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[0:00] Alan Seales: Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another new episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and this episode is so much fun. We've got not one but two incredible composers who came together during the pandemic, having never met in person, to create a Tony-nominated Broadway score. Joy Huerta, a Latin pop star from the group Jesse & Joy, and Benjamin Velez, a seasoned musical theatre composer, joined forces over Zoom and they wrote the music for Real Women Have Curves. So what started out as a remote collaboration quickly became one of the most harmonious, pun intended, partnerships I've ever heard described. In this conversation, we dig into how they balanced cultural authenticity with theatrical storytelling, how they wrote character-specific music rooted in identity and heritage, and how they dealt with the heartbreak and necessity of cutting songs in service of the story.

Something that Joy, coming from the pop world especially, was unfamiliar with. There's also a hilarious deep dive into solfege versus letter notation, learning to speak each other's musical language, and a wild origin story involving a Costco membership checker and a demo tape. You'll see what I mean. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for exclusive clips. Head over to my Patreon or watch on Spotify to get the full video versions of the interview. And now, everybody, please enjoy this episode with Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez.

[1:40] Alan Seales: Today, we are joined by two incredibly talented composers whose unique musical paths have led them to Broadway in an exciting new collaboration. Joy Huerta is a Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer, best known as one half of the Latin pop duo Jesse and Joy. Her work has topped charts across the globe, and she's recognized for her emotionally rich songwriting and distinctive voice in both English and Spanish language music. Benjamin Velez is an award-winning composer and lyricist whose work has been featured at Lincoln Center, Ars Nova, and the Public Theater. A Columbia graduate and ASCAP Harold Adamson Award winner, he's known for his inventive theatrical scores and his dedication to telling stories that center on diverse voices.

And together, they have joined forces as the co-composers of Real Women Have Curves, the new Broadway musical adaptation of the beloved play and film. Their partnership blends Latin pop and theatrical storytelling into a score that's fresh, powerful, and deeply rooted in cultural authenticity. And now Tony-nominated Joy and Benjamin, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[2:41] Joy Huerta: Hi.

[2:42] Benjamin Velez: That's quite a mouthful.

[2:43] Joy Huerta: I feel like you're going to have to travel with us. And anytime I go into a room, you're coming first. Introducing us.

[2:52] Benjamin Velez: I like that. It always harkens back to that one episode of Family Guy where Peter wanted entrance music everywhere he went. Are you Family Guy fans?

[2:58] Joy Huerta: I love him.

[2:59] Benjamin Velez: He just walked in and he's like, ee, ee, ee, ee, ee, or something like that. I don't know. But we'll give you your own entrance music. I don't need my phone anymore. I'm going to get it out of the shot. There we go. So, Real Women Have Curves, again, congratulations on the Tony nomination.

[3:12] Joy Huerta: Thank you.

[3:13] Alan Seales: So, I just want to start by asking you, how did you meet? How did your collaboration start?

[3:18] Joy Huerta: We just met for this project. And we did it over Zoom during the end of the pandemic.

[3:27] Benjamin Velez: Fresh, middle.

[3:29] Joy Huerta: Yes, middle.

[3:30] Benjamin Velez: Fall of 2020.

[3:31] Joy Huerta: Yes. And we literally just started working most of the score through Zoom. And it was really fun because we were getting to know each other, we were getting to know each other's sound, and we were getting to know each other personally at the same time. And I feel like it was really, it was a beautiful process because we were not trying to overstep on each other's way of working. And we started muting each other at some point when we were coming up with ideas. And that was really refreshing because whenever you're writing with someone in the same room, and someone starts humming something, you tend to follow whoever's humming some idea. And you naturally go into that sound. And whenever we were going through the script, first of all, we were given four songs at the very beginning. They were like, guys, let's see if this works out. Let's see if this is a good pair.

[4:25] Benjamin Velez: Yeah, we didn't know though.

[4:26] Joy Huerta: No.

[4:27] Benjamin Velez: It was just like, we would love to hear, you know, a batch of the first four songs. And let's see what comes out of that. And we would, you know, go through a little bit of what the scenes were. And we started muting each other. And then we started, but we were keeping each other company because we could see each other, but we couldn't talk to each, I mean, we could, we just decided not to make any sounds. So we could come up with fresh ideas.

[4:51] Joy Huerta: When you said muted, I was like literally muted on the computer.

[4:53] Benjamin Velez: We were keeping each other company.

[4:54] Joy Huerta: Yeah, yeah.

[4:55] Benjamin Velez: Because we were working. It was actually, it made it a lot easier than if we were in the same room. Because Joy's main instrument is guitar and mine is piano. So that also helped us bring different colors.

[5:02] Joy Huerta: Totally.

[5:05] Alan Seales: How did that work when one of you wanted to share your thing with the other? Did you raise your hand?

[5:08] Benjamin Velez: No, we'd text each other.

[5:10] Joy Huerta: We would unmute ourselves and be like, I have an idea. Can I send you it? And if the other one was in the zone, I was like, oh sorry, sorry, sorry, I'll just text you.

[5:16] Benjamin Velez: Okay.

[5:16] Joy Huerta: And then we'd be like sending each other voice memos. And it was great because it was like, oh my God, this sounds, this is going to sound great with an idea I had. Or be like, let's keep this one for this other thing we're going to have to work on later on, et cetera. But at some point, we figured out that we wanted to give each character a different sound. And I think that's what made it funner to create because we have a group of women in a factory in the majority of the show, and we wanted them to sound like something. But then we have their individual songs and it was like, okay, what are they going to sound like individually? And that just gave us the opportunity to bring more colors, to bring more elements, to bring different sounds and to just make sure, because we did speak about this at the very beginning, the way I create music, even when I write an album, I don't want it to sound like the same thing, just through a different lens.

