This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:08] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to the Break a Bat Podcast, where baseball meets Broadway, an attempt to show that my two favorite mediums don't have to live in such separate worlds and maybe even break some stigmas.

[0:19] Al Malafronte: We're happy to have you with us. Now let's play ball.

[0:26] Al Malafronte: Hello and welcome to Break a Bat, where baseball meets Broadway and sports meets show business. This is Al Malafronte coming at you tonight for the Broadway Podcast Network.

[0:35] Al Malafronte: Uh today's hitter has a career on stage that now spans more than 13 years. He made his big league debut playing for the storied Le Miz franchise before going on to play the title role in Shrek the musical. Uh he also co-starred in Big Fish on the 20th century, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And back in 2018, he stepped into the title role of Phantom of the Opera, a role that he'll return to on October 22nd over at the Majestic Theater. In addition to all of his accomplishments on stage, he's also a tremendous sports fan, which is why I'm so excited he can join us tonight in the batter's box as we celebrate Broadway's triumphant return. So with that being said, I ask you all to please turn your attention to home plate. Just be on the marquee. Now batting Ben Crawford.

[1:19] Ben Crawford: Hey, hey, hey, how's it going? Thank you for having me out.

[1:22] Al Malafronte: Dude, it is my absolute pro pleasure, bro. And I mean, you're rocking that epic Diamondbacks hat today. Like you got the sick brim, the custom look over there. It's very nice to see.

[1:37] Ben Crawford: Thank you. Thank you. I always gotta rep my team, even if they're down in the dumps.

[1:42] Ben Crawford: Boy, it would have been great if they had a banner season in 2021. You know, since it's like the 20th anniversary of that '01 team, that would have just been so awesome. I mean, that team was just insane, and that would have been cool, but you know, I love my D-Backs, but they've got a business model that's, you know, sell when guys are really talented and then go get some prospects and hope that something hits. I don't know. I've seen it since the year we won that World Series, and they just gutted the team, but you know, I'm not the one with the money making the decisions.

[2:21] Al Malafronte: Now let me ask you, who did you root for before the Diamondbacks came to Arizona?

[2:26] Ben Crawford: That's a great question. So, um, we didn't have obviously major league baseball, we had minor league baseball, and in Tucson, we had the Pacific Coast League, which I think is like now gone. Um, but our team at the time was the Tucson Toros, uh, who were really fun to watch, and they won the title one year I remember growing up. Um, but then what happened is the Colorado Rockies, uh, the Colorado got their expansion team, and then Colorado started doing their spring training at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson where the Toros played. So then we started to get spring training baseball, and then so then I was a Rockies fan. Uh, and really like followed them. Like I remember I had the David Need was the big pitcher they got, and they had this like poster that was like the need for speed.

And I remember having that poster in my room. Like, I think there was a lot of like Colorado Rockies fans down here, and then we got the D-Backs, and that changed everything. Like, uh, suddenly we had the Sidewinders, the Tucson Sidewinders. I think that the PCL league like went away or something, and the Toros became the Sidewinders, and then the Sidewinders were the minor league team for the D-Backs, and so, I mean, two-hour drive to your farm team, I think was probably advantageous for a while. But now the whole thing's blown up. Now I think it's the Tucson Padres for San Diego, but it changes all the time now. It's like a grab bag out here when it comes to minor league teams right now.

[3:53] Al Malafronte: It's the same in New York, though. I mean, right now, uh, right now, one of the Yankees minor league affiliates, I mean, used to be one of the Red Sox affiliates, like the Trenton Thunder. Um, they got rid of the Staten Island Yankees completely. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, they wiped away so many of these minor league teams. And now I think the triple-A team is like the, let's see. We have the, I know we have the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees, or it's like the Somerset Patriots out. It's like it constantly changes. And it's so interesting the way, especially with like the way COVID hit everything, unfortunately. Like I feel like you can't get too attached to these minor league teams, is what I'm saying, which is pretty sad.

[4:32] Ben Crawford: You can't, and you know, it kind of stinks because it's been okay so far, but I found my favorite minor league team, which is um, uh, one of the farm teams for the D-Backs up in Hillsborough, Oregon. They're the Hillsborough Hops. Uh, Hillsborough, Oregon, of course, is like, uh, has like the most breweries per capita. I think it's like Michigan and Oregon are tied, or so there's a lot of beer up there. I love beer. So the Hillsborough Hops, and they're like the single-A, like winter league team. I can't remember exactly when they play, but they have like a short season, and like they're just crushing it. They're very, very good. They're always competitive. And one of their former managers is a guy named Shelley Duncan, which you might be familiar with. 2007, 2008 Yankee.

