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[0:00] Quincy Brown: The blessing of Sunset being what it was, me essentially being Norma Desmond of the Basement of the St. James. That's the musical I want to see. Norma Desmond of the Basement in the St. James. That's like an off-Broadway parody. Yeah, MTC.

[0:20] Kevin Bianchi: I'm Quincy. And I'm Kevin. And this is Sentimental Men. We're here to talk and maybe scream about our favorite women in musical theater. Perfect situations must go wrong.

[0:39] Quincy Brown: It's never a good sign when you bring us in with chess.

[0:43] Kevin Bianchi: I have to say, okay, I grew up, the only chess recording and visual I have been exposed to is the Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Josh Groban, Carrie Ellis recording, which is beautiful and wonderful. My boyfriend just introduced me to the original Broadway cast recording.

[1:03] Quincy Brown: Not just introduced you.

[1:04] Kevin Bianchi: Which is not available to stream. That's why I blame. That's what I put it on. It is so sensational. The orchestrations of it all. It's exquisite. Oh, I'm like, this is fantastic.

[1:18] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I love all the iterations of that. That is one of my all-time favorite Idina Menzel vocal recordings. Her, Nobody's Side.

[1:29] Kevin Bianchi: Stranger's Advice.

[1:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Oh, my God. It's that good Idina. Stranger's Advice.

[1:36] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah. Oh, it's so good. Another thing on my boyfriend. I was singing and he goes, you love to hit your S's with your little lisp. And I was like, you know why? And I mean this genuinely. It's because Idina Menzel taught me how to sing when I was younger.

[1:49] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Yeah. I get that. You and an entire generation of you, Michigan graduates. Go listen to the original Broadway cast recording of Jess. It's on YouTube. It's really sensational. One Night in Bangkok. Oh, I love that show.

[2:04] Kevin Bianchi: Hi. Long time no talk.

[2:06] Quincy Brown: Long time no talk. As always, lots of updates in the Wicked Verse since our last episode. First and foremost is the new Broadway casting announcement.

[2:21] Kevin Bianchi: So exciting.

[2:22] Quincy Brown: So exciting. It reminded me of when I was in high school and I saw on my iPad that Willem-Einvor Kike was taking over on Broadway and I immediately had tears flood to my face.

[2:34] Kevin Bianchi: Seeing, because I also wasn't expecting a casting announcement to drop. I guess I just hadn't been like plugged in in that way.

[2:40] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I wasn't ready for it in any way.

[2:44] Kevin Bianchi: And then to open Instagram and to see not only is Wicked announcing a new Broadway cast, but Wicked is announcing the first full-time black Elphaba on Broadway. And not only are they announcing the first full-time black Elphaba on Broadway, but it's Lencia Cabetta, whose voice is insane.

[3:02] Quincy Brown: I'm so excited. Like we have a capital S singer moving into the grocery. Everyone go watch the Angelica Schuyler boots. They're nasty.

[3:14] Kevin Bianchi: Because it makes me very excited. I just feel like we're going to hear the score in a way that we have not heard it sung.

[3:23] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I'm so, so excited. And yeah, super excited that it's her.

[3:29] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I'm just like to hear a new rendition in year 23 of Wicked on Broadway is going to be so exciting.

[3:34] Quincy Brown: It's going to be very exciting. Also very excited for Ali Trim.

[3:39] Kevin Bianchi: Ah!

[3:39] Quincy Brown: If you are in line for the 13 to Wicked pipeline, please stay in line. You are entitled to a role in Wicked the musical.

[3:47] Kevin Bianchi: I feel good things coming for the original Broadway cast of 13 the musical this year.

[3:53] Quincy Brown: Okay, yeah, I feel good things coming for the cast of 13 the musical as well. Ariana's having a moment. Ali Trim's having a moment. Who's next?

[4:01] Kevin Bianchi: It could be anybody.

[4:02] Quincy Brown: Yeah, we got to go to the first performance. I'm like, do we want to go to their first performance or do we want to go to like the seventh performance? So they've lived in it a little bit, especially since Lindsay is coming in new.

[4:12] Kevin Bianchi: I know, which also like a sleigh because it's been a minute since we've had a fresh to like a straight to Broadway Elphaba. It's been since Lindsay.

[4:20] Quincy Brown: With Lindsay Heather Pierce the last?

[4:22] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, yeah.

[4:23] Quincy Brown: Wow.

[4:23] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, I know. Because it's like I want to go once they've like sat in it for a minute, but I do want to be there for like the hearse tree of the first night.

[4:32] Quincy Brown: Maybe we do a double header and do MK and Alex Osha's last into Lindsay and Ali's first.

[4:40] Kevin Bianchi: Don't tempt me with a good time.

[4:42] Quincy Brown: I have been wanting to see Wicked on stage again lately.

[4:45] Kevin Bianchi: I know, just to ground myself back in the source material.

[4:51] Quincy Brown: Remember our roots.

[4:52] Kevin Bianchi: Yeah, just to check myself.

[4:54] Quincy Brown: Yeah, really exciting time. Congratulations, Wicked on Broadway. Fantastic job casting. I can't wait to see what these ladies have up their sleeve.

[5:02] Kevin Bianchi: And next up in our rolodex of Wicked updates is the Oscar nominations for the Wicked movie.

[5:10] Quincy Brown: 10 nominations.

[5:12] Kevin Bianchi: 10 nominations. You want me to read them off?

[5:14] Quincy Brown: Read them out.

[5:15] Kevin Bianchi: All right. Best picture. Best actress for Cynthia Erivo. Best supporting actress for Ariana Grande. Production design, sound, visual effects, costume design, editing, and hair and makeup.

[5:30] Quincy Brown: Now do we think they're going to perform at the Oscars?

[5:32] Kevin Bianchi: I still don't think so. Or, or...

[5:36] Quincy Brown: The internet disagreed with you and Marsha, by the way.

[5:39] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe the two of them sing the In Memoriam song.

[5:42] Quincy Brown: That feels more likely to me, like that they sing What If They Launch For Good as the In Memoriam song.

[5:49] Kevin Bianchi: Don't let that be the way it happens.

[5:52] Quincy Brown: I don't know. I just, I would love it if they did. I just am having a hard time justifying it. In my world, the Oscars open with Elphaba. Why couldn't you have stayed calm for once?

[6:04] Kevin Bianchi: Cynthia's in a cherry picker.

[6:07] Quincy Brown: In a cherry picker, Mary Poppins flying over the audience. I can't wait to see how Wicked does at the Oscars.