It has to be cohesive, but at the same time, it has to have its own identity. And Benjamin was like, he's like, totally, definitely, let's do that. And when we were creating the sound, we wanted it to be in cohesion with each song, but at the same time to have its own identity. And I think what was tough is there's very little real estate for every one of those women to have their own song. So we had to kind of be very purposeful when we were going into another style. So a few examples that stick out to me are the song Siempre Mi Gente is a very specific style. That's when they're kind of remembering their ancestors. There's Estella's Daydream Song, which is her kind of moment where she's just lost in the dream of being a documented citizen and the things that regular people might take for granted.

So for each of these moments, when we do get them alone, we wanted to then lean into, okay, so what is the specific character's musical background in terms of what they grew up listening to? Like Estella, she came as a young kid to the States, but she still had roots in Mexico. So we wanted her style to be rooted in mariachi, but also have some of that pop that we gave to Ana, who's the one that was born and raised in the States. And Ana has very little in her own songs of that kind of Mexican flavor or the traditional Mexican flavor. So we wanted to be purposeful about those choices. And same with Carmen, when she sings the Denada song, hers is like full-out mariachi. And because hers is about this dream that she had to let go of, but of course, you never let go of dreams. You might put them away or accept that maybe they're not something you can live. You bite your tongue. I'm going to achieve all my dreams.

[7:51] Joy Huerta: You will, I believe you. But that's kind of how we, once we kind of figured out our way of working together, then we kind of, story-wise, we're like, okay, let's approach this song this way because of this character's past. So Ben, you were just talking about, you wanted very consciously to give each character a different sort of sound or a different voice or whatnot. So even if at the beginning, Joy, you mentioned there was this kind of an unofficial audition or maybe an official audition, you guys weren't privy to the fact that it was, but how much did you work with the book writers on this to know who the characters were and what all the backstories for the characters were?

[8:30] Benjamin Velez: I mean, we were, I don't know what existed when Joy was brought on earlier than me, but when I got brought on and we got paired together, there was already a version of Lisa Loomer's book that she had written. And so we had all this material to work off of in terms of, she had ideas for where she thought certain songs could go, but then it was kind of up to us to song spot and decide, oh, maybe this moment in the scene could be better in song or we could bring it to life more with music. And she was very open to that. And later when Nell Benjamin came to work with Lisa, it was as collaborative as we could be. We tried to all work together. It was hard because we all lived in different places.

Lisa lives in Oregon. I live in Mexico City. And Nell and I are here, but very rarely did we ever have a chance to all get together in the same room or even the same Zoom room just with schedules. So a lot of it was done through email and back and forth, Google Docs. But it was always very, people were generous with each other in terms of like, what if we take this bit that you might like in your scene and turn it into a song or vice versa? What if this thing that we're trying to achieve in a song, we actually cut the song. It's better to just, we don't need to expand the story in that way.

[9:45] Alan Seales: Is that hard for both of you to have songs cut if you work weeks or months on something?

[9:50] Joy Huerta: It's so hard.

[9:50] Benjamin Velez: Is it really?

[9:51] Joy Huerta: It's like a baby. I mean, they say that and it's like a cliché, you have to learn to kill your babies. But it really, that's how—

[9:57] Benjamin Velez: I just learned that phrase a couple of days ago. And I was like, that is so harsh.

[10:03] Joy Huerta: Yes, it's terrible. It's almost like cutting fingers. It's like, pick which one you want to keep. I kind of need them all. But whenever we were going through this journey of telling the story and finding the right way to approach it, me personally, at the very, very, very beginning, whenever we delivered those four songs, I was like, this is so easy. We just delivered them. Ben was like, don't get your hopes up. This is gonna work.

[10:33] Benjamin Velez: Three of those four are still in the show.

[10:35] Joy Huerta: Yes. And one of those has many versions.

[10:38] Benjamin Velez: Really?

[10:38] Joy Huerta: Many, many, many versions, which I still believe the first one could have perfectly worked with the story, but it lives in my memory and in your memory. So it's totally fine. I mean, it's just, it went through many different versions because—

[10:51] Benjamin Velez: You're talking about Flying Away?

[10:52] Joy Huerta: Yes. Should it be more literal? It's too literal now. Can it be somewhere in between? And some of the producers wanted the original version. So it was like a lot of back and forth on that, except for the chorus. The chorus always remained basically how it is. But it was a very different process for me. Once I was brought on along, I was brought in, I was approached early 2020. And I was just so excited about this opportunity. And I mean, it's totally different from where I come from. And I was just like, I love a challenge. And then I started reading the play and I saw the movie. And I was a little bit worried. I was like, how could this be a musical? And it was a lot of conversations of, don't worry.

We think about it in a very different way from what the film is, from what the play is. We want this to be its own thing. And I was just like, listen, I love that you have so much faith in me. I can write music, I can make music, but I've never done a musical. And so I asked for someone like Benjamin, and they brought the perfect person along. And whenever we started writing, he would kind of walk me through some parts of the process and be like, they want the opening. We're not going to touch that until the end of the, like, in a few years. And I was like, what do you mean?

[12:06] Benjamin Velez: I've learned the hard way. Don't write the opening till the end.

[12:08] Joy Huerta: Don't do it until the end, because that's going to be changed a numerous amount of time. And it's like the whole story, the story of the opening.

