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[0:00] Joel Crump: What's up, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Weekly Dose of Joel podcast. This week, I'll be sharing all of the Black history. I'll be sharing my legendary interview with Jordan Fisher, who just began his run in Hadestown. I'll be sharing some Black Broadway news this week and some Black history. You won't want to miss this incredible special episode, and I'm very excited to be sharing this as Broadway's youngest Black journalist. So let's get on to this week's episode of the Weekly Dose of Joel. Broadway buzz.

[0:33] Joel Crump: There's some very exciting Broadway buzz this week, but I'm going to start off with some West End buzz. It was announced that Black legend Vanessa Williams will be playing Miranda Pricely in the West End production of the Devil Wears Prada musical. This new musical will be directed by Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell and features a score by Elton John and Shana Tubb. This show is going to be fantastic. I can already tell you that. I mean, the fact that we get a score by Elton John, that blows my mind. Rocket Man is always stuck in my head. And Shana Tubb, who is going to be starring in Suffs. She wrote Suffs and is starring in it this season. It's going to be incredible. Not to mention the best, Vanessa Williams.

I mean, Vanessa Williams is one of the best Broadway actresses ever. I've had the honor of singing with her a couple times on the red carpet and interviewing her plenty of times. And it's always such a pleasure. So I'm very excited for this news. And you'll definitely be catching me in the West End seeing Vanessa Williams in the Devil Wears Prada. And it will probably be coming to Broadway after it does West End. So whatever happens in the West End, we will probably see eventually on Broadway.

[1:43] Joel Crump: It was announced that Broadway will dim its lights for Mr. Hinton Battle, three-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle. So I don't know if you guys all saw this, but on social media, there was kind of an outro saying, you know, why hasn't there been an announcement for Hinton Battle yet? We already had an announcement for Miss Chita Rivera, who died on the same day. Where's Mr. Battle's, you know, dimming of the lights? He's a three-time Tony Award winner. He was in iconic shows like The Wiz. What is going on? And then immediately, immediately, the Broadway League announced that they would be doing the lights in Battle. So it shows the power social media can do, but it also shows what the Black community on Broadway and what the broader community can do.

Because when we see something that's not going the way it's supposed to be going, we step into action and make it happen. And that's what we did for Mr. Battle. So it has not been announced yet when they will be dimming the lights, but the family and the Broadway League are talking now about when this special, very special event will happen.

[2:41] Joel Crump: Some unfortunate news this week, Broadway's A Beautiful Noise will close in June. So the Neil Diamond Broadway musical has been on Broadway for over a year now. I had the honor of interviewing on the red carpet and I remember seeing Neil Diamond for the first time and it blew my mind. But this show is so special. A couple weeks ago, I had Amber Artelina, who's currently playing Marcia Murphy on the podcast, a full-length interview with her. So make sure to go listen to that. But yeah, I mean, go see this show before it closes in June. And it is going on national tour starting in Rhode Island later this year as soon as it closes on Broadway. So your time with this show will not be ending yet.

[3:18] Joel Crump: Jelly's Last Jam has begun performances at New York City Center. I mean, are you ready for jazz? Because the encore production of Jelly's Last Jam has begun and will continue till March 3rd. This unbelievable cast is led by Nicholas Christopher and features John Clay III, Joaquina Coloquengo, Tiffany Mann, Oak, Billy Porter, Leslie Uggams, and the original cast members of Jelly's Last Jam, Mamie Duncan Gibbs, Stephanie Pope Lofgren, and Allison M. Williams reprising their roles as the Honeys. I mean, there are so many Black legends on this stage. We have Joaquina Coloquengo, we have Billy Porter, we have Oak, we have Tiffany Mann. I mean, this cast blows my mind. You do not want to miss Jelly's Last Jam at New York City Center encore. This is one of the encore shows I'm most excited for this season. There's so much this season for New York City Center. But this is the show that has had me super excited. What are you waiting for? Go see Jelly's Last Jam.

[4:27] Joel Crump: And while award season isn't here yet, some of the honorees for the 2024 Drama League Awards have been announced. Honorees include Jonathan Groff, Black legend director Shelley Williams, Black legend producer Kandi Burruss, and Jessica Lange. The Drama League Awards are one of my favorite awards because it recognizes so many different people with the honorees and then the winners. And you guys know I love Miss Shelley Williams. She's going to be on this episode today. And she is the director of two, yeah, I said two Broadway musicals this year, The Wiz and co-director for The Notebook. And Kandi Burruss, I had the honor of meeting Miss Kandi Burruss at the opening night of The Piano Lesson, which she was also a producer for.

And this year, she's a producer for The Wiz, of course. And they both blow my mind. And also Jonathan Groff. Who doesn't love Jonathan Groff? He is incredible. He is, I mean, acting his butt off in Merrily We Roll Along. And Oscar and Tony winner Jessica Lange, who's returning to Broadway this spring in Mother Play. So these honorees are honestly the only people I could think of to receive these awards this year at the Drama League Awards. So I'm very excited for all the award stuff that's going to be happening later in the spring. But I'm just getting ready for the opening night. There are so many opening nights this season, but I'm so ready.

