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Ep261 - Tommy Kail and Sonya Tayeh: Cut From the Same Cloth

This is the third episode of a special 4-part takeover with cast & creatives from Hulu's new musical series UP HERE. Make sure to stream the entire 21 song UP HERE soundtrack everywhere you find your music... Read More

From the show: The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

38 mins
4/11/23

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This is the third episode of a special 4-part takeover with cast & creatives from Hulu's new musical series UP HERE. Make sure to stream the entire 21 song UP HERE soundtrack everywhere you find your music.

Director Tommy Kail and choreographer Sonya Tayeh have teamed up for the first time in Hulu’s new rom-com musical, “Up Here”. Not wanting to stick to just one medium, Sonya talks about being an expansive artist and following wherever her passion takes her. Tommy also shares his deal with Disney, putting a musical on mainstream TV and how Kirsten and Bobby's ability to make musical comedy resonated with him. While Sonya has done numerous projects and won awards already, the choreographer shares open up about dealing with imposter syndrome, calling it "big, old, scary monsters" and why she loves physicalizing them. Working as the director and choreographer for "Up Here", both Tommy and Sonya share how they operate, including collaborating with other creatives and shooting with at least two cameras at all times. Sonya reflects more on her love for collaborating, trying out all the options, starting a conversation and hearing what her collaborators have to say. Tommy, on the other hand, speaks about consciously surrounding himself with talented people that make him a better person. With Sonya and Tommy's love for collaborating, it's no surprise that the two found each other to create something beautiful.

Sonya Tayeh is a TONY Award-winning choreographer and director. She has choreographed for renowned artists, including Madonna, Miley Cyrus and Florence and the Machine. She’s been nominated twice for Emmy Awards for her work on So You Think You Can Dance, and won the Lucille Lortel and Obie Awards for “Outstanding Choreography” for her work on David Henry Hwang’s dance-play “Kung Fu”, for which she also received a Drama Desk nomination. She made her Broadway debut as the choreographer for the hit show, “Moulin Rouge the Musical” and worked on the production of “Sing Street”. Sonya has recently joined the creative team for the upcoming production of "Gatsby" and “The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window” and is gearing up for the world premiere of “Is It Thursday Yet?”, a play that she directed, co-choreographed and co-conceived.

Tommy Kail is a theatre director known for directing the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musicals “In the Heights” and “Hamilton” for which he won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Direction of Musical. His other credits include “Lombardi”, “Magic/Bird”, “Randy Newman's Faust and The Wiz”, “Broke-ology”, “When I Come to Die”, “Family Furniture”, and “The Tutors” among others. Tommy was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018 and won a Special Tony Award in 2021 for “Freestyle Love Supreme”.

Songs used in this episode:

  • Can I Ever Know You
  • Tiger Shark
  • Can I Ever Know You (Finale)


Connect with Tommy and Sonya:

  • Website: www.sonyatayeh.com
  • Instagram: @directorkail, @sonyatayeh


Connect with The Theatre Podcast:

Transcript

This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] ♪ Musical number: "Can I Ever Know You" — performed by Up Here Cast ♪

[0:28] Alan Seales: Welcome back to The Theatre Podcast. Intimate personal conversations with the industry's biggest names. I'm your host, as always, Alan Seales, and our Up Here podcast takeover continues with this episode. Make sure you stream Up Here on Hulu, because, man, that show is so much fun.

[0:45] Alan Seales: The song you just heard to open the episode is called Can I Ever Know You, which is part of the 21 completely original songs from the show. A show directed by Tommy Kail and choreographed by Sonya Tayeh are two guests for this episode.

[0:59] Alan Seales: Funnily enough, as we were recording the episode, Tommy was actually on his way to a final rehearsal of Sweeney Todd. He was in a car, which is probably the first time I've ever interviewed anyone while they were in a car. That was pretty cool.

