This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Ramin Karimloo: Hi folks, welcome to the final episode of The Hang in Season 3. I think it was only fitting that we bring back who started this all off with me at the top of the season, Andrew Kober.

[0:16] Ramin Karimloo: What can I say? It's going to be an episode of nonsense. He's probably going to make fun of me throughout. And more importantly, you're going to see two friends with a lot of joy and a lot of love for each other. Thanks for hanging out with us.

[0:33] Ramin Karimloo: You're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network.

[0:39] Ramin Karimloo: Do people tell you you look like Oscar Isaac?

[0:41] Andrew Kober: All the time.

[0:42] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I've never seen it.

[0:43] Andrew Kober: When he did Star Wars, I didn't see him do it, but he had a shaved head, right? The amount of tweets, and actually some friends who he met, fucking, you're awesome in Star Wars. I'm like, am I?

[0:52] Ramin Karimloo: Thank you.

[0:53] Andrew Kober: When Rami Malek won the Oscar, the amount of like congratulatory tweets.

[0:57] Andrew Kober: I don't really think I look like him.

[0:58] Ramin Karimloo: No!

[0:59] Andrew Kober: No.

[1:00] Ramin Karimloo: They just stopped at R-A-M, I know this guy.

[1:02] Andrew Kober: I know. That's funny.

[1:05] Andrew Kober: So how I tweet back was just, thank you.

[1:07] Andrew Kober: Thanks.

[1:08] Andrew Kober: Thank you.

[1:09] Andrew Kober: Appreciate it.

[1:10] Andrew Kober: Great.

[1:11] Ramin Karimloo: Where's the AI?

[1:13] Andrew Kober: It's on your phone.

[1:15] Ramin Karimloo: Okay. We're going to roll with me just reading that off the...

[1:19] Andrew Kober: That'll be the introduction.

[1:20] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[1:22] Andrew Kober: Hang on, my mom's coming in.

[1:24] Ramin Karimloo: Who?

[1:25] Andrew Kober: My mom.

[1:26] Ramin Karimloo: Really?

[1:27] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[1:28] Ramin Karimloo: I've never met your mother.

[1:29] Andrew Kober: The old Iranian lady.

[1:30] Ramin Karimloo: I've never met her.

[1:31] Andrew Kober: Walking down the streets of New York. Kremlin.

[1:33] Ramin Karimloo: Mrs. Kremlin?

[1:34] Andrew Kober: Mrs. Kremlin?

[1:35] Andrew Kober: Look, she's coming in quietly.

[1:36] Ramin Karimloo: I've never met her.

[1:37] Andrew Kober: As quietly as she comes.

[1:38] Ramin Karimloo: Well, she's a mother.

[1:40] Ramin Karimloo: Why have you never introduced us?

[1:43] Andrew Kober: Have you been around when she's been around?

[1:45] Ramin Karimloo: I've known you for years.

[1:46] Andrew Kober: I mean, I'm sure that at some point we've all lived in the same city.

[1:48] Andrew Kober: My mom doesn't live with me.

[1:49] Andrew Kober: It's the first time she's been here.

[1:50] Ramin Karimloo: I'm sure there has been a point in the last whatever ten years that three of us have been in the same city.

[1:55] Andrew Kober: How many times have I seen you in the last three years?

[1:58] Ramin Karimloo: Ten years, I'm saying.

[2:00] Andrew Kober: Ten years even?

[2:01] Ramin Karimloo: I don't know. A dozen?

[2:03] Ramin Karimloo: Andrew Kober is an American.

[2:05] Andrew Kober: Wait, you've got to set up where this comes from.

[2:07] Ramin Karimloo: I'm going to back intro it.

[2:09] Andrew Kober: Don't tell me how to do my podcast.

[2:12] Ramin Karimloo: You're going to do a back intro?

[2:14] Andrew Kober: Is that an industry term?

[2:15] Ramin Karimloo: I'm going to back intro it.

[2:17] Ramin Karimloo: It's nothing.

[2:18] Andrew Kober: What is it?

[2:19] Ramin Karimloo: There's something about it, isn't there?

[2:22] Andrew Kober: It's nothing.

[2:23] Ramin Karimloo: We're going to back intro it.

[2:25] Andrew Kober: A back intro.

[2:26] Ramin Karimloo: No, I'm going to back intro it.

[2:28] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[2:29] Ramin Karimloo: So it's like if you open a concert and you do two songs without saying a word, then you...

[2:33] Andrew Kober: Uh-huh.

[2:34] Ramin Karimloo: That's called a cold open.

[2:37] Andrew Kober: Is that what a cold open is?

[2:43] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[2:44] Ramin Karimloo: Andrew Kober is an American actor and singer, best known for his work in musical theater.

[2:48] Ramin Karimloo: He was born on February 17th, 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in New Jersey.

[2:54] Ramin Karimloo: Kober began his career in theater in the early 2000s, performing in regional productions of musicals such as Les Misérables and The Full Monty.

[3:02] Ramin Karimloo: He made his Broadway debut in 2007 in the musical Les Misérables, playing the role of Fuy.

[3:08] Andrew Kober: That's not true.

[3:09] Ramin Karimloo: Kober has also appeared in other Broadway productions, including Hair, She Loves Me, and School of Rock.

[3:16] Andrew Kober: He has also appeared in off-Broadway productions, including The Black Suits, The Fortress of Solitude...

[3:23] Andrew Kober: period.

[3:24] Ramin Karimloo: I thought there was going to be a third one.

[3:26] Andrew Kober: Hasn't done much.

[3:27] Ramin Karimloo: Kober is known for his comedic timing and his ability to bring humor and heart to his performances.

[3:33] Andrew Kober: Not true.

[3:34] Ramin Karimloo: He has also released several albums, including his debut album, Kobere, in 2014.

[3:44] Andrew Kober: Oh!

[3:45] Ramin Karimloo: Wow.

[3:46] Ramin Karimloo: Welcome to The Hang once again.

[3:48] Andrew Kober: Great to be back.

[3:49] Ramin Karimloo: That's the back intro.

[3:50] Andrew Kober: That's nothing.

[3:51] Ramin Karimloo: The backtro.

[3:52] Andrew Kober: Nope.

[3:53] Ramin Karimloo: That's why I'm not afraid of AI.

[3:55] Andrew Kober: Is that.

[3:56] Andrew Kober: I was, until two minutes ago, I was afraid of AI.

[3:58] Ramin Karimloo: That's what I said.

[3:59] Ramin Karimloo: I was afraid of the AI.

[4:00] Andrew Kober: I know.

[4:01] Ramin Karimloo: You okay?

[4:02] Andrew Kober: I can't even see his two letters.

[4:03] Andrew Kober: Here they come for you.

[4:04] Andrew Kober: I have been afraid, historically.

[4:06] Andrew Kober: That, to me, allayed any fears that I've had.

[4:09] Ramin Karimloo: Let's unpack this.

[4:10] Ramin Karimloo: February 17th, 1981.

[4:11] Andrew Kober: True?

[4:12] Ramin Karimloo: Neither the date nor the year are correct.

[4:14] Andrew Kober: Holy shit.

[4:15] Ramin Karimloo: Atlanta, Georgia?

[4:16] Andrew Kober: Nope.

[4:17] Ramin Karimloo: Never been there, as a matter of fact.

[4:18] Ramin Karimloo: Were you raised in New Jersey?

[4:19] Andrew Kober: Nope.

[4:21] Ramin Karimloo: It started out real strong.

[4:22] Andrew Kober: Were your regional productions Les Mis and Full Monty?

[4:24] Ramin Karimloo: No, I've never done Les Mis regionally.

[4:26] Andrew Kober: I only did it on Broadway.

[4:27] Ramin Karimloo: Broadway debut, 2007?

[4:29] Andrew Kober: Um, no.

[4:30] Andrew Kober: 2009.

[4:31] Ramin Karimloo: And that wasn't Les Mis?

[4:32] Andrew Kober: Nope, that was Hair.

[4:33] Ramin Karimloo: Les Mis was like, 14?

[4:35] Andrew Kober: 2014?

[4:36] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[4:37] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[4:38] Andrew Kober: Um.

[4:39] Ramin Karimloo: Didn't play Fouie.

[4:40] Andrew Kober: No, you didn't.

[4:41] Andrew Kober: Nope.

[4:42] Ramin Karimloo: Were you in The Black Suits and The Fortress of Solitude?

[4:43] Andrew Kober: No.

[4:44] Andrew Kober: Neither.

[4:45] Ramin Karimloo: Have you heard of them?

[4:46] Andrew Kober: Yes.

[4:47] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[4:48] Andrew Kober: I auditioned for one of them.

[4:49] Ramin Karimloo: How are you known for your comic timing, though?

[4:51] Andrew Kober: I think that's where it really locked into the truth.

[4:53] Andrew Kober: I don't know.

[4:54] Andrew Kober: And that's like a truth beyond facts.

[4:56] Ramin Karimloo: That's where AI does worry me, because it knows something that's like elementally true beyond what you could find on Wikipedia.

[5:00] Ramin Karimloo: We can argue that.

[5:03] Andrew Kober: And it says you bring humor and heart to your performances.

[5:06] Ramin Karimloo: I don't think I saw that.

[5:07] Andrew Kober: And to the people lucky enough to know me, it left that part out.

[5:10] Ramin Karimloo: But I don't think I saw that in your factory foreman, so I didn't see heart or humor.

[5:15] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[5:16] Andrew Kober: There was heart.

[5:17] Andrew Kober: And there was humor.

[5:18] Andrew Kober: You don't know what I was getting up to upstage in the dark.

[5:20] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, no.

[5:21] Ramin Karimloo: I did.

[5:22] Ramin Karimloo: That's the problem.

[5:23] Andrew Kober: That's why.

[5:24] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[5:25] Andrew Kober: And you've released several albums?

[5:26] Ramin Karimloo: I'm on several albums.

[5:27] Andrew Kober: They're not like Andrew Kober albums.

[5:29] Ramin Karimloo: Can we unpack Koberay?

[5:31] Andrew Kober: Is this real?

[5:32] Ramin Karimloo: Koberay is real.

[5:33] Andrew Kober: Koberay.

[5:34] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[5:35] Andrew Kober: Koberay?

[5:36] Ramin Karimloo: Not Koberay.

[5:41] Ramin Karimloo: Because you were trying to be like cabaret?

[5:43] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[5:44] Ramin Karimloo: It was a cabaret act by Andrew Kober.

[5:46] Andrew Kober: You called it Koberay?

[5:47] Ramin Karimloo: Koberay.

[5:48] Andrew Kober: This makes sense why you came on a tiny little white scooter.

[5:51] Ramin Karimloo: Now, what does that mean, tiny little white scooter?

[5:53] Andrew Kober: What is that that you're riding on?

[5:55] Andrew Kober: It's an electric scooter.

[5:57] Ramin Karimloo: That's electric?

[5:58] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[5:59] Andrew Kober: First of all, they're not even allowed in my building.

