Speaker 1: And That's what You Really missed with Jenna.
Speaker 2: And Kevin An.
Speaker 3: iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 2: Welcome to and That's what You Really miss podcast. We
Speaker 2: have a dear old friend, Tracy Tom's here. She played
Speaker 2: Joanne in Rent in the musical movie and then on Broadway.
Speaker 2: She has a huge career. I don't think she needs
Speaker 2: a huge instruction. She's a dear friend, wonderful human, and
Speaker 2: you know she was Endeavor's product. So that's all I'm
Speaker 2: gonna say. I also have an experience together where I
Speaker 2: have an embarrassing moment that haunts me forever still to this.
Speaker 1: Day that we talk about.
Speaker 2: So I hope you guys enjoy the conversation. Enjoy Tracy,
Speaker 2: and thanks for coming to listen.
Speaker 1: Thanks for coming on. I really appreciate it. Of course,
Speaker 1: we just recapped Rent the.
Speaker 3: Movie twenty years ago.
Speaker 2: Lord me and Adam on and he chatted about all
Speaker 2: the things lovely Adam.
Speaker 1: But yeah, we have a lot to talk about. I
Speaker 1: feel like.
Speaker 2: I have a funny story that I have to share
Speaker 2: with you or a reminder of a memory. But also
Speaker 2: I feel like we've never like talked about Wren in
Speaker 2: the movie and our careers, because like that's not what
Speaker 2: we usually talk about when we see each other.
Speaker 1: So why would we? Why would we? But here we are.
Speaker 1: You've done a lot. You've done a lot. You've done
Speaker 1: a lot of film and TV and screen, and you've
Speaker 1: done a.
Speaker 2: Lot of stage. Where did it start for you? And yeah,
Speaker 2: just where did you get your start? Like where when
Speaker 2: did you find the bug for the theater and the
Speaker 2: screen and the TV and all of that.
Speaker 3: Well, it's kind of weird.
Speaker 4: So my dad worked in public television when I was little,
Speaker 4: so it was always around the arts on public television
Speaker 4: when I was young, and then he went to PBS
Speaker 4: and Discovery and all kind of stuff like that, so
Speaker 4: it was always rounded. I don't remember saying my first
Speaker 4: play or anything like that. I was just always plays
Speaker 4: and stuff when I was little. But there was there
Speaker 4: was this show when I was a little called Junior
Speaker 4: Star Search. I really for some reason, I do not
Speaker 4: understand why I really wanted.
Speaker 3: To be on Junior Star Search. I wasn't particularly talented. Wow,
Speaker 3: I wasn't. I was not.
Speaker 4: I was not good as a child, okay, and I
Speaker 4: was like shy kind of I was shot like a
Speaker 4: ham but a really weird kid. I was a weird kid.
Speaker 4: But I just decided I want to be on and
Speaker 4: I didn't even care, which.
Speaker 3: Still man. So then I was very logical about this.
Speaker 4: I was like, well, if I go on as a dancer,
Speaker 4: what if I forget my steps or I fall down?
Speaker 4: But if I go on as a singer and I
Speaker 4: forget the words something or a crack or the song.
Speaker 4: So but I had this acting segment on there where
Speaker 4: like a kid would two kids would do the same
Speaker 4: scene with a celebrity and whoever did it best one,
Speaker 4: and I went, I could do that.
Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, Okay.
Speaker 4: One of my parents room and said, mom, dad, I
Speaker 4: want to acting classes and blessed my little heart. And
Speaker 4: like I knew it was something I had to learn
Speaker 4: how to do it because I was already in a
Speaker 4: dating class and I wasn't very great.
Speaker 3: I can't remember the steps, but I wasn't particularly graceful.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I wasn't a flexible kid. I could kick my leg.
Speaker 4: I couldn't do any of it. So yeah, that's what
Speaker 4: I wanted to do, and that's why I started acting class.
Speaker 4: Actually was acting, singing and dance.
Speaker 3: It was like a it was like a weekend thing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Okay, I did that, and like I said, I
Speaker 4: wasn't really good.
Speaker 3: I don't think, but I liked it.
Speaker 1: So, okay, did you ever get on Junior Star search.
Speaker 3: Started the classes? It's like the bug the.
Speaker 1: I got it, I got it, but you never you know,
Speaker 1: like I want.
Speaker 3: Did you get on it? Because googling going to.
Speaker 1: Exactly to like, but I don't.
Speaker 3: Want to do my homework.
Speaker 1: So then did you go to like you just did
Speaker 1: you continue to study?
Speaker 2: And you went to regular school and then you you
Speaker 2: pursued this later in life or like was it young?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: That was called.
Speaker 4: The Baltimore Actors Theater in Telson, and then I switched
Speaker 4: from that school to the Arena Players, which is downtown,
Speaker 4: which is one of the oldest consistently run.
Speaker 3: Community theaters in the country. And so I switched that.
Speaker 4: I did shows there for ten years, okay, and youth
Speaker 4: theater Arena Players Youth Theater, and then I went to
Speaker 4: high school. A lot of my people from that youth
Speaker 4: theater went to Performing Arts High School.
Speaker 3: I went to a regular high school.
Speaker 2: For one hated it, transferred to the Arts school, got it.