[1:10] Alan Seales: But anyway, it's pretty cool to hear the story behind how Tommy and Sonya met, how they started working together, and why they started working together. They're two people who just create art for the sake of creating art. They do it because they have to. They belong to the same tribe of people. They're cut from the same cloth, and they just do it because it brings joy to them and joy to the world.

[1:32] Alan Seales: I cannot wait to share this episode with you. It's so much fun. So remember to find me online, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, all those places. And again, because this is the Up Here Takeover, instead of my normal transition music, here's a cut from another new song called Tiger Shark. Enjoy!

[1:48] ♪ Musical number: "Tiger Shark" — performed by Up Here Cast ♪

[2:15] Alan Seales: I am super excited to welcome back both of our guests for this episode, both of whom we've had before, and both of whom have done some phenomenal things since. Tommy Kail, originally interviewed back in episode 165 for the Freestyle Love Supreme Takeover, added yet another Tony Award to his resume for Freestyle Love Supreme, in addition to his existing nomination and win for In the Heights and Hamilton.

[2:37] Alan Seales: Sonya Tayeh, originally interviewed in episode 73 for the Moulin Rouge Takeover. She has choreographed for some people like Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Florence and the Machine. She's been nominated for two Emmy Awards for her work on So You Think You Can Dance and Since We Last Spoke, has added a Tony Award win to her resume, in addition to the upcoming production of Gatsby and The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window.

[3:02] Alan Seales: And she's now gearing up for the world premiere of Is It Thursday Yet at the La Jolla Playhouse, a play that she directed, co-choreographed, and co-conceived. They've both been a little busy because both of them just helped release Up Here, a new musical rom-com, eight-episode series now streaming on Hulu with Tommy directing and Sonya choreographing. TK and Sonya, welcome back to The Theatre Podcast.

[3:28] Tommy Kail: Thank you. I thought I was extra special that I created TK, which I find really funny. I thought I had something going on and I was like hitting it.

[3:38] Sonya Tayeh: You thought you created the initials to my name?

[3:43] Tommy Kail: Missed you. I missed you so much.

[3:46] Sonya Tayeh: We should do this every week. I think there's actually, this is a new podcast and it's the three of us, let's be honest. This is episode one. This is not episode 76, episode 160, it's episode one.

[3:58] Tommy Kail: Literally calling in from a car right now.

[4:01] Sonya Tayeh: I'm in a car for five more minutes and then I'm going to a theater.

[4:06] Alan Seales: You guys have a very good rapport. We were just giving each other shit before we even started recording, but is this the first time you've worked together professionally on Up Here?

[4:15] Tommy Kail: First and last. I'm just kidding.

[4:18] Sonya Tayeh: Sonia, when did we meet?

[4:19] Tommy Kail: When I got back from Boston, when was that? It's all a blur. 19? 18?

[4:26] Sonya Tayeh: I don't know, 2008 or something like that?

[4:28] Tommy Kail: Exactly.

[4:29] Sonya Tayeh: You've been doing that show for a while.

[4:30] Tommy Kail: Was it 18?

[4:31] Sonya Tayeh: Yeah, that feels right.

[4:33] Tommy Kail: I remember exactly where we met.

[4:35] Sonya Tayeh: I just walked past where we met.

[4:37] Alan Seales: Wait, where did you guys meet? Tell me the story.

[4:39] Sonya Tayeh: I forget the restaurant, but I had beautiful flowers, big beautiful flowers outside.

[4:43] Tommy Kail: I think I was in prep for Fosse Verde and she had just gotten back.

[4:46] Sonya Tayeh: We met down there and I'd seen stuff that she'd made and we had a lot of friends in common.

[4:52] Tommy Kail: When this stuff works, you meet somebody and it turns out that you've already known them, it's just you hadn't been introduced.

[4:58] Sonya Tayeh: That's how I felt. I was like, oh, Sonia was over there and I was over here and now we're at the same table.

[5:04] Tommy Kail: She then went and got really busy making a huge musical and then making 63 subsequent productions of them.

