ELYSA GARDNER: Welcome to Stage Door Sessions by Broadway Direct. In this podcast, we have in-depth conversations with Broadway’s brightest, bringing you what’s new, what’s noteworthy, and what’s coming next to a stage near you. I’m your host, Elysa Gardner, and this spring, we will be speaking with some of the artists whose talents are standing out at a very busy time in a very busy Broadway season. Before our conversations with each week’s guests this season we’re going to be kicking off every episode with a look at what’s happening in Broadway news each week and we’ll be doing that with Broadway Direct’s own Paul Art Smith, who is here with me now. Hi, Paul.
PAUL ART SMITH: Hi, Elysa. How are you?
ELYSA GARDNER: I’m okay.
PAUL ART SMITH: Amazing. So I thought we’d start off this week with the news of Ariana DeBose. She will be our Tony Awards host this year. We have been waiting for this news for a bit and with the news of it moving up to the United Palace, I feel like there was speculation of it maybe like being someone like Lin-Manuel Miranda, but we got another Hamilton alum, Ariana DeBose, who is just, you know, continuing her streak, having hosted last year and being the talk of the town I feel like with her West Side Story performance and now she’s also had her recent viral moment with the BAFTAs. I’m not sure if you have seen that.
ELYSA GARDNER: [laughter] I have. And I think, you know, she’s definitely, it feels right, as we said, the setting, the fact that it is in Washington Heights and I’m sure there are Hamilton fanatics who are thinking, hmmm what are they going to do special, will there be a reunion, a mini-reunion? And she’s just a fabulous performer and just a great presence. You know, aside from singing and dancing, she’s just got that sort of sparkle. You know, she could be reading the phonebook and it would be entertaining. So she’s going to be, I would imagine, a really fun host as she was last year.
PAUL ART SMITH: Exactly. And it’s just so great to see someone who just so embodies Broadway. I mean, she started off as like an ensemble player and is now just had this crazy rise to becoming an Academy Award winner. So to see someone like her at the center, it’s just incredible.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah. To show that stories like that still happen, you know. I mean, that’s Broadway dreams and Hollywood dreams do come true so it’ll be fun to have her back I’m anticipating.
PAUL ART SMITH: Definitely, it’ll be another great ceremony. And also on this past week on Broadway, we’ve had two openings with Fat Ham opening last Wednesday and Camelot opening Thursday as well, which was the final musical revival of what I feel like is going to go down in history as one of the most packed revival seasons because with Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Parade, it’s just been, you know, hit after hit with these musical revivals and I do not envy the Tony voters this year.
ELYSA GARDNER: No, I don’t either. I mean, I’ve completely forgotten about Into the Woods because it was so early. And that’s a spectacular production of one of my favorite musicals. I mean, so many Sondheim musicals I love but f you put a gun to my head, I, I would probably have to choose between Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd, which was also revived recently and, you know, got a lot of acclaim, as did Parade, of course. I mean, that production of Parade was was a revelation to me because it hasn’t been a musical that I’ve really been drawn to. I mean, I’ve sort of admired the story and was familiar with it. But for me, that production was just so fresh and felt so sadly timely. And I suspect that all these shows are going to be acknowledged at the Tony Awards for sure.
PAUL ART SMITH: One hundred percent. Yeah, I feel like Parade was you know, it didn’t have a successful run the first time so it’s so great to see it have such a great run around this time with amazing performances by Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond and also just having commercial success as well it’s just great to see Broadway thrive right now.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, and the whole production by Michael Arden was just visually riveting and kind of devastating and spectacular at the same time. And I had not seen the concert version in New York City Center, which I heard was also wonderful. But I believe the Broadway production, they even buffed it up. And I know that Dane Laffrey and Sven Ortel it’s just been determined are going to be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category and there’s going to be a lot of competition in that category as well.