Speaker 4: Then I went to Howard with a Howard University with
Speaker 4: a minor in theater, you know, communications, hated it switched
Speaker 4: to fine arts, and then I just, okay, I guess
Speaker 4: I'm going to be an actor.
Speaker 3: I guess you know, I just didn't know whatever. But
Speaker 3: here we are.
Speaker 2: Did you fight the urge to like because you did
Speaker 2: comms or was that like communication? Was was somebody telling you, like, oh,
Speaker 2: do the major in something and then minor in.
Speaker 1: This is a backup, like have a backup.
Speaker 3: Father was like, what are you doing? And you want
Speaker 3: to be an actor? And I'm like, yeah, but what
Speaker 3: if I don't work? I didn't have something to fall
Speaker 3: back on, right exactly, But you're just acting out of fear. Yeah,
Speaker 3: do things right?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 4: So that the switch and then I said, now goes
Speaker 4: to an audition for Julliard. I went to but I
Speaker 4: went to a summer program in Oxford to study Shakespeare.
Speaker 4: They got the Shakespeare, but the audition for Juilliard and
Speaker 4: I got it, And so.
Speaker 3: That I m of school.
Speaker 1: Not a lot of people get into Jilliard, you know.
Speaker 3: No, I'm still like, what.
Speaker 1: Stop, You're amazing?
Speaker 5: Uh?
Speaker 1: Okay? What was your what was your break? Then? Where
Speaker 1: was your break?
Speaker 3: I guess it would be Rents.
Speaker 1: I did I did.
Speaker 3: I did this one show called as If that lasted
Speaker 3: two episodes. I remember that one of the bulls Chat.
Speaker 4: Which was like four episodes of Hold off the Air.
Speaker 4: But it's kind of a cult cult classic. I did
Speaker 4: like two Broadway shows, no one. It's called a Drown
Speaker 4: and Crow, right, a hit, but I did it drawn
Speaker 4: and Crow.
Speaker 1: Drown and Crow what a name.
Speaker 4: I know it was basically a retelling of the Seagull,
Speaker 4: but we were black and Crow.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, oh my gosh, the Seagull and then Rent
Speaker 1: came your way.
Speaker 3: Public over the course of like eight or nine years.
Speaker 1: For Broadway, so you had been in the mix for
Speaker 1: a long time.
Speaker 3: Just like thank you, but no thank you, but no
Speaker 3: maybe next time thank you, but.
Speaker 1: No future Broadway replacement.
Speaker 4: Yeah for the four hundredth Joanne.
Speaker 1: And at some point you're like, I'm like stop bringing
Speaker 1: me in. Yeah.
Speaker 4: At some point I was like, this is this is
Speaker 4: gonna be my last audition for this thing, because.
Speaker 3: I'm still understaing for this thing.
Speaker 1: Okay, so then how did you How did the movie
Speaker 1: find you?
Speaker 3: I went in for the movie.
Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, you know.
Speaker 4: It's kinda le Okay, fine, this could be my actual
Speaker 4: last time. I didn't even think it went that well.
Speaker 6: You know.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, well, just like the others, the others,
Speaker 1: just like Lion King, just like I eat.
Speaker 3: Billion times and didn't get gusted.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's fair, that's fair. But you keep coming back,
Speaker 1: and you know what it paid off. So you did
Speaker 1: the movie, and what was the movie like for you?
Speaker 2: Joining a cast that already kind of created something. I
Speaker 2: don't assume that it could be like kind of like
Speaker 2: joining a Broadway show once it's kind of been locked,
Speaker 2: but in a different, I don't know, a different way.
Speaker 1: Tell me about the experience. Well, so.
Speaker 4: When I got it, I didn't know it was going
Speaker 4: to be with the original cast, you know. I mean
Speaker 4: I thought there was no way. I thought it would
Speaker 4: be a cast of yeah, veryous celebrity you know, very
Speaker 4: famous people.
Speaker 3: I was like, why are you call me in? It's
Speaker 3: going to be Queen Ontifa or someone who's gonna.
Speaker 1: Offer only you know.
Speaker 3: But then I got it, and I walked.
Speaker 4: Forty blocks and called everybody I'd ever met and just
Speaker 4: screamed on the streets of New York City.
Speaker 1: Yeah, after all that time, Yeah, and then I.
Speaker 3: Found out it was with the original cast, and that
Speaker 3: freaked me out.
Speaker 4: Then I got to get to see Wicked because I
Speaker 4: hadn't seen Wicked yet, so I went too Wicked to
Speaker 4: see a Dina and I just like I was kind
Speaker 4: of mentally prepared for defind Gravity, I was for the
Speaker 4: Wisid and I I wasn't prepared for No Good. I
Speaker 4: wasn't prepared for the only song I knew was I
Speaker 4: was like, oh, I don't know, there like eight other
Speaker 4: songs like that.
Speaker 3: Felting your face off. Hours of five minutes got it.
Speaker 3: But I met her.
Speaker 4: We had a little date. It was very cute, and
Speaker 4: then we started rehearsal. I started like vocal training, you know,
Speaker 4: voice training with this guy, and I didn't know for
Speaker 4: sure if I was singing Scenes of Love yet, because
Speaker 4: you know, Joey doesn't sing that song in the show.
