Podcast: Managing many Kens with Mandy Moore

The choreographer on the buzz around Ryan Gosling’s big number at the Oscars, plus a look at picking a strong theatre season

In this episode of the OnStage Colorado Podcast, hosts Alex Miller and Toni Tresca talk about some of the season announcements from Colorado theatres. What does it take to put together a good mix of shows that put butts in seats while also satisfying the quest to do socially relevant or new plays?

Later in the episode, Alex catches up with Mandy Moore (not that one, the other one!) Mandy, who grew up in Breckenridge, has gone on to be one of the top choreographers in the world, with credits including La La Land, So You Think You Can Dance, Zoe’s Incredible Playlist, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and, just this month, two pieces at the 2024 Oscars ceremony. (Segment begins at 28:30.)

Working with Ryan Gosling and 62 other dancers — plus Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen — Mandy put together a Barbie tribute that pretty much eclipsed any other big Oscar numbers in recent memory. She also choregraphed the In Memoriam segment, using dance to add a touching new layer to the annual tribute. In the interview, Mandy talks about how it all came together as well as her own path as a choreographer and how dance still resonates with people.

Mandy Moore also choreographed the ‘In Memoriam’ segment at the Oscars this year. | Photo: Trae Patton / A.M.P.A.S

And by the way, Mandy is now the third member of the Moore Family to be feature on the podcast. Her dad Bob was on last March and her sister Missy was our very first guest in May, 2019.

Theatre companies and organizations mentioned in this episode:

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
• Arvada Center
• Aurora Fox
• Boulder Ballet
• Breckenridge Backstage Theatre
• Codpiece Players
• Colorado Ballet
• Curious Theatre
• Denver Center
• Durango Arts Center
• Firehouse Theater Company
• OpenStage Theatre & Company
• Performance Now
• Phamaly
• Stories On Stage
• Su Teatro
• Theatre Artibus
• Town Hall Arts Center
• Vintage Theatre
• Viva Theater

Listen to the podcast

Transcript

Here’s a rough transcript of this episode generated by an evil artificial technology tool that isn’t as smart as it would like to think it is:

Alex Miller: All right. Hello again and welcome to the OnStage Colorado podcast. I’m Alex Miller here with arts reporter extraordinaire Tony Tresca. Hey, Tony, how’s it going?

Toni Tresca: Hey, Alex. It’s good to be here. I just I saw one of the last performances of you got older last night, so I’m. I’m feeling ready to talk some theater.

Alex Miller: All right. Cool. Well you know, we’re recording on March 16th. We’re a couple of days past the enormous snowstorm that we had. I don’t know when we talk about the weather, but, man, this is a banger. I think I measured, like, 22in on my deck here in Highlands Ranch. And and it did have an effect on a lot of theater stuff. So we’ll talk about that here in just a second. But as usual, we’ll review some of the shows that we’ve seen lately or reviewed and take a look at some of what’s coming up around stages around all around Colorado. Also later in the podcast, we have an, an interview. I might have to call this an exclusive interview Tony, with with Mandy Moore. Who’s. Yeah, I think that.

Toni Tresca: Title is warranted. This interview. I when you told me that you had secured this interview from Mandy Moore, choreographer extravaganza extraordinaire, I was like, I actually freaked out a little bit. I was like, I cannot wait to listen to that myself.

Alex Miller: And yes, that’s not often.

Toni Tresca: And you got to tell the listeners, you got to tell the listeners about your Mandy Moore connection.

Alex Miller: Oh, well, you know, it’s it’s just I just known her for a long time. I’ve known her family. I used to work at the backstage theater. Her mom, Wendy, was the artistic director there for many years. And I did a lot of shows with her. And and also was on stage a lot with, with Bob Moore Mandy’s dad and and of course, everybody knows Missy Moore around the Colorado theater community is a great director an actor as well. She’s up at Thunder River. And so, so, you know it’s it’s it wasn’t like I had to work the contacts of my Hollywood contacts or anything like that. Mandy’s great. She was very, very generous with her time to to come on. And so but anyway, you know, so for those who didn’t know, she did the choreography with the I’m just Ken piece at the Oscars. And she also did the In Memoriam segment, which was a very different kind of thing. It was a real departure from the usual image of the people and included some, some really neat, subtle dance performances in addition to, you know, the roll call of those who’ve passed. So definitely stick around for that. That’ll be coming up here in just a little bit. And Tony. We had something in the mailroom. Do you want to touch on this one?

Toni Tresca: Yeah, we got it. We actually got two things coming in from our from the mailroom this week, from some listeners. So read them. Read them both out here. First was from Gretchen Roselli. She says one time critic here for your fine website. You and Tony are doing a great job with the podcast. Bravo. I really enjoy it, and it’s been a great way to get to know local theater. And she goes on, yesterday, my husband and I did a matinee of Rubicon and an evening of CBS with dinner at Cordier 44, in between. So both at.

Alex Miller: The Denver Center. Yeah.

