That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Todrick Hall

Episode Date: March 19, 2024

Todrick Hall joins Gaby for a chat about musical theatre, singing, performing and all things joy. They chat about American Idol, The Masked Singer and appearing on Broadway - as well as his dream stage role. He joined Gaby in London, as he is joining the cast of Wild About You, which is making its worldwide debut at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.We hope you enjoy the chat - and the singing - as much as we did! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Todrick Hall, I've just burnt your mouth. Now, there's a start as for a podcast. Wow, yeah. It's going to take me a moment to, like, get the tingle out of my throat, but I love it. Ginger Short. So you do caffeine, but you don't drink like me. I don't. Okay, so the caffeine, is it the same hit that you get from the Ginger Shot?

Or do you think I'm mad? This is next level. This feels like this should be in some sort of movie or something, like some sort of concoction, some potion. I don't know if it's part of the part of the part. podcast that you like hypnotize me or something. It's definitely going to work. Look into my eyes. Todrick Hall, I'm so ever excited to meet you because you just do all the things that I love. Musical theater, you sing, you dance, you're a choreographer, you work with RuPaul.

Can we swap bodies for 48 hours? Absolutely. I would love to, especially with those nails. Forget about it. This outfit. I would happily swap bodies with you, but only if I get to swap outfits as well. Okay. Yeah. You can wait. The break-ne-down. Yes, sign me up. What's 48 hours in your life like? Not at the moment, because obviously you're here in the UK, you're doing a show which we're going to talk about,

but you're regular, a regular 48 hours. I am in a relationship right now, so this is a good time to ask me this question because my partner is definitely somebody who had more of a regimented schedule. There is no, like, specific thing. You know, some people are like, this is my routine. There is no routine in the world of Tadric Hall.

I am the king of spontaneity. I wake up every day, and I could be like, you know what? I'm going to Japan today. I think I'm going to Japan. And I would just do that. You kidding me. Not legit. That's not a sentence that I would actually, that I have actually ever said yet, but it is a sentence that I would say. I wake up every day and I love that every single version of a day in Todrick's world looks completely different. Sometimes it's working on costumes. Sometimes it's writing music. Sometimes it's choreographing a new number. Sometimes it is being an actor. Sometimes it is directing actors. Sometimes it's just a DIY project, because I'm I love doing arts and crafts. I'm oftentimes at the theater. That's my favorite pastime in the entire world is going to see a musical. Nothing else throws me more, darling, or going to a Disney theme park.

But it could literally be anything. And every day is action-packed. What it will not be is sitting on a couch watching TV. That's what it will not consist of. Okay. So were you always like this, even as a child? Yes. Even as a child.

When I was seven or eight years old, I looked through the yellow pages back in the day when we had phone books. Yes, I remember those. Those were the days, darling. I felt, oh, this, I need this every day. The ginger shot, yeah. Yes, my voice just all of a sudden opened up. I sounded like I was in, like, the middle of sleep, because it's probably 5 a.m. for me right now.

I don't know what time it is in LA. I don't even want to look. Okay, well, it's quarter to one in the UK. So, for me. Have you just landed? I landed yesterday, so I have been here. Oh, my word. I have been here now officially for 24 hours.

I landed yesterday about 1145 a.m. So right now in L.A. it is 5.4. 44 a.m. Okay, it's early in the morning. It's very early. Perfect time for a ginger shot. But this ginger shot just woke me right up. Yes. You're going to be addicted. It's good for you. Okay, so as a child, you were always like this? And were you, were you singing? Were you into costumes? Were you dancing? You know, I'd just love to know where it all started because you do it all. Okay. When I was young, I was very, very different and odd, especially growing up in the south in Texas, there was like a very consistent idea of what a young black man should look like, act like, think

like in the town that I grew up in. And I definitely knew that I didn't fit into that mold. I was always a little strange. But is that in your eyes or in their eyes? In their eyes. Societally, there was like, you know, the zeitgeist of what was happening at that time was like, this is what a young black man will grow up to be. And everyone was playing sports and that wasn't really for me.

