Noah J. Ricketts (00:00)

I think it's good now. Hey! Yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (00:01)

How are you? Can you hear me? Okay, good. How are you doing? I'm good. So this, yeah, we were just gonna use some clips maybe for social media, but if you don't want us to, we don't have

Noah J. Ricketts (00:05)

I'm good, are you? Hey, this is just audio,

I just woke up.

The Art Of Kindness (00:17)

Hahaha

I think you look fresh, but I mean, it's up to you. We don't have to. Okay, okay. Yeah, have you used Riverside before? Okay, this is actually my first time using it. We've been using Zoom for like three years and you're the first guest to try this out with me, which is exciting. So the only thing you really need to know is once the conversation kind of ends.

Noah J. Ricketts (00:23)

Let's just yeah, yeah, let's do the audio

okay.

The Art Of Kindness (00:45)

If you could just hang on for like a couple minutes, you'll see the audio and video, well not video, but audio uploading. And then just keep the tab open until that happens and we'll be good. It should take like a couple minutes maybe. Okay, cool. Well, it's so nice to meet you. I'm such a big fan.

Noah J. Ricketts (00:54)

Okay,

Thank you, nice to meet you too.

The Art Of Kindness (01:03)

Thanks. How you doing on this this Friday TGIF?

Noah J. Ricketts (01:08)

I'm good, I'm good. You know, I'm trying to like warm into the day. You know, these, we have a double Thursday. I, you know, Friday is like a little bit of whew, start.

The Art Of Kindness (01:20)

Yeah. Oh, I did not have a double Thursday and Friday morning is still a foo for me. So thanks for being here at 10 a .m. It's coffee and conversation. You know, Noah, I had the privilege of seeing you shining Gatsby and you are just so amazing. The show is dazzling and I'm sure you're getting tons of love at the stage door from audience members. it makes me wonder. It's the question I always start out asking. How are you at accepting compliments? Because I feel like it's like

could be a tricky

Noah J. Ricketts (01:49)

Yeah, I I think I've gotten better over the years. I think when you first start out, it's a little bit uncomfortable and clunky, hearing compliments about yourself. Sometimes you believe it, sometimes you don't. But I now try to take it in a little, I guess a little better. I look people in eye and I really try to accept their compliment and their grace and all of the stuff that they're giving me.

person after person going down the stage door. And it really is beautiful to see how affected people are by this musical.

The Art Of Kindness (02:25)

Hmm. And so special you can stage door again, right? Especially after what we all went through together.

Noah J. Ricketts (02:31)

I know. mean, I thought for a time, I thought it would never be a thing again. Like I really, I mean, I really did after COVID and, know, in COVID, I would look at videos of, you know, me at the stage door with sea of people and I was doing Frozen. And I was like, how, like it seemed kind of scary to look at that then, you know? So now that we're back to that and like feel okay and comfortable doing it, I think it's a great

The Art Of Kindness (02:58)

Yeah, I'm sure that's intimidating, feeling all that energy coming at you, especially after you give it all on stage. You know, but we're going to get into that into Gatsby. The first question I want to ask you to kind of set the tone for our conversation is what is your definition of kindness? You know, if you had to define kindness, what do you think it would

Noah J. Ricketts (03:18)

I think it's very funny because there's this quote that I, of course, will butcher now, but like, you know, there's people that are nice and there's people that are kind. And I think like there's a truthful element to kindness. I think it's a selflessness around kindness. I think like in life you encounter a lot of people that are front -facing nice, but to encounter people that are kind and really have your best interests at heart, I think that's really the root of it for me.

The Art Of Kindness (03:27)

Yeah.

Mmm. Yeah, your best interest. I think it's a lot of consideration, right? Yeah, yeah, I love that. We talk a lot about that on here, the difference between being kind and being nice. And I think nice can maybe be, I guess, to relate it to Gatsby, sort of the politeness of society. But then in the end, the kind one standing is really just Nick, I'll have to say. spoiler alert. You know, from what I've heard growing up, just to kind of give some context here to your journey,

Noah J. Ricketts (03:49)

Yeah, definitely.

Mmm.