Toni Tresca: Right in there. Yeah. Or corridor 44. Excuse me, I think I did the slightly more French pronunciation, but it’s corridor 44. And then continues. Not sure if you mentioned that restaurant on your latest podcast, but it’s reasonable with the unique European ambiance, delicious food and lots of champagne, something this New Yorker loves compared to all the beer I usually run into in these here parts, which that’s very fair, Gretchen. Very fair. Yeah, this is definitely a beer town. And then continues. Normally I find the theater reviews on the website very forgiving, especially with local theater. So I was ready to just sit and enjoy these two plays, but I was truly wowed by them. I felt I’d been to Broadway with the level of direction, acting and set design for Rubicon and writing. We also saw the reading of one shot and loved it. Wish we could have seen more of the readings.

Alex Miller: So they’re talking about the Colorado New Play Festival.

Toni Tresca: Yeah, so that was a great message there from from Gretchen, thank you for writing and glad that you to hear that you love the that you love the podcast. And what else did.

Alex Miller: You have in the mailbag?

Toni Tresca: We got one more. This was actually on a comment on our website. It was a comment on the most recent episode of the podcast from local actor David Kincannon. David says, as a frequent theater goer and actor, I find that I found the discussion about reviews extremely useful and enlightening. Thank you to Alex, Tony, and Alice for this thoughtful conversation. So thank you so much, David. Appreciate the kind words. And yeah, if you ever want to get in contact with us, you can feel free. You can either leave a comment on the website or on our Facebook, or feel free to send something in via our email at it’s info info at OnStage Colorado dot com.

Alex Miller: That’s it. So as we were just noting, we had a shit ton of snow and it really affected a lot of shows especially on Thursday night, which was kind of the brunt of the storm. And you know, lots of theaters canceled their shows Thursday and maybe even some on Friday. I’m not sure. Did the snow apocalypse or Snowpocalypse. So it’s not exactly the show must go on mentality that drives a lot of live performance, but honestly, I didn’t know that they had much choice.

Toni Tresca: Yeah, I. When you’re having like I over here in I’m over in Boulder County. We had about like 18in of snow, and we were on one of the more mild sides of things. And when that’s mild, you’re like, okay, maybe, maybe it’s just not worth it to go and risk getting on the roads. And I think that’s I mean, that’s the calculus that I think that’s the calculus that I did. I didn’t leave my house since Wednesday. I was just like, I’m just gonna bunker down here. And yeah, they were just a slew of cancellations. I just don’t think it was possible. I think theaters did make the right call. Even if it was a hard call.

Alex Miller: Yeah, it’s tough, especially when you’ve got a big touring show like Shrek. That was, I think, only in town for four days. You know, that’s a lot. That’s a lot of revenue lost. And but, you know, I mean, people were not going to come out, you know, it’s one thing, you know, Coloradans are generally pretty hardy about getting out in the, in the snow. But I mean, this the streets had not been plowed. I mean, it was it was just impassable. It would have been almost impossible. I still can’t get out of my my driveway. So, so anyway. But yeah, it’s it doesn’t make sense to put on shows. And I do remember back when I was working at the at the Backstage Theater in Breckenridge, it was pretty rare for us to do that just because in Summit County, in, in ski towns, they they plow the damn roads. And they have, you know, they really do. It’s like easier to get around up there with much more snow than it is down here, where they just seem to think it’s like, you know, I don’t know, secondary thought. And I think about all the taxes I pay here in Douglas County. And I was like, damn it, plow the damn roads. So anyway, well, that’s neither here nor there. Things are clearing up and melting like crazy. Although I did hear there’s another storm coming or another, possibly in another week or two, so. Oh, this is this is the snowy time of year. So you heard it here.

Toni Tresca: First on the OnStage Colorado Weather podcast.

Alex Miller: Yeah. That’s right. Yeah. We’ll be doing a weather segment every week. So so our main thing we wanted to talk about was that, you know, there’s been a lot of season announcements coming out recently from, I mean, like Denver Center, Broadway, Arvada Center, curious, a couple others. So you were asking, like, what makes a good lineup for a theater season? So Tony, if you were if you were the one picking a season for our mythical troupe, the codpiece Players where would you start?

Toni Tresca: Well, I think the big overlying thing that I would probably start with is I think, and this is something I’ve been hearing from audiences, something I’ve been hearing from artistic directors about how they’re kind of thinking. And it’s something a sentiment that I kind of agree with pretty broadly is I think audiences right now, a good season is going to be leave them feeling optimistic and perhaps a little bit, I don’t want to say overly like being overly funny or so, but I think people right now are not in a mood where they want to go and be lectured at in the theater right now. So I think a big thing that I would be kind of keeping in mind as a theater is kind of balancing, balancing those different concerns, making sure that people come to the theater and they’re walking away feeling like they had a good time so that they want to get their butt back in the seats, because we’re still in that recovery phase right now, where theaters are still trying to bring back audiences. And so if people have a so-so experience or they’re not sure how they’re feeling afterwards, I just don’t think that’s a place that you want to have audiences in right now when you’re still in that rebuilding and regrowth phase. So I think you’d balance, you’d do. I think it’s smart to like, pick some old some old hats, if you will, in addition to maybe some newer stuff that airs on the slightly comedic side, or at least just like warm, optimistic side. Because. Yeah. What about you, Alex? How are you thinking about it?

