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[0:00] Robert Bannon: Are you ready? It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:09] Robert Bannon: Well, welcome to The Roundtable, everybody. My name is Robert Bannon and you're listening to us on Broadway World, The Broadway Podcast Network, iHeart, Spotify. You know, I live in two whole worlds. I've been in education for 20 years. I run an English department at Detroit Lions Academy. There's the lion right there. And literacy and academics is really the key to success in the world. And as we know, and we need people who motivate and energize and entertain people to make them get tricked into believing and feeling like they're learning, but they don't even realize it because they're having such a good time. And when I saw this come across my email that our friend to our show, one of my favorite families in the world, one of the most talented people in the world, they all sing, you know, you know him, you know his brother, you know what they do.

Now he went on, he's like a producer and he's everywhere in the UK and he's here in the United States and he sings and he does everything. And he's been here. He's now here because he has a brand new project that's going to help entertain and educate your kids. And it is something amazing and incredible and makes you smile. And it is going to give you a break from the monotony of the same things that your kids watch every single day. Well, we're going to expose them. You're going to become the new obsessed one, Anthony. You are the new obsessed kids educator. The one and only Anthony Nunziata is here. Welcome to the show. Welcome back.

[1:27] Anthony Nunziata: Hey, hey there, Robert. It's so good to be with you. Thank you so much for that lovely introduction. I'm moved because, you know, I really feel like I've made my life about education and entertainment and that a lot of people wonder how they go together, but they go perfectly together.

[1:43] Robert Bannon: Why? Why? What was the moment when you said, I think there's something here?

[1:49] Anthony Nunziata: Yeah. Well, Robert, you do understand that and you do that, you know, to get to reach kids, you know, to reach kids, we have to know how to reach them and through entertainment, through songs, through teachable moments. It's very important. As you may know, I have a four and five year old nephew and seeing them grow up and being spending as much time as I have with them and understanding through my sister and her husband, the type of programming that was out there, it did dawn on me that there seemed to be what seemed to be missing is a live action person in that post-toddler department, someone who grew up with Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow. I thought I just began to the ideas just began to sort of percolate.

And I said, you know what? Wonder if wonder if I were to come up with an idea where I play myself. I'm a little bit more. I don't know, just I myself, the kid inside of me comes out in this character, but it really is just me. Mr. Anthony is me. And I wanted to. And then I just thought about the children of our country and our world, and I just want to hopefully be in this show is to is to reach kids, is to hopefully they'll also entertain their parents and grandparents and guardians, but to reach kids in a real way, Robert. And so every step of the process and happily we can talk about every step of the process was very intentional. And step one was that this was going to be research based.

And so that is why we brought on immediately a friend of a friend, Dr. Sholly Fish. He has been with the Sesame Workshop and Sesame Street for over 20 years, and he is writing the scripts with myself and my co-creator, Elizabeth Stewart. So right from the start, Robert, we want this to be entertaining. But every single episode points back to a big idea that is educational research based. And that's what I love about as an educator, as someone who started their career. I started my career teaching kindergarten. I feel like the it's all good to be entertaining and have flashing lights and fun and razzle-dazzle. But at the end of the day, we need to educate people. And then you have you if you're not an educator to write curriculum, to write lessons, to write about where you start, what's appropriate is hard work.

[4:33] Robert Bannon: So you went out and found the best of the best who has been doing it for the what we were all raised on.

[4:41] Anthony Nunziata: Yes, yes. Bring that nostalgia and that live action friend in the camera that we grew up with to you. You're right. When I think about it, there is no post-toddler. We could think of the toddler ones. We could think of the people that go on the road and sing the wheels on the bus, et cetera. But then what happens after that? That's where you come in.

[5:01] Anthony Nunziata: I hope so. And, you know, Robert, with all of it, I thought to myself, OK, how how can we make this? You know, I want to also live in my authenticity. Right. I want to live in my spirit of of what I can bring to the table. And part of that was right off the bat. Also, with my team, my co-creator Elizabeth Stewart, my creative director and best friend Kelly Moore, we all just decided, Anthony, do you be you? So what are we doing? We have twenty one original songs in the in the first season, which is eight episodes. Each of the episodes are eight to twelve minutes long. Every episode we've and I don't mind talking a little shop here, but every episode I've we've we've we've sort of devised each episode.

