This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Miranda Moffat: Hi there, my name is Miranda Moffat and I'm here with...

[0:02] Jesse McAnally: Jesse McAnally, the host of the Cheese Wheel podcast on the Broadway Podcast Network.

[0:07] Jesse McAnally: And we're here in the car driving home from this new series that we're starting, whatever we're going to call it, where we are coming back from a show that we've seen, courtesy of Broadway in Detroit, where we're going to give our fresh off the presses, hot off the presses thoughts about a show. And tonight's show was Kimberly Akimbo.

[0:26] Miranda Moffat: I like your point of view.

[0:49] Jesse McAnally: Jesse, give us an overview of the plot of Kimberly Akimbo.

[0:52] Jesse McAnally: Kimberly Akimbo is, what if Janine Tesori said, I'm getting another Tony, Tony, I'm taking home another fucking Tony today. It's currently in the national tour. It played on Broadway from, I want to say 2021 to 2024. And it is about a 17-year-old girl, but oh, it's an old lady. So we get a Broadway diva to play in the roles. And if long-time fans may recall, in the original Musicals with Cheese episode, Andrew and I did on this, we were fairly lukewarm at best about this show. Seeing it live and having an actual experience with it, I liked it a lot.

[1:34] Miranda Moffat: I was gonna say, what's your feelings in your cheese rating now in the post-mortem?

[1:41] Jesse McAnally: I don't change my cheese ratings for those. I'd have to look at the logs. But I think a lot of it comes down to performance. Victoria Clark is an actress who I like when I like her, but I've never loved her. But Carolee Carmelo is a performer I love at all times. And there's the, there's the police coming to get me for my bad takes. This is my first time seeing the show. I didn't know anything really about Kimberly Akimbo ahead of time other than what you had told me, which is like, oh, a girl has a genetic anomaly, a genetic disorder that causes her to sort of like, you know, be older or age rapidly, which there are real-life sort of genetic disorders that sort of mimic this, but not in exactly the way that this exists. Me being like the sciency person, I would like to take a look and see sort of what this, I want to say that the most, like the thing that this would mirror the most would be something like progeria.

[2:37] Miranda Moffat: That's exactly what they've referenced in their writing.

[2:39] Jesse McAnally: Okay. So that's kind of what I was picking up. Although that disorder presents a lot differently than this one, obviously, there's no disorder that just makes you, you know, look like a normal six-year-old person at 16 or whatever it is. So I thought that the concept was interesting. Something that I was thinking the entire time while I was watching the show, which I think all the time when I watch shows is like, I wonder if there is some sort of deep, soul-shaking sort of meaning or idea that they had behind this, or if somebody was just like, hey, you know, it would be fun, you know?

[3:11] Miranda Moffat: Well, this is based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire, who also wrote the book that he wrote in 2001. So he wrote it contemporaneously, but now that this show's released, it has become a period piece, which I find fascinating as just like one of those relics that was, it reads probably a lot differently today than when it was originally written. And it does also scream to me like something that started as a play first that songs were added to. That was something Andrew and I brought up quite a bit. How do you feel as far as that within the actual content of the show?

[3:44] Jesse McAnally: I can see that, and I can sort of agree with that. I think the songs are not necessarily as well integrated as many of the other things that we've seen. They do tend to sort of stop the action as it's happening. And something that you mentioned that Andrew said that I kind of agree with where you're just sort of like, you know, get back to the plot. But the songs are really fun, really good. I thought that the way that they aged up, Kimberly was really smart and really well done.

[4:15] Miranda Moffat: And when you say aged up, what do you mean?

[4:18] Jesse McAnally: Well, I just mean like, you know, sort of not, she still looks like a teenager. And I think what's her name? Carolee?

[4:25] Miranda Moffat: Carolee Carmelo.

[4:27] Jesse McAnally: Carolee. I think the way that Carolee played her was really remarkable. And when you say, you know, like, I had no idea who she was prior to coming into the show. But based on what you've said, it sounds like we got a real treat in being able to see her. It sounds like she's sort of a...

[4:41] Jesse McAnally: She is Broadway royalty to me. I have heard her voice so much. She was the original Lucille in Parade. So I've worn that album out so much.

