This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Quincy Brown: I imagine when Adina and Kristen are in Wicked and you have to go on, it feels a little womp womp.

[0:05] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[0:07] Quincy Brown: Just up in the fly space hearing everyone disappointed when they make the announcement.

[0:11] Kevin Bianchi: Ladies and gentlemen, the role of Galinda will be played by Laura Bell Bundy.

[0:21] Quincy Brown: My name's Quincy.

[0:23] Kevin Bianchi: And my name's Kevin. And this is Sentimental Men from Theaterly.

[0:26] Quincy Brown: We are here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater.

[0:40] Kevin Bianchi: Well, Quincy, how cute are we showing up to record today in matchy outfits?

[0:46] Quincy Brown: Kind of matchy. Matchy styles.

[0:48] Kevin Bianchi: Coordinated. Yeah. Like we both have a cap and our round glasses.

[0:53] Quincy Brown: Oh, wow. Oh, wow. And ear headphones.

[0:56] Kevin Bianchi: We do seem a little twinsies. Is that weird or is it cute?

[1:00] Quincy Brown: I think it's cute.

[1:01] Kevin Bianchi: Okay. Anyway. Hi, Quincy. How are you today?

[1:03] Quincy Brown: Aloha. I'm having an awful, awful, foul day. I've been in a rotten mood.

[1:09] Kevin Bianchi: But we were talking before we recorded. And I think it's because all I've done today is sit in my apartment and tip tap away on my computer and eat a block of tofu.

[1:18] Quincy Brown: And it is now 6pm.

[1:21] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[1:21] Quincy Brown: I'm gonna say that's not a recipe for a good day.

[1:25] Kevin Bianchi: But I can already feel my vibes improving because I'm talking with my good friend,

[1:30] Quincy Brown: Kevin. And we're about to talk with our good friend.

[1:32] Kevin Bianchi: Laura Bell Bundy. I'm so excited for this.

[1:35] Quincy Brown: Yeah, this is a big one. It's like, again, it's just like, she's got, I don't know how to explain the difference.

[1:41] Kevin Bianchi: But it's just like, she's such a presence in my like, my like mental image of what Broadway is because she's on two of the best cast recordings that there are.

[1:48] Quincy Brown: She's just like such an intrinsic part of my like, musical theater awakening, my like burgeoning love for the art form.

[2:00] Kevin Bianchi: Wow, my mood is improving.

[2:07] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I mean, like really, really special performer, really gifted performer, really talented performer. Like you were saying, I feel I feel like as I was thinking about doing this interview to me, she kind of has a little bit of the Idina Menzel career factor, where the jobs she is doing are specific and high impact and have staying power.

[2:30] Kevin Bianchi: I get that. I pick up what you're putting down there.

[2:33] Quincy Brown: She doesn't participate in flops. You know what I mean?

[2:37] Kevin Bianchi: She, I feel like she attaches herself to really smart and fun things.

[2:44] Quincy Brown: And roles that are really perfect for her too.

[2:46] Kevin Bianchi: Feels like she has a very good sense of who she is as a person and performer.

[2:50] Quincy Brown: I agree. And I also think too, something that I love about Laura Bell is that she has like, maybe it's not as much on our radar because of her genre of music, but like she has really done the crossover from like Broadway girly to recording artist.

[3:06] Kevin Bianchi: Speak for yourself, not on our radar.

[3:08] Quincy Brown: Very well.

[3:11] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, bitch.

[3:11] Quincy Brown: Oh, look, you're late again. Busy day. Got a lot on your mind. You should hear about mine.

[3:18] Kevin Bianchi: A tall drink of water and a pretty little thing. We're kissing on the corner in the pouring rain.

[3:22] Quincy Brown: Turn my head to get a better view. Oh, Lord, help me. It was you.

[3:28] Kevin Bianchi: I'm sorry. I'm still shaken.

[3:34] Quincy Brown: The crispness of those lyrics.

[3:36] Kevin Bianchi: It's, well, the writing is acting pretty strange. Didn't want to talk.

[3:41] Quincy Brown: There's a pep in your walk, smiling a lot when you look at your phone.

[3:45] Kevin Bianchi: There's a change in your tone. I beam through your pockets and smell your shirts.

[3:48] Quincy Brown: I don't wear bathing body works. Should've seen the signs you were sneaking around.

[3:52] Kevin Bianchi: She must be the number on the napkin I found.

[3:55] Quincy Brown: Like good shit.

[3:57] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[3:57] Quincy Brown: Wow. I'm a Laura Bell Bundy stan.

[3:59] Kevin Bianchi: I know. This is so exciting.

[4:03] Quincy Brown: Anyway, let's get into her resume.

[4:05] Kevin Bianchi: Okay. Yeah, it's a long one, so we should start.

[4:07] Quincy Brown: So, Kevin, we cannot start Laura Bell Bundy's resume anywhere else but in 1992, when she originated the role of Tina Denmark in the off-Broadway production of Ruthless.

[4:18] Kevin Bianchi: And who were her understudies, Kevin?

[4:20] Quincy Brown: Her understudy was Britney Spears.

[4:23] Kevin Bianchi: And also, fun fact, I guess, Natalie Portman.

[4:26] Quincy Brown: Oh, I didn't know that.

[4:28] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-hmm.

[4:29] Quincy Brown: Look at that. Interesting.

[4:31] Kevin Bianchi: What a trifecta.

[4:33] Quincy Brown: What a trifecta.

[4:35] Kevin Bianchi: Yes, I'm religious. I believe in the Holy Trinity.

[4:38] Quincy Brown: I wish. In my imagination, they became childhood BFFs and have a Ruthless group chat to this day.

[4:45] Kevin Bianchi: I hope so. We'll ask.

[4:48] Quincy Brown: Fast-forwarding just a little bit to 2002, when Laura Bell Bundy made her Broadway debut as Amber Von Tussle in Hairspray.

[4:58] Kevin Bianchi: Quincy, she was 21 years old.

[5:02] Quincy Brown: Wow.

[5:03] Kevin Bianchi: She was a baby.

[5:05] Quincy Brown: But you know what? Only a 21-year-old could originate a character like Amber Von Tussle.

[5:09] Kevin Bianchi: In 2003, she was the standby for Glinda on Broadway.