[12:14] Benjamin Velez: No, literally, we did that at the very end. And I'm so glad that we did because, yeah, so some songs happened that way. I feel like it was only maybe, let's say, Leave the Light On, the Mrs. Wright song. What else did it?

[12:29] Joy Huerta: Always on the Run.

[12:30] Benjamin Velez: Always on the Run. But I'm glad we did that because that was like a good choice.

[12:32] Joy Huerta: Mole.

[12:34] Benjamin Velez: But I feel like those are versions of them.

[12:35] Joy Huerta: Well, but they were reinvented.

[12:36] Benjamin Velez: Yes.

[12:37] Joy Huerta: There were many songs that retained maybe the hook, but the core of it was sucked. I mean, every time the story changes, the songs are going to have to change.

[12:45] Benjamin Velez: I guess that's the thing. Whenever the story changed, it was fine to come up with different ideas. But there were one or two songs that were rough conversations about creative—

[12:57] Joy Huerta: It's just a taste thing.

[12:58] Benjamin Velez: It's like, okay, guys, you can't say this is wrong, or you can't say this is right. It's a matter of taste. It's like, I can't say all music is bad if I don't like it. I can't say all music is good if I like it. I used to think I wasn't a theater person. And it turns out, in Mexico, it's not as heavy as it is, culturally speaking, like it is in the US. And then I started being exposed to really good theater off-Broadway and on-Broadway. And I was like, it's just like music. There's music you can connect with, and theater you can connect with. And whenever it came to those decisions for those couple of songs, it was just like a matter of, listen, tell me you don't like it. I can live with that. But just say it out loud, and we can move on.

[13:36] Joy Huerta: Yeah.

[13:37] Benjamin Velez: And it is hard.

[13:38] Joy Huerta: Ya no mas.

[13:39] Benjamin Velez: Oh my god, ya no mas.

[14:43] Joy Huerta: It's been such an incredible journey for both of us, especially considering we started this collaboration during the pandemic.

[15:13] Benjamin Velez: Absolutely. I think the unique circumstances forced us to really lean into our creativity and find new ways to communicate musically.

[15:33] Joy Huerta: And I love how we were able to create distinct musical identities for each character, which was a challenge but also so rewarding.

[15:53] Benjamin Velez: Yes! Each character needed their own voice, and I think our different backgrounds really helped shape that.

[16:13] Joy Huerta: Coming from Latin pop, I was able to bring a different flavor to the score, which I think added depth to the storytelling.

[16:33] Benjamin Velez: And my experience in musical theatre allowed me to focus on the narrative and emotional arcs, so it was a perfect blend.

[16:53] Joy Huerta: We also had a lot of fun during the process, which I think is essential. Laughter really fueled our collaboration.

[17:13] Benjamin Velez: Definitely! We shared voice memos and ideas back and forth, and it felt like we were building something special together.

[17:33] Joy Huerta: There were challenges too, like adapting the material and making tough decisions about cutting songs.

[17:53] Benjamin Velez: That was hard. Each song we cut felt like losing a piece of ourselves, but ultimately it was about serving the story.

[18:13] Joy Huerta: Exactly. And writing a show that celebrates culture and womanhood was so important to both of us.

[18:33] Benjamin Velez: It really was. We wanted to create something that resonated with audiences on multiple levels.

[18:53] Joy Huerta: And I think we succeeded in capturing the essence of resilience through our characters.

[19:13] Benjamin Velez: For sure. It's been a journey of growth for both of us, learning to let go of perfection and embrace collaboration.

[19:33] Joy Huerta: Yes! That was a big lesson for me, especially transitioning from pop music to theatre.

[19:53] Benjamin Velez: And I think that transition expanded your creative vocabulary, which enriched our work together.

[20:13] Joy Huerta: It really did. I found new ways to express emotions through music that I hadn't explored before.

[20:33] Benjamin Velez: And that’s what made our collaboration so unique. We were both open to learning from each other.

[20:53] Joy Huerta: I love that. It’s all about mutual admiration and respect, which we definitely had.

[21:13] Benjamin Velez: Absolutely. And I think that’s what made the process enjoyable, even amidst the challenges.

[21:33] Joy Huerta: And it’s so important to celebrate the joy in the creative process, especially in times like these.

[22:03] Benjamin Velez: Yes! Speaking of joy, we often talked about what it means to be “activated” in our work.

[22:23] Joy Huerta: Right! It’s a term we’ve come to use a lot, and it really encapsulates the energy we bring to our projects.

[22:43] Benjamin Velez: It’s about being fully present and engaged, which is crucial when creating art.

[23:03] Joy Huerta: And it’s something I think everyone can relate to, regardless of their artistic background.

[23:23] Benjamin Velez: Exactly! It’s about finding that spark and letting it guide you through the creative process.

[23:43] Joy Huerta: I hope our story inspires others to embrace their own creative journeys, no matter how unconventional.

[24:03] Benjamin Velez: Yes! Collaboration can lead to beautiful things, and I think we’re a testament to that.

[24:23] Joy Huerta: I’m so proud of what we’ve created together, and I can’t wait for everyone to experience it.

[24:43] Benjamin Velez: Me too! The cast album is coming out soon, and I’m excited for people to hear our work.

[25:03] Joy Huerta: It’s going to be a special moment, sharing our music with the world.

[25:23] Benjamin Velez: Absolutely! And I hope it resonates with audiences and brings them joy.

[25:43] Joy Huerta: That’s the goal! To connect with people through our art and celebrate the stories we tell.

[26:03] Benjamin Velez: And to remind everyone of the power of collaboration and creativity.

