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[0:00] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Hi, this is Natalie Venetia Belcon and you're listening to Behind the Awards.

[0:07] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I know I'll hurry. Thank you so much, Tony voters, the entire Broadway community for welcoming me so warmly this last year. My sister, Marcy, my brother, Peter, my extended Armenian family for giving me my roots and my hairdresser, Gary, for restoring them to their natural color.

[0:30] Eila Mell: Hello, everyone. Welcome to Behind the Awards. I'm Eila and I am here with my pal, Bruce.

[0:41] Bruce Gotlieb: Hello, Eila. How are we doing?

[0:43] Eila Mell: I am very thankful to you for bringing Andrea Martin to us today.

[0:48] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, her 1993 Tony win for My Favorite Year. She's a riot.

[0:53] Eila Mell: I mean, just put her in anything and she'll bring the best of everything to it. I mean, she can do anything. She's hilarious, obviously.

[1:04] Bruce Gotlieb: But you can see a very young Andrea Martin in this horror movie called Black Christmas from the 70s.

[1:11] Eila Mell: OK, before I think it had to have been before SCTV, before the world got to know her.

[1:18] Bruce Gotlieb: OK, just great. I love to see her.

[1:20] Eila Mell: Yeah, she's a lot of fun.

[1:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Did you see her in Pippin as Bertha?

[1:24] Eila Mell: I did not.

[1:25] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, my gosh, I did. She stopped the show twice with her one song. I mean, amazing, amazing, amazing.

[1:32] Eila Mell: Yeah, she got a standing ovation in the middle of the song.

[1:36] Bruce Gotlieb: And she was, you know, doing acrobatics. She's just incredible. And she insisted on doing that. She didn't have to. She said, if I'm going to take this part, I don't want to be the grandma in the chair. She said, I want to be doing what everyone else is doing.

[1:48] Eila Mell: Good for her. I mean, what an attitude.

[1:51] Bruce Gotlieb: That's great.

[1:52] Eila Mell: Yes. So, Bruce, we experienced a very theatrical moment, like one of those like Shirley MacLaine kind of moments where the understudy has to step in.

[2:03] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. Can you tell the story, paint the picture?

[2:06] Bruce Gotlieb: Sure. So we went to see Real Women Have Curves over at the James Earl Jones Theater, which, by the way, I love that theater.

[2:13] Eila Mell: Yeah. It's just so beautiful. You walk in, there's this lounge area off to the side. It feels almost like a hotel. It's just...

[2:21] Bruce Gotlieb: To me, it feels like you're going to a party, like a reception event. Yeah, it's fun.

[2:26] Eila Mell: And then on top of the theater itself being that way, they have a step and repeat set up on the back wall over by the merch with a sewing machine, a dress on a dress form. And then they have this mariachi band come out and play music.

[2:41] Bruce Gotlieb: I mean, yeah. It really sets up an event and an atmosphere, which it puts you in a good spirit and in a good mood. It makes you excited to see what else is going to be coming.

[2:52] Eila Mell: Yeah, it's so much fun. So we sit down, we see the show. We see Act One. Act One, everything's going along. Intermission comes.

[3:02] Bruce Gotlieb: And we're talking about the show in between. And you can tell, you know, Tatiana Cordoba was having some struggles vocally.

[3:12] Eila Mell: Not because she's not talented. It's not like, why is she here?

[3:16] Bruce Gotlieb: No, she's very talented. Right. You could just tell something's wrong.

[3:19] Eila Mell: Yeah. And then, you know, we all sit down, they flash the lights, and then Sergio comes down.

[3:26] Bruce Gotlieb: Sergio Trujillo, the director of the show, right?

[3:29] Eila Mell: Yes. Director and choreographer.

[3:30] Bruce Gotlieb: And choreographer, yeah. Comes down with a microphone in his hand and says, you know, I'm so sorry, but in true Broadway fashion, unfortunately, our leading lady is not well and she cannot continue to do the show, but they are going to continue on with the show.