[5:15] Quincy Brown: Or I guess technically 2004, right?

[5:17] Kevin Bianchi: October 2003?

[5:19] Quincy Brown: I thought she did. Well, anyways.

[5:20] Kevin Bianchi: We'll ask.

[5:21] Quincy Brown: We'll ask. I thought she didn't open the production.

[5:24] Kevin Bianchi: I think the standby for Glinda came later.

[5:27] Quincy Brown: Ooh, that's interesting. Okay, cool.

[5:29] Kevin Bianchi: Next up, in 2007, Ms. Bell Bundy was back on Broadway, originating the role of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, the musical, which earned her her first Tony nomination.

[5:43] Quincy Brown: You may be realizing that that means that Ms. Bundy had two original Broadway cast principal roles under her belt by 26.

[5:49] Kevin Bianchi: Was Legally Blonde?

[5:55] Quincy Brown: On her parents' health insurance, and this bitch had played two principals on Broadway, original cast.

[6:03] Kevin Bianchi: What a fucking star.

[6:04] Quincy Brown: Wait, I'm sorry. She was playing Elle Woods at 26?

[6:06] Kevin Bianchi: If my math is correct, 26 or 27.

[6:09] Quincy Brown: Which is wild because to me, she was a full woman.

[6:13] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. When I was watching that MTV thing-

[6:15] Quincy Brown: And now I'm like, you were a baby and all that pressure was on you.

[6:19] Kevin Bianchi: At 26, she was belting so much better at the Palace Theater.

[6:23] Quincy Brown: And at 26, I am sitting here gossiping with my Judy about her belting at the Palace Theater.

[6:27] Kevin Bianchi: About her.

[6:31] Quincy Brown: The more things change, you know?

[6:33] Kevin Bianchi: In 2009, she did a little pop-in to the national tour of Legally Blonde.

[6:40] Quincy Brown: That was thrilling for me when that was going on.

[6:43] Kevin Bianchi: I remember scrounging the internet for those boots.

[6:47] Quincy Brown: In 2017, she played the role of Trixie in The Honeymooners at Paper Mill Playhouse with Friend of the Pod and former Legally Blonde co-star Leslie Kritzer-Rodriguez.

[6:58] Kevin Bianchi: Going into Spamalot revival on Broadway.

[7:02] Quincy Brown: That'll be so good.

[7:03] Kevin Bianchi: When I tell you, I will be seated.

[7:05] Quincy Brown: Yeah, we should have her back on to talk about that.

[7:08] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, gotta, gotta.

[7:09] Quincy Brown: And now in 2023, she is back on Broadway in The Cottage playing now.

[7:14] Kevin Bianchi: Quincy, you just saw it the other day.

[7:16] Quincy Brown: I did.

[7:17] Kevin Bianchi: Did you love it?

[7:18] Quincy Brown: Kevin was out with COVID, so was unable to attend.

[7:22] Kevin Bianchi: Is that okay to out?

[7:23] Quincy Brown: Yeah, we can talk about COVID.

[7:24] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I had it.

[7:25] Quincy Brown: Yeah, so I brought my friend Zachary with me, who is newly in his Broadway era.

[7:30] Kevin Bianchi: And I want to read his review that he texted me the next day.

[7:34] Quincy Brown: We weren't even talking about The Cottage.

[7:37] Kevin Bianchi: He goes, I told anyone I could talk to today about The Cottage.

[7:42] Quincy Brown: I'm a huge stan.

[7:44] Kevin Bianchi: It was so good.

[7:45] Quincy Brown: Everyone crushed their role.

[7:46] Kevin Bianchi: I was laughing the entire time.

[7:48] Quincy Brown: The plot had me on my toes, but in a really light-hearted way.

[7:50] Kevin Bianchi: The set was fabulous.

[7:55] Quincy Brown: That is so pure.

[7:57] Kevin Bianchi: I know.

[7:58] Quincy Brown: Oh, my God.

[7:59] Kevin Bianchi: I loved it.

[8:01] Quincy Brown: And he was being so genuine.

[8:02] Kevin Bianchi: That's so cute.

[8:03] Quincy Brown: And I laughed because it was just so earnest and cute.

[8:06] Kevin Bianchi: And he could not understand what I was finding funny about his review.

[8:09] Quincy Brown: That's really cute.

[8:11] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, it makes me happy to know that people still genuinely enjoy things.

[8:16] Quincy Brown: Right?

[8:16] Kevin Bianchi: Isn't that amazing?

[8:18] Quincy Brown: I was like, oh.

[8:18] Kevin Bianchi: Like, sometimes I feel so jaded, right?

[8:21] Quincy Brown: So to see somebody like that.

[8:22] Kevin Bianchi: I'm sorry that you're jaded.

[8:25] Quincy Brown: You know that one?

[8:25] Kevin Bianchi: Mm-mm.

[8:26] Quincy Brown: Miley Cyrus and the summer vacation.

[8:28] Kevin Bianchi: But yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with Zachary's review.

[8:30] Quincy Brown: It was such a fun, fun time.

[8:33] Kevin Bianchi: Laura Bell Bundy, I'm excited to talk to her about this.

[8:36] Quincy Brown: Because what seeing her in the show made me realize which I guess makes so much sense.

[8:42] Kevin Bianchi: And we all knew this already.

[8:43] Quincy Brown: But she is such a brilliant, brilliant actress and physical comedy actress.

[8:49] Kevin Bianchi: The things that she was doing with her body on that stage.

[8:52] Quincy Brown: There's just like, cottage is hard to talk about.

[8:55] Kevin Bianchi: Because there's a lot to spoil.

[8:57] Quincy Brown: It's like one of those classic Farsi, who's at the door?

[9:01] Kevin Bianchi: And something's happening.

[9:02] Quincy Brown: And you're going to find out this and blah, blah, blah.

[9:04] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[9:04] Quincy Brown: And it was so fun and engaging.

[9:06] Kevin Bianchi: It was two acts.

[9:07] Quincy Brown: And you know me, I feel like two acts these days are a tough sit.

[9:10] Kevin Bianchi: But this flew by.

[9:12] Quincy Brown: It was so much fun.