The Art Of Kindness (04:13)

your family, specifically your grandma, I think who you thank in your Playbill bio, which is so sweet, was very supportive. How do you think that's informed your career and your work as an artist? Because that's not always the case for people.

Noah J. Ricketts (04:27)

You know, like I think it had a really major impact on me because, you know, as far as the eye can see even still today, like no one in my family did anything arts related or anything like this. And so my family really was great about just like making space for me to figure it out. I wasn't forced into it. It wasn't forced upon me, but they really did clear out the pathway to say like, okay, if you want to do this, let's try it. Let's see what's up with

And I think that kind of ushered in me finding my way into this authentically as opposed to having it feel like it was pressed upon me. And making my own path and figuring out the way I wanted to navigate this industry I think has led to a lot of like authentic success and a long career in the arts.

The Art Of Kindness (05:17)

Mm -hmm. I love that. You know going back to then I guess from Kentucky right to to New York City What do you think is an act of kindness? This is a big question But I guess they all are for 10 a .m. And I can barely speak this morning. So I'll try and utter it to you What do you think is an act of kindness that changed your trajectory? Looking back to where you are today. Does anything stand out to you as really shifting

Noah J. Ricketts (05:22)

No.

Yeah. I, when I was young, I was like forced into musical theater summer camp after I, I broke my wrist, and was supposed to go to soccer camp. That was like, you know, I had to go somewhere because my mom had to work and no one could take care of me during the summer. So something during the day I had to do. they were like, well, this theater camp is the only place that'll take an injured kid. So you've got to do that. And so I did that

The Art Of Kindness (05:49)

Mmm.

Hehehe

Noah J. Ricketts (06:08)

There was one teacher there, you know, who's like become my long -term mentor, Jan. And, you know, one of the acts of kindness that she granted me was like at the end of the summer, after we had done this little show and showcase, you know, she took me aside and said, I really think like you've got something special and like I really something about you. You've got something about you got the spark. And she told my mother and she didn't press it. She just said, you know, I just want to, have to say this. And it was

The Art Of Kindness (06:28)

Mm.

Noah J. Ricketts (06:39)

act of kindness and generosity that allowed me and forced me into this next rung of my life to really explore

The Art Of Kindness (06:45)

Hmm. Yeah, shout out to teachers, right? Come on, teachers are the backbone of society. I love that. Yeah, you know, kind of flying over until now to Gatsby, getting to Gatsby, G2G. This is obviously such a massive property and project, you know, very popular one. How did you bring yourself to this iconic role of Nick Carraway? And I know you worked closely with the team to sort of develop him and they were very open to that. But did you ever feel

Noah J. Ricketts (06:51)

Yeah, definitely.

The Art Of Kindness (07:14)

I don't know, you were inside your head or standing in your own way. I imagine stepping into sort of such an iconic piece could provoke that in you.

Noah J. Ricketts (07:23)

Yeah, you know, well, at first I was so far removed from the book that like I truly didn't remember. so. Yeah, I did. Yeah. And I think like a lot of people feel that way and even like revisiting it now, I still think like we read it way too early in life. Like, I think it's one of those, you know, books that you can.

The Art Of Kindness (07:33)

Yeah, I you didn't love the book, right? When you first read it, or you just kind of like, I have to read this for school.

Noah J. Ricketts (07:49)

go back to, like I'm sure that I'll read it 10 years from now and have new insights about it. I think that's like the beautiful thing. And so when it came to me, you know, they reached out to me about playing Nick in the first workshop. At first I was like, I don't remember this thing. And I remember like, I had to like,

to give them an answer within a certain amount of hours if I was going to be a part of it or not be a part of it. And so I read the script like lightning fast and this is kind of a freaky moment. I read the script lightning fast and I read it really quick and I went to the bathroom and I was like, what happened?

who drove the car, what color, whatever. I turn around, and was in my, in an Airbnb, and I turn around, and in the Airbnb, there's a giant poster of the Great Gatsby with little cartoon characters outlining the actual story and how it went. And it was like this weird, like, universal, yeah, it was super freaky. And it was, and I literally just said yes in that moment, because I was like, this is like the weirdest sign I've ever gotten from the universe.