[6:14] Kevin Bianchi: It's not surprising to me that it has such a heavy showing in like the design categories because it was such a force in that regard. Like it was like the world building was just like such the focus of this movie.

[6:29] Quincy Brown: I will say though that my personal villain origin story will be Jon M. Chu not getting nominated for Best Director.

[6:38] Kevin Bianchi: Justice for Jon M. Chu. It's also just, how do you rack up so many, how do you give them so many nominations and then not nominate the director of the film that you are praising?

[6:48] Quincy Brown: The captain of the ship.

[6:49] Kevin Bianchi: Right.

[6:50] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Right. I agree. It feels like a lot of these nominations go hand in hand with a Best Director nomination.

[6:57] Kevin Bianchi: Maybe, maybe next year.

[6:59] Quincy Brown: That's the other thing I keep telling myself is we have a do-over for all of this. I'm happy Cynthia and Ariana both got nominated. Very Tony's 2004 vibes.

[7:10] Kevin Bianchi: I hope they both win.

[7:11] Quincy Brown: I hope they both win too.

[7:13] Kevin Bianchi: Can I say something non-Wicked related on this microphone?

[7:16] Quincy Brown: With your whole chest, go for it.

[7:18] Kevin Bianchi: Amelia Perez was so good and I do not understand all of the hate it is getting online. I think it's getting all this hate because people are watching clips out of context and not actually watching the freaking movie. Have you watched it?

[7:34] Quincy Brown: I literally had a moment where I was like, wow, this is why musical theater as an art form is so beautiful because it allows you to show these emotions that you wouldn't be able to show in real life. They're taking you inside of this mundane thing, but showing you the inner workings. It was like a really beautifully well done movie and I think everyone needs to back off a little bit.

[7:51] Kevin Bianchi: Okay, you heard it here first. That's my two cents on Amelia. Quincy, we are going to be joined by our guest in a matter of minutes, Miss Caroline Bowman.

[8:01] Quincy Brown: We are talking to Caroline Bowman again today.

[8:04] Kevin Bianchi: OG listeners will recall.

[8:06] Quincy Brown: They will recall. I'm going to run through her resume super quick and then I want you to tell me how she was in Sunset Boulevard. Okay, Miss Caroline Bowman in 2011 Broadway debut in Wicked in the ensemble understudying Elphaba. 2013 Kinky Boots original Broadway cast ensemble understudy Nicola. 2013 The Evita Tour as Eva Peron. 2014 Wicked Broadway as Principal Elphaba. 2018 Back in Kinky Boots as Nicola.

[8:40] Kevin Bianchi: To beginnings, goodbye to sunny days. We're upward and mobile now. Hello to sunny days. Till it's impossible to find a trace of what we left behind. And the defining element is in these shoes. I miss Kinky Boots.

[9:01] Quincy Brown: I see that. Carry on. 2018 she was in Kinky Boots again. And then in 2019, she went on the Frozen tour, opened the Frozen tour as Elsa. Quite iconic, did the tour for five years, which is insane to me. And then left the tour in 2024 to be in the OBC or the original revival cast of Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, standing by for Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond. And now this year, 2025, back on Broadway after a short, short hiatus in Smash the Musical as Karen Cartwright. Quincy, you went to Caroline's performance.

[9:54] Kevin Bianchi: I sure did.

[9:54] Quincy Brown: As Norma. Tell me everything. Tell all of us everything.

[9:58] Kevin Bianchi: I have been saying it is the most electric afternoon in a theater that I have experienced since the Wicked reopening. It truly was. First of all, the energy because it was a one day only thing. And because there was like a lot of pre-advanced notice, the theater was filled with her peoples, like the energy was just like very buzzy from the get go. Before the show started, her husband started, Caroline, Caroline, Caroline. It was like every day was there. It was so exciting. And she was so, so, so sensational. This is my third time seeing this production. This is my favorite time seeing this production. The fact that she had never gone on before is so astounding. She was so dropped in. The vocal was pristine and exciting and interesting.

She looked gorgeous. You get so many close ups. Have you seen this production yet? You get so many close ups of her face throughout the show because they do a lot of movie stuff. And there was that moment where in the show, there's a close up of her face projected on the screen and then Sunset Boulevard goes across her face as an opening title sequence. I started to tear up. It was just really, really a special night that I will remember always.

[11:15] Quincy Brown: I'm sure you will remember always. I'm sure you all have heard the audios already. Sensational. She's a star. She's incredible. It's funny because I went back and listened to the episode we did with her back in 2020. And I was like such a fangirl of her then. And that has only deepened as her career has gone on. Like her resume is like a Quincy Brown jukebox. It is fantasy. Yes, it is very. You love all of these things very deeply. I should say I am also working on Smash. And the producers lovingly and jokingly were like, Quincy, stop talking about Caroline because every meeting I'm like, well, Caroline should do this. Oh, we should probably get Caroline in this though, right? It's just sensational.

I'm so excited to have her back on as she is in the heat of this like really big moment in her career. It feels like it's like such a slow and you think about the fact that when Smash opens like she'll be in her third major production in a singular calendar year is insane. Her first time originating a principal on Broadway. She stays busy. She is the definition of booked and busy. I mean, there's no gaps because it would have been fine enough for her to leave the Frozen tour, take a little bit of downtime, come back with Smash. But no, she filled it with some. No, no, no, no. She said, I have a really good feeling about Smash. I'm excited about it.

[12:40] Quincy Brown: Me too. I'm very excited. The music is just so good. You don't have to sell the show to me. I'm showing up. Hi. Here she is.

[12:55] Kevin Bianchi: Oh, we have Caroline Bowman back with us after five years. That's insane.

[13:05] Caroline Bowman: It does not feel like five years.

[13:11] Quincy Brown: No, but a lot of life has been lived.

[13:11] Caroline Bowman: Yeah. Yeah. You are second ever guest. I was. That's crazy.

[13:18] Quincy Brown: That was fun. I said, I would, I no longer live with my parents.

[13:24] Caroline Bowman: Amazing. I'm back in New York City. My dog is here. You'll probably hear him lapping up water throughout this interview.

[13:28] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Cause when we talked thick of the pandemic was done, you were back, you were on the Frozen tour or you were.

[13:35] Caroline Bowman: No, it was like, it was like August or September, 2020. Full out. Yeah. It was like beginning, still the beginning.