[9:14] Kevin Bianchi: I forgot how much of a crush I have on Eric McCormick.

[9:18] Quincy Brown: Because I went into it, Laura Bell Bundy, blinders on.

[9:22] Kevin Bianchi: And then she opens it.

[9:23] Quincy Brown: But then Eric comes down the stairs.

[9:24] Kevin Bianchi: And I was like, forgot he was in this.

[9:30] Quincy Brown: How was Lily?

[9:32] Kevin Bianchi: I love a belty woman.

[9:34] Quincy Brown: I love a woman who sings.

[9:35] Kevin Bianchi: Lily Cooper has an incredible voice.

[9:38] Quincy Brown: She is such a gifted straight play comedy actress as well.

[9:43] Kevin Bianchi: After seeing her in POTUS and this, I was like, oh wow.

[9:45] Quincy Brown: There's something really special about you in this medium.

[9:49] Kevin Bianchi: That's so cool.

[9:50] Quincy Brown: I love that.

[9:51] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, she was great.

[9:52] Quincy Brown: I love that.

[9:53] Kevin Bianchi: It makes me so happy to hear you say that the cast is genuinely good and funny in these roles.

[10:01] Quincy Brown: These types of shows are like a machine where you push go.

[10:04] Kevin Bianchi: And it just happens.

[10:05] Quincy Brown: And it takes a really special skill to keep up in a show like that.

[10:09] Kevin Bianchi: I also think it's really easy as an actor.

[10:11] Quincy Brown: I would imagine it's very easy as an actor to kind of drop the ball in a show like this.

[10:16] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, because things are timed.

[10:18] Quincy Brown: And for it to be good.

[10:19] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, that's so cool.

[10:20] Quincy Brown: And yeah, I love that about Laura Bell Bundy too.

[10:23] Kevin Bianchi: Is that it's like you look at her and you think like, oh, she's like perfect, beautiful, blonde, cheerleader, popular girl.

[10:28] Quincy Brown: But then she's such a weirdo too.

[10:34] Kevin Bianchi: She's so cuckoo and funny.

[10:36] Quincy Brown: And she has all those weird parody songs that we're all obsessed with.

[10:40] Kevin Bianchi: And I think we can see a trend in her roles on Broadway is she has these kind of like over the top campy characters that have always also been the pretty girl or the popular girl.

[10:53] Quincy Brown: So she's had these kind of like very singular roles that she's so uniquely correct for.

[11:00] Kevin Bianchi: So I can't wait to talk to her about them.

[11:01] Quincy Brown: No, I'm very excited.

[11:02] Kevin Bianchi: I'm excited to be talking about Wicked OG.

[11:05] Quincy Brown: It's been a while.

[11:06] Kevin Bianchi: I know.

[11:07] Quincy Brown: We should say time is tight with Miss Laura Bell Bundy.

[11:11] Kevin Bianchi: So we're gonna try and zip zap zap our way through this interview and get as much as we can done.

[11:17] Quincy Brown: Yeah, and maybe she'll be having such a good time.

[11:20] Kevin Bianchi: She'll say I don't need to go on stage.

[11:21] Quincy Brown: She'll forget she has a hard out.

[11:24] Kevin Bianchi: I think she's calling us from her dressing room too, which is going to be fun.

[11:27] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[11:28] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[11:28] Quincy Brown: All right. Let's get into our interview with Laura Bell Bundy.

[11:31] Kevin Bianchi: I guess you could say that I was blind.

[11:33] Quincy Brown: I was blinded by my love.

[11:35] Kevin Bianchi: I did everything for you, but now push has come to shove.

[11:39] Quincy Brown: So let's call a spade a spade.

[11:40] Kevin Bianchi: Was it worth the price you paid?

[11:42] Quincy Brown: Well, I am done.

[11:43] Kevin Bianchi: You're the lucky one and you can sleep in the bed you made.

[11:53] Kevin Bianchi: Laura Bell Bundy, thank you so much for joining us on Sentimental Men today.

[11:58] Laura Bell Bundy: Happy to be here.

[11:58] Kevin Bianchi: And thank you for joining us from your physical location as well.

[12:02] Laura Bell Bundy: Yes, my dressing room.

[12:03] Kevin Bianchi: I love seeing backstage at what theater is the cottage at?

[12:06] Laura Bell Bundy: Golden?

[12:07] Kevin Bianchi: The Haze.

[12:07] Laura Bell Bundy: The Haze.

[12:09] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, so Laura Bell, we have tight timing because you are about to go on stage.

[12:14] Laura Bell Bundy: You're getting ready to walk on stage for a performance of The Cottage.

[12:17] Kevin Bianchi: So we're going to jump right into it. We start every interview by asking how did Wicked the Musical come into your life as a person?

[12:24] Laura Bell Bundy: Great question.

[12:28] Laura Bell Bundy: Let's see. I had just done Hairspray and talk about a life-altering experience, right?

[12:35] Laura Bell Bundy: We were in this crazy, crazy successful musical that everybody was talking about, and I stayed with it for a year.

[12:43] Laura Bell Bundy: Then I ended up getting a pilot, TV pilot.

[12:46] Laura Bell Bundy: That pilot did not get picked up, but I thought, you know what? Maybe I'll go spend some time in L.A.

[12:50] Laura Bell Bundy: So I did spend the summer in L.A.

[12:52] Laura Bell Bundy: I was dating a guy in L.A., and I decided to come back to New York for the fall.

[12:58] Laura Bell Bundy: I was at a party at Mark Shaman and Scott Whitman's house, and as this is where you get work, I guess.

[13:06] Laura Bell Bundy: I was on their living room dance floor with a guy named Cade Bittner, who I had become very close with because he was very good friends with Marissa Winokur during Hairspray, and also Craig Burns, was best friends with Craig Burns.

[13:24] Laura Bell Bundy: He knew that they were looking for a standby for Kristen. At the time, they didn't have a standby at all. They had a standby for Elphaba. So this was our question. Wicked didn't open with a Galinda standby, right? No, it did not open. Well, it did not open for previews. Gotcha. Okay. And so how far into the run is this happening that you're hearing about this? Like this is right as it's opening? This was during previews. So Wicked was running for previews and I believe Kristen had hurt her neck or something. As you remember, this rake stage caused everybody problems. And there was something going on with that and maybe something else, but she had to call out and her understudy went on and they had one understudy and then they had to cover that understudy and they were in previews.

