This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Alan Seales: Well, hello. Welcome to The Theatre Podcast. Intimate personal conversations with the industry's biggest names. Today's guest is Stephanie Styles, who you may know from Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Kiss Me, Kate, Goosebumps The Musical, the original concept album. I love this trend now of so many people who are creating entire musicals and putting them into a concept album, a studio album, that then, of course, gets work done, gets workshopped, and with the eventual goal, I would suspect, of bringing it to the stage and actually putting it up. But it doesn't come easy. There is a lot of production that actually goes into these cast albums because they're treating them as if they're completely fully-fleshed shows, and this one is no different, based on the R.L. Stine books that have sold the most copies ever of any book series since the Guinness Book of World Records.

But Stephanie Styles, man, she is truly a magnificent person. She kept talking about how great her friends are versus talking about herself, which in this world of acting, everybody loves to talk about themselves. She loved to support her friends. She is truly just this incredible person. Of course, a huge Disney fan. That's no secret. And we go deep into Disney. I'm sorry if you're here for some theater stuff, but Stephanie and I talked about so much more. I hope you enjoyed the episode. Find me on Instagram and Twitter at Theatre_Podcast, on Facebook, slash Official Theatre Podcast. Leave a rating and a review, wherever you're listening. Everybody now, please enjoy this episode with Stephanie Styles. Here you go, one, two, three.

[1:51] Alan Seales: Stephanie's guest made her Broadway debut in the recent Roundabout Theatre revival of Kiss Me, Kate, opposite Kelly O'Hara and Corbin Bleu. On TV, she may be best known as the lonely barista Autumn on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and can also be seen as Kate in the Netflix series Bonding or on the big screen in the film Bombshell. She can now be heard on the amazing studio cast album of Goosebumps, a musical now available on Ghostlight Records. Stephanie Styles, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:24] Stephanie Styles: I'm so happy to be here. And what's so funny is I go into a voice sometimes that is almost that exact me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. It's like sometimes this weird voice that I talk in. So it felt very personalized to me. And I appreciate that.

[2:41] Alan Seales: Well, so should we just talk like we're from Fargo? Is that kind of where you're from?

[2:47] Stephanie Styles: It truly originated as a pet voice that I exclusively used when talking to formerly Baby Yoda, currently Grogu. What's so funny is also in our pre little podcast moment, we were just talking about how we had met at BroadwayCon. And what's so funny is that was a time that was a, that was like my like, I'm looking at two different Baby Yodas as we speak over on my couch. But that was a time when truly my like, boyfriend would turn to me like, What are you looking at? I'd be like nothing. And it would just be like a picture of Baby Yoda on my phone that I just like I just would be looking at pictures of Baby Yoda. And so yeah, so basically, and I just remembered that specific time where he's like, What do you keep looking at? And I just like trying to hide that I was looking at these Baby Yoda pictures over and over again.

[3:46] Alan Seales: Do you have a Baby Yoda voice?

[3:49] Stephanie Styles: I don't do I like not well, but the voice that I used to I just why I started calling I just like maybe like I would just like, I would just like go into I mean, like Baby Yoda has like a mean voice where it's always saying like, he like is the way people type as Baby Yoda is like very specific. And so like, I would try to speak that so it's just like, but it ends up me being like, and saying BB over and over and over and over again.

[4:14] Alan Seales: Sounds like Beaker from Muppets.

[4:17] Stephanie Styles: Okay, this is this podcast is already blowing my mind. Beaker is the Muppet that I like identify most closely with. And I told Corbin and I were like tagging something once during Kiss Me, Kate where they were like comparing us to something that was like fictional. But then I was like, Corbin, I had this thought that I was like, you and me as a duo, the two entities that I think we're most similar to are Professor Honeydew and Beaker. I was like, I feel like our Bill Calhoun and Lois Lane are basically that and then someone photoshopped it and it was great. And so I very much I love Beaker and I love that you said that so that makes me so happy.

[5:05] Alan Seales: Well, you're very welcome. I didn't plan on getting this into this until like near the end. But let's just dive into the Disney aspect because I'm even on your profile, your Instagram profile. It says you're a charter member of D23, which is of course the official Disney fan club.

[5:19] Stephanie Styles: Yes, and this is an audio only podcast, you are smiling from ear to ear, you are nodding, you are happy. This is okay, so tell me about your love of Disney and as an adult, a full-fledged adult.

[5:31] Stephanie Styles: Oh, fully Disney adult, fully Disney adult. Alan, what are you, I mean, to start this, are you a Disney adult or are you like just adjacent to the community?