[26:23] Joy Huerta: Yes! Here’s to more collaborations and more stories to tell in the future.

[26:43] Benjamin Velez: Cheers to that!

[27:26] Joy Huerta: I mean, I gotta say too, being the new one, they were so patient with me. Like, what is the want song? What is the 11 o'clock song? What is... And they were just using these phrases or this lingo. And I'd be texting Ben, what does that mean? We also have our music supervisor, Nadia DiGiallonardo, who I absolutely love and adore. And we could never have done this show without her. She really, she was a rock for us. She's just amazing. And I would either text her or Ben and be like, what does that mean? What just happened? And they'd be so patient with me. And I'm still, you know, it was a crash course. And I'm still getting the hang of it. But it's just been, it's been great. Like, who wouldn't want to make the collaboration even bigger?

[28:09] Trey Lockerbie: Right, right. Was the process writing for this similar to what you normally write with or the normal process when you're putting an album together? Because you're saying like, for an album, you want it to all be a theme, but each song needs to stand alone.

[28:21] Nadia DiGiallonardo: Yeah, it's like creating a menu. I love comparing music to food because I love both. And I feel like if you're going to do a 12 course menu, you want to, there's have to be like a common thread. You don't want to be that the same thing and just be like, they just move that around the plate. And you want to go through this journey, right? You want to be taken through a journey, your palate wants to go on a journey, I feel like your ears, your soul, your mind wants to go through a journey as well. And writing, writing for an album is a little bit different. But I feel like maybe I brought a little bit of that and Benjamin didn't even notice and he just caught on immediately. Because when I'm in a writing session, and especially after COVID, because a lot of it started happening over Zoom, it's like you have a couple of hours, you have to be very effective with that, especially like he was saying, I, I'm usually on tour, I have two little kids, I have a wife, and I want to, they are my priority.

And so I was trying to go pick them up from school or drop them off at school as much as I could, but also be responsible to this responsibility that I had. Plus the Jesse and Joy stuff that is also time consuming, like I literally took on another day job. And so without knowing that's part of something that I would do in the pop world, we would sit for two hours. And we would get things done. Like it was so effective. But the thing that I feel that is different is a fact of it's just ever changing. I did not, I was not prepared for that. I was not prepared for it. And at the very beginning, I was a little, how dare they? But yes, it comes and goes as the story changes. But ultimately, it also helped me with my Jesse and Joy life, like my pop life and not be so attached to things.

And I think it's a good thing. Because I feel like art, you know, they say art is never done, you just have to let it be. And it felt like that with this as well. Because normally, I would write a song, record it, put it out in the world, it was done. But then I'd be touring. And I'd be like, I wish I had said something a little different here. Oh, maybe they won't notice. And I'll just change the word when I do it live. And I could do that. But here, it's totally different. It's like, you know what, maybe we could say this instead of that. And even by the time we were in previews, we changed a lot of things that we felt could have been even better. I mean, I feel like we continued improving things. And I just feel like both this and now, I feel like, yeah, both my both day jobs complimented each other. They nurtured each other. And now I feel like they both helped each other.

[31:04] Benjamin Velez: Yeah, Ben, was it was it for you? different working with somebody that had music experience that was completely outside of the musical theater room? Or was just like, Oh, they can they can write, but I'll I have to tell them what like terms mean.

[31:12] Benjamin Velez: It definitely was different. But in ways, in ways I expected in ways I didn't expect, like, I'd love that she used the food metaphor of the courses, because I was gonna say that there, there was a lot of cooks in the kitchen, and maybe more cooks than are in the kitchen when she's making an album, because we had the producers, the director, the writers, and us all having ideas of what it should be, and can help make it the best version. It can also drive you crazy. Because getting everyone to agree is challenging. So sometimes you have to choose when to put your foot down and when and joy was really helpful, because she came from a world where there are fewer cooks, and she's the head chef, she she had more skill set of being like, this is what it is.

And we're this, we're the writers of this song, and we're gonna decide to say no, no more on that. And yeah, no mass. But also some some parts that were different are, for example, we, we didn't do the orchestrations in Boston, but we did them for Broadway. And normally, you would have the orchestrations be done by somebody who like is just getting the charts late in the game, and then gets it all done. And you don't hear it till the band rehearsal. But because joy was used to kind of building songs in the room when she does an album. The two of us, Nadia and rich, who orchestrated it, we love you, rich Mercutio, we do. We all got to whenever joy was in town, we would squeeze in, okay, joy has eight hours, let's let's go to Rich's apartment, we'll order Thai food.

And we're going to just sit in front of the computer. And we're going to piece together a song when we because joy wanted to hear it versus just like, doing it on paper. And that was just a fun difference of, I wasn't used to that. But it was a cool change. And I wouldn't have gotten that experience if I wasn't working with someone from her side of the industry.

[32:58] Joy Huerta: I got to say something that was very challenging for me is that I don't know how to read music. And I just learned how to play instruments and to sing just by ear. So whenever we were in the studio, it was so intimidating whenever and it still is and I love it. I mean, at some point, I wish I get the time to actually sit down and learn but whenever they were just talking technicalities and reading off the charts, I would have to just be like, Can I just sing you what I what I have in my head. And so I would have to leave the room, come back and just hum these ideas. And they were like, Oh, I get it. I get it. So they were very patient in that aspect, too. But by the time we were in the studio, that's whenever it just like Benjamin is saying, it's just, it became so much more fun, because that's probably my element, right?