So then they also knew that in her contract, Kristen had an out to do Candide. She had an out to do another movie. So they were anticipating that she's going to be gone for like a month in the spring. And we probably just need to give ourselves a backup plan. And so that was being discussed. And I guess Cade, my friend, had mentioned me and then he was talking to me on the dance floor and I'm like, I don't know. And had you heard of Wicked the musical just kicking around in the community? Oh yeah. Yeah, I'd heard of it. I knew that there's this new musical that Kristen Chenoweth was doing and it was based on The Wizard of Oz. And it was one of those things where Cade was like, just go see it.

Like, what if I told Craig to get you tickets to go see the show? And I think at the time I had thought, I'd just done Hairspray. I'd just done this television pilot. I thought maybe I'm going to go back to LA. I wasn't quite sure. I definitely did not have in my mind I was going back to Broadway to be Kristen Chenoweth's standby. That was not in my mind. This was such a surprise. And it was kind of like, huh, do I? I could just go back and play Amber in Hairspray. Especially because at the time Wicked wasn't Wicked yet. So it just felt like another show. Right. You got in at the ground floor. Right. And it hadn't been reviewed yet. There was nothing. It was not what it is now. What I did love about it is obviously I love anything Wizard of Oz, but also Kristen.

And the role was fantastic, right? Super fun, kind of in my wheelhouse of perky blonde with slightly bitchy tendencies. And I could use my higher legit operatic voice that I didn't often use, right? So I went to see it. And I thought it was great. And then they asked me to come in for a director's session. And I learned Popular. And I learned the beginning of the show. And I did a couple of the scenes. And then I got in the subway and came back to my place in Brooklyn. And before I arrived at my place in Brooklyn, I had a phone call from Bernie or Craig or somebody saying, to be Kristen's standby. That's how it came out. And then and they hired me before they had opened. But I didn't start until they said we're opening this week. After we open, we'll start. Okay, I was hired before opening, but I didn't start work until after.

[16:53] Kevin Bianchi: Oh my gosh. Okay. And so then what was that like, then to start working after the show had just had its big opening, and like, it's in the middle of this very buzzy moment, and you're coming in as the new kid, like the first new kid to be added to this cast.

[17:06] Laura Bell Bundy: It does feel tough, especially because they were out of town. So this company has been together and then they just bring I was like the new girl that was hired to come and I didn't really know anybody. I had met Kristen before, so I had probably knew her better than anybody. And I had to just get to know and I shared a dressing room with Eden Espinosa. So we became very close very fast. And, and then I just kind of got to know everybody else. But when you are a standby, or your only job is to be an understudy, and you're not actually on stage with anyone, you don't really get that solidarity and that feeling that you get when you're on stage with people like you get that when you go on and they see you backstage and but you're not really in the mix.

Like when I did Hairspray, we were a family and we were tight. And that experience was very, very different than what I experienced at Wicked, which was like, I had like, I could be within a five block radius of the show. You know, I would hang out with Eden, and we would like be reading books, or we were listening to audiobooks, or we'd be like having art projects or, you know, whatever it was. But it's not that same feeling of like, when you're on stage with people, and you're hearing, you know, you guys are, you know, it's just a different, it's just a completely, it's a different thing. Like I'm super close with Andrew Palermo. I became friends with Michelle Federer, who is now my understudy in the cottage.

And she was the original Nesero. So we laughed at like the irony of all that. And Norbert and Carol Shelley, I became quite close to and spent Christmas with her. So that formed my relationships with people. Yeah, but yeah, it was and just so you know, like, Wicked had mixed reviews.

[19:02] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah. Well, it's right. People said it was the best show ever. And some people said I needed more. But I didn't come into this thing that was the Wicked that is Wicked now. Right, right. What was the word of mouth like, in real time, as things were happening? Was the word of mouth amazing, even though the reviews were mixed? Or was it kind of mixed all around?

[19:11] Laura Bell Bundy: The word of mouth was there are some yes, that it was mixed as well, right? There was like, well, I heard it had some problems. And where did they take it? Heard they had to rework this, heard the creative team didn't get along. Like all this is what I heard. And there had been some tensions. So I came into the building learning, there were some creative tensions. But this is where they landed. And they landed in a pretty dang good spot. And by the way, there is a musical that I have developed several of these, there's no ever one that's like everybody gets along and everybody agree, always creative tensions, because in that tension, new creativity is found, the right things are found when there is those compromises, create great moments that happen in Legally Blonde, it happens in happened in this show that I'm doing.

It happens in all the shows. But and I was not there for San Francisco, obviously, I didn't know the many incarnations. But there was a this is this role of Elphaba is is intense, it is amazing. These songs are incredible. The defying gravity moment was just boom. So that yes, of course, the town was talking at how incredible this these roles were for these women. And then when they started selling out, that's it, you know, you know, when you're selling out and, and selling out the Gershwin. This huge, massive, huge cavern of a theater. So yeah, we, we also knew there was something very special about this, and that the people were responding.

[21:03] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Was there an intimidation factor with a role like Glinda for you coming in brand new? Or how what were you feeling about taking on that role after seeing it?

[21:06] Laura Bell Bundy: The harder thing is the originating of a role find those moments originally, the easier thing is to step in and do the bits somebody else created, I could tell just by reading it, that you read it. And you're like, yeah, that's fine. But what she's done to this, that's on this page, is brilliant. And that's wonderful to have that blueprint of a very intelligent come in a very intelligent actor. I'm doing a right cast. Come on in listeners. Laura is getting ready for her show. Third half hour. We're very casual here. So going back, it was wonderful to have someone who an actress that is that intelligent creating the blueprint for all of these other actors to get to do. And, and for me to be the first to be able to play around with that.

And that's an honor. And to watch Kristen every night, do what she was doing and find her watching her find things was also an honor. I learned a lot from her about comedy. I learned a lot from her about filling in what was not in a script.

