[music]

Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC and if you've been with us since ten o'clock, you know that the curtain rose on today's show with some Broadway reopening news. Now, for the last act, leading into Mother's Day weekend, we will hear more about how the pandemic impacted those working on Broadway, and what they're anticipating going forward with September 14th, full capacity reopening. It just so happens that you can support performers and show some love to your mom or the mother figure in your life whoever that is, all at the same time.

A business called A Generous Act has provided work for out-of-work performers, by hiring singers to perform singing telegrams. For a little over $30, you can request one be sent live through the phone to anyone you would like for any occasion. 10% of the proceeds go to The Actor's Fund, an organization providing a safety net to those in arts and entertainment, and at this point they've raised over $10,000. Of course, right now they're getting more and more requests for Mother's Day singing telegrams, and it's not too late to book one of those for your mom, or grandmother, or the mother figure. Just head to agenerousact.com and fill out the form to get things started.

Joining me now are two Broadway performers, Deon'te Goodman, whose credits include Hamilton, In the Heights, Songbird, and Freedom Writers, among others, and Jennifer Sánchez who's been in The Rose Tattoo, Pretty Woman, Sunday in the Park with George, On Your Feet, and more. Welcome to WNYC, Deon'te and Jennifer.

Jennifer Sánchez: Thank you. Thank you for having us, Brian. How are you doing?

Deon'te Goodman: Hey, how are doing Brian?

Brian: I'm doing great, thank you. Listeners, We're going to combine love for out-of-work Broadway performers and love for your mom. You ready for this listeners? Do you have memories of Broadway with your mother, or grandmother, or other mother figure? Whether it's going to The Great White Way in-person to see a show, or listening to original cast recordings at home? We had a lot of that in my house, the albums, maybe seeing Broadway numbers in music class, or choir, or whatever.

Did your mom ever wait with you on a long line for rush tickets? Perhaps your mother's love of musical theater inspired you even to go into the arts yourself. These memories can be recent, or they can be from long ago, and include a mother or any other mother figure. Everybody's invited to share the memories of mom and Broadway for this Mother's Day called in.

We're going to hear these performers perform what we might call a generous act while they are here, but we're inviting your Mother's Day calls at 646-435-7280, your moms and theater, 646-435-7280, but as calls are coming in, Deon'te, how do you feel about the Broadway reopening news? Full capacity, September 14th, and according to the governor, no vaccination requirement for audience members, though there may be for you.

Deon'te: Yes, first of all, I think that Broadway in general, and also just theater workers in general, be it Broadway or across the US and other places, they provide such an important aspect of our daily routine. They provided a great escape, and especially in New York City, they provide a lot of revenue for the city, and a lot of tourism. I'm excited getting New York back to the bustling booming city that I've always known it to be, and I'm also excited to see the changes that Broadway shows, and Broadway, they put into place concerning representation, inclusion, and just overall racial justice and equity that we've been working towards this past year.

Brian: Jennifer Sanchez, same question.

Jennifer: I totally agree. I think that, and I hope that it's going to be a new and even brighter day for Broadway. I've always considered Broadway and Times Square to be the heartbeat of the city. It's no wonder that it felt like something is missing from New York City and from all of our lives. I'm so excited for it to come back, but again, like Deon’te says, with more diversity, inclusivity, there are some things we've been working towards, and I'm very hopeful that all of those things are going to happen, and it's just going to be an even more explosive, brighter. The heartbeat of the city is going to come back. I can't wait.

Brian: What's an example of the additional inclusivity that you both refer to? Jennifer, you have one?

Jennifer: Yes, we've been in talks with The Broadway League. There were two recent marches advocating for more diversity, and anti-racism protocol and conversation, and there have been a lot of conversations that are currently happening.

Brian: You mean between Broadway workers with each other or with the producers? What's the issue that you're trying to, or the goal that you're trying to get to with those conversations? Deon’te, go ahead.

Jennifer: Go ahead, Deon'te thank you.

Deon'te: Okay, no worries. Yes, I can take that on. The biggest conversation, it all started with the, we don't have to relive it, but we do have to respect the fact that a lot of this happened surrounding the murdering of George Floyd, and the virtual silence really, from the industry. That caused a lot of theater workers, stagehands, ushers, front-of-house staff, performers, stage managers, everyone to just speak up and just recognize, "Hey, Broadway has not been this inclusive thing, this equitable safe space for everyone, and during the time of this shutdown, that is something that we need to fight for."