The Art Of Kindness (08:40)

Wow!

What?

Yeah!

Noah J. Ricketts (08:58)

And so like that kind of moment like took the pressure off of the whole thing. I was just like, this is like divine. This is meant to be. And I don't know. like diving in with that behind me made me feel like, OK, this is something about this is going to be good. And so it took a little bit of that that way to way. But, you know, people read the book and the thing about.

The Art Of Kindness (09:15)

Yeah.

Noah J. Ricketts (09:22)

the source material that people know is like everyone's gonna have their expectation of what he looks like, what he sounds like, how he should be. And I really tried to, you know, service myself and erase all that and start from scratch. You know, like, start from this place of like, instead of who he should be, who he could be. And yeah, I try to take that on moving forward from the beginning.

The Art Of Kindness (09:43)

Mmm. I love

And that's important for life, right? As people, it's like forget who you should be and think about who you could be. You know, we make gratitude lists when we wake up every morning, but what about, I could be this today, lists, you know? And I think that's really special. You literally had it behind you. First of all, follow up there. Did you ever get to speak with Airbnb people? Did you ever say thank you for taking me to Broadway with Gatsby?

Noah J. Ricketts (09:51)

Yeah. Yeah.

I didn't, but it's super weird. I don't know the guy, but it's my... I was staying with my friend who staying in the Airbnb and the guy was some theater director. He was like some theater guy. I'm sure he's someone I probably should know. But he had tons of posters and it just kind of was like super freaky that at that moment, like after reading this thing and being a little confused, I had such this moment of clarity at seeing this poster that explained the whole thing. It was so strange.

The Art Of Kindness (10:36)

Yeah. And I do have to say, also touching on the fact that you really made Nick your own, he is just, first of all, he's a lot funnier than I remember. He definitely has a lot more comedic moments and there's sort of a neuroticism to him. Is that a word? Neurosis, I guess would be the word. We'll see. Thank you. I appreciate that. We'll keep that in. You know, from Gatsby to fellow travelers, to sort of looking at your career and as you continue to grow as an artist.

Noah J. Ricketts (10:49)

Yeah? Yeah. I take it.

The Art Of Kindness (11:01)

I think you've said that you make every effort to bring marginalized characters to the forefront of every story you tell. And in looking, guess, at this project specifically, or any that you feel like speaking about, I feel like, I mean, I've been especially in rehearsal rooms for workshops. To me, at least it takes a lot of courage to raise your voice and really in the moment sort of voice who you are and who you think this character can be. And it's a tricky dance because there's, you know, maybe 50 other people in the room and you're, you're on a tight schedule.

Noah J. Ricketts (11:07)

Mm -hmm.

The Art Of Kindness (11:31)

So what's your, I guess, thoughts and advice on that, if you have any?

Noah J. Ricketts (11:36)

I just think it's like, you know, musical theater is like the biggest team sport. You know, like it really does take so many people to make like one musical and it can be so rewarding and so exhausting. So I think like my biggest advice is like, know when to speak and know when to be silent. Like I think, you know, if you speak too much, then your voice is not heard and your opinion's not valued.

The Art Of Kindness (11:52)

Mm

Noah J. Ricketts (12:05)

But those moments when you sit back and you're very intentional about when you make a point, then people perk up and listen. And I think that's what I tried to do in the Great Gatsby process. To speak to your point about him being funny and all that stuff, that was an idea I had from the first workshop that I said, if this is the guy that we're going to follow from the beginning to the middle to the end, and we need to see his change and his evolution,

He really does represent the audience and right away the audience has got to trust him. And one of the best ways for an audience member to trust an actor on stage is through comedy and lightheartedness. So they feel that they can let their guard down. And so that's something like I was very intentional about, like pressing, okay, we got to put this in, right? And that's like a hard process to do. But I knew that in order to get from A to B to C to D, that that was the thing that we had to do.

The Art Of Kindness (13:03)

Yeah, I'm glad you did it. know, and looking at that process, I mean, is there anything that stood out to you from this rehearsal room that made it sort of more of an open, safe and creative environment? I guess what did you value most about those days in the rehearsal

Noah J. Ricketts (13:05)

Yeah.