[4:51] Miranda Moffat: That makes more sense now.

[4:53] Jesse McAnally: But she's also been in things like Tuck Everlasting, the National Tour of Falsettos. She is a headliner in her own right. When Hello Dolly toured a few years ago, she was Dolly, which is not nothing. She is a Broadway diva that tours and is willing to actually schlub it down to Detroit with us.

[5:13] Miranda Moffat: Which I appreciate heavily. I mean, being able to see somebody as talented as her, and with a repertoire like hers, I mean, looking at the playbill, like her section of, you know, this is what she's done. This is what she's been nominated for. And one like is a lot longer.

[5:29] Jesse McAnally: She gets like four paragraphs. Everyone else gets a sentence.

[5:32] Miranda Moffat: Yeah. So I mean, being able to watch her do that was incredible. I think that she was amazing. And I do feel like it was a real treat to be able to see her and the way that she performed it was really sincere. And really, I mean, it felt like watching a sort of awkward young person. I think the only thing for me that gave it her way or gave her away was the voice like you can tell when somebody is who has like a more mature voice is singing in the sort of like, I don't know, nuances that they bring to it is just more mature. And her vibrato is also so specific. I mean, I love her voice, but it's so specific. And I was trying to think of like, what it reminded me of. And this is so weird. But I realized when I was listening to it, that it sounds like do you know that? That weird TikTok audio that's like nationwide is on your side. It was like that kind of a breath.

[6:24] Miranda Moffat: I agree. But you know what else that reminds me of that's similar to that vibrato?

[6:28] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[6:29] Jesse McAnally: Stephanie J. Block's vibrato. I really like when they sing and sustain a note, it's like that. It almost sounds like it hurts them.

[6:36] Miranda Moffat: It doesn't. It almost sounds like it's like delayed a little bit. I don't know how to... I can't like the waves and peaks, like the crests and peaks of the sound wave just like are slower than normal. I can't describe it. I still, I mean, obviously, she was phenomenal. But that was just, I don't know something I was thinking about that was very...

[6:53] Jesse McAnally: Well, we're talking about special treats for actors in this performance. We do have to talk about Justin Cooley, who joined us set. He was in the original Broadway run. He was acclaimed there. And we're he's only performing this role for five days, specifically for Detroit, because we're better than everybody.

[7:09] Miranda Moffat: Yeah. And truly, he was incredible. I really enjoyed what he brought to this. Not to like compare apples and oranges, but he's doing what I think Ben Platt thought he was doing with Evan Hansen.

[7:22] Jesse McAnally: He was spectacular. Also, I mean, you know, you can just you can just tell even the even the young performers like everybody that was on stage was really fantastic. The performance itself, like the sets, the costuming, all of it was incredible. I mean, it's an amazing national tour. It's just, you know, every time you see a musical, it's like a magic trick happening. And that this, you know, this instance was no different.

[7:47] Jesse McAnally: Sometimes it's better than others. Like we like this one, I think a lot of things from the Broadway show and minimize it without defeating its purpose. Like sometimes I see a national tour like Beetlejuice, which is very much ruining a lot of the elements that made the Broadway show good. And then there's some incredible national tours that I think are better than the Broadway version, like Fun Home, also by Janine Tesori. This, I think, had that same Fun Home spirit where I'm like, you know what, the simplified staging and elements work for me. And it's, oh, it works. I really, really appreciated it here.

[8:24] Miranda Moffat: Um, while we're talking about staging and all that, there is a section of the show where I, myself, as a seasoned theatergoer, gasped watching it. And it's when everyone is on ice skates. And I was not sure how they did it. I also was not. I mean, there so there's like stuff that you can purchase because I've seen people who are like professional ice skaters. They have this sort of like board sort of, you know, almost like a cutting board material that you can place somewhere and use it. And it's sort of like ice. And I think you have to have specific ice skates to do it. So I think that may be how they did it. I don't know if the stage that that is confusing. That is, like I said, a magic trick.

I don't know if the stage was covered in that in that particular section or what happened. But you're right. That is like and to be like singing and dancing and harmonizing while you are on these like essentially stilts sort of gliding around each other. Also a magic trick. I think every time I see a musical, it's just like, how do they manage this? You know, it's like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.