There have been conversations had with equity members, theater workers around the globe. I personally worked for, or work with this non-profit called Broadway for Racial Justice, where we fight for as safe a space as possible in theater for a BIPOC performers, workers. I think that mostly what we're looking for is creating a safe space for all, for the onstage cast to be as diverse, as well as the backstage, as well as the people working costumes, working hair, working stagehands, stage managers. For it to also be inclusive of trans folk, of differently abled people, of gender non-conforming and non-binary individuals. There just needs to be equity and inclusion across the board, and also transparency.

Jennifer: Behind the casting table, directors, producers, all of it, more inclusion, more diversity. It's only a positive thing.

Brian: Thank you both for all of that. Now Jennifer, tell us how you got involved with A Generous Act, and what it's been like performing these singing telegrams for people?

Jennifer: It has been just a true gift to connect with people. It has been such an isolating time, and I have had the most beautiful conversations with total strangers after singing them a song. Jenni Barber is one of the founders. She and I did Sunday in the Park with George together. She generously asked me to come along, and it has been a joyful healing process, and also really fun. You call up a total stranger and you say, "I have a singing telegram for you." I have not had one person be upset. Everyone is usually really excited to get that phone call.

Brian: Whew, and I know you've each come prepared to give us a sample as we go along here, I'm not going to ask you to do it yet. I'm going to take a call from Dale in Toms River, as we've been inviting people to call in and give a Mother's Day shoutout to their moms who got them into theater, or Broadway songs, or anything like that. Dale in Tom's River, you're on WNYC.

Dale: Hi, can you hear me?

Brian: Yes. Do you want to say something about your mom?

Dale: I do. My mom, on Saturday mornings, we always had to clean the house, and we cleaned the house to Broadway tunes. That was how I learned all the words to many Broadway shows, and at one time, my first memory is really going to see The King and I on Broadway with my best friend who's still my best friend and her mom and my mom to see The King and I with Yul Brynner, that's my Broadway memory.

Brian: That goes back. Is there a song that now, like when you're walking around your house today, vacuuming, is there a Broadway song that will ever, for better or worse, be identified with that?

Dale: I can't pull the thought off the top of my head for you, I'm sorry. I almost never get a call in, but anything from The King and I, from My Fair Lady, I think that was Broadway, right? Yes, all those shows were, had a lot of special memories for me.

Brian: All right. Thank you, Dale. Thank you very much. Oh, and we've got a birthday girl calling in about this topic. It's Linda in Midwood. Linda, you're on WNYC. Hello and do I have that right? Happy birthday.

Linda: Yes, you do. Thank you very much. I've got happy birthday from Brian Lehrer. Wonderful. My memory is when I was young, my mother belonged to a little, a few friends that would go to Broadway every couple of months. One time, one of the ladies got ill and it was very close, so they couldn't get anyone else. My mother said, "I'll take my daughter." I was 12 years old and she took me to see Damn Yankees which was so exciting. I thought it was so wonderful.

To this day, I'm 79 today, that I adore Broadway. It's my favorite, absolute favorite place to be, to go. I was on a cruise once and someone said to me, they heard I was in New York, "Tell me, when was the last time you actually saw Broadway play?" I paused and I said, "Oh, two weeks ago," and he just flat out, had nothing. He said, "I was telling my wife, people in New York don't go to the theater." Well, he was wrong, obviously. That Broadway is coming back. Oh God, I cannot wait for it to start here, and it's just wonderful, and the song from Damn Yankees that I remember? Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. I just love that song.

Brian: Linda thank you. You're 79 today. This story is from when you were 12. Do you remember who was in Damn Yankees at that time?

Linda: Gwen Verdon.

Brian: Linda, thank you so much. All right. Linda, I will say it one more time. Happy Birthday.

Linda: Thank you very much.

Brian: In honor of Linda's birthday, but really in honor of her mother, Jennifer, you have a singing telegram?

Jennifer: Oh, I sure do. Oh, my goodness. Linda happiest birthday. I love that song, too. I'm going to have to add it to my list, but I do I have little song called Ain't We Got Fun. It was sung by Doris Day back in the day, a little jazz tune. Here we go.

Hey, every morning and every evening

Ain't we got fun?

Not much money, oh, but honey

Ain't we got fun?

The rent's unpaid, dear and

We haven't a car

But any way, dear

We'll stay as we are

Even if we owe the grocer

Don't we have fun

Tax collector's getting closer

Still we have fun

There's nothing surer

The rich get rich and the poor get poorer, but

In the meantime, in between time

Ain't we got fun?

Happy birthday Linda.

Brian: Oh, nice ad lib at the end. Tricia in Redding, Connecticut. You're on WNYC. Hi, Tricia. You have a mom and Broadway memory?