How is a sitcom put together? We have an open a block, b block, c block and a close. So I wanted to come up with a new format in a way that reaches kids, that reaches parents and grandparents in a shorter time period and also hit the big ideas and only be songs that that that are new, you know, that was important to me that and that's also me studying Mr. Rogers, right, Fred Rogers, as you know, his wife has said in many interviews that music is the heartbeat to that show. And when I think what I can bring to the table in my collaborators that I have here in Nashville, in New York, in Los Angeles, as writers, we all came together along with Sholly. Sholly made sure our lyrics and our music was was was was on par.

[6:39] Anthony Nunziata: Yeah, that the music is the is the heartbeat of this of this show. You know what? OK, talking shop for a minute before it's one thing. It's one thing. See, what I've learned about you is that and your family and I've known you from this show. I've seen you in New York and whatever in the circle of this. But there's people who have an idea. They get a little screen. They decide to make a YouTube channel. Then there are people who when they say they want to be a singer, a songwriter, you they do 400 concerts in 20 symphonies and go to Carnegie Hall. Then there are people. That that's you. Then there are people who say it's program YouTube and they sit around and they put some stuff on, they sing, you know, Itsy Bitsy Spider and they put it up in the world.

Then there's you. Twenty plus original songs. Real like when I see what you're doing, like let's go to the bagel store and see how bagels are made or let's talk about Hawaii and Italy and let's make a 2D short and add that to our project as well. And then let's get all of my friends who are superstar famous people to come in and do the show, too. You don't do anything half done. You just if you're going to do it, you're going to do it.

[7:44] Anthony Nunziata: Thank you, Robert. Look, at the end of the day, I did make some big asks, asks that I never made before, you know, from they're my friends and I'm grateful to call them my friends, Lillias White, Janine Lamanna, Allie Ewoldt, of course, the great Stephen Schwartz on board. And yeah, I just wanted because for this first season, I wanted people to realize and to feel the friendship that we all have. And how lucky am I? I mean, there are moments where I'm genuinely like on the verge of tears and joy when I'm speaking with when I'm talking to Lillias about just being there for a friend when you don't know what else to do or Janine, when you're feeling to get too big and the deep breaths don't work.

You got to shake it up and shake it down. Or with Stephen Schwartz, he plays a song that I wrote called Curiosity. He teaches us how a piano is made and he plays little themes from other musicals, the musicals that he's written. He teaches us all the keys. And then we sing this song that I wrote called Curiosity about being curious about the world and just to try it. And so it's, again, the child within myself and hopefully through the screen, the child within each of us.

[9:05] Anthony Nunziata: OK, look, we are encumbered by a joy, a wonderful, but also a crazy world right now. And part of the equation is if we just get down to an an impenetrable show, meaning like the dialogue, everything is educational focused that we can't we're not pulling politics. We're talking about what is the right thing to do for kids and adults? So when I say it's a children's show, my hope is that inspires and it reignites the child within all of us.

[9:42] Robert Bannon: Oh, I'm watching it. I'm going to sing it. I'm good. I'm ready. Firstly, your lineup is for everybody, adults and kids. And like your lineup is like call your grandmother, call your mother, call everybody. Lillias is here. Stephen Schwartz is here. I can't write. Oh, wait till you see. Robert.

[12:34] Anthony Nunziata: The website is up and running right now. If people want to get a look behind the scenes of the over 35 people that we hired to make this show possible and yeah, and get to know the special guests and get to know the team behind the product from, you know, from Rebecca Lithwaite, who is one of the lead editors and animators for the Miss Rachel show to, you know, Ted Severinsen, one of our editors from CNN. And, you know, and my co-creator, Elizabeth Stewart, a two-time Peabody award-winning journalist. Like I'm overwhelmed with joy, but I'm overwhelmed with joy. I'm over one slouch and one, you know, but like I just want like I'm just overjoyed that like you get this right when you put a great team, it's a team effort to do. We have a North Star. Yes, I'm the face of it. But the North Star is to give a break for the parents and just know that our hope is to educate.