I think what I valued most is like, you know, I would say of most of the departments, like no one was precious about the material.

Like, and I think that really is a lot of the key to success of, you know, big musicals is that like, if something is not working, we got to throw it out. You know, like we have to like start again, or we have to like be able to morph it or figure something out. And I think that's what I appreciated about this process was that, you know, like whole songs were cut and thrown out and brought back. And I said, what about this? And, you know, people are like, great, let's scratch it, do this, do this, do that. And I think it's that collaborative process that

a success of a show. So that's what I think was the best part. Yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (14:04)

Yeah, that collaboration and being open to that collaboration. You know, as you're developing your character, as we know, Nick, as you said, is sort of the every man on the outside, almost. I mean, he has privilege. He comes from a family that's definitely not poor. So although he's sort of in the little cottage, he's still working his way up or deciding if he wants to work his way up and sort of entering into society. And now I'm rambling. You know, when you first came to New York, I enjoyed reading about how you said as a waiter.

Noah J. Ricketts (14:18)

I know.

The Art Of Kindness (14:31)

you had this experience where you sort of saw the other side and what was sort of possible that you could reach for as you sort of like gotten to, I mean, I know you're at a lot of fancy events now, especially with Tony season and all that sort of being on the other side. I don't know. What's, what's your perspective there? This is sort of like a statement, but.

Noah J. Ricketts (14:43)

Mm -hmm.

It's funny, like... Well yeah, I mean, I think it's funny, like... You... I think when you're younger, you idolize it so much, you're like, whoa, like, this is so special, this is so unique. And then, kind of like Nick, like, the older I get and the more wisdom I gain, I just realize that it's all smoke and mirrors, you know, like...

The Art Of Kindness (15:09)

Mm -hmm.

Noah J. Ricketts (15:10)

It's all show. And I think that's a part of growing up. I think that's a part of wisdom of life. And I think I see those same events now and I'm like happy to be here. Love it. Thanks for the free drinks. But at the same time, like I now have a greater sense of like what's important, truth and honesty and one -on -one connection. And I think that's what I've come to. So it's very interesting to

be in those events now with a little bit of more perspective on the world.

The Art Of Kindness (15:42)

Yeah, you know, nothing put that into perspective more for me than being in the Tony's winner room and working that because it seems like the most glamorous place you could be in the theater. And then you walk in, you know, someone's vacuuming the carpet, which is kind of funny. And then people come in and until it gets to sort of the bigger quote unquote names, everyone's typing away. No one's asking questions. And it's sort of like a stale, weird environment. I'm the only Muppet with my hand up, like constantly trying to make people feel like they're not in high school at the microphone waiting to get picked, you know. So

It's true, it's kind of about what you make it. And I think Nick really, he leads with a lot of light, maybe a lot of green light in this show and seems to practice a lot of empathy. What have you learned from playing him just as a

Noah J. Ricketts (16:25)

You know, I think like, you know, one of the first things he says is like, you know, my father taught me this thing about like reserving judgment, right? And I think you pick up little tidbits from every character you play. And I think that's a big one that I have taken away is like his empathetic nature, one, but also his ability to, you know, reserve his judgment on people and places and things and really have an open, wide -eyed perspective to life.

into the events around him and I think that's kind of a beautiful thing. It's a hard thing to keep with you the older you get but I think like practicing that every day is something that I try to do now and it's something that I've gained from playing Nick.

The Art Of Kindness (17:05)

Yeah, you know, that was my next question actually, because I was stumbling through the book again last night and that is literally the first line of the book is that advice. Do you think it's a mindset? You know, what's your advice to listeners out here on sort of reserving judgment? Because we all get a million thoughts every second in our head, but we don't have to listen to

Noah J. Ricketts (17:21)

Yeah, I think it's an act of practice. I think it's kind of an unlearning. We're constantly judging and re -judging and evaluating everything. And I think the beautiful thing about reserving judgment is that, one, you're able to be in the present moment. But two, it opens up so much possibility to what could be, which is so special and unique. I think as you get older and as you live life, isn't that such a special thing?

