”We’re All Connected” Raymond Bokhour on The Glorious Death of Comrade What’s-His-Name

Raymond Bokhour is the lyric writer of "The Glorious Death of Comrade What's-His-Name" (comradewhatshisname.com)and performer onstage, tv, and in film. We have an excellent conversation regarding his life, career path, and ways-of-being. This conversation takes many twists and turns that I think make for a wonderful chat! I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did having it! Enjoy! 

”Listen To Each Other” Susanna Wolk On Directing Waitress

Susanna Wolk (IG:@susannawolk) is a New York based director originally hailing from Los Angeles, CA. Her work as a director has been seen at 54 Below, Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York Fringe Festival, Access Theatre, the PIT, Dixon Place, Theatre Row, The Flea, Club OBERON, 13th St. Repertory Theater, A.R.T.’s Loeb Mainstage, and more. This fall, she will direct the Second National Tour of the hit musical Waitress. As an Associate or Assistant Director, she has worked on the Broadway productions of Choir Boy, Lobby Hero, Waitress, Significant Other, and Finding Neverland. She is a Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow and has assistant directed productions at Second Stage, MTC, Atlantic Theater Company, A.R.T., Williamstown, the Geffen, and more. Susanna graduated in 2014 from Harvard University where she studied English and Dramatic Arts. 

”Life Isn’t That Serious” Diana DeGarmo on staying true to herself

Singer, songwriter, and actress from stage to screen, Diana DeGarmo (IG:@dianadyoung) has conquered it all and then some. This Southern belle always cooks up something special in blending together her country roots and love for fun and the dramatics. Her newest big band country feast for the ears, GEMINI, will have your toes tappin’, hearts racin’, and eyes wellin’ with 16 new tunes written by Diana and longtime pal, Dylan Glatthorn.
Diana’s powerhouse vocals shot her to fame on American Idol and opened doors to her numerous Broadway shows, National & International Tours, a recurring role on The Young & The Restless, and much more. Diana has decades of entertainment experience that make her a force to be reckoned with no matter where she performs. Her newest musical creation GEMINI will be released the Spring of ‘19. Don’t let her sweetness fool you, she is power packed with lots of spice.
We have a fantastic conversation on staying true to you and so much more! Enjoy!!

”A Poem Is Never Finished, Only Abandoned” Melissa Errico on Legrand Affair Deluxe Edition and much more!

Melissa (IG: @melissa_errico_fairymom) is best known for her starring roles on Broadway, but her career is characterized by diverse interests in many creative corners of show business. She has had a steady career in television, appeared in feature films, and performed in non-musical roles in Off-Broadway plays by Shaw, Wilde, and others. She has also explored music as both a recording artist and concert singer, releasing several music albums and working with some of the world’s best symphonies and jazz and cabaret spaces. More recently, she established herself as a writer, publishing essays in The New York Times and beyond. As a musical theater actress, she starred in the Broadway musicals Anna Karenina, My Fair Lady, High Society, Dracula, White Christmas, and Amour which won her a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and began a longtime association with its composer Michel Legrand. Melissa was recently honored with a caricature at Sardi’s in celebration of her Broadway starring theatrical performances, her concerts as well as her engaging essays for The New York Times on the actor’s art.
 