My dad was really into sports. And so I was fascinated. with all things Disney. And I think the thing that really started at all was that I got moved to a school. And it's a long story of a blessing and disguise. I had a teacher that was not very kind to me and said some things she shouldn't have.

My mom went and fought for me and got me moved to another school. And to probably avoid a lawsuit because, you know, Americans loved to sue. But she was that, or she or he was that bad, that teacher. That was that bad. It was law suitable. What happened to me?

But I love when really great things come out of a really sad chapter. And so I got to move to whatever school I wanted to. My mom moved me to the school that she felt would give me the best opportunity. And I went to that school. And within, like, weeks, I would say I was tested for the gifted and talented program because all of the teachers were like, he's very interesting and creative. And so I got tested for the gifted and talented program.

And I was obsessed with the Wizard of Oz as a young child. And the gifted and talented test, one of the pages I'll never forget was like six boxes with squiggly lines in them. And they said, can you turn it? these six lines into something. And immediately I was like, oh, I'll turn it into Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Lion, Glenda, and the Wicked Witch. And so I got put in the gifted and talented program by a lady named Pat Carthel.

And you know when you have those teachers that just change your life, it just like lets you know the impact a great teacher can have on a child's life. She introduced me to theater. They would take us to go see the Nutcracker every year. They took us to the Nutcracker Ballet. And I just knew in that moment that something was different. And I was watching all the kids, especially the boys, like, struggled to stay awake. And I was on the edge of my seat.

And it was everything, not just the performance or the things that you'd see at a surface level, but even seven, eight-year-old Todrick was, like, so fascinated by the smell of the fog machine and the orchestra warming up and just the backdrops and how they flew in and out and how, you know, how it all worked, the mechanics of how it worked. Even at that age, I was very intrigued by that. And she took me to go see the show. And as luck would have it, her husband hated to go see musical theater. And so she started taking me as her plus one to all the shows. This older white lady was just like, I'm going to take you to go see Fiddler on the roof and then sound of music.

And so it just opened up my eyes to a world I didn't know existed. And at that moment, I was like, this is what I'm supposed to do. And not play basketball or sports. I'm supposed to do theater and create and dance. And so I got put into dance class. And I enrolled myself in the dance class. I called and said I wanted to sign up at like eight years old and gave my mom the information These are the shoes that I need.

So I was already like very not entrepreneurial, but a person that like took matters into its own hands. Like I didn't know that I was going to someday be a businessman in this arena. But I did know that I wasn't going to sit around and wait for opportunities. But you made all your opportunities. I mean, you know, YouTube and everything else. But you really, it was like you were really focused. And I don't think focus is a bad thing.

You know, people say, oh, that child's very focused. They know what they want to do. And people, I mean, I was this, I knew I wanted to be TV and radio. That's what I knew from dot. So I completely, that's why I'm getting emotional listening to you because I get that. I completely get it. But you were very focused. But that little moment with that teacher, you just knew.

And then how it then happened is it's wonderful because it seemed to happen very organically. Yeah. It's so interesting that you say focused because when you're doing something that you love and that you would do for free, you don't find it to, you don't feel like it's focused. You don't feel like it's work. But I absolutely was. I mean, you could definitely define it as that. I just got up every day, and there's a scene in one of my favorite movies,

Sister Act 2 where Whoopi Goldberg says to Lauren Hill's character, when you wake up in the morning, what do you think of first? Whatever that is, that's what you're supposed to be. If you wake up in the morning and you think about singing, you're supposed to be a singer. And every day I would wake up and just want to create and create and create. And so I had a long career before I started doing YouTube. When I started doing YouTube, I didn't really realize how many people were watching, I'd be like, oh, I got a million subscribers.