[9:25] Jesse McAnally: I think the scene stealer of this show, and it was the same on Broadway when it was Bonnie Mulligan, is Emily Koch or Koch. Forgive me if I'm saying that incorrectly as Aunt Debra, a character that I found really grating on Broadway, but I really felt compelled. Maybe it's a Midwestern twang added to it, but I really, really liked what they brought to it. And a lot of the more deadpan, not every joke was dialed up to 11, which it's very easy to play that role where you're just going to be big at every moment.

[10:04] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, I agree. I also appreciated her performance and, you know, props to whoever is doing the marketing. I feel like I saw that girl specifically that was playing Debra on my TikTok for you page like a thousand times. It was every other video that they were like, hey, Detroit. Well, hey, hey, Emily, what's up? I mean, they wanted to make sure you knew.

[10:27] Jess McAnally: To talk about, because, like, you know, everything notwithstanding, the performance, obviously, the set deck, like, the quality of the production itself is really incredible and wonderful. The story, I also think, is like, you know, strangely, I know that you said your initial impression was to kind of be lukewarm. I kind of found it really, like, emotionally touching. Like, I don't generally have a huge emotional reaction to many things or most musicals, because there's just sort of, like, that element of disbelief where, I don't know, it's just, it's a little bit different when you're watching a musical and you're sort of kind of separated from the action versus a movie when you're, like, right up in it.

But I really found it emotionally compelling. I really thought that the themes and sort of the message that they were going for was really interesting. But there were definitely some places and some things about it that I'm like, I don't know how I feel about that. Like, what do you mean? Like, obviously, it's adorable to watch a romance blossom between two young people. And, you know, you really do have that sort of suspension of disbelief, especially with Carolee's performance being so great that these are two young people who are connecting, and it's really sweet. But then you're also, like, in the back of your mind, you're like, that's a 60-year-old woman kissing a 20-year-old.

[11:49] Miranda Moffat: I agree with you about the Broadway production. I felt that way about the Broadway production with Victoria Clarke's performance. I don't know what it is about Carolee Carmelo. She has, like, this cherubic face where I almost felt like she looked too youthful for the role. Like, she sings with a toned, like, aged, like, properly trained voice. But, like, her performance and just her look, she does not read as 70, 80 years old as how she was written to read. She reads kind of like Sutton Foster playing a teenager, sincerely. No, I mean, really, she really does look amazingly youthful. She looks more like a teenager than Ben Platt in the Dear Evan Hansen movie. It's not like a, that's really not a relevant criticism, honestly.

Like, obviously, you have to have that sort of, that's just like the logistics of actually putting on that show, is that's the thing that's just going to happen. It's just like, it's something that you sort of think about in the back of your mind. You're like, oh, that's a little strange. But, like, overall, when you're watching the show, it's still very, like...

[12:46] Jess McAnally: Did you notice that they did a proper stage kiss? Like, their lips didn't touch?

[12:51] Miranda Moffat: I did not notice that.

[12:53] Jess McAnally: His cheek went on her, or his lips went on her cheek, her lips went on his cheek, and it just blocked them up. I think I was just at the right angle to be like, oh, that's not a real kiss.

[13:02] Miranda Moffat: I mean, well, you know, whatever. Like, if, the thing that I appreciate about his character, is it Seth?

[13:08] Jess McAnally: Yes.

[13:08] Miranda Moffat: Seth just likes a milf.

[13:11] Jess McAnally: I think, I don't even think Seth knows what he likes. I think he just likes Kimberly, which I think is nice.

[13:16] Miranda Moffat: It's very sweet. It really is very sweet to watch. And it's nice to have, I didn't realize how much I needed, there's not many Broadway shows where they have a woman of a certain age as a lead. Like, at a certain point, you got like, okay, with the caveat of every Sondheim musical, and maybe Mamma Mia and Mamma Rose, but outside of those, there ain't much.

[13:36] Jess McAnally: A lot of media, especially modern media is a young person's game, which I think is part of what they're playing with here. But that's kind of part of what they're toying with here.

[13:45] Miranda Moffat: Sure. But I agree with you. I think that it's great that there's a space for these types of roles and these types of leads. And I think that there should absolutely be more of them. And I feel that more and more as I get older, and I watch things and the people in the shows are younger than me. Disgusting.