[5:42] Alan Seales: No, no, no. So I think you're gonna be happy to hear that my grandfather was a part of the engineering team that helped build Disney World.

[5:55] Stephanie Styles: Unbelievable. That's incredible.

[5:55] Alan Seales: He was called an imaginateer. That was the title that he got and he was basically a project manager that made sure that all of the rides got built and he would source, he'd do costs and scheduling and project management. And so he knew all the secrets of the rides because he helped build them and took them to his grave. I don't know, he wouldn't tell me.

[6:18] Stephanie Styles: He still kept the magic. He kept the magic alive.

[6:23] Alan Seales: So I would, to answer your question, yes, I am a Disney adult. It's in your blood. We went to Disney World literally, I probably had gone 20 or 30 or 35 times or so by the time I was 20. It was just because we got in free when everyone with him. It was just like, oh, you know, multi-pass, like we just got in.

[6:45] Stephanie Styles: Incredible, incredible. I mean, and what's interesting is I, yes, as you said, I'm a charter member of D23. It's the thing about me that I just feel like, I'm like, what's my bio? Let's just sum this up. This is the situation. I am, and not to get horoscopy about it, and there's people who will know this so much more than me, but I am very much, I love horoscopes because I personally identify with mine so much in that I am a Libra sun, Libra moon, lots of Libra, but I'm an Aquarius rising. And the thing about Aquarius rising, so it's like how you present. I think one of the elements is like, you kind of lead with the thing that makes you like the thing you love or like the thing that makes you unique or different.

Although like, I do love something that is one of the most, the two things I love, like materialistic wise in the world are two very basic things and that they're Disney and Taylor Swift. So for me to like, yeah, that's the thing I love that I enter with. It's very basic, but I very much like within now that we're like back in the world and I'm starting to like meet new people again, I'm like, I realized that, yeah, within the first five sentences of me talking, I somehow find a way to mention Disney or like try to like, or something Disney automatically comes up. Even with you and me, you're like, why don't we just get into this? Like, this is just her. This is how we get into the meeting. No, but I do love Disney.

And what's interesting about what you said is Disney parks, I think are maybe my most favorite thing about Disney. So I have so much respect for the Imagineers and anyone who works on those projects and puts everything together. So yeah, I love it so, so much.

[8:27] Alan Seales: You've watched all of the episodes of behind the magic on Disney.

[8:34] Stephanie Styles: Oh, of course. Yes. I love, I love it all. Well, what's interesting. Okay. So actually, and I will be totally honest about this. I watched all the episodes of the Imagineering story when it comes to behind the attraction, I am, I am trying to, I because I was burning through TV too much. I am trying to spread them out. So I have, I don't think I've watched like the last two because I truly, because there's so much great stuff, but the, uh, I've got to say the whatchamacallit element, the, the Imagineering, I want them to do more park stuff. It was so much parks in the beginning. And now I'm just like, I need more. Like, like I love all their original series, but at first it was like Imagineering story documentaries about like Howard Ashman.

Like I want more like behind the scenes stuff. So that's my, I love, I love that, that they get into the politics of how or why a ride did or did not happen at a particular time. I don't know. I don't remember the order of the episodes, but you know, it's a small world was created for the New York world's fair and as were some others in it. And it was at some point there was like talk of not doing it. And then they brought it back and you know, Walt Disney died before Disney World, I think even started construction.

[9:54] Stephanie Styles: Look at you, Alan.

[9:54] Alan Seales: So, so there's all of this, this, the politics, the corporate politics of this, which somehow is really intriguing to me. I love the business of all of this and that makes it even more magical that through all of this financial, the financial stuff and the vision and, and the trouble that they had making rides and, you know, even like literally buying acres and acres of swamp land in that you can turn this into what it is now. And it's phenomenal and it touches. Why? Okay. So why do you think, what do you think it, Oh, I'm going to back up because you said you're Libra. Happy belated birthday.

[10:40] Stephanie Styles: Thank you. What are you a Libra? How wonderful. So I don't know Jack about horoscopes and you said Libra rising sun setting, whatever it is. What does that mean?

[10:48] Stephanie Styles: Uh, so you, if you are saying you're a Libra, I assume that means that your son is in Libra. Your son is like the thing that it's like, we go to the back of the magazine, you look for what your horoscope is. It's talking about your son. I am not an expert about this. You could, I know you host a co-hosted introduced Catherine Gallagher and I talk about someone who would know way more about this than me, Catherine Gallagher. Um, anyone, it just like, there's a ton of people who know a lot more about this. So my, um, depending on where you were born and what time is where you get everything else or your other placements, we're talking even like people's like where your Venus is, where your Mars is.