[13:44] Quincy Brown: Oh, so we were like doldrums of the. We were just getting started. Gotcha. Full out. Like I was like, I was doing zoom lessons and concerts from my parents' basement and then walking upstairs, crying a single tear and then having a glass of wine with my dad. That was where we were. So you guys like brought so much joy to my life doing this interview. I was like, it was so fun. It was such a moment. Okay. You are joining us after your smash rehearsal.

[14:18] Caroline Bowman: Yes, I am. You just wrapped your first week of rehearsals in smash.

[14:23] Quincy Brown: No, I've got one more day.

[14:26] Caroline Bowman: Oh, you rehearse tomorrow.

[14:28] Quincy Brown: Oh, you have rehearsal tomorrow.

[14:35] Caroline Bowman: I rehearse tomorrow.

[14:35] Quincy Brown: Okay. Okay. So you're on the penultimate rehearsal of your first week of smash. Tell us about it.

[14:39] Caroline Bowman: Well, my brain, I got to the end of the day and Josh Bergass, our choreographer, our amazing choreographer came up to me and was like, do you want to run through some dances? Because he is nurturing me through coming back to Caroline Bowman dance skills. He and the rest of the team are fantastic. But he in particular, I wrote him an email when I booked the show and was like, I haven't done a dance show in 10 years. Last dance show I did was Evita and we know him well. We know it well, but I was like, I'm just going to need, I can do it and I'm excited to do it, but I just need a little bit extra time. And he is certainly giving me that. So I ended the day and he came up, he goes, do you want to learn some, you want to get a headstart on something new? And I go, I don't know if my brain can handle any more at the end of the day. So we reviewed and yeah, it's going well.

[15:39] Quincy Brown: You guys did a run through today?

[15:43] Caroline Bowman: No, we did a read sing through.

[15:45] Quincy Brown: Was that the first one of the week?

[15:47] Caroline Bowman: Yeah, it was the first one of the week and we started putting stuff on its feet. So we're going, but things are changing every day. It's wild. Original cast.

[15:58] Quincy Brown: Yeah. What can you tell us about this Broadway adaptation of Smash?

[16:03] Caroline Bowman: From our social media manager. What can I tell you? I can tell you that it is going to be different from the series, but the tone of the show is similar to the series. A lot, especially if you're a diehard Smash fan, it honors New York City and Broadway in the same way that the series did, which is really special. And so it kind of is a love letter to Broadway in a way and what it's like to live in New York and pursue this crazy dream and put up a Broadway show. But then obviously, just like the series, there's drama and things go wrong and crazy stuff goes down. And so we are those characters that you know and love. The show starts very neutral, very like everybody's friends, everybody's good. We're all just like putting on a show and then things unravel as the show goes on. And that's why it's interesting and it's fun. It's fun-y.

[17:30] Quincy Brown: So funny. I feel like the shenanigans on the TV show, they took it in like a melodrama direction and in the stage show, they're taking it comedy.

[17:39] Caroline Bowman: Sure. They made it kind of soap opera-y.

[17:44] Quincy Brown: Yeah, yeah. That's a good word for it.

[17:44] Caroline Bowman: Yeah. I feel like Smash the Series was sort of soap opera-y and it took itself really seriously, but we were watching it going, haha, this is kind of silly. And they knew it too, but they leaned into the seriousness of it. We lean into the comedy. We're kind of doing what the show didn't do. We know that we're putting on a comedy. There's like a tongue-in-cheek-ness to it.

[18:13] Quincy Brown: Totally. There's even like an edge of camp to it.

[18:18] Caroline Bowman: As there should be, as there damn well should be.

[18:22] Quincy Brown: Yeah. I think it's like, and it has to be, I think, because, yeah, it has to be because it is a kind of a commentary on what the show did in a way. So yeah, I think it's really funny. And we've got like some of the best comedians. We've got Brooks, I can never say his last name. I'm going to need him to say it phonetically for me. He is so funny. So funny. Christine Nielsen is so funny. And then like Robin Hurter is just like a quadruple million threat. Like she is so funny and so good at all the things. I mean, it's a really stellar cast. I can't believe they asked me to be a part of it.

[19:11] Quincy Brown: Yeah. I'm so excited to see you in it. I'm so excited. How did it come to you?

[19:19] Caroline Bowman: That's kind of a wild story.

[19:22] Quincy Brown: We're going to get into all your last five years, Caroline.

[19:26] Caroline Bowman: The last five years. Jamie is over and Jamie is done. Jamie's decided it's time to move on.

[19:35] Quincy Brown: Still haven't done that role. You're welcome.

[19:38] Caroline Bowman: Maybe you can. It's coming.

[19:41] Quincy Brown: Maybe in the next five years. In the next five years, I'll do the last five years. Great. And we'll have you back on every five years.

[19:51] Caroline Bowman: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm coming on in another five years. I can't come on before that.

[19:57] Quincy Brown: Anyway, how did this come about? So I auditioned for it back when it was a workshop, when they were workshopping it in the fall of whatever year that was, 2023 or something.

[20:14] Caroline Bowman: Yeah, that feels right. I sent in a self-tape and then got called in, came into the city, I flew in for it, and it went well, but I didn't get it. It didn't go my way. So yeah, I went in in whatever iteration that was and finished my audition. Susan Stroman was like, that was a great audition, Caroline. And I was like, thank you, Susan Stroman. And I left the room and didn't hear anything. And I let it go. I went back to Frozen. I went back to Frozen and then I had kind of forgotten about it. People were auditioning for it. I was helping people with their auditions. I was like, this is not my way. I had already booked Sunset Boulevard. I booked Sunset Boulevard in April of 2024.

[21:14] Quincy Brown: So you were like, I'm good.

[21:15] Caroline Bowman: Well, not that I was good because I wasn't in my heart of hearts sure I was ready to stand by. But I wanted to come back to New York and I was like, if this is the thing that's bringing me back to New York, what a cool show, I'll do that. And I'll have a little bit of a break because I have been working my ass off being Elsa for the last five years. So I was like, okay, that would be-

[21:43] Quincy Brown: The amount, I have to tell you, the amount of times over the last five years that I've been, is Caroline still on tour right now?

[21:53] Caroline Bowman: I was on tour for a long time. But the thing is, I loved it and nothing was bringing me back here yet. So I was like, why would I leave a fantastic, I know how hard it is to get a job. I'm Elsa on the Frozen tour.

[22:07] Quincy Brown: A Disney job.