Alex Miller: Yeah, well, you know, it seems like the right combo for any theater is always going to be unless you have like a source of funding that you don’t care how many people are, how many butts you have in seats, but you know, it’s going to be a mix of, you know, getting people in, filling those seats with maybe something more arty or weighty material that maybe won’t put as many people in seats. But it’s an age old conundrum for theater. But, you know, maybe it’s even tougher now with all the other competition. As as we’ve mentioned before, like from, you know, the whatever the, you know, the, the nuggets game to, you know, whatever streaming on Netflix or whatever. But but you know, they’re also exceptional. So I was thinking of Belle of Amherst which was you know Boulder Ensemble Theater Company that you know, one woman, a quiet show, not, you know, some, some might not not think it’s going to, like, blow the roof off the house, but, you know, just really was fantastic in it. And they sold out a lot of those. So I mean, it’s it’s not an exact science by any means, but, you know, you were talking about people not wanting to be lectured at. And so one, you know, curious theater I think is sometimes been you know, a criticism levied against them that a lot of their, their picks are, you know, kind of sometimes kind of lecturing at you. So what did you think of their announcement? I mean, starts off with a comedy POTUS or behind every great dumb ass or seven women trying to keep him alive. Selina fillinger comedy. So I don’t know about these other ones.

Toni Tresca: I actually thought the curious did a nice job. I mean, they curious is obviously an interesting one because they can’t exactly just take the we’re going to do stuff light because that doesn’t work with their mission to to do serious, thought provoking works that are cutting edge and kind of and new. And so I thought that they did actually, I was pretty impressed with curious 27th season announcement, starting with POTUS strong. I think it’s a very that’s a very funny farce, comedy and perfect timing with the election. Right then. I mean, we all just need to laugh at politics then. So I think that’ll be that’ll I’m I think that’ll be a big hit downstate. Oh okay. Yeah. I was just going.

Alex Miller: To say I think Thunder River is doing that show also later. Later.

Toni Tresca: I think they are. Yeah.

Alex Miller: What about downstate? What is that.

Toni Tresca: Downstate? This is a really controversial one. So downstate is about. Let me give me just one second. I want to make sure that I get this the summary. Right, because it is accurate. Yeah. So downstate is by Bruce Norris, and it’s, it’s the story of four men who were convicted of sex crimes who share a group home post incarceration. So that does not exactly fit my criteria of something light or not weighty. But it is a very sharp script. It’s going to be directed by Christy Montour. Larson over there. Very much sounds.

Alex Miller: Like curious wheelhouse.

Toni Tresca: Yeah. When I was talking with Jada and Janine about it, they were just like, we don’t think anybody else in town would touch this script. And that’s why we had to. That’s why we had to do it.

Alex Miller: Maybe benchmark.

Toni Tresca: Maybe that that’s a that’s a good point. Maybe it does sound like a benchmark climb. And then they’re moving to Confederates, which is a Dominic Morse who is a she’s done work over there. Quite a bit. And it’s about this Sarah who is an enslaved rebel turned union spy and Sandra, who is a modern day professor at a private university. And it’s kind of their overlapping lives there. And then the final one is the case of the Existence of God by Samuel Hunter, who is a local favorite writer of The Whale. And it’s actually it’s going to be directed by Warren Sherrill. And it’s actually just this really moving piece about two single fathers who are just uniting and kind of having, sharing a conversation. So that one’s actually a little bit more sweet.

Alex Miller: Okay. Yeah. And they have one more yet to be named show coming. So if we look over on the other side of town in Arvada, they just came out with their. And this looks like a pretty decent lineup. It does have some familiar, you know, shows that have been done quite, quite a few times here in Colorado already. But waitress the musical, it’s a Sarah Burrell’s thing with book by Jessie Nelson and I think. Is this a musical comedy? Knew about this one?

Toni Tresca: Oh, yeah. This is this is the musical comedy of their season, I think I this is. Yeah, it’s about this woman who is working as a waitress at this pie factory. It’s based on a movie. It’s got incredible music. I think when it when it opened on Broadway, everybody was kind of like, what a musical about a pie shop. Who’s going to show up to that? Well, it turns out a lot of people would show up to that. It was this big smash hit on Broadway. It’s touring. Production was hugely popular around the country and the globe. And yeah, I, I saw I got I’ve never actually seen it live, but I did see the filmed version of waitress with Sarah Barelas, the writer, actually stepping in to play the role. They they released that in cinemas recently, and I was lucky enough to go and watch that. And so that made me very excited to see it staged at our, at our VAT. I think it’s a good company to do this show. Okay.