PAUL ART SMITH: I am sure and we cannot wait to see how that plays out. And moving on to some long-running news, Wicked just played another milestone performance this past week, becoming the fourth longest-running show on Broadway, surpassing Cats, which I feel like Cats is always thought of as like the long-running musical and now it’s moved down to fifth place, which sounds like I’m like pushing it off, which is still an amazing accomplishment, but it’s just wild to see Wicked up there now going into its twentieth year.
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh yeah. And so, so deserving. I’m a little biased because I wrote a book about Pippin recently and Stephen Schwartz was incredibly generous with his time and his insights and I’m just an enormous fan of his. He is probably my favorite sort of rock-inspired composer and lyricist, obviously. I’ve seen that musical several times as my daughter has grown up. I saw it first before I became a mom, saw it again when my daughter was very young, saw it again more recently, she’s a teenager now, and it just it speaks to me. It says something new to me every time I see it. And of course, the movie’s coming up.
PAUL ART SMITH: Oh, definitely. And that is something we continue to monitor. That movie.
ELYSA GARDNER: The movies, I should say.
PAUL ART SMITH: Movies, plural, yes, which continues to catch me off guard, but I am sure that will be quite the spectacle. And speaking of long-running hits, The Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running musical on Broadway, longest-running show period, played its final performance at the Majestic Theatre this past Sunday, April 16th, after 35 years reigning on Broadway. It’s kind of crazy to see that finally come down. It’s just always been there for me. And I just I mean, I’m sure it seems like there’s a chance it’ll be returning. We don’t know for sure, but, you know, for now, it is closed on Broadway, Phantom of the Opera is no longer there.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah. Yeah. Are you a big fan of the show?
PAUL ART SMITH: Not a fan, I just respect it as this long-running show. I mean, I like the show, of course, but, you know, this staple of Broadway, it is, you know, synonymous with Broadway to me.
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh, absolutely. And you’re younger than I am. I probably – I would doubt that you in your adult life can remember a time when it wasn’t playing, maybe even in your life period [laughter] What was it, 1988 on Broadway?
PAUL ART SMITH: Yeah. There’s never been a time in my life that Phantom has not been on Broadway.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, yeah. And personally, it’s not one of my favorite shows, I’ll admit. But, you know, it’s for so many people, it’s synonymous with Broadway and it’s part of this enormous streak that the most enduring of the musicals of some very enduring, very iconic musicals that Andrew Lloyd Webber brought to Broadway during the Great British Invasion of the Eighties. And definitely, I mean, this is London, but you could say it’s the end of an era.
PAUL ART SMITH: One hundred percent. Yeah. So now to wrap up, I want to shout out some of our latest stories on BroadwayDirect.com. We always are running stories with the latest season and now we’re in the busiest part of the season so constantly have new pieces to keep you all engaged with what’s going on on Broadway. Right now On the website we have a new piece of Sophia Anne Caruso and Millicent Simmonds, written by you, Elysa, for Grey House which is coming to Broadway shortly, which is going to be the first play of the new season. I know we’re talking about this current season, but we’re already moving on to the next season as well.
ELYSA GARDNER: It’s crazy how many shows are opening like right after this season ends. There’s some big opening schedule right now and this obviously is among them and the girls, while the young women, they are both in their twenties are they were fantastic and just so accomplished already at such a tender age and it was a very interesting conversation. You know, they spoke about how much – how great it is to work with people like Joe Mantello, who Sophia has worked with in the past. And Millicent is making her Broadway debut here. And working with other accomplished actors in the cast, like Laurie Metcalf primarily.
PAUL ART SMITH: A favorite.
ELYSA GARDNER: And also, Sophia mentioned the kids, you know, because they were both child actors and they know the demands that come with that and they were saying how much respect they have for the actors who are younger than them.