[5:12] Alan Seales: This felt like a chance to take the stuff that we had learned from the theater.

[5:19] Tommy Kail: Obviously, she has deep knowledge of camera and storytelling for camera. This felt like a total no-brainer and it was my first and only good idea, probably. I was like, we're going to call Sonia for this one.

[5:29] Sonya Tayeh: Wait, wait, wait.

[5:31] Alan Seales: This was back in 2018 you said you met and you were already talking about Up Here back then?

[5:36] Tommy Kail: No, we were talking about something else.

[5:37] Sonya Tayeh: Other ideas and just the desire to work together.

[5:41] Tommy Kail: I've been a giant admirer of him for a long time and I was just super stoked to meet him.

[5:46] Sonya Tayeh: Just an expansive artist, drops into many different mediums, which that's the career I'm holding on to that way.

[5:56] Sonya Tayeh: Just an expansive, versatile, anywhere that's inspiring career. We were just jamming off of that.

[6:02] Alan Seales: I remember when we spoke originally, you had said that you don't want to stick to one genre. You enjoy just following where the passion takes you, where the opportunities take you. I think that's absolutely so amazing and respectable.

[6:17] Alan Seales: Tommy, even you too. You're known, I think, probably best in the Heights world and the Hamilton world, but you do so much beyond there.

[6:28] Alan Seales: I actually want to dig into that a little bit. I believe Up Here, which originally started out as a stage musical written by Kristen Anderson Lopez and Bobby Lopez. Was it your idea to turn that into an eight-episode TV series? Where did that come from?

[6:41] Tommy Kail: I had been friends with Kristen and Bobby. The way that Sonya and I were trying to find the right thing. Then in the very early days of the pandemic, maybe like April or May of 2020, when it seemed that things weren't going so well, I started thinking about some other stuff that I could maybe work on. I have this television production company. I called Kristen and Bobby and I said, is there anything that you've made or want to make that could live in this form? They both said, well, there's a few things. One of the ideas was Up Here. I just thought, oh, well, that's it. The conversation stopped there and then started on this other thing. That was really the impetus. That was probably about halfway through 2020, so a few minutes ago.

[7:30] Alan Seales: Exactly. Asking for a friend, how does someone get their idea onto TV? Where did your production company, you were like, all right, I'm going to do this. Did they come to you? Were you already working with Hulu? Where did the whole thing come in?

[7:47] Tommy Kail: I have a deal with Disney, which I've had for a couple of years. I'm now walking outside. If you hear a change in sound, I'm walking outside on the sidewalks of New York. Now, I am back inside.

[8:03] Tommy Kail: See, versatile. This felt like a chance to do an original musical on television. That was something that was deeply appealing to me. I'd had this deal to develop television exclusively for Disney and the companies that are under that umbrella. FX, Hulu, ABC, and Disney+. There was a Hulu sensibility about it. Although, I have to say, Hulu, even in these last couple of years, has completely evolved and redefined who they are. I just think we kind of met them at a moment where they were willing to take a big risk. I feel like what I really responded to with what Kristen and Bobby do is they make musical comedy that also has subversive humor. They're not afraid to make musical comedy for grown-ups. I think that this show embodied that, and Hulu certainly felt like a place where that could live.

[8:50] Alan Seales: Is the inclusion of musicals in mainstream TV and whatnot, is that something that you've seen? I've been noticing it more recently, but is it just now coming in because of shows like Hamilton and other pro shots that were created and made accessible to the masses? The original musical sort of episodic, we don't see a lot of that. Was that intentional in your decision to bring it to the screen in this form to kind of fill that gap?

[9:20] Tommy Kail: I like to try to make things that I believe are missing. This certainly feels like something that I think there's an appetite for and an audience for, and should exist and can exist. That was certainly part of the impetus, and also to try to gather as many people who have made really high-quality theater.