And to me, it was just a number. It wasn't until I started going out in the world and people would stop me on the street and say, like, oh my gosh, I love your videos that I realized all of those numbers were actual people with millions of views. You know, I think that's the part about social media that's so interesting. You have a good word. Interesting. That's a very, that's a good word to use because there's people that use it and abuse it.

and there are people who use it for the right reasons. Yeah. I get that you use it for the right reasons. I try to. I don't think that I am always successful in using it for the right reasons. I've definitely had chapters where I have used the Internet incorrectly. But for the most part, I think it's such a huge tool that has allowed people who would have never gotten a chance to step out into the spotlight,

the opportunity to show that there is a lane for everyone, for all of us. If you're a person who loves to perform, you can create your own brand. And I think that most of the time, the most successful people in doing that are people who really believe in themselves, who are willing to bet it all on themselves. There's a lot of people who say, 100%. There have been times, so many times in my life. In fact, my whole career was like, are you willing to dump every scent that you have and even

go into the red? If you believe in this project that much, you would do that. And when I have done that, when I've jumped off the cliff with no parachute, just been like, I'm diving in, the head first, you know, those have been the things that have been most rewarding for me. I think when you don't really fully believe when you're dipping your toe in the water instead of jumping in, those are the things that the audience organically doesn't respond to because they know that you only have to believe in it, you know? So when you sung outside McDonald's son your order, did you have any idea that that was going to go viral? No. I just wanted to do it.

Such a simple thing, isn't it? It's great. I think that's part of the reason why it went viral because Because it's, I think what I realized in making several viral videos that preceded that, I mean, that went after that, is that people love to watch an experience it's extraordinary out of a very mundane and ordinary event. So I think the fact that, you know, I did a target, flash mob to Beyonce's time. Yes. Love that. And people were like, wow, can you imagine just being one of the people that was in that target when he started dancing? Or can you imagine being the McDonald's employee that took that order? I think that those things are really, really exciting because they're all events that we have all done and that we do all the time without thinking about it.

We go through a drive-thru. We go to a supermarket, a store, and go shopping, you know, just to go get some milk and cookies and then you see something extraordinary happen. So I had no idea that it was going to go viral. I just did it with my friends. And we had essentially been doing YouTube videos long before YouTube. was a thing. We just weren't posting them on YouTube. And so I was like, this would be so much fun. I wrote this song. I wrote the song on my way to their house. And I was like driving and I just saw

McDonald's and I was like, wow, I'd really want a number six supersized right now. And then I got there and I was like, you guys, I know we're going to see a movie today, but we should we should record this at YouTube. And we just did like a little flip cam, our friend, my best friend's little sister filmed it. And I think that's why I went viral because it was so organic. If we had, we couldn't have. I loved that it was so pure. Yeah. It wasn't all set up.

There weren't lights and, yeah. Nothing. If we had done all of that, I don't think that it would have been as well received. There was no editing, no color correction, no sound equipment. It was just me and my friends having fun at a drive-thru. It's so cute. It really is cute. So when you went on and did, we're going to talk about the shows as well.

Okay. Obviously, going on talent shows is a way for people to be found all around the world now. they're massive, they're massive and they were massive. Are you pleased that you ventured into that world? How do you feel about all of that now? I am pleased that I did it because I learned very valuable lessons about the industry. I think that a lot of people who are artists or singers, and if anybody is listening to this, who's considering auditioning for an X Factor or The Voice or American Idol type show, I don't know what versions of that you have here. But I think it's really important to know that they're selling that you're a character on the show.

It's not just about the talent. In fact, a lot of really incredible people that we know have auditioned for those shows and then gone on to be massive stars, but they couldn't even make it onto an X-Factor season. Because I think that you have to fit into a box and you have to understand that you're a character. And your storyline almost matters more than whatever song selection you choose. Did you feel that when you were in it? I did, but it was too hard.

to see when you were in it that my story, because I did feel like my story was very inspirational, but on paper, without saying it, I hadn't, you know, my whole family hadn't died in a submarine or something, you know, like whatever crazy story people come up with. And not come up with, it is their real story, but that wasn't my experience. I was just a kid from the hood who had worked really, really hard to get to where I wanted to be and I was creative. And I realized that I don't really thrive in situations like that because I think what makes me special and what makes my fans drawn to me is the creativity that I put into my projects and singing cover songs of other people's music didn't really feel appropriate for me.

And I also, yeah, authentic, yeah. It didn't feel authentic for me because I'm really more drawn to like the female aesthetic and I love costumes and the showmanship of it all. I love the MJs and Beyonce's and shares and Madonna's of the world. The people who are not just vocalists, they put on an entire show. And you expect a spectacle when you see them. That's what I'm drawn to. And that's not really what American Idol is about.