[22:09] Caroline Bowman: A Disney job, but also it fulfilled me. And my husband and I were good. Austin and I were good chilling. It was hard to be long distance, but we got it. And the pandemic really shook all of us and shook me to the point where I was like, I want to work for as long as I can. And that job was fulfilling me in all the ways I needed it to, besides being back in the city. I really wanted to be back here and back on Broadway. But I'm like, I'll wait for the right thing to come along. So that luckily worked out. So yeah, I had booked Sunset and that was in April. And I was like, okay, great. If that's what it's supposed to be. But then I had a couple other auditions that were kind of with that, that also came close.

So I was kind of like, oh, well, at least the universe is telling me it's time for me to go home. So that was really nice. So yeah, the cut to the summer and they were still looking for a Karen. And I got a call from my manager. I was in Vancouver and I, Vancouver was my second to last city on tour. So I was like, nearing the end.

[23:38] Quincy Brown: Oh, so you weren't planning on closing the tour?

[23:41] Caroline Bowman: No, because I wanted to have, no, I asked for three, I wanted to leave three weeks early so that I could have three weeks off. I was, yeah, originally I was going to close the tour. But then when I booked Sunset, I was like, I need a break. I can't just go, I can't just dive right in because the tour closed on, I think, no, wait, we started rehearsals for Sunset on August 19th and the tour closed on the 2nd of September.

[24:09] Quincy Brown: Gotcha.

[24:09] Caroline Bowman: So I just left a month early. But anyway, so I got a call from my manager when I was in Vancouver, like the first day I landed in Vancouver and she was like, so your name keeps coming up in the room. Can you get to New York to go in for finals for Smash? And I was like, you're kidding me. What? And they had, I guess they had asked me, I think they had asked me a week before that, if I would come in. And I said, I said, I cannot miss shows. And, and there, and my, my reps were like, they won't accept a tape. And I was like, I, I can't miss, I can't miss the end of Frozen. I've spent, I've, I've, I've really like, you know, been loyal to this company and I don't want, I just don't want to end it that way.

And I was like, this is, I know this is, I can't, I can't do that to a show that's given me so much for a maybe, like for something that's not a definite. I don't, I can't fly it. I like, I just can't. And I was like, it was really like hard. It was like, okay. And then, then after that is when my manager called me like a week later and was like, your name keeps coming up. They really want to see you. How can we make this work? And I go, okay. Okay. Can they see me on a Monday? I'm in Vancouver.

[25:40] Quincy Brown: Right. Big diagonal line.

[25:41] Caroline Bowman: Opposite side of the country. Not even, not in, not even in the country.

[25:46] Quincy Brown: There's customs involved.

[25:48] Caroline Bowman: The West side, the West coast. So I literally was like, okay, okay. How can I make this work? Can they see me on a Monday between cities? My next city is Spokane, Washington. So like, I have to go to New York and then back. And she was like, I think they can make that work. So I went ahead and I splurged and I bought myself a red eye from Vancouver to New York City on that Monday. I wasn't like, I was just going to like pray that I woke up with a voice and I, and, um, that was the plan. And so I just started, I just got to work. I had my, I had my flight booked. And that was two weeks away from when I got that phone call and I like got the materials, started working on it. Then my manager called me like a couple of days later and she, she was like, they're going to, they're going to do a zoom final callback for you. They're going to let you do a zoom final callback. And I was like, what?

[26:53] Quincy Brown: After you bought the flight.

[26:54] Caroline Bowman: After I bought the flight. Did you buy the trip insurance?

[26:56] Caroline Bowman: I did not. I did not. So I have this credit in my United app that I'm like, I need to use it before July, 2025, but I might give them a call and see if I can use it. Um, anyway, so I, I, she called me a couple of days later. She was like, they're going to let you do a zoom. Can you get, have a good setup? And, uh, and again, universe, I happen to be at a theater with a rehearsal space and fantastic wifi, which never happens on tour. Like theaters don't have spare space. So I happen to have both those things. And I was like, actually I might be able to make this work. And so, so after that, I canceled my United flight. I was like, make sure this is for sure before I cancel this. Cause I spent a lot of money on this.

Um, and then I started rehearsing over zoom with my computer and the space with my lighting and my accompanist, like every single day to like, make sure I was doing like dress rehearsals with Austin. He was testing my, my signal, like to make sure he goes, you sound great. Your microphone is great. You're everything is like, it was like I had to do like, yeah. Is that normal to do a live zoom audition? I've never done it, but I think people do. I think people do thankfully because of the pandemic, I would just like to give you the flowers too, of just like, in order to do this audition, you also had to be like a lighting designer and a sound designer and like a one woman production company. It was more work than I would've had to do to fly in.

Right? Yeah. But I, I was like, well, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it well. And I'm not going to miss an Elsa show. I'm not going to miss, I'm not going to miss any shows. So not only was I like rehearsing this, my, my dog's itchy. Where is he? Where is he? I know I have a huge dog in New York City. Hi baby. Uh, so not only was I doing that and like making sure I was like set, I rehearsed every day. I, I was like practicing the sides. I made sure I had a cast member help me be my reader. Um, and I, so I worked, I, I prepped like it was a show. Like I was just going to do the best I could. And I did this zoom callback. I, and I also had my phone set up so I could film the whole thing in case the signal went out and like, I didn't have, it's not like I had a router sitting right there.

It was all crazy. And it, and it really was like, kismet. Like they, it wasn't, I mean, they say like, what, what is for you won't pass you by. And this is like such, I mean, and, but that doesn't come that, you know, I put in the work to, to make it happen. But this really was like, it was, I guess, meant to be and everything aligned perfectly for you.

[29:23] Caroline Bowman: It also is the, like, if you love something, let it go. If it comes back, like you auditioned for it and it didn't go your way and you let it go and then it came back to you. So it's like, how, how meant to be is that? It's crazy.

[29:36] Quincy Brown: So what was it like doing your final show in Frozen, closing this huge five-year chapter, but also I imagine having all of this excitement about the next things to come.

[29:43] Caroline Bowman: We call it overstimulation. I have, I feel like I have felt overstimulated like since I got back from tour or since I finished, since I booked smash and finished tour, I've been like, and also getting my feet back on the ground here in New York. Like I haven't lived here. I haven't full-time lived here. And I only had, I only got back to New York a week before I started rehearsals for sunset. So, I mean, in a way the blessing of sunset being what it was, me, me, essentially being Norma Desmond of the basement of the St. James. That's the musical I want to see. I was Norma Desmond of the basement of the St. James. That's like an off-Broadway parody. Yeah. MTC.

[30:48] Quincy Brown: Yeah. You're not the first person to say that you want to see that show.

[30:52] Caroline Bowman: Maybe that's what my solo show is called. Yes. I think that's it.