[9:36] Alan Seales: Sonia, for you as well, you've got such an experience of choreographing for TV and for movies and for ballet and for theater. Everything's so different from the outside for me. When you're approaching a new project like this, what's the first thing that you use to start dissecting what you're going to do? Is it the story, or is it the medium, or is it something else?

[10:01] Sonya Tayeh: It's mostly the story for me, because then this vivid visual imagination comes to life. Once I'm reading the words and I start to embody it more, and I start to see it. It's just something that happens to me and I hope keeps happening to me, or I'm in big trouble. I've said this so much, but there's just this strange definition. So many artists that get locked into one genre, and I just don't understand that. I think it's so inspiring to allow artists to be challenged. It only evokes so much more imagination, especially when you're collaborating with other artists that want that type of challenge too. With this, it's so big-hearted. It just had my imagination going wild in the visual landscape that it could be in its humor and its romance and its clumsiness.

We all have those stalkers in our mind. We all have those imposter syndrome aliens crawling and just hyper fearful thoughts. I loved physicalizing them, because I'm one that has those too. I call it the big old scary monster, and it's a loop. To bring that loop to life was really fun and inspiring.

[11:32] Tommy Kail: That's a really good way of putting it, the scary monster. It makes a much different title than Up Here, if you're going to call the show Scary Monsters in My Head.

[11:42] Alan Seales: How many dancers does Moulin Rouge! have? 30? 35? 30?

[11:48] Sonya Tayeh: It grows as our amazing swings grow, and it just depends on what is needed there.

[11:56] Tommy Kail: It's this massive thing. Obviously, you can't cut away on live theater, so you think you can dance world. It's multicam, but you're not editing, you're not cutting out segments. What I'm getting at is that in Up Here, the dance numbers are beautifully, simplistically complex. It's a small number of people, because you're in an office building or you're on a street somewhere. It's not this massive thing, but they're very complicated. They use all the props, they use the scenery, they use the location. One of the fun things that Bobby and Kristen were talking about when I spoke with them was, one of the great advantages to TV and film is that you can do both.

[12:44] Tommy Kail: It's interesting because, you know, I think that the way that we approach the material, the way that we approach the storytelling, is really about the characters and their journey.

[13:14] Sonya Tayeh: Absolutely. And I think that the music plays such a huge role in that. It’s not just about the choreography or the direction; it’s about how all of these elements come together to tell the story.

[13:44] Tommy Kail: Right, and I think that’s what makes this project so special. We’re really trying to create a world that feels authentic and relatable, and the music is a huge part of that.

[14:14] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I love how the songs are written to reflect the characters’ inner thoughts and feelings. It’s like we’re getting a glimpse into their minds through the music.

[14:44] Tommy Kail: Exactly. And that’s what I think makes a musical so powerful. It allows us to express emotions that we might not be able to articulate in words alone.

[15:14] Sonya Tayeh: And the choreography adds another layer to that. It’s about finding the physical language that matches the emotional journey of the characters.

[15:34] Tommy Kail: Yes, and I think that’s where our collaboration really shines. We both bring our own perspectives and experiences to the table, and it creates something unique.

[15:54] Sonya Tayeh: I agree. It’s all about the conversation and the exploration of ideas. I love trying out different options and seeing what resonates.

[16:14] Tommy Kail: And I think that’s what makes the creative process so exciting. You never know what you’re going to discover when you’re open to collaboration.

[16:24] Sonya Tayeh: Absolutely. And I think that’s what keeps the work fresh and alive. It’s about being willing to take risks and explore new possibilities.

[16:34] Tommy Kail: Right, and I think that’s something that we both value in our work. Surrounding ourselves with talented people who inspire us to be better.

[16:54] Sonya Tayeh: Yes, and I think that’s what makes this project feel so special. We’re all invested in the story and the characters, and that passion drives us.

[17:04] Tommy Kail: It really does. And I think that’s what audiences will connect with. They’ll feel that authenticity and that love for the material.