[5:21] Al Malafronte: That's right. Yeah, you go.

[5:22] Ben Crawford: And I'm familiar with him because he went to my, he went to University of Arizona, where I went to school, and he had the home run record when he was there. So it's this like crazy thing. Like I found this team out there, then I found they were connected to the D-Backs. Then I found out Shelley Duncan had managed them. And I was just like, okay, this is my team. And the fun thing is, like, they have some really cool hats too. I wish I could find my favorite hat. I don't have it with me right now, but it's the PDX carpet from Portland Airport on the top of the hat, which is just like the coolest thing I ever thought there'd be on a hat. I don't know why I love airport carpet, but I just thought how random and awesome was that. So that's my, that's another team I love, the Hillsborough Hops up in Hillsborough, Oregon.

[6:02] Al Malafronte: That's really fun. You know what's funny? My favorite minor league team, just from going to the games a lot as a kid, it's ironically the Mets affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones, who were still there, actually. Just I mean, it always helped for us that, you know, they have a Nathan's, they have like the original Nathan's right there in Coney Island. So I mean, the whole experience of just going to the ballpark was awesome as a young kid. But it's funny. The first, the year they started though was in 2001, which is the same year that Arizona won the World Series.

[6:30] Ben Crawford: So I guess you would have been in college for that '01 team.

[6:33] Al Malafronte: I was. I was um, I'm trying to think, I think I just started college. And of course, that series was crazy. Um, but I'll never, one of like the funniest moments for me is um watching that final game, and then I was watching behind, I gotta set the story. I was watching behind the couch, like this, you know. Tony Womack was up to bat, and he hit um, he hit a, I think he hit a double like down the right side line. And I jumped up, and as I jumped up, I completely forgot that there was like a wooden like entryway, and I just went kid, like right into it. Just like yucca! Like just like boom, boom. So fast. And then thankfully I was okay. Uh, but then I remember, you know, if thankfully winning the game, and then trying to like going out with my buddy and trying to find World Series shirts like that night, and uh finding some at like a Walgreens, like at like midnight. They were like bringing them in. So it was uh it was an experience that uh thankfully I remember after that hit to the head.

[7:38] Ben Crawford: So I was gonna say, at least you weren't concussed by the time Luis Gonzalez came up, right?

[7:43] Al Malafronte: Yes, I know, I know, right. Oh my god.

[7:48] Ben Crawford: So yeah, thankfully I watched against Mariano of all people, man. It's just crazy. It was, and then that team, I mean, and I know that you know, as a Yankee fan, that was such like a big team, and that was a big year for the country and for um New York, obviously. There was just so much, you know, energy in that game. I just thought of like that might be if it's not the greatest, it's like one of the greatest World Series, like seven games, like, and there's like, and there's like whoopings that went on in that, like there was like games that weren't even close, and then like games that were really close, it had everything. We had, you know, starters coming in to relieve. It was just like a great soap opera of a series, I thought.

[8:39] Al Malafronte: You know, that's right, because game one, Arizona blew out the Yanks, it was like nine to one. Schilling pitched that great game, and then game six, they were smart, the Diamondbacks, because that game was 15 to 2, if you might remember. And Johnson was pitching a gem, but Bob Brenly had that wherewithal to take him out so he could save him to pitch in relief for game seven. And look how that worked out. It was one of the most brilliant moves of the World Series.

[9:04] Ben Crawford: It was, uh yeah, it just seemed like everyone had to be on their A game in those clutch moments. And even for the Yankees, they were too. I remember Brosius like had like just some insane hits. I think what game was that? Was that game?

[9:16] Al Malafronte: Game five.

[9:17] Ben Crawford: Game five, where he just like, I remember just being like, God, can we get a break in this game? And it was just like, no, we're the Yankees, we're clutch. So just like just you running all of the emotions during that series for sure.

[9:31] Al Malafronte: The worst part of it was for me anyway. I was in sixth grade during that series, and it was like almost every game that we won. Well, we won three of the games. The games three and game four were on school nights. So game three was obviously, you know, I got to see, you know, President Bush throw out the first pitch and everything, and Clemens pitched that great game, which was really cool. And I remember game four was the night where we were behind three to one against Kim. Uh, and it was Halloween night. We had like a school dance um that night for like Halloween, and then like coming back and watching a little bit of the game, but I had school the next day, so I had to go to sleep. The Yankees are down three to one.

