Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Side Dish: More with Vanessa Williams

Episode Date: August 13, 2026

More of my interview with singer, sitcom star and stage queen Vanessa Williams. Vanessa tells me her memories of working with the late great Cicely Tyson in the 2013 revival of The Trip to Bountiful, what it’s like performing for British audiences, and her royal encounters. This episode was recorded at Flute at the Broadwick Soho in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever wonder how people actually get rich? Like, actually? I'm Molly Sims, and on my show, Lipsick on the Rim, I sat down with Haley Sacks, aka Mrs. Dow Jones, to talk money, mindset, and why getting rich actually starts with how you think about yourself. We get into the money habits nobody wants to talk about, the mindset shifts that actually stick,

and how to stop feeling weird about wanting more. Listen to Lipsic on the Rim on Spotify and Apple Music or wherever you get your podcast or watch on YouTube. Hey, it's Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Here's a little side dish from this week's episode of Dinners on Me. This week we had on the incomparable Vanessa Williams. We met in London at the rooftop of the Broderick Soho at a restaurant called Flute. You know Vanessa Williams from Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives,

her Grammy-nominated music career, and now she's starring as Miranda Priestley in The Devil Prada on the West End, which is why we were both in London at the same time. Over a Moroccan inspired feast, we talked about sharing the stage with the legendary Cicely Tyson. We talk about why London has become her long, delayed summer abroad, and what makes British theater culture so different from Broadway? Some shows you do is not a family. People show up, they do their bed and they're out. Modern family, I know you guys had it, and we had it on Betty. We enjoyed each other.

We made the material better just because we're like, we're a game. Yeah. So it was like being a part of a theater company. Like, you're on your feet and you're making it better and improvising and working off each other. As opposed to, these are my lines. Are we done? I'm out. And I've done so many of those shows.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Phone it in. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I know ugly that he was like that. because now knowing so many of you, you all speak so fondly of that time in a way that you can't fake. It's like, you know, you don't, jobs like that, you don't still speak about 10 years later unless they're really meaningful.

Exactly. Yeah. The other show, and I'm wondering if you felt like you had to prove yourself to be part of this, too, being a musical theater star, and then doing a trip to Bountiful on Broadway, which I loved that production that you did so much, with Cessley Tyson.

Michael Wilson directed. So beautiful. It was so great. Do you have any great Cisley Tyson stories? That you feel like you could share with me. God bless her. She has passed on. She was incredible.

So strong. I mean, she's petite and wiry, but her muscles. So she would hit me in, there was only two, two rooms in the set for the apartment that we lived in. And I would have to come in, and my, Jesse May was, mud or mouth, drove the play along, but just like yapping all the time and just a pain in the ass. And so she would hit me, and it would like sting.

When she would actually backhand me on my arm and stuff, it was like, she... And she was how old at this time? Nobody knew. Nobody knew. So we all thought she was like in her 70s. No, she was like in her 90s, right? She was 88 when we did that production.

Wow. Then we did the TV movie, and then we did it on the road. We did L.A. Boston. And L.A. Boston. Yeah, L.A. and Boston. Yeah. And the TV movie. So she was up there.

She was up there. Okay. But she never missed a show. Wow. Sometimes she was late. She'd have to go to church on Sundays and take her time, but she would never miss a show. And Wine Wednesdays were all the,

It was like free wine for some reason, and those ladies were screaming and hollering, and they hated me because I had to treat her badly. You mean the audience was screaming? Audience. Okay. I hated me. No, no, no. No, no. Okay.

The audience. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Excuse me, on Wine Wednesdays, the audience would let me have it. Yes. And like, boomy. It was, it was. Amazing. But my favorite memory is, so I did it with Cuba Gooding Jr.

as Lutie on Broadway and then Blair Underwood when we did the TV movie and L.A. in Boston and at the very end at our bows, we would take her off into the wings, but we'd hook

arms with her and lift her up. And so her feet were in the air and she'd go and then put her down. She'd go, that was a good one. That was a good one. Oh, that was good. And you could see, like, she's 88 years old and still getting fired up. I'm like, that's the spirit that I want in the next 20 years. I want that energy today.

