call and response podcast Felicia Fitzpatrick

Happy 30th Anniversary to Beauty and the Beast! 30 years ago today, Disney’s first musical premiered on Broadway and we are celebrating with a special episode. In honor of the milestone, we chatted with three Black actors who have played Belle: Briana Brooks from ZACH Theatre’s 2018 production (Austin, TX), Jade Jones from Olney Theatre Center’s 2021 and 2022 production (Olney, Maryland), and Ashley Blanchet from The Muny’s 2023 production (St. Louis, Missouri). It’s a tale as old as time, but how is it elevated with different identities? Be our guest as we dive into this fascinating discussion.

After a long hiatus, we are BACK for a special holiday episode! We take you inside the creation of Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker, the jazz-steeped reimagining of the classic ballet that runs at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre this month. We talk with producers Ron Simons and Valencia Yearwood, conductor and pianist Harold O'Neal, and dancer Alicia Mae Holloway about their experience bringing this new adaptation to the stage.

For the season five finale of call and response, we celebrate FREEDOM. In a time where fear and scarcity feel wide-spread, how can we claim freedom, abundance, and liberation for ourselves? We talk with five artist-creators about what artistic freedom means to them. Hear from actor and multidimensional storyteller Ja'Michael De'Shawn, director Miranda Haymon, actor, musician, and singer-songwriter Tayler Harris, Broadway ad agency account executive Stevie Coleman, and Broadway photographer Marc J. Franklin.

For season 5's penultimate episode, we talk with artivist Britton Smith, who you’ve seen on Broadway in Be More Chill, Shuffle Along, and After Midnight, about how he learned to embrace his authentic self, what he’s learned from his work with Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and why he started his funk liberation band, Britton & The Sting.

We are so hype, so thrilled, and so excited that call and response podcast has hit of 100 episodes! To celebrate the milestone, we’re looking back at the previous 99 episodes, highlighting and reliving some of the best moments—the joy, the tears, and the thought-provoking conversations on what it means to exist at the intersection of Blackness and performing arts.

We talk with Gerald Caesar, soon to be seen in the Dear Evan Hansen movie adaptation, about making his Broadway debut in A Bronx Tale, performing with Choir Boy on the Tony Awards, and navigating social media pressures and nuances.