[14:01] Jess McAnally: How dare they?

[14:02] Miranda Moffat: Please don't do that to me. I think my only, the only things that I sort of, if I had to have any kind of criticism to say about the show is that it's one of those things that from the beginning, from the very start of watching it, I feel like, oh, I don't know, I don't know if this is going to end well. As soon as it started, I'm like, this cannot possibly go well. And surprisingly, it does not live up to the sense of anxiety it gave me. Things do end pretty decently. The aunt doesn't get put in prison. They don't all go to jail. I thought she was going to die at the end. I don't know. It's just, it's one of those things where you don't, I just didn't think that it was going to end well. And my other thing is that the parents specifically, I thought it was very interesting, an interesting take on, like you, you know, usually when you're hearing about individuals that have some sort of specific genetic disorder, there's a very, or condition, there's like a very specific way that you see that portrayed.

And there's a very specific way that you see those parents portrayed. And this is one of those instances where it's like, sometimes these, you know, kids with these specific diseases don't have the support system that they deserve. Sometimes they are born to really shitty parents and really shitty households. But they're not like precious level shitty. They're normal shit.

[15:30] Jess McAnally: They're normal shitty. Yes. But it also, while I'm watching it, I'm sort of like, I don't, part of me is like, I don't care what the parents have to say. And I don't want to hear from them because they're not good people. And I know that they're not going to be good people. So like, if I had to give anything that would be like my very personal gripes with it, but like overall, obviously that's not like a relevant criticism of just the whole story, just my own personal, like, you know?

[15:48] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, I okay. Can I psychoanalyze a little bit of Janine Tesori's work as a composer? Because we, I know she, there's a lot of other collaborators here. But when we talk about Sondheim's work, we kind of just like, he's the auteur here. So I'm doing the same thing here.

[16:03] Jess McAnally: Yeah, go for it.

[16:04] Miranda Moffat: A lot of her work has to do with daddy issues. Like, it's just sad dads galore. Everybody like, oh, God, who was I? Some director, something that they were like, you told me it always comes back to their mom. Who was that? I can't remember what we were talking about, but you were like, yeah, all of their work always comes back to their mom.

[16:17] Jess McAnally: Spielberg.

[16:18] Miranda Moffat: It's always his dad. Spielberg. His dad always leaves. He wanted to fuck his mom and he's mad that his dad left. That's the Spielberg method. Or having a real, real Oedipus feeling. No, not really. But yeah, that's, that's interesting that there's always, you know, like, no matter how hard people try, there's always just themes that they, that they sort of stick to, I think is interesting.

[16:35] Jess McAnally: Well, I do want to actually, you did see Fun Home on Broadway with me a good decade ago.

[16:41] Miranda Moffat: Yes, a decade ago. I that was also written by Janine Tesori. That was her last Tony winning musical. That was also a big, big fucking deal.

[16:56] Jess McAnally: You mean prior to Kimberly?

[16:57] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, this is her follow up to Fun Home basically, like, okay, so how would you compare the two? And which one do you think you like better?

[17:06] Jess McAnally: Hmm, hard to say. I'm not, not super comparable in my eyes, I guess. And it's also been forever in a day since I've seen Fun Home. If I could say anything, I would say Fun Home, I think, has slightly better integrated songs. Like the songs are definitely what is pushing the main action. And also kind of songs that I think stuck around in my head more like the changing my major to Joan, like I still think about that song sometimes. Whereas like, I don't, there's not really one particular song in Kimberly Akimbo that I really feel like is gonna, you know, stick in my brain. Truly the only one that sticks out to me is like, not even a song is just in New Jersey. That's all I will think about, like with connected to the show.

[17:56] Miranda Moffat: True, fair. I think, you know, sometimes it, like, I think Kimberly Akimbo, if you're looking at it as a complete piece of art, is a really good piece of art, is really emotional, and satisfying and really funny. I mean, like, that's something we have to bring up to is that the audience that we had tonight was like, super into it. I mean, it was gasps and faws and, you know, like a lot of laughter. It is really, really funny. And like, like you said, a lot of the comedy really lands, I was not expecting it to be as.

