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[0:00] Jeryl Brunner: From Shakespeare to Schwartz, from Fawcett to Alvin Ailey, from Sondheim to Borelis, from McNally to Faye, it happened to the greats, it still happens every day.

[0:10] Jeryl Brunner: When lightning strikes, it's the moment you know, when lightning strikes, where you're meant to go. You can stand and shout, Eureka, do whatever you like. You'll never forget the moment when lightning strikes.

[0:25] Jeryl Brunner: This is Jeryl Brunner, and you're listening to When Lightning Strikes!. Jonathan Judge-Russo is a prolific actor and producer. He is currently starring in the off-Broadway musical, Music City, at St. Luke's Theatre, a true multi-hyphenate.

[0:49] Jeryl Brunner: As a producer, he is also developing a plethora of film and television projects, and as the founding artistic director of Animus Theatre Company, he has produced more than 50 plays, musicals, festivals, and readings since its launch in 2011. Well, welcome!

[1:12] Jonathan Judge-Russo: It's such a pleasure. Thank you so much for having me. This is great.

[1:15] Jeryl Brunner: It's such a joy to have you. Let's start with Music City, because I know you've been with it since its very, very, very early days. Can you talk about when Music City came into your life?

[1:27] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Sure, sure. I mean, it's really part of my DNA at this point. I've been with the show more than 12 years at this point. I came in right at its inception. The book writer, Peter Zinn, saw me in a short play and reached out to me on Facebook, and he said, "Hey, man, listen, you don't know me. I'm writing a musical."

[1:49] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And oddly enough, I'm writing this character, and suddenly, having seen you in this thing, I'm now sort of writing with you in mind for it. Would you like to come in and read for it? Oh, by the way, do you sing? So I thought about it, and I said, you know, look, I mean, as far as singer-singers go, you know, the Broadway cream of the crop are their own incredible league.

[2:14] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And I said, look, I can carry a tune, and I can get in there and do some work, but we'll go in, we'll see what happens. So I came in, I met him at the Players Club, which is where he was doing a lot of his work developing this, and I sang. He put me through my paces. I sang a little bit, and then I read the words that he had written, and somehow this guy who didn't know me had written words that fit in my mouth perfectly.

[2:41] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And so that's how I came to it. He wrote the book, J.T. Harding wrote the music, and if you're a fan of country music, I'm sure you've heard his songs all over the radio. He's writing for these massive stars who are recording his stuff. So the two of them, they cranked this out over a number of years, and really, its first iteration was more than 12 years ago, and that's where I got involved.

[3:08] Jeryl Brunner: Well, I think of you all, the whole cast, it's like you're a bunch of unicorns, because you're singing, you're acting, you're dancing, and then you're playing instruments. I mean, it's unbelievable what you're doing. And for people who might not know what Music City is about, can you talk about it?

[3:34] Jonathan Judge-Russo: For sure. I mean, I think, look, I think at its most basic plot point level, it's about two and then three young artists in the Nashville music scene trying to make it, trying to explode. And it starts with a pair of brothers who are their own band, trying to explode on the scene, trying to get noticed, trying to make it.

[4:00] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And then a young woman is introduced, and one of the brothers falls hard. And eventually she becomes part of the group and they become a bit of a trio. And so we follow not only the journey of the music, but we follow the journey of the relationship between these two sort of young lovers.

[4:27] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And then all of the obstacles that these young people encounter along the way that are destined to derail them, but for their resolve to get through it all and get where they need to go. So I think on a basic plot level, that's what the story is.

[4:44] Jonathan Judge-Russo: I think on a more, maybe on a more meta level, I think it's an aspirational story. I think it's about people aspiring to get what they want. And I also think it's a story about integrity. I think it's about what are you willing to sacrifice to get what you want?

[5:06] Jonathan Judge-Russo: I think certainly we all know something about that. And certainly as artists we do. We're always faced with questions like that. But I think at its core, that's what this is about, because there are constant obstacles and challenges they face.

[5:25] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And sometimes they make certain choices that they think they're making for the right reasons and they blow up in their faces and they have to deal with them. And we all face those things every day. And that's why I think it appeals to so many people.