Speaker 3: So I had to singing in the audition just to
Speaker 3: see if I could. And then summer long, they're like, yeah,
Speaker 3: you're just.
Speaker 1: Going to sing it, and I'm like, it's so iconic.
Speaker 4: I was like, this is going to be the biggest,
Speaker 4: the biggest, like honor to sing this, and also it's
Speaker 4: gonna be the thing, and people wanted me to sing.
Speaker 1: For the rest of my life, and is it true?
Speaker 1: It is the thing that everybody wants to you to
Speaker 1: sing for the rest of your life.
Speaker 3: I'm like, do you have a sitting I see, I don't.
Speaker 2: I feel like the last time we did Harvest Home benefit,
Speaker 2: which was probably the last time I saw you, or
Speaker 2: maybe not, but one of the last times I saw you,
Speaker 2: and they're like, Tracy, can you do?
Speaker 3: Can everybody sing it?
Speaker 4: How about somebody else? To the end, it's really hard
Speaker 4: because it's like the hardest song ever. And some days
Speaker 4: I can sing it and some days I feel like
Speaker 4: it's one of those songs that had Jonathan lived, it
Speaker 4: might have been like, hey, Jonathan.
Speaker 3: Lowered the song as a week of it all.
Speaker 1: So back to the movie, So you worked with the
Speaker 1: Dina Yeah, I mean you absolutely held your own.
Speaker 2: It was incredible kind of made you made Joe and
Speaker 2: your own, Like, how what was that like the collaborative experience,
Speaker 2: like given that you know they had already created something
Speaker 2: that you guys were bringing over.
Speaker 3: Luckily it was me and Rosario. We were both new
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 4: When I got there, Anthony and Adam took me to dinner.
Speaker 4: We just want you to know that we're really glad
Speaker 4: you're here. We love Freddy, but we're gonna love you too,
Speaker 4: and it's gonna be great. And I'm like, I'm terrified. Yeah,
Speaker 4: but I had lived with Ren for so long. Yeah,
Speaker 4: I remember things about it that they did. It was
Speaker 4: their life, you know what I mean, Like it was
Speaker 4: called in this whirlwind of craziness. But like I would
Speaker 4: just go to rehearsals when I wasn't called, just to
Speaker 4: sit there listening to and sing the songs.
Speaker 3: You or what you own?
Speaker 4: And uh, Anthony couldn't remember his harmony. Then I was like,
Speaker 4: you don't remember what you're not?
Speaker 3: Loa, loa, that's what you did?
Speaker 1: Thank you? Crazy so good. They rehearsed live.
Speaker 2: Did you guys how did they do the recording and
Speaker 2: the singing in the did you guys pre record or
Speaker 2: did you sing all that?
Speaker 4: So we rehearsed every day from like November. We started rehearsals.
Speaker 4: Somewhere in January, I think we started recording the music.
Speaker 4: To record the music and then they do a whole
Speaker 4: comp and they bring it back to you and you
Speaker 4: listen to it and if you like it, then you
Speaker 4: then it's locked. If You're like, I could do better.
Speaker 4: I could beat play the same beat the com you know,
Speaker 4: no no, no, no no no, give me back, well
Speaker 4: pull the track up.
Speaker 1: Did you did you beat the comp?
Speaker 4: I we listened to Seasons of Love and I was
Speaker 4: in the I mean we were in the studio. They
Speaker 4: played it and I was like, listen to it. It
Speaker 4: was just mind blowing me. Anyway, that was all happening,
Speaker 4: and Adam Pascal said, if you can touch it, I'll
Speaker 4: break your fingers.
Speaker 3: Then it's locked and there's lot because there's still something
Speaker 3: in there. I'm like, I could have done better. Tracy,
Speaker 3: it's done, You're done.
Speaker 2: Done.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I did have to re record something for that
Speaker 4: song actually because I did it and they put it together, like, actually,
Speaker 4: we want you to come back in and send your
Speaker 4: verse again because it's a little too stilted to loosen.
Speaker 1: Up the yeah yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7: Five.
Speaker 3: I was thinking, like I was on Broadway at the stage.
Speaker 1: Man, this is movie, right, it's a little different, right, yeah,
Speaker 1: a little bit.
Speaker 4: And then I had I'd been up all night the
Speaker 4: night before, and I'm like my voice might be raspy
Speaker 4: or something, so I didn't prepare.
Speaker 3: They're like today and I was like, I don't know
Speaker 3: what's gonna sound like, but you might like it. Yeah,
Speaker 3: you might like a little heft to the voice.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: We did a high seat to day though, and it's fine.
Speaker 3: The end is fine. It's the verse. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 3: someone there likely and that's what you hear on the album.
Speaker 1: I love it. It's a it's a little grifty and
Speaker 1: like gritty and I and I think that's the movie.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's the movie.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: Uh so overall, good experience, kind of mind blowing and
Speaker 2: surreal to say, yes.
Speaker 3: It was just kind of like magic the whole time.
Speaker 4: Everybody was you know, we all lived in San Francisco
Speaker 4: for those six months during the movie, so special and yeah,
Speaker 4: and we also but when we were singing along to
Speaker 4: the playback, I don't know how you guys didn't want
Speaker 4: to lave it.
Speaker 3: We can sing full.
Speaker 1: Out, yeah, yeah, but you can tell the effort, you know, yes, definitely.
