#hairspray

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with NaTasha Yvette Williams, Tony Award Nominated Broadway Star, "Sweet Sue" from “Some Like It Hot”

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s special guest, NaTasha Yvette Williams, is currently taking Broadway by storm in her spectacular Tony Award-nominated portrayal of “Sweet Sue”, who most definitely puts the HEAT in the smash hit musical, “Some Like it Hot”.  

In addition to her Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, she received an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Musical.   Our guest is a Broadway veteran, having appeared in 7 other Broadway shows including “The Color Purple”, “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess”, which earned her and her fellow cast members a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album,  “A Night With Janis Joplin”, “Waitress”, “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical”, “Chicago”, and “Chicken & Biscuits”.   

She’s also appeared in the national tours of “Xanadu”, “The Drowsy Chaperone”, the Elvis musical “All Shook Up”, “Seussical the Musical”, and “Cinderella”.  And she’s starred in Regional productions of many shows including “Hairspray”, “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, and “Mahalia: A Gospel Musical”.  

She won an Audelco Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical for playing “Grandma” and “Spirit of the Booty” in “Bella: An American Tall Tale”.   On the big screen, she appeared in “Sweet Little Lies”, “Alice”, and “Better Nate than Ever”.  And on TV, you’ve seen her in “Orange is the New Black”, “Madam Secretary”, “New Amsterdam”, “FBI”, “The Good Fight”, “Harlem”, “Partner Track”, “Run the World”  - and of course, who can ever forget her magnificent 2015 television performances as “Queenie” in “Live from Lincoln Center” and “Glinda” in “The Wiz: Live!”.  

In addition to her Broadway cast albums, she’s released 2 solo albums of beautiful standards, “How Deep is the Ocean”, and “For My Mother”.   And she’s appeared in concert with the New York Philharmonic and numerous symphony orchestras across America.   

After seeing “Some Like it Hot” during my recent trip to New York, I became OBSESSED with getting this FABULOUS woman to appear on our show.  And today, despite her grueling performance schedule, she has graciously agreed to grant me this interview.

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about Joel Thurm, go to:

https://www.instagram.com/natashayvettewilliams/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/53sTxOQ5mNoqYdxO1heLUk

#NaTashaYvetteWilliams   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Jerry Mitchell, Multi-Award Winning Director and Choreographer, Author, “Backstage Pass”

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest, Jerry Mitchell, is a multi-award winning director and choreographer who’s brought us some of the most beloved and iconic musicals in the past 40 years.  

After dancing in Broadway shows including “Will Rogers Follies”, “Brigadoon” and “On Your Toes”, he’s gone on to choreograph dozens of shows on Broadway, in London’s West End, and for touring productions.  He choreographed the world premiere of the musical “Jeckyll & Hyde”.  He was the choreographer for many Broadway shows including “The Full Monty”, “Hairspray”, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, “Legally Blonde”, “Pretty Woman: The Musical”, and “Kinky Boots” and “On Your Feet”, which he also directed.   He choreographed the Broadway revivals of “Grease”, “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, “The Rocky Horror Show”, “Gypsy”, and “La Cage Aux Folles”.  He’s been nominated for 8 Tony Awards and won 2 for Best Choreography, for “Kinky Boots”, and “La Cage Aux Folles”, for which he also won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award.   

He’s also received 4 Laurence Olivier Award nominations, 6 more Drama Desk Award nominations, and 3 more Outer Circle Award nominations.  In addition to his work in the theatre, our guest directed the movie versions of “Kinky Boots:  The Musical” and “Legally Blonde: The Musical”.  

He was also the choreographer for a number of movies including “Scent of a Woman”, “In & Out”, “The Object of My Affection”, “One True Thing”, and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”.  On TV, he’s choreographed numerous shows including the 2004 Tony Awards, the 2016 live performance of “Hairspray”, and he got an Emmy Award nomination and WON an American Choreography Award for his work on “The Drew Carey Show”.   