[22:20] Kevin Bianchi: Sure, sure. In Wicked as it stands today, when a standby goes on, there's not necessarily a womp womp because there is a culture now of like getting obsessed with the actresses who are playing it in all capacities. I imagine when Adina and Kristen are in Wicked and you have to go on, it feels a little womp womp. Just up in the fly space hearing everyone disappointed when they make the announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, the role of Glinda will be played by Laura Bell Bundy.

[22:50] Laura Bell Bundy: You know, you just kind of deal with it. But what we now know is that everybody who's played Glinda or Elphaba goes on to be like, you know, a Tony nominated or Tony award winning actor in something else in the future. It's kind of like the rite of passage. The foundation of the Broadway community. I've got my either my Glinda or my Elphaba track, like what else am I going to do in my life? What else am I going to do? But here's the thing that's so great, and I don't know if you know this story. So playing Glinda was a challenge for me to bite off a little bit more of a role than I had had, obviously, as Amber in Hairspray. And to also have there's an emotional thing that happens in the second act for Glinda, at least I felt where we see her go through quite a change.

And she and there's there's some beautiful grounded moments between her and Elphaba that are very vulnerable and just so lovely. And I loved being on the stage with Adina. And I loved being on stage with Eden, the moment of singing for good with them. I never have ever been able to get through that song without choking up.

[24:03] Kevin Bianchi: Are you a popular Glinda, a No One Mourns the Wicked Glinda, or a Thank Goodness Glinda?

[24:04] Laura Bell Bundy: Oh, I'm a popular.

[24:05] Kevin Bianchi: It can mean...

[24:06] Laura Bell Bundy: Oh, what does it mean?

[24:07] Kevin Bianchi: It can mean whatever you want it to mean. You just have to explain why.

[24:10] Laura Bell Bundy: I'm a popular Glinda, because I like to make it different every time I do popular. And I like to have fun with it. And like, when I do popular, I have a horse in it. I have an impersonation of Donald Trump inside of my popular. I like to have fun with popular.

[24:25] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah.

[24:26] Laura Bell Bundy: I would say, and nobody cared or asked, but I'm a for good Glinda, because...

[24:32] Kevin Bianchi: You're the first person who's told us that.

[24:33] Laura Bell Bundy: It is in that moment, at the end, where we actually get to see that Glinda has regrets. That Glinda is not just a two-dimensional character, but is three, and has real deep feeling and love for her friend, and has made mistakes, and is asking for forgiveness, and is setting her friend free. And we see that is her true sort of reconciliation there. So...

[25:04] Kevin Bianchi: Right.

[25:06] Laura Bell Bundy: What I loved about playing that role is this, and this is what I say about all of my favorite roles, there is a incredible amount of seriousness. I mean, sorry, excuse me. Let me go back. Come on in, Dylan. My favorite roles are the ones that I get to be absolutely silly with. And then at the other side, there are these serious moments of truth and vulnerability. So if I can make my audience laugh and cry, that's the perfect night of theater for me. I think that comedy, not beauty, is the heart opener. Comedy is that moment where, at the audience, and the actor are acknowledging bits of truth, as silly as they may be. But it's something that makes us laugh.

[26:01] Kevin Bianchi: Right. It's a disarming experience.

[26:03] Laura Bell Bundy: Disarming. When someone makes you laugh, it is disarming. It makes you love them, not when they're beautiful, but when they make you laugh. And then it's those characters that can devastate you the most, because they're the ones like you become friends with. We had somebody, I don't remember who it was, but somebody we had on once said that, to your point, that the second Glinda comes down and says, yes, it's good to see me, isn't it? She's got them in her hand. Because it's like, okay, I'm giving you permission to be part of the play. You get to laugh and say hi and think things are funny. And we're winking at you. We're doing, we're like gagging at Wizard of Oz here. So we're also.

[26:49] Laura Bell Bundy: Any time she's like, that's right, you dig that one road, the whole way. Like imitating the original Billy Burke or like these different little things that you can put in, you know, and making also Galinda, which Kristen did so beautifully, kind of ungraceful at moments. Like she can't… Like during Popular where she's like, la la, and then, forget about it. That's the silliness of her right away, even as glamorous and graceful as she appears like she's going to be. She's down on everybody's level. It's a wonderful thing. Okay, so to transition us into Legally Blonde, I have a two part question. You don't want to hear about the time that Kristen Chenoweth almost shat her pants on stage and I had to go on and act too? Please tell that story.

[27:39] Quincy Brown: No, wait, we can wait for it. Yeah, we'll pause. Tell us that.

[27:43] Laura Bell Bundy: So Kristen runs off stage before the end of Defying Gravity, before she's supposed to, okay? And I get this call, Laura Bell, please come to the stage manager's office. And I wasn't in much better shape. I just eaten a dozen buffalo chicken wings thinking I wasn't going to be on. And I go in and they're like, you know, Laura Bell, you're on tonight. You're on for act two. And I'm like, what? You know, and of course, when someone is covering, they go into the stars dressing room because that's where all the traffic is happening. But Kristen can't leave because she's on the toilet. She can't get up and go to her apartment because the reason she whole reason she left is that she needs to be on the toilet.

So she's on the toilet in her dressing room. I'm sitting at her dressing table, putting on makeup, trying to work up going. And she's like, Laura Bell, are you all right? If you need anything, you can use any of my makeup, honey, anything you need. And I'm like, are you okay? And she's like, I'm all right. Oh, God. Didn't have that fried chicken salad from Applebee's. Anyway, so the whole thing is going on. It's a hilarious 15 minutes. I mean, now looking back on it, the time I was terrified, she was terrified. It was awful. But she's on the toilet doing her own vocal exercises. Well, I'm doing my vocal exercises for going on. And it's one of my favorite. And then of course, karmically, I ended up having an almost shit myself moment and legally blonde. And I thought this is because I've told this story. Of course. This is because I laugh. I do. I'm like, are you? Oh, my God.

[29:24] Quincy Brown: Did you ever have ambitions to do it full time after Kristen?

[29:28] Laura Bell Bundy: Uh, I did at one point, and I was offered it and we could not come to an agreement on the deal. And so I left Wicked and I decided, okay, now I am going to go to LA and I'm not coming back to Broadway until I'm starring in an original role. So I'm originating a musical that I'm starring in. A principal role. Right. Yeah. Okay. So moving into Legally Blonde, Elle Woods versus Glinda, which is more difficult as a role? Because I don't think we talk enough about how hard Elle Woods is.