[17:14] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes it so rewarding as artists. When you see the audience respond to the work, it’s such a fulfilling experience.

[17:34] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. It’s all about creating that connection and sharing that experience with the audience.

[17:44] Sonya Tayeh: And I think that’s what makes theatre so magical. It’s a shared experience that brings people together.

[17:54] Tommy Kail: Yes, and I think that’s something that we need more of in the world right now. That sense of community and connection.

[18:04] Sonya Tayeh: Definitely. And I think that’s what we’re trying to create with this project. A space where people can come together and feel something.

[18:14] Tommy Kail: Right, and I think that’s what makes the work worthwhile. Knowing that we’re making an impact, even if it’s just for a moment.

[18:24] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what keeps us going as artists. The desire to create and share our stories with the world.

[18:34] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what makes this collaboration so special. We’re both passionate about the work and committed to telling these stories.

[18:44] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the process so enjoyable. We’re both invested in the outcome and excited to see where it takes us.

[18:54] Tommy Kail: Exactly. And I think that’s what makes the creative journey so rewarding. It’s about the exploration and the discovery along the way.

[19:04] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes it all worth it. The chance to create something beautiful together.

[19:14] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what we’re both striving for with this project. To create something that resonates with people.

[19:24] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the collaboration so exciting. We’re both bringing our unique perspectives to the table.

[19:34] Tommy Kail: Right, and I think that’s what makes the work so rich and layered. There’s so much depth to explore.

[19:54] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what keeps us motivated. The desire to push boundaries and explore new ideas.

[20:14] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what makes this project so special. We’re both committed to creating something meaningful.

[20:34] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the process so enjoyable. We’re both passionate about the work and excited to see where it takes us.

[20:44] Tommy Kail: Exactly. And I think that’s what makes the collaboration so rewarding. Knowing that we’re both invested in the outcome.

[20:54] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes it all worth it. The chance to create something beautiful together.

[21:14] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what we’re both striving for with this project. To create something that resonates with people.

[21:24] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the collaboration so exciting. We’re both bringing our unique perspectives to the table.

[21:34] Tommy Kail: Right, and I think that’s what makes the work so rich and layered. There’s so much depth to explore.

[21:54] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what keeps us motivated. The desire to push boundaries and explore new ideas.

[22:14] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what makes this project so special. We’re both committed to creating something meaningful.

[22:24] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the process so enjoyable. We’re both passionate about the work and excited to see where it takes us.

[22:34] Tommy Kail: Exactly. And I think that’s what makes the collaboration so rewarding. Knowing that we’re both invested in the outcome.

[22:44] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes it all worth it. The chance to create something beautiful together.

[22:54] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what we’re both striving for with this project. To create something that resonates with people.

[23:04] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the collaboration so exciting. We’re both bringing our unique perspectives to the table.

[23:14] Tommy Kail: Right, and I think that’s what makes the work so rich and layered. There’s so much depth to explore.

[23:34] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what keeps us motivated. The desire to push boundaries and explore new ideas.

[23:54] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what makes this project so special. We’re both committed to creating something meaningful.

[24:14] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes the process so enjoyable. We’re both passionate about the work and excited to see where it takes us.

[24:34] Tommy Kail: Exactly. And I think that’s what makes the collaboration so rewarding. Knowing that we’re both invested in the outcome.

[24:54] Sonya Tayeh: Yes! And I think that’s what makes it all worth it. The chance to create something beautiful together.

[25:14] Tommy Kail: Absolutely. And I think that’s what we’re both striving for with this project. To create something that resonates with people.

[25:58] Tommy Kail: I wonder how you're feeling as well, coming into this world that you're bringing your own talent, and you're well-deserved. It's not like someone is doing you a favor. Your talent speaks for itself. So whatever freaking monsters you're dealing with, just tell them to F off.