[13:37] Robert Bannon: Well, let me tell you, I just told Anthony before we started this, I did six, we fostered a one-year-old for six months and a blessing in disguise was music and kids' reaction to music and the way our grown-up reaction to music. We learn, we can't remember things, but you'll remember the lyrics to the song you love. You remember where you were when you saw something or heard something for the first time, memories and these core memories go into our children and you're giving them the ability to learn something. And then you'll be entertained as adults because God knows they're going to watch it over and over again. So you might as well make it good and you might as well make it entertaining. And that's what he has done for you. So there is no matter what age you are, from one to one hundred, you're going to love this show.

[14:22] Robert Bannon: I have a personal question for you, please. I don't want to be rude. You know, I'm a good Italian too, and I'm not trying to be rude, but this stuff is not cheap. So you have quite the little investment in this. Like this is not like, you know, this is you. Netflix didn't give you a five hundred thousand dollar budget here. You feel that you put your money where your mouth is, that this is important enough that you invested your time and energy and stopped your schedule really to make this happen.

[14:52] Anthony Nunziata: Well, Robert, I am very lucky that we have had foundational support for this show and I've learned a lot from this process. And one of the processes, look, I is that Sesame Workshop was the nonprofit idea that helped fund Sesame Street or Fred Rogers Productions is a 501C3 that helped. So I knew I eventually wanted to start my own foundation. And so this project became the first project for Nunziata Foundation for the Arts and this is its first project. So we've had the help from my dear friends, Bill Caffer and Eric Scott Baker from the Rex Reed Foundation. God rest his soul. He was a dear, dear man and friend. There are two friends of mine, Erica Feldblum and Scott Squillaci, whose foundational work also helped fund this first season. And so we are able to do this because of their work.

[16:04] Anthony Nunziata: So what does that mean? Also, from a business standpoint, is that this foundation is able to help run this to fund this production. And as a result, the profits from the show itself, when it's on YouTube, goes directly back into the foundation and building my foundation. So the legacy building is very important to me right now, Robert, you know what I mean? And so, like, I'm grateful that people caught on, you know, we've had a couple early funders to make it happen. So I've had to learn a different, you know, different you're putting on different hats, right, in to make it happen. But I'm very grateful for the people so far who have jumped on board and seeing that this show is the first is sort of. Yeah, it's the first project and program that my foundation is helping get to get going.

[17:11] Robert Bannon: This is incredible. You've been busy. This is incredible. Then not only is he going to be out here helping your children and you be able to educate and entertain, but also help lots of other kids and more projects. And you're doing a real job of having a professional staff, the best of the best, the best product. I can't wait for the merchandise, the live show, the next season. I hope when you get picked up by some major network, I just I just want one line. Just give me one line, Anthony. I just want I'll audition.

[17:44] Anthony Nunziata: Robert, I can make that happen.

[17:47] Robert Bannon: Oh, no, we're going to we'll make something happen, Robert. We spoke off camera. You have the it factor that you're great on camera.

[18:02] Anthony Nunziata: I just beg for gigs. That's what I do now.

[18:05] Robert Bannon: I can't, but you don't have to beg. You don't have to beg here. You have gravitas. You're an educator.

[18:09] Anthony Nunziata: No, I'm an educator. And look, I work, you know, you left New York and I left New York. I mean, I never left New York, but I live in Detroit and you live you're in Nashville. And I when I came to Detroit and I took over the English department at this alternative high school, the amount of kids who have not been given the opportunity to be taught the way that we were taught, that I was taught, the amount of kids who have not been given the opportunity to learn literacy and math skills, science, to have access to basic. I'm not talking about college level. I'm talking about basic life skills and needs that you learn when you're young, that we learn maybe when we watched Mr. Rogers go to a grocery store or we learned when, you know, Bert and Ernie took us to the corner store or to what these are the things that we learned that we are missing in society, that bring us all together, that we all can agree in no matter who we are, where we are. And what you're doing is bringing us back to what really matters, which is.

[19:12] Anthony Nunziata: That we all are family and community and we all need to learn and live together, that's what we need.

