Episodes

  • Ep 516- The Cast Of Duke & Roya" Is Here! Jay Ellis! Stephanie Nur! & More!

    Ep 516- The Cast Of Duke & Roya" Is Here! Jay Ellis! Stephanie Nur! & More!
    Jun 2 2025
    We are here for this show! We love Jay! We love Stephanie! This is our musr see pick of the summer! Jay Ellis (Top Gun: Maverick, Insecure) and Stephanie Nur (Lioness, 1883) ignite the stage in this gripping new drama about love, survival, and impossible choices. Discover the electrifying connection between Duke (Ellis), an international hip-hop artist, and Roya (Nur), a fearless Afghan interpreter, who find love in the unlikeliest of places: war-torn Kabul. As their worlds collide, they must navigate cultural divides, make personal sacrifices, and fight for their future in a world determined to keep them apart. Is their bond strong enough to survive? Don’t miss DUKE & ROYA, the breathtaking play from acclaimed playwright Charles Randolph-Wright, directed by Warren Adams, with a cast that includes Olivier Award winner Noma Dumezweni (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Presumed Innocent) and Dariush Kashani (Oslo, The Band’s Visit). Produced by Tony® winners Laura Ivey and Janet Brenner, Smada Media and Get Lifted Film Co.’s Emmy® and Tony® winner Mike Jackson, Emmy® Award winner Ty Stiklorius, and EGOT winner John Legend. Witness the power of this 11-week limited engagement production at New York’s historic Lucille Lortel Theatre. A story of love, identity, and resilience, DUKE & ROYA is a spellbinding theatrical event that is as thrilling as it is timely. For tickets: www.dukeandroya.com __________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    32 mins
  • Ep 515- Broadway Star Bart Shatto Is Here To Talk Mental Health Awareness In A New Show!

    Ep 515- Broadway Star Bart Shatto Is Here To Talk Mental Health Awareness In A New Show!
    Jun 1 2025
    In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Dream Big World Theatre proudly presents the world premiere of CRACKED OPEN, a deeply moving new play written and directed by multi-award-winning playwright Gail Kriegel at Theatre Row. Previews begin May 6, 2025, with opening night on May 20, 2025, and the production will run through June 28, 2025. Tickets are available now at crackedopentheplay.com. Each May, Mental Health Awareness Month provides an opportunity to amplify conversations around mental health, encourage understanding, and break the stigma that prevents so many from seeking help. At its core, CRACKED OPEN by Gail Kreigel, is a powerful, timely story about a family whose love is tested when their 17-year-old daughter experiences the sudden onset of mental illness. As they struggle to understand her new reality, they must navigate the complexities of treatment, social stigma, and their own fears, ultimately discovering the resilience that binds them together. With a cast of 11 actors portraying 32 characters, CRACKED OPEN is a story of love, struggle, and the power of family. Broadway Star Bart Shatto is here to talk about the show. Bart originated the role of Rich in early NYC readings of Cracked Open. Broadway: War Paint, Les Misérables, Hands on a Hardbody, The Civil War, and Dracula. National Tours: Les Misérables, Cats, The Civil War. Off-Broadway: Superhero (Second Stage), Finnegan’s Farewell. TV: “Law & Order,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” “Murphy Brown” (Reboot), “Gaspard and Lisa” (Disney Jr.). Regional: La Jolla Playhouse, Papermill Playhouse, Ford’s Theatre, Ogunquit, Alley Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, North Shore Music Theatre, and Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre. Awards: Best Actor Winner for Chicago Indie Film Awards and New York Arthouse Film Festival, Joseph Jefferson nominee, and Connecticut Critics Circle Winner. CRACKED OPEN will play Tuesday through Saturday at 7:00 PM and Saturday & Sunday at 2:00 PM at Theatre Row, located at 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY. Tickets are from $42-$94. For tickets and more information, visit crackedopentheplay.com. __________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • Ep 514- Persephone Palmer Steps Out, A New Work, Comes To Theater for the New City!