I wake up the next morning to hear all the crazy stuff about Tino and Jeter with the Mr. November home run. So it's like unfortunately, I, if I remember correctly, game five, I did get to watch because we didn't have school the next day or something like that. But I mainly saw the Diamondbacks routing the Yankees, like in that 15-2 game, which was like on a Saturday night. So you could, I didn't care, I didn't even get to see the Mr. November home run because I was in sixth grade.

[10:31] Ben Crawford: Oh man. It was, I mean, like I said, that series just had so many ups and downs, and I don't think anyone knew who was gonna win until the end. It was just it was great baseball.

[10:44] Al Malafronte: I you're right. I do think it's the best World Series, at least in my lifetime. Like I wasn't alive for 1986. I wasn't alive for, you know, '55 and all that stuff. But I think in my lifetime, I think it's number one. This has been some, yeah, it's definitely up there for sure.

[10:58] Ben Crawford: Now let me ask you, growing up, did you play sports and do theater simultaneously?

[11:04] Ben Crawford: No, I was just like a weird kid with a lot of energy. So I, uh, I did sports and I didn't really get into theater. I just was like goofy silly guy. And then I kind of, I didn't really get into like theater theater until literally high school, like junior year. Um, I was very musical. I come from like a musical family, so I played uh trombone for like since fifth grade and was pretty good at it and like done that and did marching band, and then excuse me, junior year came along and they had like I got into choir, decided to do choir, and then we had the high school musical, and I did that, and I was like, Oh, I think I might like this more than band. And so I quit band my senior year and just did like choir and theater. And so it was, it happened later in life, but um I have always had that weird, quirky energy that I guess helped me. I don't know.

[12:03] Al Malafronte: You know, I'm always curious about that though, because obviously, um, you know, I'm not sure if it was like this in your house, but you know, baseball gets passed on from a father to son quite often. So the like you, um, baseball came first to my house and then the theater came along a little bit later. I was like in sixth grade when I was doing both simultaneously. Like with your buddies and stuff. Did they get behind you, you know, behind you leaving the ball field to go onto the stage?

[12:30] Ben Crawford: Um yeah, I mean, the cool thing about my high school was there was a lot of people who were doing just like really busy kids, kids who kept busy. I remember I was like a three-sport athlete for two or the four years, and I always had like another activity. And a lot of my friends were doing the same things. So while we were in athletics, we were also like, you'd like leave practice to go straight to like marching band, or you'd like go do that to go to rehearsal. And I mean, I think about that now, and I'm like, I just, I don't know. I just you're young and I guess you just have like unlimited energy because I was just going nonstop. But I think it helped at my school that there was just like people kind of did a bunch of stuff. So that was like maybe a cool thing to do in a way. I don't know. You know, just based on how high school works sometimes. It might have been that definitely helped when you have other people doing it, you know.

[13:21] Al Malafronte: Yeah, no, I couldn't agree with you more. It's it and you know what I think the game has changed a lot for a lot of people. I think a lot of people are more open-minded now compared to when you and I grew up. You know what I mean? So I think that like those stigmas, I mean, that's a huge reason why we started Break A Bat.

[13:37] Ben Crawford: It's you know, to try to break the stigma that you, you know, can't like sports and theater. Like who the hell says you can't? Like I feel like for a long time it was viewed as like uncool, but nowadays I think people are a lot more open-minded and just it sounds like you grew up in a pretty cool, pretty cool place in that sense where everyone was pretty understanding.

[13:55] Ben Crawford: Yeah, I think I do think back and consider myself pretty fortunate to where I where I grew up in growing up in Tucson and um going to a magnet school in middle school that really focused on like multicultural stuff, which at the time I didn't like realize that like having clubs for for people to um celebrate like their their ethnicities and diversity. Um that really I think influenced me growing up a lot, especially growing up in Tucson. Um and I think it's something that like I carried with me and then going into high school too. It was just very um accepting. And I know that like it wasn't perfect, but I know I felt like there was a lot of people doing a lot of different things and a lot of supportive families and people um involved in the area. And so I mean I think that just gives you like a stronger I don't know, infrastructure of people that care about you and support you. So um I definitely benefited from that.

[14:53] Al Malafronte: Now, these days, while you're you know performing in your Broadway shows, there have been a couple of years in which the Diamondbacks have been playing postseason games while you've been doing shows simultaneously. Um do you have any good stories about you know having to go on stage in the night of a big playoff game and how you were trying to get your updates on what was happening with the game?

