On this week’s episode, Rob, Jennifer, and Jamie talk to Broadway casting director, Tara Rubin.  For over thirty years, Tara has been casting Broadway shows like The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Jersey Boys, Dear Evan Hansen, and this season’s hit Ain’t To Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. We talk to Tara about how she got her start, what it’s like working on The Phantom of the Opera for so many years, and what makes a good audition.  A little bit later, Rob gives us a closer look into the Casting Society of America (the “C.S.A.” you often see after a casting director’s name).

This week’s music: “Putting It Together" from Sunday in the Park with George, “Opening, I Hope I Get It” from A Chorus Line, “Think of Me” from The Phantom of the Opera, “The Theme from Another World” by Crystal Gayle and Garry Morris and “A Beat Behind” from The Goodbye Girl.

On this episode, Jamie, Rob, and Jennifer chat with actor, author, and activist Eric Ulloa about Muppets and mass gun violence.  As we mark the sixth anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, we discuss “26 Pebbles”, a documentary play Eric created from the voices of the residents of Newton, Connecticut in the aftermath of that tragedy, and the ways in which theatre can inspire activism, breed empathy, and remind us of our common humanity.  Later, Rob discusses some things you can do to help.  

 This week’s music: "The Muppet Show Theme," Philip Glass, “Blood Oath,” Jason Robert Brown singing, “A Song About Your Gun,”  “The Gun Song” from “Assassins,” “21 Guns” from “American Idiot.”  Carole King’s “Smackwater Jack,” “Fame” from the film “Fame” and “The Country’s In The Very Best Of Hands” from Lil’ Abner."