    Ep 514- Persephone Palmer Steps Out, A New Work, Comes To Theater for the New City!
    May 31 2025
    Theater for the New City, Crystal Field Executive Director, presents Persephone Palmer Steps Out, a darkly comedic, magical-realism new play about the god-like nature of familial hierarchies, written by Caitlyn Waltermire. Natalie Thomas directs a cast of eight, including Sophie Kelly-Hedrick*, Zuhairah*, Guy Ventoliere*, Alec Febbraro, Diogo de Oliveira, Elizabeth Sherman, Phil Oetiker, and Jessalyn Charles. We have the writer Caitlyn Waltermire and director Natalie Thomas here! Eleven performances will be staged from June 19-July 6, 2025, at Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, New York, NY 10003. *Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association. AEA Showcase. Persephone Palmer Steps Out is set during a wintery, sub-zero Summer in the 1990s in a basement apartment hundreds of feet below the ground. This is the home of the Palmer family, headed by the tempestuous and charismatic Connie, whose marriage to the devoted and enabling Herm oversees a fraught dynamic with her fractious stepson Joe. The occasional wandering-ins of Stef, Joe’s girlfriend, and their new friend Paul punctuate the isolated family’s routine, as do the shambolic visits from Connie’s brother Richard and his much-younger wife Lisa. Despite the magical setting of the play, the dynamics between the characters are rooted in realism – except for the fact that Persie, the Palmer's 13-year-old human daughter, is the family's "cat.” Yet as the landscape shifts and Persie begins to bond with some of the new visitors, it appears that some changes may be underway – for better or for worse. With character archetypes derived from Greek mythology, Persephone Palmer Steps Out is a darkly hilarious exploration of the god-like nature of familial hierarchies, the contingencies of love, conditional acceptance, and the divine, desperate pursuit of control. The runtime is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. There is no performance on July 4th. General admission tickets are $20, student and seniors are $15. For tickets, visit: TheaterForTheNewCity.net Direct ticketing link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1238613 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • Ep 513- Fellow BPN Podcaster Joe Rosko Talks "Built For The Stage!"

    Ep 513- Fellow BPN Podcaster Joe Rosko Talks "Built For The Stage!"
    May 30 2025
    We have trainer, business man, actor, and podcast host Joe Rosko with us today! He is going to kick us all into shape! Established in 2014, BFTS believes actors are athletes… and need to train like them, too. Offering custom personal training, nutrition planning, and providing the coaching, community, and tools needed to get results, I do need to warn you: side effects include improved confidence and mental health! With clients all over social media, and seen in 50+ Broadway shows, BFTS is the place to be for fitness! We wanted to have this chat with Joe about how we can take care of ourselves and others: physical fitness and personal training, mental health, digital wellness, entrepreneurship, and more. We had a great time chatting all things on this BPN Crossover Event! __________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    40 mins
  • Ep 512- Pride Preview With The Drag Icon Peppermint!

    Ep 512- Pride Preview With The Drag Icon Peppermint!
    May 29 2025
    Peppermint’s star continues to rise thanks to her smashing success as the first out trans contestant to be cast on RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 9) where she finished as runner-up in one of the series’ most-talked-about finales Click Here. Soon after, her talent led her to become the first trans woman to originate a principal musical role (Pythio) on Broadway in the hit Head Over Heels and in 2024 as the first trans woman to compete in the hit series, “The Traitors” on Peacock. Recent projects include; recurring role in the Netflix series, Survival of the Thickest with comedian Michelle Buteau, Stand-up comedy special Peppermint: So-SIGH-ety Effects, starring role in “A Transparent Musical” at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, guest starred in Hulu’s hit rom-com movie, "Fire Island" alongside Saturday Night Live's Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster & Margaret Cho, co-star in OUTtv’s “Call Me Mother”drag competition series, co-host of Amazon Prime talk show “Translation,” guest star in season one & two of Amazon’s “Harlem,” hosted (New York & San Francisco) and presented (Los Angeles) at the 2020 & 2022 GLAAD Media Awards, hosting/moderating Black Queer Town Hall with and Town Hall podcast with co-creator Bob The Drag Queen, guest appearance on Ryan Murphy’s Emmy award winning series “Pose," recurring role on the CBS series “God Friended Me” and a guest role on the Fox scripted drama “Deputy.” Peppermint, who is the ACLU’s first-ever Artist Ambassador for Trans Justice HERE has raised six-figure sums for prominent LGBT rights groups, partnered with MAC Cosmetics’ “M.A.C. AIDS Fund” and is involved in the HIV Vaccine trials network. She partnered with RuPaul Drag Race Winner Sasha Velour for a college speaking tour that focused on the challenges faced by transgender and non-binary people in today’s political climate among various other topics. Peppermint takes every available opportunity to speak at universities and to various communities on the issues. 
Peppermint was nominated for a 2022 GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Online Journalism category for her contribution to the Discovery+ “Legendary” series. Previous honors include; GLAAD Media Award nomination alongside Lady Gaga & Kehlani for Outstanding Music Artist (2021), “Best Songwriter” by World of Wonder’s Wowie Awards 2020, Conde Nast’s “Queeroes” award (2018), Variety’s prestigious “New Power of New York” list, and was named one of Out magazine’s “OUT100” portfolio of the most influential LGBTQ people of the year. Get your fans ready! Pride is coming! __________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    28 mins
  • Ep 511- Tony Nominee Marjan Neshat Talks "English!"

