Podcast Episode 193 – Broadway Funny Girl Julie Halston

By Ken Davenport

And we’re baaaaaack!

Welcome to the start of the new ProducersPerspectivePodcast season, everybody! Did you miss us? Did you even know we were gone?

Well, even if you didn’t, we’re still back with a brand-spankin’ new season of TheProducersPerspectivePodcast!

It has been almost five years since we started getting Broadway A-listers into a room to talk about their start, their present, and where they believe Broadway is going to be in the future. It seems like just yesterday when I asked Super-Power Press Agent Rick Miramontez to be my first guest, without any idea what I was doing (if I’m being totally honest).

But within about 15 seconds into his first answer, I knew we were on to something. Because I was learning and laughing. And what better combination is there!?

That’s why there have been 193 episodes since then. And that’s why I’ve kept on harassing Broadway’s most powerful to spend 40 minutes with me so I can share their Wikipedia-like knowledge and Dali Lama-like inspiration with you.

And that’s why we’re back with a new season. That’s why, like everything else I’ve done, I’m committed to getting even better with this new season. So watch for tweaks to everything we’re doing, from even bigger guests to showcases on emerging writers to revealing tips to better production value too! 🙂

Because we know more about what we’re doing now, but we’re still learning. And I honestly believe that this is YOUR podcast. So tell us what you want, and we’ll keep shaping it as we go.

(Oh, and in the 193 interviews I’ve done, you know what the most commonly uttered phrase is from my guests as they talk about their way up in the industry? “I didn’t know what I was doing.” So, I realized I was in good company . . . and if you don’t know what you’re doing, but you are doing something, that’s not only OK . . . it’s a sure-fire indication that you’re on your way to something big.)

In fact, not knowing what you’re doing, but getting out there in front of people and being totally vulnerable is one of the keys to this week’s guest’s massive success.

If you don’t know Broadway Funny Girl Julie Halston, you are in for a treat. She’s one of the fiercest comediennes we have, currently playing and flambaying a Producer (!) on Broadway in Tootsie, but has been in everything from Gypsy (where we met) to You Can’t Take It With You to Hairspray to Anything Goes and more.

But she got her start on one of the smallest stages in New York City.

And the story of her rise as a Broadway star, a writer, a producer, and more is a real inspiration and education for us all. Listen to hear all about:

How Charles Busch forced her to write her first show in two weeks . . . and how she got the courage to do it.
Where she learned how to do dramatic readings of NY Times Wedding Announcements. (And yes, listen to her do a reading from the NY Times at the end of this podcast!)
Why she says “yes” to everything she can and why you should too.
Why, despite her big Broadway success, she still performs in her one-woman show (including a performance coming up on October 3rd at Birdland! Go!)
How she creates unique characters, like the stripper in Gypsy, that are so memorable and so freakin’ funny and so beyond what’s just in the script.

If you’re an actor or a fan, then you should listen to this podcast. If you’re a TheaterMaker of any other kind, then you MUST listen to this podcast.

And I apologize in advance for my laughter throughout the episode. You try and hold it in when talking to Julie Halston!

Enjoy and thank you for coming back to our new season!