The second complete season of the theatrical podcast The Ensemblist officially hits airwaves September 4. Exclusively for Playbill.com readers, we have the introductory episode to this season now.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE SEASON
The 15-episode season (“The History of the Ensemblist”) “will explore how the ensemblist experience has changed—and been changed—by some of the theatre’s most influential shows, writers and subject matter.” Each episode investigates one of history’s nine Pulitzer Prize-winning musicals through the eyes of the ensemblist (chorus member, for those unfamiliar with the term). Podcast creators and hosts Nikka Graff Lanzarone and Mo Brady speak to actors who’ve worked on one or more of these landmark musicals, with additional commentary from theatre historian and author of The Untold Stories of Broadway series, Jennifer Ashley Tepper.
Actors like Eric Anderson, Adam Chanler-Berat, Mara Davi, Michael McElroy, JoAnn M. Hunter, Sasha Hutchings, Catherine Ricafort and more will weigh in on their experiences as ensemblists in an iteration of one (or more) of the Pulitzer Prize-winning shows: Of Thee I Sing, South Pacific, Fiorello!, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Chorus Line, Sunday in the Park with George, Rent, Next to Normal and Hamilton.
Lanzarone and Brady talk with their guests about how the original production used the ensemble, how it changed the way ensembles were used overall and the way the show shaped the future of ensemblists to come.
Plus, there will be further installments of The Ensemblist’s “Rehearsal Reports” and “Containing Multitudes” series along the way.
Listeners can subscribe to the podcast through Stitcher, TuneIn, Podbean or the iOS Podcasts app. The first complete season, “Ensemblist Essentials,” is also available for download.
Lanzarone is a current ensemblist working in the industry; she will next appear in the much-anticipated Sweet Charity, starring Sutton Foster. Brady is a former ensemblist who last appeared on Broadway in The Addams Family.
For more information and a full backlog of episodes, visit TheEnsemblist.com.