[3:49] Bruce Gotlieb: And in her place, understudy, Elisa Galindez is going to be coming in. And he just asked for some grace because she hadn't had a rehearsal. She hadn't had a costume fitting. She hadn't had anything.

[4:03] Eila Mell: Right. So she didn't, I mean, it was her job to watch, but she hadn't been able to get on her feet with this show ever.

[4:11] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. And then after the show, Sergio even shared with us that they were going over lines and stuff as she's getting wigs put on, like backstage must have been just a tornado.

[4:20] Eila Mell: Oh, my gosh. So now this girl comes out on stage, of course, the audience, the minute she steps on stage, gives her a huge ovation to let them know that, you know, we're here with you. And I mean, what a thrilling moment.

[4:32] Bruce Gotlieb: This girl was she knew everything she needed to do. I mean, Tatiana was wonderful. And, you know, we hope to go back to see her entire performance. But what a treat. What a treat to get to see two people play this role.

[4:47] Eila Mell: And, you know, for someone to get the opportunity, you don't. Yes, she'll know if she's going on in a role. But this opportunity, this life changing, you know, not only is this her Broadway debut, but that was her Broadway debut with this frenetic chaos.

[5:04] Bruce Gotlieb: She didn't go out with a script. She didn't come out with, you know, she came out as if life depended on it. Because, you know, at that moment, it probably felt like it did.

[5:13] Eila Mell: It probably did. She was wonderful. I mean, you forgot two minutes in that you were seeing an understudy.

[5:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Right. She just owned that role. It's so special. I mean, these understudies and swings, you know, part of us having this conversation is to say these understudies and swings, they are just there. It's a heavy lift, you know, you do. You have to be ready at a moment's notice, even if it's a day's notice.

[5:40] Eila Mell: Oh, you're doing this track today. And, you know, that memory bank storage, I don't know how they pull from it, but it's certainly impressive.

[5:48] Bruce Gotlieb: It's such a specific and skilled kind of position to be in. It's just it's really astounding. And to get to see something like that happen was just such a special moment for us. I will never forget it.

[6:02] Eila Mell: Yeah. And at the end, you know, she comes out to take her bow. The audience goes crazy. Her casting crew go crazy. Everyone circled around her. Just so much love and support. It was amazing.

[6:16] Bruce Gotlieb: What a moment in the theater.

[6:18] Eila Mell: Absolutely. And, you know, if anybody was in the theater that might be, you know, a producer or director or whomever, you know, maybe industry person, you know, really got to see this girl soar. And who knows what that'll do for her career?

[6:31] Bruce Gotlieb: Absolutely. I mean, yeah. And the fact that, you know, on her own, as all of them do, right, she's not the only understudy that is prepared, you know, and works so hard on their own. But, you know, that's the job. But she really, really incredible without any rehearsal. They didn't know what to expect.

[6:46] Eila Mell: The people involved, they didn't know to what degree she was prepared.

[6:54] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, because also what should be noted is that rehearsals for understudies don't happen until the show opens. Because you're working it and you're tweaking it. And there's changes happening every day.

[7:05] Eila Mell: Exactly. So you can't, you got to get your main people ready for opening night.

[7:10] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah. So after opening is when normally you then have those put in rehearsals.

[7:15] Eila Mell: Right. And then on top of all of that, Tatiana Cordoba, you know, the actress who she stepped in for publicly said how, you know, how she appreciated her work. And, you know, it's just so lovely that, you know, of course, there's no competition. And it's just, you know, it's a family. And, you know, she just she just put it out there that, you know, she was appreciative. And I think that that's really important. And, you know, such a lovely thing.

[7:42] Bruce Gotlieb: Absolutely. Well, speaking of lovely things, we have the star of Buena Vista Social Club on today.