The Art Of Kindness (17:46)

That is special. You know what else is special is your cast. And I would love to know, thank you for that transition. I should add a little, I have an applause feature I can add in here now. Maybe we'll play with that later. Any acts of kindness, you know, from this process that stand out to you? Do you any stories about castmates or crew members backstage sort of lifting you up? As you said, it does take a whole ship of people to make a Broadway show happen.

Noah J. Ricketts (17:50)

Mm. Yeah.

Yeah, you know, like one of the reasons I wanted to do this show on Broadway was because of the cast that I got to work with when we did it out of town at Paper Mill in New Jersey. And we, I will say, like, I don't think I've ever been this close to a cast, like, across the board. Like, you know, we hang out all the time, we do events together, we're always together because we really do have, like, a deep understanding and appreciation for each other. And when we were doing the show out of town,

The Art Of Kindness (18:28)

Mmm.

Noah J. Ricketts (18:39)

It was hard work. we were rehearsing in like minimal time of a brand new musical in New York and then schlepping it from New York to New Jersey every single day. You know, like in the traffic, tired, in tech, staying till 1 a .m., coming back to the city. And like there were days where I was just like, how am I going to do this? Like, you know, in...

It was, I would be lifted up by my castmates like Samantha Polly or Eva Nobluzada. Like they were really wonderful and instrumental in us like making it across the finish line. And we all were kind of lifting each other up throughout that process because it is not easy. Yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (19:21)

No, slip into Millburn. That's why I grew up right around the corner. Paper Mill Playhouse, shout out. That's where I trained, baby.

Noah J. Ricketts (19:25)

my god. And to go there at, don't go there at rush hour, whew, takes three hours.

The Art Of Kindness (19:31)

Yeah, I know. Even the train, it's like a, it's a hot hour on the train, you know? That's a lot. Do they not have rehearsal spaces around there? Or was it just like a team? I guess the powers that be get to choose where things are, but we don't have to get into that. But you know, touching on two of your cast mates, of course it's led by these Broadway legends, Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblazada. What have you learned from working with them? I mean, I know I've been around Eva a few times and she's just such a little like pixie ball of light.

Noah J. Ricketts (19:35)

huh.

I know.

Yeah.

I know, I love Eva, she's so silly. I think I've learned a lot of grace from them. They have a lot of pressure on their backs and a lot of, you come in and their posters are on the thing and it's a lot of pressure on them to be great and to show up and do the thing every day. Every day is a different day and some days are harder than others, know, like Jeremy is always there and Eva's always there.

and very consistent and very gracious and really giving their all. I think that's such a beautiful thing to watch. I've done other stuff with other celebrities or stars that don't necessarily subscribe to that. And everyone's got their own process. But I will say, I think the biggest takeaway from them is that they really show up, put their best foot forward, and try to give all that they've got in that given day. It's beautiful to see.

The Art Of Kindness (20:46)

Yeah, that is beautiful. And I like when people take the work seriously, but maybe not themselves too seriously. And that sort of comes through every time, at least when I saw it and then the clips I've seen when y 'all bow, I mean, people are dabbing, people are laughing, people are dancing together. And I just think that playfulness is, what we are. We're players, you know, it's sort of a necessary ingredient. So it's nice when people can add that into the balance of getting work done. You know, you mentioned a lot of pressure.

Noah J. Ricketts (20:51)

Yeah.

yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (21:13)

And no, I can't stop listening to the album, the Great Gatsby album, specifically the Roar -Nan finale, like when they come back in and you're saying the last line of the book, sort of saying, I mean, it's just, it's amazing. To me, recording that is a very high pressure moment because you know it's gonna live on in the Broadway legacy. And I can already see this show being done or wanting to be done by like every high school and everyone's gonna be listening to y 'all's voices and not being themselves, maybe trying to

Noah J. Ricketts (21:22)

yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (21:41)

Copy it, which they shouldn't do, they should be themselves. But anyway, suffice to say, how do you prep for those moments? I mean, that feels very intense.

Noah J. Ricketts (21:49)

Okay, well I probably had the worst album recording experience of my life with this one. my god, it's like no one's fault. I'm happy I do because I, god I was so ill the day, like the day of and the day before. I, I had muscles for the first time in my whole life. A day, day before this I recorded that exactly what you're talking about. And I woke up the next day and I was like,

The Art Of Kindness (21:54)

No! You sound amazing.

