This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Robert Bannon: Everybody, this is Robert Bannon, and before I hit the theme song and introduce the show, I want to tell you about some exciting Roundtable news. The Roundtable has a brand new website. You can go to robertbannon.com, find out all about me, find out all about the show, brand new and now up and running with brand new Roundtable merchandise. Go to robertbannon.com, follow me on Instagram, and make sure you're subscribing to us wherever you listen to podcasts or on YouTube. Now let's do a show. Are you ready? It's The Roundtable with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:32] Robert Bannon: Hello, Roundtablers, Adrian and John, we are here at Press Day for The Fantasticks. Can I tell you how fantastically excited I am? We just saw a quick little preview of some of the songs they're going to perform. You are just going to be amazed. It's a new take. It's a fresh take. It's including everyone. It is so exciting, and I can't wait to bring you the stars of this brand new, of this new revival musical. It's so exciting. Stay there. We'll be back. Save me a seat at The Roundtable. We're rolling. Roundtablers, we are here with amazing, amazing people. Could you please introduce yourself to The Roundtablers?

[1:14] David Patrick Kelly: David Patrick Kelly playing the old actor, Henry Albertson.

[1:20] Kevin Del Aguila: I'm Kevin Del Aguila playing Mortimer, the man who dies.

[1:28] Robert Bannon: What was it like when you got the call to say, would you come do this play, this musical? Excuse me. It's very exciting. We like it when you don't have to audition.

[1:33] Kevin Del Aguila: Yes, right? That's great. That's really a fun part of the process, you know, but it's a venerable, great play. I'm really excited to be a part of it. Many of us have never seen the play before. Even me, who is of that vintage, has never seen the play.

[1:46] David Patrick Kelly: I like that. Yeah, yeah. And so it's exciting to be a part of it and to hear those songs, which have echoed down through the ages, and yet this is a very new revision. It's exciting.

[2:09] Kevin Del Aguila: Well, I love Chris Gattelli, the director. I've known him since he choreographed Alterboys that I wrote way back when, and I'd follow him to the ends of the earth. So I said, yep, I'll be there for Chris, and the chance to be part of this show the first time it's coming to Broadway. I mean, it seems like a little bit of Broadway history we're making here, so I want to be a part of that.

[2:31] Robert Bannon: That's so fun. I have to say, I was very excited when I saw you on the list of coming, because I've been a fan for a long, long, long time. I almost won my Crow T-shirt today, but I tried to be a little more presentable.

[2:45] Kevin Del Aguila: You sure you're not confusing me with somebody else?

[2:51] Robert Bannon: No, no, no. Oh, that's great. I'm honored. Yeah, yeah. The Crow is great, wonderful, sad, tragic thing that we luckily finished and got it out there with a great soundtrack. Wonderful. Really? I know. And the music for this, you were talking about that, I think it's so important that, like Chris said, he went back, looked at it, and now it's brand new. It's inclusive. It is kind of iconic.

[3:15] Kevin Del Aguila: Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah, because having found out who this guy is really based on, who is their teacher at the University of Texas, and loving old actors. Kevin's not old yet, but we know stuff. We know stuff, old actors. So we're here to share it with you all.

[3:39] David Patrick Kelly: Yes, yes. Anything for the process for you that was like, wow, this is something new for me taking on?

[3:47] Kevin Del Aguila: I've never died so many times in a play, and now I'll be dying eight times a week on Broadway, on purpose. Yes, yes. Looking forward to that. Gentlemen, thank you so much. I can't wait. Great pleasure. Thank you. I can't wait to see this.

[3:59] Robert Bannon: Roundtablers, we are here with the stars of The Fantasticks. Nathan.

[4:06] Nathan Levy: Hi. How excited are you to be a part of this?

[4:12] Nathan Levy: We're pinching ourselves every day. It's not lost on us how lucky we are. It's still sinking in. The fact that it's even real is insane to us. We're just having a blast and trying to take it all in as it happens.

[4:17] Robert Bannon: I have to say, we got to see a little sneak peek today, and we got to see them perform Metaphor. What is that like to perform? Because that was just those couple of minutes was magical.

[4:26] Nathan Levy: Oh, thank you. I mean, it's really fun. There's so much back and forth, and innocence, and hope, and just pure, utter joy of this young love. And once you see it in the context of the show, it's just even more of that. I mean, it's the most fun to just kind of embrace your inner child and to just explode with feelings.

[4:44] Zane Phillips: Like Nathan said, in the context of the show, it's been more fun. It's probably one of my favorite things to perform in the show, just to be able to be a kid in love and to figure that out in real time is so much fun.

[5:00] Nathan Levy: Yeah. And working with your moms on the show.

