Broadwaysted is the podcast for people who enjoy musical theatre, enjoy talking to people who love musical theatre, and enjoy talking about musical theatre. Join Bryan, Kevin, & Kimberly weekly as they speak with members of the theatre community. Games, chats, “casual drinks,” and more!
KC: Kimberly Cooper KJ: Kevin Jaeger BP: Bryan Plofsky
How did you come up with the name of your podcast?
KC: We came up with the idea first (drinking and talking Broadway) and spent sometime working out ways to combine those two elements into a snappy title.
KJ: We’re all about snappy
KC: While kicking around a few ideas one of us said Broadwaysted, and we all stopped.
BP: I do love word play.
KC: It just clicked, we had our title!
Who is one Broadway star that you would (each) most like to interview next?
KJ: Can we just all say Lin-Manuel Miranda?
BP: Yup. KC: Yeah.
KJ: I’d love Patti Lupone too.
KC: Kelli O’Hara
BP: Laura Benanti, no doubt.
What is the process of making a podcast?
KJ: Once we’ve made arrangements with a guest, we find out their drink of choice and start our preparations for the episode.
BP: I always prepare for the interview and all the puns, quotes, and flow of the show.
‘KC: And I go into high gear coming up with games and quizzes that complement the guest or the theme of the show
KJ: and it’s my job to get the alcohol 🙂 I’m really good at that.
BP: It’s a real team effort to coordinate everything.
KC: We record at the incredible Showbiz Studios with engineer Alex Brizel. Who one day we will take to karaoke for being the best 🙂
BP: Then I edit it down from an hour and 15 minutes and we post it to iTunes!
What makes your podcast stand out from other theatre podcasts?
KJ: I think Broadwaysted stands out because it’s a celebration of what we all as theatre people do all the time in our own homes or favorite late night spots (or daytime spots).
BP: We’re just having some drinks and some laughs while sharing our collective love of theatre, the industry, the magical nature of it all.
KC: Since we record in an environment where we can all kick back and just have fun, our listeners can feel like they are in on party and I think that’s really what has resonated with people.
BP: We wanted to make is accessible to everybody by making them feel like they’re at the table with us.
KC: I hope people like getting to know the three of us along with our guest, too!
How do you come up with different theatre games to use on the show?
KC: My brain! Combined with a good deal of googling and brainstorming all around. I like to think about our guest and tailor that episode’s games to them, like “Where the Heck Am I?” with Bright Star’s Hannah Elless. We had to guess the titles of Broadway songs about places, a la her song Asheville in Bright Star. I’ll also google around about certain topics I find interesting to see if I can make a quiz revolving around that topic, like the Superhero Musical quiz on Jeremy Jordan’s episode. The quizzes are my favorite.
What made you decide you wanted to run a theatre podcast show?
KC: The idea was semi-inspired by Drunk History and was initially a video concept before we realized that was too much work on a weekly or monthly basis. We shifted gears into a podcast and quickly realized that is was the right direction to head into.
BP: The three of us were all in the market for a consistent creative outlet to balance out our day jobs and other creative endeavors that lacked consistency and a weekly podcast gives us that, and more!
KJ: What started as a fun side project is quickly becoming the most rewarding part of our week and we couldn’t be more excited!
KC: The video concept is still mulling around in our brains though, so don’t count it out!
How does the recurring theme of alcohol tie into the theme of your podcast?
BP: The three of us will often head to a bar (ahem Glasshouse) after seeing a show and to talk about it and make silly jokes, like most people. We wanted to recreate that in the studio.
KC: So, we are always drinking when we record, and make sure we get our guest their drink of choice. We meet at a bar near the studio beforehand and over a round or two, get to know our guest a little off mic. We do also try to make sure we talk about what we are drinking and I make as many games as I can a drinking game, but mostly we like the happy hour vibe that having a drink together gives the flow of the show.
KJ: We’ve found that it makes the energy in the studio way more relaxed and fun than your traditional interview style podcast. The alcohol sets the casual environment–and makes for a few funny moments.
Have you came up with any Broadway themed cocktails?
KC – None that we’ve actually made yet, but we definitely have a few recipes we are dying to try out soon. Wicked’s Green Elixir
KJ: The Gin Game Fizz.
BP: The Apple Tree-tini?
KC: And we will always take suggestions!
Who has been your favorite guest (to date)?
KC – That’s not fair, we love them all!!
BP: We’ve had some awesome people on.
KC: But we do love our very first guest, Lacretta,
KJ+BP: LACRETTA!
KC: Yeah! She really helped us set the tone for the show and was so game to help us create the very first episode and get Broadwaysted off the ground. She has been our biggest fan and supporter since and we can’t wait to have her back!
KJ: Once you’ve been on the show (and even if you haven’t yet sometimes), you’re a #FriendOfTheShow…so each of our guests has brought something different to the table.
Where do you see your show in the near future?
BP: No big changes in store. We are focusing on expanding our listener base and continuing to give them awesome episodes with our amazing guests.
KC: We do have budding plans for our 25th episode, The Broadwaysted Games: Quarter Quell, and bringing back some fan favorite guests.
KJ: And maybe a live show?! Who knows!
BP: I want to host a Broadwaysted Bake-Off!
KC: Right now we are so happy with the response the podcast has been getting and are coasting on that high.
KJ: I’d also like to see us doing a special Hamil-sode to celebrate my first time seeing the show…and that should definitely happen in the near future #Kev4Ham
BP: Keep listening everyone!
ALL: ZOOT DO WAP. BUM!
Here are a few of the podcasts: Hannah Elless , Jeremy Jordan, and Laura Osnes