Speaker 3: So we're singing full, full throat, Yeah, you're singing, but
Speaker 3: taking real leave. It took three days to shoot. By
Speaker 3: the time we ended up had no.
Speaker 1: Voice, Oh my gosh, because it was all the different Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, the setups. Yeah, in the different locations, right.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but I was squawking, wouldn't he until they said
Speaker 4: cut because we couldn't hear them say cut because the music.
Speaker 3: Is loud, you know.
Speaker 1: And then you finally made it to broad.
Speaker 2: After the fortieth audition and booking the movie, they said, okay,
Speaker 2: well let her off broadcast.
Speaker 1: What was that? Did you have to audition for Broadway
Speaker 1: at that point? Please tell me what I didn't?
Speaker 4: No. After Rent, I did Cold Case. I got Both
Speaker 4: Case right when I was coming out twenty years ago.
Speaker 4: And after that, I did Divorce Prada, k Pause, and
Speaker 4: I did Death Proof, the Quan Tarantino movie, and then
Speaker 4: I did the Broadway show, closed it.
Speaker 1: And that must have been Yeah, And the only reason.
Speaker 4: I did because Merle booked another job Dandridge, and she
Speaker 4: had to drop out of the show.
Speaker 1: Hey, listen, we'll take it how we can get it.
Speaker 1: But you earned it.
Speaker 3: And I was shooting Cold Case at the time, so
Speaker 3: I was flung back and forth.
Speaker 2: It was a crazy it's all about And but closing
Speaker 2: Rent is like I remember it's I mean, that show
Speaker 2: had run forever and it was such a cultural revolution
Speaker 2: and Broadway history.
Speaker 1: Like to close that show. What was the last show?
Speaker 3: Insane?
Speaker 4: Like every cast member came back, the whole audience was
Speaker 4: full of people and our families.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, everybody came up on.
Speaker 1: Stage and it was just it was probably a five
Speaker 1: hour show, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we were filming it. Yeah right, you know,
Speaker 3: so it's cameras where it was insane. It was like
Speaker 3: too much, but what crazy? But yeah, but it was crazy.
Speaker 3: It was crazy.
Speaker 1: What a fun experience. You made it, you did it?
Speaker 3: Did it?
Speaker 4: Was?
Speaker 1: Was it different doing Joanne in the movie and doing
Speaker 1: the stage?
Speaker 6: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Yeah, well in the in the movie, we didn't sing
Speaker 4: We're okay that song We're okay. But yeah, but you know,
Speaker 4: you know, D and I are out there doing our thing,
Speaker 4: and we we just really had a pack to work
Speaker 4: together and not against each other.
Speaker 3: I mean for.
Speaker 4: Joanne and Maureene just be like, you know, you just
Speaker 4: you just really lean into their fighting because it's fun, right.
Speaker 3: But yeah, just really lean into the love of it.
Speaker 4: Because I see so many take me or leave these
Speaker 4: where they're just screaming at each other and it's it's fun.
Speaker 4: They're trying everyone trying to out sing each other and
Speaker 4: they're screaming and I'm like, well, I'm never gonna win
Speaker 4: that fight because a Dane Monzel b right, be like Joe,
Speaker 4: Maureene has so much more song. Right, Maureene has a verse,
Speaker 4: a chorus, another verse, another chorus, and a bridge.
Speaker 3: And joy I'm waiting for her command, you know what.
Speaker 1: I like.
Speaker 3: I'm just my goal is to meet Maureene, not just
Speaker 3: you know. Plus, Mareene has a top notes. You know,
Speaker 3: she's the higher. It's just not I can't think about
Speaker 3: it that way. Let's think about it like this, like
Speaker 3: we're meeting each other.
Speaker 4: I'm just like, you know, so she's singing, sing and
Speaker 4: singing time how great she is, and it's finally like okay, okay, bitch.
Speaker 3: Wait, just is great. You're lucky. Yes, yes, think about
Speaker 3: that way. It's not as scary, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4: And if I came in and I was busted one day,
Speaker 4: but like you know, yeah, I agree that we would
Speaker 4: sing it lower, not a lower key, but lowers of notes. Yeah,
Speaker 4: show showed and C show. He came in and she
Speaker 4: was like, I'm busted. All right, we're going with the.
Speaker 1: C And you guys had agreed on that dynamics.
Speaker 3: Over top of somebody amazing, you know, and it was
Speaker 3: really great because I really felt like we were a team.
Speaker 2: It's also like what Rent was one of those shows
Speaker 2: that was notorious for like just you know, you could
Speaker 2: blow your voice hour singing easily singing, and then you
Speaker 2: have all these musical kids singing these songs, just screaming. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and you have Adam Pascal, who naturally sings screams.
Speaker 3: And rehearsals for the movie. He would sit there in
Speaker 3: a chair and just scream these notes. I know, been touring.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna have to stand and con tort my mom.
Speaker 1: He was like, I'm not trained, he said, excuse me,
Speaker 1: And I'm like, I don't.
Speaker 3: Why are you able to do that or in that way?
Speaker 3: You know those chords of steel.
Speaker 1: No, really, it's it's absolutely jarring and amazing.
Speaker 2: But uh but yeah, it's easy to for for singers
Speaker 2: to come in and be like, yeah, I could blow
Speaker 2: you know, I could I could you know, scream through Rent?