[15:14] Ben Crawford: Well, the D-backs have had some, but you know, I think the one that I've had most recently was I'm a Colts fan, an Indianapolis Colts fan as well, which is a whole thing with my dad loving Johnny Unitas, and then following in my dad's footsteps, and now I just randomly work with the Indianapolis Symphony like all the time. So like they just I've been a Colts fan since like middle school. So I am uh at the show, and if it's like a Saturday or a Sunday and there's a game on, like I will have it on my television, and I get loud sometimes. And so I've like, I've yelled a word that isn't good, and someone will run in the dressing room. Is everything okay? And I'm like, no, because they dropped the pass, you know, or whatever it is.

So I have had a couple of those moments, you know, like I went to University of Arizona, so we've got football, and but well, football. Oh my god, we're not even gonna talk about the football team. Uh, basketball, um, you know, the basketball team will play and people, it's just a different side of you. You know, when like your team is playing, a different side of you comes out, and you're just like, we can't, I can't even with anyone else, just just stop it, just go away. And I'm working, but it's just you get something you're like, come on, baby, come on, baby. And they're like, what is happening? Like, I know there, you know, I love the comment. I don't know about you, but like I all my, you know, we have friends who aren't as into sports as us in like the theater world, and they'll say things like, you know, they can't hear you.

And it's like, I know they can't hear me. It's not for them, it's for me. I need to feel like I'm connected to them, and somehow my energy is being sent to them via the neural pathways of life. I don't know, but they just don't understand, they don't get it.

[16:58] Ben Crawford: Bro, my pet peeve is when I'm watching a big game, and if I'm in like a big social gathering where there's people who aren't necessarily like big baseball fans, they don't understand. They start asking me a lot of questions at the wrong time, but they don't realize that they're doing it at the wrong time. They realize that they don't know that the base is loaded, might not necessarily be the right time to ask me a certain question. You know what I mean? About what's going on in the game. How does baseball work? And you're just like, What? Like, what? Right now? No, I'm I'm busy. I'm busy, I'm sorry. Uh I I remember one of my favorite is like watching the game, and they'll be like, Well, like, so what's going on?

So that so then they're like, Well, well, what what's going on? And you're like, okay, so this is it. And then they, if they score a touchdown, then they win, and then they'll be like, so just score touchdown. And I said, Well, that's so that's what they're trying to do. But there's there's actually the same amount of guys trying to get them to not do it. So they're like, This just well, why don't they just score a touchdown? Like, that's what they are. They're trying to. They're trying to, I promise.

[18:03] Ben Crawford: Oh my god. Now you had mentioned to me that you picked up that sweet hat at Chase Field during the uh during the past year. Yes, yes. Um went to a couple games. Uh, you know, one perk when your team isn't doing that great, ticket prices go down a little bit, they're a little easier to score. Uh so went and saw a couple games, and uh yeah, I mean, it's baseball. It's like it's uh you know, I think baseball is maybe the one that I love to always like if you have a choice, I would always like I want to go to the baseball game. I just want to sit there and like be in like it really is like Americana, it is like a part of um America, I think more than the other games just because it was like made here. I think there's something about that. Um, but yeah, it's just like it was it was especially it was it was great because you know, there wasn't a lot of people going, so you could kind of you were spaced out and um you were able to enjoy the game and it was it was fun.

[19:02] Al Malafronte: Yeah, has it been tough for you to stay atop your game on the performing front, you know, throughout this crazy past year and a half?

[19:09] Ben Crawford: I mean, in some senses, yeah, because we haven't had you know the opportunities. So if you think of it like as an athlete, if an athlete can't play, you know, they have to find other ways to like keep themselves in shape. And so there is some of you know, waiting around and being like, okay, now we gotta start to get the you know engine up and running again and things like that. So uh yeah, I think during all this, like being self-sufficient was really important. Um, and so making sure, you know, taking care of yourself and um taking care of your voice and making sure it's ready to go when we come back in, uh, which is you know, pretty soon now. So uh there is definitely a part like an athlete, like keeping everything primed and ready.

[19:48] Al Malafronte: So the electric pandemic the electric pandemic album, for example, that was uh that was you taking your cuts in the cage because it came out pretty good. I mean, if you want to talk about home runs on the performing front, I thought that that came out pretty nicely.

[20:01] Ben Crawford: Well well, thank you. Yeah, electronic pandemic was this idea of like sitting around, like trying to feel like wanting to be self-sufficient and uh realizing like maybe I should do like a little album or something, and calling up my buddy uh Ryan Scott Oliver, who's a fantastic composer, and just kind of being like, Can we make an EP? And him going, Yeah, yeah, let's figure something out. So he got me in touch uh with this awesome arranger composer named John Coyne, and he and I worked together and took like four Broadway classic songs and kind of flipped them on their edge uh end a bit. And uh the fun thing about it, or the crazy thing about it was that I was in Arizona recording in my closet in my apartment, and then all of the musicians were recording in their apartments as well.