Alex Miller: Yeah. You know, I don’t remember that one coming through as a touring Broadway show at the Denver Center, but I maybe I didn’t see it, but but yeah, I guess that’s one I should know about, but I don’t. The other another show they’re doing is Dracula, a feminist revenge fantasy? Really?

Toni Tresca: Dracula is a very funny comedy by Kate Hamill, who is kind of the playwright of the moment. She’s also got a play coming over at the Denver Center. Emma recently. And it’s a very funny take on Dracula that. That does not just keep the women as the damsels in distress. They get some agency.

Alex Miller: That’s good. And you were maybe going to have Kate on the podcast, right?

Toni Tresca: I yep. I’m in the process of setting that up.

Alex Miller: Great. Well, we’re getting all kinds of cool folks on here, so and then also they’re doing Once Upon a mattress, which is your safe musical very, very old one, but fun. And then Clybourne Park in the Black Box Theater and Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which has been all done a lot around Colorado. Not. I don’t know much about Clybourne Park, though.

Toni Tresca: Yeah, Clybourne Park, they had a pretty prominent production at curious a couple years back. And this is a an contemporary adaptation of raisin in the sun. And so it’s kind of riffing on that. It’s about what happens when a white family moves into this predominantly black neighborhood years later. And so it’s kind of about the effects of gentrification. So it’s a that same neighborhood that the youngers were, that were in from A raisin in the sun. But it’s the reverse. Instead of it being the first black family to move into a white neighborhood like it is in raisin in the sun, it’s the opposite.

Alex Miller: Okay. Yeah. And there’s another take on raisin in the sun coming up at Town Hall. Raisin is another version of that. So so anyway, yeah, I guess, you know, the upshot is that it’s it’s impossible to to plan a season perfectly. You know, you’re always going to have ones that you’re like, damn, I thought that, you know, would have been that would have done better, or this one was like, Holy crap, this one really attracted a lot of attention. You know, if unless you’re talking about, you know, just things that people are super familiar with that you know, they’re going to come out for. But, you know, you can’t do those things all the time. So you know, props to theaters that you know, and I would say most of the theaters around, around town here and even around the state, you know, they they do try it’s not it’s not common that, you see, just like you know, one Neil Simon after one, you know, beauty and the beast you know, kind of stuff for the whole season. So anyway, any more thoughts on picking that season for our codpiece players?

Toni Tresca: I, I, I guess the only other advice is I would be like, you do have to you can’t ignore the holiday season. And how you program that I think is incredibly important. I think it’s very interesting that for the past couple of seasons, the Arvada Center has kind of done they’re not not a not an overtly holiday show, but something fairy tale y. And they’re continuing that tradition here with Once Upon a mattress, like The Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. That’s. Yeah. And so I think how theater companies approach their holiday season is always really interesting to me, because if you sit that season out, I mean, you are just losing out on so much money because that is when folks are like they’re available and they are wanting to be entertained. And so I think if you are going to like. I think that is a good time if you are going to pick something safe. Throw it in there. Yeah.

Alex Miller: Yeah. And also something that you can bring the kids to because, you know, that’s that’s the Christmas season. So another one is, you know, a lot of theaters have the option or the capability to outdoor shows. And those are you know, that’s another thing you need to think about. It’s like how how will this show, you know, survive if there’s wind or rain or things like that? So, yeah, all kinds of stuff that you know, artistic directors and theater boards have to figure out. But yeah, we’re definitely looking forward to the upcoming season and lots of great shows already announced.

Alex Miller: All right. Well we’re going to take a quick break. And when we come back look around the state at all the live theater coming up as well as my interview with Mandy Moore. Onstage Colorado is sponsored by the Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton, presenting raisin from March 22nd through April 14th. A musical retelling of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A raisin in the sun. The soulful and inspiring musical is about a proud black family’s quest for a better life in 1951 Chicago. It’s a timeless story of family conflict, forgiveness, and the pursuit of the American dream. Tickets at town Hall Arts center. Org. Onstage Colorado is also sponsored by the Boulder Ensemble theater company Betsi, with several upcoming shows including the kids improv show Mad Librarians with shows in Denver and Boulder, as well as the company Golden Radio Hour, also with shows in Denver and Boulder. Tickets at Betsy. Org. Support also comes from the Aurora Fox Arts Center, whose next show is gem of the ocean, opening March 23rd and running through April 14th. The play is the first in the Aurora Fox’s commitment to produce August Wilson’s ten play The American Century Cycle, boasting multiple Tony Awards and Pulitzer Prizes for drama. The cycle follows the lives of Black Americans throughout each decade of the 20th century. Tickets at Aurora Fox Arts Center.org. All right. Welcome back to the OnStage Colorado podcast. I’m Alex Miller here with Tony Truscott. And it’s time for our legendary, amazing, famous weekly trip around the state to see what’s on stage now.

