Behind the Broadway Curtain with Sue Gilad

YES - Sue ​[00:00:00] Jodie Lemon: [00:00:05] [00:00:10] [00:00:15] [00:00:20] [00:00:25] Welcome to the Yes Women’s Network. I’m Jodi Lemmon. I am your podcast host [00:00:30] today, and today I have with me Sue Glad. I am so [00:00:35] excited to interview Sue. She is a Broadway producer from New [00:00:40] York, and I love New York.

Sue Gilad: Yep, that’s exactly right. I can do my [00:00:45] New York accent if that’s helpful. Jodie Lemon: Please do. I wanna hear that. Sue Gilad: So anytime [00:00:50] I’m with my sisters and we get really excited, we start talking like this.

Jodie Lemon: Oh, I would’ve [00:00:55] said New Jersey, but I love New York. I love going there. Sue Gilad: It’s [00:01:00] really magical. We’re- and we’re full up for the first time since COVID. This is really the first season [00:01:05] that our numbers are back up.

You know, my job always, Jodi, is to turn every kid into a [00:01:10] theater kid, to make theater seem as cool, maybe more cool, than [00:01:15] sports. And I think on Broadway we’re making it happen, that the theaters are all full with all kinds of [00:01:20] audiences. We see everything. We, we have a show, The Outsiders, on Broadway, and I [00:01:25] call that my boys’ show because it, there’s a big fight scene in the middle with [00:01:30] mud and blood and rain. 100 gallons of water falls on the [00:01:35] stage every performance.

Boys love it. And then next door we [00:01:40] have Buena Vista Social Club, which is a beautiful Cuban story. [00:01:45] And we actually have a Met, a New York Met, and a New [00:01:50] York Yankee that’s going to be coming in to perform on stage together. We’re gonna have, like, our very own [00:01:55] Broadway subway series. It’s gonna be pretty fantastic.

So if anybody likes [00:02:00] sports, they’ll come to theater and they’ll get their sports fix, too. Jodie Lemon: That sounds great. I [00:02:05] love sports, so I’m coming, too. Sue Gilad: Do you? Okay, yeah, come on over.

You’re invited all the time. [00:02:10] I, I really like to make… It, it really is my agenda to make every kid a theater kid [00:02:15] because this crazy thing happens when you sit in the dark and you hear a story [00:02:20] together. Midway through the story, everyone’s heart starts to beat at the same [00:02:25] cadence. You’re actually literally creating this incredible energy together in [00:02:30] which everyone is going through this journey as one.

And [00:02:35] it creates a sense of unity and a sense of community that I think the whole world could [00:02:40] benefit from right now. That’s, it’s not exclusive to Broadway. That’s literally community theater. That’s [00:02:45] your sixth-grade niece’s production of The Addams Family or Clue. That’s [00:02:50] everywhere where we all get to be on the same page and look at a story from the inside [00:02:55] out and develop empathy and care and all the things that I think women are [00:03:00] really naturally great at, and then men maybe have to work at a little bit more.

Jodie Lemon: How did you get [00:03:05] into theater? Was it something you grew up doing? Sue Gilad: Yeah, you know, my big sister [00:03:10] danced, so I went to dance class. And I don’t know if you know this, Jodi, but you’re not supposed to talk [00:03:15] in dance class. So I was obviously terrible in da- so they were like, “You, you, who [00:03:20] can’t stop talking, go down the hall to the theater people.

The theater people are chatterboxes.” [00:03:25] And so I really, I found my tribe that way, and I grew up, and in high school I got to do theater with [00:03:30] all the crazy, weird theater kids. Um, and then at college I got to do theater with the crazy, [00:03:35] weird theater kids, and I thought, “I wanna make this my life. I, I want to be around this [00:03:40] energy forever.” So I was really lucky that some of my friends, my actor friends, [00:03:45] who are super talented, started writing shows.

And they said, “Sue, you’re the, the [00:03:50] biggest theater fan I’ve ever met. How about you produce this?” To which I said, “A, [00:03:55] I would love to, and B What do I have to do? So a [00:04:00] producer, you know, first of all, we’re the champion for the show. We find the show, or if we’re really [00:04:05] lucky, the show comes to us, and then it’s our job to build the team.