[5:37] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah. And I was really moved by the relationship between the two brothers. You and TJ, right? You play Drew. And here's your brother and you're looking out for each other. You were raised without parents. Your parents died. And I was so moved by your relationship.

[5:58] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And here you're trying and striving and you want so desperately to put your art out there and to have your voices heard. And yet you have obstacles at every turn. And yet you are determined. You're unstoppable in many ways.

[6:19] Jonathan Judge-Russo: I think so. I think the nice thing about the relationship there is that as any good, I guess, brother pairing or friendship pairing goes, we balance each other pretty well. The other one steps up when they need to. And certainly the character of Drew does some things that puts them in sticky spots. But also TJ does some stuff that puts them in some sticky spots.

[6:47] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And just when the other one needs to step up, they do. And they ultimately, I think, remind each other of what their core values are and what they need to do, not only to get where they need to go and how to overcome the obstacles to get there, but to hold on to what's important to them as human beings.

[7:11] Jonathan Judge-Russo: As two young people that have sort of fought through the foster care system to have found and held on to each other and found their place in the world and chased their joy and their art, but also do so with some modicum of integrity.

[7:28] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And I think the fact that they have each other to lean on is really, really important. And they balance each other well. And that's a tribute to how Peter has written them. It's also a tribute to how Steve and Michael Spencer and I vibe as actors and humans.

[7:43] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah, you really do seem like real life brothers, you know, because you have this deep connection. What do you think audiences might be surprised to discover about Music City? Or what do you think is in the heart of the show?

[8:03] Jonathan Judge-Russo: The score here, you have a lot of amazing songs that people might know. There's all these wonderful, delicious songs. And even though they're considered country, I think they work very well in the musical theater genre, that they feel like they work in a musical.

[8:19] Jonathan Judge-Russo: I think the thing that would maybe surprise people, and I think you're touching on it, is that I think the jukebox musical is hard to pull off. Because often, you know, you're looking at a collection of music, and then trying to write a story around it.

[8:41] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And oftentimes, you're trying to shoehorn a story around music that doesn't really work. And it's an incredibly heavy lift for any writer to pull off.

[8:53] Jonathan Judge-Russo: But I think what might surprise audience members, to answer your question, is how well Peter and JT have crafted the story and how well Peter took the songs that JT had already written and were already recorded by these massive artists.

[9:15] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And he wrote a story about young, aspiring singer-songwriters. And he managed to weave his story into and out of the songs in such a way that it feels seamless.

[9:35] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And it feels like the songs were written for the show, as opposed to the show, in a lot of ways, being written around the songs.

[9:46] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And so I think that's a really tough needle to thread. And I think that might surprise people, because it's really... I mean, there are a couple of songs that are original to Music City, the musical, but most of them are radio hits that were woven in.

[10:01] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And so I think it's really, again, a tribute to our writers, and I think that might surprise some folks.

[10:07] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And they're beautiful songs. I really love that. They stay with me.

[10:12] Jeryl Brunner: And talking about artists starting out, I think about your origin story. I'd love to know, when you knew you had to be an artist, I think about that beautiful moment that I read about, that you camped out at the Delacorte, wanting to see that incredible production of The Seagull.

[10:35] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Oh my goodness. What was that with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline and Philip Seymour Hoffman? It was that, wasn't it?

[10:43] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Oh yeah, that was it. It was incredible. I'm so happy to be talking to somebody who saw it and remembers it.

[10:52] Jonathan Judge-Russo: It was stunning, I mean it was stunning and it was those three and it was Christopher Walken and John Goodman.

[10:57] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Yes, and Natalie Portman and you just and you know, Mike Nichols was directing it and you just oh my god.

[11:03] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Think back to that and you I still count myself lucky to have seen it for so many different reasons.

[11:10] Jonathan Judge-Russo: But yeah, I was I had just finished my senior year of high school in the city and I was about to go to college in Baltimore.

[11:15] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And so it was my last sort of summer in the city and my girlfriend at the time was very connected to theater in a way that I kind of wasn't sort of in a grassroots kind of way and she said I have to see this production of The Seagull. We have to see it. So let's go camp out and

[11:33] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Even the idea of camping out for the Delacorte was new to me, but we did it. We got there at night.