[7:49] Eila Mell: Oh, my gosh, boy, Natalie Venetia Belcon. She is doing such incredible work in this show. Let's just bring her out where there's so much to talk to her about.

[7:59] Bruce Gotlieb: All right.

[8:02] Eila Mell: Well, Bruce, you and I have had the pleasure of seeing Buena Vista Social Club.

[8:08] Bruce Gotlieb: Yes, we have.

[8:08] Eila Mell: And now we're so excited to welcome the star of the show, Natalie Venetia Belcon. Welcome to our show.

[8:16] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I thank you so much. Both of you for having me.

[8:19] Eila Mell: Thank you.

[8:20] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Our pleasure. Thank you for joining us.

[8:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, boy, you play a very grand dame in this show.

[8:26] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I love it.

[8:27] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Thank you. She's fun to play.

[8:31] Eila Mell: Yeah. You know, when the show first started, I'm sitting there in my seat and I'm, you know, taking it all in. You come out for your first, you know, bit of exchange. And I thought to myself, you know what? That's just the right amount of sass I want to start the show off with.

[8:46] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I think people of a certain age appreciate that.

[8:50] Eila Mell: It would be nice if you could just respond to people like that when you felt like it.

[8:55] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Oh, absolutely.

[8:58] Eila Mell: And you get to do it eight times a week. That's incredible.

[9:01] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Very therapeutic. Very therapeutic.

[9:04] Eila Mell: Yeah. All right. So going in, I really, you know, I knew, of course, this was an album, but I didn't know the music. I didn't know anything going in. How about you? What did you know about this project when you first started?

[9:15] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I did know the music. I know the music from my parents, classical pianist, mother, jazz trumpet player, father. And they introduced me to one of these, The Social Club, that album.

[9:27] Eila Mell: And did you know the real Omara that you play in the show?

[9:30] Natalie Venetia Belcon: You know, of her, obviously.

[9:32] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I knew of her. I mean, nothing like major, like I do now. You know, investigating her every move for her entire life, you know, once I got this.

[9:46] Eila Mell: But I did know of her.

[9:48] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yeah. I think it's incredible that she was able to be there at the show.

[9:51] Eila Mell: Oh, my goodness. I would not believe when she came through the door and then onto the I couldn't, I couldn't believe it.

[10:00] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I couldn't believe it there. Did they tell you before that she was joining that she was going to be there that day?

[10:05] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yes, I mentioned it on like four or five of the Red Carpet interviews. I was like, by the way, Omara.

[10:10] Eila Mell: Wow, that's just huge. I mean, because she is the show, even though she's clearly not the only member of Buena Vista Social Club. But this telling of the story is really her story. So what an honor.

[10:23] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I mean, when this moving from the Off-Broadway location now coming into a Broadway space, obviously a more more space. Did anything really drastically change with the show? Were you able to do things maybe that you guys wanted to do that you couldn't do in the Off-Broadway space?

[10:36] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I don't think there's anything. I mean, we have more space now.

[10:45] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Right. So I think it's just more feast for the eyes and the dancers have a lot more room. So I think people are less worried about somebody kicking somebody in the head, you know, especially because those girls are they're up there up to the sky. Those legs.

[11:03] Bruce Gotlieb: I mean, yes, yes, they are.

[11:06] Natalie Venetia Belcon: And the men, too.

[11:07] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, yeah.

[11:08] Natalie Venetia Belcon: And it was, you know, it was a nice, intimate feel Off-Broadway. But I think that's one of the things, you know, everybody audience. I know I used to be up in the wing. And them, too. So they are definitely happier. And I, I think sitting out in the house and looking at it, it's we feel now we feel fancy.

[11:33] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, where we were, you know, we were giving you like, you know, the little rascals before.

[11:42] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Now we're fancy. We've arrived.

[11:45] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah, there's something that's just scrappy about being Off-Broadway.

[11:49] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yeah, I get that. Now, obviously, the show had huge buzz Off-Broadway. Did you know? Did you feel that it was going to move?