I want that energy today. But same thing with Barbara Cook when I did Sondheim and Sondheim. She was 85 at the time. And I would, she had two bad knees and she didn't want surgery. But so I'd walk her with her offstage. And she would be like, that's a good one. That's a good audience. We got it.

And it's that kind of a lane stretched. Like, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. I'm doing this. I'm a Broadway broad. You know, that's the spirit that I love about show people. Me too.

Show must go on. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, me too. Yeah. Love it. Love it so much.

I mean, I... She did, I mean, she was vegan and she had like a piece of sod on her on her dressing room table, like literally grass, and they would cut it and make her shakes and stuff. So sometimes on stage when she might have had a little gas,

it did smell a little bit like you were on a farm and you could smell like cow pasture. That's so funny from her like wheatgrass. Yes, exactly. Freshly blended. That's really funny. My God, well listen. I mean, she lived a very full life and was, I remember her in that plate, throwing herself around on a bed or a sofa.

Yeah. She threw us up down. She was doing like stunts. Yes, yes. And I was like, don't injure Sicily. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She was amazing.

Yeah, incredible. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Vanessa shares why living in London has been decades in the making. And we compare notes on performing in the West End from mandatory group warmups to no-nonsense British audiences. Okay, be right back. On days off from Jesus Car Superstar in London this past summer, we would head out to the English countryside for a little family reset. The boys were in heaven. They were running around, looking at farm animals, getting as muddy as possible.

Justin was, you know, thriving, taking runs in the morning. And I finally had an excuse to sit quietly with my Kindle for a few minutes without feeling guilty. Now, trips like this always remind me that vacations aren't exactly cheap. So here's something I really didn't think about until Airbnb. While you're away, your home could actually be working for you when you list it on Airbnb. It's such a practical way to bring a little extra income and put it towards your own travel plans. And if the idea of hosting sounds intimidating, Airbnb has this great thing called the co-host network. It's made up of experienced local hosts who can help manage your listing, take care of your home, and help your guests have a great stay while you're away.

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to make packing lunches a little easier. And for Boar's Head, head to your local deli counter. And we're back with more dinners on me. So when I saw you at Leah Delaria's wedding, you were on a little hiatus from the show. Yeah, I came in for the week. Oh, you just came in for the week. Okay, gotcha, got you.

Yeah, I wasn't sure, like, if you had stopped and you were coming back into it. No. Got it. I've been... Okay. I've been a musical theater soldier, I've never been in a show this long ever.

Have you ever done like a two-year show? I think I did Spelling Bee for about 18 months. Okay, yeah. So, yeah, I mean, close to that. Yeah. But, I mean, not to you. And also workshopping it and then doing it on the West End. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, that's a big commitment. And so you've been there long enough to like see cast changeovers as well. So cast changes. But you know what? The jewel is living here. Yeah. That's really, you know, it goes back to, my junior abroad.

I was supposed to be here and damn it I never made it because I became famous as Miss America. So this has been like my long, delayed semester abroad. Yeah,

but you've done the West End before, right? Well, I did City of Angels, but COVID closed us a first week of previous. Is that the Domar Warehouse production? Yes. You weren't in the Domainer Warehouse production.

No, no. Because I saw it there. You did. You did it when it transferred and then it closed because of COVID. Yeah, so Josie Roark still directed. Same.

design team. It was spectacular. And I also had, like, Theo James that I got a chance to have climb on top of me. Oh, he was in it. Yes, he was stone. Hello. Yes. That's right. Yes. That's right. He was stone. Oh, my God. That cast was great.

It was, yeah. It was, Rosalie. Rosalie, Craig was the... Right. And Rebecca Traheim and Hadley. Hadley was... Great cast. Yeah, it was a great cast. Okay, so that was like your first, like, Weston. Yes. And then that closed early. Okay.