That's where I'm used to, like, I thrive when we're in the studio. And I would just be bouncing off the walls and they'd be like, Okay, Joe, we cannot go as fast as your brain is going or your mouth is going to step into the other room record like, I'd like a trumpet part and be like, put this in the track. They'd be like, stop leaving the room. We don't have enough time to put all these ideas down.

[34:01] Benjamin Velez: It's funny, because one of the things that made our collaboration difficult, which is not because she's from the pop world, it's because she's from Mexico, where they just learn the scale differently. Her language of how she talked about notes was the solfege like Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. And I think of it as, Hey, we're gonna have a C chord here. And she was like, C? What's that? Like, you mean Do? Like Do sharp? I'd be so lost.

[34:22] Joy Huerta: Do sharp.

[34:23] Benjamin Velez: Seriously, I wrote down charts, and I would never have them in hand. And I'd be like, I'm so lost. And they'd be trying to, you know, I was like, I don't want to make you lose time. But we would have to write them down. It's funny, because I should have just made it a chart. Because every meeting we had, you'd be like, Wait, what's the chord? And I'd have to think, Okay, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. Okay, it's so minor. And it's random fact, but my husband is French. And he has one of those minds where he just can hear a note, and he knows what it is. And at our wedding, I wanted to do note, like the tables organized by like, notes of the scale. But we had a huge fight about whether it should be like Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, or like A. So, we ended up having like, Do slash C, like for every table. So, I had experience with this problem, but I haven't learned my lesson.

[35:09] Joy Huerta: Life was preparing for me all along.

[35:12] Benjamin Velez: I don't know how to read music either. And I had no clue that there's an English metric discrepancy in the music world.

[35:19] Joy Huerta: Think about the weather. It's like Fahrenheit and Celsius. It was the exact same thing.

[35:24] Benjamin Velez: I know, because we're so America-centric here.

[35:27] Joy Huerta: Or miles and kilometers. It was just like, Okay, can we try this again? I just like Re flat and Mi sharp.

[35:35] Benjamin Velez: There you go. That's all you need to know.

[35:37] Joy Huerta: Don't go anywhere. We'll be right back after this break.

[35:43] Alan Seales: Welcome back to the episode. All right. So, I want to rewind real quick and touch on both of your personal journeys into the music world in general. And Ben, let's start with you. Like, when you were a little kid, what got you into theater? And what got you into music?

[35:55] Benjamin Velez: I mean, I loved singing since I was a little kid. And I started playing piano when I was six. And I sang in the choir. And I started doing theater also around the age of six. I played Oliver in a production of Oliver. And I caught the bug. And then I spent my whole childhood kind of performing. But also, I love being creative. I love making movies. I just love storytelling. And I think I went to college for film. I thought I wanted to be a film director.

[36:21] Alan Seales: Really?

[36:21] Benjamin Velez: But I also wrote a musical in high school about a shampoo that makes people bald that never got put on. But it was just such a fun experience that I knew I loved writing.

[36:30] Alan Seales: What's it called? We got to bring it back.

[36:32] Benjamin Velez: It's called Nuthouse.

[36:33] Alan Seales: Nuthouse?

[36:34] Benjamin Velez: Yeah.

[36:34] Alan Seales: Okay. Let's bring back Nuthouse.

[36:37] Benjamin Velez: Well, it would be the first-

[36:39] Alan Seales: Let's premiere Nuthouse.

[36:41] Benjamin Velez: But I loved all the possibilities of musical storytelling and that you can build a world that people just respond to music viscerally. And it's out of their control. And I love the power of that. And I love just watching. I'm the kind of person that is having fun if everyone around me is having fun. Because I loved performing, but I think what I realized I love more is creating something and then seeing people react to it. And I think one of the most beautiful- This is not part of your question, but one of the most beautiful things for me of being with Joy through this experience is she's so used to performing her own work all the time. And her being in the audience, not being the one performing, and just watching the people around her just enjoy the thing on stage was such a magical experience for her.

And I love getting to see that part. But that's how I got into this. I worked on a film set in college and was miserable. And that's when I was like, I think I'm going to pursue musical theater writing, even though it's a crazy thing to do. And I've been trying to do it ever since.

[37:38] Alan Seales: Wow. Wow. Joy, what about you?

[37:41] Joy Huerta: Well, I love music ever since I can remember. My mom tells me that before speaking, I would try to hum and try to sing. I didn't believe her until I had my own kids. And the same thing happened and get to seeing it. It was just beautiful and magical. But I've always had stage fright. And it's really funny because I knew I had a special voice. And I knew I had a good ear. And I could hear whenever people were not in tune or were not singing something pretty. And people would be like, oh, that's so nice. I'd be like, is it? And I just kept it for me. I felt like maybe there was something off about my ear or whatever. But um, mom and dad would always make me try to sing something for her family members if they'd ever come to the house.

And I hated it because I just felt like anxiety taking over my body. And I started writing with my brother when I was 15 years old. And I opened the Pandora box, I just felt like I just could not stop doing it. I just kept on writing and writing and writing.

[38:41] Alan Seales: It was the writing that you leaned into?

[38:42] Joy Huerta: Yeah. But I was like, what are these songs going to sound like? I want to, I want to hear them. And so my brother borrowed from someone else, those microphones that you used to use in the computers, and we started recording those.

[38:56] Alan Seales: Like the little pencil microphones?