And then we sent everything over to the great Dean Chernow who mixed it all. And uh it's really cool to kind of think we were all in different places, like creating this music, and then it it came together, and I'm really proud of it. It's really awesome.

[20:57] Al Malafronte: And you have a Christmas album in the works as well now, right? Something to look forward to this holiday season?

[21:03] Ben Crawford: I do, I do. Yeah, we just started work on a Christmas album, and it'll be four awesome holiday songs flipped on their end a little bit, and uh, you know, help spread the Christmas cheer. Um and uh yeah, ring in the new year.

[21:18] Al Malafronte: Now, how do you go about picking your favorite Christmas songs to cover? Because there's so many, man. It's like I could if people ask me my favorite Christmas song, I have to give off like a top 10 list. How'd you narrow it down?

[21:28] Ben Crawford: Well, I think one thing that actually helps with like narrowing stuff down when it comes to picking songs for albums and things like that, is you kind of like it'd be like picking a team. Like you're not gonna have a team with like all shortstop. Like you need guys who are good at like every position. So when I was picking songs for electronic pandemic, it was like, okay, like what are the feelings that we get from each song? What is like the vibe, the groove? We wanted to do like four things that were like really different, but also could stand on their own. And so I think like looking for Christmas songs, that was like the same thing. Finding those songs that are like what I always look for when I'm doing stuff is maybe you won't like love everything, but there's gonna be something that you really love and you'll like like everything.

So it's like there's something for everybody. So once you start to kind of look at it, like finding things that are versatile that everyone can enjoy, and then you pick a song, you're like, okay, that song is like that crosses off these songs because they're similar, and then you just kind of using that, you fill out your lineup.

[22:24] Al Malafronte: Yeah, oh well, well, touche, touche. You got your combo of lefties, righties, power hitters, contact hitters, yeah. Nice balance.

[22:30] Ben Crawford: Absolutely, absolutely. The occasional switch hitter, that's awesome.

[22:34] Al Malafronte: Exactly. Oh man. So you ready to get back on stage at the Majestic uh in a couple weeks?

[22:41] Ben Crawford: Absolutely, absolutely. It's been um far too long, uh, as everyone knows. Um, we're starting up here real soon, getting into rehearsals. Uh it'll be interesting because it's been a while. It really feels like instead of putting the same show back up, I think we're putting up a sh like it feels like we're putting up a new show um in some ways so I'm I'm interested to see how that energy like affects everything and it'll obviously be in a positive way so I'm just excited to see how that works. Um and you know get back into like the swing of things which is just crazy to think about because it's just been uh the absolute opposite opposite of that for so long but very excited very excited.

[23:21] Al Malafronte: Now compared to some of the other roles that you've taken on um you know you talked a little bit about your background in theater and being kind of late to the game. Did you ever envision yourself in the Andrew Lloyd Webber franchise in such a big way taking on arguably the most iconic role in this whole catalog?

[23:38] Ben Crawford: No, no. Uh you know it was one of those things oh that'd be that'd be neat to do but never like really thinking that it would happen. And then actually like when the audition first came along I was just finishing Charlie and I hadn't seen my daughter in a in a little bit and I was like I want to go back and you know I want to I want to see her and then talking to friends were like yeah I know you want to do that but um you know think about what that could mean for her future if you did this and you know it was it was good. I got some great perspective from some friends to you know that hard thing as a parent sometimes where sometimes we just want to like sit there and like be with our kids and like you know love them and hug them and of course that's like awesome and I would love to do that all the time.

But then you know there's also that part of setting a great example and going out and working hard and um you know providing for them and uh it really helped like just having like supportive friends to help me make that decision even though I'm Mr. like crazy. So went in and auditioned and um was so fortunate to be able to get the role and um yeah it's still very surreal for me to you know be able to get to say that I have uh played this part and I get to play it again it's it's pretty cool.

[24:53] Al Malafronte: Now in your mind how is it going to be different as far as your performance when you go back on in 2021 compared to when you left the show in 2020 like do you have different ideas for where you're going to take the character for example?

[24:53] Ben Crawford: Yes and no I think one of the cool things um one of the things I love about what we do is the collaborative effort. Um I definitely think that we'll all have like obviously have new stuff to bring to our parts with everything we've gone through in the past year and a half. But I don't know how I'll be affected by that but I'm very open to it. And one of the things that I um love is when we originally were um working on the role of the Phantom when I was coming into the show was um the opportunity for discussion and um like character analysis and then how that goes into like each scene and how each scene builds upon the character throughout the story. So it's seeing how that will be um changed by everything that everyone has gone through I think will be create for interesting and provocative uh theater.