[00:04:10] Uh, the director, the choreographer, all of the designers, the [00:04:15] general manager, the stage management, the everyone who’s gonna be part of the team, and then eventually the [00:04:20] actors. And then once the show opens, now you wanna find your tribe. You wanna [00:04:25] find your audience. So who are you marketing to? Who’s your core audience that really [00:04:30] cares?

Who are the people that will maybe start to care if it responds, if the [00:04:35] audience responds to it the way you hope? And it’s like by the time you open on Broadway, it takes the [00:04:40] average show between eight and 10 years to get to Broadway, the average musical, I would [00:04:45] say. And by then you’re like, “Okay, I’m done,” but it’s actually like you [00:04:50] open the show on Broadway and you begin because now you share your baby [00:04:55] with the whole world. Jodie Lemon: Wow. Sue Gilad: So it’s, uh, it’s a remarkable, it’s a [00:05:00] remarkable journey, and each show has its own personality, and each show tells [00:05:05] its own story, has its own audience, and the success of one show does not necessarily [00:05:10] imply the success of another show, so every time we start with something new, it’s, it’s really its own [00:05:15] entrepreneurial venture.

And, uh, we get to find whose heart [00:05:20] will it open, whose mind will it open, and I gravitate towards stories of [00:05:25] the underdog, of the outsider, of the misunderstood [00:05:30] person, with the hopes that that person in the audience who’s feeling lost or feeling confused or feeling like [00:05:35] they don’t belong or fit in or just feeling helpless for the day will [00:05:40] see that story and say, “Oh my gosh, I thought I was alone. I’m not alone at all.” [00:05:45] Yeah, so it can be really empowering, really. And you know, there’s a, there’s a whole [00:05:50] generation of kids like me. I, you know, I, I was a terrible soccer player.

I tried. I really did try. [00:05:55] And you know, that’s what you did in my high school. You played a sport. And I did [00:06:00] it.

I tr- I tried my best, Joey, but oh my gosh, [00:06:05] please put me backstage with a months of— bunch of artists. Like, that’s my happy place. So [00:06:10] even though we don’t have a tremendous amount of arts funding in the United [00:06:15] States, not nearly as much as I would like to have, we have these really fun initiatives. We [00:06:20] have an initiative at The Outsiders, which is a story of the haves and the have-nots, [00:06:25] right? The, the Socs, that stands for the socialites, the kids who have [00:06:30] graduation parties and barbecues, and then the s- the Greasers who have [00:06:35] Broken families and broken cars sitting out in the yard.

And the [00:06:40] Socs and the Greasers are natural enemies, and the, the world of the Greasers and [00:06:45] the Socs is only defined by teenagers. We have no adult figures in the show at all. [00:06:50] Really a reflection of what it is to be a young person. The book The [00:06:55] Outsiders was the book that sort of started off the young adult genre, [00:07:00] allowed kids’ voice to be heard, not just seen and be quiet while the adults do their [00:07:05] thing, but actually young people. And we have this initiative called the Stay Gold Project [00:07:10] where we bring in kids who have never seen a show.

This is their first show, and I love to stand at the [00:07:15] bottom of the mezzanine and watch them watch the show because I can usually find three kids that just [00:07:20] turned into theater— They didn’t know, and they’re like this, and I’m like, “Oh, [00:07:25] you’re a theater kid. Welcome to our community.” Jodie Lemon: I love that. That’s really great. [00:07:30] Sue Gilad: It’s, it’s really very special.

So, and I’m really proud of that initiative, [00:07:35] um, because it opens up not just our world, but, like, gives you [00:07:40] permission to feel, gives you permission to not have to put on a brave face all [00:07:45] the time because the, the whole idea of a theatrical story is to [00:07:50] get to the core mushy part that you shouldn’t really— that you’re told in our society to not really share with [00:07:55] anyone else, and it’s a really delicious place to get to. It’s a very safe, [00:08:00] vulnerable but safe space. Jodie Lemon: So is The Outsiders one of those shows that [00:08:05] you have going right now? Sue Gilad: Yeah. You know, we have The Outsiders on Broadway.