Yeah, I know. I mean, do you like, I don't know why. We talked a little bit after I saw that Boris Prada, but you like it out here. I love it out here. I love the, I mean, the discipline, we don't do group warm-ups. No, that's the thing that I really. You hate it or you love it? I hated it at the beginning, and then I loved it.

Right. Because you have to come in early. You have to come in early. So when I was working last summer here, doing this on time, here we are, at the National, you know, it was just expected that you show up, you know, about an hour before, at least... Hour and a half.

An hour and a half. Yeah. So, like, you know, on Broadway, you show up an hour, a half hour before, at the minimum. Yes. You could show up earlier if you want. But here, it's, like, really expected that you show up an hour and a half. And it's a big vocal warm up, it's a big group warm up.

And if you do not show up, you're kind of shamed. Mm-hmm. It's kind of a, it's a mandatory thing. Yes. However, for this production, that's a big, I'm doing with Jesus Christ Superstar because I'm not in it until like midway to the second act. Okay. They have not asked me to come in for warmups at all.

Oh, okay. And because I was a late, you know, they had been in rehearsal for five weeks before I even started rehearsal. Yeah. Like they all bonded and like, so part of them that was like I wanted to go and just like get to know people and be a part of it. But also I sort of felt like it was like their thing. So I haven't gone to warm ups, although we open technically officially tonight. Ooh. And I feel like I might show.

up early and do warm up with them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they do parish notes, which is like, it's, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Someone's birthday, these are the people that are come be in the audience. Right, right, right, right, right, yeah. Yeah, no, so, yeah, that's one thing that I noticed was different,

was discipline. Mm-hmm. I also, I mean, again, like my experience last year with the National is much different than at the London Palladium, because, like, what I'm involved in now is, like, people are leaping to their feet. I do find that British audiences are more hesitant to, like, stand on their feet and applaud. Oh, yeah.

Which I kind of appreciate. Do you? Yeah, because I feel like it's more earned when they do. I feel like in New York, like they will stand for anything. It's true. Truly. I feel like it's more like they're standing because they want to say, like, we spent a lot of money and we wanted to get our most out of this. Like, you know, I don't believe them.

Yeah. Yeah, interesting. Yeah. Because then we think, oh, God, we suck. Like if no one's standing up because we've got a big, you know, outro and we're singing, you know, and dancing and confetti. So we're going for it. Yeah. So when they don't stand, we get a little pissed.

But then we always know when there's a U.S. audience because they're completely engaged and, like, yelling out. It's amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know when my people are here. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's got to be fun to, like, be a part of something that, because the devil were,

Whereas Prada is such an American movie. I mean, it has like, you know, I mean, they travel to Europe and, you know, Emily Blunt's character. And the movie was British and you have a British actress playing that role. I mean, they're all British. But, like, you know, it's an American magazine. And so, you know, it is interesting to come here and do something that is sort of innately an American story. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And the accents are fantastic.

They're great. Yeah. Yeah. You wouldn't know. You wouldn't know. They're really good. I do find that Brits do better American accents than we do English accents. There's so many variations here, though.

I know. So many. I know. Yeah. It's tough. Someone at one of my director of Jesus Christ superstar, Tim Sheeter, he's like, how's your British accent? And I was like, he might be asked me because he's interested in, like, me for a role. I was like, I got to be super upfront with him.

And I was like, not good. Because I don't want to get caught, like, saying that I can do it. But it's really just not great. It's just not great. Yeah. I'm so intimidated. I don't even do it anymore. No, I don't either.

I don't even try. It's like I'm imitating someone and maybe I'll try a little bit, but I get shy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you think you're going to stay here after you're done with the run? I'm going to go home in September to do a little Netflix forehander.

Okay. So we shoot that on the Hamptons and that'll be about a month. And then after that, probably, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'd love to do. do my music here is, you know, the people that come to the show between Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, and then my music and like Hannah Montana and the Odyssey and like Arnold Schwarzen,

it's crazy where people know me from and can fly over from all of Europe, like Estonia and, you know, I had, you know, Brazil all over the world. I'm always fascinated like, how do you know me? and you came from where to see me? I know. It's pretty bizarre. When you're that multifaceted and you've done so much, people probably, there are different pockets.