[38:58] Joy Huerta: Yes. It sounded so bad. It was like, better than nothing. And, and we just got like, I don't know, I feel like it's also the first time that me and my brother really started getting along in terms of like, you know, he's three and a half years older than me. And you're always fighting with your sibling. But that just became like, it was just like neutral ground. And we just kept on writing and writing and writing and writing. And one of those recordings that we had went hand in hand, because he gave it to some some other friend. And one day I got a call from Warner Music. They're still my record label at this at this time. They were like, we're looking for these two kids, Jesse and Joy, Joy and Jesse, you have an appointment on Wednesday, be there at 10am. I was like, what just happened? And my dad was like, I'm taking you like, I want to know if this is for real. We got there, it was legit. And we were signed ever since.

[39:55] Alan Seales: How did it get to them?

[39:56] Joy Huerta: It was, I mean, we traced it down, you know, a while back, and my brother was working at Costco, he was the guy that would check the membership. And he had a daughter, he and him and his girlfriend got pregnant very young. So he was like, he had to work. And he ran into this other friend he had, because he plays basketball, and he guy sees him and is like, what are you doing here? He's like, you know, I got to work, I'm gonna have a baby. And I have a band with my sister. I mean, he just like casually threw that over there. And I was like, well, I can I have a guy, you know, I have a marketing agency. So, you know, maybe they can do some pictures for you. Like, like, he just wanted to help my brother, you know, this young guy who got pregnant.

And it's like, okay, so my brother says, Oh, let's go do a photo shoot. And I was like, okay, so we went there. And this guy's like, well, I would have to hear some of your music to know, like, what kind of photos are we doing? Are we talking about? And we gave him one of those three tracks that we had recorded. And turns out his girlfriend used to work at Warner, she heard our music. And she was like, I have to put it I have to put it in the in the head of the labels pile of songs to hear because these guys are are kind of good. And so they heard us.

[41:09] Joy Huerta: They made the appointment, and one day they call and they were like, we have a contract for you. And did you know this? I did not know this. It's amazing. Wow. When's the movie coming out? I know. I mean, I have a documentary coming out soon, but it's like a whole other story. Have you traced down that guy? The one guy? Everybody. Everybody. We traced every single person years later. You did thank them all in your Tony speech. This was 20 years ago. Yeah. And so it's pretty crazy because this is, I mean, my band is- Dedicated to Costco. Yes, exactly. This Tony is sponsored by Costco. It's just insane. I mean, you know, whenever you feel like, I don't know, that's a different kind of conversation, but I just feel like sometimes you don't know you're working towards something and you're just putting that energy out in the universe.

And I really feel like I'm aligned with the universe. The universe has always been very kind to me, but then I hear people say, yes, but it's because you put that energy out there. And I feel like the same thing happened with Broadway. Like I said, I didn't think I was a theater person and it's not because I was disrespectful of it. It's just culturally speaking, it was not something that I was into and it's not something that I was exposed to. And it's so funny because I sometimes think that I still have that mindset. And my wife is like, you do know that all you talk about now, it's like theater and plays and shows and how amazing a person is when you see them acting and this and that. Because I went to see, obviously I saw Audra McDonald in Gypsy and I was just so blown away.

And then I went to see O'Mary and I was like, oh my God, blown away again. But I was, and my wife is like, you kind of love this. Like you haven't realized it yet. And I was like, but this just happened recently. I was like, oh my God, I do. I love it. It's just like music. You don't love all music, but you love what you love. And it happens with theater as well. When you find something that just speaks to you, it's like, it's insane how much you can connect. At different points in your life, of course, the color, what you write, but also what you enjoy. I found myself like things that I didn't like in high school or even in college. Now that I have kids, I'll go back with a different lens and listen to them.

[43:18] Benjamin Velez: Totally. Or even food.

[43:20] Joy Huerta: Yeah. Yeah. Food, especially. Do you cook?

[43:25] Benjamin Velez: I love cooking. I don't think I'm that good and I don't think I have the patience for it because I'm too hungry when I'm doing it. Ben makes fun of my ADD.

[43:33] Joy Huerta: She's a snacker. She likes the instant gratification of delicious things.

[43:38] Benjamin Velez: Same. Same. I like cooking. I'm guilty of it. Yes, he can cook. I love it when he- I'm not a baker as much, but my husband's French, so he's taught me a lot cooking wise. My mom was a single mom who, I used to joke that everything was burned. And so I was the only kid who was like, I love the cafeteria food. It's a new skill, but I enjoy it. It's very therapeutic.

[44:02] Benjamin Velez: He's very good at it. I like having to take time out of the day to do it because I'm the kind of person that otherwise would just keep working and doing other things. I don't make time for things, so cooking requires you to make time.

[44:12] Joy Huerta: Yeah. Yeah. I come from the nerdy background of video games, so that's my time out. Whenever I need to unplug, I will just sit down. Now with my 10-year-old, he loves to play with me too, so we'll bond with that. But I used to just completely just veg out. When I was stressed, I always tell my wife, I'm like, I'm going to go shoot the heads off aliens now. I just need to blow off some steam.

[44:30] Benjamin Velez: Yeah. Depressurize.

[44:33] Joy Huerta: Yeah. Yeah. Depressurize is a good way of doing it. Okay. So as we wrap up this episode, so I've got 60 seconds here that I'll show you on my screen in a second, and I have a list of 17 popular musicals. Yeah, this is going to be fun. And so together-

[44:48] Benjamin Velez: No, he's going to-

[44:49] Joy Huerta: Together. You give me a number one through 17, it will correspond to a show on my list, and then you have 60 seconds to give me the plot to that musical.

[44:57] Benjamin Velez: The actual plot?

[44:58] Joy Huerta: Yeah. Make it up if you don't know it.

