EPISODE 472- NICOLA KRAUS

Nicola Kraus co-authored The Nanny Diaries, which became an international #1 best-seller selling over 6 million copies in 32 languages and inspiring the movie starring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti and Alicia Keys.  In addition to co-authoring 9 more novels, Nicola has contributed to The London Times, The New York Times, Redbook, Glamour, and Town & Country. In 2015 she co-founded the creative consulting firm The Finished Thought, which helps the next generation of aspiring authors find their voice and audience.  The Best We Could Hope For is her first solo novel.

EPISODE 471- KADIA SARAF and DOMINIC FUMUSA

Kadia Saraf stars as Detective Claudette Wallace in Showtime and Paramount+’s Dexter: Resurrection and has also appeared as U.S. Attorney Anya Avital in Law & Order: SVU. Her additional credits include The Better Sister, Blue Bloods, FBI: International, and The Good Fight. Fluent in four languages and conversant in ASL, Kadia is also a martial artist and amateur boxer. She volunteers at the Animal Care Center, fostering and caring for cats and neonatal kittens.

Dominic Fumusa currently plays “Detective Melvin Oliva” on the hit Paramount / Showtime series “Dexter: Resurrection.” Fumusa is best known for playing "Kevin Peyton" opposite Edie Falco on Showtime's acclaimed show "Nurse Jackie" which ran for seven seasons from 2009-2015.  Fumusa's film work includes playing the real life hero John "Tig" Tiegen in "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" directed by Michael Bay.  Fumusa appeared opposite Will Smith and Margot Robbie in the romantic comedy "Focus."  Other film work includes "The Report," "Allegiance," "Helena from the Wedding," "Management" and "Little New York."  Fumusa plays opposite Luke Evans and Michiel Huisman on Apple TV's "Echo 3" written and directed by Mark Boal.   Additional television work includes major season-long arcs on "Homeland," "Godfather of Harlem," "Divorce," "Goliath," and "The Purge," as well as guest starring roles on "Damages," "Sex and the City," "The Sopranos," and many others. Fumusa's extensive stage experience includes originating roles in the New York premieres of Sarah Ruhl's plays "Stage Kiss" and "Passion Play", Richard Greenberg's Tony Award winning "Take Me Out" (NY and London), Melissa James Gibson's Obie Award winning "[sic]" and Stephen Belber's plays "The Power of Duff," "Fault Lines," and "Tape" (NY, London and Los Angeles).  His Broadway debut came in the 1998 revival of "Wait Until Dark" opposite Marisa Tomei and Quentin Tarantino.  Select regional theater credits include numerous plays at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Stratford Festival in Canada, the Huntington Theater in Boston, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Humana Festival at the Actors Theater of Louisville. 

EPISODE 470- MARISHA WALLACE

Marisha recently starred as Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway and in London. Also on the west end she starred as Miss Adelaide in the smash-hit revival of Guys and Dolls, earning an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also received critical acclaim and an Oliver nomination for her performance as Ado Annie in the groundbreaking production of Oklahoma! At the Young Vic.

Her extensive stage credits include performing for His Majesty the King, starring as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray at the London Coliseum, originating the role of Becky in the West End production of Waitress at the Adelphi Theatre, and making her West End debut as Effie White in Dreamgirls at the Savoy Theatre.

Her albums include Soul Holiday, Tomorrow and Live in London.

EPISODE 468- CHIARA AURELIA

Chiara Aurelia is an American actress known for her starring role in the Freeform series Cruel Summer and her Broadway debut in the play John Proctor Is The Villain. Other notable credits include the Netflix film Luckiest Girl Alive, Fear Street Part Two: 1978, Gerald's Game, and the TNT series Tell Me Your Secrets. She also appeared in the Off-Broadway play Dilaria before joining the Broadway production of John Proctor Is The Villain.