[5:46] Joel Crump: So since it is Black History Month, and I'm celebrating Black history this episode, I want to share some pivotal moments in Black Broadway history today. So in 1898, the first all-Black show was produced at a major house on Broadway. So before those times, there were only, you know, white cast and maybe a couple of Black people in the show. But this is the first Broadway show to have an all-Black cast. And what's interesting is that it was in front of an all-white audience because at that time, Black people weren't attending Broadway shows. But in 1998, the one-act musical Clorindy or The Origin of the Cakewalk had an all-Black cast on Broadway. In 1921, Shuffle Along premiered on Broadway, and there had been earlier big Broadway musicals with an all-Black cast.

But this was the first big blockbuster Black musical on Broadway. It had 504 performances on Broadway, which was huge then. And it was an all-Black cast, and Shuffle Along has been revived on Broadway before. And this show is so incredible, and it shows so much jazziness and so much Black culture in all of its music.

[6:55] Joel Crump: In 1959, the incredible A Raisin in the Sun, written by legend Lorraine Hansberry, premiered on Broadway, starring Claudia McNeil and Sidney Poitier. So this cast was already beyond believable. And not to mention the incredible play A Raisin in the Sun, which I read when I was in middle school, and I feel like many English classes read this incredible play written by Ms. Hansberry. This play is so special to the theater community, and it has won so many Tony Awards in its future because the original production wasn't nominated for any Tony Awards, or it was nominated but didn't win any Tony Awards. And later on, when other people have revived this show, including Denzel Washington, it did receive its flowers, which is so special.

[7:43] Joel Crump: In 1975, The Wiz premiered on Broadway. We all know The Wiz. It is one of the most special musicals based off The Wizard of Oz. The Wiz is an all-Black cast production of The Wizard of Oz, known as The Wiz. And it premiered on Broadway in 1975, including a legend who just passed away, Mr. Hinton Battle. And it is being revived on Broadway this year at the Markey Theater, and the cast is phenomenal. So you're gonna wanna go see The Wiz when it starts previews in March. I love The Wiz. When I think of home, I think of a place where there's love overflowing. What's not to love about this show? The Wiz.

[8:21] Joel Crump: In 2002, Ms. Whoopi Goldberg became the first Black entertainer to become an EGOT. So an EGOT is an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winner. And she was the first Black person to achieve an EGOT. And Ms. Whoopi Goldberg is a legend in so many ways. She's known, of course, from The Color Purple and Sister Act, but also as a journalist on The View and all the things she's done. She is one of the reasons why I'm able to succeed. And I think if you are Black and in this entertainment business, you do owe it to Whoopi Goldberg because she's one of those people that walked so that we could run. So thank you, Ms. Goldberg, for all that you've done for the Black community.

[9:50] Joel Crump: So for the first time in 2016, all of the acting categories for musicals were won by a Black actor or actress. So of course you remember Hamilton coming to Broadway in 2016. And that year, Daveed Diggs won Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Renee Elise Goldsberry won Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Leslie Odom Jr. won Best Actor in a Musical. And Ms. Cynthia Erivo won Best Leading Actress in a Musical for playing Celie in The Color Purple. So this was so revolutionary for the Black community on Broadway. This is the first time that this ever happened. And it was so special to see so many Black faces on the screen that night winning for musical categories. It was just an incredible moment in time. And I can't wait to see when this happens again in Broadway history.

[10:41] Joel Crump: Now for the moment you've been waiting for my interview with Jordan Fisher. I'm very excited to be sharing this interview. So let me tell you a little bit more about Jordan. Jordan Fisher. Jordan Fisher is Flame Orpheus in Hadestown. And I had the honor of interviewing him and some of the other cast members of Hadestown. And he is just a Black actor that I've looked up to for a very long time. Of course, we all know him from Teen Beach Movie, of course, come on. And the Do You Want to Build a Snowman video.

[10:50] Joel Crump: And the last thing I want to mention for Broadway Black history is that Broadway Black history is still happening. You know, we have come a long way, but we still need Black people behind the scenes, doing lighting designs, doing set designs. There was a brilliant interview with Ms. LaChanze, who spoke about this. And it really made me think, you know, there's a lot of Black folks in the front on the stage, but we need Black folks everywhere in the Broadway community. So we still have a far way to go. But I am proud to say that I feel that I've been a part of Black history by being Broadway's youngest journalist. And I am so grateful to everyone who has made it possible for me to succeed in this business. It is not taken lightly. It is honestly so, so, so meaningful to me. And I hope to inspire others to continue their journey and to follow their dreams on Broadway and in everything you do.

[11:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[11:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[12:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[12:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[13:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[13:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[14:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[14:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[14:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[14:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[14:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[14:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[15:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[15:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[15:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[15:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[15:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[15:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[16:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[16:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[16:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[16:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[16:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[16:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[17:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[17:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[17:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[17:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[17:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[17:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[18:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[18:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[18:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[18:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[18:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[18:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[19:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[19:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[19:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[19:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[19:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[19:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[20:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[20:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[20:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[20:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[20:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[20:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[21:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[21:18] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[21:28] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[21:38] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[21:48] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[21:58] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.

[22:08] Jordan Fisher: I am now playing Orpheus in Hadestown.