Alex Miller: And coming up. So recently reviewed that’s on our site was cuanto the Ocho? I’m trying to say that properly at Suchitoto, which is, you know, a play about a bombing in Boulder many, I think, back in the 80s that our reviewer, Eric, went to and thought it was really, really impactful. So I think that’s running for another weekend or two two shows that just that have already closed Capella at Colorado Ballet and also Boulder Ballet’s Minefield. Our reviewer, Alice got to both of those and was impressed quite a bit by both of them. So, you know, even if these are over, it’s good to know about what these companies are capable of next time. So you might take a look at those reviews at the Backstage theater. Reviewer Karen Mason checked out Inventing Van Gogh. She called it a gripping exploration of artistry, obsession and the blurred lines between reality and truth. That’s running through March 30th. On the classic side is The Glass Menagerie at Vintage Theater in Aurora. Erica was at that on Saturday, so we’ll have that review on there. And that runs through April 21st. Great play. Vintage also has a one off on Saturday this coming Saturday, the 23rd with Drag Extravaganza. I love that. Emceed by Troy Lakey. And I love these names Starchild, Pop tart, Sexton, alley bottoms, and surprise guests. So, man, that sounds like a drag show to check out.

Toni Tresca: Oh, yeah. And that’s in relation to their Georgia McBride that’s currently running over there, which is also a hoot if you haven’t seen it. And I’ve gotten to see a couple of these drag queens before Starchild in particular. And they, they, they do a really nice job. So I’m looking I’m going to do my best to check out that show. I think it’s in their lobby space over there. So the cabaret.

Alex Miller: Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. So you mentioned cost of living at Curious Theater in Denver that’s run in March 14th through the 21st. And this features performers from family which is the, you know, the theater for folks with disabilities and their you know, it’s I’m going to be at that show coming up, I think, this Thursday. So I’ll have a review of that. And then The Music Man at Lakewood Cultural Center. This is a performance now production running March 22nd through April 7th. And Eric will be at that one. Noises off opens at the Arvada Center. Alice will be at that on opening night. That runs all the way through May 5th. Super excited to see that. Very funny Michael Frayn comedy Big Fish. At open stage at Lincoln Center in Fort Collins. Susan will be at that for a review. And that runs March 23rd through April 10th. Of course, that’s based on a novel that led to a film back in the early 2000. That was a really, really interesting, great story about about family and fathers and sons, things like that. Gem of the ocean opens at the Aurora Fox. Eric will be at that as well. This is a 2005 Tony Award nominee for Best play.

Alex Miller: And it’s part of Aurora Fox’s commitment to produce August Wilson’s ten play The American Century Cycle, which follows the lives of Black Americans throughout each decade of the 20th century. So this is kicking that off. And it runs March 23rd through April 14th. So there’s going to be a lot of August Wilson at the Fox over the coming years. Speaking of family, they’re also doing Miss Holmes at the Parsons Theater in North Glen March 21st through April 7th. That’s a that’s a fun show. Kind of like a female version of the Sherlock Holmes tales. And Eric will be at that one. And then the aforementioned raisin at Town Hall Arts Center that is coming up opening soon. And Eric will be at that one. And then we talked about this last time, Theodore Artibus is their new show. The Bluebird opens at the Savoy in Denver and runs March 22nd through April 7th. I am really excited to get to that. Just, you know, so we we can’t stop crowing about their last show. And some of the advanced pictures that show you know I can never remember the, the gentleman’s name, but he.

Toni Tresca: Booba.

Alex Miller: Okay. You know, it looks like he’s he’s popping out of suitcases, and, you know, there’s a lot of mime and pantomime and comedy and physical comedy in these shows that definitely recommend if you want to see something really different. Guadalupe in the guest room, a Tony Meneses play which I saw at Creed a few years back. Great play. That’s going to be at the firehouse from March 23rd through April 20th. Eric will be at that one. So this is it’s an interesting setup. It’s about a a man whose wife died and his mother in law is had come to help nurse his wife. And she kind of doesn’t leave after his wife is passed. And it’s so it’s a very interesting relationship, a story. Making of a great moment. Our new reviewer, Judith Sears, is going to be checking this out at the Miller Art Theater in Colorado Springs. That play runs through March 24th. So yeah. And hopefully hopefully a new reviewer in Colorado Springs will be able to cover some more of the theater down there, in addition to our other reviewer, April, who’s just doesn’t have as much time to get out. So also on stage or opening soon at the Durango Arts Center. Hand of Hand to God comedy about religion and an evil puppet running March 15th through 3030 first. You mentioned this last week. Viva Theater is at the dairy doing talking with March 22nd through April 7th. Is that a one hander?

Toni Tresca: Actually, it’s an 11 hander. Okay. It’s a it’s 11 monologues by women. Just reflecting their experience. Kind of what was it like in 1981? And it’s a it’s a really interesting theater troupe. Up in up in the Boulder area. They’re nomadic. They perform out of the dairy center, and their entire mission is just dedicated to giving older adults an opportunity to get up on stage as they’re so often the executive director over there, Abigail Wright, was talking about how the only things you see up on stage are 20 year olds talking about 20 year old issues. And so they’re like, it is actually just really there is a niche in the market to just do stories that relate to people who are not 20 years old. Absolutely. As I’m I am in my 20s, so I can’t personally relate to that. I’m loving the 20 year old stories on stage, but I can see why that’s not appealing to someone who’s not 20. It’s not their life.