EPISODE 467 - HANNAH BOS

Hannah Bos is a Peabody Award winning writer who is co-creator and executive producer of HBO’s critically acclaimed comedy series Somebody Somewhere. Along with writing partner Paul Thureen, she received a Humanitas Prize nomination for the Somebody Somewhere pilot and with Paul and Bridget Everett was nominated for a WGA Award for Episodic Comedy. The series has received nominations from the GLAAD Media Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, Gotham Awards, Spirit Awards, TCA & HCA Awards, Dorian TV Awards, and was honored by AFI amongst their Television Programs of the Year in 2022. Hannah and Paul received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for "Best First Screenplay" for their feature Driveways (dir. Andrew Ahn) which premiered at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival (North American premiere at Tribeca Film Festival). Together they have also written for HBO’s High Maintenance and Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle. Hannah was a co-founder/co-Artistic Director of The Debate Society, a multiple Obie award winning theater company, co-writing and starring in all the company’s plays. She also starred in the premiere of Will Eno’s The Open House at the Signature Theatre Company (Drama Desk Award; Lortel Nomination, Featured Actress). Regional acting credits include premieres of Will Eno’s Gnit and Lisa Kron’s THE VERI**ON PLAY at Humana Festival. TV/Film acting: High Maintenance (HBO), The Outside Story, Timeless Seasons (Rooftop Films), and How to Follow Strangers (PBS). Hannah is a Sundance Institute Fellow. MFA Harvard/MXAT. Mother of Rocket.

EPISODE 466- JENNY ANDERSON

Jenny Anderson is a New York based freelance photographer. She has a degree from the University of Mississippi in journalism, served as the photo editor for Broadway.com for six years, was senior contributing editor and photographer for The X Magazine at Today Tix and regularly shoots for Disney Television, Getty Images and The New York Times.

She is skilled in a wide range of photography including theatre, live music, events, portraits and street photography. She has been featured in Vanity Fair, InStyle, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The X Magazine, The Observer, Time Out New York and on Broadway.com, PureWow, People, USWeekly, EW, Broadway Style Guide and much more.

EPISODE 465- MIKE ISAACSON

Mike Isaacson is the Artistic Director and Executive Producer of The Muny, the third person to hold this position in The Muny’s 106 -year history. During his 14 seasons, he has produced 89 Muny shows, 37 new to The Muny stage.  He is also a 9 Time Tony Award winning Broadway producer. 

After his first season at The Muny, The Riverfront Times wrote, “Under the leadership of executive producer Mike Isaacson the quality of Muny productions rose like the proverbial phoenix.”  During his tenure, Isaacson has changed the look and feel of The Muny, overseeing a transformation in every aspect of production that culminated in 2019 with the arrival of the theatre’s extraordinary James S. McDonnell stage, a state-of-the art stage house that includes revolutionary LED technology, automated sets, and a host of other innovations.  In 2016, The Muny embarked on an unprecedented $100 million capital campaign, raising within 5 years a record amount for any theater in the U.S.  During the COVID lock-down summer of 2020, Mike produced and created The Muny 2020 Variety Hour, five live online shows that reached a worldwide audience of more than 400,000.   For the summer of 2021, The Muny was one of two theaters in the U.S. to reopen, and produced five full productions, receiving acclaim for their artistry and their presence.  The 2022 season’s productions received 21 nominations from the St. Louis Theatre Critics Circle, more than any other theater in St. Louis.   In 2023, The Muny bested its record with 26 nominations, and for it’s 2024 season, The Muny received a record 30 nominations – a record for The Muny and for the Theatre Critics Circle.   During his time, The Muny’s education and outreach programs have grown in number, and their artistic endeavors now incorporate all aspects of theater making – production, performance and administration.  The Muny kids and teens are now recognized nationally for their excellence, inspiring a national program where teens from throughout the U.S. audition annually come to St. Louis to be a part of a Muny production.    

Photo Credit- Jeremy Daniel

For 27 years, with his partner Kristin Caskey, Mike has produced more than 40 Broadway musicals and plays, national tours, off-Broadway plays, and London productions.  This Spring on Broadway, they are producing Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, co-starring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren. Last year on Broadway they were the lead producers of the Broadway revival of Gutenberg! The Musical starring Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells; the first ever Broadway revival of The Wiz; and the transfer of the highly acclaimed Second Stage production of Appropriate, for which Isaacson won his 9th Tony Award.  In 2023, they produced the highly acclaimed Broadway revival of Parade, starring Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond, now on a national tour.  Parade also received “Best Revival of a Musical” as well as “Best Musical Revival” from both The Drama Desk and The Outer Critics Circle.  In 2022, they produced Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, which subsequently had a record-breaking run at London’s Savoy Theater.  Other recent Broadway productions include David Byrne’s American Utopia, for which they received a special 2021 Tony Award.  It also became a multi-Emmy Award nominated film by Spike Lee for HBO, for which he also served as an executive producer. In 2015, he received the Tony® award for “Best Musical” for the ground-breaking Fun Home.  Other producing highlights include Dolls House, Part 2, The Humans (2016 Tony® Award, Best Play);  Bring It On The Musical (2013 Tony® nomination for Best Musical); Red (2010 Tony® Award, Best Play); Legally Blonde the Musical (2011 Olivier Award, Best Musical); Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002 Tony® Award, Best Musical); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; If/Then; The Seagull; Burn This, Caroline, or Change; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Gary Sinise, and Death of a Salesman (1999 Tony® Award). For the IPN, he served as producer for the Broadway productions of Spamalot (2005 Tony® Award, Best Musical), Ragtime (revival) and The Color Purple. All told, his productions have received more than 139 Tony® Award Nominations, and 40 Tony® Awards.   Mike and Kristin are also developing Becoming Nancy a new musical which had its world premiere at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre in 2019 and recently had a highly acclaimed subsequent production last October at The Birmingham Rep in Birmingham, England.  Mike also served as a supporting producer of the Off-Broadway production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown at The Transport Group.  