[6:00] Ramin Karimloo: How'd you get through to go past the guards?

[6:01] Andrew Kober: What are you talking about? We got an email saying no electric scooters in the building.

[6:04] Andrew Kober: I waltzed right in.

[6:05] Ramin Karimloo: Because only to catch fire?

[6:06] Andrew Kober: Well, it hasn't yet.

[6:07] Ramin Karimloo: Are you allowed it in rehearsal space?

[6:09] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[6:10] Ramin Karimloo: What's on this album?

[6:11] Andrew Kober: Although I know that some theaters have banned them.

[6:14] Ramin Karimloo: That's true.

[6:15] Andrew Kober: Yeah, ours has.

[6:17] Ramin Karimloo: So has Sweetie Todd said no electric scooters?

[6:21] Andrew Kober: I'm not in that.

[6:22] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[6:23] Andrew Kober: Someone else got your part.

[6:24] Ramin Karimloo: I know.

[6:25] Andrew Kober: My friend John Rapson.

[6:26] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, who I ran into and I heard he's amazing.

[6:28] Andrew Kober: I did too and he told me that he bought a scooter and they won't let him take it to work.

[6:32] Ramin Karimloo: Poor guy.

[6:33] Andrew Kober: I know.

[6:34] Andrew Kober: I know.

[6:35] Andrew Kober: Jared in ours.

[6:36] Ramin Karimloo: Jared got like a Harley of scooters.

[6:38] Andrew Kober: This thing is massive.

[6:39] Ramin Karimloo: Sure.

[6:40] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[6:41] Andrew Kober: Well, this is...

[6:42] Ramin Karimloo: He's got to take it to a parking place.

[6:43] Andrew Kober: Really?

[6:44] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[6:46] Andrew Kober: I'm not trying to scoot from home.

[6:47] Andrew Kober: I live in New Jersey.

[6:50] Ramin Karimloo: That's what went through my mind.

[6:51] Ramin Karimloo: So you live in New Jersey.

[6:52] Andrew Kober: That's right.

[6:53] Ramin Karimloo: You got a Tesla.

[6:54] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[6:55] Ramin Karimloo: You drive that to...

[6:56] Andrew Kober: Well, no.

[6:57] Andrew Kober: No.

[6:58] Andrew Kober: I take the scooter from my house to the train station.

[7:00] Ramin Karimloo: Which is how far?

[7:01] Andrew Kober: A mile.

[7:02] Ramin Karimloo: Then I follow...

[7:03] Andrew Kober: You don't get your steps in?

[7:04] Andrew Kober: No, sometimes I do on a nice day, but like today because I had a thing to do on my lunch break that I needed to be very quick on time about.

[7:11] Ramin Karimloo: What was that?

[7:12] Andrew Kober: This, where we are right now.

[7:13] Ramin Karimloo: Welcome.

[7:14] Andrew Kober: I usually walk.

[7:15] Andrew Kober: I do walk to the train station, but if I'm going far or if I have a bunch of errands to run around the city or whatever, it folds up and goes right in the overhead thing on the train.

[7:22] Ramin Karimloo: Fair enough.

[7:23] Andrew Kober: Fair enough.

[7:24] Andrew Kober: I bring it.

[7:25] Andrew Kober: And here's the real reason that it's been great, is those blocks...

[7:28] Andrew Kober: My train from New Jersey gets into Penn Station.

[7:29] Ramin Karimloo: Those blocks between Penn Station and the theater district are the worst blocks in New Jersey.

[7:33] Andrew Kober: Worst.

[7:34] Ramin Karimloo: The worst.

[7:35] Andrew Kober: Not fun.

[7:36] Ramin Karimloo: The walk.

[7:38] Ramin Karimloo: The 30s, low 40s along 7th and 8th Avenues.

[7:39] Andrew Kober: It's busy.

[7:40] Ramin Karimloo: It's busy.

[7:41] Ramin Karimloo: It's depressing.

[7:42] Andrew Kober: It's a little unsafe, it feels to me.

[7:43] Andrew Kober: I've been walking for a couple of years, and I much prefer to just zip right on past.

[7:47] Andrew Kober: I don't want to take the subway, so I don't love the walk.

[7:50] Andrew Kober: So on a nice day, I zip, baby, I'm in that bike lane, and I'm flying on that thing.

[7:56] Ramin Karimloo: It's a cute little white one you got.

[7:58] Andrew Kober: You want to take it for a...

[8:00] Ramin Karimloo: You do want to try it.

[8:01] Andrew Kober: I know you do.

[8:02] Ramin Karimloo: 100%.

[8:03] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[8:04] Ramin Karimloo: But where's your helmet?

[8:05] Andrew Kober: I left it at rehearsal, which was...

[8:06] Ramin Karimloo: So you do wear a helmet?

[8:07] Andrew Kober: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[8:08] Ramin Karimloo: Promise?

[8:09] Andrew Kober: Promise.

[8:10] Andrew Kober: It's in the rehearsal room right now, but only because I was going like three blocks and because I was sneaking out in the middle of a rehearsal.

[8:14] Ramin Karimloo: Fair enough.

[8:15] Andrew Kober: Because you...

[8:16] Ramin Karimloo: By the way, I think you asked me to do this maybe 20 hours ago.

[8:20] Andrew Kober: This wasn't planned.

[8:22] Andrew Kober: This was like, you sent me tomorrow, question mark?

[8:25] Andrew Kober: And I went, what?

[8:26] Ramin Karimloo: And he said, it's the season finale.

[8:29] Andrew Kober: This is it.

[8:30] Andrew Kober: It's what everyone's been waiting for.

[8:31] Ramin Karimloo: I don't think that's true.

[8:32] Andrew Kober: And what I was picturing was, you'd have a guest, there'd be guests, and I'd do a pop-in, and also I'm here.

[8:36] Ramin Karimloo: And that would be a...

[8:39] Andrew Kober: And I'd go.

[8:40] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, but you didn't know the other two.

[8:41] Andrew Kober: So you couldn't do a pop-in.

[8:42] Ramin Karimloo: Well, I didn't know I wouldn't know them.

[8:44] Andrew Kober: I didn't know who they would be.

[8:47] Ramin Karimloo: Even now, I don't really know who they were.

[8:48] Andrew Kober: You see what I'm saying?

[8:51] Andrew Kober: So yeah, I scoot around, man.

[8:52] Andrew Kober: It's really good.

[8:53] Ramin Karimloo: I really like it.

[8:54] Ramin Karimloo: What are you rehearsing?

[8:55] Andrew Kober: Are you allowed to say?

[8:56] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[8:57] Andrew Kober: In fact, I asked the producers this morning, I'm going on a podcast, am I allowed to talk about this?

[9:01] Andrew Kober: And they had like a little huddle up and decided no.

[9:04] Ramin Karimloo: So what is it?

[9:05] Andrew Kober: I can't tell you.

[9:06] Ramin Karimloo: What's it called?

[9:08] Andrew Kober: Right.

[9:09] Ramin Karimloo: Who wrote it?

[9:10] Andrew Kober: Great writers.

[9:11] Ramin Karimloo: Who's directing it?

[9:12] Andrew Kober: A fantastic director.

[9:13] Ramin Karimloo: Who's in the cast?

[9:14] Andrew Kober: Some of the best actors.

[9:15] Ramin Karimloo: When's it coming out?

[9:16] Andrew Kober: Soon.

[9:17] Ramin Karimloo: Can't wait.

[9:18] Andrew Kober: Me too.

[9:19] Andrew Kober: It's going to be great.

[9:20] Ramin Karimloo: That's not advertising.

[9:21] Andrew Kober: I know.

[9:22] Andrew Kober: So there's that.

[9:23] Andrew Kober: That's great.

[9:24] Andrew Kober: That's been really good.

[9:25] Andrew Kober: I'm like booked.

[9:26] Ramin Karimloo: Here's the problem, because I was thinking on my way here, like, what do we talk about? I've got all these great shows coming up and I can talk about none of them.

[9:29] Andrew Kober: First of all, anytime you've been on The Hang...

[9:30] Ramin Karimloo: How many... Is this the third time?

[9:31] Andrew Kober: Ninth.

[9:32] Andrew Kober: Fourth.

[9:33] Andrew Kober: Including the co-host with Will, what am I going to talk about?

[9:45] Ramin Karimloo: You probably think that every time.

[9:47] Andrew Kober: I do think that every time, although I knew, as I was getting into your elevator, I was like, well, I guess the scooter will probably come up.

[9:56] Ramin Karimloo: We are recording, right?

[9:57] Andrew Kober: Yes.

[9:58] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[9:59] Andrew Kober: I sent you a lot of other Jax TV.

[10:01] Ramin Karimloo: Oh no.

[10:02] Andrew Kober: I've been on there a lot lately.

[10:03] Ramin Karimloo: Chat GPT.

[10:06] Andrew Kober: Do you have the app then?

[10:07] Ramin Karimloo: I don't.

[10:08] Ramin Karimloo: I mean, I just go to the website.

[10:10] Andrew Kober: You can just go. You don't need an app.

[10:12] Ramin Karimloo: Do you use an app?

[10:13] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[10:14] Ramin Karimloo: I don't need the app.

[10:15] Ramin Karimloo: But do you have to, do you pay for an account?

[10:16] Andrew Kober: No.

[10:17] Ramin Karimloo: To use it?

[10:18] Andrew Kober: No.

[10:19] Ramin Karimloo: Really?

[10:20] Andrew Kober: So, but you have to have it on your phone.

[10:23] Ramin Karimloo: You're going to cut all this out, right? This is the most boring content.

[10:27] Andrew Kober: No, we're keeping it all in.

[10:29] Ramin Karimloo: People want to know about AI.

[10:31] Andrew Kober: I don't know much about it.

[10:32] Ramin Karimloo: Clearly.

[10:34] Andrew Kober: You're supposed to know.

[10:36] Ramin Karimloo: You made this up.

[10:37] Andrew Kober: I did not.

[10:38] Ramin Karimloo: Oh no.

[10:39] Andrew Kober: That is a legit screenshot.

[10:40] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[10:41] Andrew Kober: Let's see what it is.

[10:42] Ramin Karimloo: What is Ramin Karimloo's podcast about?

[10:45] Andrew Kober: Oh God.

[10:46] Ramin Karimloo: So this is according to AI?

[10:47] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[10:48] Ramin Karimloo: Now wait.

[10:49] Andrew Kober: Can I read it?

[10:50] Ramin Karimloo: Can I do the reading?

[10:51] Andrew Kober: Oh, come on.

[10:52] Ramin Karimloo: All right.

[10:53] Andrew Kober: Just so I know.

[10:54] Andrew Kober: So this is from an app called Chatbox.

[10:55] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[10:56] Andrew Kober: But it uses the chat GPT.

[10:59] Ramin Karimloo: But there's other AI apps you can download, right?

[11:03] Andrew Kober: You don't necessarily have to have Chatbox?