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Alex Miller: Yeah, and I think people have gotten a little weary of the plays that just show older people, as you know, Alzheimer ridden, doddering fools. So I know when Paul Straley, who wrote a jukebox for the Algonquin, is up at the Miners Alley, was saying that was the one thing he didn’t want to do you know, with his play. So that’s that’s another great example of a play, you know that talks more about some, some older folks issues. That’s also very funny. So that’s that’s still running too. Anything else? Tony? What what else you got for us?

Toni Tresca: The only, I guess the only other thing that I that I got is if you’re looking for some dinner theater up in your right now and you’ve already been to see crazy for you at candlelight, I gestures dinner theater, which is over in Longmont, and they’re going to be doing My Fair Lady. That’s opening a March 29th and running through June 9th. So you got a nice long time if you want to go see a classic musical up there in that space. So.

Alex Miller: Okay. Well, you know, I didn’t know jesters was still around. I think they took kind of a hiatus, didn’t they?

Toni Tresca: They? Funny story. So they announced they were closing in 2022, but then they were not able to sell the building. And so in order to still keep producing an income, they decided to open the theater back up. Because it was actually more profitable for them to produce theater than it was to because they couldn’t get a buyer for the building, which is insane to me. But it was true. It was their reality. And so now they’re back up and doing shows. They the owners anticipate the theater is only going to be around for another year and a half, two years until they find a permanent buyer. But in the meantime.

Alex Miller: All right, well, I was just looking at my master Google Sheets list of all the theaters that that we track on our calendar, and I actually deleted them. So I’ll have to add them back because I didn’t know so good for good for gestures to come, come roaring back for, for a little while. All right. Well, hold on. And here in a second, we’ll get to my interview with Mandy Moore. And. You’re you’re at home in LA right now.

Mandy Moore: Yeah. Finally home. It’s been kind of a crazy you know, a couple of months, but. Yeah. I’m here. Yeah. I’m still trying to come down from the Oscars. It was pretty crazy.

Alex Miller: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Let’s talk about that. So. So I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of the Academy Awards. You know, they take a long time and some of the some of the stuff is lame. But this this year seemed particularly good. And the piece that you put together with Ryan Gosling, with the cans from, from Barbie was really well, it’s just delighted everybody. It looked like you know, in the house there and all around. So how did this come together? Was it pretty quick or did you have time to plan for it?

Mandy Moore: Well, no. About I guess, when the nominations came out is when that whole Like flow starts, right? So they’re not they have to wait until the nominations to come out to figure out what they’re going to do for the show. And my dear friend Raj Kapoor is actually the showrunner. So he you know, we were all crossing our fingers that I’m just Ken or something from Barbie would be nominated. And then when it came through, he was like you know, he said, well, would you do this? That’s like Helen. He’s like, Ryan’s really excited. So yeah, it was that’s kind of how it all started.

Alex Miller: Right? So so you did have a couple of months to to plan it out. Sounds like.

Mandy Moore: Yeah, it’s about a month. I mean I don’t remember when nominations came out, but yeah, it’s it actually goes pretty quick. But you know there’s obviously the nominations have to happen. Then everyone has to agree that they’re going to do it and then you have to create it. Then you have to rehearse it, then you do it.

Alex Miller: So right. So, you know, I think it’s fair to say that you’ve you’ve acquired quite a reputation as the choreographer to go to for big, big pieces like this, you know, like La La Land. And, you know, you did the eras tour choreography for Taylor Swift and and I was just wondering, how do you start? I mean, how do you go about managing a routine like this? So this was 63 plus dancers or something like that? I mean, where do you start?

Mandy Moore: Yeah, it was 62 plus, you know, obviously slash and Mark Ronson and Wolfgang Van Halen and Ryan and the four movie cans, it was it was quite a crew. You know, it’s it’s funny when you, like, start talking about process because for me, it’s the same. It doesn’t matter if it’s, you know, one person that I’m dealing with or if it’s like hundreds of people, I always have to. I mean, the first thing is the track, right? Because that becomes the roadmap for what I need to do. So my process usually starts with just barring I call it barring out the track or I just, you know, I kind of visually on a piece of paper represent the track in my mind. So I know when. The verse is happening or the chorus is happening, or the bridge, and then I can identify from that who’s singing, and then from that I can start to go like, okay, well, if he wants to start in the audience, it’s probably going to take him about this long to get to the stage. And then, you know, he was really involved creatively. So, you know, he had a roadmap kind of already of what he wanted to do. It was just a matter of me, you know, working with him and then obviously facilitating his vision. But yeah, for me it’s all about the track. If I don’t have a track, then it’s really hard for me to do my job, especially in live television, you know, and other mediums, not so much. But the track really kind of becomes the dictates what you’re going to do. Choreographically.