[18:29] Jess McAnally: And we've seen funny shows before where it's just lands like a part in church.

[18:35] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, I mean, these actually, actually made me laugh, which was hard to do. So I think as a in total, it's a really heartwarming, really funny thing to watch. And really, like, I really enjoyed it. I'm always worried going into anything like the worst thing that you could do is bore me. And that's always my concern. I was not bored. I really enjoyed it. However, it's not one of those musicals for me personally, that I feel like the songs are really replayable, or like I said, would really sort of stick in your head or, you know, those kinds of things. It was it's really fun to watch as a show. I don't know that I would enjoy it so much just listening to it as an album. Do you know what I mean?

[19:13] Jess McAnally: Yeah, but not every musical is made to be an album. Great Comet is a wonderful music that musical that was not made to be an album.

[19:20] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, yeah.

[19:22] Jess McAnally: I am much more positive about this show than I was. I was very middling on it when me and Andrew covered it. And this kind of goes to the root of all problems that seeing a bootleg is not always an equivalent of seeing a proper show. And I will never say it's replacement value. But if you're poor, don't feel guilty. I'm pro bootlegs. Don't don't dare. Don't you dare quote me out of context there.

[19:44] Miranda Moffat: If we can't ever own anything anymore, you know, like pirating is fine. Pirating is fine. Like half these Broadway actors would not have an account of how they performed on Broadway without bootlegs. And they are the first to admit that. So I am always pro bootleg. Just don't do it in front of me or I'll be pissed off. That's my review of bootlegs. But Miranda, what was your overall thoughts on Kimberly Akimbo and your cheese rating?

[20:09] Miranda Moffat: Oh, geez. Is that is cheese rating still a thing that you do?

[20:13] Jess McAnally: Oh, yeah. We're the cheese wheel, baby.

[20:15] Miranda Moffat: I see. Okay. Okay.

[20:16] Jess McAnally: That's we'll never let that die.

[20:19] Miranda Moffat: Um, let me think. So I will say my overall thoughts, as I sort of already summarized, is that it is a really enjoyable experience to see, especially live with an audience who is laughing and, you know, crying with you. It's heartwarming, heartwarming. It's it's hilarious. I think the themes are really interesting. I think the dynamics of the characters are really interesting. I mean, I will think about Deborah being like, gay, straight, gay, straight forever. That was that dinner.

[20:54] Jess McAnally: To show how useless that Zephlock was in the story, though.

[20:57] Miranda Moffat: It was really funny, though. It was funny to watch.

[20:59] Jess McAnally: The fact that it got resolved in like half a second.

[21:02] Miranda Moffat: That felt like...

[21:03] Jess McAnally: Amazing. It felt like such a relief.

[21:05] Miranda Moffat: Uh, oh, I'm so sorry to interrupt your overall thoughts.

[21:08] Jess McAnally: I don't want to spoil it, but I set you up to prepare for...

[21:11] Miranda Moffat: That's right, you sure did.

[21:13] Jess McAnally: And, man, it still doesn't work for me.

[21:15] Miranda Moffat: I won't spoil, but that twist is like, you know, it doesn't really change anything.

[21:20] Jess McAnally: Do we need that moment?

[21:21] Miranda Moffat: It really doesn't. I mean, it's, it's, it is certainly relevant context, and it certainly adds to the emotional punch of what's happening.

[21:27] Jess McAnally: But only for that moment, not for the rest of the story, or really contextualize what's happened before.

[21:31] Miranda Moffat: I was also very confused.

[21:38] Jess McAnally: I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Was the man that she fucked, like, ancient?

[21:42] Miranda Moffat: That, they don't elaborate.

[21:44] Jess McAnally: Because he died by being scared, and it, they made it sound like he was an old-ass man, and I'm like, did her mom go fuck this, like, 90-year-old bedridden neighbor?

[21:53] Miranda Moffat: Or did he just, uh, uh, uh, uh, ugly neighbor with a big fat tummy that died of a heart attack because a Tim Robinson sketch enters his fucking room?

[22:02] Jess McAnally: So that, that part, I'm, I'm a little, I'm a little sketchy on.