[11:05] Ramin Karimloo: But do they all use the same AI GPT?

[11:07] Andrew Kober: No.

[11:08] Andrew Kober: There's a number of different artificial intelligence chatbots.

[11:11] Ramin Karimloo: The biggest one is called ChatGPT.

[11:14] Andrew Kober: And this app I'm hearing uses ChatGPT to inform its answers.

[11:19] Ramin Karimloo: According to chat-

[11:20] Andrew Kober: Still with this stupid case, huh?

[11:21] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[11:22] Andrew Kober: That dongle is all there is.

[11:23] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[11:24] Andrew Kober: Here we go.

[11:25] Andrew Kober: Read it like you mean it, and then we'll let them decide.

[11:29] Ramin Karimloo: Thank you.

[11:30] Ramin Karimloo: Ramin Karimloo has a podcast called The Broadgrass Podcast with Ramin Karimloo.

[11:37] Andrew Kober: It's a thing!

[11:38] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[11:39] Ramin Karimloo: This podcast is a mix of music, interviews, and conversations with guests from the entertainment industry.

[11:45] Andrew Kober: Sometimes.

[11:46] Ramin Karimloo: I don't think we've ever had music.

[11:48] Andrew Kober: Have we?

[11:49] Ramin Karimloo: Have you ever had music?

[11:50] Andrew Kober: Oh, Alan.

[11:51] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[11:52] Ramin Karimloo: The name Broadgrass is a combination of Broadway and bluegrass, which reflects Karimloo's love for both genres of music.

[11:58] Andrew Kober: It's true.

[12:01] Ramin Karimloo: In the podcast, Karimloo shares his own experiences in the entertainment industry and discusses topics such as creativity, inspiration, and the challenges of pursuing a career in the arts.

[12:14] Andrew Kober: That's not untrue.

[12:15] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, but I don't necessarily share my experiences, apart from this last podcast I did.

[12:21] Andrew Kober: He also, this part's patently untrue, he also performs acoustic versions of songs from his own repertoire, as well as covers of other songs.

[12:30] Ramin Karimloo: On the podcast they're saying?

[12:31] Andrew Kober: That's what they're saying.

[12:32] Ramin Karimloo: This chat GPT is full of shit.

[12:34] Andrew Kober: This podcast features a variety of guests, including fellow actors, musicians, and other creatives who share their own stories and insights.

[12:38] Ramin Karimloo: The Broadgrass Podcast with Ramin Karimloo is available on various podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

[12:44] Andrew Kober: Here's a prompt.

[12:50] Andrew Kober: Ask it to create, I don't know, five or ten or whatever questions for Ramin Karimloo to ask Andrew Kober on an interview podcast, and then we'll do those.

[13:01] Andrew Kober: I did once on chat GPT, I asked it to imagine, to write the script for a meeting, to write the script for a meeting between Shakespeare and Sondheim in heaven, and it was great.

[13:14] Andrew Kober: It was great.

[13:15] Andrew Kober: It was fascinating.

[13:16] Ramin Karimloo: I mean, I didn't bring it or whatever.

[13:18] Andrew Kober: Did it ever go like, did Shakespeare go, so what was it like writing Phantom of the Opera? What was that? Shakespeare.

[13:25] Andrew Kober: This one, Shakespeare thinks Sondheim wrote Phantom of the Opera?

[13:28] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, because look at all the incorrect information.

[13:29] Andrew Kober: Oh, I see. Yeah, great. Okay.

[13:30] Ramin Karimloo: You ruined that joke, mate.

[13:31] Andrew Kober: I didn't get it.

[13:33] Ramin Karimloo: It's too highbrow!

[13:34] Andrew Kober: Shakespeare, love, too highbrow.

[13:35] Ramin Karimloo: Should we talk about Phantom of the Opera or is it too painful?

[13:38] Andrew Kober: No, it's great. I'm very excited for it. Why would it be painful?

[13:41] Ramin Karimloo: No, I mean the me of it all.

[13:44] Andrew Kober: Oh, for you, yes.

[13:46] Ramin Karimloo: Well, we won't say what part, but you...

[13:49] Andrew Kober: There was a moment when it looked like maybe I would get to go be in Phantom of the Opera with you, and because of various reasons...

[13:55] Ramin Karimloo: And who helped open those doors for you?

[13:57] Andrew Kober: You did.

[13:57] Ramin Karimloo: Because we...

[13:59] Andrew Kober: Hang!

[14:00] Ramin Karimloo: Thank you!

[14:04] Andrew Kober: I kept on sending you that GIF from Master of None of the two of them running around on Vespas in Italy.

[14:09] Ramin Karimloo: It's all I wanted.

[14:10] Andrew Kober: I wanted to relive that.

[14:11] Ramin Karimloo: Oh my God, it's all I wanted.

[14:11] Andrew Kober: So you would have been in Phantom with me.

[14:13] Ramin Karimloo: I know.

[14:14] Andrew Kober: Do you know, I was already...

[14:16] Ramin Karimloo: We even talked with your son in the background talking about us doing content on the road together.

[14:21] Andrew Kober: I know, I know. I'm really sorry about that.

[14:22] Ramin Karimloo: We won't mention the other person, but us three...

[14:25] Andrew Kober: Yeah, I know.

[14:26] Ramin Karimloo: And it all fell apart.

[14:28] Andrew Kober: We would have been an internet sensation.

[14:29] Ramin Karimloo: I know.

[14:31] Andrew Kober: Just, you know...

[14:32] Ramin Karimloo: Did you send me this?

[14:33] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[14:33] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[14:35] Andrew Kober: Don't tell me the questions.

[14:36] Ramin Karimloo: I mean, just ask them.

[14:36] Andrew Kober: Well, here's what we asked the chat box.

[14:39] Ramin Karimloo: GPT?

[14:40] Andrew Kober: Chat GPT.

[14:41] Ramin Karimloo: Chat GPT.

[14:42] Andrew Kober: What does GPT stand for?

[14:43] Ramin Karimloo: Great Personal Trainer.

[14:47] Andrew Kober: GPT?

[14:48] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[14:49] Andrew Kober: See, right away it's GPT.

[14:50] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, no.

[14:53] Andrew Kober: Create five questions for Ramin Karimloo to ask Andrew Kober during a podcast interview.

[14:59] Ramin Karimloo: Yep.

[14:59] Andrew Kober: All right.

[15:00] Ramin Karimloo: Great.

[15:00] Andrew Kober: First one's simple and nice. What was your favorite role to play on Broadway and why?

[15:05] Ramin Karimloo: Huh.

[15:06] Andrew Kober: What was my favorite role to play on Broadway and why?

[15:08] Ramin Karimloo: That's not a very good podcast question, really, is it?

[15:11] Andrew Kober: Why?

[15:12] Ramin Karimloo: It's a little kind of basic, right? Like, it doesn't really get a conversation started. It's just sort of like an asked and answered kind of question.

[15:18] Andrew Kober: Well, the why will create a conversation.

[15:20] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, what was my favorite role to play on Broadway?

[15:22] Andrew Kober: And with our demographic that listens to this, some of them will find this interesting.

[15:25] Ramin Karimloo: Do you think?

[15:26] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[15:27] Ramin Karimloo: Somehow, some of them find you interesting.

[15:29] Andrew Kober: Some of them.

[15:30] Ramin Karimloo: They love you, man.

[15:31] Andrew Kober: Yeah?

[15:31] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. That's why, again, what we could have done in Italy...

[15:35] Andrew Kober: Do you know who I was talking to?

[15:36] Ramin Karimloo: You blew it!

[15:37] Andrew Kober: Do you know who I was talking to yesterday?

[15:39] Ramin Karimloo: Ann Harada.

[15:39] Andrew Kober: Do you know Ann Harada?

[15:41] Ramin Karimloo: She's a fantastic actor.

[15:42] Andrew Kober: She was the original Christmas Eve in Avenue Q.

[15:44] Ramin Karimloo: Yes.

[15:45] Andrew Kober: And everything. She's in Schmigadoon and Schmicago.

[15:47] Ramin Karimloo: Yes.

[15:47] Andrew Kober: Terrific. She's in this project that I'm working on right now.

[15:50] Ramin Karimloo: What's that called?

[15:51] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[15:51] Ramin Karimloo: And she said,

[15:53] Andrew Kober: I was listening to Ramin's podcast the other day, and you came on.

[15:57] Ramin Karimloo: And I said, why were you listening to that?

[16:00] Andrew Kober: She said, it's a podcast. I was just listening to it.

[16:03] Ramin Karimloo: And she was just listening to it like a person would.

[16:05] Andrew Kober: And I couldn't believe it. I thought that only...

[16:08] Ramin Karimloo: You, Amy.

[16:10] Andrew Kober: Like my mom, really.

[16:13] Ramin Karimloo: I have to admit, every now and then a colleague will send me a text, I just listened to your podcast with such and such. And I'm like, you listened? Really? Why did you listen? And then they're very like...

[16:22] Andrew Kober: Sometimes I say, I don't know if I'm going to keep doing this. And they're like, please keep doing it. And I'm like, really? Are you sure? You got something from this?

[16:30] Ramin Karimloo: Interesting.

[16:30] Andrew Kober: Okay. Favorite role I've played on Broadway? Beetlejuice, probably.

[16:35] Ramin Karimloo: Really fun.

[16:35] Andrew Kober: Or no, no, no. Dewey in School of Rock.

[16:38] Ramin Karimloo: I always wanted to learn how to play guitar.

[16:39] Andrew Kober: I finally got to learn. I got an excuse to learn.

[16:42] Ramin Karimloo: The kids were great. And I got to feel like a rock star on Broadway.

[16:45] Andrew Kober: Those were the ones.

[16:45] Ramin Karimloo: That's fantastic. Thank you.

[16:46] Andrew Kober: Are you sure you didn't write this question?

[16:49] Ramin Karimloo: I'm positive. That came straight from Chad.

[16:51] Andrew Kober: Chad, do you think?

[16:52] Ramin Karimloo: That would be a literal straight shot. That's Alan, our producer in the background there.

[16:55] Andrew Kober: I know Alan.

[16:57] Ramin Karimloo: Again, obviously, we know Chad. Was it like, how are you so handsome and funny?

[17:03] Andrew Kober: You have a background in comedy.

[17:04] Ramin Karimloo: True.

[17:05] Andrew Kober: How do you incorporate humor into your performances?

[17:07] Ramin Karimloo: How do I do it, though?

[17:09] Andrew Kober: Yet to be seen.

[17:09] Ramin Karimloo: How do I do it?

[17:11] Andrew Kober: You do do it.

[17:12] Ramin Karimloo: How do you do it?

[17:13] Andrew Kober: I do do it. How do I do it?

[17:15] Ramin Karimloo: You know, my beloved wife, Farrah, I'll come home.