I thought you said muscles at first. was like, yeah, no, thought you meant like working out muscles. was like, wow, they popped up, okay.

Noah J. Ricketts (22:19)

Yeah, like the seafood, sorry, like yeah. Oh no, no, No. And I woke up the next day and I had to do an interview on television at like 9 a .m. and then I had to go out to the recording studio and my stomach was like, I was aching, like what is going on?

The Art Of Kindness (22:42)

No.

Noah J. Ricketts (22:43)

my god, I was like almost yacking on live TV and then I finally got out studio and like fully was like so ill and I was like, my god, I got this huge recording session in like two hours. And it's like everyone has to be there. It's like everyone direct, everyone's got to be there. There's cameras. It's a whole thing.

The Art Of Kindness (22:47)

Ugh.

Noah J. Ricketts (23:04)

I don't know how I did it, but I'm so happy that you think it turned out well because I was like, what's this gonna sound like? I was sweating in the booth. It was such a hot mess. yeah, I couldn't even think about the pressure of the album. I'm glad it lives on. I will listen to it one day, but one day when I'm not traumatized by how sick I was. It is long enough.

The Art Of Kindness (23:14)

my goodness, it was like a just a

It's roaring on. Wow. Well, that's positive outlook that it took the pressure off because you were just trying to stay alive in the moment. That's wild. Well, I mean, this is kind of the perfect segue into my next question, which is another wild thing is the Broadway schedule. You know, do you have any sort of like self -care? I know it sounds woo woo, but maybe self -care or self -kindness practices during this intense period of your life?

Noah J. Ricketts (23:36)

Mhm. I know.

Yeah, like I've, you know, like this marks my 10th year on Broadway, I guess. Like I've been doing it for 10 years and like, oh my gosh. I know, and I've learned, I learn more and more as I go. And one of the things like I have really implemented now is like honestly silence.

The Art Of Kindness (23:59)

You're You're a decade old, yeah.

Noah J. Ricketts (24:13)

and like meditation and journaling. Like I just do that pretty religiously now. And one of my good friends came over and you know, he does the West End and he like, was like, came to Experience New York and was like, how do you do this all the time? Because it is a lot of noise and chaos and a lot of stimulation. And I said quite literally like, I do the opposite at home. Like I'm...

There's no music, there's no sound, and I think I just kind of need that decompression of everything that I experience. So I've learned that over the years is what gets me through. Yeah. Mm -hmm.

The Art Of Kindness (24:51)

Yeah, that's smart. Listening to yourself, being silent. You know, and there also comes the point in the run where, I mean, of course, everyone just wants to stay and have a job, but there always comes that point where everyone starts looking for other jobs and they know they got to find other work, which I find to be an extra stressful point, specifically at least in shorter contracts. How do you navigate that knowing that sort of you want to grow your career and continue and you're going to get other offers and projects,

Noah J. Ricketts (25:09)

Mm -hmm.

The Art Of Kindness (25:16)

while you're in a show, maybe auditioning, it takes so much work just to go through these hoops, you

Noah J. Ricketts (25:21)

It's a lot of work, know, like that, you know, that's like a part of it. You're lucky to just like sit for five seconds and not have to do that. But you always have an eye on the future. And I think, you know, we always do, you know, for me, like, I try to not repeat myself. Like I always like to do things that are new, like new experiences for me that allow me to grow.

But also with that comes the added pressure of, you you gotta get that next beautiful, great big thing. And so I just think it's like a part of the territory and you've gotta know as an artist when you can do it and when you can't. And so sometimes you'll get pushback from managers and agents being like, you sure you can't make this call back? Are you sure you can't do this thing? And you've just gotta listen to your body and be like, yes or no. And that's just the truth of it.