[22:06] Miranda Moffat: And I will say, like, another, if I had to, like, give a critique, I would say, the, I don't think the parents get the sort of comeuppance that they deserve, um, for being as awful as they are.

[22:14] Jess McAnally: It's just like, it's one of those things where I get that the musical has to, like, wants to sort of end on a happy note, and you don't, like, want to leave the audience depressed, but, like, them just being, her dad, like, literally in the last 10 minutes being like, we didn't want you, you were not what we wanted, like, and then it's like, oh, well, it's okay, she'll send us postcards, and she's just like, it's okay, forget me.

[22:40] Miranda Moffat: I'm about to die in Disney World!

[22:42] Jess McAnally: She, where she's just like, I was like, what?

[22:45] Miranda Moffat: So I feel like, if anything, like, the act two does sort of speed run through that plot, like, really quickly, and then it's just like, oh, well, I guess it's okay, because she gets to go on an adventure.

[22:56] Jess McAnally: So it is a little bit, you know, not completely satisfying in the end, but still overall pretty compelling.

[23:03] Miranda Moffat: Like, she steals his fucking car.

[23:06] Jess McAnally: That's a pretty, pretty satisfying comeuppance, if you ask me.

[23:09] Miranda Moffat: Yes, I agree. I love that she's, like, going out on an adventure with Seth.

[23:13] Jess McAnally: I think that's super cute, but, like, I don't know.

[23:16] Miranda Moffat: Just to see the parents all, like, happy in the group, singing, like, oh, yeah, live your life, and it's like,

[23:21] Jess McAnally: you destroyed your own lives and your daughter's life. Like, what?

[23:25] Miranda Moffat: And now you've got another kid to destroy.

[23:27] Jess McAnally: Exactly. So, like, it is a little bit too much of a, oh, it's okay.

[23:31] Miranda Moffat: And that's what musicals do all the time.

[23:34] Jess McAnally: Not Parade.

[23:35] Miranda Moffat: Not Parade. You can't accuse Parade of doing that.

[23:39] Jess McAnally: But, yeah, musicals do that a lot, and I'm always like, eh, well.

[23:42] Miranda Moffat: What do you think is the worst case? Because this is not remotely the worst case.

[23:45] Jess McAnally: Truly, I think Next to Normal has the worst case of, we'll be fine.

[23:49] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, yeah. Somebody who, like, you know, has a degree in psychology.

[23:54] Jess McAnally: That ending definitely is not good.

[23:57] Miranda Moffat: Medication's important, kids.

[23:59] Jess McAnally: Yeah, treating your mental health and taking care of your mental health is very important.

[24:04] Miranda Moffat: I don't know. There was something, I feel like there was something that we watched a little while ago that had that same gripe with it.

[24:11] Jess McAnally: Was it a musical?

[24:12] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, I mean, and that's really, honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, that's kind of a common theme for me, is that, like, I feel like the second act does sort of rush the plot.

[24:21] Jess McAnally: It sort of rushes to get to the end, and then it's, like, despite any of the emotional turmoil happening, it always ends in, like, a happy-go-lucky sing-songy, because it's like.

[24:29] Miranda Moffat: I mean, mega mixes and all.

[24:32] Jess McAnally: Moulin Rouge was probably the worst one, where it's like, get through the fucking ending.

[24:36] Miranda Moffat: Holy shit. Oh, she's dead.

[24:39] Jess McAnally: Oulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?

[24:42] Miranda Moffat: I don't have a happy note. Everyone smile.

[24:45] Jess McAnally: So I feel like they feel like they have to do that.

[24:48] Miranda Moffat: I can't think of a musical that really does lean into, like, sort of depressing stuff, except for maybe Braid.

[24:54] Jess McAnally: Les Mis kind of does.

[24:56] Miranda Moffat: It's still a very, like, hopeful, ah, we're all going to meet in heaven, yay, kind of thing.

[25:01] Jess McAnally: So I don't know. I always have that issue.

[25:03] Miranda Moffat: It seems to always rush in the second act, and it always ends on a happy note, regardless of sort of...

[25:07] Jess McAnally: You want consequences. You want stakes.

[25:10] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, yeah. But I get that that's also not everybody's sort of cup of tea.