[17:21] Andrew Kober: So I do a lot of shows where I'm like various guys, right? Like if someone asks me who I play in Les Mis, I say various sad French people. Like that was the roles that I was like, a bunch of sad French people. And that's kind of what I usually do, right? It's like a bunch of the people in the town.

[17:37] Ramin Karimloo: And I usually tend to add in some bits. And because I find that that A is fun, B is funny, and C sort of distinguishes the various people, right? Like if you're paying any attention, obviously they're all me. But like, I don't know, maybe one of them has a limp. Maybe one of them has a funny accent or whatever.

[17:54] Andrew Kober: And once I went a little too far in a show that we did out of town, and Farrah came to see it. And I had like, for no reason, an eyepatch and a giant cowboy hat. And...

[18:04] Ramin Karimloo: That was set by the production. You didn't just come on one day.

[18:08] Andrew Kober: No, no, I came up with all that in rehearsal. And they just kept saying yes.

[18:10] Ramin Karimloo: All right.

[18:11] Andrew Kober: And so I had an eyepatch and a cowboy hat and like a big bow tie. There was no dramaturgical reason for any of that to be happening.

[18:23] Ramin Karimloo: Did that answer the question?

[18:25] Andrew Kober: I forgot what the question was.

[18:26] Ramin Karimloo: How am I so funny? How do I do it? I just add stuff.

[18:29] Andrew Kober: I add stuff in that I think would be funny to me.

[18:31] Ramin Karimloo: And why would you incorporate that?

[18:33] Andrew Kober: Well, because I think real people, we laugh at the truth, right? And real people have videos to laugh at. Real people have video sequences. And especially if you're going to meet a character for like four lines in a scene, let's make them the most interesting four lines of the scene. You know what I mean? Like, why not bring too much to the plate and then edit? You know?

[18:54] Ramin Karimloo: Got it.

[18:57] Andrew Kober: What advice would you give to aspiring actors who are just starting out in the industry?

[19:02] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, that's a dull question. But this is our future right here.

[19:06] Andrew Kober: But I'm not worried about the future if that's our future.

[19:09] Ramin Karimloo: It's not good.

[19:11] Andrew Kober: It's not good, these questions.

[19:13] Ramin Karimloo: They're better than yours because you don't actually ask any. At least they're questions.

[19:18] Andrew Kober: I guess it has that going for it.

[19:21] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, quick. Come on.

[19:22] Andrew Kober: Excuse me. I choked on water. Hey, if I put a workshop together, will you come and teach some kids with me?

[19:27] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[19:28] Andrew Kober: I just came back from a big teaching trip in California.

[19:30] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, but I'm not going to charge them.

[19:31] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[19:32] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I'll do it. Find me lunch. A little sandwich. Wrap.

[19:36] Andrew Kober: I'll get you dinner. I want to do it on a Sunday night. We were talking about doing dinner anyway.

[19:39] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[19:40] Andrew Kober: Um, this Sunday?

[19:43] Ramin Karimloo: No, we'll talk.

[19:44] Andrew Kober: Um, what was the question?

[19:46] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, advice for young performers. Performing advice or like career advice, do you think?

[19:51] Andrew Kober: Choose one.

[19:51] Ramin Karimloo: Let's go with career. Everyone talks about performing, but like give them the stuff that people never learn.

[19:56] Andrew Kober: My stuff, my thing that I always harp on is, you can be as talented and as well prepared and as trained as anybody in the world. But if you're not kind and easy to work with, you're not going anywhere. You got to be a person. You got to be a good person.

[20:11] Ramin Karimloo: To me, and this comes off as self-deprecating, and I don't mean it that way, there are at least 50 guys good enough to do every role I've ever done on Broadway, right? I am good enough to have done them. I'm not saying I don't deserve to have done them. I do. I am good enough to have done them. But the reason that I got them and they didn't is because I'm friendly and personable and I'm good in the room and I show up and I'm on time and I know how to, like all the stuff that's in my control, which doesn't include how good I am at acting and singing, I'm on point. I know when to be there. I know how to work with others. I know how to be easy. I want to be easy.

[20:50] Andrew Kober: I want like, this is stolen from Tina Fey. Tina Fey tells a story in her book about how Lorne Michaels, when he's casting for SNL, looks for people that when it's like the end of the week and the show is tomorrow and they don't know how they're going to do it, it's three in the morning and everyone's exhausted and stressed, when he turns the corner, he hires the people that their face makes him relax. That's what I want to be. I want to be the one that like, if I see the director in the hall or if I see the stage manager in the booth, they're going to feel a little bit easier knowing that I'm there, right? That's the thing. That's the thing you want to bring to this. If you can do that, you'll be fine.

[21:23] Ramin Karimloo: And that must mean because you're comfortable in who you are.

[21:26] Andrew Kober: I don't know about that.

[21:29] Ramin Karimloo: Checking your phone. Why are you so busy?

[21:30] Andrew Kober: I'm looking to know what I'm... Because I left early to come here so I want to see when I need to be back.

[21:34] Ramin Karimloo: For what?

[21:35] Andrew Kober: The rest of my rehearsal.

[21:36] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, what's that for?

[21:37] Andrew Kober: Yeah. And so comfortable with yourself.

[21:40] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. But also like, I talked about this a little bit. I don't know. I may have talked about this on this podcast, but like...

[21:46] Andrew Kober: The broadcast broadcast.

[21:51] Ramin Karimloo: There's a... I really... Part of it's just experience and being comfortable in these kind of environments. But like COVID really taught me that I am most comfortable in a rehearsal room or backstage in a theater during a room, right? And like that is the best environment for me to be in. I know all the rules. I feel complete mastery of myself and my role in that setting. Like number one, including home with my family, including anywhere, that is the place where I feel most like me, most comfortable.

[22:22] Andrew Kober: And so... And I realize this because it was all taken away, right? For two years, we couldn't be in those spaces.

[22:28] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[22:28] Andrew Kober: And so thanks to experience and thanks to like, I think, honestly, I was... We were sort of built for this thing, like there's something in us that just kind of thrives in that particular kind of environment. Because of my comfort, I'm able to be good in the room. And it's not like I want to be very good. It's not like a false, like I'm going to charm them and do my jokes and like, it's just being genuinely comfortable.

[22:55] Ramin Karimloo: In your skin.

[22:56] Andrew Kober: Yeah, in my own skin. Does that make sense?

[22:58] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. I called it right before you went to this long digression, which...

[23:01] Andrew Kober: And you said this was a bad question. Look at all that beautiful information and insight we got from Andrew Kober.

[23:07] Ramin Karimloo: Are we done?

[23:08] Andrew Kober: No. Question four.

[23:11] Ramin Karimloo: You have released...

[23:12] Andrew Kober: This is going to be awesome. You have released your own music. How does your approach to creating music differ from your approach to performing in a musical?

[23:21] Ramin Karimloo: What's the last song you wrote?

[23:26] Andrew Kober: I've never written a song.

[23:27] Ramin Karimloo: Would you ever want to?

[23:28] Andrew Kober: Nope.

[23:28] Ramin Karimloo: You ever wrote lyrics or a scene like...

[23:31] Andrew Kober: Nothing.

[23:31] Ramin Karimloo: Didn't you have a comedy troupe? Didn't you write for that?

[23:32] Andrew Kober: No, I didn't write with them. They wrote. I edited.

[23:35] Ramin Karimloo: I'm happy to edit.

[23:36] Andrew Kober: Why aren't you writing?

[23:37] Ramin Karimloo: I'm not a writer.

[23:38] Andrew Kober: You've tried?

[23:39] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[23:40] Andrew Kober: No interest.

[23:40] Ramin Karimloo: No interest.

[23:41] Andrew Kober: Fair enough.

[23:41] Ramin Karimloo: No interest and no skill, I think.

[23:43] Andrew Kober: I presume.

[23:44] Ramin Karimloo: Well, you have to have the interest to know if you got the skill.

[23:46] Andrew Kober: Yeah, that's the thing.

[23:47] Ramin Karimloo: And this, again, is going to get lofty quick. I think there's a difference between creative artists and interpretive artists. And I think I'm a pretty good interpretive artist, but I'm not a creative artist and I'm not really interested in being one.

[23:57] Andrew Kober: And it took me a long time to decide that that doesn't make me less of an artist. It's just not the thing that I want to do. I'm not interested in your blank page. Give me your page with writing on it and I'll bring that to life.

[24:09] Ramin Karimloo: See, that's someone who knows her star power, who knows her lane.

[24:11] Andrew Kober: I know your thing, man.

[24:12] Ramin Karimloo: Who's comfortable in.

[24:14] Andrew Kober: Well, I hate myself.

[24:16] Ramin Karimloo: Skin.

[24:16] Andrew Kober: You don't hate yourself. Don't give me that.

[24:18] Ramin Karimloo: No, you don't.

[24:19] Andrew Kober: Of course I do.

[24:19] Ramin Karimloo: But that doesn't limit my ability to take your song or your scene or whatever and show you something in it that you didn't know was there.

[24:24] Andrew Kober: Why do you hate yourself?

[24:28] Ramin Karimloo: Because everyone does a little bit.

[24:30] Andrew Kober: I mean, I do a little bit, right?

[24:31] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, you're saying a little bit.

[24:32] Andrew Kober: Yeah, but like...

[24:32] Ramin Karimloo: So that's softened.

[24:34] Andrew Kober: So you don't hate yourself.

[24:34] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I don't hate myself completely, no.

[24:35] Andrew Kober: All right.

[24:36] Ramin Karimloo: Of course not.

[24:36] Andrew Kober: There you go. Tell yourself you like yourself.

[24:38] Ramin Karimloo: I'd rather not.

[24:39] Andrew Kober: I need to hear it.

[24:40] Ramin Karimloo: I like myself.

[24:41] Andrew Kober: Thank you.

[24:43] Ramin Karimloo: Question five.

[24:46] Andrew Kober: It's amazing. So I shoot three podcasts in a day. Somehow there's been this through line with all three today. And they're all three different...

[24:54] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, you'll listen back.

[24:55] Andrew Kober: Of course you will.

[24:55] Ramin Karimloo: I've never listened...

[25:00] Andrew Kober: I want you to know this just so you can disappease yourself. I've never listened to a minute of this podcast.

[25:02] Ramin Karimloo: Neither have I.

[25:03] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[25:03] Ramin Karimloo: They edit it.

[25:04] Andrew Kober: Yep, and it goes out.

[25:05] Ramin Karimloo: Broadway Podcast Network.

[25:06] Andrew Kober: And my agent in England will listen to it. And I'm like, well, if you're happy, then...

[25:11] Ramin Karimloo: Sometimes, you know, my agents and my manager have listened to this. They've told me like, you know, you were great on that.

[25:17] Andrew Kober: So they were happy?

[25:19] Ramin Karimloo: I guess.

[25:21] Andrew Kober: Final question.

[25:22] Ramin Karimloo: What is your favorite memory?

[25:24] Andrew Kober: Oh, very specific. What is your favorite memory from working on the Broadway production of Hair?