[11:38] Jonathan Judge-Russo: We basically got there the night before while the show was going on.

[11:44] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Got in line the night before, stayed in the park. They kicked us out when the park closed.

[11:56] Jonathan Judge-Russo: They brought us back when the park opened, right? Don't they keep the line together like they go around who's online?

[12:01] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Well, and I imagine there were people ahead of you, right?

[12:07] Jonathan Judge-Russo: I mean there were definitely people. I don't remember exactly where we were in line, but we were definitely not first. That's for sure.

[12:12] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Because it was so high.

[12:15] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Yeah, but yeah that I knew prior to that that Bill folksy more often was sort of my guy as an actor. I held up as someone that just stood out to me as

[12:34] Jonathan Judge-Russo: seemingly like a cut above and

[12:37] Jonathan Judge-Russo: But this was the first time I'd ever gotten to see him live.

[12:45] Jonathan Judge-Russo: So I just watched this production and I was in awe of every moment of every bit of it because you're watching these extraordinary talents right in front of you.

[12:57] Jonathan Judge-Russo: And it's idyllic and romantic and it's perfect. It's Central Park, but it was also to your point it was the moment when

[13:07] Jonathan Judge-Russo: for me I realized oh you can do this as a career. You can do this as a job. I knew I loved it

[13:17] Jonathan Judge-Russo: But I don't think I realized until that moment that it might be my calling to do it as a career because the production had such a profound impact on me and particularly Phil's portrayal of Kostya was so

[13:34] Jonathan Judge-Russo: so extraordinary that

[13:38] Jonathan Judge-Russo: that it yeah, I walked out of there that night and I said that's what I want to do. That's that's

[13:46] Jonathan Judge-Russo: That's the impact. I want to have on people and that's the kind of story that I want to tell forever.

[13:52] Jeryl Brunner: What was it? Can you put it into words about that production?

[13:56] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Like, was there some specific moments that were like, I mean, I know that cast and seeing, I think about Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline, you know, from Sophie's Choice in film and that electricity. But then to see them on stage was like another level. But I think the thing about that production that stood out to me was it was also in a lot of ways my introduction to The Seagull. And I think what really stood out to me was the profound humanity of that play and the tragedy of that play and the powerful, painful impact of chasing art in that play for so many of the people in that play. Sort of psychological connection to him at that point, you know, what Constantine is doing in that play in his pursuit of not only Nina, but also his art.

And to see his journey from where the play begins to his tragic demise, which was so brilliantly staged. I'll never forget seeing Phil sit in that chair and from the audience's perspective, all you saw was the back of the chair. And when he takes his own life in the chair, you know, the chair turns red and it was just like, or there was a lighting effect. I don't remember exactly how they did it, but it was so profound. I mean, it was just that moment stands out to me. So it was an introduction, obviously, to the play and to what it really means, I think, and continues to mean to me to at least attempt to be an artist.

[16:02] Jeryl Brunner: That's beautiful. And then so you go off, you go to college and then you study acting at Circle in the Square, right? How did you get to that?

[16:18] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Yes, so I mean, I guess this was sort of like the first seed of an ongoing...

[16:25] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Relationship with Phil and that journey, but yeah, I went to Baltimore. I went to Loyola in Baltimore for my undergrad. At the end of my undergrad time down there, I did some professional work in Baltimore with a couple of companies down there. While I was at Loyola, I did summer conservatories and then when Loyola was done, I wanted to keep the study going there. You know, Loyola wasn't necessarily an acting-forward school. So I said I got to do some conservatory work. My dear friend from Loyola, Eric Morris, was studying at Circle. He recommended it highly to me. I also knew that's where Phil went, so I said, okay, that's where I ended up going. I met the person who would ultimately become my greatest mentor and dear friend, Alan Langdon, who was sort of my—and is to this day—my artistic North Star. Yeah, I ended up there at Circle and graduated in 2008. From there, I have been very, very fortunate ever since to just be able to do this thing.