But the main top three, like if you have any horoscope app on your phone and you know, and that's why like it's very popular now for moms to receive texts from their kids where they're like, what time was I born? And, um, and, um, so it's very common. And, um, one of my friends posted some joke about how, um, it was like the son being like, what time was I born mom? And the mom's like, stay away from that woman. Like basically being like, clearly a girl was wondering like what this guy's horoscope was. And that's why the only reason a guy would text his mom, what for his time he was born. Anyways, they'll say that my son and my moon aren't like rhythmic rising is okay. So I don't know what your moon and your rising would be if I, unless you put it into a thing and you could tell me, but I mean, I think it's supposed to be that sun is your, I'm going to get this wrong.

I'm going to get this wrong. Sun is your personality. Moon is your emotions and rising is what you like present as like first impression. I don't know. That might be off, but because my son and my moon are the same, I feel like often I'm just very much a Libra. So you're a Libra. And as Edie from Grey Gardens says, she always says, I got to find the Libra man. We're about the balance.

[12:46] Alan Seales: Yeah, well, now I need to, now I need to balance the conversation, bring it back to Goosebumps, which is why we're here today. That is a segue, probably one of the worst ones I've ever used, but that is a segue. Oh, okay. Cool. Um, Goosebumps, Goosebumps, the musical Phantom of the Auditorium. It's an original studio cast recording. Of course, you were part of it among a slew of amazing people. Christina Alavado, Noah Gallivan, Alex Brightman, Will Rowland, of course, Cheryl Lee Ralph, Ralph, this is incredible. And the Goosebumps based on the book, the series of books by R.L. Stein, which what, what is the stat that I'm looking for named the world's best-selling book series on, uh, yeah, it was named the best-selling book series of all time in 2003 by Guinness Book of World Records. Right. Wow. Did you know that?

[13:32] Stephanie Styles: I'm finding out right now? That's incredible. I believe it. You were 10 years old. I was 10 years old when you learned that and it sold more than 400 million copies. This album, tell me about the album because based, I guess let's start with the, the studio cast album concept in general, because for me, when I was, when I was a wee lad, I didn't see, I mean, they didn't make studio cast albums. It was on Broadway and then you made a cast recording.

[14:02] Stephanie Styles: Yeah. Right. And then now is it, has this, I mean, you're closer to the industry, like, uh, I guess seeing everything that's going by with you and your peers and whatnot is, this has seemed to have become a thing that can we trace it back to, to Six? Is that why people are making cast album or studio albums now? That makes sense. It's definitely, I, this was my first foray into it, but I definitely had friends. I mean, I think I remember like growing up a musical theater fan and I would listen to songwriter album, like composer where they were just like, you're all my songs.

[14:44] Alan Seales: Welcome back to the show. Today my guest is Stephanie Styles, an actress, singer, and dancer who made her Broadway debut in the recent Roundabout Theatre revival of Kiss Me, Kate.

[15:08] Stephanie Styles: Thank you for having me!

[15:28] Alan Seales: So how did you first start realizing you love singing and the musical theater aspect of that? Where did that come in?

[15:39] Stephanie Styles: Well, what's interesting is my parents, I think, always really appreciated theater. Neither of them were involved early on in my life, but their first date was to see Phantom of the Opera.

[15:52] Alan Seales: Really?

[15:53] Stephanie Styles: I would not be here today if it weren't for the Phantom of the Opera. So their first date was to see Phantom of the Opera, Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman. And I think it just because it was like the cool thing to do. Everyone was like this, this musical, like everyone's loving in New York City. You got to go see it. It was like romantic or whatever. And so then, I mean, it all comes back to Disney. I grew up in the 90s. And that was the Disney Renaissance with those amazing Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Disney musicals, Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin.

[16:29] Stephanie Styles: So the main media I was consuming was basically a book musical, but animated. So I think like my mom probably saw me running around singing Beauty and the Beast as well as like, I remember I kept, I would always call it Mary Martin Peter Pan, where I'd watch the, you know, Peter Pan musical, but I was like, no, no, no, no, not like the animated Peter Pan. I want Mary Martin Peter Pan. And so, you know, I grew up watching all that stuff.

[16:56] Stephanie Styles: And then Phantom Tour came in town when I was four years old. And my parents thought it was a good decision to take me. And I've told this story a lot. And so I'll do the Reader's Digest. But went to see the show, didn't understand the concept that like, you can't just go see the Phantom of the Opera every night of your life. But was like, can I go the next night? And my parents were like, oh, I guess we can try and figure out a way to take you two nights in a row. Like, I don't know how this works.