[26:01] Al Malafronte: Yeah. You know just to use a little baseball parallel here for a moment. I mean I mentioned your resume when we did the intro what was more pressure for you you know being a young kid coming up through the minor league system and you know in a relatively short period of time finding success in a show like Shrek, for example, when you're taking on like a major franchise character like that at or at a young age, or being an established veteran with high expectations uh to take on a role like Phantom, like what's more pressure for you as a player?

[26:32] Ben Crawford: I mean, I think the, you know, it's that that quote from Spider-Man with great power comes great responsibility, kind of thing. And like the more the more uh the more you climb up the ladder, the higher you climb up the the career ladder, um, just more is expected. And so I think it's it's more difficult, but it's more rewarding, you know. It's that double-edged sword of, you know, you want to work hard and you want to be the best. Well, then there's sacrifices you have to make to do that. Um it's people don't just like wake up one day and like get things handed to them.

[27:06] Ben Crawford: That's so incredibly rare. It takes sacrifice and working hard to build yourself up in one area can sacrifice another's, and that's just for everything, you know. So it requires that mindset and that preparation to be able to lay down the effort and also find a balance with life so that you can be at that level but also have time for family and have time for friends, and like you need to also have some time for you as well. So it just takes it's a whole process, I think that you refine as you get older and become more experienced and have more responsibility. Now you mentioned your daughter. I take it that she's very young. Does she get what you do? And like, how does she react when she comes to see you perform on Broadway?

Well, so I have two kids. I have a four-year-old and a two-year-old. My four-year-old is Charlotte, and then my son is two, he's Jack. And Jack wasn't around when daddy got Phantom, but they are really funny. I did this concert out of town, and they would send me videos during the day, you know, because they didn't really know what daddy did because like Charlotte before the pandemic, Charlotte had come to work with me, but she was like so little she didn't know what was going on. So they still don't really know, but I can't wait for them. They're gonna they'll come out and like see the show. And I don't know if Jack will come see it, but I think we'll have Charlotte come. I think she's old enough.

And if not, we'll just sit in the back and whisk her out if she gets bored. So I mean, we'll have like all those options for her. But the funny thing is is like I still don't know if she knows what I do. I think she thinks that I put on costumes because we'll go online and like show her pictures of me, and she's like, Daddy's wearing costumes. And you're like, Well, yes, yes, he is. But he gets paid to put those on. And as well, I'm not just like putting on costumes and then putting pictures on the internet to show you, honey. This was actually an organized photo shoot for a Broadway show. So that you know, but she's four, so I mean that's all I can expect. But it is funny to like show her videos.

Oh, this is daddy singing, and she's just like, she's like, what is he doing? Okay, all right. My favorite story is when she was really little, she came to the dressing room and I put on my phantom mask just like over my face. And I don't know if it's just like the contrast of like the white mask with my face. She just started to like shake and was like very scared all of a sudden, like, why is daddy's face gone? And I was like, it's okay, I take it off, it's okay, you know. And then I take the red death skull mask because I know my daughter, I'm like, let me just let me just try something. And I put the skull mask, it's like a full skull with a jaw thing down here. So when I go like that, the jaw moves, I put it on.

I'm like, hi Charlotte, that how are you? And she just loves it. She's clapping. Like, that's my daughter. That's my daughter. So that's my favorite story about her coming to the dressing room. And then I'm gonna like try it on and all that. And she's so funny. She'll like, you put the scary mask on. I don't want it on though.

[30:07] Al Malafronte: That's amazing. Too bad you don't get to bring those props home with you. I'm sure that you guys, you know, with a little bit of extra free time together, you could have, you know, tried out quite a few characters on her.

[30:18] Ben Crawford: Absolutely. We got some sweet dinosaur masks at home that really help with storytelling and being a raptor or a T-Rex. We've got some good costume pieces at home that she likes to use when she wants to be a dinosaur.

[30:31] Al Malafronte: I love that. That is so cool, Ben. And listen, man, you've accomplished quite a bit in your career, but we do this little segment here on Break A Bat. I know you might not have had too much exposure to Aroldis Chapman being a fan of a team that plays in the National League West, but I take it you know who the fastest throwing man ever is, right?

[30:50] Ben Crawford: I've heard of the man, yes.

[30:52] Al Malafronte: Yeah, so Chapman, fastest throwing man ever. We do a little segment here in his honor. That actually celebrates whoever our guest is. We call it fastball derby, where I want you to picture yourself or pick, yeah, picture yourself in the batter's box, me on the mound as Chapman, throwing 105 miles an hour. I'm gonna ask you a question, and you gotta think quick because the ball's coming fast. You tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. How does that sound?