[25:29] Ramin Karimloo: Oh.

[25:34] Andrew Kober: What was my favorite memory from working on the... Maybe it's...

[25:36] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[25:37] Andrew Kober: Maybe it's just on...

[25:38] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, you got more?

[25:39] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[25:39] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, great.

[25:40] Andrew Kober: Maybe it's just on my mind because it's Tony season as we're recording this. The Tonys are like next weekend.

[25:44] Ramin Karimloo: Excuse me.

[25:48] Andrew Kober: At our Tony Awards, which was like 2009, I think. They did this big opening number where all of the shows from that... There was like a big long opening number. Every show did a little excerpt from their show. And then all of the shows came out together. And we all sang Let the Sunshine. But it was like our full cast and Shrek and like Megan Hilty in 9 to 5. And like Axl Rose. It was like all of this. It was like a whole mashup of the whole season all at once. And I am there on the broadcast singing Let the Sunshine in between, I think, Dana Brekker as Donkey and Shrek and actual Liza Minnelli there as herself, inexplicably. And that was pretty wild.

[26:37] Ramin Karimloo: That's amazing.

[26:38] Andrew Kober: Radio City...

[26:38] Ramin Karimloo: You've performed at the Tonys, right?

[26:40] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[26:40] Ramin Karimloo: That's...

[26:41] Andrew Kober: The Radio City is a pretty...

[26:42] Ramin Karimloo: With you.

[26:43] Andrew Kober: Les Mis.

[26:44] Ramin Karimloo: Yes, that's right.

[26:51] Ramin Karimloo: Hanging out on Radio City is a pretty wild experience. It's a pretty big room. I'm gonna crunch ice. It's a big room, and it's... like, for me, growing up, the Tonys was Christmas. Like, that was... I went all year for the Tony Awards, and so the Tonys for Hair was my first Tonys, and it was like a very... that was cool. So twice you've performed the Tonys?

[27:16] Andrew Kober: I think that's right.

[27:18] Ramin Karimloo: All right, we've got three more, and here's the question to ChatGPT. Nailed it. Big time. Create three silly questions to ask Andrew Kober in an interview.

[27:28] Andrew Kober: Silly questions. Great. I wonder if someone AI'd me or my voice to say... like, would they make me smarter? You know what I do listen to is Alec Baldwin's podcast, and he did this whole episode about AI where he talked to a couple of AI experts, which you should have done if you wanted to talk about AI. I didn't want to talk about AI. But here we are. That's how we hang. He had AI... there's a company that can synthesize your voice.

[27:55] Ramin Karimloo: Yes.

[27:55] Andrew Kober: And he had AI do his voice. Did you listen to this?

[27:58] Ramin Karimloo: No, but I want to do it.

[28:00] Andrew Kober: It's amazing. He had AI synthesize his voice, and then the podcast starts, and he does this whole long intro, and at the end of the intro he goes, and also, none of this has been me speaking. This has all been AI. And then he goes, now it's me. And it's insane, because you listen to five minutes of this podcast thinking, like, it's Alec Baldwin talking. So what's going to stop a voice clip or even a video, which let's say is of either of us, never actually filmed, never said these words, they can make you say or appear to say whatever. That's going to be a really big problem.

[28:33] Ramin Karimloo: Completely slanderous stuff.

[28:35] Andrew Kober: Yeah, that's going to be a thing. I mean, this company... That's why you can't even worry about it, because what are you going to do?

[28:39] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, well, the company that Baldwin was highlighting only does this with people that have authorized it. You have to give them consent to use your voice, but the technology exists.

[28:51] Andrew Kober: Yeah, exactly. What was the question?

[28:53] Ramin Karimloo: First silly question is, if you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

[29:01] Andrew Kober: Okay, so one of my other favorite podcasts is the Off Menu podcast. Do you listen to this?

[29:06] Ramin Karimloo: That one I've heard of.

[29:06] Andrew Kober: British podcast.

[29:07] Ramin Karimloo: Go on.

[29:08] Andrew Kober: You're British.

[29:09] Ramin Karimloo: Sure.

[29:11] Andrew Kober: It's a British podcast. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. It's these two comedians, Ed Gamble and James Acaster.

[29:18] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[29:19] Andrew Kober: And they have different guests every week, and they talk through... In a dream restaurant where you could choose anything you want for every course, what would your dream menu be, right? And there's a kind of... Some people choose to utilize a shortcut whereby they won't get full or have any sort of like GI consequences to their meal. So for this question, can I employ the same kind of like lever?

[29:44] Ramin Karimloo: Of course.

[29:44] Andrew Kober: Where... Okay, then it would be like pizza, I think, for two reasons. A, a lot of variety there.

[29:49] Ramin Karimloo: Yep.

[29:49] Andrew Kober: And B, if I wouldn't feel bad or full after eating it, then great. It'd be pizza. What would yours be, like a fucking kale smoothie?

[29:59] Ramin Karimloo: When do I... I've never had a kale smoothie. I don't know what you...

[30:02] Andrew Kober: I'd go for pizza.

[30:02] Ramin Karimloo: You offer me frozen berries.

[30:04] Andrew Kober: Who doesn't like frozen berries?

[30:05] Ramin Karimloo: Everyone likes frozen berries, but like, okay. So if you can only want things for the rest of your life, what is it?

[30:10] Andrew Kober: I think I'd go for pizza too, because you can change it up. There's so much you can do with this, right? Don't roll your eyes just because I like pizza as well.

[30:17] Ramin Karimloo: You could have come up with something else.

[30:19] Andrew Kober: Okay, like what?

[30:21] Ramin Karimloo: Anything.

[30:21] Andrew Kober: Anything else.

[30:22] Ramin Karimloo: I don't want anything else. I want pizza.

[30:24] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[30:24] Ramin Karimloo: Go on. What's the next silly question?

[30:26] Andrew Kober: I'm going to the chair. I want pizza.

[30:28] Ramin Karimloo: Very silly.

[30:30] Andrew Kober: What's that voice?

[30:30] Ramin Karimloo: It's like just a silly little man who's feeling silly.

[30:35] Andrew Kober: Can that be the one minute Instagram?

[30:38] Ramin Karimloo: No, that can't be.

[30:39] Andrew Kober: That's going to be.

[30:39] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[30:40] Andrew Kober: All right, what's the next silly question? Can't wait.

[30:44] Ramin Karimloo: If you could switch lives with any fictional character for a day, who would it be and why?

[30:50] Andrew Kober: I guess Tony Stark.

[30:53] Ramin Karimloo: Nice.

[30:55] Andrew Kober: Right? My favorite superheroes are all the ones that don't have any powers. They're just rich, insane geniuses like Batman, Iron Man.

[31:03] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I was going with Batman.

[31:04] Andrew Kober: Right, yeah. To me, I thought about him, but there's too much darkness there. He's too depressed. That's not a life.

[31:12] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, but then you get to Bruce Wayne during the day.

[31:14] Andrew Kober: Yeah, but Bruce Wayne is not a happy guy either. Tony Stark seems like he has some fun. You know what I mean?

[31:18] Ramin Karimloo: I'd make Bruce Wayne fun.

[31:20] Andrew Kober: Or do I have to be them? Are you paying attention to the question? It's not you get to get the circumstances of their life, but your personality. You get to live a day as them. It's going to be a more fun day being Tony Stark than Bruce Wayne.

[31:32] Ramin Karimloo: Do I get Alfred?

[31:34] Andrew Kober: Yeah, or you get Pepper Potts or whatever. Isn't that her name?

[31:38] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, see? My son's really into superheroes right now.

[31:42] Andrew Kober: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things, what would they be?

[31:49] Ramin Karimloo: That's kind of interesting.

[31:52] Andrew Kober: Wouldn't bring my scooter. Nowhere to charge it. I mean, also, I can't...

[31:58] Ramin Karimloo: Are you going to go in the sand?

[31:59] Andrew Kober: That's what I'm saying. I haven't tried it, but I don't think it's good in the sand.

[32:01] Ramin Karimloo: No, not with those tiny little wheels.

[32:02] Andrew Kober: Not with those tiny wheels. Airless wheels, though. What would I bring? I mean, a book, right? You got to bring a book.

[32:14] Ramin Karimloo: Which book?

[32:15] Andrew Kober: Long one, really long, with some variety. I would bring a big anthology of something.

[32:22] Ramin Karimloo: You're stuck on a desert island and you already see yourself doing nothing, just sitting there.

[32:26] Andrew Kober: I'm already bored. That's my first problem.

[32:30] Ramin Karimloo: He thinks he's on vacation, first problem.

[32:32] Andrew Kober: It's too boring here. He thinks he's on vacation. Now I've got to move to survival, don't I? I wonder how... Okay, I'll come back to that. I would bring probably like a multi-tool, like the one I have.

[32:47] Ramin Karimloo: You like a little multi, like a Leatherman kind of multi-tool, right?

[32:51] Andrew Kober: That would be useful. 100%. And a water filtration, like a Brita.

[32:58] Ramin Karimloo: I'd bring a Brita that could do salt water.

[33:00] Andrew Kober: A salt water Brita. After 30 days of light swishing, oh, my filter's out. Okay, now let me ask you this. Because your whole thing, right, which I know to be mostly bullshit, is that you're like a tough dude, right? You're like, I'm a tough dude, but I do musicals. That's like your whole brand.

[33:21] Ramin Karimloo: Who says I'm a tough dude?

[33:21] Andrew Kober: Nobody, but I'm saying it's like your brand, right? I've seen you. Like, that's your whole thing. You're like, I'm a gentleman about town who rides a Harley. And like, it's your thing, fine. If you were stranded in the wilderness, how do you think you'd do? Because I'll tell you what I think.

[33:40] Ramin Karimloo: You think you would do great.

[33:42] Andrew Kober: And I don't think you would.

[33:43] Ramin Karimloo: I never said I'd do great.

[33:44] Andrew Kober: I know, but I think you think you would.

[33:46] Ramin Karimloo: I survive.

[33:47] Andrew Kober: For how long do you think you'd make it?

[33:51] Ramin Karimloo: I think as humans, you just, things work out in the end.

[33:55] Andrew Kober: So indefinitely, you think you could make it?

[33:57] Ramin Karimloo: I'd build a shelter. It depends. Is there anything to hunt, to eat?

[34:00] Andrew Kober: Yeah, you're in, let's say, you're in like a temperate climate.

[34:04] Ramin Karimloo: Lovely.

[34:06] Andrew Kober: Already nice. Shirt's off, getting a tan.

[34:09] Ramin Karimloo: Obviously, shirt's off.

[34:10] Andrew Kober: No, no, that goes without saying. Any temp above 40 degrees, you're taking off your shirt.

[34:15] Ramin Karimloo: I think, just in case someone's watching, you never know. So shirt's coming off right away.

[34:23] Andrew Kober: That goes without saying. So you think you could build a shelter? You're going to take down some trees and build a little cabin?