[19:19] Robert Bannon: Amen, Robert, and let me tell you, I'll give you all of the first little scoop that before any of the episodes come out is that there are lyrics to one of the songs I've written and I've sung for many years now called I Found a Home. And sort of at the end of every episode, I remind the kids after we recap what happened for the day or, you know, for the episode, I just, you know, I tell them and I remind them and I said just to remind you all that dreams, they do come true. And when they do, you'll find that everything is possible and bright and new. And I found a home with you and my hope. Even if the child has a loving family or whether no matter what their living situation.

[20:38] Anthony Nunziata: I really just want our children around the world to just be reminded. I don't need to be a savior. I'll do whatever I can, but I just want that this maybe is a small place where they can feel that their dreams can be big.

[20:55] Robert Bannon: I think you can't say it better than that. That sounds like the most perfect way and the perfect thing that we need in 2026, right here, right now. And then, not that this is about this, but Mr. Anthony, which I love that you wear the glasses, because as the glasses, it gives me joy and makes me feel included. And then you're still going on the road and singing.

[21:19] Anthony Nunziata: I know, Robert, God bless. Yes. And by the way, I wear glasses. I like, you know, I should have been anyway. But yeah, so I was like, we were thinking about and I was like, you know what, it's like, it's me at my most vulnerable. And I want kids to feel like this. Yeah. So Mr. Anthony, yeah, he wears his glasses all the time. Yeah, I've got starting in October, October through February, March, April, April, March right now. You know, I've got 22 concerts right now in the books. I know. So I'll be busy on the road, which is, you know, how I make my living. So God bless. Um, so people will be able to see my concert, my adult contemporary concert. You know, we'll see how this show goes. Maybe there will be, you know, some special Mr. Anthony and friends concerts down the road.

But yeah, so it's been fun, Robert, these past yeah, this past year, really, to to to really dive into all of this in pre-production, production and now post-production leading up to the October 10th launch. And so I'm having a I'm having a good time. And I'm just, yeah, I'm just grateful that I get to do it. I'm in. I'm ready. We forgot to mention, you stole my music director and put him in your show. And shout out to Yaz.

[22:37] Anthony Nunziata: And shout out to Yaz is, you know, Yaz is the perfect person to do this. He has his own baby. And and his baby is a smart little whippersnapper of a guy. Axl. Yeah. Axl is the best. Let me tell you what Yaz is doing. Yasuhiko Fukuoka, our mutual music director. I travel with Yaz as my music director for my concerts. He is the music. Say that again? You steal him.

[23:00] Anthony Nunziata: So I did want a gig. You know, it's Anthony on the road. Excuse me. So sorry. Yaz is the musical director for the show. And he has not only written out and worked on all the music for season one, he is also producing the Mr. Anthony and Friends album that will be coming out simultaneously. Well, it was not a big surprise. But simultaneously with the show, everything is the world of the show is coming out at the same time. Oh, and I want to also mention Ming Aldrich gone from Nashville, a fabulous composer and Broadway conductor himself. He is scoring all the episodes. So, again, every every episode feels like it's its own little musical motif. But I'm so grateful to Yaz and Ming and and everybody else, a part of this show. It's just I'm just I'm just I can't wait to just share it with the world. And I hope that the kids just, you know, they just feel like they have a place to learn and to have fun and be silly.

[24:09] Robert Bannon: Yeah, they're going to they're going to fall in love with this. Listen, this is what this is my goal for you. And I'm going to because I got I want to I want the merch. I want the album. I want all of it. I want everything. This is what we need. You're going to watch it on YouTube, you're going to be ready for the album. And then if you live in an area where he's going to be on tour, then what you do is the kids watch him during the day. You take your person at night for a date night, get a babysitter so you can have the full Nunziata experience because his show is like romantic Italian crooner, like grown sexy evening of music like that. Thank you. Incredible band, incredible voice. And then during the day, you can see him with your kids that they're going to fall in love with him. It's the full experience, the full gamut of family.

[24:56] Anthony Nunziata: Oh my God, you're so sweet.

[24:57] Robert Bannon: That's what he does. That's what he's got going. This is it. This is this is this is when I saw the email. I said, this looks like the most polished professional. Like this looks like something that is and should be in every home for kids in this country. It is done so well.