[31:15] Ben Crawford: All right, let's do it.

[31:17] Al Malafronte: All right, favorite New York City meal.

[31:20] Ben Crawford: Oh sweetness. Um I would say, uh, damn. Ah, damn, damn, damn. Uh God, all right. Five, I guess like it's right nearby the theater. I love it. Five napkin burger, turkey burger, five napkin style.

[31:35] Al Malafronte: Thing you miss most about Arizona.

[31:38] Ben Crawford: Oh, the desert.

[31:42] Al Malafronte: January in Arizona, basically.

[31:45] Ben Crawford: What we get.

[31:45] Al Malafronte: Yeah.

[31:46] Ben Crawford: January in Arizona fire, fire going in the fireplace, doors wide open. That's the coolest thing.

[31:54] Al Malafronte: Coolest piece of memorabilia that you've kept from one of your Broadway performances.

[31:59] Ben Crawford: Oh, yeah. Um, I took the hands from Shrek, the gloves from Shrek and had them forever. I still have them somewhere. But my favorite was I would put them on my they lived on this lamp in my room, and I would go out of town and I'd come back and they'd be different. And I'd be able to go to my roommate and I'd be like, hey, dude, Jesus by Shrek. And he's like, oh yeah, we put them on at a party. We were all like drinking. I was like, that that's the coolest one. Yeah. I'm sure there's like many pictures of like just like middle fingers with that somewhere.

[32:31] Al Malafronte: Universal must love that.

[32:35] Ben Crawford: Oh man. Okay, your beer of choice while you're watching the game.

[32:40] Ben Crawford: Um, I love Brooklyn Brewery. I love KCBC. I'm not picky. I just want a good solid beer in my hand.

[32:50] Al Malafronte: All-time favorite Diamondback.

[32:55] Ben Crawford: I think I got Randy Johnson.

[32:58] Al Malafronte: Safe answer.

[33:00] Ben Crawford: That's my answer.

[33:02] Al Malafronte: That's a good answer. Good. I should say safe and good. Like it's not like you, you know, you didn't say like, I mean, you could have very well gotten like a Junior Spivey or like Danny Valtisa, like someone random like that.

[33:12] Ben Crawford: Like on a Craig Council.

[33:13] Al Malafronte: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's another good choice. Hey, very successful manager now, actually, Craig.

[33:19] Ben Crawford: Absolutely, yeah.

[33:20] Al Malafronte: Maddox.

[33:22] Ben Crawford: He's killing it.

[33:24] Al Malafronte: Favorite cast album.

[33:27] Ben Crawford: Um, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Uh god, I suck at this. Um, I would say spelling bee. I love spelling bee.

[33:39] Al Malafronte: Person in the audience you were most nervous or intimidated to perform in front of.

[33:46] Ben Crawford: Uh I have to say um no comment.

[33:46] Al Malafronte: No comment.

[33:54] Ben Crawford: There's nothing. There is a person. We're just we're not gonna get into it.

[33:59] Al Malafronte: Was there an incident that happened with this?

[34:02] Ben Crawford: Uh no, there's just a person that I don't want to talk about. That would be that person.

[34:09] Al Malafronte: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. Check the swing, folks. Um check swing. Favorite holiday tradition.

[34:15] Ben Crawford: Um Thanksgiving and watching football and eating food.

[34:26] Al Malafronte: Most embarrassing on stage moment.

[34:29] Ben Crawford: Uh oh, I split my pants all the time. They get split all the time. All the time. Uh three days, I believe, into my Broadway debut at Le Miz, they split. Um, I think they've split in every show. I think I've even split the fake pants in Shrek that I wore for the costume. Um, but they split a lot in Phantom because of what they're made out of. And then we get to the final layer, and it's really humid, and they stick to my legs. And so when I squat down to talk to Christine when she's on the ground, they just blow up. And it's been bad. It's been so bad that I'm like, are they still around my ankles? Do I still have pants? Like the inverse of like a tearaway, like a basketball player wears, but like I feel every part of the breeze now.

Like it has been very, and so then I'm just doing the whole scene, like not showing my back at all to the audience. This happens multiple times. And um, yeah, it's been really it's been so bad I've like bowed and lifted the tails of my jacket and the whole, you know, the whole cast is behind me as I bow, and they're all like, oh my pants split all the time.

[35:37] Al Malafronte: And despite the repetition of this happening, it still embarrasses you, huh?