[34:31] Ramin Karimloo: Do you ever watch Alone? Have you ever watched Alone?

[34:33] Andrew Kober: That's the best show.

[34:34] Ramin Karimloo: See, right away, I went to Home Alone.

[34:37] Andrew Kober: Okay, let's talk about that then. You were, your family leaves you behind, they go to Bax.

[34:40] Ramin Karimloo: I saw Macaulay Culkin in my mind.

[34:43] Andrew Kober: He survived. I would do well if I were left home alone by my family. With their credit card.

[34:48] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, I mean, not even, I mean, like, as a 39-year-old man, like, I think I'd be okay. I think. If my wife and kids left for Paris and forgot me, and then burglars tried to get in, we've got a SimpliSafe system.

[35:01] Andrew Kober: Are they a sponsor?

[35:01] Ramin Karimloo: They are now. SimpliSafe. SimpliSafe. Do you feel safe? Keeping grown men safe. Safe can be simple. From the wet bed. From SimpliSafe.

[35:10] Andrew Kober: For nothing. Do you think you'll survive? Why do you think you'll survive better?

[35:14] Ramin Karimloo: I would die instantly, it'd be over.

[35:16] Andrew Kober: What would kill you?

[35:17] Ramin Karimloo: Suicide. I would give up so quickly and completely.

[35:21] Andrew Kober: Suicide?

[35:21] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, there's no chance. As soon as it became apparent that, like, I wasn't gonna be rescued in the next 45 minutes.

[35:27] Andrew Kober: As soon as the sun's down?

[35:29] Ramin Karimloo: Done. Over. Sorry.

[35:30] Andrew Kober: Shirt on, by the way.

[35:32] Ramin Karimloo: No, with my shirt.

[35:33] Andrew Kober: Yeah, and with my shirt! Yeah, no, forget it. As quickly as possible, I'm giving up.

[35:38] Ramin Karimloo: No, you wouldn't.

[35:40] Andrew Kober: I can't handle any adversity. I'm not built for it. I'm too soft. I can't do it. When I tried to learn guitar for School of Rock, it took me three times as long as I should have because my little dainty fingies couldn't handle the frets.

[35:54] Ramin Karimloo: Fine, but you did.

[35:56] Andrew Kober: Only on electric. I still can't play acoustic, it hurts too much.

[35:59] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, so you want to have the best shelter, but you have something.

[36:01] Andrew Kober: I don't think so. Honestly, if it was anything outside the range of, like, 65 to 70 degrees, and there wasn't, like, a well-stocked cooler, and honestly, probably Wi-Fi, forget it. What's the latest reality shows that do this sort of, like, survival stuff? It's great.

[36:16] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, that's really, really great. It's fascinating.

[36:20] Andrew Kober: This is what they do. They drop it in the Canadian wilderness, because you're Canadian. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. And they drop them off. There's not even a camera crew. They have to shoot their own experience up there. And all they have is, like, a medical check every week or something.

[36:33] Ramin Karimloo: But it's cold.

[36:34] Andrew Kober: Yeah, yeah, yeah. They drop them off in the fall, so like, the longer you last. And that's the other thing, it's a mind game, because whoever is the last to tap out wins this prize, but they don't tell you when other people have tapped out. So like, it could be day 60 or whatever, and you don't know if it's just you and another guy, or if all 10 people are still in there, or what. So you could be at day 60, but everyone tapped out at 20. So you've had 40 days. Once you're the last one, they come and get you.

[37:00] Ramin Karimloo: I was going to say, keep it going until he taps.

[37:02] Andrew Kober: No, once you're the last one, they come and let you know. But until then, you don't know how many other players are still in the game.

[37:06] Ramin Karimloo: So a season is how many episodes?

[37:08] Andrew Kober: I think it's, like, eight or 10 episodes.

[37:10] Ramin Karimloo: All right, I'll check that out.

[37:11] Andrew Kober: It's great. It's fascinating, because they start to go crazy, these people.

[37:14] Ramin Karimloo: So here we are on the season finale.

[37:16] Andrew Kober: Uh-huh, and what season it's been.

[37:19] Ramin Karimloo: Let's reflect.

[37:20] Andrew Kober: Well, it's been three seasons.

[37:22] Ramin Karimloo: Wow. I think we will do a season four. We'll see what time permits.

[37:25] Andrew Kober: So will you come back on season four?

[37:27] Ramin Karimloo: What do seasons mean in the context of a podcast?

[37:30] Andrew Kober: Like, no idea.

[37:31] Ramin Karimloo: Broadway Podcast Network.

[37:32] Andrew Kober: Okay, what do seasons mean in the context of a podcast?

[37:34] Ramin Karimloo: Anything?

[37:35] Andrew Kober: A beginning, an end to a recording segment.

[37:40] Ramin Karimloo: So probably next season, I'll sit in that chair.

[37:42] Andrew Kober: Uh-huh, great. Or maybe we'll find somewhere else.

[37:45] Ramin Karimloo: All right. You know, I had a podcast for a second.

[37:48] Andrew Kober: Yeah, what was that called?

[37:49] Ramin Karimloo: The Andrew Kober Show.

[37:53] Andrew Kober: We had a podcast for a second, honestly.

[37:54] Ramin Karimloo: On the Broadway Podcast Network?

[37:56] Andrew Kober: Yes. No, it was with Broadway Radio.

[38:00] Ramin Karimloo: Sorry, it was with Broadway Radio. So why didn't you pursue it?

[38:03] Andrew Kober: It was too much work for me, because I wasn't well supported, like you are. But I had a podcast for a minute, and what I wanted it to be like was classic, like a late night show. I wanted to do a monologue and have a guest or two and a musical performance, and that was going to be the thing.

[38:22] Ramin Karimloo: And so I released one episode, I'm sure it's findable, where I talked a little bit, and then I had a guest.

[38:30] Andrew Kober: Don't remember who it was. And then I had Jason Robert Brown as the musical guest. So we did a short conversation, then he performed a song. And that was it.

[38:37] Ramin Karimloo: How does that not fly?

[38:38] Andrew Kober: And my friend wrote a theme song for it and everything. It was great. Let's bring it back.

[38:42] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, I'm game. It was really great. Well, they'll help you, or we can co-host it.

[38:47] Andrew Kober: Well, here's what happened. It's like, then it was time to do episode two, right?

[38:50] Ramin Karimloo: Nope.

[38:51] Andrew Kober: It was time to do episode two, and I got... I was waiting for him to hit that one. I hit the smallest of speed bumps, and it was like... Jeanine Tesori was going to be the musical guest. And we were scheduled for a Wednesday, and she was like, hey, so something came up Wednesday. I'm going to need to reschedule. I was like, great. Let's cancel the podcast. Like, I immediately... Like, the smallest... This is what I'm saying about the desert island. The smallest amount of adversity. I'm like, I'm fucking out. No way.

[39:19] Ramin Karimloo: You've maintained this friendship, and there's been adversity through the whole thing.

[39:23] Andrew Kober: You and I?

[39:23] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. How many plans never made, like, seen through, and...

[39:28] Andrew Kober: Usually you.

[39:30] Ramin Karimloo: You're not easy to be friends with.

[39:32] Andrew Kober: I know.

[39:32] Ramin Karimloo: Okay. As long as you know that.

[39:34] Andrew Kober: I do know that. I know you know.

[39:38] Ramin Karimloo: Whoa.

[39:42] Andrew Kober: Whoa. Do you want to talk about how much fun we had at the Roundabout Gala a few weeks ago?

[39:48] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, yes. That was really fun.

[39:49] Andrew Kober: It was fun.

[39:52] Ramin Karimloo: We had a good time.

[39:53] Andrew Kober: Tell people what that was.

[39:54] Ramin Karimloo: Well, Ramin invited me as his date to go to the Roundabout Gala, which was at the Ziegfeld Ballroom. And it was like... It's a big annual gala they do, and to raise money for Roundabout Theatre Company. And Sutton Foster was performing, and it's like a very, very fancy, fancy, fancy, fancy, right?

[40:10] Andrew Kober: And you know what I'm still kind of getting over? Is that auction. I'm still... I think about it all the time.

[40:17] Andrew Kober: And how casual they were about just incredibly large amounts of money.

[40:22] Ramin Karimloo: Over $100,000.

[40:23] Andrew Kober: Fine, I'll do another $40,000. All right, let's make it $50,000.

[40:26] Ramin Karimloo: Unreal.

[40:27] Andrew Kober: Just like for fun. Thinking like, this amount of money is life-changing for a lot of folks.

[40:34] Ramin Karimloo: Remember that first auction? I don't know what it was, and you're like, how much did that go for? I said, I don't know, $5,000?

[40:39] Andrew Kober: Yeah, and it went for like...

[40:40] Ramin Karimloo: $70,000 later.

[40:41] Andrew Kober: What? It was wild. And I mean, for a good cause, obviously, and it's nice that these people who have the means to do so are helping such a good organization.

[40:48] Ramin Karimloo: I'm very pro-money-going-to-the-theater.

[40:50] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[40:51] Ramin Karimloo: But there was something about, for me to commit anything resembling that amount of money would be weeks of discussions with my wife, with my accountant, with a priest, if I could find one.

[41:05] Andrew Kober: It would be so fraught to just like, fine, while you're finishing your salad, all right, fine, $30,000. What are you talking about?

[41:14] Ramin Karimloo: They made so much money that night.

[41:15] Andrew Kober: Oh, my God.

[41:16] Ramin Karimloo: Which is good. It's a great organization. They should. And it was a fun night. We got to see a lot of friends.

[41:20] Andrew Kober: It went on long, though.

[41:21] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah, it was long.

[41:22] Andrew Kober: And then I gave you a ride home in my car, and you were very mean about my car.

[41:25] Ramin Karimloo: I wasn't mean about your Tesla.

[41:27] Andrew Kober: You said it was too small and that my wheels were scratched up.

[41:30] Ramin Karimloo: I didn't say it was small. I said you curbed your wheels a lot.

[41:33] Andrew Kober: I curbed my wheels a lot. And that bothers me.

[41:35] Ramin Karimloo: You made that clear.

[41:36] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[41:37] Ramin Karimloo: Okay.

[41:38] Andrew Kober: That's not being mean.

[41:40] Ramin Karimloo: But now that you've seen the full picture, now picture this. So I drive an electric car that's white, right? I also have an electric scooter that's white.

[41:47] Andrew Kober: And so what happens is sometimes if I'm going somewhere and I know I'm going to be parking far away from my destination, right, I'll put the scooter in the trunk.

[41:56] Ramin Karimloo: And then when I get there, I park, and I feel like the Batmobile when the Bat motorcycle undocks from it, and that's what it feels like to me.

[42:04] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[42:05] Ramin Karimloo: I have this whole little play I do in my head.

[42:07] Andrew Kober: Can we do a little montage of that, add some cool music, make you look like a Marvel hero?

[42:11] Ramin Karimloo: Sure.

[42:12] Andrew Kober: Please tell me the helmet's white.