That's more of an X-Factor thing where they put on the big shows. You all do that so well over here in the UK. I was on the greatest dancer. And it was just so interesting to see like the amount of production that went into it. I loved that so much. Did you do the Masked Singer as well? I did do the Masked. Now that's a show.

That is a show. People don't see you because you're behind them. mask, but the way they do that, I mean, here in the UK as well, it's beautifully done. Yeah, I did that show and I came in second. I was the runner up and I think I just thrived in that setting more because that's more my element. I'm a showman, you know, so I enjoyed that a lot more than being on American Idol. And I also am an actor, I'm a theater kid. So being able to embody something else and bring that character to life, some people on the Masked Singer don't realize that you have to bring the character to life, but as a humongous Disney fan on top of being a

theater kid. I've watched how the characters perform on the parades. That was one of my first introductions to dancing. I would teach myself how to dance from watching the Disney Christmas parades every year before I started taking dance classes. I just always was so fascinated by the way they moved and the way the characters like brought the costumes to life and they felt so vibrant and alive even though their mouths weren't moving, their eyes weren't moving. Somehow they were still so full of life. And so I think that was part of what helped me do so well, a mass singer because I was like channeling my inner child that wanted to be in the inner disney. Yeah, the inner Disney was pouring out, darling.

So let's go to theater and shows. You've done so many of my favorite shows. I don't know where to start with all the shows you've done. Where would you like to start with the musicals you've done? Do you mean like on Broadway? Yeah, we're both musical fanatics. Oh, yes. So where do you want to start with the shows?

Well, my first show was the color purple on Broadway. That was my first show. And then from that, that's when I auditioned for American Idol after that. But then I came back to Broadway and was in the ensemble of Memphis The Musical. And then from there, I went back to L.A. and continued to do YouTube videos. But now I've done five shows on Broadway, which is really crazy. Like, young me would have never believed I would have even gotten on Broadway. That was my biggest goal and dream.

Oh, you see, isn't that wonderful? Yeah. So this podcast is called Reasons to Be Joyful. And I get that you've got so many reasons to be joyful. And it's your eyes when you say, I've done five shows on Broadway. Yes. That's awesome. It's really, it's so awesome to me.

And I used to like sort of be embarrassed about the fact that I was such a theater nerd and that I think it's so cool. Why? Why? I don't know, because when you move to LA, there's this like stigma that like theater is cheesy. Some like legitimate actors are like, oh, I would never go do Broadway. But to me, the people who do live theater are the hardest working people in the industry. And they are the truly talented ones. Not to say that there aren't incredible people in LA making films.

But I think it takes a really unique skill to be able to act in front of a camera. But it takes a type of stamina and a type of work ethic that's unimaginable to most people in the industry to relive the same thing, eight shows a week, night after night, to live your life off stage so that you can perform on stage, to sacrifice going out, to not speak, to vocal rest, to keep your body. healthy, to perform eight shows a week and tell that story and to make it fresh and new and feel like it's the first time you've ever experienced it. It's just such a specific skill set that I respect so much. And so now when I do jobs, when they're like, is there anything else you want us to add? I'm like, always put that I was in five Broadway music lists at the top of the list before any other credits. And I've gotten to do some really cool things, but I think the thing I'm the most proud of is being a part of the Broadway community.

That's so wonderful. And more to come. You're saying people write that you've done five shows. You'll be on Broadway again. What show if you could pick? It's like picking your favorite child. It's not hard for me. I would pick two.

Can I pick two or have to pick one? You can have as many as you want. Well, I would love to be Simba and the Lion King. More for my mom because my mom's never seen the Lion King and I've never taken her to see it because I just want her to see it. I want to be Simba when she comes. to see it. I just think it's such a beautiful story and I grew up on that story and I saw, I happen to feel like the version that is on the West End is the best Lion King that I've seen.

Come on, give us a bit of a sing. What was that? Do your edition now. Oh, I can't. I can't. But my favorite song is, um, They live in you, hey, uh, in the wayla. They live in me. They're watching over everything we see. I love that song. Oh, his son. That's the song Le Fossa sings to his son. And it just brings me to tears every time.