PAUL ART SMITH: Definitely and it’s a show that I’ll be having my eye closely to I mean, a horror play like it will be an interesting one for sure. And speaking of so many openings occurring, Once Upon A One More Time is beginning performances next month and we also have two new pieces on our site last week with the stars of the show as well as the director-choreographer. Great insight into the new musical, which features the greatest hits of Britney Spears. This has had a long road to Broadway, and I’m so excited to finally see it play out at the Marquis Theatre. Besides all that, stay tuned on social media @BroadwayDirect as we continue our coverage of this exciting Broadway season and the seasons to come. But now we also have a conversation with Robyn Hurder.
ELYSA GARDNER: That’s right. A star of the Neil Diamond musical, A Beautiful Noise, who I spoke with recently, who was just just so much fun to speak with. A real triple threat, you know, there are so many triple threats now. It used to be when they said triple threat, it used to mean, oh, well, someone who can sing and dance okay, or dance and carry a tune. But you have people now like Robyn who can just sing and act and dance like scary good. And she was a delight to speak with and spoke about the research that went into this part and her own experience with Neil Diamond’s music and how her sort of personal experience, some stuff that was a little dark in her life informs the show and made the show really cathartic and rewarding for her.
And on that note, let’s get into our conversation with Robyn Hurder, who is currently, again, playing Marcia Murphy, the real-life second wife of renowned singer-songwriter Neil Diamond in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical. Robyn’s previous Broadway credits include the long-running hit revival of Chicago, in which she played Roxie Hart, a 2009 production of Grease, and the original productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Wedding Singer, Nice Work If You Can Get It, and Moulin Rouge. The last show earned her a Tony nomination and as all those credits suggest, and as anyone who has seen Robyn perform can tell you, she is a true musical theater triple threat and the role of Marcia brings her singing, dancing, and acting skills to the fore. Robyn, welcome to Stage Door Sessions, thank you so much for joining us today.
ROBYN HURDER: Thank you. Thank you for that introduction. That was so kind.
ELYSA GARDNER: Well, it’s true. It’s true. I have observed and admired. So you’ve been performing in A Beautiful Noise, which we should say stars Will Swenson as Neil Diamond since late last year. How did you become involved with the show initially?
ROBYN HURDER: It was kind of out of the blue, to be honest. I had just finished Moulin Rouge in February of 2022, thinking I was going to give myself a little bit of a break, be a mom, stay at home, and just be a normal person. And then a couple of months later, this audition popped up in my inbox and I looked at it and I was like, I don’t know. I never would have pictured myself in the Neil Diamond musical knowing my track record [laughter]. And, but then I saw that it was out of town in Boston, and I’m originally from Maine. That’s where all my family still is. And I was like, Oh, man, that’s it’s just too cute not to, not to try. And then I saw that it was for, you know, one of the leading roles, and this is what I’ve been working towards is trying to break out of being just like seen as a dancer in New York, you know, on Broadway, and just really getting the opportunity to show my chops. So I auditioned and it was fast and furious. I went in for Michael Mayer and the team. They said, “Will you come back tomorrow and read with Will” and that’s when I got very nervous and I said, “Yep, okay!” And within an hour after that audition, I got the offer. Neil Diamond signed off on it. That’s the weirdest thing, is that he watched my tape and he’s like, “Yeah, she can play my second wife.” [laughter]
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh, wow. I didn’t realize he was there for the whole casting process. Is that correct?
ROBYN HURDER: We had cameras in our faces because, you know, he was in Denver, so I wasn’t going be able to get the job unless he took a look at me on the tape. So right after I left the room, they sent it to Neil, with literally within a couple hours, I found out I had the job and like “Neil signed off, it’s yours.” I was like, “Oh my gosh.” And then I started rehearsals two weeks later. So it was last minute. It was crazy.
ELYSA GARDNER: Very quick. Very quick. I’m going to ask you about Neil Diamond later. Definitely. Marcia was married to him for about 25 years, which happened to coincide with his commercial peak in the seventies and eighties. And she is the most prominent female character in the musical, really the most prominent character aside from Neil in the musical. Tell us a bit about how you prepared for the role. Did you meet and consult with her? I believe she and Neil Diamond are on decent terms, is that correct?