[5:07] Zane Phillips: Yes. Oh my god. They're theater greats. They're the best. Yes. Yeah. And also just so kind. And it's so cool to see greats like that figure things out in the moment and figure out what works because they're different. Their genders are swapped, like Louisa. And so it's been a journey to watch them figure out what these roles are. And it's such a small cast. We're an onstage cast of eight. And so particularly with this show and the way it's written, it really is like, you know, a baton, like we're passing the baton to each other and everyone gets their moment to shine. And it's really exciting.

[5:38] Nathan Levy: I love that so much. It's so amazing. Go buy your tickets for The Fantasticks. Previews start October 22nd at the Helen Hayes Theater. Yes, correct. I mean, legendary, legendary. Congratulations.

[5:50] Ahmad Simmons: Hi Roundtablers. My name is Ahmad Simmons. I play the mute and this is a choreographer.

[5:56] Zane Phillips: Hello, everybody. I'm Zane Phillips. I play the narrator slash El Gallo. I have to say, I'm here with two very attractive human beings. Like I literally was like, oh, oh, my goodness. Like, wow. It's good. It's good. And you've got the dimples to forget it. Like, you know, truly, truly. Yeah. Some of the best dimples. I was like, oh, my goodness.

[6:19] Ahmad Simmons: So what can we tell people? Why should they buy tickets to come see this on Broadway?

[6:24] Ahmad Simmons: The Fantasticks. Here's the thing. There's so many lovers of the show, like 60 something years worth of lovers of this show and so many doers like performers in this show. I think if you love the show from years back, you're going to love it again. It feels just as fresh. And this reimagining has so much heart, like it's still tender. It's still funny as heck. So you'll laugh, you'll cry like it's a beautiful piece. The music will stay with you. It's timeless like it's.

[6:52] Zane Phillips: Yeah. And I will say if you haven't seen the show, the reason to come and see it is that this is a show that stands the test of time bar none. It is one of the most beautiful scores that has ever been on stage. Incredible performances all around. And you will leave being connected to a part of yourself that you might have forgotten. So that's my pitch.

[7:16] Ahmad Simmons: I like that. That's a good one. What is it like working with this? I mean, all stars like literally all star team.

[7:24] Zane Phillips: That's what it feels like every day. You're like you're learning something new. Like it's incredible to watch.

[7:29] Ahmad Simmons: Yeah, I was gonna say too it's really creative room. Everybody always, always wanting to try something, always wanting to bring something to the table. It really.

[7:41] Zane Phillips: Yeah, it's an incredibly creative team.

[7:47] Maxim Chlumecky: You guys seem like a lot of fun, I just have to say.

[7:49] Nathan Levy: We're having a good time.

[7:50] Zane Phillips: Yeah, we're not. We're not. We're not. We're enjoying ourselves.

[7:56] Christopher Gattelli: That's important.

[7:56] Maxim Chlumecky: Is your Broadway debut?

[7:58] Nathan Levy: It's mine. He's a long-time veteran, but I get to be Baby, which I love. Yeah, it feels exciting.

[8:09] Nathan Levy: And I wouldn't have asked for a better team to have debuted with. I mean, this piece, every single actor, Chris, I mean, everybody has been such a wonderfully warm and supportive group. I feel very honored and prepared, honestly.

[8:26] Nathan Levy: And I think, especially for Robert, my cousin, and he recently got married to his fabulous husband, Darius. They live in Detroit.

[8:33] Maxim Chlumecky: Congratulations.

[8:34] Nathan Levy: And I think with the, I guess, reimagining of it, how important is it to the LGBTQIA community to come and see this?

[8:42] Ahmad Simmons: I'd say hugely, because we get to see ourselves, our stories, our experiences reflected in this piece, in this timeless piece. It's such a gem for us to be able to, me as a gay man, to also have something that reflects where I was in my life and something I can grow with. It's going to be different in 10 years. It's going to mean something different in 10 years. It's beautiful.

[9:07] Maxim Chlumecky: Yeah. And I think, too, something that strikes me is that I imagine not all of us got to grow up feeling that thrill of first love at the time when you're a teenager and when these emotions first come. I mean, I think the characters are supposed to be like 18 and 19. And, you know, I think to those who you get to see a version of love and of being so excited about your first love that maybe a lot of us didn't get to feel. I think a lot of us really felt this sort of stress or, you know, a tamping down because you didn't want to, you know, you didn't want to give anything away. And I think to see two young men coming together just effervescently is something that I rarely get to see. And to have them seeing this beautiful score is something so unique. Yes. Yes. And it is timeless. It truly is.

[10:04] Nathan Levy: And that's what I think with the older generation, the OGs can be like, oh, wow, and now this is a fresh new look. And for the younger generation to be like, I see me, I see myself. And I think that's so important.