[29:57] Laura Bell Bundy: Elle Woods by far! I talk about it all the time. Elle Woods by far is harder. Elle Woods is like Elphaba tier. Never off the stage. Yelling the whole show. Like out of 10. I had multiple bathroom breaks playing Glinda. I didn't have any. I mean, that's just telling you there. I think like, you know, just in terms of like carrying a show, it's just, you know, you have two people that doing it in Wicked and you have one that's doing it in Legally Blonde. It's just a different experience. The Elphaba things though, good Lord, Jesus. Oh my God. God bless those Elphaba's out there. Right. But you're belting as Elle Woods.

[30:43] Laura Bell Bundy: I know that. I know that. But come on. Yeah. Much betters. You know what I mean? There's like three so much betters in Wicked. Can I ask you, we were again in the intro, we were talking, you were so young when you were leading Legally Blonde, like you were a baby. And to talk about leading the show, carrying a cast, being like the leading woman on stage, but also the lead, the face of it, the cheerleader of this cast. Yeah. And also everything that comes with it. Like, was that crazy? And did you see any, did you see Kristen going through any of that or did, or previously in Hairspray that then prepared you for that moment as Elle Woods?

[31:32] Laura Bell Bundy: So I would say that every leading actor I have ever watched, whether that was Marissa Winokur or Harvey or Glinda and Kristen and Idina, I mean, they've all sort of informed me, but it felt like a kind of a natural transition. I mean, as a child, I had done Ruthless where I was the lead of the musical and I had developed that for a few years and I'd gone through different incarnations of it. So in a way I was, I was very much prepared to originate a musical. I felt like the next thing for me was originating a leading role on Broadway. It was the thing that I had told the universe that I wanted. And so I, in a way I didn't know what I didn't know, which is a good thing. There's a level of naivete that I had just like Elle, but it helped because I didn't know what to be scared of.

And I just sort of did it. It was like being present. I'm here. I'm doing this. I'm listening to my director. I'm learning how to advocate for myself. And yes, of course, I learned a lot from Kristen in the way that she constructed a comedic role, but I've learned from everybody that I've ever worked with, right? Because we absorb like sponges and you're learning from a lot of people. I'm stepping out to hold on, get my computer charger. Oh my God. Do I not have it? Oh, no, I have it.

[32:51] Quincy Brown: The sense I get from you is that one, you're very grounded, but two, you have a very solid sense of who you are as a person and performer. And it feels like that has translated into the projects that you choose to take on. Everything you've done has been such a slam dunk for you as a performer. Everything you've heard about.

[33:09] Laura Bell Bundy: Sure. But I want to say that I imagine a lot of things come across your desk and what goes into making a decision? And let's think about it in like a stage job kind of a way. Like when the cottage comes across your desk, what about it are you like, okay, yeah, let me come back to Broadway in this.

[33:33] Laura Bell Bundy: Yeah, it's checked all the boxes. And the creative ones, the logistical ones, the family ones, the message ones. So here you have this silly and serious character who starts the show kind of as a fool and then finds her voice by the end. And we see her go through many different ranges of emotion in finding her voice at the end. And she truly does get her voice in the end. And there is a feminist message to it. And as you know, anything about me and my, you know, feelings about female empowerment, then that, that was definitely checking a box. But it was funny on that on page one, the play itself is funny. The commentary on love and marriage and relationships, I thought was very interesting and smart.

I thought it was smart. I thought it was funny. I thought it had a great message for women. I love the idea of doing a play for the very first time that wasn't a musical. I loved that I'm back on the East Coast now and I can do this show while having a family and a farm. So for me, and you know, it depends on where you are in your life, right? I wanted to come back to Broadway. I was kind of waiting for that one role. And this one checked all the boxes creatively was also a challenge. I'm looking for a challenge. I'm playing a British character from 1923. That's kind of spoofing Noel Coward. Never done that before. So I liked the challenge, but something about it made me think that I could do it.

Jason Alexander thought I could do it. And I was excited for that. And I've also learned about myself from having played a leading role in a show to playing like the third or fourth or fifth supporting that I like to set the pace. I like to be the conductor of the train. And so I also wanted to come back to Broadway as the train conductor. And I guess it just, I won't always be in that place. But I do like to set the pace and the energy of the show, because then it's my pace and energy, right? So it's like getting on board. It's just kind of like, it sounds I don't know what it sounds like me saying that. But it's just kind of, you know, I'm a little bit preservation.

[36:06] Laura Bell Bundy: Yeah, self preservation. I mean, I said it fast. I said it fast. I mean, we're out and we're, we're home early. But I enjoyed that. I enjoy just feeling like having a juicy role. Like, even though I, I, I literally don't have bathroom breaks. Back to that. That was a bit of a problem two weeks ago. But, but I love feeling like I get to fully engage for two hours. I love that I don't, I don't get to step out of being her. And being on this journey, audience. I love being on stage the whole time. It is the most present that I ever am is when I'm on stage. And I am fully listening. I'm not on my phone at the same time. You know what I'm saying? I am there with you. I'm listening to my co-actors.

I am listening to my audience. I am on my toes. And there is something like that moment of being able to be fully present and engaged and like feeling this energy both from the audience, but reading like the thoughts of your fellow actors on stage to know like, oh, this joke might be coming and this laugh might be held out. And now is when I come in. It's like, I'm we're riding waves together. We're surfing together. But we're fully in this moment with all of the people in the audience and on stage that is so alive. And it is that I don't want to step off of. I just love that so much. And that's more home to me than anything.

[37:39] Quincy Brown: Okay, I do want to just do some rapid fire questions before we wrap this up. We do have to talk about that. And this is a very important thing for any of those actors out there. A lot of people say, how do you get by in this business? This business is all about relationships. This business is all about showing up, being a good person, right? Not burning the bridges when you have those jobs, right? Being a good listener, being a good participant, being a good cast member, crew member, etc. And making a good impression on the people that you work with, because those people move on and they work on other things. And sometimes they bring you with them. So with Hairspray, Jerry Mitchell was the choreographer, and I was doing Wicked.