[11:57] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I did. I did.

[11:58] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yeah, I did when I read it when I was asked to come in to audition.

[12:04] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I did. Same on you. I read Avenue Q. I was like, yep, that's it. The same way with this one.

[12:10] Bruce Gotlieb: We cannot talk about, you know, that show. The little show that could because going in everyone was like Wicked, which no, no shade to Wicked. It is a great show. But here was this little show doing something different, you know, for people of a certain age who grew up on, you know, Sesame Street. And we'll throw Gary Coleman in there.

[12:30] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Oh, my God.

[12:34] Natalie Venetia Belcon: It blows my mind that the same woman playing Omara in Buena Vista Social Club played Gary Coleman.

[12:42] Bruce Gotlieb: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[12:45] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Our first guest that we recorded was John Tartaglia. We still have a family text chain.

[12:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, that's nice.

[12:53] Natalie Venetia Belcon: And they came to see the show the Sunday before we opened. And we have family dinner at Virgil's. Virgil's was one of our spots to go have family dinner in between shows.

[13:05] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, my God. Virgil's and Tony Roma's.

[13:07] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yep.

[13:08] Bruce Gotlieb: And Tony Roma's.

[13:09] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Wow. That's not around anymore, is it?

[13:11] Bruce Gotlieb: No, I don't think so.

[13:13] Natalie Venetia Belcon: And Chat and Chew, when we were off Broadway, we were always at Chat and Chew, which is also no longer.

[13:19] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[13:20] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Oh, well.

[13:22] Bruce Gotlieb: Mm hmm.

[13:23] Eila Mell: How did Avenue Q come to be for you?

[13:25] Natalie Venetia Belcon: What I was told is they were having a hard time finding, I think, I believe I was the last one to be cast. They were having a hard time finding someone that was getting it, basically.

[13:37] Bruce Gotlieb: Right.

[13:39] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yeah. But, you know, antics and shenanigans are my jam. I am all in for antics and shenanigans.

[13:46] Eila Mell: So, I mean, I read it. I was laughing my ass off. And I was like, yeah, this went in at it. You know, they said, well, try this. Try that. Try the other. And by the time I walked out of the room, my agent was calling me with the.

[14:01] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, that's amazing.

[14:02] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Amazing. And you must have grown up watching Diff'rent Strokes. So Gary was just in you, right?

[14:05] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Diff'rent Strokes. Anything inappropriate. I was allowed to watch it.

[14:41] Natalie Venetia Belcon: My father took me to the Kentucky Fried Movie, so I get what you're saying. And I had to sit next to my parents in some very uncomfortable movies. So yeah, I totally understand that. And we watched Benny Hill at dinner. It was like, I was the one who didn't like it. I mean, we are a feral, feral, feral group. It was a different time. I mean, listen, I loved it. I actually miss it. I know. I know. So much fun. At what point in your upbringing and discovering all of these shows, were you like, this is what I want to do. I want to be a performer. So I, when I think about it, I always knew it. I didn't come to the, okay, this is what I'm going to do until it was time to graduate junior high school.

So I grew up dancing. I started dancing on television in Trinidad when I was four. Um, there was a woman that lived across the street from us. And she used to choreograph for this talent show. And I was always over at her house. Like I was just, I would invite my friends over all the time. And she happened to be choreographing stuff. And I just kind of stood in the back and was doing everything she did, just like this, just everything she did. And like, two days later, I was on the show dancing. And then I wound up singing in a band. And then, you know, it just, I was always doing something. I thought I wanted to go into medicine. So I had to make the decision. It was either Bronx high school, math and science or performing arts.

And, um, it was a friend of mine who was a ballerina in junior high school. And she was like, she was like, what, what's wrong with you? Everything you do, you live and you breathe the arts, you know? Yeah. And so that's, I made the decision to go to performing arts.