The Art Of Kindness (26:08)

Yeah, that's hard. It's hard to balance that because when you started, at least you have to say yes to everything. You're lucky if you get an audition. Even in these times, you're lucky just to get called in with self tapes and the way, you know, the audiences, the way casting is able to see so many more people now. So it's an important lesson once you start to sort of like gain some footing to be able to say no, even early on the power of no, I think is is underrated, although Jane Fonda talks about it. So maybe it's not underrated. You know, speaking about Jane Fonda, I don't know how I got to

Noah J. Ricketts (26:21)

Mm -hmm.

Yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (26:36)

Is there someone you look up to for the way they have sort of navigated their career but also led with grace? Do you have sort of a role model in the arts?

Noah J. Ricketts (26:45)

would say like I've got a couple but you know like one of them that I really love is like Viola Davis like you know even before like you know people knew her as what she is now like she really has like gone up rung by rung with so much grace and like you know I've seen her do so many beautiful roles on play and supporting roles and to leading roles and like I'm so inspired by her because you know I think she's a truth teller.

The Art Of Kindness (26:52)

yeah.

Noah J. Ricketts (27:14)

I think she brings that same truth telling to her acting which makes it so effective. I've seen her play supporting parts and completely steal the show. And like now that she's in this position where she's leading, you know, many shows and movies and things, I still see her giving back to, you know, her counterparts from How to Get Away with Murder, the younger, you know, the younger cast. And I think it's like her commitment to honesty and truth that I think is so beautiful. her career

The Art Of Kindness (27:33)

Mmm.

Noah J. Ricketts (27:42)

her trajectory and her as a person is very inspiring to me.

The Art Of Kindness (27:45)

Yeah, I mean, I feel like she's a vacuum. Anytime she comes on screen, you're just like, she like sucks you in, you know what I mean? And she's had a hard life. I mean, I started her, have you read her book recently, her biography? so good, but heartbreaking. it, you know, so she's been through a lot. Well, I hope you have time really quickly for a surprise game. If you're down, it's not hard and it's actually really not even much of a game. It's called the compliment game.

Noah J. Ricketts (27:49)

Yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah, I'm literally reading it right now. Yeah. I know.

The Art Of Kindness (28:15)

And basically, I reached out to someone in your life for a loving statement about you, and you have to guess who said

Noah J. Ricketts (28:21)

god, how am gonna guess?

The Art Of Kindness (28:24)

There's a little bit of a hint. This one's actually, I'm not gonna lie, this one I think is pretty easy. I think you'll get it. Yeah, now you might not get it, but there is a cheesy theme song that I'm gonna try to insert right here.

Noah J. Ricketts (28:30)

Now I'm not going to get it. Okay, tell me.

I love

The Art Of Kindness (28:48)

okay, interesting. All right, here's yours. I'm gonna read it to you right now, Noah. and we'll say you get like three guesses and you can ask me yes or no questions. I don't know, people like rules, but you're not gonna need it. Okay. I'm always in awe of your talent and your ferocity. You are so incredibly generous on stage, but especially off stage as a friend. You are someone so, so special in my life.

Noah J. Ricketts (29:02)

Okay.

The Art Of Kindness (29:16)

and I am unbelievably lucky to get to fall in love with you eight times a week. Yes, I know, I almost left out the last sentence, but then it would have been probably hard. It's Samantha.

Noah J. Ricketts (29:24)

Samantha Pauley.

man, I'm glad I aww, that's very sweet. I need that written down. That's nice.

The Art Of Kindness (29:35)

Yeah, well I can send it to you. What do you love about working with Samantha?

Noah J. Ricketts (29:40)

I would say similarly, is so giving. She's such a beautiful giving person on stage and off. She's always down to play and keep things alive and keep growing and expanding. I'm so lucky to have her as my counterpart in this show because I think one of the beauties of theater is that it is always growing and morphing and evolving. And she's always down to...

improve things or play or explore and off stage she's just such a wonderful person like she checks in she makes sure you're doing all right she she came to my room with a cookie yesterday and a plant week before and like chocolate chip my favorite yeah so that's what i love about her she's an all -around wonderful wonderful person and i the talent is unmatched

The Art Of Kindness (30:21)

what kind of cookie? We can't skate over that.