[45:00] Benjamin Velez: Okay. Together or-

[45:01] Joy Huerta: Yes. This is the first time I've ever done this together. This is going to be fun.

[45:04] Benjamin Velez: Oh my gosh. Okay.

[45:05] Joy Huerta: Okay. So one through 17, give me a number.

[45:07] Benjamin Velez: 16.

[45:09] Joy Huerta: 16. All right. Turn this around so you can see. Get my mouse ready to- Where's my mouse? I can't see upside down. All right. Ready? Usually I do this on the screen as long as you're- Okay. So that corresponds to Avenue Q. Go.

[45:25] Benjamin Velez: 60 seconds remain.

[45:25] Joy Huerta: Ah! That's one of my favorite shows ever.

[45:28] Benjamin Velez: Okay. You talk about it. You know it.

[45:30] Joy Huerta: So Avenue Q is a version of Sesame Street Before Adults. It's set on a fictional New York Avenue where a bunch of people are just trying to figure out their lives and get by.

[45:41] Benjamin Velez: 45 seconds remain.

[45:42] Joy Huerta: And they're dealing with just everyday problems, but-

[45:45] Benjamin Velez: Are there Muppets?

[45:46] Joy Huerta: Half of them are Muppets. Half of them are humans. And there are songs about porn on the internet. There are songs about everyone's a little bit racist.

[45:56] Benjamin Velez: 30 seconds remaining.

[45:57] Joy Huerta: Is it like Big Mouth?

[46:00] Benjamin Velez: Kind of.

[46:00] Joy Huerta: It's better.

[46:02] Benjamin Velez: I love Big Mouth.

[46:03] Joy Huerta: Me too.

[46:04] Benjamin Velez: Big Mouth is great, but Avenue Q is just really the OG, classy.

[46:09] Joy Huerta: I love it.

[46:10] Benjamin Velez: It's just so good.

[46:10] Joy Huerta: What's the plot?

[46:11] Benjamin Velez: 15 seconds.

[46:12] Joy Huerta: What's the plot?

[46:13] Benjamin Velez: I mean, there's like a typical-

[46:15] Joy Huerta: Please tell me a person falls in love with a puppet.

[46:17] Benjamin Velez: I think this-

[46:18] Joy Huerta: A Muppet.

[46:18] Benjamin Velez: Someone's broke and they're trying to-

[46:21] Joy Huerta: Four.

[46:22] Benjamin Velez: There's a romantic plot. I did a terrible job.

[46:26] Joy Huerta: I would go into it. This sounds like- Is it an original show? Is it a real show?

[46:30] Benjamin Velez: It won the Tony-

[46:30] Joy Huerta: Yeah, it won the Best Musical. It beat Wicked for Best Musical.

[46:33] Benjamin Velez: Yeah, it won the Tony-

[46:33] Joy Huerta: Amazing.

[46:34] Benjamin Velez: What, 22-ish years ago? 23 years ago now? Something like that?

[46:38] Joy Huerta: Yeah, it's-

[46:38] Benjamin Velez: They should make a film. Is there a film?

[46:41] Joy Huerta: No.

[46:41] Benjamin Velez: I'm going to pitch it.

[46:42] Joy Huerta: Who do we have to talk to?

[46:43] Benjamin Velez: I was just saying yesterday, it's a travesty that that's not going to happen anymore in New York. It was at New World Stages for years off-Broadway.

[46:52] Joy Huerta: But it sounds so good.

[46:53] Benjamin Velez: It is. It is. It's one of the best things. And then ever since then, it's kind of like opened the door for some other shows to incorporate live action and puppetry. And there was like- There's Trekkie Monster is kind of like Cookie Monster. It's performed by two people. But they're all on stage.

[47:09] Joy Huerta: I love this.

[47:10] Benjamin Velez: They're not hiding any of the real people. But within, what, two minutes? You start forgetting.

[47:13] Joy Huerta: You forget that they're there. Yeah.

[47:16] Benjamin Velez: Oh my, I bet. That sounds amazing.

[47:19] Joy Huerta: Yeah, that's good. You should see it. You can go like, what, go to the library? Park Avenue?

[47:22] Benjamin Velez: Avenue Q.

[47:23] Joy Huerta: Avenue Q. On Avenue Q. On Avenue Q. Okay. And the Q is like furry.

[47:32] Benjamin Velez: Because they're all- Yes, the internet is for porn. That's how Trekkie Monster makes all his money.

[47:36] Joy Huerta: Okay, so three standard closing questions. And we'll go one by one. So Julia, let's start with you for this first one. Just simply what motivates you?

[47:44] Joy Huerta: What motivates me in life, just in general? I think my family. I have a beautiful wife. She's my rock. She's my everything. I have two kids, Noah and Noor. Noah just turned six a couple of days ago. And Noor is four. And they're absolutely adorable. They're the light of my life. And I feel like everything I do, I do for them.

[48:04] Benjamin Velez: That's good.

[48:05] Joy Huerta: I hope my husband doesn't kill me. But what motivates me is creating. I love waking up every day and just being creative and telling stories. I mean, I'm lucky that I'm finding success doing the thing that I love. I didn't know if I would, but I can't imagine doing anything else. And that's- He's a close second.

[48:24] Benjamin Velez: Well, of course.

[48:25] Joy Huerta: Yeah, of course. Okay, so then Ben, we'll start with you. On this one, what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening now starting out down a similar path?