[25:25] Anthony Nunziata: Thank you. So what's your plan? What can we do to support it?

[25:27] Anthony Nunziata: Yeah, please. You can go on Mr. Anthony and friends YouTube channel right now. You can subscribe to our website. We already have set up an email blast system where you become like a Mr. Anthony friends VIP. So you'll be the first to know things and first to get you know, we're going to be doing fun stuff with with that. And yeah, follow us on our socials right now. Yeah, we're going to be all over. We're going to be on Facebook. We're on Facebook and Instagram right now, you know, slowly building that up. But in the next month or so, whenever you're listening to this by October 10th, you will see the the social media also, you know, the tone of the show is is for the parents and for the grandparents.

So we're talking about like if you follow Sesame Street or Elmo or Grover, like it's that sensibility. It's my just I'm just having fun. And we call out that Mr. Anthony has a song for everything, you know, like so we just have fun. We're going to have fun on our social media and and and be there, of course, for parents and grandparents and all that stuff. And yeah, like you said, from the public television standpoint, it was important for us immediately to start on YouTube for free. And and we will always we will always part of our mission is always having it for accessible, free for kids. And and then we'll go from there. We'll see how it, you know, however it is distributed in the future.

[27:00] Robert Bannon: Yeah. So, Mr. Anthony and friends, look, there are some I deep dove this year with kids in my house. There's some stuff out there that is not educational, that looks cute and sounds fun. This is going to give you all of it in one. This is the spot to be. This is the vetted and educated and written and done right. Everyone, you can go right now. There's videos up on his YouTube channel. You can do the theme song. You could see the trailer. You can go to the website. You could get the full update and scoop and then be ready for the launch. Make sure you like comments, share and subscribe this with somebody. If you have friends and family, your kids are in preschool or kindergarten or first grade, you got the PTA mom email chain.

You got the the text chain with your friends, your girlfriends and all you commiserate about lives with your family. Make sure you send this. Make sure that they are on the up and up so that they know what's coming up before this becomes a big, giant, massive hit, because I know it is. I'm sending you so much love, Anthony. I'm sending you so many good vibes. This was so up my alley.

[28:02] Anthony Nunziata: I was so excited to talk to you, Robert, and thank you and to all the educators out there for doing it day in and day out. You are the heroes. You are not one of us. You are. I am. I am grateful to be in your company and I'm way more people than we do. And that is God right there. That is a real true gift.

[28:14] Anthony Nunziata: Amen. God bless you, Robert. Thank you. God bless you. Let's go. Let's go. Go see him on the road. Go watch his YouTube channel. Mr. Anthony is here. Go. Let's go. Hey, we got it. Hey, I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready to plan season two already. Let's go. I know you got ideas.

[28:32] Robert Bannon: Co-star Robert Bannon.

[28:38] Anthony Nunziata: I just wanted a background part. I could bring a pizza.

[28:42] Robert Bannon: Robert Bannon and friends. I see, I hear it. Robert Bannon and friends.

[28:48] Anthony Nunziata: Mr. Robert and friends. You want to hear something funny? Isn't his voice gorgeous? This is so funny. It's a little creepy. I don't mean to. When I taught in a kindergarten, they didn't want to call me Mr. The kids couldn't say Robert. Some of the kids couldn't say Robert. Right. I don't know why they didn't. So they made me Coach Bob. Now, Coach Bob does not, I don't, I think Coach Bob's a weird guy that lives on the street.

[29:13] Anthony Nunziata: I, I'm not going to comment on that because of my new role. But, but, but I'm, you're doing great, Robert.

[29:20] Robert Bannon: Mr. Robert is better. Mr. Robert, Coach Bob, coach, coach, coach, coach, like a coach. The only line with a line on your shirt, it helps.

[29:28] Anthony Nunziata: Oh, thank you. See, I've coached, you know, how to shuffle off to Buffalo or how to, you know, do it that time. Anyway, that's, that's your character name. You're Coach Bob.

[29:43] Robert Bannon: No, I'm okay. Coach Bob, Mr. Anthony and friends, everybody go, go get it. Go stream it right now. Thank you so much for being here. Come back, please. Thank you, Coach Bob.