We’re entering [00:08:10] year three. We were fortunate with The Outsiders that it was, um- It was [00:08:15] really warmly welcomed when we opened on Broadway, so we earned the Tony Award for Best Musical. Our [00:08:20] director, Danya Taymor, earned the Tony Award for Best Direction as well as Best Sound and Lighting. And, [00:08:25] um, now we’re also on tour everywhere in North America, so of course we started our [00:08:30] tour in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is where the story takes place. And, [00:08:35] um, we were just in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa.

We’re going to be in Salt Lake City in a few weeks. [00:08:40] We’ll pretty much be in, in every city that you can imagine where there’s theater, and if you go to [00:08:45] outsidersmusical. Com, you can find that. Um, and then Outsiders will [00:08:50] probably hit the rest of the world. That’s how it works in the theater is you start in one [00:08:55] place, whether it be New York or London, and if the world likes you, [00:09:00] then off you go on a tour, and then off you go to the rest of the world.

So our show Moulin [00:09:05] Rouge started on Broadway, went to Australia, North American tour. Now it’s [00:09:10] doing a world tour. It’s playing in London at the Piccadilly Theater. So if, if you wanna [00:09:15] find Moulin Rouge, we will chase you around the world until you get somewhere. But you [00:09:20] can see The Outsiders on tour, and then we also have a, a really…

Our beautiful show, Buena Vista [00:09:25] Social Club, where we have the Met and the Yankee on Broadway. We just launched that North American [00:09:30] tour, and it was so much fun to hear the audiences in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, [00:09:35] because so many of them have Cuban heritage, and they knew every song. They [00:09:40] were, you know, crying, singing along. It was so beautiful. Um, and then I’ll have more [00:09:45] shows for you if you’re a fan of Prince and the Revolution.

Come see Purple Rain [00:09:50] on Broadway. We’ll open in April of ‘27 on Broadway, and [00:09:55] chances are good that we might just also travel North America in a few years if the audiences [00:10:00] respond the way we hope they will. So we have a show for you no matter what you’re interested in. Jodie Lemon: [00:10:05] Do you get to travel with these shows too? Sue Gilad: I love to.

You know what’s so crazy, Jody? [00:10:10] I was in five cities over seven days last week because Buena Vista [00:10:15] Social Club was in Tampa in Florida, and then it was in Fort Lauderdale, so we wanted to see what those [00:10:20] audiences were like. We have another show called The Who’s Tommy [00:10:25] You might know Pete Townshend and The Who. It’s a band from the, really, really popular band from the [00:10:30] ’60s and ’70s, and Tommy was a concept album that was [00:10:35] turned into a musical. And, uh, we produced the revival of it a few years ago on [00:10:40] Broadway.

Now it’s on tour around the country. So we swung by Denver to see that show, which was [00:10:45] electric and, um, the audience was like a lot of rockers, like super cool [00:10:50] rockers. And then we were in, uh, LA for The Outsiders, so we were jumping [00:10:55] around a lot. We always wanna see the audiences on tour because it’s kind of [00:11:00] like an opening night every night. On Broadway we have people who, you know, we call them repeat [00:11:05] offenders.

They’ve seen the show once, twice, 14, 32 times, and we’re grateful to them, [00:11:10] but they know everything happening in the show. Whereas you see a show in a new city [00:11:15] Nobody has seen it. It’s a, it’s a, it’s an opening night audience. The [00:11:20] reactions are real, they’re visceral, they’re beautiful, and it sort of gives me life even [00:11:25] though I have been affiliated with these shows for years and years. It’s the first time [00:11:30] someone new has seen it, and that’s a thrilling moment.