Speaker 1: You know, like well eight shows a week, so.
Speaker 3: The week hunting now you have no yeah, exactly, nods.
Speaker 2: Okay, we're going back a few steps to del War's
Speaker 2: pradac all right, you're a part of another cultural revolution.
Speaker 2: Touch point, you know, in history and a very important
Speaker 2: part of my history. So tell me about that experience, Like,
Speaker 2: did you guys know, did anybody know?
Speaker 1: Like, no, nobody knew.
Speaker 3: No, I mean I thought it.
Speaker 4: Would be cool, right, Hecummer. It was Anne's first adult movie.
Speaker 4: She had been like Princess diarisesm before then, you know,
Speaker 4: I mean so right, of course adult movie. The biggest
Speaker 4: star in there probably was Adrian from his Entourage show,
Speaker 4: and it was a relatively small cast.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and uh, we just did. I worked like four
Speaker 3: days of the movie, that's.
Speaker 1: It, and then it comes out. You guys have a
Speaker 1: great time in those four days.
Speaker 3: It comes out and it's like this phenomenon.
Speaker 1: Truly, they just have no idea, Wow, wow, you know, yeah.
Speaker 4: What's gonna hit. And also that script kept changing the
Speaker 4: adaptation from a book, so it kept taking things out
Speaker 4: and putting things, you know, different things. And I was
Speaker 4: supposed of a different another scene. I was supposed to
Speaker 4: pick her from the airport at the end of the movie,
Speaker 4: but then we lost the location of the airports.
Speaker 3: Never shot it, so it's part of the story, but
Speaker 3: it's not there. So it looks like after she goes
Speaker 3: to Paris.
Speaker 6: I'm just like, bye, right right, right right. It's until
Speaker 6: I rewatched it this year I was like, oh, got
Speaker 6: your arc in half? Oh okay, I was supposed to
Speaker 6: pick her up, you know, right right?
Speaker 2: Wow?
Speaker 1: Do people recognize you?
Speaker 2: You've done so much now I feel like people like
Speaker 2: recognize you from Rent or they recognize you from No
Speaker 2: No one.
Speaker 1: But like it is double was proud of the thing?
Speaker 3: No really now no, oh my gosh, Now I think
Speaker 3: nine one one is the thing?
Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough, Wow, I think, but it's anything.
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, like I was on that for
Speaker 4: four years, and people love cocaine, so right now it's
Speaker 4: usually nine one one.
Speaker 1: So Devil's Product is coming out with a sequel. Are
Speaker 1: you a part of the sequel? I am? Was it fun?
Speaker 4: It was fun, but very different because it's a phenomenon now,
Speaker 4: right you can't.
Speaker 3: Shoot anyone on paparazzi and droves of.
Speaker 1: People were you on location? Where like does everybody knew
Speaker 1: where you? Guys were.
Speaker 3: Operazzi?
Speaker 4: Every day the people find you and you look out
Speaker 4: the window and the whole street is just full of fans?
Speaker 1: What is that like?
Speaker 2: Doing that movie so long ago? And then all of
Speaker 2: a sudden, you guys are back, and it's like the
Speaker 2: phenomenon is still there?
Speaker 4: What is that? That's so crazy, very trippy because we're
Speaker 4: all doing this table read. You know, now the cast
Speaker 4: is a tripled in size. All these people are moving now,
Speaker 4: there's all kinds of creatures are happening. We're all through
Speaker 4: on the table with each other like, yeah, the new people.
Speaker 4: But then you have five of us, six of us
Speaker 4: who are original. Actually more is more of us than that.
Speaker 4: There's like some people at little bit parts have come
Speaker 4: back or they're little moments. But we're just looking around
Speaker 4: and everybody was nervous, including Meryl. We're all just like,
Speaker 4: oh my god, I can't wow, what is happening. So
Speaker 4: it's the same writer or same director, same camera operators.
Speaker 1: Oh I love that family, sir.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the costume designer is different.
Speaker 4: But but the costume designer before had done sex in
Speaker 4: the city and a costume person now does.
Speaker 3: It and just like that. So still feels yeah in
Speaker 3: the world. So wow, Yeah, it was crazy.
Speaker 1: That's so exciting.
Speaker 3: And I'm like, you have an oscar.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: Right, everybody's lived like a lot of lives that.
Speaker 3: Were we were just like children. Yeah, she was really
Speaker 3: like a child. Yeah, you know what I mean, she
Speaker 3: was like twenty two.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, unbelievable. Oh but that's so nice like that,
Speaker 1: you know.
Speaker 4: And I was like thirty wow, like forty forty two,
Speaker 4: forty three something like that. I just had a birthday,
Speaker 4: and I'm like, nine fifty.
Speaker 1: You don't look a day over twenty one, So please,
Speaker 1: you look beautiful. You're nice, and and you did it
Speaker 1: nine one one. You're part of the Ryan Murphy family now,
Speaker 1: and you've been doing nine one one for a long time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, nine seasons of nine one one.
Speaker 1: Has it been that long?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, what a lucky I mean, And not
Speaker 2: obviously it's all the things, but like shows don't go
Speaker 2: on that long anymore. Given that your first few shows
Speaker 2: were very short, that my first.