For 14 years, Isaacson supervised the U.S. Bank Broadway Series, bringing more than 100 Broadway productions to St. Louis’s Fabulous Fox theatre. In 2010, he received the Broadway League's Samuel J. L'Hommedieu Award for Outstanding Achievement in Presenter Management, the youngest person ever to receive the award.  Isaacson has also served on the Board of Governors, the Executive Committee and the Governance Committee of The Broadway League.    In January of 2017, Mike was honored for “Excellence in the Arts” by the Arts and Education Council in St Louis.  That March, he also received the Robert Whitehead Award for Excellence in Commercial Producing from Broadway’s Commercial Theatre Institute.   He holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from St. Louis University. 

EPISODE 464- BURKE SWANSON

Burke currently stars on Broadway as James Hooper, Jr. in  the most Tony Award winning play of 2025- Stranger Things The First Shadow.

He  made his Broadway debut, immediately following his graduation from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), when he originated the role of “Jack” in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo,  He  recently wrapped up a the First National Tour of Back to the Future: The Musical where he starred as “George McFly”. On television he can be seen in Harlem.

EPISODE 463- JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN

Kimberly Belflower is a playwright and educator originally from a small town in Appalachian Georgia. This is her Broadway debut, and she’s probably crying about it right now. Plays include JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN (2024 Huntington Theatre, 2022 Studio Theatre, 2019 Kilroys List, published by Broadway Licensing, Farm Theatre College Collaboration Project); LOST GIRL (2018 Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Kennedy Center Darrell Ayers National Playwriting Award, published by Concord Theatricals); and SAINT PIGTAIL (commissioned and developed by Studio Theatre, 2023 O’Neill Finalist). Kimberly has worked with South Coast Rep, Manhattan Theatre Club, Alliance Theatre, Ojai Playwrights Conference, among others. She was also a narrative lead at Meow Wolf, where she wrote a short film with original music by Beach House. Kimberly proudly holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and teaches playwriting at Emory University in Atlanta.

Gabriel Eber-Broadway: Matilda The Musical (Tony Winner, Featured Actor), Pass Over, Casa Valentina, Brief Encounter, Time And The Conways, Therese Raquin, Red. Off-Broadway: 4000 Miles (OBIE Winner), Preludes, Gently Down The Stream, Sally & Tom, Peer Gynt, Prometheus Bound. Film/TV: News Of The World, “Dickinson,” I Am A Seagull, “Mr. Mercedes,” Ricki And The Flash, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, and the upcoming Dope Thief. As a singer, he’s performed at Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall and with the New York Philharmonic.

Fina Strazza-Broadway: Matilda in Matilda the Musical. Off-Broadway: Animal, A Loss of Roses, Member of the Wedding. TV: “Paper Girls” (series lead), “Law and Order: SVU” (recurring), “Madam Secretary,” “FBI: Most Wanted” “Last Week Tonight.” A student at NYU’s Tisch, her eight films include Above the Shadows, A Christmas Melody (recording “Oh, Santa!” with director Mariah Carey), and Netflix’s upcoming “Fear Street: Prom Queen.”