Jodie Lemon: So what do you do as a Broadway [00:11:35] producer? Sue Gilad: We get pitched a lot of shows, which, which is always fun. [00:11:40] I always recommend to writers or aspiring writers, please make sure you have [00:11:45] two magic words before you send me a script, and those words are the end. [00:11:50] Because sometimes someone will send me an idea for a script, and I got that idea last week from someone else, but what have [00:11:55] you, the writer, done with it? So we’ll, we’ll try to read everything that comes in.

[00:12:00] I, I, I will always read something that comes from a friend or someone I’ve worked with before, and we have a team that [00:12:05] reads. And then we’ll go to developmental workshops and readings, and we’ll be looking at things that are [00:12:10] downtown or in summer stock or out-of-town theaters. Really anywhere. We’re just [00:12:15] constantly looking for what is our next project. And then once we green-light something and [00:12:20] say we wanna be part of this team, it’s then about gathering everyone together, [00:12:25] um, finding your core team, and then it, it can literally start, Jodi, with [00:12:30] a bunch of very talented actors sitting around a living room eating pizza [00:12:35] and reading the script.

Sometimes it’s good in the beginning to not have the greatest actors [00:12:40] because if you have wonderful, accomplished actors, sometimes they will be able to [00:12:45] out-act a script that might have some bumps in it. And in the beginning, what we’re really looking [00:12:50] for is where are the bumps? Where are the things that don’t work so that we can address them? [00:12:55] And then we’ll do an out-of-town tryout. For example, The Outsiders, we did our [00:13:00] out-of-town tryout in La Jolla in California.

Um, for the Who’s Tommy, we started at the Goodman [00:13:05] Theatre in Chicago. These are beautiful theaters and great communities, and they tell [00:13:10] you, you know, the director and the choreographer and the designers, they’re watching what’s happening on stage. [00:13:15] The producer’s watching the audience because the audience will tell us, is there a moment that you’re leaning in? [00:13:20] Are you starting to tear up? Are you laughing hysterically or are you kind of [00:13:25] fidgeting in your seat waiting for it to end?

So if you know how to listen to that, you know where are the [00:13:30] moments in the show that need attention and need love, so that for the entire show by [00:13:35] the time it gets to Broadway, everyone’s like this. That’s really what I’m looking for. [00:13:40] And then once the show opens on Broadway, it’s about keeping it [00:13:45] open, keeping it front of mind, getting your cheerleaders, your sentries, [00:13:50] the people who care so deeply about it. And then if you’re a musical, [00:13:55] making sure that people like the music. We, we just hit 100 million streams with the album [00:14:00] of The Outsiders, and that just tells me that people who can’t have access to [00:14:05] Broadway are still enjoying a part of what the art is there.

Jodie Lemon: I was told I’m supposed [00:14:10] to ask you about the bathroom test. What is that? Sue Gilad: Oh, the [00:14:15] ba- So this, I think this only works if you’re a girl. Um, so [00:14:20] during intermission, I love to stand on the women’s [00:14:25] bathroom line. There’s usually not a line for the men’s room.

There’s always a line for the women’s room. And I like to stand [00:14:30] on line, and I, I love to listen to what are people [00:14:35] saying about the show, because they’re being very candid. And I will usually, if I do talk to someone, it will [00:14:40] usually be the youngest person on line, because they are so free with their opinions. And I’ll say, [00:14:45] “Oh my gosh, welcome to the theater. You’re dressed beautifully.

That’s so nice. Well, who’s your favorite [00:14:50] character? What’s your favorite moment so far? What do you think is going to happen?” You know- [00:14:55] And boy do they tell you, especially in early development.

I’m really listening during [00:15:00] intermission and I try to stay around after the show to sort of walk out [00:15:05] quietly, walk back in and then walk out again behind people who have strong opinions and they’re [00:15:10] speaking about the show and it’s the best litmus test. It is the, the greatest focus group you could [00:15:15] ever imagine. And I’ll just tell you that whenever you’re at the theater, whenever any of your audience is at the theater, [00:15:20] make sure you don’t say anything terrible. We have a three-block rule. Like, make sure you’re [00:15:25] three blocks away from the theater because invariably if you say something terrible, the person who you’re [00:15:30] talking about, their mother is sitting behind you.

