanley originated the role in its World Premiere at Harvard’s American Repertory Theater. In the show’s Broadway bow, Variety said that she portrayed Mary Jane with “with infinite compassion in a stunning performance.”
She originated the roles of Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet and Allison in Cry-Baby. Additional Broadway credits include the revival of On the Town (Drama Desk Nomination) and the Tony Award-Winning revival of Company. She also appeared in the First National Tours of The Bridges of Madison County and Xanadu.
On television, Stanley can be seen in “NOS4A2” (upcoming), “FBI,” “The Get Down”, “The Affair,” “Black Box,” “Made in Jersey,” “Fringe,” “The Chappelle Show,” and “PBS Great Performances – Company.”
She resides in New York.
Photo Credit- Jenny Anderson
EPISODE 185- JOHN SLATTERY RETURNS
John Slattery is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama series Mad Men. He has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations and two Critics' Choice Television Awards for AMC's series Mad Men. He was also part of the Mad Men ensemble cast that won two SAG Awards. In 2013, Slattery directed his first feature film, God's Pocket, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. He is currently on the HBO series Veep. Apart from his role on Mad Men, Slattery is also known for roles on Homefront; the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon; the HBO series K Street; guest appearances on Will & Grace; Judging Amy; Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Other films include Mona Lisa Smile, Flags of our Fathers, Charlie Wilson's War and The Adjustment Bureau. In 2015, Slattery portrayed journalist Ben Bradlee Jr. in the Academy Award winning film Spotlight, and also appeared in the Netflix comedy series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, for which he earned a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series.
EPISODE 184- ZACHARY QUINTO
Zachary Quinto hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Carnegie Mellon where he received a BFA in Acting.
In 2007 he was cast as Sylar on the hit NBC series Heroes. That same year, he was cast as Spock in the JJ Abrams directed reboot of the Star Trek franchise. He starred in the first season of American Horror Story in 2011, and won a Critic’s Choice Award and Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal on American Horror Story: Asylum.
Quinto appeared in the 2010 Signature revival of Tony Kushner’s Angels In America, for which he won a Theater World Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination. He made his Broadway debut in the 2013 Tony Award winning production of the Glass Menagerie. He was also seen in MCC’s production of Noah Haidle's Smokefall and in the Joe Mantello directed revival of The Boys in the Band.
Quinto began his production company Before the Door Pictures in 2008 and produced such films as Margin Call, All Is Lost, A Most Violent Year, and Aardvark. Quinto hosts the unscripted show In Search Of on the History Channel, and is currently starring in the AMC series NOS4A2.