And there was an announcement that came out that he was going to get his directorial debut doing Legally Blonde. And so I sent him a note. Now this is, I got some balls at 22, 22, 23. I don't even know how old I was. But I have some balls. I don't even think I have balls like this now. Well, it's a very 22 thing to do, I think. And I sent him a note. I was like, Hey, congratulations on your directorial debut for Legally Blonde. You deserve it. You're going to be great. And I truly meant that because he was so involved in the direction of Hairspray, even though he was a choreographer. He and Jack sort of worked as a unit. And he said, and I said, I also know someone who might be good for Elle Woods, wink, wink.

And he said, Honey, why do you think I came to see you in Wicked? I wanted to see if you could carry a show. He goes, I'll have you in front of the creative team when it's time, which was about six months later.

[39:30] Laura Bell Bundy: What did you say back to that response? Because I'm imagining if I'm 22, and I get that response back from Jerry Mitchell, I'd one be gagged. But two, how do you respond to it?

[39:36] Laura Bell Bundy: I don't know. I have to look it up what I said. I guess I said, sounds great. See you then. And then that silent tweet to myself, I was like, you know, freaking out. But the thing is, I realize now I've got to maybe pick up the pace. Am I getting ready? But yeah, so I think the thing is, is I had had a pretty decent relationship with Jerry. We weren't super close. I was surprised when he told me he wanted to come see me in Wicked. Thank you, five. Thank you, guys. Yeah, good.

[40:12] Laura Bell Bundy: It is all kind of crazy. But I believe that Wicked was the stepping stone to Legally Blonde. For whatever, you know, it was. That was what it led to for me. It feels like the perfect trajectory as Amber von Tussle to Glinda Standby to Elle Woods. Like, it's just so perfect. And by the way, I just met this girl, she came back today and she's like, I've been, you know, I was Amber and I was Elle and I was like, well, all you have to do now is Glinda. You know, that's the path right there. And then somebody, okay, you know, I know you need to do rapid fire, but I also got to put my pantyhose on. No, yeah, yeah. This has been We Can Let You Go. You can rapid fire me while I'm putting my eyelashes on.

Okay, well, first rapid fire isn't a question. It's just kind of a statement. You have kind of been my dream Jenna in Waitress for a very long time. I could see a Hollywood Bowl situation working for that. Do you have any off the record information to share? No. You singing that score would be incredible. I love the vulnerability of her. I really emotionally connected with that character. And that's it. And the Southern accent. So if I did Jenna, I would do Jenna with a Southern accent while she's singing as well. Because you can't play a character and then not do the accent while you're singing. Let's get like an immersive diner production of it going somewhere in the South. Like at a Waffle House.

Pack your bags. We're going. Oh my God. And my last rapid fire is I'm obsessed with Love and War, the cut song from Legally Blonde. We asked Leslie Kritzer this when we had her on. Is there a cut moment, line, song, melody, anything from Legally Blonde that you remember and are like, damn, I really love that moment? Bone cake. They cut this line that Andy Karl had bone cake when Orfeh, when Paulette gives the cake would slam the door and go bone cake. And made me laugh and they cut it. And then they added, like my last show, he added it back in. Bone cake was that. And then I loved Love and War. We all loved it. Missed that song. There was a lot of them. Actually, there was a song called, why can't a man be more like a dog come home from work?

He's right there expecting you instead of the many incarnations of bad idea, bad idea. And then it was Ireland that Paulette. Oh, there's a ton of really great things that were cut from Legally Blonde in the year and a half that I developed it. Amazing. Kevin, any rapid fires, Kevin?

[43:01] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, I wasn't prepared for rapid fire. No, my rapid fire is just have a good show. This was so fun. Get my clothes on.

[43:18] Quincy Brown: How's your mood now? How you feeling now? You still feeling down in the dumps? Or did that lift your spirits?

[43:24] Quincy Brown: Listeners, I am buzzing. I am actually so happy. I was going to go for a walk after this to get some vitamin D into my skin. I'm not even sure I need that because I got vitamin Laura Bell Bundy. You should. I got vitamin LBB, honey.

[43:42] Kevin Bianchi: I can't get vitamin D at 7pm.

[43:46] Quincy Brown: That was the most, in all seriousness, she was the perfect guest and that situation was the perfect situation to have for an episode that you and I both started in pretty sourpuss moods.

[43:57] Kevin Bianchi: Sure. It's true. It's true. But then she got stuck in traffic on her way to the theater. So she didn't sign on until a little after that. And we were like, Oh my God, we're going to have like 20 minutes to ask her 1800 questions that we had prepared.

[44:13] Quincy Brown: A lifetime of questions worth.

[44:15] Kevin Bianchi: To ask her literally about 20 years of her career. But she was down to clown and she was like, as long as you guys don't mind, I can just do this while I put my face on for the show. And we were like, do we mind? I would love. She prefaced it. She goes, so here's what we're going to do. And I kind of immediately was like, Oh, she's going to tell us we have like five minutes. And then she goes, yeah, we can keep talking. I'm just going to start putting my makeup on and getting costumes. And I was like, God bless. That is exactly what I needed to happen, actually.

[44:47] Quincy Brown: And it was, it was so transfixing. Like watching her put her lashes on at the end. No, watching her do her makeup. It was like, she was, it was just so like, practiced. Like I was like, she's been putting that eyeliner on since she was seven years old and ruthless. You know what I mean? This is a girl who's been putting falsies on her whole life.

[45:11] Kevin Bianchi: That's true. Well, and that's kind of what I took away from the convo where I'm just like, you, one have, it's like, she's kind of, she's child actress vibes in the sense where like, that is her life. But she's not child actress vibes in the sense where like, that is her personality and vibe as a person, you know?

[45:28] Quincy Brown: Right, right. Yeah. It's funny. Cause I mean, I said it to you and then said it to hers. It's like, it was striking to me how young she was when she had these big career milestones. But like she said, she was like, yeah, but like, she had been doing it. Like her 26 is not our 26. Like she's by 26, she was a decade and a half into her career. It's actually so commendable that she has, that she is the way she is having lived the life she's lived. But what I did take away, cause she's just on a farm.