I promise, it happens every time. So you just wanna make sure, [00:15:35] be incredibly gracious with all of your comments until you’re far, far away. Jodie Lemon: That’s funny ‘cause we [00:15:40] say that in sports too because you never know who’s sitting beside you or behind you. [00:15:45] You never know if it’s somebody’s mom. Out of all of the productions you worked on, [00:15:50] do you have a favorite production?

Sue Gilad: Ooh, this is a little bit like asking me my favorite [00:15:55] child. Actually, I think my favorite child is an easier question. Um, I, I [00:16:00] have so many different favorite shows for lots of different reasons, but I’ll [00:16:05] say that it’s always about the people. It’s never about the actual [00:16:10] show. Although I’ve seen Moulin Rouge over 200 times and watching it is [00:16:15] thrilling every single time, um, it’s about the people who you make the theater with that [00:16:20] makes it sort of magical.

So my, my producing partner, his name is [00:16:25] Larry, I met him in 1996. I was in an off-Broadway show [00:16:30] and, uh, my dance partner was Larry’s boyfriend at the time, and he [00:16:35] kept talking about how his boyfriend was coming up. That was the year of Rent on Broadway. He was gonna come up and see [00:16:40] Rent on Broadway. And now those are the times where we would wait overnight to get [00:16:45] those rush tickets.

It was a crazy time. Anyway, I met Larry [00:16:50] and I said, “I just wanna be around this person.” You know, I know that if a show is a huge success [00:16:55] or if it’s a huge failure and we’re the only two people at the opening night party, Jodi, [00:17:00] we’re still gonna have the time of our lives. We’re just gonna have the best time. [00:17:05] And he has so many strengths that I don’t have.

He’s really great at [00:17:10] Identifying a show in early development, like where, where’s the gem in there even though the [00:17:15] story is still a little bumpy, and I’m better at saying much later in development, these are [00:17:20] the two or three things that maybe need a little bit of tweaking before it’s ready for the big show. [00:17:25] Um, and I feel really fortunate to have this partnership because it [00:17:30] really motivates me, because we’re so entrepreneurial. Every show we do is, is a [00:17:35] new lift. It’s a new labor of love, and I at the end of the day want to be able to report back and [00:17:40] say, “These are the 40 things I did today.

Yay, to make your life a little bit [00:17:45] easier.” And I will always say with any career, but especially something [00:17:50] that can be solitary and can also be volatile, like the arts, um, [00:17:55] have a cheerleader or two who really have your back no matter what [00:18:00] happens because we have so many shows that we love so much and then the [00:18:05] audience just doesn’t feel the same way. They don’t, it doesn’t turn into a huge hit. It doesn’t, [00:18:10] we’re not fortunate enough to win the Tony Award with that show. That show sort of goes quietly [00:18:15] away, and it can break your heart ‘cause it’s your baby.

It’s one of your children. You’ve spent so [00:18:20] much love and attention on it. So if you have a team that wakes up the next day [00:18:25] after a bad review and says, “What are we doing today? What’s the first day of [00:18:30] rehearsal? Where’s our meet and greet today?

Come on, we have another shot at this,” then you’ll be [00:18:35] okay. Jodie Lemon: You’ve won five Tony Awards. How did it feel when you [00:18:40] won the very first one? Tell me about that. Sue Gilad: [00:18:45] They’re very heavy, you know.

Um, they’re legitimately heavy. It- [00:18:50] it’s an, it’s an amazing feeling because it means something different to [00:18:55] 13-year-old me than it does to grown-up me. My 13-year-old [00:19:00] self, every time I get to meet an actor who was a hero of mine in [00:19:05] my childhood, my insides do a little back flip. And, [00:19:10] uh, you know, it takes a village to build a Broadway show, so there’s a whole team [00:19:15] that will create, um, one show. So our first Tony Award was for a play.