[17:38] Stephanie Styles: So they took me the next night. And I said, I was like, I really want to give the Phantom of the Speedy Baby, Speedy Baby. This is the most 90s story of anyone's life. And I had this like ghost Beanie Baby that I wanted to give him.

[17:56] Alan Seales: You're wearing your Jordache and your Beanie Baby.

[17:58] Stephanie Styles: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have like butterfly clips in my hair. And, and I was like, can I give the Phantom of the Speedy Baby? My mom doesn't like know what a stage door is. Like, we're truly like asking her, like, how do we get something to the actors playing the Phantom? And then, um, and then at intermission, the like dresser or someone associated with the Phantom found the only four-year-old girl in the audience and was like, Mr. Little, the actor playing the Phantom at the time, Brad Little. He was like, Mr. Little would love to see you all after the show.

[18:43] Stephanie Styles: And this man, he's played Phantom. He's one of the people who played Phantom the most. He spent like an hour with me after the show and my family. And he like showed me how the prosthetics work. He put like me in the boat, showed us how the mirror works and everything. And that truly was, I think my mom clearly saw something happening in my eyes and was like, you know how you take like swim lessons? You can take this lessons.

[19:16] Stephanie Styles: And so then she put me in at the time, like the theater class for kids was the Humphrey School of Musical Theater at Theater Under the Stars in Houston, Texas. So starting when I was four, I started taking classes at Tuts and then I was in my first professional show when I was six, which was Scrooge, which is a version of Christmas Carol starring Gary Beeches, Ebeneezer Scrooge.

[19:46] Stephanie Styles: And, um, um, oh my God, I think Rodney Hicks was playing all three ghosts. It was some version where like, they're just like, you know what? I remember there was like a Microsoft joke in it with like a computer booting up and it felt like very contemporary. Everyone was like, oh, this is very contemporary. There was like a golf cart in it, but it was great. It was in the rounds and I played one of the Cratchit children and that was my first show ever.

[20:14] Stephanie Styles: And so I would say a combination of the Phantom of the Opera and Disney is what took us here today. And then, yeah, no, I was like, and then here we are promoting a Phantom slash based on a children's book studio recording. So it all makes sense.

[20:36] Alan Seales: No, it's all come full circle. And thank you, Phantom, for inspiring your parents to get down to business.

[20:46] Stephanie Styles: Literally, thank God.

[20:48] Alan Seales: Literally.

[20:49] Stephanie Styles: Literally.

[20:50] Alan Seales: Literally, they got down to business.

[20:53] Stephanie Styles: The rest of this podcast is us just saying literally in voices. Get ready.

[20:57] Alan Seales: Literally.

[20:58] Stephanie Styles: Done. Incredible. Incredible content. Incredible.

[21:02] Alan Seales: I've been watching Big Mouth again because I just came out. And have you ever seen it?

[21:08] Stephanie Styles: I am obsessed with Nick Kroll and all 27 voices he does on that show.

[21:13] Alan Seales: It's literally 20 voices. I think it's 20.

[21:15] Stephanie Styles: It's incredible.

[21:16] Alan Seales: And Lola is totally my favorite.

[21:20] Stephanie Styles: You need to be on Big Mouth.

[21:24] Alan Seales: Well, I'll tell you what you gotta do.

[21:26] Stephanie Styles: Oh my gosh.

[21:27] Alan Seales: Sometimes you just gotta, you know, you just gotta, you know, just, you know, get it on.

[21:31] Stephanie Styles: That's the Phantom of the Opera. That's all you gotta do.

[21:35] Alan Seales: How's that?

[21:36] Stephanie Styles: This is audio only, so people cannot see that my mouth is a gate.

[21:40] Alan Seales: I am just like, I am wow mom over here.

[21:44] Stephanie Styles: This is incredible. Amazing, amazing, amazing.

[21:47] Alan Seales: Well, if any voiceover agents are out there, hook me up.

[21:52] Stephanie Styles: It's also Meatwad. That's also the Meatwad voice from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

[21:57] Alan Seales: It feels like a relative of the Experiment 626 Stitch as well.

[22:02] Stephanie Styles: A little bit. A little bit.

[22:04] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[22:05] Stephanie Styles: And listen, for voiceover people out there, he also has an incredible setup. Like, I don't know if this is, it's truly your quality. And that's like half the battle right now.

[22:13] Alan Seales: Why? Thank you.