EPISODE 461 - CHRIS BAUER

CHRIS BAUER has appeared in over 300 episodes of television, 40 feature films, and several theater productions on Broadway and Off. His multiple  long running television credits  include Frank Sobotka in ‘THE WIRE’, Andy Bellefleur in ‘TRUE BLOOD’, and Bobby Dwyer in ‘THE DEUCE’ for HBO. Most recently he starred as pro wrestler Wild Bill Hancock on ‘HEELS’ for Starz, where he also appeared in ‘GASLIT’ with Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, and ‘SURVIVORS REMORSE’, produced by LeBron James, and played Joe McCarthy in the Peabody Award winning ‘FELLOW TRAVELERS’ for Showtime. On Apple TV Plus, he played Deke Slayton in the inaugural season of ‘FOR ALL MANKIND’, and appeared as  Det. Tom Lange in ‘PEOPLE VS OJ’ for FX. Recent feature credits include co-starring with Denzel Washington in the Warner Brothers film ‘THE LITTLE THINGS’, ‘MONEY MONSTER’, and ‘SULLY’. He received an Outer Critic’s nomination for playing Mitch in ‘STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE’ on Broadway, and has originated roles in plays by David Mamet, Jez Butterworth, and John Patrick Shanley throughout a long career in theater. Upcoming credits include the limited series' 'Unspeakeable' for Paramount Plus, and 'His/Hers' for Netflix. On film he will be seen in 'Henry Johnson' and 'Our Hero Balthazar', as well as '3 Holes and a Donut', a feature film he wrote and directed. Chris is a native of Los Angeles, a  graduate of the Yale School of Drama,  and a metalhead.

EPISODE 460- GEORGIA STITT

GEORGIA STITT is an award-winning composer, lyricist, music producer, pianist, and activist. Her original musicals include Snow Child (commissioned by and premiered at Arena Stage, directed by Molly Smith), Big Red Sun (11th Hour Theater in Philadelphia, NAMT 2010), and a children’s musical, Samantha Spade, Ace Detective (TADA Youth Theater), which won “Outstanding New Musical” from the National Youth Theatre in 2014 and is now licensed by Concord Theatricals. Other shows include The Danger Year, The Big Boom, The Water (winner of the 2008 ANMT Search for New Voices in American Musical Theater), Common Ground, and Mosaic. 

Georgia has released four albums of her music: A Quiet Revolution (2020), My Lifelong Love (2014), This Ordinary Thursday (2007), and Alphabet City Cycle (featuring Tony-nominated actress Kate Baldwin, 2009). She is currently at work on a new album of theatrical art songs and an oratorio called The Circling Universe. Her choral piece with hope and virtue (using text from President Obama's 2009 inauguration speech) was featured on NPR, and both her orchestral piece, Waiting for Wings, co-written with husband Jason Robert Brown, and her piece for solo clarinet, Fanfare for the Ups and Downs, were commissioned and premiered by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Georgia served for several years as the composer-in-residence at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, and she has written many pieces for choir, including A Better Resurrection, De Profundis, and The Promise of Light, which has often been performed by the LA Master Chorale. 

Georgia is the Founder and President of Maestra Music, an organization that provides support, visibility, and community for women and nonbinary theater musicians, and through that work she has won an Obie Award and a Lilly Award and has been featured in Forbes, Billboard, Playbill, Opera News, and The New York Times. In collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, she and her team at Maestra created the RISE Theatre Directory which seeks to build a more equitable and inclusive theater industry by centralizing DEIA tools and resources. Georgia is in leadership at The Dramatists Guild, The Recording Academy’s Songwriters & Composers Wing, and MUSE (Musicians United for Social Equity). She has produced albums and musical events for singers and has worked in the music department on projects including Broadway’s 2023 revival of Parade, NBC’s The Sound of Music (Live!), the film version of The Last Five Years (starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan), Off-Broadway’s Sweet Charity (starring Sutton Foster), Disney/ABC’s Once Upon a Mattress (starring Tracey Ullman and Carol Burnett), and the recent Netflix film, 13: The Musical. In her eight years living in LA, Georgia worked for America’s Got Talent, Clash of the Choirs, and Grease: You’re the One That I Want, and she wrote songs for MTV’s The American Mall. She currently teaches Musical Theater Writing at Princeton University,  has previously taught at Pace University and USC, and is a frequent keynote speaker and master class instructor. Georgia lives in New York with her husband and their two wonderful daughters. www.georgiastitt.com