[00:19:20] I don’t usually do plays, Jodi, but this one operates like a musical. It’s called Angels in America. It’s actually right above my [00:19:25] head, and Angels in America I was a co-producer on, so that means I wasn’t one of the decision-makers, [00:19:30] but I got a chance to sit at the table and listen while the more experienced producers [00:19:35] made all the decisions, which was, wow, what a learning experience. But, um, when [00:19:40] they called Angels in America, we all get to go up on stage and stand there together, and [00:19:45] I think on one side of me I had John Leguizamo, who is an actor who [00:19:50] used to do one-man shows off Broadway, and these one-man shows are like a revelation.

[00:19:55] And I had Matt Bomer on the other side of me, who’s, if possible, even more gorgeous in [00:20:00] person, and I just thought, “This is… If I could go back in time and tell [00:20:05] my 13-year-old self, ‘I promise you you’ll be standing next to your heroes one [00:20:10] day,’ I would have never believed it.” Jodie Lemon: What an incredible feeling. What would you [00:20:15] tell a young girl if they were looking to go down that alley as a actress, a [00:20:20] producer? What would you tell that girl?

Sue Gilad: S- I, I really love that there’s a whole world [00:20:25] now of people who know more about producing theater than I do, because there’s this magical thing called [00:20:30] the internet. When I was a kid, you just saw the actors on stage, and they were so [00:20:35] shiny and beautiful, and you just thought, “Okay, I guess that’s my way in.” But now when we [00:20:40] speak to student groups- I tell them that for every actor you see on stage, [00:20:45] there are 10 to 15 people backstage, offstage, in offices, [00:20:50] our lawyers, our general managers, our stage management, our production managers. If you want [00:20:55] a life in the theater, there’s room for you here.

If you wanna be talking about [00:21:00] theater all day long like I do, but you aren’t necessarily the greatest actor or singer or [00:21:05] dancer, we have room for you. And if you’re interested, start with your community [00:21:10] theater. First of all, if you don’t have a community theater, which unfortunately in America a lot of communities [00:21:15] don’t, if you don’t have one, then congratulations, you’re the person who’s going to [00:21:20] start it. Find the other theater kids who are just like you, read your first script around [00:21:25] a table, ask if you have 20 friends who wanna come and watch and laugh while you [00:21:30] videotape it and you have it for posterity.

Congratulations, our theater club, we just did our first [00:21:35] production. Help us create our second production, and create momentum that way. If you’re [00:21:40] lucky enough that there is any kind of theater, community theater, regional theater, professional theater, [00:21:45] school theater, go show up. I tell everybody in New York City [00:21:50] and in many other cities across the country, you can go and be a volunteer usher at [00:21:55] hundreds of theaters. You literally show up and you say, “I am very, very good at passing out [00:22:00] programs.

I’m very good at smiling at people and helping them to their seat. I can hold a [00:22:05] flashlight and direct someone to their chair. What do you need me to do? I would love to be in the theater [00:22:10] and do it.” And in that way you find your tribe.

I can’t tell you how many times I’m sitting in a [00:22:15] theater and I tell my young students, “Don’t ever sit on an aisle,” because if you’re sitting on an aisle, you only have [00:22:20] one person to talk with, and statistically half the people in the theater are legitimately crazy, but in the good way. [00:22:25] I say sit in the middle, take a moment of weirdness, breathe in, turn to the [00:22:30] person next to you and say, “Hi, I’m Sue. Nice to meet you. [00:22:35] What brought you here today?” And then you might meet your best friend.

You might meet your next [00:22:40] playwright. You might meet someone who’s going to design your set for the story that you’re about to [00:22:45] tell. So it’s about creating that community and then developing that community over time. So we’re [00:22:50] lucky that we’ve worked with the same teams for five, 10, 15, 20 years because [00:22:55] if you did summer stock with another actor, then you know that working, you know, [00:23:00] basically 10 hours a day every day for an entire summer either makes you mortal [00:23:05] enemies or best friends. Jodie Lemon: That’s great advice for people that are coming [00:23:10] up.