    Ep 511- Tony Nominee Marjan Neshat Talks "English!"
    May 28 2025
    We have Tony Nominated Superstar In Our Midst Today! Marjan Neshat lit up the boards off & on Broadway this season with "English!" She tells us all about the dream experience she had in the show! Sherecently starred in the one-woman thriller Sandra by David Cale at the Vineyard Theater. She led the cast of Sanaz Toossi’s new play Wish You Were Here at Playwrights Horizons, and also starred in Ms. Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play English at the Atlantic Theater, for which she won an Obie Award. She originated the role of “Afiya” in the Pulitzer Prize Finalist play Selling Kabul by Sylvia Khoury at Playwrights Horizons and Williamstown Theater Festival. Other theater includes the Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar (NYSF), and The Seagull (with Alan Cumming and Dianne Wiest). Marjan’s feature film work includes leading roles in the multi-award-winning film Rockaway as well as in the indie features Almost in Love, Cry Funny Happy and Happy For You. She has played supporting roles in many films, including Robocop, Sex and the City 2, Alfie, and Love-40. Marjan’s TV work includes a recurring role on season 2 of the upcoming hit series The Night Agent (Netflix), New Amsterdam, For Life, Bull, Elementary, Quantico, Law & Order: SVU, and Fringe among others. She is a 2022 recipient of the Sam Norkin Drama Desk Award for her portrayals in Selling Kabul and English in the same season. The Tony Awards are June 8th at 8pm on CBS! __________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • Bonus Chat: Double Bill: Witches & Aliens w/ ENCOUNTER and CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA

    Bonus Chat: Double Bill: Witches & Aliens w/ ENCOUNTER and CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA
    May 27 2025
    Double Bill: Witches and Aliens, a comedic, entertaining and otherworldly evening of two hysterical theatrical works directed and choreographed by Jen Wineman. Three performances of Zena Wood’s ENCOUNTER: A Space Cabaret, and Kit Goldstein Grant’s CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA: A Musical In-Concert will be staged June 12, 13, and 14, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, 61 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014. About Encounter: A Space Cabaret They come in peace…and for the eggs. A comedy-driven space cabaret that lands somewhere between a late-night weather show and a cosmic fever dream where nothing is linear. Live from New York, it’s Space Weather Girl! What if an alien encounter was more human condition and less lasers? Add some old-time Hollywood charm, a historical “mating program,” and you’ve got yourself a show! As a studio audience, you will witness the mysterious broadcast sparking an interplanetary moment. You’ll wonder at a spectacular alien dance performance and you’ll do all of this in a fraction of a second (60 minutes). It’s a science thing. Come for the facts, the songs and the comedy, and find yourself unexpectedly heart-warmed. Featuring Brandon Weber as Greg. Loosely based on a pilot episode script of a similar theme written by Zena Wood for screen, Encounter also borrows inspiration from various projects Zena has created since 2018 as the fictional character Space Weather Girl, including on YouTube, two music videos filmed and recorded: Space Christmas, and All I Want for ChristMars is Mars, a Christmas solo show performed at the Drama Factory in South Africa - Space Weather Girl Christmas Extravaganza, and multiple comedy open mics and videos performed as the character. About Christmas Eve in Dikanka: A Musical In-Concert A new musical based on the story by Ukrainian novelist Nikolai Gogol. It’s Christmas Eve in Dikanka, and a blacksmith must find fancy shoes like those worn by the Czarina in the next few hours or lose the heart of his lady love. But when the Devil comes to town, will he give up his soul for a sole? And what will he do about his mother, who is a promiscuous witch? No really, an actual witch. This loosely adapted take on Nikolai Gogol’s story sets the show in a meta-theatrical universe which combines a Ukrainian 19th-century absurdist tone and a modern sensibility, plus a lotta slapstick. Playwright Kit Goldstein Grant shares, “I first read CHRISTMAS EVE by Nikolai Gogol when doing research for another musical based on a Gogol story. That show went on to productions in NYC and South Africa, but I couldn’t shake my memory of CHRISTMAS EVE, and the sheer exuberant fun of the piece. Yes, there was a love story, but most intriguing to me was the relationship between the blacksmith and his mother, a promiscuous witch. Now, this, THIS was interesting! Not to mention, funny. Is it relevant that I was mom to a fairly-new son myself when I started writing this piece? Possibly. Relevant that I was approaching the 40-year mark when women suddenly become irrelevant, and I had something to say about that? Possibly. But probably not. Probably I just wanted to write a fun show." The writers Kit & Zena are here to tell us all about it! Do not miss a moment! __________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 mins
  • Ep 510- Cabaret Superstar Jim Caruso Is Back!