[22:15] Stephanie Styles: Oh my God, Alan. Alan, who knew? Who knew this was what this was going to be?

[22:21] Alan Seales: My God, I'm your publicist now.

[22:23] Stephanie Styles: All right, let's do this.

[22:24] Alan Seales: I also want to get with Kathryn Gallagher and start a podcast called something with horoscope readings.

[22:32] Stephanie Styles: I just want like fans to call in with Kathryn and she just reads the horoscopes live on podcast.

[22:38] Alan Seales: Well, she is a witch.

[22:41] Stephanie Styles: I forget. I'm like, I'm sure she's fine with me telling all these stories. One time I think around the holidays and by holidays, I mean Halloween. I like FaceTime her and I was like, Hey, what are you? I was like, the lighting on your face is like, so interesting. Like, what? Where are you? And then she turned her camera around. It's because she was like, sitting crisscross applesauce in front of like a cauldron with candles.

[23:06] Alan Seales: And she's like, Oh, I'm just like doing my spells.

[23:09] Stephanie Styles: Anyway.

[23:12] Alan Seales: Yeah, no, she's amazing.

[23:13] Stephanie Styles: She's very, she's both witchy, but then she's also just like the most attuned, listening, thoughtful, genius person.

[23:20] Alan Seales: So I feel like she's good at helping giving advice and reading into people's stars.

[23:26] Stephanie Styles: Yeah, crystal company.

[23:27] Alan Seales: She's a great crystal company called really?

[23:30] Stephanie Styles: Yeah, it's called vibes. And I think their URL is like five stop metaphysical supply store.com. And that's my plug for Catherine Gallagher.

[23:37] Alan Seales: Well, I'll look it up. We'll figure it out. Put it in the show notes.

[23:41] Stephanie Styles: I just saw Catherine last night in Jagged. I went to see the show and crushed it.

[23:48] Alan Seales: She's just one of the best.

[23:49] Stephanie Styles: I watched her do that. She did like a concert of Seth Rudetsky the other night. And I'm just like the thought. And she just sang Broadway. Like she's saying so like very, very Broadway the whole time. Like I'm talking, she did like all the shows she did when she was in high school. And it was like Gypsy and City of Angels.

[24:04] Alan Seales: And to see her things, because obviously she's majority of her musical theater career has been very contemporary. So it's like to see her sing both back to back. I'm just like, she's incredible.

[24:15] Stephanie Styles: She's amazing. She's so good at what she does. And she's such a hard worker and such a great person. And so I'm, I love being her best friend, but I also love being her number one fan.

[24:24] Alan Seales: And I, I miss her so much.

[24:27] Stephanie Styles: And I'm just so, I also can't wait to see her in Gossip Girl.

[24:30] Alan Seales: I am now your and Katherine Gallagher's focus list.

[24:35] Stephanie Styles: We're going to take a short break. Stay tuned for more of the episode.

[24:50] Alan Seales: What do you prefer singing? Because you've got, I mean, of course on TV, very well known for Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.

[24:57] Stephanie Styles: Thank you.

[24:58] Alan Seales: So do you have a preference on what you like to sing in terms of, you know, you've been, you've done the Von Trapp stuff. And you've been the Kate stuff. And, you know, you've got contemporary stuff. Do you have a preference on, on where you like to go when you're singing in the shower?

[25:14] Stephanie Styles: Oh my gosh. I think that I, I don't know. I mean, I've been really lucky in that I've been able to be very challenged by a lot of the material that I do. I remember when I did Newsies at the time, it was like the most challenging song that like Watch What Happens song was so challenging.

[30:27] Alan Seales: Welcome back to The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and today we have the wonderful Stephanie Styles joining us.

[30:53] Stephanie Styles: Thank you for having me! I'm so excited to be here.

[31:21] Alan Seales: You have such an incredible background, and I want to dive into your journey. Let's start with your experience on "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." What was that like for you?

[31:47] Stephanie Styles: It was honestly a dream come true. I loved being part of a show that combined music and storytelling in such a unique way. The cast was amazing, and we had so much fun bringing those characters to life.

[32:15] Alan Seales: I can only imagine! And now you're also involved with "Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium." How did that opportunity come about?

[32:41] Stephanie Styles: I was really fortunate to be part of the original studio cast album. It was such a fun project, and I loved getting to work on something that has that nostalgic connection to the "Goosebumps" series.

[33:05] Alan Seales: That's fantastic! Can you tell us about your experience recording during COVID?

[33:33] Stephanie Styles: It was definitely a challenge, but we made it work. We had to adapt to new ways of recording and collaborating, but it also brought us closer together as a cast.