[30:56] Quincy Brown: You mentioned not knowing if you were ready to stand by. Talk to us about that.

[31:08] Caroline Bowman: Because I don't want to poo-poo standing by. This was just such a particular position to be in because there's a guest star. There's an alternate essentially. So, I'm really never the first one to go on and Nicole and Mandy are really not going to call out. I mean, it's like, which is very inspiring and cool. I believe in that. I'm like, do your job. Go, go girl. It's also a wild thing to being a standby for a celebrity because you have to conquer the idea that, oh my gosh, if I go on last minute, a bunch of people who came to see Nicole don't know who I am and will probably return their tickets or if it were to be really, really last minute and they announced my name because I had to grapple with this because there was a day that I thought I was going on and while I was thinking and preparing for the show that I might have been doing, which I didn't end up doing, the thought did cross my mind.

I was like, oh my gosh, they're going to boo when they hear Nicole Scherzinger is not going to for the role of Norma Desmond is going to be played by Caroline Bowman. And I was like, looking at myself in the mirror, I said out loud, I said, that will not be about you. That will be because they're disappointed that it's not her, but it's not about you. And like, even that extra thing is so, like the fact that I even had the mental space to go, you're going to have to bear down and just handle that and move on is why that's crazy. That's like, there's already enough pressure being a performer. You're already nervous and being a standby and not doing it all the time. So, yeah, but also, I just feel I'm, I think there might come a time where I'm like, you know what, I'll play the role every so often and then hang out like, but I might, I don't know if I'm there yet. I think I'm just-

[32:35] Quincy Brown: You seem like a workhorse.

[32:37] Caroline Bowman: Yeah. I'm like so itchy to keep doing it right now.

[32:41] Quincy Brown: Yeah. You never stood by for Elphaba, right?

[32:44] Caroline Bowman: I was the understudy. So I was on stage all the time. Yeah. Which was, and I was 23. I was like, fulfilled.

[32:51] Quincy Brown: So talk to us about what, if anything, you learned by standing by and what challenges arose.

[32:59] Caroline Bowman: I mean, because I'm such, I am a workhorse, so I would probably do this on my own anyway, but a lot of information is not given to you. You kind of have to, and I'm a good observer. So I listened to the notes that were given and I was like, okay, how does that apply to what I can do?

[33:24] Quincy Brown: And were you singing along to the shows?

[33:28] Caroline Bowman: Sometimes. Sometimes I would do a workout during act one and then sing along with her while I was moving my body. But my gosh, I would do that at home where Austin heard me sing all of Sunset Boulevard. I'd do a 40-minute insanity workout and just speed through the entire show, all the lines and all this. And just like, it's wild how many times I've run the show. And then I got to do it once.

[33:55] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Which is so like, it's like the antithesis of the traditional actor schedule of like, we learn something for two weeks and then do it over and over. You're aiming for easy replication. So what is it like then? You're like, okay, I'm doing all this work. The show opens, I'm just going to keep rehearsing. I'm just going to keep getting ready so that maybe I can do it.

[34:11] Caroline Bowman: That was starting to get to me a little bit, like the amount of preparation and rehearsals and then having no, there was no release. There was no payoff. You just do that and then you're like...

[34:20] Quincy Brown: Right, right.

[34:21] Caroline Bowman: And even in rehearsals, I honestly think it was because I didn't have a lot of time to rehearse. And even in rehearsals, I honestly think it was because I didn't have enough of a break between Frozen and Sunset to release, to have shed that experience. Because I would find myself up and rehearsing and then the second they would, I would be up and rehearsing and then the second they would say, okay, Mandy or Nicole is going to take over. I like, tears would come to my eyes. I'd be like, it just kind of broke my heart a little bit.

[34:57] Quincy Brown: So this was like a really mentally challenging time for you.

[35:00] Caroline Bowman: Sure. And then I had it all to release on the one performance. So I just tried to use all of it, use all of any frustration I had. And I don't know what that was about. And I need to maybe talk to my therapist, which I don't have. So I need to get one.

[35:05] Quincy Brown: Well, we're here.

[35:06] Caroline Bowman: I'm here. You're here. Yeah. I did, I found myself and I would tell Austin this. I'm like, I find myself on the verge of tears and then I have to go sit down in my chair and go, okay, okay, I'm a professional. Let's go. Here we go.

[35:13] Quincy Brown: Well, you're in this thankless role having to put in all this work and then kind of being unseen throughout the whole process, especially while Sunset is like the darling of the season. But hearing all this, it does sound like the way in which you went on was kind of like the perfect scenario because everyone had advanced notice. All of your people were in that theater. I told you it was like the most electric night I've had in the theater since the Wicked reopening. It was so, so special.

[36:00] Caroline Bowman: The bittersweetness of it all. I only got to do it once, but it was the only way to do it. If I was going to have any, it was like I got to have all the closure from all those times of feeling a little bit like, damn, I want to do this. I want to do this. But I respect and know, the intelligent side of my brain respects and knows that it was not my part. But the emotional side was like, I'm just the cover, but I have so many ideas and I want to create and be here to create, but I'm not here to create. I think maybe that was the sadness in me. And I was like, I just came from a place where I got to do it every single day and be like, oh, I didn't like that. Let me try this tomorrow kind of thing. But yeah, that show was, I'll never forget it for my whole life. I had no idea it was going to be that monumental that one day.

[36:41] Quincy Brown: Theater history.

[36:43] Caroline Bowman: It was crazy. It was wild. But again, I finished it and I go, wow, that was incredible. Damn, I want to try this tomorrow. I don't get to do any of that. I'm like, oh, I want to fix that mistake. I have so many notes for myself and I have so many things I want to dive deeper into.

[37:02] Quincy Brown: What's a moment that you're spiraling on in your head?

[37:04] Caroline Bowman: I mean, vocally, I felt like I could have been better, but I came in early a little bit and as if we never said goodbye, I jumped. But it was the second time I sang with the orchestra. Crazy.

[37:21] Quincy Brown: An Andrew Lloyd Webber orchestra. I was like, I don't know. Okay. I listened to this song, but singing it and hearing the music and also like, what else? I think there's just things I would have... I think I did do a good job of letting the role kind of take going on the ride and then also enjoying the fourth wall broken moments. That was really fun. I was like, okay, well, this audience is here for me and I'm like, when is this ever going to happen again? So yeah, I better eat it. I better use that. But it was all in the moment because I couldn't plan for that. So I had to just go, great. Okay. What am I going to do here? Which is very freeing.