Her latest album Sondheim Sublime was released to critical acclaim, with The Wall Street Journal calling it, “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded.” And throughout 2017, 2018, and 2019, Melissa performed successful and extended runs at Feinstein’s/54 Below of her solo concert “Melissa Sings Sondheim” celebrating the music of Stephen Sondheim and won raves when she brought it to London’s Live at Zédel for her sold-out UK concert debut co-written with Adam Gopnik in 2018. She also brought her Sondheim program to The Ravinia Festival in the fall of 2018 and appeared again at Feinstein’s/54 Below in for the new Sondheim CD release in November 2018. Her 2019 Sondheim performances include playing The Baker’s Wife in three concert performances of Into the Woods with Tony Award-winner Alice Ripley in March, the run of “Wordplay” at Lyrics & Lyricists produced by Ted Chapin for the 92nd Street Y in April, and being a featured performer on the forthcoming PBS Poetry in America portrait of Stephen Sondheim. Melissa also returned to London in May 2019 to Live at Zédel with her Sondheim concert after her sold-out run in 2018.
Melissa’s professional debut at age 18 was as Cosette in the premiere national tour of Les Misérables. Her Broadway credits include Anna Karenina, the revival of My Fair Lady in which she played Eliza Doolittle (The New York Times called her “beguiling”). She went on to star on Broadway in High Society, Amour (Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Dracula the Musical, and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. At The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, she starred in The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady (with John Lithgow), and Camelot (with Jeremy Irons). She has worked with Stephen Sondheim on the revival of Sunday In the Park with George (Dot/Marie at The Kennedy Center), followed by John Doyle’s production of Passion (Clara) for which she was nominated for a sixth Drama Desk Award, and most recently as Leona in the 2016 Encores! production of Do I Hear A Waltz? at City Center. In 2016 she also reprised the role of Sharon in the smash hit Off-Broadway revival of Finian’s Rainbow at Irish Repertory Theatre, which was extended three times, received rave reviews and was filmed in January 2017 for The Lincoln Center Library. She has also starred in plays by Shaw, Oscar Wilde and Wally Shawn and last year starred in another acclaimed Irish Repertory production of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
Her solo CDs include Blue Like That (EMI/Capitol Records), Lullabies & Wildflowers (Universal), Legrand Affair (Ghostlight/Sony), and What About Today? Melissa Errico Live at 54 Below (Broadway Records; CD & DVD). In December 2017, Melissa had a new single release (Ghostlight/Warner Music Group) “Hurry Home” written by multiple Oscar-winner Michel Legrand, made an accompanying music video with filmmaker Gary Gardner, and proudly sings it on the title credits of the film Max Rose.
Television roles include the series Central Park West by Darren Star, recurring roles on Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick (Catherine), and Showtime’s Billions (June). Melissa also recently finished shooting a role in The Magnificent Meyersons, an Eric Oppenheimer film with Kate Mulgrew (2019 release). Her other feature films include Frequency with Dennis Quaid and Life or Something Like It as Angelina Jolie’s character’s best friend.
Melissa has also served on The National Endowment for the Arts and has published essays for The New York Times and is a contributing essayist in Cristina Cuomo’s The Purist and other magazines. She is married to tennis player and sports commentator Patrick McEnroe and they have three young daughters and a Yorkie named Pepper.

”Clear Heads, Kind Hearts, With Hope” Michael Kooman & Chris Dimond

Michael Kooman (music)(IG:@michaelkooman) and Christopher Dimond (book & lyrics)(IG: @dimondvision) are a New York City-based writing team for the stage and screen. Their most recent musical, ROMANTICS ANONYMOUS, debuted to rave reviews at Shakespeare's Globe this fall. They also currently serve as songwriters for VAMPIRINA, an animated musical TV series for which they have written more than 100 songs. The show airs on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior, reaching over 49 million viewers in 115 countries. Michael and Chris have written songs for Patti Lupone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patina Miller, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Skyler Astin, Anna Camp, and Wanda Sykes. Their stage projects include THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES (Village Theater), ORPHIE & THE BOOK OF HEROES (The Kennedy Center), THE ENLIGHTENMENT OF PERCIVAL VON SCHMOOTZ (commissioned by the Canadian Music Theatre Project), JUDGE JACKIE: DISORDER IN THE COURT (Pittsburgh CLO; licensed by Samuel French), DANI GIRL (Exit, Pursued by a Bear; licensed by Samuel French), GOLDEN GATE (Williamstown Theatre Festival), HOMEMADE FUSION (London’s Ambassadors Theater, Edinburgh Fringe Festival) and JUNIOR CLAUS (Orlando Repertory Theatre; licensed by Dramatic Publishing).
Awards and honors include the Fred Ebb Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, the Mary Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Award, the Samuel French Next Step Award, the Burton Lane Award, and the Harold Adamson Award. They are members of the Dramatists Guild and ASCAP, and are proud alumni of Carnegie Mellon University.
Their debut album, OUT OF OUR HEADS, featuring an all-star lineup of Broadway performers, is now available on iTunes.
This was an incredible conversation spanning the years of them meeting and creating up to present day!
Enjoy!

”GoSeeDoBe”Clayton Howe: 100th Episode

Clayton Howe (IG:@inclaynation) host of this podcast, Entertainment(x)!! Welcome to the 100th Episode! This has been an incredible journey thus far. Nakiya Peterkin (Episode 001) interviews me on all things podcast, happiness, and life. We cover A LOT of topics so I hope you enjoy this 100th episode of Entertainment(x)!! 