ROBYN HURDER: You know, it’s – I was very intimidated going into this project because I have never done anything like this before. I’ve never helped lead a show on Broadway eight times a week. And I’ve never played a real human that’s still alive. When they, you know, divorced in ’94, it seemed amicable. They have a lot of respect for each other still. I do not think that there’s any sort of contact. He still has all the, you know, respect, support, and adoration for her in the world. He owes a lot of his career, he says, to her. But she’s a very private person. I’ve not met her. I have not heard from her. And even trying to find information online is very difficult. After the divorce, she led a very, very private life, still to this day. So I had the material in front of me, the script, and I just kind of did the best I could. They had already done a workshop of it a few months earlier, so I kind of was, it wasn’t like I was being put in, but they kind of had the structure of the show already, and I just did the best that I could. I read the lines and I did the blocking, and then that’s when in rehearsal I start to bring myself into it. I have to bring a little bit of Robyn into any role I create. And that’s where things started happening with, you know, “Cherry, Cherry,” you know, they’re like, “Well, Robyn, you dance, so we’re going to make you dance.” And “Blue Jeans,” when we started rehearsals for Boston, that was a completely different ballgame.
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh, really?
ROBYN HURDER: Oh, yeah.
ELYSA GARDNER: Because that’s a big production number for you.
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah, it was with, you know, the actress that plays Ellie, Bri, and Jessie, who plays Jaye, it was like a trio. And then it just kind of morphed into this thing when I’m, you know, wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans strutting across the stage with a bunch of people in rhinestones.
ELYSA GARDNER: I remember that!
ROBYN HURDER: It’s crazy, it’s crazy. But yeah, I had to do a lot of, I don’t want to call it guesswork, but I really just had to look at the – look at the dialogue that I had, the material that I had in front of me, and approach it as a very supporting, loving wife, a career woman, which is, you know, very parallel to my life. I mean, my husband, yes, he is a Broadway singer, dancer, actor, but he is also a singer-songwriter, which I you know, I am fully supportive of him in that way. And so a lot of myself as Robyn, the wife, mother, all that I’m I’m definitely giving a lot of that on stage.
ELYSA GARDNER: That’s so interesting because it is such an admiring and sympathetic character and your performance certainly is true to all that. Did you get any feedback from Neil Diamond on what you were doing?
ROBYN HURDER: I was very nervous meeting him because he came to like the last week. He came to a few of the rehearsals and I was it’s it’s incredible when you know someone of that stature is in the room, the energy changes. And I was very nervous meeting him, but he was so supportive and he said I was wonderful and I have his blessing. And Katie, his wife, who is just just a doll, she’s so amazing. She said she says, “the way you’re representing her, I know that Marcia would be very happy.” So that’s all I can say, you know what I mean? That’s like and especially like opening night, I got to meet a lot of his kids and his grandkids and –
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh, wow,
ROBYN HURDER: They would say like, “you know, she would be very happy. Thank you so much for portraying her this way.”
ELYSA GARDNER: Well, you can’t do better than that.
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah, I know. So I’m like, all right, I think I did. I did something right, I guess.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah. Something that occurred to me watching the show is how ubiquitous Neil Diamond’s music was for such a long time and how enduring his hits have been. I became acquainted with his music myself through my dad, who was an enormous fan and still is. To what extent were you familiar with his catalog beyond the obvious hits like “Sweet Caroline” and “America”?
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah. So, the same thing, my mom is a massive Neil Diamond fan. I didn’t really, I didn’t know that I knew so many songs when I was researching for the role when I was about to audition for it. I started going down the Spotify like, you know, this is Neil Diamond Song list and or playlist, and I started clicking on the songs. I was like, “Oh, oh, like ‘Cracklin Rosie.'” I was like, “Oh, that was Neil Diamond. I don’t know who I was thinking of, but I’ve heard that song a thousand times.” I just didn’t realize it was Neil Diamond. Things that I didn’t realize like I did not know that he wrote “I’m a Believer.” I had no idea. I thought –
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh yeah, the big Monkees hit.