[38:19] Quincy Brown: Were you feeling nerves ahead of time or just because sitting in that theater, the love was so apparent. So was it nervous or were you kind of just feeling like, oh, these are my people I feel at home?

[38:30] Caroline Bowman: Austin kept calling me a freak because he was like, you're so oddly calm. And I go, and I slept. I slept so well. I don't sleep well for anything. If I have something looming, I'm getting to the end of this week and I feel... I've been sleeping better because I'm just so tired. But before the first day of Smash rehearsal, I think I was awake the whole night. I think it was a light sleep because I was like, here we go. But I slept so well. I woke up and was like, wow, I'm rested. And I did not wake up at all. And I feel like I knew I was ready. I was very rehearsed. I prepared. I did the show every single day, the week leading up to my show, because I sang with Ben Rahula. I got rehearsal spaces and just did the whole show every single day.

So I wanted it to feel like my show cords, like my cords were ready. I had sunk my teeth into it a little bit. I was able to manage my nerves. But I think what got me laughing was because I came up the stairs from my dressing room, from my dressing room in the basement, and I heard the audience cheering. I heard them cheering, which I have since seen the video of my husband going like this. And then I heard them chanting my name and I was stretching or something and I go, what the actual fuck is happening? I was like, that made me kind of go, okay, this is like- It was so fun.

[40:02] Quincy Brown: If I don't have a little bit of fun, like what is this for? So that kind of grounded me in a weird way. And yeah, and the show is just so raw and exposed. And I had a space full of people who were there to keep me safe. It wasn't a space where I had to question whether they were on my side or I had to get them on my side.

[40:23] Kevin Bianchi: Right. Which especially given the previous anxiety about the booing or the surprise going on of it all, how nice to have the polar opposite of that.

[40:30] Caroline Bowman: It was so cool. And the role is so fun. Oh, it's so fun. I really hope I get to do it again. I think that's another- Totally. I mean, I've got time to do it again, I think. I think I was probably a little bit young leaning for the role, but this production won't happen again. And this production I think is really special and very cool. I wrote Jamie an email and just told him, I was like, I just thanked him one more time for believing that I had that in me, but then also creating such a cool actor's playground. And it's only something I could know from experiencing it. It's like, wow, there's so much to play with, with nothing. There's nothing on stage and everything to play with. And then you've got brilliant, I mean, Tom Francis and David Thaxton were right there with me and it was just, it's that company. So they were so supportive.

[41:25] Quincy Brown: Is Norma of your big four, Elsa, Elphaba, Evita, Norma?

[41:32] Caroline Bowman: My theory is Norma is the easiest of the four.

[41:34] Quincy Brown: Correct. Yeah.

[41:35] Caroline Bowman: My only thing is if, as if we never said goodbye, we're a half step up or I could option up, I would have been able to hold it longer, but I also would be able to hold it longer. The, I've come home at last. Not that sometimes it doesn't need to be, whatever. It's not my role. She's amazing. And I just can't hold it that long. And if I, maybe if I had more time with it, I would be able to like build up the stamina to do that. But a C is not my money note. It's more like a D. And so I was like, my dream would have been to do, I've come home at last. I would have fallen out of my seat.

[42:30] Quincy Brown: I'll do it in my solo show.

[42:31] Caroline Bowman: People would have died.

[42:33] Quincy Brown: I mean, I had the thought to do it because it was, it's a one night only event. One and done. But I also thought I respect this team and this score. And I just, I didn't tell them I was going to do that. So I was like, I don't want to go out on a sour note with these people. I want them to, I want to have mutual respect. And so I'll do it on my solo show.

[42:53] Kevin Bianchi: Are we doing a solo show?

[42:54] Caroline Bowman: The Norma of the basement.

[42:55] Quincy Brown: I hope so. I think, I think I would like to, I would really like, I know I'm going to be busy this year, but I would really like to produce an album and do a solo show.

[43:02] Kevin Bianchi: Love.

[43:03] Caroline Bowman: Because those are two things I want to do. And I think I'm going to have the momentum this year. So once I learned smash, open it, feel a little comfy, maybe this summer I'll start working on that and work on something for the fall.

[43:10] Quincy Brown: And you have a big number in smash.

[43:12] Caroline Bowman: I do.

[43:13] Quincy Brown: That I was lucky enough to hear you sing 20 times in a row, like four days before you were going on for Norma.

[43:17] Caroline Bowman: Oh my gosh.

[43:18] Quincy Brown: I was like, let her go.

[43:20] Caroline Bowman: Oh yeah. We can't talk about my number yet. Because nobody knows you're like, let her go.

[43:25] Caroline Bowman: Um, oh yeah. Mark Shaman put me through the ringer with that number. I was like, this is not going to sound good anymore. If you keep making me sing it. I hope we got, I hope we got it.

[43:34] Quincy Brown: Hopefully we did.

[43:36] Caroline Bowman: Okay. So five years on tour, five years on tour as Elsa. One was Elsa easy for you from the get-go or did you grow into a comfortable place?

[43:42] Caroline Bowman: I grew into a comfortable place for sure.

[43:44] Quincy Brown: Yeah. You found your show.

[43:45] Caroline Bowman: For sure.

[43:46] Quincy Brown: When do you think that happened?

[43:48] Caroline Bowman: Well, there was a shift after the pandemic, like in my, it almost like, it's almost like I released a bit of my fear and was able to conquer it more. Like when I first started in 2019, I think, well, when we first started in 2019, we started in Schenectady and then had our opening in LA, our big opening. And we were doing like so much press, so much press and early morning stuff and doing the show. So that could have had a, like a play, like me being exhausted physically and vocally and mentally and all the things.

[44:16] Kevin Bianchi: You were singing that new song everywhere, right?

[44:18] Caroline Bowman: We were not singing the new song. I never sang the new song in public.

[44:22] Quincy Brown: Oh, really?

[44:23] Caroline Bowman: Isn't that crazy? I'm like, I mean, I'm so happy we got to record it, but we never did it on like anything. Yeah. Isn't that weird? But yeah, I think I came back from the pandemic and felt a lot more confident, which is wild because I was really scared to come back after the pandemic. I thought I had lost it. And then it was like, I felt like, this is my calling. Why are you wasting it being scared? Be like, go.

[45:01] Quincy Brown: You thought you had lost the gift?

[45:03] Caroline Bowman: Yeah. I think I just felt like I was like not, I don't know. I was getting in the way of myself.

[45:10] Quincy Brown: We all do sometimes. We just have to like...