[35:42] Ben Crawford: I guess it doesn't anymore, but God, it did for a while. But then it's like, like, I have the best dresser. He double stitches everything. It's just like it happens if it's not like if it's happening every show, it'd be like, what the heck? But it's like you get to like a humid day, and there I am in the layer, and I can feel it, but you can't, I can't be like this during the show. You know, I can't like touch it on my pants during the layer. So you kind of feel you're like, oh, they're not like they're not sliding down like you're supposed to, and then I go down to do it, and you just hear brr. Like that's the sound you hear. It just goes. And I know that just everything from north to south is just all right, favorite late night snack. Two show day, you get home from the Majestic, it's after midnight. What do you grab before you hit the couch and turn on the Diamondbacks game?

[36:27] Ben Crawford: Uh if I'm trying to be healthy, it's gonna be like hummus and celery or something like that. But if it's been a long week, it's probably a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

[36:38] Al Malafronte: That sounds on a Saturday night, that's honestly sounds like kind of epic, right?

[36:42] Ben Crawford: Oh, there's been some like pints and then like a cheese platter. You know, those long weeks, you're like, mm-mm. Daddy deserves all of the food groups.

[36:54] Al Malafronte: Proudest moment of your career.

[36:56] Ben Crawford: Um playing Phantom, working hard, it signifies so much hard work. Um, and I'm just so honored and fortunate. And um, I think there's a thing about working hard and reaching levels that you dreamed you could that you just appreciate so much. And I'm so grateful and blessed to be here. And so playing Phantom is just such a such an honor. It's definitely at the top of the list.

[37:21] Al Malafronte: And lastly, what's the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?

[37:27] Ben Crawford: Work hard because when you think you've worked your hardest, someone else is working harder than you. Just never stop when never stop working hard.

[37:36] Al Malafronte: Well, you certainly worked very hard in your career, Ben. And man, I'm so stoked to see you back on stage. I don't know if you knew this. The last show I saw before COVID hit, late February 2020, was You and Phantom. And it's uh I'm so looking forward to getting to see you back on stage, man. It's gonna be such a great, great fall here on Broadway, and you're gonna be a huge part of it, man. We're all so excited. Please, everyone come out, see a show, support Broadway. Um, we're ready for you guys. We're so happy to be here, and we just want everyone to come back and escape with us and have a great time.

[38:13] Ben Crawford: Yeah, man, absolutely. And uh for the folks at home who may want to connect with you on social media and get more information on your Christmas album once it's released, uh, where can they find more info on that?

[38:23] Ben Crawford: Uh, you can go to BenCrawford.com. That's my website. It's got all kinds of news on it. Right now, there's a link to you can hit up Electronic Pandemic on all your streaming platforms. And uh you could follow me on Instagram as well, Craw Daddy21, C-R-A-W-D-A-D-Y 21. Uh, and yeah, I'll post stuff there too.

[38:42] Al Malafronte: What's the origin of Crawdaddy, by the way? Is that your nickname?

[38:43] Ben Crawford: Yeah, so in high school, my nickname was Crawdaddy, and then for people like way back when we had AOL and we had AIM names. So my family, we had AIM, and my name was Crawdaddy, C-R-A-W-D-A-D-D-Y. But then we switched from AOL to CompuServe. And when we switched, I couldn't get the D-A-D-D-Y because AOL and CompuServe were still merged at the time. So I was like, I just have to do one D. And then that just kind of stuck. And then I added 21. So it was Crawdaddy 21 and 21 is a big number. Everyone, you know, blackjack, blah, blah, blah. But then um, my grandma and I were playing cards one day and she was counting out. She was like 18, 19, 20, 21. Like, she just like fucking sang 21. I was like, what? And so it became this like thing. Like for 30 years, it's been a thing in the family. So Crawdaddy 21, that's where it's from. Weird family. Love them to death.

[39:36] Al Malafronte: Freaking love it, bro. That is awesome. Man, I cannot thank you enough for joining us on the show today. This was a blast, man.

[39:41] Ben Crawford: My pleasure, Al. Thank you so much for having me, man.

[39:45] Al Malafronte: Of course. And uh thanks to all the folks who listened at home today to Break A Bat. Be sure to subscribe to Break A Bat wherever you get your podcasts. Uh, I'm so glad you could be with us today. This is Al Malafronte signing off for the Broadway Podcast Network. We'll see you next time.

[40:01] Ben Crawford: Thanks for listening to Break A Bat. This is produced by the fine folks at the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit and subscribe at BPN.fm slash breakabat. You can find me online at break underscore a underscore bat underscore podcasts. And you can also find the Broadway Podcast Network on Instagram at Broadway Podcast Network. It's been so great having you here with us today, and we'll see you next time.