ROBYN HURDER: I thought that was The Monkees. Did I think that he wrote Red Red Wine? I was like, “No, it’s UB40!” Like Of course, it was my childhood, I mean, we listened to that song all the time, so that was really mind-blowing. The coolest part was that my first audition, they just had me sing “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” and for my callback they gave me sheet music to “Forever in Blue Jeans.” And I’m looking at it and I’m like, “It sounds familiar.” So I, I play it and I hear that [musicalizing], and I, and I kind of got chills all over my body. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I know this song from when I was a little girl.” I used to, it was one of my favorite songs because it had that beat underneath it and I was always dancing and reminds me of like summertime. My dad’s outside with the radio washing the cars, and I remember loving that song so much in the eighties and how hilarious that I get to sing it on stage now. It’s crazy.
ELYSA GARDNER: That is. Yeah, in my review I wrote, I ended it by saying that, you know, the first thing I did when I walked out of the theater was turned on Spotify, found the essential Neil Diamond and actually Apple.
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah, Apple Music.
ELYSA GARDNER: Apple Music and turned on the essential Neil Diamond. And yeah, those hits really stay with you. Absolutely.
ROBYN HURDER: They do. And you know what’s really awesome and it’s it’s happening more and more now after I exit the stage door I’m seeing a younger crowd. Kids that are younger than than me, the twenties, teenagers, little babes, you know ten-year-olds. And they love it. And they’re like, “I had no idea. My parents brought me and I had no idea what this music,” all like “Who’s Neil Diamond? I didn’t know any of his music.” And they love it. And they’re repeat offenders. [laughter] They keep coming back and seeing it because they love the music and that’s just a testament to what kind of artist and musician he is, that his music is timeless and it’s still, I don’t know, it relates to today.
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh yeah, if you’re a kid, you can’t see a musical once. Now you have to see it again and again.
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah, but again, I guess I’m like, well, we must be doing something right for grabbing the younger generation, you know? Like, so it’s great.
ELYSA GARDNER: That’s terrific. Mr. Diamond has obviously been suffering with Parkinson’s disease in recent years and is retired from performing, but I believe he spoke extensively with the show’s librettist, Anthony McCarten. So it seems like he was quite involved in the show. So was his feedback, any feedback he had relayed to you through Michael Mayer or did anything like that come up?
ROBYN HURDER: It’s amazing. And now, you know –
ELYSA GARDNER: Or was it more, I’m sorry, was it more that he was involved with the shaping of the book and then he put it into Michael Mayer’s hands?
ROBYN HURDER: Basically, yeah. I think Anthony and Neil sat down for a very long time and he just went in and they formulated the script and then, you know, they did readings and workshops. They did that big workshop before Boston and they got his blessing. He definitely had his little inputs here and there, not so much with the Marcia Murphy Neil story, but he was definitely involved along the whole way. Very funny, one thing that sticks out that he said not to, there was a lot of curse words in the beginning. There was a lot of F-bombs. And he said the only one that you can actually use is the “Neil effing Diamond,” because that was the thing that was on the shirts and stuff and he says, no profanity like that in the show. He’s like, “I didn’t use it in my concerts. I don’t want it to be that kind of show,” which I think is just darling.
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh, yeah, that adds to the sort of like the family value of the show, makes it open to his kids.
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah, I think it’s because he’s like, my kids are going to – be my grandkids are going to be watching this and he didn’t really use it. So I thought that was interesting. But he, from the beginning, he really – we had his blessing and he said that numerous times in rehearsals. He was very, very happy with how it turned out.
ELYSA GARDNER: So he really trusted Michael?
ROBYN HURDER: He did. Yeah, he did.
ELYSA GARDNER: And you all as well.
