The Theater Enthusiast Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode we are joined by the delightful Jordan Tyson!  Jordan is currently starring as June in the Broadway revival of Gypsy with Audra McDonald and made her Broadway debut as Young Allie in The Notebook.  Her other theater credits include Lempicka at La Jolla Playhouse, Into the Woods at PCLO, Bulrusher at McCarter/Berkeley Rep and Streets of New York at Irish Repertory.

We speak with Jordan about her career, the importance of self care while working, making her Broadway debut, working with Audra McDonald and much more!

This episode we are joined by actor Brandon Kalm!  Brandon was last seen in Swept Away and has also appeared on Broadway in Waitress and American Psycho. Other credits include The Tempest at Shakespeare in the Park and on tour with American Idiot. Brandon is a fellow Pace alum and also studied at the Esper Studio.  We talk with Brandon about his career, especially working as an understudy and swing, his experience working on Swept Away, beard maintenance, our mutual love of Once the musical and much more!

This episode we are joined by Lucille Lortel Award winning director, Annie Tippe!  Annie is known for her directing work with Dave Malloy's Octet, Ghost Quartet, Cowboy Bob, and most recently Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares and Dave Malloy's Three Houses (currently playing at Signature Theatre until June 16th!).  Annie has also directed short films such as Help Me Mary and Egg Timer.  We talk with Annie about how she got her start, her directing style, what it's like working on new works and much more!

This episode we are joined by two time Obie Award winner, Brenda Wehle!  Brenda is currently starring in Mary Jane at MTC and has a long career not only in theater but tv and film as well.  We talk with Brenda about Mary Jane, her experience with the show and what she hopes the audience takes away from it.  We also talk to her about some of her career highlights, the importance of theater etiquette and much more!

Don't miss seeing Brenda in Mary Jane at MTC until June 30th!

This episode we are joined by actress Michelle Ray!  Michelle is just got back from touring the country in the national tour of Book of Mormon and is making her director debut at 54 Below with the new musical Masked.  Michelle graduated from Pace University with a degree in Arts and Entertainment Business Management/ Directing.  We talk with Michelle about her career, survival jobs and how important it was for her to get her degree in Arts and Entertainment Business Management and how it has helped in her career as a performer.  

This episode we are joined by Isra Elsalihie!  Isra is an award winning Iraqi-Swedish actor and writer.  She also teaches acting at Second City in NYC!  We talk with her about her journey to coming to NY, the importance of knowing what you need for an Artist Visa, what got her into writing, her teaching style and much more! 

We had a great time talking with Isra and can't wait to have her back on!  To learn more about Isra, visit her website at https://israelsalihie.com/ and follow her on social media at @isra.elsalihie. 

This episode we are joined by actor Matt DeAngelis!  Matt is known for his roles in Waitress, American Idiot, Once, Hair and most recently Swept Away.  We talk with Matt about his career but more importantly we speak with him about his upcoming gala The Janice Jam: Broadway for Breast Cancer.  

THE JANICE JAM: BROADWAY FOR BREAST CANCER is an annual event from Matt who lost his mother, Janice, in 2022 to metastatic breast cancer.  To honor her and the countless people affected by this disease, he, alongside a group of friends and Broadway industry colleagues, is culling another evening of Celebration, Remembrance, and Awareness, that will have guests singing, dancing, and helping bring funding to this very special cause. This event serves as an annual celebration of Janice, her love for theater, and raising money for the millions of people affected by breast and other types of cancer.

This annual concert will benefit Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), and will take place at Haswell Green’s (240 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019) on Monday, May 13th, 2024 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 6pm). This year’s event invites guests to one of the most power-packed and exciting benefit concert events of the year, with 100% of net proceeds funding metastatic breast cancer research grants through BCRF, the largest private funder of breast cancer research worldwide

 Make sure to check out Matt's social media @mattdeangelis22 for tickets!

This episode we are so happy to welcome back Gabra Zackman!  Gabra is an award winning audio book narrator, actor, director, author and teacher.  We talk with Gabra about the work of audio book narration, her classical theater training, and much more!

This episode we are joined by producer, director, writer and actor Craig Newman!  Craig is based in LA and we talk about what brought him to LA, his experience teaching acting, him writing, directing and producing content and much more!  Craig also has a production company called Craig & Co and can be checked out here: https://www.craigandco.co/.  He also has a film premiering April 12th and 13th in NY.  Follow Craig on social media at @cvnema for more info!

Happy to welcome Maestra Music’s Kat Sherrell and Kathleen Wrinn as our next guests. Kat and Kathleen are Program Heads with Maestra Music with Kat being Program Head of Regional and Affinity Groups and Kathleen being the Directory Manager. We talk with them about their careers, working with Maestra Music, its importance in the theater community and about Maestra’s upcoming concert: Maestra Music’s AMPLIFY 2024!