[45:12] Caroline Bowman: So return from the pandemic is when you settled into Elsa?

[45:15] Quincy Brown: I think so. Yeah. I came back and I was on a roll. And then she ebbed and flowed. It's like, depends on the allergies. It depended on the city we were in.

[45:28] Kevin Bianchi: Was there a moment where you thought about leaving?

[45:30] Caroline Bowman: I mean, I definitely thought about it. And then, but my contract, I mean, I had all the outs and stuff. I could leave if I got something. So I was kind of like, why leave for nothing? And we found out we were closing almost a year ahead of time. We knew that the tour was going to close in September, in like October or November of 2023. So we had a lot of notice and I was planning on leaving in April when they told us that the... And then they asked me if I would extend to the end. And I was like, I guess if I think about it that way, it's really only like four more months or whatever. So yeah.

[46:20] Quincy Brown: And you opened the tour, right?

[46:22] Caroline Bowman: I did.

[46:23] Quincy Brown: That is crazy to have done the entire run of a show's tour.

[46:27] Caroline Bowman: With a little stint with Alyssa Fox at the end.

[46:30] Quincy Brown: Alyssa Fox. Yep. We love her.

[46:32] Kevin Bianchi: I feel like we need to discuss the Wicked movie.

[46:35] Caroline Bowman: Okay.

[46:36] Quincy Brown: You went to the Friends and Family premiere. Was that the first time you had seen it?

[46:39] Caroline Bowman: Yeah.

[46:40] Quincy Brown: Okay. Talk to us about it.

[46:41] Caroline Bowman: Yeah. What was that like? I'm jealous we weren't at that.

[46:44] Caroline Bowman: I can't believe you weren't at that. Why weren't you at that?

[46:46] Quincy Brown: I think we had been invited to a couple of previous screenings. So they were like, they got their fill.

[46:50] Caroline Bowman: Oh. Well, number one, before I had ignored every email I got from Wicked, other than I just RSVP'd because I was like, I don't have time for Wicked emails. I just didn't. I was like-

[47:01] Quincy Brown: They're asking you to come back.

[47:02] Caroline Bowman: I got an invitation to the movie and I was like, yeah, I'll go to that.

[47:05] Quincy Brown: So you didn't really know all the fanfare?

[47:07] Caroline Bowman: No. I thought I read it and said, I don't know what I thought. I just didn't have time. I was like, I'm sorry. I can't get another email from a show I did 10 years ago.

[47:15] Quincy Brown: I just thought it was like, the movie starts at seven, like blah, blah, blah. And I had read like maybe afterwards we were going to do photos.

[47:20] Caroline Bowman: Anyway, I took a car there because I wore heels and I was in the car and I get a text from Wicked press team that they're like, can you let us know your ETA? And I go, what?

[47:30] Caroline Bowman: They're like, this is so-and-so from Wicked press team. Can you let us know your ETA? And I go, doesn't the movie start at seven? I said that. And I was like, I'll be there. I said, my ETA, my Uber says it'll drop me off at 645. And she goes, okay, great. When you get here, just go straight down to photos or somebody will lead you straight downstairs to photos. And I go, oh, oopsie.

[48:00] Quincy Brown: So I guess we were supposed to get there at like six or 615, but it's fine because like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were late too. So I just showed up with them.

[48:07] Caroline Bowman: Naturally. Well, and I was like, oh, shoot. I read the email wrong. I guess they were kind of light on Alphabuzz.

[48:13] Quincy Brown: Like, we need Caroline in here.

[48:15] Caroline Bowman: They needed me to hold down the fork because there was like 20 Glindas and like four Alphabuzz, which totally tracks.

[48:22] Quincy Brown: It totally tracks.

[48:23] Caroline Bowman: So I was like, yeah, okay. And I get out of the car and I get out of the car and like somebody from the press team is like, hey, Caroline, come on, come on. Like, I was like, oh gosh, the hustle of it all.

[48:30] Quincy Brown: Yeah.

[48:31] Caroline Bowman: I was like, I thought I was coming to a movie.

[48:34] Quincy Brown: Did you know they were going to be there at that point?

[48:36] Caroline Bowman: I guess I thought they might be there. I don't know. Again, I really like my brain space.

[48:41] Caroline Bowman: The beginning of the, to be fair, I had, there was a lot that happened. I had opening night of Sunset on Sunday. Monday, they announced, Monday or Tuesday, they announced Smash. They announced the cast of Smash. That Friday, I had my Norma Desmond put in. And then, and rehearsal before that. Thursday and Friday, I had rehearsal and Norma Desmond put in. And then I had this wicked premiere. I was just a little bit like.

[49:05] Quincy Brown: She was booked.

[49:06] Caroline Bowman: I was like, I don't know, I don't know which way to look.

[49:09] Quincy Brown: So, that's in my defense. I'm like, I couldn't think about the wicked movie that I was going to go watch. Like, I didn't.

[49:14] Caroline Bowman: What else could I have to do? I did certainly not singing Defying Gravity.

[49:19] Quincy Brown: Did you sing Defying Gravity?

[49:20] Caroline Bowman: No.

[49:21] Quincy Brown: Could you imagine?

[49:22] Caroline Bowman: They're just like, okay, now all the alphabets, take it from here.

[49:25] Caroline Bowman: So, they usher me downstairs. I take a couple alphabet photos. And then they bring down the queens. They bring down Cynthia and Ariana. And we take photos with them. And they were lovely. And I think what's cool is that I didn't really have, I didn't have like energy to spend. So, I kind of was just kind of like, so nice. Like, I was just chill. I was just like, I wasn't like hyper about it all. I just kind of wasn't absorbing anybody's like frenetic energy. I was just like, okay, yeah, I'll go downstairs. All right.

[50:00] Quincy Brown: So, then when we finally got to the movie.

[50:02] Caroline Bowman: What she was here for.

[50:04] Caroline Bowman: What I was here for. When it started, I was like, oh my gosh. And my heart, like my heart started racing. Like, I was like, I mean, even from like the top with the wicked, with the writing that's like the Wizard of Oz. And like, oh my gosh, just like the honoring of everything. I thought they did such a good job. And I just can't get over the way they filmed Defying Gravity and what they did with it. I thought it was so well done. Because that's what I've been saying for years is I'm like, how are they going to do Defying Gravity? We've already seen people fly on broomsticks. Like, we've already seen Harry Potter. And it wouldn't work just flying on a broomstick.

[51:00] Quincy Brown: No.