[46:01] Kevin Bianchi: Right. But what I took away was like, she has always, and I feel like I've said this 20,000 times this episode, but it has not sunk in with me yet. She's just so sure of who she is as a person and performer. Even when she was talking about how she was viewing the next evolution of her career at every step of the way, it was always with a surety and not like any apprehension, anxiety, really. It was kind of just like, yeah, this is what I should be doing is what I'm going to do, you know?

[46:27] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[46:28] Kevin Bianchi: I'm obsessed with her.

[46:30] Quincy Brown: I'm obsessed too. I was obsessed going in and then now it's like, here's some more.

[46:34] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah.

[46:34] Quincy Brown: You want more obsessed? Here it is. And listeners, we were talking to her up until 7 PM until curtain of The Cottage. And then she ran downstairs and went on stage. She literally said, I, she was like, oh, we got five minutes. I got to pick up the pace. It was, it was like 6:56. And she was like, okay, I really do got to go, but do you have any more questions? And we were like, no, go, go do your show. And we talked, we were like, you can go. And she was like, no, you can ask me the question. It was, I'm buzzing, buzzing, buzzing.

[47:01] Quincy Brown: You know, can I say something that I liked what she talked about Wicked?

[47:05] Kevin Bianchi: No, you actually can't because that's not at all what we do in these outros, Kevin.

[47:09] Kevin Bianchi: I guess what I meant was, am I good to move into that section, Quincy?

[47:15] Quincy Brown: First of all, love that she is a popular Glinda because we've not had a popular Glinda yet.

[47:22] Kevin Bianchi: She's such a popular Glinda. I wish we could have told her we saw her at that.

[47:26] Quincy Brown: I know West Side basement, not the West Side theater at that upper West Side theater.

[47:31] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Yeah. Lowercase at a W S lowercase S.

[47:42] Quincy Brown: We should have brought it up because I want to know what she thought.

[47:46] Kevin Bianchi: I know. Well, ask her anyways. My favorite thing that she said, uh, was that she liked For Good because you got to see Glinda's regrets. And that really struck me because I never really thought of it in that way. And it's such a good throwback to the lyric. I hope, uh, I really hope you get it and you don't live to regret it. And then to think of it in the terms of like, we see these two women go through act two and Alpha, but does not live to regret it. And Glinda does. And I, I had not like compared their journeys in that way before. So thank you, Laura Bell Bundy for giving me something new to think about. It's crazy. I'm falling asleep.

[48:31] Kevin Bianchi: It's still unpack things after all these years, after all these episodes, I guess it was a stupid question for me to ask if Elle Woods was harder or easier.

[48:39] Quincy Brown: Yeah, that was stupid. Please, please make a video clip with her facial reaction. When you asked that question, I think I was trying to give the Glinda girl some credit. You, we all know how I feel.

[48:51] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, that was so funny. Um, the video clips of this episode are going to be crazy. Unhinged. Like half face and makeup. And just as being like, I also thought it was interesting again, like her being so self-aware and so sure of who she is. I like that she could say, um, firmly and like, know this about herself. She's like, I like a role where I get to set the pace of the show. Like I like to drive the train, which is so interesting then to think, like, I think you said to me off mic is it's like what, what drew her to come back to Broadway in a play and not a musical. And like, there aren't many, like a farce like this is the most musical a play is going to get and to, to, and it's big and it's animated and it's over the top. And so it's like, I can see how somebody who likes the challenge and the, uh, rising to the occasion of driving a show like that would be drawn to something like this. I can't wait to see her in it.

[50:00] Quincy Brown: Yeah. I mean the play literally like curtain comes up and she's like lounged on a chaise couch, you know, hot. I also think that like, if I'm an actress, setting the pace of a play has got to be easier than setting the pace of a musicale. Cause there are other things outside of your control pacing wise with musicals, like such as a conductor who literally setting actual.

[50:26] Kevin Bianchi: I'm thrilled. This was so much fun. I'm so happy now. Thanks Laura Bell Bundy. And thanks to all of you. Kevin, you want to plug some stuff?

[50:30] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Can I run us through our end of episode laundry list? Go for it. Don't tell me you have a doc pulled up that you read off of for this. What? No, I have bullet points. Wow. It's a lot to say. I know. Pass it off on me. And then you're like, don't tell me you have a document. Asshole. God, it's exhausting. All right. A couple of things to plug right now, Quincy. Number one, our episode of Down the Yellow Brick podcast released a couple days ago. Oh, when you're listening to this, it released a couple days ago. So head over and give that a listen. I think you'll really like it. We got to talk about Wicked in a way that we don't really get to talk about it on our show, which was really fun. I learned stuff on that podcast.

[51:20] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Me too. Me too. It was great. Second thing that I would like to say is that if you liked today's episode and you are looking to support the pod as a result, there are a couple ways to do so. Number one, you can join the Green Circle by subscribing to our Patreon. Members get to be on our close friends list, help us plan episodes and get to listen to extended episodes and bonus content. If you're looking for a free way to support the pod, give us a rating, give us a review on whatever app you are listening to. Quincy, our next episode is like the start of our Wicked month celebration. So I am what a way to go into Wicked month with Laura Bell Bundy, ushering us in and ushering us out of our standby era and into what we have cooking up for Wicked month. The wonderful, whimsical, wicked month. Doesn't work. All right. No. All right. Bye guys.

[52:23] Kevin Bianchi: Bye.

[52:31] Quincy Brown: You've been listening to Sentimental Men from Theaterly. This episode was produced by Quincy Brown, Kevin Bianchi and the team at Theaterly. Thanks to Anthony Abitangelo, the most swankified podcast editor in town. And another thanks to Michaela Reynolds for making us look downright Osmopolitan in our new key art. And to Julia DiMarzo for our logo design. If you want to get in touch, send us an email. We love to hear from you all. You can reach us at sentmenpod at theaterly.com. That's T-H-E-A-T-R-E-L-Y. You can also connect with us across social media on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok at sentmenpod. Thanks for tuning in. Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[53:07] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.

[53:20] Quincy Brown: Imagine living in an era where the whispers on the Times Square Street are Adena Menzel belting, she's fucking yelling Adena Menzel. Adena Menzel. Adena Menzel. Adena Menzel. Adena Menzel. Adena Menzel. Adena Menzel. You're welcome listeners.