[34:01] Alan Seales: That's great to hear. You mentioned your love for Disney earlier. How has that influenced your career?

[34:29] Stephanie Styles: Disney has always been a huge part of my life. The storytelling, the music, and the magic of it all have inspired me since I was a child. I think that sense of imagination is something that draws so many people to the arts.

[34:57] Alan Seales: Absolutely! And speaking of inspiration, what advice would you give to aspiring performers?

[35:25] Stephanie Styles: I would say to always stay true to yourself and your passion. The journey can be tough, but if you love what you do, it will shine through in your work.

[35:53] Alan Seales: Wise words! Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us today, Stephanie.

[36:21] Stephanie Styles: Thank you for having me! It's been a pleasure.

[36:49] Alan Seales: And to our listeners, make sure to check out Stephanie's work in "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" and "Goosebumps The Musical."

[37:17] Stephanie Styles: Yes, and don't forget to listen to the original studio cast album!

[37:45] Alan Seales: Until next time, keep exploring the world of theatre!

[38:13] Stephanie Styles: Bye everyone!

[38:41] Alan Seales: Bye!

[44:12] Stephanie Styles: I think I am planning on seeing a show before the end of the year here. So I'm very excited about that. And that'll be beautiful. And I'm sure I will cry, like cry through 5 billion masks. And I can't wait. Okay. That was at the reopening night of Moulin Rouge.

[44:28] Alan Seales: Oh, my gosh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine.

[44:32] Stephanie Styles: The energy and every other line was a standing ovation. It was just everyone was so happy to be back in a way that they had never appreciated theater before. And, and I love that it's I love that it's coming, coming back globally. I mean, we still, of course, need to do our part and stay safe and get vaccinated. And all of that. I love theater for doing everything that they're doing to keep people safe. I love that. And I'm obsessed with it. And I love Broadway. And I love them for doing that. And I love all my friends are in musicals right now. And I want to go see them. I'll have to start with my LA shows. But I will eventually make it. But I think I think when I'm wrapped, which should be like spring of next year, like I will 100%. I mean, I got to see six. I got to see Diana. I got to see what else do I need to see?

[45:29] Alan Seales: Go see Jagged again.

[45:30] Stephanie Styles: Yeah, yes, of course. Of course. Of course. I did get to see both. But I will need to see them again. There's just so many things I need company. Company. Oh my god. That was my like, the thought of seeing Patti LuPone reaction external link. Oh my gosh, everyone. That's so good. Um, and Terrence Archie shout out. Um, but I can't Yeah, no, I can't wait to see all of it. And I will be there at some point. I'm so excited. But in the meantime, getting to sing on Goosebumps was incredible. And truly, like just like listening to everyone's voices on that. Christina will Oh my god, no. Alex Brightman in his natural habitat of spookiness and singing spooky song. It's so good. It's so good. I want to start with Shirley route.

What? It's really, it's really amazing. It's truly amazing. It's truly amazing. Like Jim and the holograms. So yeah, Goosebumps, the musical Phantom of the Auditorium, original studio cast recording on Ghostlight Records everywhere you stream your music, listen to it. Now it is it really is phenomenal. I've been listening to it and cannot say enough nice things about it.

[46:48] Alan Seales: And so with that, let's wrap up with the three standard closing questions. I ask everybody. Oh, very simply is just what motivates you?

[47:03] Stephanie Styles: What motivates me? Um, gosh, I truly listened to Alice in Love Savings. And I was like, Oh, look, he says the same questions at the end. You need to remember this. And this is why I was wondering if you had prepared. No, I didn't. I truly am so mad that he didn't. What motivates me? I would say the happiness of others is that weird? Like, I just think like, I love like bringing joy to other people and making other people laugh. And there's an opportunity to make someone's day that I find that very motivating.

[47:29] Alan Seales: That's a that's a very Disney-esque answer. Not in a bad way. I just I just mean like you get joy out of other people's joy.

[47:37] Stephanie Styles: I so much so so much so. So then what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[47:49] Stephanie Styles: I think I'd say, you know, I think Allison said something about being like authentic to yourself. And I just think that's such a good answer. Like authenticity, but also just like checking just making sure that you are checking in with yourself every step of the way and being like, how does this make me feel? Does this make me feel great? Let's keep on doing that. How does this make me feel? I know this is like what I used to want. But like, do I still want this? I think just always taking time for yourself and self-reflection, and making sure that like what you are pursuing what you want, specifically. I think that'd be great. And then I would just say like, you know, take take notes. Oh my gosh, what I would probably say is like, you can there is something to learn from every person you meet and interact with.