Speaker 3: Two and two episodes and that and then Cold Case.
Speaker 2: Was four and a half years, okay, that's fair that
Speaker 2: you've been on two really great, like hit shows that
Speaker 2: have run for a really really long time.
Speaker 1: How do you I mean, I can't imagine. It's like
Speaker 1: at this point in your.
Speaker 2: Career, you're like, Wow, what a lucky beat to have
Speaker 2: these things that keep living on right, Yeah.
Speaker 3: Because the industry is broken right now, what is working?
Speaker 3: That is booking anything? Because what is working so everybody
Speaker 3: can get whoever they want, right.
Speaker 4: Wow, You're like you're working so much. I'm like, I'm
Speaker 4: working on projects I booked a long time ago.
Speaker 3: Twenty years. It ago.
Speaker 1: Went almost tense, so everybody calmed down.
Speaker 3: You're booking. I'm sending my tapes into the void like
Speaker 3: takes off and brickets. Okay.
Speaker 1: And then we do concerts.
Speaker 3: We do benefit concerts.
Speaker 1: That's right. We love a benefit concert.
Speaker 2: I feel like I see you at every benefit concert
Speaker 2: we do together, part of the crew, and I still
Speaker 2: get nervous every time you do, too, terrified every time.
Speaker 1: I don't know why.
Speaker 4: What is that? Not to name drop, but I'm name dropping, okay,
Speaker 4: Leslie Oman Junior. A long time ago, it told me
Speaker 4: the reason why I'm so scared because I.
Speaker 3: Don't do it enough.
Speaker 2: Ah.
Speaker 1: I feel like we do do it enough.
Speaker 3: No, I don't think so we did what once or
Speaker 3: twice a year?
Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough? What are we supposed to be doing
Speaker 1: like ten a year? Yeah? Something?
Speaker 3: I don't know you all the time.
Speaker 2: The depth and breath of your career has been amazing.
Speaker 2: I hope you're proud because it's it's truly astounding. And
Speaker 2: everybody we speak your name and everybody says such kind
Speaker 2: things about you.
Speaker 1: You have such a good reputation.
Speaker 2: You work clearly for long periods of time with lots
Speaker 2: of great people. What do you hope for in that
Speaker 2: in the next decade of like work for for you?
Speaker 2: Like have you found the thing you love or do
Speaker 2: you want to keep kind of running the scale of
Speaker 2: like all the things.
Speaker 3: I'm interesting to see what happened. I still don't know.
Speaker 4: It's like, yes, I'm fifty, but I don't get cast
Speaker 4: as fifty year old now you know what I mean.
Speaker 3: You can't, but they know I'm fifty.
Speaker 4: So I get stuck in this thing about auditioning for
Speaker 4: stuff that I'm just like, I'm gonna play too young
Speaker 4: for Yeah, No, I am old enough to play the
Speaker 4: part like I went in.
Speaker 3: For something like I was playing like a parole officer
Speaker 3: or stuff. You know, like, no, we're gonna go older
Speaker 3: and I'm like I'm fifty.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh my gosh, Yeah that'll be interesting to see.
Speaker 3: Yeah, like if I ever catch up to myself.
Speaker 1: Because you have the like the attitude and Bravado and
Speaker 1: the wise name like a wiseness to you that you
Speaker 1: can do that. It's just like will people believe it
Speaker 1: because you don't want fifty Yeah?
Speaker 4: Mmmm, So I'm interested to see it, you know, I'm
Speaker 4: gonna think it's I mean, I'm ready to take public
Speaker 4: more responsibility that I than I have right now on
Speaker 4: like a show or something like yeah number because yeah,
Speaker 4: because and when I'm recurring, so I pop it.
Speaker 1: And out right right right.
Speaker 3: But on the other hand, it's like I would like
Speaker 3: the series regular money.
Speaker 1: Yeah, is that even a thing anymore?
Speaker 4: And I don't even know if it is a thing
Speaker 4: anymore actually, like oh yeah, we're just we're not going
Speaker 4: We're like two people were a serious.
Speaker 1: Right now now. I know it's so crazy. What about theater?
Speaker 3: In order me to do theater, I have to really
Speaker 3: love it. Yeah, it's just too hard.
Speaker 1: It's so hard.
Speaker 3: It was fun when I was in my youth.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's such a phase of like it's such a a.
Speaker 2: Moment in time where you're you have to really be
Speaker 2: in like the best shape of your life vocally and
Speaker 2: emotionally and energetically to just be able to give that
Speaker 2: a time.
Speaker 3: So so I love theater, but yeah, you do what
Speaker 3: to do it.
Speaker 1: You've done it, I've done it. I have a funny.
Speaker 1: Do you remember when we did the twenty four hour
Speaker 1: place and I the whole thing up.
Speaker 3: I'll bring it up.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna bring it up, because you know what, you
Speaker 1: can't take yourself too seriously.
Speaker 2: We were at the American Airlines Theater on Broadway, and
Speaker 2: there's a thing called twenty four hour plays where you
Speaker 2: everybody gets together, You get put together as a cast.