”It Is What It Is” Matt DiCarlo: Stage Managing, Directing, And Ambition

Matt DiCarlo (TW:@MattyD0804) is a stage manager and director. Currently, he is the production stage manager for "Beetlejuice" on Broadway and Directing "The Play That Goes Wrong" on tour. Matt's early ambitions rival those of most community theatre actors and he opens up to where they came from. Everything from trusting the journey to creating his own path, Matt shares it all!! Enjoy! 

”Don’t Be Afraid” Sue Frost: Producing, Come From Away, and More!

SUE FROST is a founding member of Junkyard Dog Productions (with Randy Adams and Kenny and Marleen Alhadeff) which is dedicated to developing and producing new musicals. Broadway: COME FROM AWAY at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, 2010 Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-winning Best Musical MEMPHIS, FIRST DATE. National tour and West End production of MEMPHIS. In development: CHASING THE SONG, FLY HIGH. Since its inception in 2006 Junkyard Dog has also produced VANITIES, MAKE ME A SONG (Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk noms.) and PARTY COME HERE. JYD also served as Executive Producer of DOCTOR ZHIVAGO on Broadway in 2015. Prior to founding Junkyard, Sue was Associate Producer at Goodspeed Musicals for 20 years, where she produced more than 50 new musicals at both the Goodspeed Opera House and the Norma Terris Theatre. She is proud to have established, in conjunction with the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, an annual residency for composers, lyricists and librettists at the Goodspeed as well as the pilot program for Goodspeed’s Musical Theatre Institute. Prior to Goodspeed she worked as a company manager on several Broadway shows and tours including A CHORUS LINE, DANCIN’ and THE RINK. In addition to chairing two New American Works panels for the late Opera-Music Theatre Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, Sue has served as a panelist and/or site evaluator for the NEA, the Philadelphia Theatre Institute, the Connecticut Commission for the Arts and Tourism, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the TCG/Pew National Theatre Artist Residency Program. She lectures regularly at Yale University and is a member of adjunct faculty at Columbia University. A graduate of Smith College, Sue is past president of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and is currently a member of the Broadway League’s Board of Governors, Executive, Tony Administration and Intra-Industry Committees as well as co-chair of the Audience Engagement Committee.

”Listen” Paul McGill on Performing, Choreographing, and Better Ways of Being

Paul McGill (IG:@paul_mcgill_) has directed and choreographed for theater, TV/film, and circus around the world. His passion for coupling the human experience with graceful athleticism is apparent in his work. Recently, he worked with his mentor, Jeff Calhoun, on their “all tap-dancing” hit production of the Music Man. His most critically acclaimed work is both the Off-Broadway and LA productions of The Legend of Georgia McBride, winning him an Astaire Award and an LA Ovation Award for his Choreography, as well as a Lucille Lortel Award Nomination. his other off-Broadway work includes the New Group’s Steve, directed by Cynthia Nixon, and Redbull’s School for Scandal. 
On Broadway, he imparted the physicality of Hedwig and the Angry Inch to Tony Award winner John Cameron Mitchell, Darren Criss, Michael C. Hall, Taye Diggs, Lena Hall, and Euan Morton. Paul also trained Laverne Cox for her starring role in Rocky Horror Picture Show on FOX as well as Neil Patrick Harris for his Michael Jackson tribute on Lip Sync Battle.
Paul’s passion for dance on film can be seen on the Disney Channel, in the new movie Diamond Soles, and in commercials for companies like Bunny Shapiro Jewelry and ALT coffee. His desire to continue to make dance films is evident, whether it be on a big budget sound stage or with his iPhone Gimble.
In circus, Paul choreographed the European and Australian premiers of Filament with Shortround Productions. He has also contributed work to the circus company Grounded Aerial.
His charity work has helped the Ali Forney Center, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the I’ll Be There Project, Artspire DC, and Covenant House.
Paul continues to develop his own projects in his free time.

”Give It Some Zazz!” Angie Schworer: Being Scrappy, Saying Yes, and Zazz

Angie Schworer (IG: @angieschworer) has been in countless broadway shows, most recently (her 10th B'way show) "The Prom" where she played herself, at the Longacre theatre. Angie takes us through her career breaking down how each show lead to the next. I found this to be quite an eye opening chat with great insight into the "professional relationships" of broadway. Enjoy!