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah, it was pretty insane like that last rehearsal. He’s in there and he’s just like, looking at Will and Will’s, you know, he’s like, “What is going on? I’m five feet from Neil Diamond playing Neil Diamond.” It was a very out-of-body experience for him. But Neil is just across from him singing along with him and all of us are just like in the rehearsal room, staring at him, being like, “There is Neil Diamond singing along to all of his songs.” It really was so surreal and so magical and just so grateful to have that kind of opportunity in our careers. You don’t get that every day.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, Yeah. It’s unusual. And A Beautiful Noise obviously addresses some personal upheaval and quite a bit of personal upheaval in Neil Diamond’s life and in Marcia Murphy’s. You’ve had some tragedy in your own life in recent years, which you have spoken about. You suffered a miscarriage soon after leaving Moulin Rouge, and I believe your father died shortly before this show opened. To whatever extent you’re comfortable addressing this, and I only ask because you have addressed it so eloquently already, has being in the show, which is ultimately uplifting, I think very uplifting, been therapeutic or cathartic for you?
ROBYN HURDER: Yeah. I really thank God every day for this show for so many reasons. It’s a beautiful group to work with. It’s such a positive building to walk into every day. The energy is just right. I’m super grateful for that. But especially like I didn’t I didn’t know that I needed this show after I had a miscarriage. And I’m like, obviously. And I was very confused at that time. I was like, “I don’t know, do I want to have another baby? Do I want to keep performing?” And then I was getting very, very frustrated. And then all of a sudden this fell in my lap, this audition. I was like, “Oh, well, I guess the universe is telling me what I should be doing right now. And thank God. It was the hardest thing to make the decision to just get through the week because it was, you know, my dad passed on the Tuesday of our opening, which was on Sunday. And my dad was in severe advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. Sorry, not Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia. And so it was extremely difficult for the end of the show for me. Mark Jacoby is one of the finest actors of our time, who plays Neil Now.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, he sure is.
ROBYN HURDER: And, you know, they don’t make any mention of Parkinson’s in the show which I think is is great I think because I don’t think it’s needed. I think everybody knows. But Mark has, he is such a brilliant actor and he has researched, that he so ever so slightly has just the slight mannerisms of someone who does have Parkinson’s. I’ve never even talked to Mark about this. But in “Shiloh,” he turns around and there’s a certain thing with his eyes. The way he shuffles his feet, the way he holds a hand, it every like even last week I had a I choked out my line because it just hits because I’m like, “Oh, my God, It looks just like what my dad looked like.” So it’s hard because then I start missing him again and then grief hits, hits again. But at the same time, it’s so healing in a way that is so hard to explain. But especially that week that we were opening, it was a beautiful distraction. I got to compartmentalize my thoughts and feelings and kind of take a break because it was so stressful just dealing with everything back home. And I wasn’t there in Maine where all my family was making the arrangements. But getting to walk into that theater every day and just kind of put a lid on it and get to just do what I love to do and what he knows, this is my my greatest passion in the world and this was his greatest passion was watching me perform.
So I know that he wanted me there. And that’s why I didn’t just, you know, fly home to Maine. He wanted me to open the show. I know he did. And that’s why I stayed. And I got through it. I mean, I got through it and I still can’t believe I did it. But I opened the show and then I went home to be with my family in Maine and yeah. It’s horrible and it’s traumatic, but it’s also – and you’re never ready to lose a parent. But it’s also, sadly, the circle of life. It’s what we all have to go through and this show was – you just don’t realize that you have these gifts in front of you, you know? Yes, it’s great to be a leading role on Broadway and I get to do all those things, but that was there for so many reasons to help me heal from the miscarriage and also to help me have had this other space in this escape to help monitor and deal with grief and loss and stuff. So yeah.
ELYSA GARDNER: Oh, wow.
ROBYN HURDER: Thank God for A Beautiful Noise, man.
ELYSA GARDNER: I got a little choked up when you were talking about how your dad’s greatest passion was watching you, wow.
ROBYN HURDER: Hands down. Hands down. Yeah.