Speaker 2: The writer then meets the cast, They go away for overnight,
Speaker 2: they write this twelve page play. You come back, the
Speaker 2: actors get it and they have, you know, a few
Speaker 2: hours to learn it and block it and then put
Speaker 2: it up for an entire Broadway theater. Tracy and I
Speaker 2: did this with Rachel Dratch and uh Alicia Whitty, and
Speaker 2: every time, like all of my stuff was like stacked
Speaker 2: till the very end. Yeah, your last twelve pages or
Speaker 2: like the last like nine to twelve, and we'd be
Speaker 2: running it and running it and running it, and then
Speaker 2: all of a sudden we get interrupted and we didn't
Speaker 2: get to like the ninth move to.
Speaker 4: Another room, because then you don't have to make it
Speaker 4: fair when you rehearse it, you like keep moving around
Speaker 4: a different rehearsal spaces so that nobody feels like they.
Speaker 3: Have more space or you have a better.
Speaker 4: Space than me, and we can't bubble, you know whatever. Yeah,
Speaker 4: but you just don't understand people always it up.
Speaker 7: I mean.
Speaker 4: Really, the only thing that was interesting about ours with
Speaker 4: you is that we couldn't figure out how to get
Speaker 4: back on.
Speaker 1: We just.
Speaker 4: It just.
Speaker 3: Like we think it.
Speaker 2: I think I left you did you just left the same.
Speaker 2: I am good luck to you ladies, see you later.
Speaker 3: Sorry, bye.
Speaker 2: My character exits, but I skipped over two pages and
Speaker 2: so there was no contacts and they're just sitting there
Speaker 2: and I left.
Speaker 3: We were sitting there like.
Speaker 1: It haunts me to this day.
Speaker 4: It's scary when that happens. I mean I did it
Speaker 4: well with Michael Kay Williams where there was this non sequitor.
Speaker 4: I mean I had this line and I switched the
Speaker 4: subject completely, and every every time we rehearse that, my
Speaker 4: brain was hitch, I'll.
Speaker 3: Just go And I was like, I'm gonna put this
Speaker 3: up on the stage. I'm not. I cannot make this
Speaker 3: bridge in my brain. I haven't built the bridge. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 3: and and it came. The line came, and I was like,
Speaker 3: here it is.
Speaker 6: I got.
Speaker 3: Just stop that. I was like, and Michael K.
Speaker 4: Williams, God rest his soul suits me. I don't know
Speaker 4: if it's because I told him I think I'm gonna
Speaker 4: press this up. Yeah, but he just he just saved me.
Speaker 3: He just asked the question. And I was like, right,
Speaker 3: that's where we are. Thank God.
Speaker 1: No, there was no saving in that one.
Speaker 3: It's like every part of the the joy of it
Speaker 3: is supposed to.
Speaker 1: Be the pressure and the people know the circumstances.
Speaker 3: And the audience laughed and they said, they go one,
Speaker 3: am myself, what's happened?
Speaker 1: I know it's very good cause, but man, that is
Speaker 1: a tough one.
Speaker 4: And even though when we did where I mess up
Speaker 4: that line, David Lindsay bear from the audience. He was
Speaker 4: the writer, so yelled the line out from the audience,
Speaker 4: I mean yelled it from the you know it's supposed
Speaker 4: to be I know, you know them the sandwich named Kristen.
Speaker 3: I forget her name, I know it, but she forgot
Speaker 3: every single line. Every time they got to her, she
Speaker 3: was like, what is it? It's me again, It's me right,
Speaker 3: And it was hysterical.
Speaker 1: I know because I appreciate it as an audience member.
Speaker 1: I love that.
Speaker 2: I love watching people you're falling a hole, yeah, or
Speaker 2: like in esson L when people break, You're like, I'm
Speaker 2: waiting for that.
Speaker 1: I'm waiting for that, right.
Speaker 3: But I don't dually do him anymore because of that.
Speaker 1: Oh no, I haven't. I haven't done one since.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think i've done one since.
Speaker 1: I think I'm good.
Speaker 3: Do them all the time.
Speaker 2: You did say that to me afterwards, You're like, I
Speaker 2: do these all the time, and it happens every time,
Speaker 2: so don't worry.
Speaker 3: I think one time I was doing something else, so
Speaker 3: I didn't have a lot of time the day, so
Speaker 3: I ended up just being like a dead body.
Speaker 1: You've really done them so much that you didn't even
Speaker 1: have deadlines.
Speaker 3: I just died, like I came out and said something
Speaker 3: and died. I mean it was the whole thing. I mean,
Speaker 3: they're just.
Speaker 1: You guys. Can you've earned your keep there? So said
Speaker 1: here we'll throw you a bone. Here's one line.
Speaker 3: And then you see musicals.
Speaker 4: Oh no, no, no, no no, said the twenty Hours musicals.
Speaker 4: And I had lanceforne wrote me and Mandy Gonzalez the
Speaker 4: song No where the harmony was so complicated and we
Speaker 4: Rachel Rato was in our sny and she wrote all
Speaker 4: of her lyrics on her hands and very obvious kept
Speaker 4: looking at her.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a whole other thing. Is like learning
Speaker 2: a song in that time where the music just moves
Speaker 2: without you. It's not you're just going. It's like an
Speaker 2: audition that you learn last minute.
Speaker 3: Bad and they filmed it.
Speaker 4: It is on film, me and Mandy Gonzal screaming in
Speaker 4: each other's faces, clang clang, the notes clang clang, clan.