I didn't have a great relationship or a close relationship with my father. So every time I watched that tears stream down. In fact, I'm going to see the Lion King tomorrow night. You are? I'm seeing, I saw Hades Town last night. Tonight I'm singing MJ. Tomorrow I'm seeing the Lion King. And on Friday, I'm seeing the Wizard of Oz.

Oh, my word. You are living my week, my dream week. Okay, you said you wanted to two. So Lion King. Oh, and Wicked. I'm the biggest Wizard of Oz fan in the world. love to be Fierro. I don't know that, you know, who knows if that will happen, but I would love to be Fierro. Have you ever auditioned for it? I've never gotten an audition for it, no.

Get onto your agent now. Wait a phone. They know. The casting director, like, made a mistake and I let me get his phone number and I've been messaging him for almost a decade, saying we have to get me in to audition for the show. I love that you're checking your phone now. That is so adorable. Okay, hey, get me on. Get me on. Yes. So how many times have you seen Wicked then? Over 40. Over 40 times? Over 40 times, yeah. Goodness me, that's quite cool.

I lost count. I lost count, but I've seen it over 40 times. I just know that because I was counting all the playbills that I have, and I keep every playbill, and I was like, wow, I have over 40 playbills. And so I feel like there could have been a chance. I lost a few or at times that I went to go see the show with the same cast, so I couldn't tell what the dates were. But actually, one of the coolest things in my life is that during the pandemic,

I made a donation to Broadway Care's, Equity Fight's AIDS. And the producers of Wicked on Broadway gifted me the original costumes from Wicked. So I own Kristen Chinowitz, bubble dress, and Adina Mansell's act two costume, a madame moribal costume and Megan Hilty's pink dress that she wore. Where have you got them? Where do you keep them? I have a Wizard of Oz themed room in my house. Oh my God, I'll show you pictures of it.

Okay. Maybe you saved this for our Friday Extra show, because we have a Friday extra show which you bring something that brings you joy. So would you like to save this for the next little bit we do? Or do you want to show me now? Have you got something else for the joy? Well, this isn't the thing that brings me.

Oh, this isn't the thing? It brings me joy. Oh, Lordy. Oh, okay, we're going to get a close up of that. That is insane. So that bed is a Wizard of Oz themed bed. It looks like the house dropped on if you see the shoes that are coming underneath. Oh, my.

It's wild and this is the case that the Elphaba costume is in. I got it, a custom case built for it. Again, another picture has to be shown, has to be shared. There we go. We've got that one as well. That is, would you live in a palace? It's a palace of sorts. It's my own little castle that I built for myself.

And there's no rules there. Well, I didn't build the house, but every room in the house is themed very, very, Todrick-like, like all the walls are painted. Like, it's a very, very creative space. And there's a Disney-themed room, a Wizard of Oz room, a retro room that has all of my favorite movies from like the 80s and the 90s and a Miss Pac-Man, like, arcade game. Okay, when can I come and stay? Anytime you want, darling.

Thank you. I'm there. I'm there. Slumber party. Let's make it happen. Oh, we've got to have really bright pink, silky pajamas. I cannot wait. Okay, with lots of sparkful.

You won't be alone in that. I actually have some pink sparkling pajamas. Oh, yes, I know you would. So you're ever in the UK? Tell everybody where you're here at the moment. I am doing the world premiere of a musical in concert called Wild About You. Oh, you've no idea how excited. In fact, my daughters are, I don't know who was screaming more.

My husband this morning, he was looking, will you all calm down? And yesterday, because we were all flapping. We were going, ooh! I mean, it was ridiculous. So tell me all about it. Well, it's a musical in concert. I think this is the world premiere and the cast is just absolutely exceptional. Everyone is so talented. And I just started today. I have to be honest, I didn't know much about the show and I'm learning so much about the show as we're starting. I just agreed to do it because Nick Winston is directing it. He's also directing burlesque, which I'm here working on as well. I'm doing two shows at the same time. And I was like, I would love to be a part of a world premiere show that no one has seen before. We had our first music rehearsal today. And the music is so stunning and so gorgeous. With jet lag.