[25:14] Jess McAnally: Um, so Cheese.

[25:16] Miranda Moffat: Oh, god.

[25:17] Jess McAnally: Yeah, it's the hardest part of every show.

[25:18] Miranda Moffat: I just feel like the name of every Cheese flies out of my head when you ask me this question.

[25:24] Jess McAnally: I don't...

[25:26] Miranda Moffat: I've been doing this for 350 weeks.

[25:28] Jess McAnally: Let me think, um, how about sort of like, um, like a habanero sort of situation?

[25:36] Miranda Moffat: What's that one Cheese I got you that you really liked?

[25:39] Jess McAnally: It was like habanero cheddar?

[25:40] Miranda Moffat: Cheddar, yes.

[25:41] Jess McAnally: It's like a habanero cheddar, because it has its spicy moments, and it had a lot more cussing than I expected it to have.

[25:49] Miranda Moffat: It feels like something that people would think to take their kids to, and in fact, there was a kid sitting in the row in front of us, and it is not.

[25:56] Jess McAnally: Here's the thing.

[25:57] Miranda Moffat: It's very hard to get a parental advisory sticker at a Broadway show.

[26:02] Jess McAnally: Fair enough.

[26:02] Miranda Moffat: You have to be like Book of Mormon levels for it to pop up.

[26:06] Jess McAnally: Theater is the one place where there's no fucking rating system, and god bless it.

[26:11] Miranda Moffat: That's so true, but there was so much cursing, which I'm obviously a fan of.

[26:17] Jess McAnally: They had a damn swear jar in as a, like, prop in this as a plot point.

[26:23] Miranda Moffat: So, like, I'm fine with it, but damn, some kid's in the audience.

[26:27] Jess McAnally: So, I would say it's a habanero cheddar, because it will, you know, it's got some spiciness.

[26:33] Miranda Moffat: It'll warm you up, and it's pretty, you know, it's some people's thing.

[26:39] Jess McAnally: It's some people's favorite thing, and it's, you know, some people can't handle it.

[26:43] Miranda Moffat: That's fair.

[26:44] Jess McAnally: I'm trying to remember based.

[26:45] Miranda Moffat: I didn't get to the Cheese rating when I re-listened to our Musicals of Cheese episode on this, but I know my two moods, so I either probably gave it some cheese whiz from great adventure theme parks, or...

[26:58] Jess McAnally: That's a good one. Not, like, nacho cheese from an adventure park. That would make sense.

[27:02] Miranda Moffat: It was something like that. That seems like something I'd do.

[27:05] Jess McAnally: Or the opposite. Aged cheddar.

[27:07] Miranda Moffat: Oh, that's terrible. That's terrible, Jesse.

[27:11] Jess McAnally: Those are the two routes I'd go, where I would just say something to try to get Andrew to be like,

[27:16] Miranda Moffat: You suck. I hate you.

[27:17] Jess McAnally: Exactly. That's lazy. So lazy of you.

[27:21] Miranda Moffat: Our wonderful Keeper of the Cheese, Juliet, keeps a record of every Cheese rating.

[27:26] Jess McAnally: And I do. Early days, I saw six weeks in a row, he gave cheddar.

[27:31] Miranda Moffat: He obviously does not have a good, vibrant vocabulary for cheese types.

[27:37] Jess McAnally: You've seen what he eats.

[27:40] Miranda Moffat: I think maybe you guys just need to have, like, your own sort of document of, like, cheese options.

[27:47] Jess McAnally: I also want to look at that spreadsheet.

[27:49] Miranda Moffat: I want a percentage breakdown of how often Swiss and shit shows up.

[27:54] Jess McAnally: Swiss is always like, It's pretty good, but it's got some holes!

[27:58] Miranda Moffat: Exactly. Exactly. That's what I'm saying. I feel like that is probably so overused.

[28:03] Jess McAnally: Give me the data breakdown. I want the stats.

[28:05] Miranda Moffat: Honestly, I think Juliet would give that to you. Like, they're very good about that.

[28:09] Jess McAnally: Well, there you go. Maybe one day. I'll do a PowerPoint.

[28:13] Miranda Moffat: Juliet still insists that the best Cheese rating was given by my mother.