[51:01] Caroline Bowman: And how are you going to tell that story and the way they took their time with it? And like, she saw her younger self when she was falling. I was falling with her. I was like, that's like, okay. Oh my gosh. It's like those dreams you have where I have this dream all the time where I can fly, but I can't, I'm, I can't like, sometimes it's like jumping and then I can't stay up in the air.

[51:20] Quincy Brown: Like, I can't figure out how to stay up in the air.

[51:22] Caroline Bowman: And like, you have, and like, I'm trying to figure it out. That feels like Elphaba PTSD.

[51:26] Quincy Brown: Totally.

[51:27] Caroline Bowman: Totally. It's a no fly trauma.

[51:29] Quincy Brown: Never had to do one of those.

[51:31] Caroline Bowman: I did it in the ensemble for Jackie Burns.

[51:34] Quincy Brown: I think I was like, I was like, no one wants a Wreck-It Giver.

[51:37] Caroline Bowman: So weird.

[51:38] Quincy Brown: That's a good perspective to have as an Elphaba.

[51:41] Caroline Bowman: But yeah, I thought that was so beautiful. Beautiful. I think Ariana is amazing. I think she's an amazing Linda. I actually was like, super, I knew Cynthia was going to be good.

[51:48] Quincy Brown: Yep.

[51:49] Caroline Bowman: So like, I wasn't, I wasn't sure, like.

[51:51] Quincy Brown: Ariana had a bigger bar to clear.

[51:53] Caroline Bowman: Yeah, I think so. She's been away from the theater for long enough, you know, and she's such a mega celebrity.

[51:58] Quincy Brown: She's so, whereas like, Cynthia is two in our eyes, but like, she's still like, making her way up that ladder. Whereas like, Ariana's like, everybody knows her. And I think she probably proved to a lot of people that, like, I don't think people knew she had this in her, that gorgeous soprano. And I thought her choices were great. I think she honors Kristen while giving it her own touches. I mean, yeah.

[52:30] Kevin Bianchi: 10 out of 10.

[52:31] Caroline Bowman: I bought it.

[52:32] Quincy Brown: We bought it because I was like, let's buy it. We're supporting our friends.

[52:35] Caroline Bowman: Yeah, I bought it and have yet to actually stream it. I just bought it and it's sitting on my TV.

[52:40] Quincy Brown: Yeah, I was like, we have so many friends who sang in it. And I was like, I was like, it's probably a movie we should own. And then Austin hadn't seen it yet. So we sat and watched it in our living room a couple weeks ago.

[52:46] Kevin Bianchi: Wow, he was late to the curve.

[52:48] Caroline Bowman: He's so late. But the thing is, I really wanted to watch it with him. And so he was like, well, I don't care where we watch it. So, although it was really cool in a theater, but yeah, I think the problem with going to the premiere was that I like to watch movies in quiet. And that was not a quiet.

[53:00] Quincy Brown: I know, I'm so particular.

[53:01] Caroline Bowman: I was such a bitch.

[53:03] Quincy Brown: I love it.

[53:04] Caroline Bowman: And it was like, we had to, we had to do all the cheering and stuff. But I was like, well, we need to pause it then. Because if we're going to, because I'm missing things. I'm like, I'm like, wait, just keep it, keep it quick. And then let's give it a round of applause at the end and a big standing O, but not during. It's not for me.

[53:20] Quincy Brown: The energy couldn't be contained.

[53:22] Caroline Bowman: Yeah. I'm here for the movie.

[53:24] Quincy Brown: I don't want to take a picture. I don't want to talk to anybody. I want to watch Wicked.

[53:29] Caroline Bowman: I want to watch Wicked and feel my feelings.

[53:32] Quincy Brown: Oh my God. Caroline, thank you so much for joining us after five years.

[53:36] Caroline Bowman: You're so welcome.

[53:37] Quincy Brown: One more thing. When she does The Wizard and I, she like put on the pebble of when she like jumps from rock to rock.

[53:42] Caroline Bowman: Yeah, the frog.

[53:43] Quincy Brown: I loved that.

[53:44] Caroline Bowman: I just thought it was so cute.

[53:46] Quincy Brown: Yeah. Well, and Cynthia told us, which was interesting is like Wizard and I, she starts at the bottom of the school and then works her way all the way up to the top of the mountain, which I was like, wow.

[54:01] Caroline Bowman: Oh, cool.

[54:02] Quincy Brown: You guys, you guys have interviewed the movies, Blondas and Alphabas.

[54:06] Caroline Bowman: Like-

[54:07] Quincy Brown: Because of you.

[54:08] Caroline Bowman: No, no, no.

[54:09] Quincy Brown: Yes.

[54:10] Caroline Bowman: That's what I was saying. You, you started at like, you started with the scum at the bottom of the ocean and you made it to Mount Everest.

[54:16] Quincy Brown: Oh, my God.

[54:17] Caroline Bowman: No, what have you seen?

[54:19] Quincy Brown: Have you seen?

[54:20] Caroline Bowman: Well, of course, My Best Friend's Wedding.

[54:23] Quincy Brown: It's a classic.

[54:24] Caroline Bowman: Yeah.

[54:25] Quincy Brown: Yes, I have.

[54:26] Caroline Bowman: I don't know. How old are you?

[54:27] Quincy Brown: It doesn't matter. Don't tell me.

[54:29] Caroline Bowman: It's a classic. I mean, it's a 90s movie. And so maybe it is. Maybe it's before your time, but you should watch it. It's Julia Roberts. But at the end, at the end, she's like-

[54:38] Quincy Brown: I'm pond scum.

[54:39] Caroline Bowman: I'm, I'm worse than pond scum.

[54:41] Quincy Brown: I just called myself pond scum.

[54:43] Caroline Bowman: You started with pond scum and you made it to Mount Everest.

[54:47] Quincy Brown: No, you're still the most exciting guest.

[54:49] Caroline Bowman: This was truly a delight.

[54:51] Quincy Brown: This was amazing. You guys are awesome. Thank you for coming back.

[54:54] Caroline Bowman: Smash starts performances March 11th. Go see Caroline Bowman as Karen.

[54:59] Quincy Brown: Pond scum.

[55:01] Kevin Bianchi: You've been listening to Sentimental Men. We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone at the Broadway Podcast Network. And a special thanks to Michaela Reynolds and Julia DiMarzio, our photographer and logo designer. You can find Sentimental Men on Instagram, TikTok, and X at SentMenPod. Or you can email us at sentmenpod at gmail.com. Till next time, I'm Quincy.

[55:30] Kevin Bianchi: And I'm Kevin.