[16:36] Eila Mell: So did you go when it was the old building? Or were you there for the new building?

[16:40] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I spent my freshman year in the old building. And then they forced us. We were not happy. Yeah, I know. Nobody was happy. No, I didn't want it. We didn't want it. And then, and then the thugs across the street were threatening to kick our behinds every day. Like this was the worst move in history. Who thought to put a little fancy school behind across the street from Martin Luther King Jr.? So they locked us down that we weren't able to go out for lunch anymore because of the kids across the street. If any of you are listening to this, y'all sucked.

[17:20] Kevin Solak: Hi, this is Kevin Solak, and we'll be right back with Behind the Awards.

[17:30] Eila Mell: So, you know, the character that you play is so different from you in real life, right? I mean, you're much more youthful, you know, she just, I don't know, she carries herself in a much different way. What was your way into her?

[17:44] Natalie Venetia Belcon: My way into her? Well, I have a very or a had when she was still with us, my grandmother. She was very grand. She was grand. Okay. Very good. And very, you know, she was giving drag queen with drag queens give a drag queen. Oh, she sounds amazing. So this character, I already knew where I was going with it. Got it. Then, you know, when you watch Amara in the audio documentary, you can her vibe is strong, it's strong. And although she doesn't say much in the documentary, you get it just by watching how she holds herself as she carries herself. And then when she opens her mouth, I mean, she's on a she's a character. She is a character, you know, she's a full thing. And I'm fully expecting to see her on RuPaul's, you know, thing. Yeah. Snatch game. Yeah. Oh, we're waiting for it. That'd be perfect.

[18:56] Eila Mell: You know, working with Saheem Ali, how did he help you find her?

[19:01] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Saheem is, he's a very open director. So he kind of lets you, which I appreciate. I mean, I need that. Um, I prefer it kind of just lets you run wild on the playground. Yeah, I mean, I again, not everybody likes that. I love it. I like to find my way. And then he, you know, come in at the end and, you know, nip and tuck and put that there or take that out or, you know, things like that. But I had I had, I was able to find my way there rather than, okay, you have new lines, say the lines, okay, now do it like this, you know, which drives me back. It drives me back.

[19:47] Eila Mell: So, yeah. As the daughter of musicians, do you feel like you understood the people, the characters in this show more than someone else might have?

[19:56] Natalie Venetia Belcon: I don't know with this group, but who the musicians all grew up in there, right? They grew up in that environment. Yeah. And then you have, like, Mel also grew up in an environment. I mean, who would I maybe maybe the kids? The kids, the younger versions? Yeah, absolutely. But the rest of them lives that they grew up with all of that. I do have, again, the musicians, the parents, but I do have I'm from Trinidad. I do have a Caribbean background. So we the Caribbean in general has, you know, we have our similarities. Yeah, sure. Now, you mentioned liking enjoying to have the freedom to kind of fly a little bit. Are you able to take that that same freedom when you're doing a role that's already existed? You know, you've had you've done replacement parts. You've originated roles, a different mindset when you come into the part.

[21:00] Natalie Venetia Belcon: It is different in that I'm not creating that character. Right. So I have to color in the lines within the lines. But there have been I've definitely been able to make them my own. Mrs. Phelps, Madame Morrible, Joanne, I've been able to make them my own while still staying in the lines. They've definitely been different, but the same, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So in playing Omar, did you work with Issa Antonetti, who plays the young version of your character to build the character? Or did you each kind of bring your own things? And then?

[21:34] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Yeah, it was it was really separate. We were separate in a lot of ways during the rehearsal process. I think the first week to maybe 10 days, we were even in separate rooms. We were. We barely, you know, maybe saw each other in the hallway, go to the bathroom or something. But as I have said to others, there's a 40 year difference between the two. I'm not the same person as I was when I was 20. And I say in the show, Omar says, when Kumbay says the girl I knew was fearless, she responds, I'm not her anymore. And again, it's 40 years. That's two generations, right? Four decades. That's a lot of time.