[26:44] Sonya Tayeh: No, they're cool. We're good. We're good. We need each other. I need a box sometimes, so I just talk to them. So sitting in this rehearsal room, talking about all these collaborators, and you're coming together and making this beautiful product. We were actually saying before we started recording, you haven't even seen the finished episodes yet. We're recording this before it comes out. This will come out after the episodes are dropped. But the episodes are beautiful. Everything put together is seamless and beautiful. And so your contribution in that is not unnoticed. And well, okay, I'll take that back. It is unnoticed because it fits perfectly, but it's not unnoticed when you know who did it, if that makes sense.

[27:25] Tommy Kail: Thank you. Thank you very much. So are you going through any of that sort of, I guess, the realization of kind of the crowd you're running with now these days, and winning the Tony since we've talked last has kind of amplified you and moved you to a new space, again, where you're just like, okay, here I am, and I can make better art, the best art on a higher level, a different level, a different place.

[27:49] Sonya Tayeh: Yeah, well, wherever space I'm being moved at is not by me. I'm still in the same mindset, the same desire for a grounded, it's hard enough to make it. It's hard enough to make the art. So why add more attention when we can find a grounded, calm, I'm not saying, I mean, I'm intense. I'm not saying there's not intensity and a workload, but that can have laughter and confusion and solution all together. And I think especially for the artists, the dancers, the actors, to keep them in that open channel is important. So generating kindness and kindness with determination and kindness with work ethic is something that I've always strived as a leader in the room and a collaborator in the room. When I direct, it's the same feeling of wanting who is behind the table that these amazing artists are looking at.

Do they know our hearts are bursting, our eyes are open, and our minds are open to conversation? All of that is just a channel to make art better and more creative. When you have all of that tension or all of that passive energy, I never think it's impossible to produce an honest, for me, an honest work. I can see the strife. And I've been in those experiences before where I'm watching my trauma inside of the outcome. And I always reflect on what I could have done better. So I think jumping off what Tommy was saying is I'm going to be about to be 46. And in my 40s, what really, really turned. I've always tried to be a part of that palette. And it wasn't always the case. You'd get into rooms that weren't meant with these collaborations.

And that just happens. But even so, I'd have to find grace in those outcomes too and understand my part in it and just continuously try to do better. But because we were laughing, laughter, all of that serotonin, endorphins, all of that just really allows for a more ... The 12-hour day feels a lot different when there's not passive tension, when there's not that passive tension.

[30:24] Tommy Kail: Absolutely beautiful. And I agree. Time flies when you're having fun. So if you're enjoying yourself, then a 12-hour day is no big deal because you get to the end of the day and you're like, that's it? I want more. I want more of this natural drug that's being released in my brain right now. Can I say something to that for a moment?

[30:38] Sonya Tayeh: Sure. The Sonia-ness of it. One of the things on a set that is quite clear is that it's really easy for the temperature to shift and things to get hot. And it can happen in any number of ways. And I think that we did a really consistent and good job on this show of keeping the temperature low, even if the stakes felt a little high or even if the work was challenging. And one of the things that was so joyful about making this is that if we were ever doing a number, something that Sonia and her team had touched and were working on, it was so apparent as soon as they stepped on the set, because I'd obviously been working in the rehearsal room with the company. And so to see them step on set, you saw everybody's shoulders drop.

Everybody that was in front of the camera said, okay, they have us. And so they felt held in that way. And also, they were reminded of the spirit in which the thing was made, which was out of love. And Sonia approaches work with intensity, but also with an openness and with palms up and soft hands. There's no moving people around without thought. There's no moment that doesn't have the care of the dancer or the mover absolutely at the front of the conversation. And so it was such a wonderful experience, whether I was directing the episode or I was there in a capacity as a producer, to be able to turn to Sonia for the monitor or to see what would happen to the company and watch them just relax into it.