EPISODE 459 - JEFFREY SELLER

Jeffrey Seller is an Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer best known for his work on Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and Hamilton, as well as inventing Broadway’s first rush ticket and lottery ticket policies. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1986, Jeffrey moved to New York City where he worked, as a publicist, booking agent, and producer. With his business partner Kevin McCollum he produced three Best Musical Tony Award-winning Broadway shows; Rent, Avenue Q, and In the Heights. With increasingly expensive Broadway ticket prices, Seller and McCollum invented Broadway’s first rush ticket policy early on in the production of Rent. The idea was to keep the show accessible for people “in their 20s and 30s, artists, Bohemians-the people for whom Jonathan Larson wrote the show.” A select number of front row tickets would be sold for $20 on a first come per-serve basis. Rush tickets became so popular that people began to sleep on the streets outside the theater to get a spot at the front of the line. Out of concern for the safety of those who participated in the Rush policy Seller and McCollum created Broadway’s first lottery ticket policy, which kept cheap tickets accessible to a young audience by selling $20 tickets to the winners of a drawing. Together Seller and McCollum also produced De La Guarda, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, High Fidelity, and the revival of WestSide Story. After working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights, he produced Hamilton. Hamilton has gone on to receive widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. In June 2016, Hamilton received 11 Tony awards of a record-breaking 16 nominations, including a Best Musical win for Seller, making it his fourth Tony Award. He is the author of the memoir, Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir

EPISODE 458- JULIA KNITEL


Julia Knitel - Broadway: Dead Outlaw (Tony award nominee), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Carole King, first national tour), Bye Bye Birdie. Off-Broadway: A Letter to Harvey Milk (Lucille Lortel nomination). Select New York/Regional: Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Portland Stage Co.), Ingrid in Volleygirls (NY Musical Festival: Best of Fest). Film: Miles.

EPISODE 456 - FLORENCIA CUENCA

Actress, singer, writer and director FLORENCIA CUENCA made history with her Broadway debut in “Real Women Have Curves” as the first Mexican immigrant to originate a leading role in a Broadway musical. In the musical, based on the cult classic 2002 film starring America Ferrera, Florencia plays Estela Garcia, a role that she originated in the show’s world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in December 2023. The show will open on April 27th at the James Earl Jones Theatre. 

 

On stage, Florencia has starred in Off-Broadway shows such as Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 Best of Fest) and A Never-Ending Line (album available at Broadway Records). In New York, she has also performed as a singer-songwriter at prestigious venues including Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, MASS MoCA, and Washington Performing Arts. 

 

In 2023, Florencia was awarded a Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (Hola) Award in the category of “Outstanding Performance in Musical Theatre” for her role in the original musical, Desaparecidas, which she created and directed with her partner Jaime Lozano and Rachel M. Stevens.

 

In her native Mexico, Florencia is known for starring in telenovelas such as “De que te quiero te quiero,” “Muchachitas como tú,” and for being part of the successful Mexican musical Si Nos Dejan, the Mexican premiere of Shrek the Musical, and Selena the Musical. 

 

She toured her first album “Aquí - The New Standards” all around Mexico, Latin America and New York City, and for which she was awarded with the Hot House Jazz Award 2016 for Best New Jazz Artist. Her latest album, "Broadway in Spanglish,” a multi-lingual musical cabaret of Broadway hits that she created with Jaime Lozano, was released by Concord Theatrical Recordings in 2023.  

 

As a creator, artist, and director, Florencia is passionate about developing projects that celebrate the intersection of diversity, women, and the Latine communities.  

 

EPISODE 455- KYLE SELIG

Broadway: Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, Originated the role of Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls, Elder Price in The Book of Mormon on Broadway. National Tour/Regional: The Book of Mormon, October Sky, Joan of Arc: Into the Fire by David Byrne, West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl. Film/ television: “Welcome to Flatch”, “Monster High”, “FBI: International”, “Cat Person”, “The Housewives of the North Pole”, “Mulligan”, “Christmas in Tahoe” for Hallmark Channel, “Madame Secretary”, “Evil”. 2010 Jimmy Award winner and proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Instagram: @kaselig

EPISODE 454- SHANNON LEWIS


Shannon began her career as a performer and has appeared in 10 Broadway musicals over a 25 year career. She is most known for her performance of “I Gotcha” in the Tony Award winning original Broadway cast of FOSSE.