[10:17] Ahmad Simmons: Totally. Totally. And yeah. Yeah. Sorry, just to say one more thing. I think something else that I really love about being in the queer community is the presence of intergenerational friendships. And I think something that is really cool about this show is that it really does span a lot of ages. Right. And there is such an acknowledgement of the fact that, you know, we don't come from a vacuum. Right. We come from the generations that came before us, all the beauty, these wonderful aspects of queer culture, every, you know, the artistry, the dedication, the humor, all of that gets to exist in this piece. And we get and I myself get to get to learn and get that passed down. And yeah, and hopefully pass it down to those afterwards.

[10:56] Maxim Chlumecky: Definitely. Thank you so much. You need to go buy your tickets because The Fantasticks on Broadway, like previews start October, October 22nd, so come on, get your tickets.

[11:07] Nathan Levy: Thank you so much. These are stars, stars. Just telling you, we are here. I mean, what a year you've had. I mean, and now The Fantasticks coming to Broadway. How excited are you?

[11:15] Ahmad Simmons: I'm over the moon. No pun intended. But I really know what I really am. But no, I really am. It's like I think that I mean, when I got the call for this, I was genuinely touched that they would think because of like my the few recent ones, like to trust me with this really beautiful, intimate classic, you know, you know, I just feel really honored to be a part of this first production on Broadway of The Fantasticks.

[11:44] Ahmad Simmons: So yeah, it's there's pressure, of course, but I am but but but truly that kind of it feel it goes away in the room because you're just I feel like Harvey and Tom are there like with these. I don't know. We just feel like they're in the room with us and knowing that this beautiful, beautiful piece. And can you tell me a little bit about how the story is more modernized for today being more inclusive?

[12:04] Christopher Gattelli: That's well, I think that's what's interesting is I think it's it's being more inclusive because of the gender swaps with the boys and the mothers. But that's what's so interesting is other than that, it's not we're not really modernizing it. It's just this because it's so timeless that the themes are timeless love romance. And I have to always say like and the wit like it's so funny, like I didn't know how funny it was. And so it's I think that's a it's this really special, this really unique, special piece that really took me by surprise. I didn't know it before before they asked me to do it. And I just every day I'm just falling in love with it more and more like it's really as I get it's one of my my favorite experiences to date.

[12:46] Nathan Levy: I love that and sandwich of music. I mean, tell us a little bit about it.

[12:49] Christopher Gattelli: I mean, it's one of the greatest scores of all time. I've been obsessed with it since I was a kid. So just to work on these great songs, it's amazing. You know, everyone knows that the piano and harp version that the original it ran for 40 years or however, with piano and harp, and now we're expanding to eight pieces, which I'm very excited about. And, you know, we have a chain of small chamber orchestra that I think is going to bring a new element to the score. We have strings, you're going to bring heart to it. And but we also have the original harp parts. So the purists, you're still going to get the harp. Yeah, it's all it's all still there. It's all still there. Everything's all still there.

[13:27] Ahmad Simmons: Yeah. And I think it's just it's especially now where even though everyone does know The Fantasticks, some people may not and it will bring a whole new audience to Broadway.

[13:38] Christopher Gattelli: Oh, without question. I think once once this cast gets on stage and people see what they're bringing to this, this already incredible piece, I think, yeah, it's gonna, you know, and I just personally, like I go if I was a young gay, like performer person, like and just see this story on stage, like if I was 16, and this was my first experience seeing the show and seeing that represented and I don't know, I just, it's really special. It's really special on so many levels.

[14:07] Nathan Levy: Yeah, it really is. But again, even though that that is the one small part, it's still the same. It's still about love and family. And, you know, bringing people together.

[14:17] Ahmad Simmons: Yeah, and that's why like, it's for to me, it's for it's for everyone, because people are like, who's it for? I'm literally everyone because you see yourself in all of the characters and like, at all different times, you know, these conversations that they have the like, we've all had these conversations, or you're going to have this conversation inevitably. And that's what's so beautiful about the show. It's having all the different ages of the characters be able to look back or look ahead. And it's just it's very special.

[14:46] Nathan Levy: Any any song sticks out to you that you're like, Oh, my goodness.

[14:51] Ahmad Simmons: Well, I mean, it's it's pretty much a perfect score. Metaphor, which we just did is one of my absolute favorites. I never tire of it. I hear it every day. I will hear it every day. It's just the balance of exuberance and comedy and romance all in one package. It's just there's nothing better than that.

[15:08] Maxim Chlumecky: Congratulations. I cannot wait to see it. Just a little snippet that I saw today. Like I can't go buy your tickets. Go get them. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.