Do you train people that wanna get involved? Sue Gilad: Yeah. You know, [00:23:15] we need, we need, we need more theater kids because we don’t have the funding so it’s [00:23:20] not something that you automatically have. Like I learned soccer because soccer was available to me, [00:23:25] but it wasn’t my path, but kids can’t automatically learn to sing and dance because it’s not [00:23:30] available in their schools. So one of the things that we are hoping to achieve [00:23:35] Whenever I talk about theater is where is there a place where you can put this energy?

Not so much money [00:23:40] as it is can you play the piano? Then, you know, maybe you can start a choir at your local [00:23:45] school if there isn’t one. So I, I’m not a teacher ‘cause, um, [00:23:50] I’m, I’m not actually the world’s greatest actor, singer, or dancer, but I am the [00:23:55] greatest fan. And, uh, I think a, a lot of people will think that the producer [00:24:00] actually chooses the actors for the production, but we on Broadway have an entire casting [00:24:05] team, our casting directors, that it’s their full-time job, if you can imagine, Jodi. They [00:24:10] scour the world for the best actors.

They bring them into the audition process, and [00:24:15] then the more people you have behind the table when you come in to audition if you’re an actor, [00:24:20] the closer you are to getting the job. So first it starts with our casting associate or casting [00:24:25] assistant, then it’s the casting director, then maybe it’s the associate director, the assistant director, or the [00:24:30] director from the show, along with the choreographer, the music director, the music supervisor, and then finally [00:24:35] for the very end, you bring in the producer or producers for the final callbacks of the shows. [00:24:40] If you can imagine, some people have gone in five, seven, 10, 15 [00:24:45] times to audition for a show before they get the role, and that’s just because our [00:24:50] casting team really wants to make sure that you can do it eight times a week.

[00:24:55] Can you… This is, you know, our Broadway actors, I equate them to being [00:25:00] Olympic athletes because they train their entire lives for it, and then they do [00:25:05] eight times a week, sometimes two times a day. So that means tons of water, no [00:25:10] talking, no partying, going to the gym, warming up your body, coming [00:25:15] early for the dance call, for the fight call if need be, and then working at night. So [00:25:20] it’s, um, it’s a crazy schedule, and it takes a tremendous amount of discipline. [00:25:25] I think it’s much easier to do what the rest of us do in the theater and support them and cheer them on, [00:25:30] and, like, admire what they do.

Jodie Lemon: That’s great. It has been wonderful listening to [00:25:35] you. It makes me want to come to New York and watch your Broadway shows. Sue Gilad: So I have [00:25:40] bunch of recommendations. I, you know, for, for women, um, [00:25:45] Buena Vista Social Club, which I had mentioned to you earlier, Jodi, is a, it’s a Cuban story [00:25:50] that takes place in two time periods, the 1950s and the 1990s, [00:25:55] and it, it, um, it sort of vaults back and forth between a very unique [00:26:00] moment in time and what happened when one intrepid [00:26:05] producer brought back the musicians from that iconic moment.

But it’s also a [00:26:10] story of sisterhood, of two sisters and, um, how [00:26:15] history uh, impedes their relationship. So I always recommend [00:26:20] sisters, mother-daughters, girl groups, sororities, that should be your first show [00:26:25] on Broadway because it’s, it’s really, really special. Jodie Lemon: That’s great. We have this [00:26:30] group that we work with, it’s Yes Women’s Network, and we would love to [00:26:35] come to one of your shows as a group. Would you be open to that?

That would be so much fun for [00:26:40] us. Sue Gilad: Whenever anybody’s coming to Broadway, if you have a group that’s coming to Broadway, let me [00:26:45] know and I’ll make recommendations, and I will help get you amazing seats to the show, [00:26:50] and maybe even tell some fun backstage stories too. Jodie Lemon: That would be great. We would [00:26:55] love it. Thank you so much for being here today.

Sue Gilad: You’re so lovely. Jodie Lemon: Thank you, Sue, for [00:27:00] coming today. Sure appreciate you being here. Sue Gilad: Thanks, Jude. Jodie Lemon: Join us [00:27:05] next week on the Yes Women’s Network ​ [00:27:10] [00:27:15] [00:27:20] [00:27:25] [00:27:30]