[17:54] Jeryl Brunner: Can you share that beautiful full-circle moment about Philip Seymour Hoffman? I love that story.

[18:00] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Okay, so here you were totally transformed by The Seagull and then cut to—yeah, I know it's wild. So I guess, you know, that production in Central Park was in 2001, and cut to I graduated Circle in 2008, which is where Phil went. Phil's mentor at Circle was also Alan Langdon, and so they remained close. They had a shared bond and connection throughout Phil's career as well. Anyway, I graduated in 2008, and I think sometime around 2009 or 2010, I had just gotten back from a tour, and I got a call from Alan who said he was directing a production of The Seagull professionally and would I be interested in playing Constantine. If you know anything about Square and their curriculum and Alan Langdon, yeah, everybody who goes there and who went there and who studied there, you spend almost your entire second year there studying this play.

So to have Alan reach out and ask was an incredible thing, and so I stopped everything in my life to do it. That would have been enough. That would have been enough to do that and get to work on that and that role with him.

[19:34] But as it goes, we were doing the production and we had reached our closing performance, and it turns out Phil was there. Phil was in the house that day, which some of the cast members knew and made a pact amongst themselves not to tell me during the show, to which to this day I'm forever grateful for. Anyway, the show finishes, and I can't remember whether it was Alan or somebody else came backstage and they said, you know, Phil's at the stage door and we'd love to meet you. I was like, I didn't even get out of costume. I don't even care. I was just like, okay, this is why I don't know what's happening right now. This is crazy. So I went out there, and my parents are standing out there and they're watching this happen, and Alan's out there; he's watching this happen.

I just went out there and I met him, and it was this extraordinary full-circle moment. We just chatted for a few minutes and we talked about this play and this role, and he said some things to me that I will never forget and that I will hold sacred forever about my work that day and his work when he did it.

[21:01] So we chatted, and he said, look, you know, I'd love for you to come and do some work with us at Labyrinth. And so that was that, and that was the beginning of what became a mentorship as well. We did some work together at Labyrinth. We would chat, we would text, we would meet for breakfast, and you know, he ended up becoming a mentor and a friend, which was wild to me. So after all this, to have come full circle almost ten years later.

[21:42] Jonathan Judge-Russo: You know, I like to keep his picture there just to remind me of what it is to do this thing and to just check in about what I'm doing, why I'm doing it and just constantly remind myself to go deeper and explore more and never be satisfied and never rest.

[22:12] Jeryl Brunner: Your very first professional job, what was your very first?

[22:15] Jonathan Judge-Russo: My very first professional job that I sort of got myself was my junior year of college. I auditioned for a play on campus at Loyola and I didn't get a role in it. And I think I got offered like some tiny walk-on role or something as sort of like a consolation prize. And I was so pissed about it because it was like, you know, it was like Loyola was not like an acting hotbed. So I was so pissed that I didn't get this thing that I saw on the call board at the college that the Baltimore Shakespeare Company was holding auditions for Othello and that happens to be my favorite Shakespeare play and I love Shakespeare. So I was like, you know what, screw this, you know, like I love Loyola and the opportunities I'm getting here.

But you know, if I'm not going to get a job on campus, like maybe I'm just going to go try like professional and see what I can do. So I just, I borrowed my roommate's car. I drove to this audition and I got a job. I booked a role in this production of Othello and it was a super small role. I mean, like it was, you know, it was again, it was effectively an ensemble role. I forget, you know, sort of like probably like spear carrier number three or whatever it was. But I think in that moment, it was, it just it was what I needed at that moment. You know what I mean? Like, you know what, I don't buy that this is the end game. I don't buy that the rejection is somehow a comment on my destiny. So let me go see what's going on elsewhere.

And I just took a shot on this thing and I ended up in the, you know, in this production of Othello that sort of launched me into multiple other professional shows in Baltimore before I came back to New York and went to Circle and stuff.

[25:29] Jeryl Brunner: That's incredible that the rejection set you off on this whole path.