And there's always something to learn, you will never know everything. And learn about the stuff that well, this is like an oxymoron. It's like learn about the stuff you don't know, like go if you don't know it, learn about it. But the stuff you know a lot about, there's even more to learn. And that's where you should also really apply. So that's something they said in college, they were like, listen, you may come in here, you're not you're not a dancer, or you're not a pianist, but like learn about those things, because you need to learn about those things to like, really be well-rounded. But at the same time, if you come in, and you're really funny, really delve into comedy, really find out about what is what makes a comedian a comedian. And I think that that was really important. So learn about everything.

[49:23] Stephanie Styles: West Taylor told me, he's got a he's got a big, he went to NC North Carolina School of the Arts and studied like Shakespearean, like real serious drama kind of stuff. And he says that it was the Shakespeare that helped him get that much better at comedy. Because it was it was the rhythm. It was the literal pattern of the speech recipe. Yes, it was learning the recipe. So you know, again, when you look into something that you think is outside of your scope, it's you can find something to apply it back to you.

[50:01] Alan Seales: So that's a wonderful answer. And then so now you know, the last question coming, if you can only see one show for the rest of your life, you can see it as many times as you want, what would you see?

[50:12] Stephanie Styles: What's so funny is this is what I remember Alison Love said, because we were in Parade together. Alison Love and I were in Parade together. She said Parade. She was, I think she was, no, she wasn't Isla Stover. She was one of the other ones, though. She sang the she was one of those people. But I was Lizzie Fagan, Mary Fagan's sister, back in the day. If I could only see one show for the rest of my life, and this is a question I thought about, this was a question I thought about, because obviously, the chords of the music of the night run through my veins. And so part of me would be like, well, yeah, the Phantom of the Opera is probably the show that I've seen the most. But then I thought, because what's your answer?

[51:01] Stephanie Styles: I think I remember it's rent is a great one, because you have a little bit of everything. And so the thing about Phantom is you don't get a little bit of everything. It's very much kind of the we're living in the same vocabulary. And so I would love to see Phantom of the Opera over and over again. But then like, truly, I don't know why it truly just like came to me when I was listening to Alison Love. I was like, and I'm scared to even say this, but part of me was like, Seussical? Just because I feel like if you see Seussical, I feel like so many people could go so many different ways with Seussical. There's so many different stylings in Seussical. And there's so many like, random performances in Seussical.

I could see a show where there's just like the sour kangaroo has never been better. And they make it all about the sour kangaroo or the Wickersham brothers, like it is they are on another level. So I will probably still stick with the Phantom of the Opera. But I'm gonna say like, because my other shows that I love are Cabaret, Bat Boy, and like, oh, there's some other ones. I'm really into something right now. But um, but I think I'm going to go Phantom of the Opera, but I'm also going to get like, kind of like, I don't know why I just think Seussical is such a bop. Like, it's so good. Those songs. Oh, the things you can think. Can you imagine? Like, can you imagine seeing like, the most like random people to school like seeing a cast of four year olds in Seussical, but then going and seeing like, the broad like, can you like what if Kelly O'Hara was in Seussical? Like, I just there's like all these different people can go so many ways.

[51:55] Alan Seales: Rent, rent, that's a great one.

[52:42] Alan Seales: Kelly O'Hara, Ramin Karimloo.

[52:44] Stephanie Styles: Oh, like, I'm just like, I just I'm like, Leslie Margarita ever been in Seussical? Like that needs like, she like, oh my god, wouldn't that wouldn't that but I'm like, who would she be? She could be everyone. The one man show of Seussical starring Leslie Margarita as everyone. I'm crying. I'm my eyes are watering.

[53:14] Stephanie Styles: Let's put it out in the universe. And then TikTok is going to go make it. Done. Amazing. Can't wait. TikTok is going to get Leslie Margarita to do this because I feel like TikTok has that power now.

[53:26] Alan Seales: So where can we find you on the on the on the Instagrams on the social media?

[53:31] Stephanie Styles: That's where you can find me. That's where you can find me on Instagram at bystyles. B-Y-S-T-Y-L-E-S. You can find me there and then you can find me on Ghostlight Records, Goosebumps, the musical wherever you get your music unless the one place you get your music is like an old-timey record store that I don't think we have like a 45 yet or anything.

[54:00] Alan Seales: Well, the new trend is releasing everything on vinyl. So it's probably only a matter of time.