And that relaxation, I think, is where we make our best work. And so that was something that was directly related to Sonia's physical presence. And whether she was there or not, anything that she touched had that spirit to it. But it was particularly evident in those moments when we were all on set together. And I think it's worth remarking upon, because I feel like her work in this is really high quality. We tried really keenly in the edit to keep the spirit of it, as well as the totality of it, whenever we could. And for as many numbers as we have in this that use movement to further the storytelling, I think we did more than just preserve it. We really tried to capture what she had made. And it was really fun to get to watch the show through the edit process.

And then once we came out the other side of it. And it makes me really happy that the show is coming out all at once. I wasn't sure how I felt about that initially. I thought, oh, they want it to go week to week. If you put something out all at once, does it just get sort of swallowed up? And then all of a sudden, by next Tuesday, no one's talking about it. And I thought, you know, because what we're making here is so interwoven, in terms of the fabric of the story and the character, as well as the music and the movement, it actually feels really right to be able to have all of them as soon as they drop. So I've really come around on that.

[33:56] Sonya Tayeh: Yeah, I was gonna comment on that too, is that you don't want to go see the first half of a show and not be able to watch the second half. You don't want to be able to finish it. Because I think in that case, you lose interest. But you know, when it comes to a musical or something like this, I love that it's all coming out, all eight episodes already out as you're listening to this episode. And something too, that Steven Levinson mentioned, or that I realized when I was talking with him about this, is that the first time he and I talked, I was talking to him about Tick Tick Boom. And he had already been working on this at that time, and wasn't allowed to talk about it yet. So I want to know what you two are working on now that you're not allowed to talk about yet.

[34:46] Tommy Kail: Well, by the time this comes out, we'll have a much better sense of whether it's season two of Up Here. I'll tell you that. I wish I could overload you with things, but God willing, it'll be an exciting few years. Let's wrap up again. If you remember, I asked three closing questions to everybody. And I'll ask you the same three questions, just because I love how everybody's answers change. So Tommy, we'll start with you. What motivates you?

[35:10] Tommy Kail: I think the desire to learn things that I don't know, and to be with the community. I just feel that there's something about being in a room with a group of people trying to work towards something or solve something is incredibly rewarding. So I try to do that as often as I can.

[35:29] Sonya Tayeh: Lovely. All right. Sonia, what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[35:32] Sonya Tayeh: Hold on to your gut instinct, even if someone is telling you that it's wrong.

[35:39] Tommy Kail: All right. Tommy, if you can only see one show for the rest of your life, but you can see it as many times as you want, what would you say?

[35:43] Tommy Kail: Currently running, or is this a show from anywhere, anytime?

[35:46] Sonya Tayeh: Anywhere in your headspace.

[35:51] Tommy Kail: Oh my gosh. If I had to pick one, and this is a terrible game, if I had to pick one, Fiddler?

[35:56] Sonya Tayeh: Oh, I can't answer that. I don't think I can answer that. It's impossible. It's an impossible thing. I can't decide on a show that's so stressful. I do miss the big dance musical, The Movin' Outs of the World. And I'm hoping to bring that energy back one day because, again, I feel that the dance just holds so much. We underestimate the value of it sometimes.

[36:27] Tommy Kail: Oh, totally. Thank you both for this conversation. Oh my gosh. I cannot wait to share it with everybody. Everybody go check out hulu.com and stream Up Here. All eight episodes available now. Tommy and Sonia, thank you so much.

[36:42] Sonya Tayeh: Thank you.

[36:44] Tommy Kail: Thank you very much. I look forward to our second podcast now that this is the new unit. We'll make more archives. But thanks for having me. And I'm sorry about the audio stuff, but I'm very happy to have seen Sonia. And Sonia, I can't wait to see you in person next week.

[36:54] Sonya Tayeh: I know, I know, I know. I'll see you soon.

[36:59] Tommy Kail: Bye guys.

[37:04] Sonya Tayeh: Bye. And now to finish off the episode, again, is the finale of Can I Ever Know You? Make sure to go listen to the soundtrack everywhere you stream your music.

[38:04] ♪ Musical number: "Can I Ever Know You?" — performed by Sonya Tayeh ♪

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