Like people know you from, I imagine Ugly Betty's very popular worldwide. Yes. Specifically, I find modern families, like there's certain, like, and, well, first of all, here is very popular. But then also, you know, in Brazil, it's very popular. Oh, wow.

But there's other places where, like, no one watches it. Yeah. But, like, you know, I mean, you also have, like, an incredible recording, that I'm sure so many people know about. Yeah. So I'd love to do more, like do a tour here, just so people can understand, you know, this is kind of the beginnings of like 1988 was my first album. And, yeah, right, right, right.

So I'd love to explore that, but I'd love to do a series here. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that would be my dream. Yeah. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, I tell Vanessa about introducing my sons to theater and their questions and critiques. And Vanessa tells me about meeting members of the royal family. Okay, be right back.

So we just got back from about two months in London and Spain. Part of it was work, part of it was vacation, and we just got back to Los Angeles. And there were like 900 things to do at the house. There were repairs to be made. There were things to be ordered. There were groceries to be shopped for. I just felt like I was incredibly behind the moment I landed. When your to-do list keeps growing, TaskRabbit is ready to help.

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I just came from the Tower of London because my six-year-old is turning six today. Oh, happy birthday. So this is a big day. Birthday, opening night. I know. There's a lot happening. There's a lot happening. And so he's actually celebrated his fifth birthday here last year when he was doing, here we are.

And so he's like, oh, yeah, this is what I do. I spend my birthdays in London. Yeah. I thank you so much. And so we went to the Tower of London. I had to pop out early. But like the tour guide was, you know, I think he's used to giving tours to like adults.

Like we were standing in front of a painting and he was talking about the painting for like 10 minutes. And I was like, I whispered him was like, we got to make this more kid friendly. He got to speed all this stuff. Just like show us the swords. Like where they do the beheadings. And he's like, got it, got it.

So like they started, you know, doing that. So like I left them as they were like doing like re-acting. Like my son's like re-acting. getting his head chopped off. So that's where I just left out. Oh, wow. Yeah. Six is a great age.

It's a great age. They can do fun things. You know, we've taken them to a lot of theater here, which is great. They went and saw Mama Mia. Oh, okay. They went to... Harry Potter, yeah, or no. No, they haven't done Harry Potter.

They did the... They came to the invited dress of Jesus Christ Superstar. Talk about some interesting questions after that. Oh, my God. Yeah. And Justin and I were like, do we skip this one? And they were like, no, we really want to see. We really want to see Papa.

And, you know, I mean, the crucifixion was, it's done in sort of a, you know, it's artistic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not literal. Yes. There's a lot of glitter being thrown instead of the whipping and all that. But, I mean, there were still, like, you know, a lot of very interesting questions. And then my younger son, my three-year-old was like, he just had a lot of glitter thrown on him and he couldn't get up. that was like his takeaway.

I was like, well, you know, that is partly true. They went to go see Hercules. My, I guess Disney had to pull off all see that. You have to be four and above to go to see a show there. Okay. And they asked my younger son, how old he was, and he said, Justin popped in and said, he's four. And Beckett, the other one, he's like, no, he's not, he's three.

And Jessica goes, he's almost four. And then Becca goes, in November. And then they almost didn't let him in. Justin was like, I'm going to lose my mind right now. He's like, they're great theater goers. They just saw Jesus Christ Superstar. They're fine. They can handle hercules.

They can handle it. Yes, so they got to watch Hercules. And Justin was like, meanwhile, all the kids around him that were older were like, you know, talking and screaming. And our kids were just like paying attention. Yeah, exactly. So funny. Do they, do you let them, are they allowed to see everything you do? I didn't let them see the second act of, here we are, because it gives a little dark.