Alex Miller: Right. And of course you’re in LA, so you’ve got access to a huge talent pool of dancers. Do you have a like a core group that you go to or how do you cast that?

Mandy Moore: Yeah, I’m for. So I also did the In Memoriam number, and I actually did end up doing an audition for that because I felt like it was a pretty specific. Like kind of dancer I was looking for, and that was filled with some people that I hadn’t worked with before, and then some people that I had. And then for the cans, I, I just thought, I’m just going to direct book this because I know enough people between myself and my associate Jillian Meyers and Rita Mae bland, who was the casting person between all of us, we kind of knew enough people. So, you know, we the process is we just go to the agencies and we ask for submissions, and then they kind of give us this casting document of people they have submitted based off of specifics that we asked for, and then we just go through and go like, oh, yeah, I know him or I don’t know him, or I’ve worked with him or that’s a friend of a friend of somebody. So it’s kind of an interesting process. But yeah, in the end we had to make sure they were all available for all the rehearsals and that they showed up. That’s all I cared about.

Alex Miller: Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m sure having having all those professional dancers makes it all easier and but, you know, Ryan’s no slouch himself, I guess. You know, you worked with him in La La Land, and he’s done quite a bit of dancing along his career, so but. And you worked with him kind of in collaboration on some of the. What were some of the things that you came up with together or that he brought to the table?

Mandy Moore: I mean, like I said, he really was very, very collaborative with us. Like, you know, it was so nice to be able to work alongside him because he had, you know, I think he I don’t know what the process was prior to the creative pitch that we were all on the meeting together. You know, I think he and Greta had maybe talked about the like, gentlemen prefer blonds reference visually. You know, obviously that wasn’t in the choreography necessarily, but visually that was kind of the the world that we were going to live in. And you know, like I said, he really, you know, he knew he wanted to start in the audience. He wanted to join a bunch of dejected kids on the stairs and to be in cans. And then, you know, we we called the next section when he walked forward to, like, calling on cans, you know, it was like he’s putting his bat signal up in the air for all to join. And he’s also a huge fan of Busby Berkeley has been forever. So you know, I was like, it would be really great to do this, like, awesome top shot. And then that’s where the, you know, Barbie Sea of Barbie heads came in. And you know, it’s it’s funny when you collaborate together because it’s you’re just in the moment. You know, I don’t know whose idea was what honestly we like really. You know, he had an overall vision for it. And he’s very funny in the moment as well. You know? And even when we’d be rehearsing, you know, he’d do something very funny. And I’m like, oh yeah, you should for sure do that. That’s really good, you know? Or the breakable boards that came out of rehearsal where we actually punch a breakable board. Yeah. Yes. And it was funny. We should do that.

Alex Miller: That’s when the back up. Just a second. You said Busby Berkeley. I’m not sure I know what that is.

Mandy Moore: Yeah. So Busby Berkeley he was a director in the 30s, and he’s the one who’s very famous for those very iconic overhead shots with, like, lots of girls or like, you know, the, the the camera comes around and the people kind of peel off. He had a very distinct style in his directing. And yeah, Ryan’s really been a fan of his for a long time, as many people are. They’re very, like, cultural. I think when people think about dance, sometimes they just think about the work of Busby Berkeley. So. Yeah.

Alex Miller: So, you know, you you often work on kind of long tail things where you might not hear, I don’t know, it takes place over a long time, but this was like kind of like an immediate shot where, like, all of a sudden you were everywhere. What kind of response have you been getting from this, Alex?

Mandy Moore: It was nuts. Like, I you know, I yeah, I mean, I’ve been in kind of, you know, chaos like that before, you know, La La Land was a bit like that. And obviously Taylor’s stuff is kind of like that. But, you know, this one really took me by surprise. I mean, the morning after, people were just, like, wanting to talk about how we all made it. And it was cool. I mean, I haven’t been in live television in a while, like, I really I was in live for a long time, and then I moved over to scripted. And then obviously I’ve been working a lot in film. So yeah, it was really interesting to be like, okay, we just did that last night and now it’s like blown up everywhere. I mean, I’m just so stoked that people took to it the way they did, you know, because that was the goal. Like, we just wanted it to be a party, and we wanted it to be one of those moments that was like last hurrah for Ken and the Barbie movie, and I feel like we did.

Alex Miller: Yeah, you absolutely did. Yeah. That was really Ken went out with a bang. But, you know, I didn’t know that you did the In Memoriam piece. And so this was you know, instead of just showing stills of the actors who had passed that, you know, there were a couple of some, some dancing going on how did how did come up with that idea?