So you've done all of that already before recording this? Yes, honey. And you only just landed 24 hours ago. Yes, darling. Oh, my word. Yeah, when my alarm went off this morning, I said, okay, girl, we're doing it. We're doing it.

But the music is so beautiful. And I'm excited to learn about the show as I'm in rehearsals for it because the story seems so interesting and compelling. I don't want to ruin the story, but it's quite a dramatic role that the lead, you know, ingenue of sorts is going through and her relationships with the different people in her life. And I guess, you know, my character is going to come on and make some quick, cute cameos as the nurse. The music is so, so insanely stunning.

And we've only learned one song. But I was like, I think that just the song that we learned today is just worth the ticket price in and of itself. That's fantastic. Have you ever started and sat in on a show or I did? years or something and thought, eh, not going to go. So, or do you feel enthusiastic about everything? Because I get the feeling that this is special. Because your eyes, when you just talked about it, your eyes went.

I don't feel that way about everything. In fact, I feel like a lot of people are not creating very inspired work in the theater community right now. It makes me sad a little bit. There's a lot of jukebox musicals. Everybody is like so scared to do something original. And so to be doing something that is original and feels new and fresh and isn't just music that's recycled from someone's discography.

It's just exciting. I think that there are great shows that have done that. I mean, I'm a huge fan of Jersey Boys and Beautiful. Oh, actually, Jersey Boys and Beautiful are the two that have really worked. Yes, and Mamma Mia as well, has worked and been really super successful. That's not my favorite show, but I respect the longevity that it has had, and the Abba fans have, like, completely made history with that musical. It's one of the most successful jukebox musicals of all time.

But when you look at the new show, so I suppose, Dear Evan Hanson, Hamilton, those are shows. 80s town, they've taken the world by storm. So new musicals should forever be coming at us, not just Duke Box shows. I agree with that. Put that on a T-shirt and a bumper sticker and sell it to me. I'll buy it all day. So you're going to be here for a while. After all of that, are you going to carry on doing drag race and doing all the choreography and those sort of things?

Are you going to still be creating the outfits? I just feel like you've got everything ready to go. And you can just say, I'll take that one and I'll take that one and I'll take that one. And then I'll try this and I'll try this. I'm trying to say yes to everything. So yes is the answer. If something excites me, there's never a time that RuPaul's going to call me and I will say no. But I really am very excited about the next chapter of my life.

I'm working on a musical, which we'll talk about later because I think that that's my thing. You said we have to have one thing. that sparks Julianas. Okay, all right, yeah. We'll talk about that. But I'm very, very excited about just being on the other side and still performing, but Lynn Manuel Miranda is like such a huge idol of mine. I just respect him so much on what he's done and I love the fact that he is a part of his

creations. Something is so interesting about watching him perform music that he created in Hamilton or watching Sarah Barrella's perform in Waitress was just so exciting for me to watch. So I'm very... Well, you were in that show, of course. I was in waitress, yeah. Yeah, I did waitress. I was in Kinky Boots in Chicago.

I didn't finish saying the shows that I'd done. Chicago. Chicago. And I did Chicago in the West End. I was here in the UK. I was in the West End. Really? I was Mama.

Oh, my gosh. We obviously didn't do it together. No, no. But you sort of remind me of the lady who did it when I was here. She's now in Mamma Mia. And yeah, I got to be in the show here in Chicago here. And it was just such a tremendous experience. It's such a wonderful show.

Oh, I hope it comes back. Me too. There are rumors. I hope it does. You should do it again. Bring it. You should do it again. No, never again.

We should do it again. Never again. Never again. You can't say that. You can't say that. You don't know what you would ever do. No, I like my TV and radio and podcasting. You could be mama for a second.

Is there any musical that you would do? Any musical? Yes. Probably Fiddler on the roof. Really? Just once, because I did that when I trained and I was the mom. I do it at one show. Would you ever later in your life be madameorable and wicked?

Yeah. So many of my girlfriends have done that part. I bet. They love it. It's so dramatic. That speech that she does during the witch hunting section when she's up there with the lighting underneath. It's just that monologue alone, it would be worth you doing it. You know what?