[42:14] Ramin Karimloo: No, it's a black helmet.

[42:16] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[42:17] Ramin Karimloo: Sorry.

[42:18] Andrew Kober: You can buy me a white helmet.

[42:19] Ramin Karimloo: I should get you zooming off in a white suit.

[42:21] Andrew Kober: Look like you're from some boy band.

[42:24] Ramin Karimloo: Boy band.

[42:25] Andrew Kober: Are you Batman in this?

[42:26] Ramin Karimloo: In my image, I'm Batman, yeah, in my thing.

[42:29] Andrew Kober: And it's all electric, and I feel very good about like, you know, I'm saving the world, good for me.

[42:33] Ramin Karimloo: Wait, what are you doing? Who's texting you?

[42:35] Andrew Kober: It's a notification from New Jersey Transit.

[42:38] Ramin Karimloo: What are they saying?

[42:39] Andrew Kober: That smoking and vaping is strictly prohibited on platforms.

[42:42] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, come on.

[42:45] Andrew Kober: Where's the fun in that?

[42:47] Ramin Karimloo: Who doesn't love to vape and catch a commuter train?

[42:50] Andrew Kober: What better way to spend a Sunday?

[42:52] Ramin Karimloo: Do you vape?

[42:53] Andrew Kober: No, man.

[42:54] Ramin Karimloo: I used to smoke.

[42:55] Andrew Kober: I loved smoking.

[42:56] Ramin Karimloo: I miss it.

[42:57] Andrew Kober: Every now and then, I'm walking out in the street, and you see someone smoking.

[42:59] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[43:00] Andrew Kober: I've never smoked, but man, that smells good.

[43:02] Ramin Karimloo: I was like a pack-a-day smoker for years.

[43:04] Andrew Kober: I loved it.

[43:05] Ramin Karimloo: Man, if I could pick it back up, I would in a second.

[43:08] Andrew Kober: It's great.

[43:09] Ramin Karimloo: So why don't you?

[43:10] Andrew Kober: Why don't I?

[43:11] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[43:12] Andrew Kober: I love my family.

[43:13] Ramin Karimloo: I don't want to die any sooner than I have to.

[43:14] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[43:15] Ramin Karimloo: It's probably not good for my career, either.

[43:17] Andrew Kober: There's always that.

[43:18] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[43:20] Andrew Kober: If we could employ the rules of the dream menu, and there's no consequences, I'd be smoking constantly.

[43:27] Ramin Karimloo: On a desert island, before you hang yourself, are you smoking away?

[43:30] Andrew Kober: Yeah. If I could get a bonus item, a pack of cigarettes, absolutely.

[43:34] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[43:35] Andrew Kober: Why don't you bring that instead of the Brita filter?

[43:37] Ramin Karimloo: I guess.

[43:38] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[43:39] Ramin Karimloo: Well, okay.

[43:40] Andrew Kober: You're not going to be there long.

[43:41] Ramin Karimloo: You're right.

[43:42] Andrew Kober: Honestly, if I were on a desert island, I probably would.

[43:43] Ramin Karimloo: Before the filter has filtered the water, you're gone.

[43:45] Andrew Kober: I'd give it a day or two.

[43:47] Ramin Karimloo: Honestly, I would put in a day or two of like, do any planes come here?

[43:50] Andrew Kober: I would try to spell help with some coconuts or whatever, like in a cartoon.

[43:53] Ramin Karimloo: Or just do it in the sand and eat the coconuts for sustenance.

[43:58] Andrew Kober: Do it in the sand?

[43:59] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[44:00] Andrew Kober: Spell it in the sand.

[44:01] Ramin Karimloo: I don't know anything about tides.

[44:02] Andrew Kober: There's going to be ... I can't deal with that.

[44:05] Ramin Karimloo: I don't know the tides.

[44:06] Andrew Kober: You will learn.

[44:08] Ramin Karimloo: After the first night, like, okay, at this time, it's going to be here.

[44:11] Andrew Kober: You think I'm going to figure out that pattern in a day?

[44:14] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[44:16] Andrew Kober: And I'm going to start to get peckish very quickly.

[44:18] Ramin Karimloo: That's going to be my first concern is like, I could go for like a cliff mark.

[44:22] Andrew Kober: Are there any pretzels?

[44:23] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. Very quickly, that'll come up.

[44:25] Andrew Kober: All right. So let's not reflect backwards. Let's look forward.

[44:28] Ramin Karimloo: So you're doing this until when?

[44:31] Andrew Kober: This workshop?

[44:32] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[44:33] Andrew Kober: I'll finish this. I've got another like two weeks of this.

[44:35] Ramin Karimloo: What's your favorite song in it?

[44:36] Andrew Kober: After this, I'm going to go into rehearsals for another thing.

[44:39] Ramin Karimloo: What's that called?

[44:41] Andrew Kober: And then I'm going to have a little break.

[44:43] Ramin Karimloo: And then I'm going to go out of town for a while to work.

[44:46] Andrew Kober: With?

[44:47] Ramin Karimloo: And then after that, I come back.

[44:48] Andrew Kober: I've got a break.

[44:49] Ramin Karimloo: And then I'll be working here in town.

[44:50] Andrew Kober: Oh, doing what?

[44:51] Ramin Karimloo: And that's the plan. I mean, that carries me pretty much through to like Thanksgiving, which is great.

[44:55] Andrew Kober: That's fantastic.

[44:56] Ramin Karimloo: I can't wait to see all those things.

[44:58] Andrew Kober: And I'm sure you'll tweet or Instagram about it.

[45:02] Ramin Karimloo: They're all made up. None of them, unfortunately, will be the Italian production of Phantom of the Opera.

[45:05] Andrew Kober: No.

[45:06] Ramin Karimloo: What a shame.

[45:07] Andrew Kober: Oh, God. That would have been so much fun.

[45:09] Ramin Karimloo: I know.

[45:10] Andrew Kober: But you understand.

[45:11] Ramin Karimloo: Of course.

[45:12] Andrew Kober: It really broke my heart, though.

[45:13] Ramin Karimloo: It's something I keep coming back to.

[45:15] Andrew Kober: What a privileged position to be in.

[45:17] Ramin Karimloo: Absolutely.

[45:18] Andrew Kober: But it's one of those things. It would have been really fun, but it would have been, for me, selfish fun.

[45:26] Ramin Karimloo: Because it would have just been like, so I alone can have an experience with my buddy in a cool place.

[45:32] Andrew Kober: And your other buddy.

[45:37] Ramin Karimloo: And my other buddy.

[45:38] Andrew Kober: Yeah. But, you know, I needed to...

[45:43] Ramin Karimloo: No, listen. It happens.

[45:45] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[45:46] Ramin Karimloo: Brother, I've missed you. Thanks for coming and hanging with me.

[45:49] Andrew Kober: Are we done?

[45:50] Ramin Karimloo: Do we do enough time?

[45:51] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[45:52] Ramin Karimloo: Okay. I think that's quite good.

[45:54] Andrew Kober: Thanks to ChatGPT.

[45:55] Ramin Karimloo: Thanks to SimpliSafe. What other sponsors do we need to thank?

[46:00] Andrew Kober: Alone.

[46:01] Ramin Karimloo: Alone.

[46:02] Andrew Kober: Thanks to Unagi.

[46:03] Ramin Karimloo: Unagi.

[46:04] Andrew Kober: Unagi. That's the company that makes my scooter.

[46:07] Ramin Karimloo: You can rent one in the city.

[46:08] Andrew Kober: It's called Unagi?

[46:09] Ramin Karimloo: It's like a month or something.

[46:10] Andrew Kober: Yeah. Amazing.

[46:12] Ramin Karimloo: U-N-A-G-I. And you can catch Alone on...

[46:14] Andrew Kober: I think it's on Netflix.

[46:15] Ramin Karimloo: Netflix.

[46:16] Andrew Kober: Yeah. Run about theater company. Doing great work out there. Can't wait for the next season.

[46:20] Ramin Karimloo: Don't forget the Tony Awards on CBS June 11th.

[46:24] Andrew Kober: This will be out after that.

[46:26] Ramin Karimloo: Are you going?

[46:27] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[46:28] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah?

[46:29] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[46:30] Ramin Karimloo: Are you performing?

[46:31] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[46:32] Ramin Karimloo: Oh.

[46:33] Andrew Kober: I say two lines.

[46:34] Ramin Karimloo: What are they going to be?

[46:35] Andrew Kober: I don't know.

[46:36] Ramin Karimloo: So it won't be a spoiler.

[46:37] Andrew Kober: No. I'm not... I can't remember.

[46:40] Ramin Karimloo: What are they?

[46:41] Andrew Kober: I got a week to learn it.

[46:42] Ramin Karimloo: Come on. Think about it.

[46:44] Andrew Kober: I want to hear... Here's what I want. I want to hear them and I want three passes at them.

[46:49] Ramin Karimloo: But no, I...

[46:50] Andrew Kober: Come on, girl.

[46:51] Ramin Karimloo: You are funny.

[46:52] Andrew Kober: Is that one of them?

[46:53] Ramin Karimloo: No. It's when we're leaving at the train station so she can sing Don't Rain on My Parade.

[46:57] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[46:58] Ramin Karimloo: Hey, before you go, don't forget to check the weather.

[47:01] Andrew Kober: Is it something like that?

[47:02] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[47:03] Andrew Kober: No.

[47:04] Ramin Karimloo: Oh.

[47:05] Andrew Kober: Oh. Fanny, there's no vaping or smoking cigarettes on the train.

[47:10] Ramin Karimloo: Goodbye, Fanny.

[47:12] Andrew Kober: Is that how you talk in the show? Like that?

[47:14] Ramin Karimloo: Something like that.

[47:16] Andrew Kober: Yeah. Now, I got to make sure... We haven't actually announced we're doing it. At the time of this recording, we haven't announced we're doing it.

[47:21] Ramin Karimloo: So don't...

[47:22] Andrew Kober: It's in like 20 minutes, the Tony Awards.

[47:24] Ramin Karimloo: When's this coming out?

[47:25] Andrew Kober: After the Tonys, right?

[47:26] Ramin Karimloo: All right.

[47:27] Andrew Kober: Oh, great.

[47:28] Ramin Karimloo: So you're good.

[47:29] Andrew Kober: It was a great time at the Tonys to be back there on that stage.

[47:31] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[47:32] Andrew Kober: What a thrill.

[47:33] Ramin Karimloo: What's that?

[47:34] Andrew Kober: It's up in Washington Heights, isn't it?

[47:35] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[47:36] Andrew Kober: I didn't know they had a theater there.

[47:37] Ramin Karimloo: Is it?

[47:38] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[47:39] Ramin Karimloo: Has it always been a theater there?

[47:40] Andrew Kober: Yeah, yeah. The United Palace. It's pretty old. It's gorgeous.

[47:44] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, I can't wait.

[47:45] Andrew Kober: Yeah. It's fun. It's my old stomping grounds.