In Las Vegas, he created, directed and choreographed “Peep Show”, the longest-running live show at Planet Hollywood.   

And on top of ALL THAT, this incredibly generous man created, and for many years directed, the hugely popular annual “Broadway Bares” burlesque and comedy extravaganza, for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, a vitally important fundraising organization within the theatre community, that has raised over 25 million dollars for AIDS related causes across America.  

If you’re not familiar with “Broadway Bares”, you MUST GET our guest’s wonderful book about this annual show, entitled “Backstage Pass”.   

AND, in recognition of his dedication and contributions to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, as well as his 3 decades of volunteer service through the arts, our guest will be receiving the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Award at the upcoming Tony Awards on June 11.   

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

To see more about Jerry Mitchell, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/jammyprod/

https://www.instagram.com/jammyprod/

https://www.tiktok.com/@jammyprod

#JerryMitchell   #harveybrownstoneinterviews

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Kevin Spirtas, Star of “Days of Our Lives” and “After Forever”, Singer, Writer and Producer

About Harvey's guest:

Today’s guest exemplifies the word “multi-talented”.  

He’s literally done it all:  Broadway, movies, television, and web programming.  You’ve  seen him on the big screen in hit movies including “Friday the 13th - Part VII: The New Blood”, “The Hills Have Eyes Part II”, “Apt Pupil”, and “Daredevil”.  On TV, he starred as Tom Gallagher in “Rituals”, and as Tim Burke on “Valley of the Dolls”, and as Jonas Chamberlain on “One Life to Live”.  But he’s most recognized around the world as the dashing heartthrob, Dr. Craig Wesley from NBCs daytime drama, “Days of Our Lives”.   But there’s so much more to this man.  At the age of 18, he was already appearing on Broadway in “A Chorus Line”, followed by “Meet Me in St. Louis”.  And he’s appeared on stage in numerous shows including “Hairspray”, “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Into the Woods”.  He’s also an award-winning writer and producer.   And when he’s not filming, he can be seen touring the country in his musical one man show: “Night & Days”.  If that weren’t enough, he co-wrote, produced and starred in the critically acclaimed digital TV series, “After Forever”, which won 17 awards including 6 Emmy awards. 

On September 12, 2005, television audiences worldwide heard Spirtas introduce the song: The Sweetest Of Nights And The Finest Of Days, as he sang it at Chloe & Brady’s wedding on Days of Our Lives. On the same day he released a CD single of the song and contributes a portion of each CD sold to the RED CROSS for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Spirtas can also be seen touring the country and seven seas performing his hit musical one man show: “Night & Days”. 

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com/

http://kevinspirtas.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kevin.spirtas.3

http://www.twitter.com/kevinspirtas

http://www.instagram.com/kevinspirtas

#KevinSpirtas  #AfterForever  #DaysOfOurLives  #harveybrownstoneinterviews

The story and music of the musical based on the John Waters film, "Hairspray".

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Genius Comedy Writer Bruce Vilanch 

About Harvey's guest:

Widely considered to be the King of Comedy, Bruce Vilanch has written uproariously funny material for everyone from Bette Midler to Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and dozens more of your favourite stars.   For decades, he’s written material for every major award show including the Oscars, the Emmies, the Tonies, and the People’s Choice Awards, and he’s won 6 Emmy Awards.   He even wrote the Star Wars Holiday Special.  You’ve seen him in many movies, including “Mahogany”, “Breathless” and “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan”.  In the late 90s he became a household name as everyone’s favourite wisecracking celebrity panelist on Hollywood Squares.  You’ve also seen him on the Celebrity Fit Club, Jury Duty, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Child of the 70s, and dozens of documentaries and TV specials.   He’s written plays and song lyrics.  He’s been a columnist for The Advocate.  He’s co-authored numerous books, and he wrote his own hilarious book of essays entitled, “Bruce: My Adventures in the Skin Trade”.  

For more interviews and podcasts go to: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com

https://twitter.com/thebrucevilanch

#brucevilanch  @thebrucevilanch  #harveybrownstoneinterviews