and I mean, both of you as a match, the chemistry is like on fleek off the charts to quote the kids. Do y 'all have moments where you've like sort of broken on stage? Because I feel this like energy between you, especially in these comedic moments. I think there might've been like a chuckle when I saw it from one of you. those are my favorite moments. Do you have any stories you can share about

Noah J. Ricketts (30:54)

Daley. You know, I'm always pulling one over on Samantha. And then she tries to one -up me and then I'm trying to one -up her. it's constant within the show that we're, you know, doing the old poke the bear, poke the bear at each other, whether it be, you know, on stage in one of our duets or upstage where we're doing some choreography that you might not notice. I'm constantly messing with that girl. Yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (30:56)

I love

Yeah, maybe when people go in the cottage and there's something going on behind the wall. I wanted to go inside that cottage also. It looks so

Noah J. Ricketts (31:28)

well you can go in there is not much in there is a screen in a screen in a dream that's about it but you you can go in

The Art Of Kindness (31:30)

I figured there's not much going on in there. A screen and a dream. I like that. Are you a prankster? Like would you consider yourself a prankster on this show?

Noah J. Ricketts (31:42)

I definitely am, you know, I love a good scare. I love a good spook. So, but you know, you're reminding me, it's been a while since I've pulled one over on someone in that building. So I'm gonna have to like get some, get some fake cockroaches and start putting them in shoes and, and, and pull some pranks again. But I am definitely the prankster of the group and around Halloween, get ready folks. Good luck. Yep.

The Art Of Kindness (31:46)

Yeah,

Yeah!

yeah, please post some videos of that. We all wanna see. That's so exciting. Halloween's my favorite. Yeah, that's amazing. I also saw you did a fun reel the other day with Sam, which was cool. I think it was on the Great Gatsby page. Keep posting this content. We live for it. Thank you so much for your time. I just have one more question that I would love to have you speak into the universe. Do you have sort of a tangible kindness tip or?

Noah J. Ricketts (32:09)

Yeah. Thank you, yeah.

yeah.

The Art Of Kindness (32:31)

Even a mantra that you would like listeners to incorporate into their own day that you think could help make the world a little bit brighter on everybody's individual street or corner.

Noah J. Ricketts (32:41)

I think one that I'm trying to live by right now, I'm rereading the four agreements again, is like, always do your best. I think it's a very simple one, but a very effective one, and I think if

you know always did their best in everything whether you know the extending kindness to your barista or whether it be your best in your job and what you do i think the world would be a little bit of a brighter place so my my tip would be just that incorporating the always do your best

The Art Of Kindness (33:14)

Yes. No, reminds me too. I think even just going to the theater, flying on an airplane, these things used to be where people sort of brought their quote unquote best selves. I mean, people would dress like how they were dressing for a wedding now to go see a Broadway show even. And I think of course there's flexibility now and I like that people can be comfortable and casual and express themselves in different ways. And at the same time, I think what you're saying has gotten lost a little bit in today's world where you can just sort of like throw up a video and it's in the moment, which is great.

Noah J. Ricketts (33:27)

Mm -hmm.

The Art Of Kindness (33:43)

But at the same time, maybe it's not as intentional. So I think that's powerful. Do you have a tool for doing that yourself? Is there anything that kind of snaps you into the mindset of being more intentional?

Noah J. Ricketts (33:48)

Yeah.

I try to, before I go out every night, I try to just take a breath, three breaths really, and just be with me and remind myself of that. Some days are harder than others, some days are more tired than others, but I think if you give the best of what you've got that day, then you can leave happy and the audience can leave happy. So I try to that every day.

The Art Of Kindness (34:14)

Yeah. Goldie Hawn just posted a video saying she takes three big breaths in the morning. And so I've been trying to do that because it's hard not to just hop on your phone and then immediately start thinking about X, and Z, you know?

Noah J. Ricketts (34:26)

Yeah it is, makes a big difference.

The Art Of Kindness (34:28)

It definitely does. Well, you're making a difference on Broadway, making people laugh, cry, and clap for the most part. Thank you so much for your time. I wish you a great rest of your run in Gatsby, and hopefully we'll connect again soon.

Noah J. Ricketts (34:43)

Alright, thank you so much. Good to see you.

Robert Peterpaul (34:45)

Thank you!