[48:31] Benjamin Velez: I would say, don't assume that people will recognize good work. You have to be able to talk about your work in a way that excites people. For so long, I just assumed, I'm going to create great work and the opportunities will come. And it really doesn't happen that way because what we do is very subjective. And also, you have to get people, bring people in and talk about why you love what you do. Because sometimes, your passion is what gets people in more than the work. And then they can appreciate the work. So that's what I would say.

[49:09] Joy Huerta: Always believe in yourself. I feel that we don't usually listen to our gut feeling. I've done it most of my life. And I feel like it's taking me, you know, sometimes it takes longer than expected. But ultimately, life falls into place. But always trusting that gut feeling and believing in yourself. I would tell my younger self not to change a thing. Because the mistakes and the not so bad mistakes have led me to where I am today. And I am who I am today, thanks to that. Because also, I trust my gut feeling for the better, for the worst. There's no right answer. And also, give more demo tapes to Costco membership checkers. That's my takeaway.

[49:58] Benjamin Velez: I mean, hey, it worked.

[49:59] Joy Huerta: No, by being there, just giving it to the right person who was coming along. Work at Costco. Give your demo to everybody who walks in the door. Someone's going to get it.

[50:07] Benjamin Velez: I mean, it sounds like good networking. Just hand over your credit card, I mean, what's it called? Your business card?

[50:13] Joy Huerta: All right, last question. Hardest one. Joy, we'll start with you. 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?

[50:23] Joy Huerta: Listen, this is not because I'm a part of it. Of course, I'm being biased. But I got to say, I've seen our show as many times as it's been running through rehearsals, through everything. I saw it not last night, but the night before that. And I just keep on getting moved by the women that we have on stage by our cast members. I feel like they're great, they're wonderful. And I'm halfway through seeing it for the rest of my life. So there you go, real women have curves. The musical.

[50:55] Benjamin Velez: This is a really unfair question.

[50:59] Joy Huerta: The hardest question.

[51:01] Benjamin Velez: He did say, I'm going to throw the hardest question.

[51:04] Joy Huerta: So I will say A Little Night Music. Sondheim is my favorite, but I always am alternating which Sondheim I love the most. And I think A Little Night Music is not appreciated enough. And I think that it's the, I would see it again and again, because there's so many layers that I didn't even realize until I saw it. I love the music, but there's so much devastating. I think what makes it more devastating than some of his other shows is that it's like the little choices that you make that could have changed your life, but that you can never go back to relive, like Wolf can forever haunt you. There's attention to detail in a way that is just so brilliant. And also, I think that A Weekend in the Country is the greatest song ever.

[51:52] Joy Huerta: This sounds so tragic.

[51:54] Benjamin Velez: You need to see it. It's good.

[51:55] Joy Huerta: Is it tragic?

[51:56] Benjamin Velez: I did it in college.

[51:57] Joy Huerta: Yes.

[51:58] Benjamin Velez: It's tragic, but not with a capital T, with a lowercase t, which makes it even more devastating.

[52:02] Joy Huerta: Yeah, it slips in the tragedy. That's why when you get older, you appreciate it.

[52:06] Benjamin Velez: It's a musical comedy, but that's where Sending the Clowns is from, if you know that song. But it's the kind of song where once you see it in context, it just devastates you. A lot of songs you have to see in context, especially in theater, especially in musical theater. Sorry.

[52:18] Alan Seales: Well, thank you both so much for joining me.

[52:21] Joy Huerta: No, thank you.

[52:21] Alan Seales: Where can we connect with you both online, plug all your socials, talk about your documentary? Where can we check with everything for both of you?

[52:29] Joy Huerta: I think the Jesse & Joy documentary is coming out August or September, and you can find me and at Joy on Instagram.

[52:37] Alan Seales: How early were you to get the candle Joy?

[52:41] Joy Huerta: I got to say it's more of a power move. No, I'm kidding. It's funny because when I started my account, people tend to know me as Joy from Jesse & Joy, like that's almost my last name. And whenever we start, well, social media started, we had all the Jesse & Joy handles. But obviously, people would have used my name or people with my same name, right? So my handle in Spanish was Only Joy, with the only joy. You would literally type only joy, but in Spanish. And I think the movie Inside Out had been out for a while, and probably Disney or someone, they were saving the joy for the character. And after a while, I noticed that account was nowhere to be used. It was just there for years. So I texted my people and I was like, hey, guys, I don't think anyone is using this handle. If you can just help me snatch that, it'd be great because it's just like joy. And they were like, yes, no one's using the handle anymore. So I was like, until now.

[53:47] Benjamin Velez: Brilliant. I want Alan. Someone could get me Alan.

[53:51] Joy Huerta: I feel like it must be out there. Someone must.

[53:55] Benjamin Velez: Oh, someone's got it. I'm sure at this point. Yeah. But imagine there's not an Alan famous enough to just be Alan. Alan Seales. Hello. Well, you, of course, other than you.

[54:03] Alan Seales: No, I have Alan Seales, but I just want Alan or maybe Al.

[54:07] Joy Huerta: But besides, I mean, it's it's a good. Yeah, it is. Anyway.

[54:12] Benjamin Velez: Ben, what about you? Where can we find you?

[54:16] Benjamin Velez: On Instagram, I'm at Benjamin Velez Music. My website's BenjaminVelez.com. I guess I should plug our album's coming out. Our album is coming out in June. Broadway cast album, June six, June six. And come see the show while it's playing on Broadway. Angel, Drill and Cedar. Come see it. You will. You will enjoy it for sure. Enjoy it.

[54:35] Joy Huerta: Enjoy it. I will. And Ben it too. Yes. And Alan it.

[54:42] Alan Seales: Serving the dad jokes brought to you by Costco.