    Ep 510- Cabaret Superstar Jim Caruso Is Back!
    May 27 2025
    Club44 Records has announced the release of Jim Caruso’s The Swing Set: Deluxe Edition – the urbane baritone’s smart and sophisticated romp through the Great American Songbook – in streaming and digital formats today, Friday, May 16. The album’s lead single “Avalon,” Caruso’s swinging version of the classic standard, featuring the vocal talents of Caruso’s labelmates Jane Monheit and Billy Stritch, hit #3 on the Spotify “Jazz Vocal” chart when it was released last month. The remastered Deluxe Edition also features Caruso’s newly recorded version of the hilarious breakup song “One More Minute,” Weird Al Yankovic’s longtime crowd favorite. To stream or download The Swing Set: Deluxe Edition, please visit: c44.lnk.to/SwingSetDeluxe On The Swing Set, Caruso brings a warm intimacy and playful exuberance to standards like “If I Only Had a Brain,” “Manhattan,” and “Pick Yourself Up.” There are surprises galore, such as Martin Mull’s “Flexible,” “The Doodlin’ Song” by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh, and Kay Thompson’s swinging “I Love a Violin.” Caruso is joined by special musical guests Michael Feinstein, the late guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli, violin sensation Aaron Weinstein, pianist and singer Billy Stritch, jazz vocal phenom Jane Monheit, and Tony Award-winning Broadway leading lady Stephanie J. Block. To celebrate the album, Jim Caruso’s “Cast Party” – his popular open mic night – will be performed at Catalina Jazz Club in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, May 28; The McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA on Thursday, May 29; with upcoming stops at London’s Crazy Coqs in September and Las Vegas’s The Smith Center in October. “Cast Party” also continues its 20+ year run at New York’s legendary Birdland Jazz Club every Monday night. In addition, Caruso performs every Sunday with Billy Stritch at Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel. JIM CARUSO most recently performed the role of Theodore Whitman in Follies in Concert at Carnegie Hall. He is the host of “Jim Caruso’s Cast Party,” the wildly popular weekly open mic night that has brought a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and sparkling wit to Birdland in New York City every Monday night since 2003. The Mayor of the City of New York recently proclaimed, “Whereas, I am enormously proud to lead a city renowned as a global capital of the arts, ‘Jim Caruso’s Cast Party’ has enriched our dynamic cultural landscape since 2003, and on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, I am pleased to recognize the weekly show's tremendous contributions to our performing arts and nightlife sectors.” “Cast Party” has been seen at Jazz at Lincoln Center, across the country, and, most recently, on YouTube as “Pajama Cast Party.” Jim made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the Tony Award-winning Liza’s at the Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. He has won six MAC Awards and eight BroadwayWorld Awards for his work in nightclubs, performed with the New York Pops in a tribute to Kander & Ebb, with Rosemary Clooney celebrating Bing Crosby, and sang the songs of Hope & Crosby with Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall. Jim was honored to sing with Barbara Cook, Lauren Bacall, and a bevy of Broadway stars at President Clinton’s First State Dinner at the White House. He also books and produces the “Broadway at Birdland” concert series. Jim’s debut album, Caruso Live and In Person, is also available. ____________________________________________________________________ Check out "The Roundtable with Robert Bannon" here on BPN on the daily, on YouTube, Broadway World, and on social media! Like, comment, share, & subscribe! For more info on Robert- www.RobertBannon.com Follow Him on IG- @RobertMBannon TikTok-@RobertMBannon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    33 mins