ELYSA GARDNER: That’s lovely. Wow, that. Take a breath from that. All right. You’ve appeared in original musicals and revivals and A Beautiful Noise is obviously an original show, but maybe a bit of a hybrid in terms of the score because it has all these songs that people know and love. So many people know and love. Is there a difference in how you approach this material as a performer, especially when it comes to singing these tunes that so many people are familiar with? Is that ever in your mind?
ROBYN HURDER: Yes. This you know, this is quote-unquote, let’s say, a jukebox musical. And I, I just came from one. I came from Moulin Rouge. And the difference is Moulin Rouge. It’s it’s a spectacle. It’s this spectacular spectacular and we’re singing pop tunes and we’re we’re here for your entertainment. I got to play around a little bit, you know, in “Backstage Romance,” you know, but it was still mostly telling the story with my body through dance. This is a whole and I love it so much because I love working hard every single night. I want to be better than the night before. Always. I’m always working on getting better and having a better performance. And I’m so happy that I get the opportunity to use the songs because they’re so beautifully written. I get to use the songs to tell my story or our story. And especially with “Blue Jeans,” it’s a very repetitive song. It keeps going around and around and around, and it’s such a challenge and a goal for me every single night to tell the story. And that’s what I’ve been saying to everyone. Everyone’s like, “What’s your like, what’s your theme for this Broadway season?” I’m like,” Tell the story,” you know, “And when you get tired or when you think you’re, you’re like, Oh my God, what am I doing? Just like, go back and tell the story. Listen to the lyrics that you are saying and use them to take the audience on this ride with you.” So I’ve never thought about singing the lyrics so clearly to let people in, you know? Do you know what I mean?
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, yeah.
ROBYN HURDER: It’s been an amazing challenge and something that I look forward to every single night. Also, “Flowers” like the way Anthony’s written the scene beforehand, t’s it’s like the scene happens and the song, the way the song’s written, it’s just a continuation of the dialouge. It’s literally like we’re still in a quarrel and it’s so gorgeous how it transitions and then it’s the end, you know, and you just walk away. It’s really great. I’m really having a great time and I’m becoming a better actress through that, getting to really always focus and hone in on his lyrics and the music and get to tell the story that way.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, that is the main thing to tell the story. I’ve asked you about feedback from Neil Diamond, but I’d love to know what kind of responses you’ve gotten from audience members. You mentioned there are younger people as well, and I imagine many people who are a little older have strong emotional attachments to these songs, but probably a lot of them are learning aspects of Neil Diamond’s story that they had not known before.
ROBYN HURDER: And that’s the biggest one. They – they it’s – I’ve said this so many times, I’ve never been happier at the end of a show in my life than this one because of you know, the lights are up and we’re all singing together and we see everybody’s faces and it usually is the majority is an older generation. And to see and feel this energy is one of the most extraordinary things I’ve experienced. And when you go out of the stage door, I always try to go out and, you know, say hi and now, now thankfully, we can sign and take photos. That’s the number one thing they say. They’re literally they’re everyone is so excited and they’re screaming at me, you know,and they are they all think that I’m their daughter or their grand and they’re just grabbing me, you know what I mean? They all do. It’s hilarious. They’re like, “Oh my God, you were so good, oh my gosh, those blue jeans!” But they said, and the biggest thing is they’d like, I didn’t realize this was his life. They had no idea. They just see the sequins and, you know, you know, the “Crunchy Granola Suite,” you know, they think of Neil Diamond with the hair and the smolder and the guitar and the big shows. But they really they’re like had no idea about Bang Records, you know, how to the Mafia, how “Sweet Caroline” came to be and his therapy, you know his that’s the biggest thing that he was so you know.
ELYSA GARDNER: Even the man in black, I mean, you remember him as the singer-songwriter, this folk-based singer-songwriter, before he became this very glamorous superstar putting on this big show. That’s that’s a really good point. Well, to sort of wrap up, you know, we’ve sort of referenced this kind of thing and in the questions I’ve asked you. But what do you take away from this show overall, from the character, from the show, from the experience that you think you’re going to bring with you to whatever project you take on next?