[47:48] Ramin Karimloo: Brother. Fresco Pizza on 187th Street. Check them out.

[47:51] Andrew Kober: Okay. Because I used to love off 181 and Riverside.

[47:53] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah. You never really went up, though. You stayed down.

[47:55] Andrew Kober: Why, there's so much to do there.

[47:58] Ramin Karimloo: Okay. Hey, great to see you and to hear you.

[48:03] Andrew Kober: Yeah.

[48:04] Ramin Karimloo: And now, a special acoustic performance of one of your favorite Broadgrass numbers. Take it away, Ramin.

[48:11] Andrew Kober: Funny you just say that. This was written by Andrew Kober.

[48:14] Ramin Karimloo: I was going to say Andrew Lloyd Webber.

[48:20] Andrew Kober: Which you can find on the greatest album, Coberay.

[48:23] Ramin Karimloo: Coberay.

[48:24] Andrew Kober: It's not Coberay.

[48:25] Ramin Karimloo: You wouldn't say like, maybe this time from cabaret.

[48:29] Andrew Kober: It's a cabaret.

[48:31] Ramin Karimloo: Coberay.

[48:32] Andrew Kober: No.

[48:33] Ramin Karimloo: You're picking out the inflection, like my accent?

[48:36] Andrew Kober: It's not your accent.

[48:37] Ramin Karimloo: Cabaret.

[48:38] Andrew Kober: What would you call the Kendra and Eb show?

[48:40] Ramin Karimloo: Cabaret.

[48:41] Andrew Kober: You're wrong.

[48:44] Ramin Karimloo: That's just not what it's called.

[48:45] Andrew Kober: It's not it.

[48:46] Ramin Karimloo: What's it called?

[48:47] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[48:48] Ramin Karimloo: What's the difference?

[48:49] Andrew Kober: Life is a cabaret, old chum.

[48:51] Ramin Karimloo: Cabaret.

[48:52] Andrew Kober: Yeah, but that's because you're singing it.

[48:55] Ramin Karimloo: Cabaret.

[48:56] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[48:57] Ramin Karimloo: No.

[48:58] Andrew Kober: There's no one in history who's ever said it like that.

[49:00] Ramin Karimloo: This is not an accent thing.

[49:01] Andrew Kober: Are you sure this is not an accent thing?

[49:03] Ramin Karimloo: Of course it's not an accent thing.

[49:04] Andrew Kober: It has nothing to do with your accent.

[49:07] Ramin Karimloo: It's just the emphasis, it's the syllable.

[49:10] Andrew Kober: Okay, what show did we do in 2014 on Broadway?

[49:13] Ramin Karimloo: Les Miserables.

[49:14] Andrew Kober: It's like you saying Les Miserables.

[49:16] Ramin Karimloo: No, I don't say that.

[49:18] Andrew Kober: I know, because that would be wrong. Just like cabaret.

[49:20] Ramin Karimloo: So how do you say the show?

[49:21] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[49:22] Ramin Karimloo: No, the other show?

[49:23] Andrew Kober: Which one?

[49:24] Ramin Karimloo: Les Miserables.

[49:25] Andrew Kober: Les Miserables.

[49:26] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, if you want to go all French on it, sure.

[49:28] Andrew Kober: So how do I know you're not doing that with cabaret?

[49:30] Ramin Karimloo: It's not called cabaret!

[49:36] Andrew Kober: It's cabaret.

[49:38] Ramin Karimloo: Okay, what's the title of the show you're doing right now?

[49:40] Andrew Kober: What?

[49:41] Ramin Karimloo: The title of the show.

[49:42] Andrew Kober: I can't tell you.

[49:43] Ramin Karimloo: Let's see the accent on that.

[49:44] Andrew Kober: I can tell you.

[49:45] Ramin Karimloo: What's it called?

[49:46] Andrew Kober: Okay, so right now you're in Funny Girl, right?

[49:48] Ramin Karimloo: Funny Girl.

[49:49] Andrew Kober: Yeah, it would be like you saying, oh yeah, I'm playing Nick in Funny Girl.

[49:54] Ramin Karimloo: Oh, are you going to come see Funny Girl?

[49:56] Andrew Kober: That's what you're doing with cabaret.

[49:57] Ramin Karimloo: No, that's what you're doing. You're putting it on the wrong syllable.

[50:01] Andrew Kober: I'm not saying it has to be the first or the last. With cabaret, it's the last. With Funny Girl, it's the first.

[50:05] Ramin Karimloo: It would be as insane as you saying, oh yeah, Thursday night? No, I can't because I'm performing in Funny Girl. That would be insane to say, wouldn't it?

[50:13] Andrew Kober: Well, maybe one day you and I can do the show Evita.

[50:16] Ramin Karimloo: That is the same as what you're doing with cabaret.

[50:20] Andrew Kober: I think you're doing it with cabaret.

[50:24] Ramin Karimloo: Funny Girl.

[50:26] Andrew Kober: It's insane.

[50:28] Ramin Karimloo: Phantom of the Opera.

[50:29] Andrew Kober: No, that's not a good example.

[50:31] Ramin Karimloo: Isn't it?

[50:32] Andrew Kober: Yeah, it's because you're Iranian.

[51:01] Ramin Karimloo: That's it.

[51:10] Andrew Kober: I can't think of another musical.

[51:14] Ramin Karimloo: I mean, there's others. It doesn't matter. You can pronounce any musical wrong.

[51:17] Andrew Kober: I think I do.

[51:18] Ramin Karimloo: I think you do.

[51:19] Andrew Kober: Well, one of us does.

[51:20] Ramin Karimloo: Cabaret.

[51:21] Andrew Kober: I'm telling you.

[51:22] Ramin Karimloo: He's getting so angry.

[51:23] Andrew Kober: It's because it's not a matter of opinion. It's just fact. It's just how it's pronounced.

[51:26] Ramin Karimloo: Some things are true.

[51:27] Andrew Kober: I will not be gaslit into thinking that cabaret.

[51:28] Ramin Karimloo: Hang on. Before we go, I'm phoning Jonathan Rocksmith, who's from South Africa, and it might be an accent thing.

[51:30] Andrew Kober: I don't know what this has to do with anything.

[51:32] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:33] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:34] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:35] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:36] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:37] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:38] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:39] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:40] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:41] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:42] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:43] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:44] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:45] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:46] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:47] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:48] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:49] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:50] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:51] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:52] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:53] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:54] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:55] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:56] Ramin Karimloo: Shh.

[51:57] Andrew Kober: Shh.

[51:58] Ramin Karimloo: This is nothing.

[51:59] Andrew Kober: Okay, the podcast is over.

[52:00] Ramin Karimloo: There's no way this is useful.

[52:01] Andrew Kober: We're keeping this in.

[52:02] Ramin Karimloo: This is the most boring.

[52:03] Andrew Kober: I'm going on my phone.

[52:04] Ramin Karimloo: Oh.

[52:05] Andrew Kober: Let's see what's going on.

[52:06] Jonathan Rocksmith: Hello. You're through to Jonathan Rocksmith.

[52:07] Andrew Kober: Damn it.

[52:08] Ramin Karimloo: Oh.

[52:09] Andrew Kober: I think I phoned a South African.

[52:10] Ramin Karimloo: Maybe he's got a . . . And why don't you ever answer the phone when I call?

[52:11] Andrew Kober: Because I was in the show when you called.

[52:13] Ramin Karimloo: Yeah.

[52:14] Andrew Kober: Let me phone his WhatsApp.

[52:15] Ramin Karimloo: This is a huge . . . None of this is usable.

[52:17] Andrew Kober: Here we go. It's very much usable.

[52:18] Ramin Karimloo: What are you wearing?

[52:19] Jonathan Rocksmith: Jonathan, you're live on the podcast. I'm here with . . . I'm not cutting that. I'm here with Andrew Kober. Just spell his name. Don't say it. Spell it.

[52:24] Andrew Kober: Listen. We're having an argument on how to pronounce a show title.

[52:26] Jonathan Rocksmith: Okay.

[52:27] Andrew Kober: On the count of three, on the count of three, will you just say the title of the show? One, two, three.

[52:33] Jonathan Rocksmith: Cabaret.

[52:34] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[52:35] Jonathan Rocksmith: Cabaret.

[52:36] Andrew Kober: Say it again?

[52:38] Jonathan Rocksmith: Cabaret.

[52:39] Andrew Kober: That's right.

[52:40] Jonathan Rocksmith: Okay.

[52:41] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[52:42] Jonathan Rocksmith: Bingo.

[52:43] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[52:44] Jonathan Rocksmith: Yeah.

[52:45] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[52:46] Jonathan Rocksmith: Because I'm going to add my friends to the game.

[52:47] Andrew Kober: I'm going to add my friends to the game.

[52:48] Jonathan Rocksmith: Okay.

[52:49] Andrew Kober: It's going to be fun.

[52:50] Jonathan Rocksmith: Okay.

[52:51] Andrew Kober: Thank you.

[52:52] Jonathan Rocksmith: I'm going to add my friends to the game.

[52:53] Andrew Kober: You're going to do it.

[52:54] Jonathan Rocksmith: Okay.

[52:55] Andrew Kober: Oh, actually.

[52:56] Jonathan Rocksmith: Say it again?

[52:57] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[52:58] Jonathan Rocksmith: Yeah.

[52:59] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[53:00] Jonathan Rocksmith: Yeah. It's an accent thing.

[53:01] Andrew Kober: Okay.

[53:02] Jonathan Rocksmith: He's getting mad at me.

[53:04] Andrew Kober: I'm saying cabaret.

[53:05] Jonathan Rocksmith: No.

[53:06] Andrew Kober: Think about the way the song's written. Life is a cabaret old chap.

[53:08] Jonathan Rocksmith: Okay.

[53:09] Ramin Karimloo: You two should do a podcast.

[53:10] Andrew Kober: I'll talk to you later.

[53:11] Jonathan Rocksmith: Bye.

[53:12] Andrew Kober: Good having you on, buddy.

[53:13] Jonathan Rocksmith: Love you, buddy.

[53:14] Andrew Kober: Love you.

[53:15] Jonathan Rocksmith: See you later.

[53:16] Andrew Kober: I'm so happy I'm right.

[53:17] Ramin Karimloo: Fucking hell.

[53:18] Andrew Kober: You really think that it's perfectly essential to say cabaret?

[53:20] Ramin Karimloo: You're an idiot.

[53:21] Andrew Kober: You're out of your mind.

[53:22] Ramin Karimloo: He's still rolling.

[53:23] Andrew Kober: Cabaret.

[53:24] Ramin Karimloo: Thanks.

[53:25] Andrew Kober: Thanks.

[53:26] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:27] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:28] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:29] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:30] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:31] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:32] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:33] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:34] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:35] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:36] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:37] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:38] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:39] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:40] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.

[53:41] Andrew Kober: Bye.

[53:42] Ramin Karimloo: Bye.