[25:30] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Yeah. I mean, I think that's, you know, I think that's that was probably like an early indicator that, you know, like, this is what this career is going to be. So like, just brace yourself for as much as much of this, you know, as much as possible. I always have been so endlessly inspired by artists who take agency over their own work and then how you give opportunities to others through Animus Theatre Company, which from what I understand, you started with some colleagues of yours from Circle in the Square. Can you talk about that in 2011? And you recently did that amazing Tracy Letts epic marathon reading, you know, so talk about what inspired Animus.

[26:21] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Well, I mean, I think it goes back to Alan and Phil again. I mean, you know, they were both champions of, you know, make your own work. It started back when I was an undergrad, too. I started a theatre company in college, but I really do believe in this idea of and they pushed it, which was you can't sit around and wait for people to hand you opportunities, particularly in this business. But I feel like it's probably true in every business. You have to go out and make your own stuff. And to your point, you have to sort of take agency over what it is you're doing and the choices that you have. You know, when you're an actor, especially one who's, you know, commercially plugged in, you become a commodity.

You know, a lot of the work you get is based on how you look and, you know, so many of my TV roles and all this other stuff are based on what I look like and all that stuff. And I think it's important to say to yourself, what kind of work do I want to be putting out in the world? What do I want to do? With whom do I want to do it? And so, yeah, three of my classmates from Circle in the Square and I started the company right out of school and then we added another Circle grad in 2011 and we sort of formed in earnest then. And then we just sort of kept cranking stuff out and we've been very, very lucky ever since to do all sorts of stuff from full productions to 12 hour festivals like the one we just did featuring Tracy Letts at Circle in the Square on Broadway. And yeah, we've been doing it ever since we took a little COVID pause. But other than that, you know, we're very, very lucky to just, you know, just keep cranking them out.

[28:22] Jeryl Brunner: What is your dream for Animus?

[28:25] Jonathan Judge-Russo: I mean, it sounds like you're living the dream, but do you have a dream for? You know, I mean, I think I would love, you know, we were talking off air before we started mentioned that you were around in the early days of Labyrinth and you remembered an event where they landed a big grant or a big donor or something like that. And I think that's always the dream to just sort of become as self-sustaining as possible, I think, because the less I have to ask people for money, the better and the more I can focus on the incredible artists I get to work with every day and the art that you actually need to put out in the world. The dream is to just I think the dream is to just keep it going. I don't know what shape it's going to take.

I think. I don't know, I think you just want to be able to reach as many people as you can tell the best stories you can honor people like Alan, who was a company member and in whose name we've now listed our festival. You know, be true to them and their spirit and carry that towards with us and just stay on that footing as long as we can. That's the dream.

[29:47] Jeryl Brunner: Is there something you wish you could tell that kid who is getting online to see the Seagull, something you would want to say to that?

[29:54] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Guy who would who would have thought? Yeah, I mean, I think, you know. I think I've been incredibly lucky since then, and I've been surrounded by such extraordinary humans since then. That I think I would just I would tell that that kid to just follow your instincts and your impulses, you know, I think they. Whether it was then or now or whatever, they tend to lead you in the right direction, and I think even when they don't, they lead to important lessons artistically and personally and professionally and everything else and just keep seeking as much joy in art and in life as possible. It's really this is this is why we do this thing, and I think never forget sort of why you're doing it and for whom you're doing it.

And it's, you know, it's really it's about the journey that you're on. It's not it's not about a destination. It's not about, you know, it's it's about the journey. It's about the journey, and I think both my 18 year old self would. Would I think it would be good for him to hear that, and I remind myself of that often, and that's something that that Alan Langdon would talk about all the time, too, so happy to always have his voice in my head.

[31:42] Jeryl Brunner: So what's such a gift to talk to you? I thank you so much for taking the time.

[31:45] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Oh, this was such a pleasure. I I'm always like I said, I'm always happy to talk to anybody who with whom I can share that seagull experience because I love that.

[31:58] Jeryl Brunner: Yeah, I really appreciate you. So thank you so much.

[32:01] Jonathan Judge-Russo: Well, it's been such a pleasure. It's so lovely to meet you and and thank you for taking the time. And yeah, what a joy.

[32:10] Jeryl Brunner: What a joy. Thanks. I'll talk again soon.

[32:12] Jonathan Judge-Russo: OK, take care.