Tricia: I had a great memory, many memories of my mom, but my biggest is I grew up on a farm in Southern Indiana, and my mom could play anything on the piano, and she would always play Broadway show tunes and let me belt them out, especially Annie. I'm not a singer, but for some reason she just always would let me sing whatever I wanted, and then when I got lucky enough to move to New York in my 20s, I started bringing her to New York every weekend, or not every weekend, I started bringing her to New York and we would do Broadway marathons, and see three Broadway shows in a weekend, and then she'd go back to the farm and I stayed in New York, and I just can't wait to get her back to see shows.

She's in her 80s now, makes me weepy, but hoping we get to do many, many more shows.

Brian: Tricia, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Scott in Pennington, New Jersey, you're on WNYC. Hi, Scott.

Scott: Hi, Brian. Hi, Jennifer, hi, Deon’te, how you doing?

Jennifer: Fantastic, thank you.

Deon’te: Great.

Scott: Good. I'm glad you're surviving this past year-and-a-half. My family's in the stagehand business, but my mom was a Rockette from 1946 to '48 and as children, she would always try to bring us in to see the Easter or the Christmas shows. She would perform for the school and put on at school plays at our school in New Jersey, watching all the West Side Story and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on TV, it was all around us.

Now. my daughter and my son are taking dance lessons, just toddlers, and all the stories of back then as well. My dad was the head carpenter at the New York State Theater, John Walters, and my mom, Elizabeth Brady, would talk about all the nights they would go out in town, and see Marilyn Monroe in this restaurant, or other things like that. It was very all-consuming and it was great. The stories, the way things, just all the performances, and then to this day, I love going and see the shows and I look forward to it again especially this year.

Brian: Scott, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and to your family members, too. Deon'te, do you have a singing telegram for all these great moms we're hearing about from these callers?

Deon'te Goodman: I do, I do, I do. Scott, first of all, I love that. I love your little thing about the Rockettes. My boyfriend is actually, he does the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show with the Rockettes. That's just like, it's such a small world, and those little connections are always so amazing. The song that I have is called It Had To Be You, a classic. Here we go.

It had to be you, it had to be you

I wandered around and finally found, that somebody who

Could make me be true

Could make me feel blue

And even be glad just to be sad, thinking of you

Some others I've seen

Might never be mean

Might never be cross, or try to be boss

But they wouldn't do

For nobody else gave me a thrill

With all your faults, I love you still

It had to be you, wonderful you

It had to be you

Brian: Bravo. That's wonderful. We have time for one or two more. Deborah in the Berkshires. You're on WNYC. Hi, Deborah.

Deborah: Oh, hi, Brian. I'm clicking from your unmute yourself, I'm all great now.

Brian: Great. I'm glad you got it. What'd you got?

Debra: Oh, so glad. I have so many, so I'll just take a top couple. First of all, earliest memories are mom sitting at the piano with this, probably a book from the 1950s, of Rogers and Hammerstein, playing and singing, and singing along with her. Those were really, really terrific memories, because it started my love for the old musicals, but in the early '80s she held a court-wide garage sale in our suburban New Jersey neighborhood, and with the money that we made, she got the family tickets for Dream Girl. My mom, Maxine, she has probably an almost 60-year-old collection of Playbills that I don't know what she thinks she can do with them. It's a real point of pride for her.

Brian: She cared about Broadway so much, going to see the shows, that she would hold garage sales to save up enough money for the tickets?

Debra: I think she also wanted to get rid of, spring cleaning, but I think it was great that with all that, it was really important for her to really give this to my sisters, and me, and now to my children, and my nephews and nieces.

Brian: That's awesome, Deborah, thank you. I will say that my mother had Broadway, original cast albums in the house, took us to Summer Stock, so thanks mom for that. Jennifer Sanchez, who's been in The Rose Tattoo, and other things and Deon'te Goodman, who's been in Hamilton and other things, are you guys lined up? We have about 30 seconds left. Are you guys lined up for particular shows for when Broadway opens September 14th, or is that still you're figuring it out. Deon'te? Jennifer?

Jennifer: Deon'te, you go ahead first.

Deon'te: Before the shutdown, I was actually in Hamilton for about a year and half, and we still get word in, and constant emails from the company, from producers, and state management and whatnot. We actually still talk. Every week really we have a little check-in. That is where I'll be going.

Brian: That's wonderful. See him in Hamilton. Jennifer, 10 seconds.

Jennifer: The Rose Tattoo was closed so I'm back to auditioning, but I'm actually in a virtual production of First Date The Musical, by ShowTown Theatricals. Anybody who would like to watch First Date virtually, check it out, we'll be online in a month or two. In two months, we'll be broadcasting.

Brian: That's awesome. Thank you both so much. Good luck to both of you. This was great, and folks, agenerousact.com, if you want to buy one of those singing telegrams.

 

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