[28:17] Jess McAnally: What was it?

[28:19] Miranda Moffat: It was for the Grinch musical.

[28:21] Jess McAnally: And she said, Blue Cheese because they blew it.

[28:27] Miranda Moffat: Margie.

[28:31] Jess McAnally: Come on now.

[28:34] Miranda Moffat: All right. I think we've got another one in a couple of weeks.

[28:37] Jess McAnally: What's up, Preview? I think it's Book of Mormon we might be seeing next.

[28:40] Miranda Moffat: Is it? I don't know if that's on our list.

[28:42] Jess McAnally: You're going to have to check the list.

[28:44] Miranda Moffat: That's a big if. But, like, you've seen Book of Mormon.

[28:47] Jess McAnally: It would be a nice return because this time you won't be on drugs.

[28:50] Miranda Moffat: That's so true. The last time we saw Book of Mormon, we were up in the balcony.

[28:54] Jess McAnally: I think, where were we? The Opera House?

[28:56] Miranda Moffat: I think we were at the Opera House.

[28:58] Jess McAnally: Detroit Opera House.

[29:00] Miranda Moffat: Word to the wise, Detroit is a great place for musical theater lovers.

[29:03] Jess McAnally: I believe we have the most theaters per square mile just below New York City.

[29:07] Miranda Moffat: If I'm not mistaken.

[29:09] Jess McAnally: It's a great place if you love theater.

[29:11] Miranda Moffat: But, yeah, last time we saw Book of Mormon, I just had my wisdom teeth out.

[29:14] Jess McAnally: And my face was, like, two to three times its normal size.

[29:17] Miranda Moffat: So, that was really interesting.

[29:19] Jess McAnally: She couldn't smile, so I couldn't tell if she was enjoying it.

[29:21] Miranda Moffat: So, that was really interesting.

[29:23] Jess McAnally: So, yeah, it'll be great to actually see it again when I am of sound body and mind.

[29:27] Miranda Moffat: That'll be nice.

[29:29] Jess McAnally: Yeah, and there's a lot of cool things.

[29:32] Miranda Moffat: I want to talk to Amber about the upcoming shows.

[29:34] Jess McAnally: Specifically, there's things there that I'm curious how they're going to pack up in a tour.

[29:39] Miranda Moffat: Like, Back to the Future.

[29:41] Jess McAnally: That's a very set-specific musical.

[29:43] Miranda Moffat: And how are they going to make a car fly over an audience?

[29:46] Jess McAnally: That is interesting.

[29:49] Miranda Moffat: I also don't know.

[29:51] Jess McAnally: So, yeah.

[29:53] Miranda Moffat: It's like Phantom and Beauty and the Beast.

[29:56] Jess McAnally: Things that we know people are going to show up for.

[29:59] Miranda Moffat: But I'm excited for Shucked.

[30:02] Jess McAnally: I want to hear about Korn, guys!

[30:05] Miranda Moffat: I'm really lame.

[30:07] Jess McAnally: I'm excited for the, like, you know, the normies.

[30:10] Miranda Moffat: I love a good Phantom of the Opera.

[30:12] Jess McAnally: I love a good Disney musical.

[30:14] Miranda Moffat: And I'm hoping, like, something a little...

[30:16] Jess McAnally: I'm so grateful that we got Parade.

[30:18] Miranda Moffat: Like, Parade was such a blessing.

[30:20] Jess McAnally: Like, for me, I don't think I've truly felt that bliss in a theater in a very long time.

[30:25] Miranda Moffat: Yeah, amazing.

[30:27] Jess McAnally: It was amazing.

[30:29] Miranda Moffat: We will see you next week on whatever the fuck this show's called.

[30:32] Jess McAnally: No, we should call it Theater in the D.

[30:35] Miranda Moffat: Theater in the D.

[30:37] Jess McAnally: There you go.

[30:39] Miranda Moffat: We'll see you next time, guys.

[30:41] Jess McAnally: Thanks for tuning in.

[30:59] Miranda Moffat: Akimbo.

[31:03] Jess McAnally: Cleverly Akimbo.

[31:10] Miranda Moffat: That's a pretty good one.

[31:12] Jess McAnally: I did my grandmother's name and got Arabian Beard.