As a choreographer, Shannon has extensive experience creating for film and television as the choreographer of Saturday Night Live’s Film Units, creating dances and movement for viral videos such as “I’m Just Pete”, “Gladiator Twosical”, “Shrimp Tower”, ”Big Boys” and many more. She has also choreographed multiple pre-taped and live projects for NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon and HBO's “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver. Shannon is the Creative Director and Choreographer of the NBC/ Universal Upfront at Radio City Music Hall. She has also created, directed and choreographed many theatrical and dance projects at such respected venues as Carnegie Hall, Ballet Jazz Montreal, Roundabout Theatre Company, Signature Theatre NYC, Town Hall, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Alvin Ailey Citicorp Theatre, Dreamworks, CLI, Dance Out Loud, NY Times Center, Bay Street Theatre, Bucks County Playhouse, Ogunquit Playhouse and The York Theatre Company.

Shannon is the founder of FIRESTART Creative; producing and developing impactful, creative projects for film, theatre, television and live events. Her original dance short “Don’t Go” was nominated for a 2023 World Choreography Award.

EPISODE 453- JULIE TUCKER

Julie Tucker is a highly acclaimed casting director with a remarkable career spanning over two decades. Recognized for her outstanding contributions to the industry, she boasts an impressive tally of nine Emmy nominations and two Emmy Awards. Additionally, Julie has been honored with five Artois awards from her peers for her excellence in casting. 

Her journey began in the theater at The Public, and her introduction to Television started with the casting of the first three seasons of Law and Order: SVU, after which she founded her own casting company.

 Julie’s current projects include Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer, the upcoming Limited Series for Netflix “The Beast in Me,” starring Claire Danes, Mathew Rhys and Brittany Snow and the hits series "Doc," for Fox. 

Her extensive portfolio includes a diverse range of projects with her former partner Ross Meyerson, such as The Oscar nominated short “Red White & Blue, "The Expanse," "The Americans." “The Affair,” "Nurse Jackie," “Fallout,” the Jennifer Lopez feature film, "Marry Me." Notable past projects include: "Damages" (Emmy and Artios Award), "Six Feet Under" (Emmy and Artios Award for NY Casting), "Rescue Me" (Artios Award), and “Homeland” (Artios Award). She has cast 100’s of hours of television, several dozen pilots and a few movies. 

In addition to her work in television and film, she had been on staff and cast for The Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theater Club, and The Williamstown Theater Festival. Her involvement in the 1997 Broadway production of A View From the Bridge, where she had the privilege of being in the room with Arthur Miller, remains a highlight of her career.

Before transitioning to casting, Julie directed Off-Broadway and assisted directors Terrence Malick and Martin Charnin.

She currently is serving on the Board of Directors for The Casting Society.

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EPISODE 452 - ERICH BERGEN

Currently starring in Broadway’s BOOP! The Musical, Erich Bergen is best known for his performance as Blake Moran on television's Madam Secretary, and for his portrayal of Bob Gaudio in the Clint Eastwood film, Jersey Boys, reprising his performance from the stage production of the hit musical. On Broadway, Erich also starred in Waitress and Chicago, and has also been seen on television in Bull, The Good Fight, Gossip Girl, and more. As a Producer and Director, Erich has spearheaded many live, virtual, and television events including work with NBC, CNN, President Obama, Clive Davis, Glenn Close, Michael Kors, and other high-profile icons and outlets. IG: @erichbergen

Photo Credit- Josh Andretti

EPISODE 451 - KELSIE WATTS

Kelsie Watts’s musical journey began in Lubbock, Texas, where she found her voice at two years old in a family of musicians. From early performances in church and school to studying opera and commercial music at Belmont University in Nashville, she developed her craft and gained recognition. Her self-released music led to a feature on AJ McLean’s 2020 single “Hurts to Love You,” while her viral rendition of Kelly Clarkson’s “I Dare You” on The Voice Season 19 earned her a spot on Team Kelly and millions of views.

Now an independent pop artist, Kelsie continues to inspire with her music and advocacy. Her single “Live Out Loud” became the anthem for the Tokyo Sky Tree Global Campaign during the 2021 Olympics, followed by empowering tracks like “Look What You Missed” and the poignant ballad “I Can’t Say Goodbye,” honoring her late brother who she lost to mental health struggles. In 2024, she released “After Midnight” and “Forgetful,” a Diane Warren-penned duet with Nate Amor. Beyond music, Kelsie is a dedicated mental health advocate, collaborating with organizations like Didi Hirsch and the Not Alone Challenge.

Kelsie stars on Broadway in the musical , SIX.

Photo Credit- Michaelah Reynolds