[22:25] Eila Mell: So what's been the most fun part of this whole experience for you so far?

[22:30] Natalie Venetia Belcon: All of it. I have the memories from my parents introducing us to the album and having that whole personal experience two years later, getting the call to audition for it. You know, that was something else entirely. And then like being in the room, finally, the workshop reading and you know, there were quite a few moments where I was just like. It was it was unreal. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like that, where something from years before happens to pop up out of nowhere. And it's like, wait, wait a minute. I, I, I spent, you know, time with my parents and, and cooking meals and things, listening to this album, you know, listening to them geek out about it, right? Two musicians, like geek out about, you know, all the, you know, different things.

And then every night getting dressed for it and putting on that, the headband, which is just iconic, right? I mean, that's it right there. That is the, that is it. And now she's ready, right? Complete. And going on and doing it. It's, it's, it's really, I keep saying this, I need to, I need to maybe make up a word for it, because I'm having an out of body experience. It's the memories. It's all that I really, I honestly, I'm in disbelief. Every, I can't believe, I can't believe it's happening. I can't believe it's happening.

[24:08] Eila Mell: It's such a privilege to get to star in the show, to get to play this wonderful woman.

[24:13] Natalie Venetia Belcon: But then it's also a privilege for us audience members to get to see you do it. It's just, it's so wonderful. The show has been so welcomed and so well reviewed by critics. How does that, what does that do for you as an actor? I mean, I know you don't do it for the critics, but you know, it must feel good.

[24:31] Natalie Venetia Belcon: It does feel good. It helps with the, you know, I am, I'm always very concerned about not embarrassing people and not having people sit there like, why don't we hire her? And then the added pressure of it being the social club. On top of that, I am, you know, there was just, there were times during rehearsal, I would just find myself literally sitting in a corner by myself, like, I've really gone and done it to myself now. So it is, it's such a relief that because I worked, I worked really hard to make sure that what I was doing was, it was truthful. It didn't look like I was, you know, you know, making things up, you know what I mean? Yeah. And to see that it is not just from them, but from everyone that people are seeing my hard work and my concern and my attention to detail is a load off of my shoulders.

[25:59] Eila Mell: The night I was there, after one of your numbers, the audience, like, just was not stopping. They just, you can tell, like, you're standing there and you're, you know, soaking it in because it just has to be amazing. But I think almost at one point you're like, you, like, you could see, like, you'd be like, we do have, like, some more to get to, you know, like.

[26:08] Natalie Venetia Belcon: It was, it was, it's Dandela and it is, I mean, that song, all that song, I was like, I was afraid of that song. I joke with Marco Baguia, the MD, all the time that when all of this, you know, when we can breathe from all of this a little bit, I'm going to go and do an independent horror film. And the name of it is going to be Dandela. The Michael Myers is going to be the Tongo, because between the song and then having to get the accent right and like looking like a frazzled, wet, dirty mop on the floor. Somebody throw me away, please. You never know. It looks, I mean, it's such, it feels, it feels amazing. Again, it's another, you know, when they say, do your work and make sure you're doing the work and doing it properly.

And, and, and it will pay off. And that is the payoff, right? To hear that response, because you have no idea. It still scares me. I literally am crossing myself until I walk through that door to start the scene. It's like, please spirit be with me. Dandela is here. Yeah, it is my, my little horror story. So yes, you conquer it every night, every day, every performance. So congratulations. We're so happy for you. I mean, you've been so recognized by the whole community. It's really a special moment for you.

[28:02] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Thank you. Yes.

[28:03] Eila Mell: Happy we get to share just a little bit of it with you. Thank you so much for joining us.

[28:08] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Thank you so much for having me.

[28:10] Eila Mell: Well, thank you. And we will see you next time on Behind The Awards.

[28:14] Natalie Venetia Belcon: Okay, bye.