In my dreams, which I couldn't do, I would be in chorus line singing, Give me somebody to dance four. I love that song. but that's just not, you don't think that's going to have. I can't ask. And also, I would like to do stars in their multitude. I'd like to sing that, but I'm a woman. I can't.

Yeah. Well, you know, never say never. People are doing very, very innovative, out of the box thinking for theater. Okay, so never say never. Put it out there. It's recorded on our podcast. I love the fact that you said, which I'm picking back up on, is that you said I'd never say no to RuPaul if he calls me.

Does he just call you up and go, hey, does he call you Toddy? Todd, Todrick? What does he call you? He usually, hey kitty girl. Okay. So he just calls you up? Yes. I mean, sometimes when I'm just going on the show, if it's nothing like specific,

if he wants me to do a song with him or something, he would just call me up. But if it's for the show, it would be a producer. But I haven't been on the show in a few seasons, which I'm loving because I get to now watch the show and learn about it through everyone else. They'll call you back. Yeah. Absolutely. And we texted recently.

And he's just incredible. He's fabulous, though, isn't he? One of the best human beings I've ever met. And every single time I'm around him, I just, like, opened myself up. And I feel like he's just like a water fountain of knowledge and just great information and insight and experience. And I just, like, soak it all up. And there have been times that I've been in my darkest chapters of my life and dealing with the relationship with the Internet and the cancel culture and blah, blah, blah. and he will send a text that will just wrap up everything and that I'll never,

I'll never forget those moments that he's reached out and just said all of the things that needed to be said that only someone like him that I look up to would be able to say to me and have me receive it in the way that I have. So I'm very grateful to know him. Michelle Vizage has been on this podcast and she says the same of him, how he picks people up. He looks after people, people he cares about. He's there for them.

That's such a lovely thing. Yeah, absolutely. Are we going to see you in movies? I would love to. I would love to be in movies. I think that that will happen. I don't, I don't, I don't, I'm not like, I, there are times in life where I feel like my clock is running out. But with movies, I feel like it's going to happen at the right time.

I'm not like anxious. I don't, I'm not feeling. What do you mean your clock's running out? You know, when you're, you, like, feel like you're racing the clock and you're like, why haven't I done this yet? Why haven't I done this yet? There are things in my life that I feel that way about, but not with movies. I'm like, it's going to happen when it's supposed to happen. it'll be the right role for me at the right time.

Because I've gotten so close to auditioning for movies or being in movies. And then I don't get it. And I'm devastated for like one eight count. And then I see the movie and I'm like, that wasn't for me. I'm glad I didn't get that. It wasn't my time. And I wanted to be the right time and the right role. And I want it to be a role I can sink my teeth into and something that shows all my

skill sets because I would rather be in a musical, a movie that's a musical where I get to sing and dance rather than just a straight movie with no. musical elements to it. Go and speak to Lynn Mel. Lynn and Will Miranda. Yeah, go and speak to him. Say, come on, let's do a show together. Let's do film.

I would. Maybe I'll be in the movie version of Hamilton someday. You never know. Are they doing it? I'm sure they will. No one's talked about it, but it will happen. That I can guarantee, and I don't know, I don't know anybody who's part of the creative team, but that would just be the biggest mistake of life if they did not make a Hamilton

movie. It would translate so well and be so incredible. You'd be great in it as well. I would love to. I would love that. Actually, I'm sort of, I just want to get a little bit more of your singing because I love your singing. Just to end this pocket. Just a little teeny bit of singing.

Anything. Whatever you want. Because Ed, who works on the show as well. You don't have a request? Anything. You have to request something because I'm really not like a karaoke machine. No, I know. I think I want you to do one of yours.

What song do you want? Oh, Ed. Ed, do you have any suggestions? We both, we actually both said before. We just wanted to sing. Just sing. You choose. I'm going to sit back.

I'm going to leave it to you. Yeah, do the audition for Hamilton. Yeah. That's what he said. You just said, hey, maybe audition for Hamilton on this. Um, hmm. I, I want to be in the room where it happens, the room where it happens. Hi.

I want to be in. The room where it happens, the room where it happens. Oh, they're cheering you through the glass. Yes. Thank you, gorgeous. Thank you for having me.