Speaker 5: Oh oh my gosh, destroyed this harmony And to this
Speaker 5: day I feel bad. See, Okay, so you're doesn't captured
Speaker 5: on film?
Speaker 3: You know what?
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's the I'll take it.
Speaker 2: We ask everybody who is on Glee, which I don't
Speaker 2: know why you were on Ugly, just saying what is
Speaker 2: the feeling that Glee leaves you with?
Speaker 1: And so I'm wondering, I guess what is the feeling
Speaker 1: that Rent leaves you with?
Speaker 2: Since we did recap Rent, even though your career is robust,
Speaker 2: that's six Ugly about No No Rent?
Speaker 1: What is the feeling that Rent leaves you with your experience.
Speaker 3: Yes, you know, I was supposed a couple of set
Speaker 3: that day that they did Take Me, Leave Me.
Speaker 4: I was cleared and then I had to work. That
Speaker 4: shifted and I had to work and could not go
Speaker 4: for the filming of Taking Me, and they sang the
Speaker 4: mess out of it.
Speaker 1: God, yes they did Bummer bummer.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 3: Rent is just like I'm still a Rent fan. M
Speaker 3: red Head.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I used to like sign out rooms at Juilliard just
Speaker 4: to sing Rent songs. Oh me and my friend Jeff
Speaker 4: rest his soul. It's like three o'clock in the real one,
Speaker 4: you know.
Speaker 3: Just like light my candle, see you there.
Speaker 1: See that's so cute.
Speaker 4: It was very surreal that I was able to do
Speaker 4: it in the capacity that I did, you know what
Speaker 4: I mean. I was just trying to be a fan
Speaker 4: the swing and the thing on the bus and truck tour,
Speaker 4: you know what I mean when I was auditioning for
Speaker 4: it and to get the movie and to do the
Speaker 4: show on Broadway.
Speaker 3: And I did it. Hollywood Bowl, I love that one.
Speaker 1: It's like so fun.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Kyler and Vanessa and everybody. But as I went
Speaker 3: from playing Memings who played Marine and a lot yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean Wayne Brady was in it. I mean, like
Speaker 3: literally breaking what a time?
Speaker 1: What a time?
Speaker 3: I don't know if I answer your question. It's just
Speaker 3: it's just I'm just so grateful, Yeah, you know what
Speaker 3: I mean.
Speaker 4: Even still I feel like because I only did it
Speaker 4: for five weeks on Broadway, maybe I feel like I
Speaker 4: don't have the the battle scars that people have from
Speaker 4: doing it they did it like years. Sure, I mean
Speaker 4: I still kind of like a little bit like an
Speaker 4: outsider thing. I'm like, I just popped into the end there,
Speaker 4: you know. I mean I didn't really have the whole
Speaker 4: no no, no, no months thing.
Speaker 3: But but I'm part of it, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: You're a huge part of it. I mean, so you
Speaker 1: put your stamp on Joan for sure.
Speaker 3: So I think so, you know, I and I try
Speaker 3: to give as much homage to Freddy as I could, know.
Speaker 1: What I mean, and make it yours.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know what I mean. But also you know,
Speaker 3: bring her into it, of course.
Speaker 1: Well it's a joy to see you. Any excuse, thank.
Speaker 3: You back stage freaking out about what heaven is saying
Speaker 3: not poler lines or remember lines.
Speaker 1: The amount of times we've been backstage nervous, whether.
Speaker 2: It's singing for Debbie Allen or singing at a gallow
Speaker 2: with Merlin Seth or you know, all the things, but
Speaker 2: you give your time back and you're there, and it's
Speaker 2: it's always so nice to see you and doing that
Speaker 2: because you're so busy and you know, working and doing
Speaker 2: all the amazing things. So it's it's just I'm so
Speaker 2: grateful for you and thank you for coming on and
Speaker 2: chatting with us and sharing your stuff.
Speaker 1: And I'll see at the next benefit.
Speaker 3: Concept with some vocals on.
Speaker 7: Yeah, exactly, some great Oh my gosh, oh thank you, Tracy,
Speaker 7: thank you, it's so fun. Yes see you you, Tracy Toms, everybody.
Speaker 7: I hope that any of that made sense because we
Speaker 7: were just scabbing and hanging out. Tracy's amazing, she said,
Speaker 7: such an incredible body of work as an actress, from
Speaker 7: you know, nine one one on for ten.
Speaker 2: Years to being Joanne in the movie of Ren and
Speaker 2: then going on to finish you know, the Broadway run.
Speaker 2: And she is I mean when I say like, she's
Speaker 2: always at every benefit concert that I'm either producing or
Speaker 2: singing out with her.
Speaker 1: Alongside her, and it's just such a joy.
Speaker 2: She's still so deeply and committed to the community, and
Speaker 2: she's giving back and also just a lovely human and
Speaker 2: just wildly talented and of course I wore proud of too.
Speaker 2: You will see her in and nine one one is
Speaker 2: returning in January eighth to all episodes on Hulu. And
Speaker 2: thanks Tracy for coming to hang out with us, and
Speaker 2: that's what you really missed.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram at and
Speaker 1: that's what you really miss pod. Make sure to write
Speaker 1: us a review and leave us five stars. See you
Speaker 1: next time.