ROBYN HURDER: Well, this this has made me grow immensely as an actress. I always look at my shows as another stepping stone to the next project. And I have been fighting to because I’m primarily like I’ve started primarily as a dancer. I have been in the chorus and I have worked my way up and I’ve been climbing, climbing, you know, like I’m a Capricorn so I would say I’m like a little goat and climbing up the mountain.
ELYSA GARDNER: But you could always sing, right?
ROBYN HURDER: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah I could, but you know, when you’re a dancer and people see you, they’re like, “You’re a dancer.” It’s very different, you know, you and it’s very easy to get boxed in.
ELYSA GARDNER: Well, that’s why I said a triple threat because you do have a really strong voice.
ROBYN HURDER: Thank you. Yeah. And I’ve always sung but it’s just it’s getting the right opportunity at the right time to get on get on stage and I also have to do shout out to Jim Carnahan, who is the casting director for the show. He has been – he cast me in my first Broadway show, and he has always looked at me as an actress first. And I’ve always approached all my dancing as an – I don’t you’re just, you can either be a dancer, you could be an actor, but a dancer on Broadway, you have to approach it as an actor first. And I’m still doing that in this show. So I’m very proud of myself. I have grown so much as an actress being able to work with Will Swenson. He’s a dream. We all know that. He’s the nicest guy, and he’s made it very easy for me. Working with Michael Mayer, the director, Steven Hoggett, the choreographer, they’ve all pushed me, but also allowed this ridiculously safe space to just grow and expand, you know, our performances. So I know I’m going, whatever show I do next, I know I’m going to be better because of this show. This has been a beautiful training session for me and I keep working. It’s not like I plateau and I’m like, “Yep, this is my show.” I always, always want to be better. The other thing, you know, I don’t think I’ll ever have a show like this. The most important thing for me and the reason why I do this, I love performing because I love to make people feel things. I love to make people happy. I’ve always been a nurturing, maternal person ever since I was six years old. Like, I would always take kids under my wing when I was a little girl. I love to give out the energy and let people receive it and throw it back at me. And that’s why I do theater, because it’s like this. this pass the ball back and forth and this energy that keeps flowing between myself and the audience. And this show makes people feel so many emotions. You will sob crying, but then you’re on your feet, clapping and singing and dancing and leaving that theater so ecstatic and grateful that you just got to witness this show because it just makes you feel good.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yes, it is a joyful show.
ROBYN HURDER: And that’s why we have art, to make us feel things and make us feel good. And there is there’s nothing like seeing everybody’s faces, especially the older generation that this show allows them – like I can see them all go back into their like prime, like their mid-thirties and they’re at a Neil Diamond concert and they just they don’t care. They’re just going nuts. People who you know, I’ve seen like a 94-year-old get up out of his seat because he wants to stand. Like that to me, you cannot get better than that. Like, look what we just did for him, for all of them. That’s what I will always take away with me.
ELYSA GARDNER: Yeah, I still got to get my dad because he threw his back out right before previews.
ROBYN HURDER: Oh, man. Yeah, you got to get him.
ELYSA GARDNER:Well, we can’t wait to see what you do next. Thank you so much for joining us today, taking time out of your schedule, and continued good luck with everything.
ROBYN HURDER: Thank you so much for having me.
ELYSA GARDNER: And for all things Broadway, and to find tickets to your next show, visit BroadwayDirect.com. If you liked our show please follow us on Apple Podcast or wherever you listen. And don’t forget to share and rate Stage Door Sessions so fellow theater fans can find us. This podcast is produced by Broadway Direct and the Nederlander Organization with Iris Chan, Erin Porvaznik-Wagner, and Paul Art Smith, and hosted and produced by me, Elysa Gardner. Thank you for listening, and we look forward to seeing you again on Broadway.