[54:03] Stephanie Styles: I can't wait. I can't wait to have that scratchy, prickly, staticky intro before you hear that. Do you think of the spark of stranger in the dark of Christina with her crystal clear waterfall of a voice?

[54:14] Alan Seales: Unbelievable. She is rather great.

[54:17] Stephanie Styles: It's so good. It's so good. And she's and she's I'm sorry. I know we need to wrap this up. I got it. But she truly is so good. But then she has these like dialogue bits where I'm like, girl, I know you're in a booth with no one else there. We have an exchange where I'm like, we weren't there. We weren't there together. And yet I feel you playing with me. I feel you feeding off my energy and neither of us are there and neither of us are talking to anyone. And I was like, and that's a professional. She's amazing. Sign off.

[54:51] Alan Seales: She had you in her head. Christina is phenomenal. I love... Did they have you do like lots of different takes and stuff and put it all together or was it just like a couple reads and that was it?

[55:00] Stephanie Styles: Yes and no. I mean, I'm just anybody with something where they literally would be like, and go because it's so fast that I really had to do like, I could, it would have to be large sections of it. But there definitely were, I have a few like lines in it. And those I would just say 5 billion times 5 billion different ways. And I think we got it. And then it's just like, I truly think so. And they were like, could you sing these notes in the stand of the opera song? And I was like, I was like, let's go. And I'm going to play and we'll see what happens. And like, they're on there. They're like, have so much sin because they're paying for the opera and I wouldn't have it any other way. So if you want to hear me sing the highest I've ever sang story of the Phantom, you want to hear me sing the lowest I've ever sung.

I think it's called the legend. I take a low harmony at one point with Charlie Ralph, which is a sentence I never thought I'd say that should be my new Instagram bio takes the low note at one point. I never thought I'd say that. And that was something I definitely think I don't know if I could do that every day of my life. But you can't hear it on the studio cast recording.

[56:04] Stephanie Styles: I saw Megan Hilty's 54 Below show a couple weeks ago. And she did this whole medley of alto lines from shows. But it was it was the funniest thing. She's like, those are actually legit alto lines. And it was just some of the lowest, repetitive, not exciting lines.

[56:23] Alan Seales: But of course, being Megan Hilty, she made it incredibly funny.

[56:28] Stephanie Styles: She's a legend till this day. I'm like the two she like cemented to Glinda. I'm sorry, we're going to talk forever, but it'll be the last thing I say. She did two things as Glinda that I'm like, they are they forever changed Glinda for me to one number one, I think she's the first person to go pink looks good with green because she used to do the bit she would go, I'm going to transform your frog into a beautiful log down. And she does this like, and then she added in everywhere. And now a lot of windows go, ooh, pink goes good with green. She did the first number two, she's the first person I as at least I'm aware to ever do the on like the third verse of popular when they go, did they have brains or knowledge?

And she goes, don't make me laugh. Don't they were popular, please choose the first person to ever get mad. A lot of you would just be like, they were popular, please. But she went to like, they were popular. And she got so mad. I'm sure you can find it on bootleg somewhere. But it's so funny. And she's just so smart, like to do that, like to do those two bits. Like those are both very smart bits that also aren't taking away from anything. They are in the text. And she's just interpreting them because she's a genius.

[57:44] Alan Seales: And now I'm done plugging everyone ever done. You would be the best. The best publicist.

[57:52] Stephanie Styles: Oh my God. Never met Megan Hilty in my life. But she's incredible.

[57:58] Alan Seales: Well, if you need Stephanie to be your publicist, hit her up on Instagram at bystyles.

[58:01] Stephanie Styles: Wonderful, wonderful. You can get more of me at thetheatrepodcast.com. I'm on Instagram myself, thetheatre underscore podcast. I'll be your publicist. Why not? I'm on Twitter. The same thing. I don't really use it. But I should I actually need to start tweeting. Listen, wherever you're listening, leave a rating at a review. This has been edited by Well Rounded Hoodlum Productions. And thank you to Jukebox the Ghost for the intro and the outro music. And Stephanie Styles, thank you. This has been so much fun. I just want to keep talking to you forever.

[58:29] Stephanie Styles: Same, same. Hopefully we can talk again some other time. Maybe at a Broadway con in the future.

[58:35] Alan Seales: The Broadway con and we'll go sit in the audience and go see Stephanie Styles.

[58:40] Stephanie Styles: Oh my God. I mean, Catherine Gallagher. That's you are Stephanie. What is it? Catherine Gallagher?

[58:44] Alan Seales: Yes. Oh, I can't wait. Can't wait.

[58:50] Stephanie Styles: Take a deep breath, make the world a little colorful.