Yep, yep, yep, yep. They did come to see 12th night. Okay. Which they loved. Actually, my older said, I'm going to see 12th night. And he really had interesting questions afterwards. And then he came to see me in this one-man show I did about Truman Capote called True. Yeah.

and he really wanted to see it. I was like, that's a little heady and frankly, I think, boring for a five-year-old. But he's like, no, I really want to come. And after I was done, he, like, stood up and was clapping for me, Papa, Papa, I love it so much. And then weeks later, Justin tells me that just randomly in the car on his way to school and from the back seat, this is when I was still in New York and he was back in L.A., he goes, oh, Papa's play was so boring. He goes, all he did was talking a funny voice and sit on a couch,

and this other lady just wandered around looking at books. I'm like, well, he is explaining the plot. I mean, that is part of what happened. But I was like, yeah, there it is. That's what I was expecting to hear. Yeah. But anyway, yeah. Yeah, so you've been here several times.

I've been here a few times, but this is, I worked here for about three months last year, and then we'll have been here just six weeks this time. but I do love working here. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's, um, the history is incredible. Yeah. And just the fact that there's so many museums,

I just went to the Scaparrelli exhibit at the BNA, which is gorgeous. Amazing. The portrait music, I mean, there's so many things that are centrally located free. Yeah. Which is also fantastic. Yeah. Did you go to Wimbledon?

I've been to them twice this week. I did Sunday and I did Tuesday. So... I did Sunday. You did? I would just like yesterday? No, Monday, yeah. I just Sunday.

So I saw Osaka won. Oh, no, yesterday was Monday. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I missed you by a day. Okay.

Yeah, yeah. It's lovely. Yeah. I mean, the florals, you walk in, the florals are great. The hospitality is amazing. Yeah. And then the tenants is silent. I mean, I go to the U.S. Open every year.

So I'm used to New York, Queens. Get out. The energy. Yeah, yeah. The concrete. I mean, even when you're in the president's box, it's still, you know, it feels got that, that New York kind of flavor. Here it's genteel.

I was in a tie. Everyone's in their hats, their gloves. Yes. Totally. Silence. Silence. You get the random like, go Naomi, Osaka, you know. But it's very collected.

Yeah. And you've done the Chelsea Flower show. Twice. This year and last year, which is gorgeous. I love that. Yeah. I've done the Royal Variety. show, which that's the first time I met the king.

So it's a variety show in, they shoot it in the end of November, December. It airs around Christmas time and each show does, you know, so Devil Wars Prada did an act. Okay. And then they used me for Penn and Teller. I did some kind of

unlocked something with a padlock for their skit. Okay. And at the end, you get a chance to meet I've never met royalty. Yeah. Does it feel different than like, I know you also got to meet presidents. Yeah. It's similar because you're all lined up and you get like, you know, you're 20 seconds to

say hi and, uh, and how, are you told to address in a certain way? No, no, no, no, no, shook his hand. I didn't have to, I, I did that. Yeah, I don't know what that means, but I didn't like do the, do the currency. And he was lovely and, uh, it went really quickly. And, but he was, he was lovely. Right, right, right, right. But, yeah, it's, um, but those are all the things that, you know, I, I woke up in

high school to watch Diana and him get married back in the day. I remember that. Yeah, yeah. So all these to actually be in the country and, you know, you're driving by Buckingham Palace and in your taxi heading to, you know, wherever you're going. It's just, it's just amazing. Yeah, no, it's really special. It's really special.

And I love that I got to be here with my family. That was a little more from my conversation with Vanessa Williams. If you haven't heard our full conversation yet, make sure to check. it out on Dinners on Me. This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at flute on the rooftop of the Broadbrook Hotel in Soho, London. Next week, you know her as Pam from the office, co-hosts of the hit podcast Office Ladies, and she's starring in the indie comedy Nimrods. It's Jenna Fisher. We talk about the years of rejection before landing the iconic role of Pam Beasley and why the office continues to resonate with fans around the world. Plus, collaborating with

her husband in this latest Green Day inspired film. Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony music entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music.

Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balance Kalasney and Justin McKita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week. Hey y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust. Visit wayfair.ca. Wayfair, every style, every home.