Mandy Moore: Yeah. So again, my my dear friend Raj who was the show runner, had this idea months ago when he came on as showrunner. He really wanted to at he used to be a dancer, and he just loves dance and choreography. And he said, I really want to put dancers on the In Memoriam. And I know it’s a big swing because people, you know, that’s not what you do. It’s the first time I’ve ever had dance, I think. Yeah. And obviously when Andrea Bocelli and Mateo signed on and we’re going to do Conti Porteiro, you know, it was a very fragile number, you know, and I think, I think people are divided about it, which rightfully so. You know, some people are like, why are those dancers on? I can’t see anything. But at the I think equally, there were some people that really thought it was really beautiful. And, you know, as you know, I that after losing my mom a little over a year ago, I really felt like. I knew how to create from that space. I knew how to respect and to understand what it means to miss somebody whose past, you know. And so for me, it was that was a personal lumber for me. I mean, it was for everybody else, too, and obviously all those that have passed and were respected in the In Memoriam, I, you know, I, I definitely created for them. But personally, it was also just for me. I got to create something for my mom.

Alex Miller: I get that. That’s great. You know, I really liked it. I thought it was it was, it was it was different. You know, Jen, Jen was a little concerned about not being able to see the the picture. You know, she’s like, why aren’t they show them closer? I’m like, well they’re trying to get the, you know, the shot to cover the dancers and the and so so maybe that’s something, you know, if you do it again, you can figure out another way to, to satisfy that need to see the faces of those.

Mandy Moore: That was hard. You know, it’s a lot of things you have to to include, you know, and, you know, Raj and I talked a lot about it, and I kept thinking about it the days after because I thought, you know, it’s not a surprise that these people have passed, you know, like, everyone knows that these people have passed. It’s for me was more about, you know, being able to express the emotion of what you feel when that happens. And, you know, sometimes that can be done through songs, sometimes through the video medium, sometimes through dance, sometimes through poetry, you know, like it can be expressed a lot of different ways. And, you know, I just thought, I don’t know, I appreciate that. I appreciate that people that the Academy and Raj and the producing team took a big swing because you can always do things the same. Right. How do you we all have to evolve. And, you know, I don’t think in any sort of a way we disrespected any of it. But it is it was, you know, even Hamish, the director, he and I had a lot of conversations. He’s like, man, this is hard to shoot because if I shoot past the dancers and Andrea and Matteo, then I don’t see them. But if I don’t include the Y, then you don’t really understand the full picture, you know? And so it was a tough job. I mean, I thought he did a good job, especially for ever having that kind of those kinds of things involved in the In memoriam. It never happened before.

Alex Miller: Right? Yeah. So, you know, one more thing about the Oscars, I know you’ve been kind of involved in some of these discussions or pushing for the Academy to add choreography to one of the awards. What can you say about that? Where’s that at?

Mandy Moore: Well, you know, I’m I yes, I’ve been involved in those conversations for a long time. And I actually did try to join this past year. But because of the choreographers being moved into the technology branch, I was not able to find sponsors, which you know, I’ve been in conversations with the Academy about. So, you know, that’s kind of the first step is I think we’ve got to be able to get some more choreographers into the academy. And then. You know, I I’m on the fence about it. I actually probably it sounds odd, but I don’t think we need our own category. I think that because there’s not really enough dance to support that and choreography to support that. You know, some years we have a ton of films that have it, and then some years we don’t have very much at all. And but what I feel would be great would be consideration of a special committee or something. If there is a a year that there is, it’s deemed that there was excellence in choreography or, you know, a film that’s nominated 14 times or ten times that has choreography that obviously. Part of the success of the film was choreography. Sure that there would be some way to to award an honorary Oscar or excellence in something from the Academy just to, you know, know or just to acknowledge that that’s part of the filmmaking, you know. And so it’s a I look forward to being able to be in the academy and get in there, because I would love to have those conversations with the people that make those decisions, because it’s not so easy. I don’t think it’s just like adding a category because we just don’t. I don’t think there’s enough films, even though I wish, of course I’m of course I wish there was just a category and we could all get Oscars. But I think the reality of that it’s a lot more complex than that. So but there’s a way to do it, you know, and a way to honor the excellence I think.

Alex Miller: You know, I wanted to ask. So, you know Hollywood, you know, all the films are there’s all these huge films with CGI and car explosions and outer space and all that stuff. But something about dance, like, especially a big dance number, like, you know, like in La La Land or other ones. Why do you think that dancers, the choreography still resonates so strongly with people on film and on stage?

Mandy Moore: I think it’s kind of a I mean, for me, it’s probably a bit of a mystery. I think a lot of people that like dance, because there are certainly a number of people that hate dance and choreography and singing. So, you know, but the people that like it, you know, I think. It feels like they don’t know how they made it. It feels magical, right? And I you know, I really I always think about with dance and and singing and musicals, I just think like, I love the quote or I think there’s a quote that something about like, if you can’t say it, you sing it. If you can’t sing it, you dance. And it’s true that dance, you are able to to express things with dance that you maybe can’t say. And I think also dance allows people to fill in blanks for themselves, you know, like they get to go like, oh, that dance was about this, or I felt this, and you can feel something completely different than the person sitting next to you because it’s we’re not telling you exactly what to feel. You know, because we’re using our words as communication. We’re using shapes and feeling and transition and nuance and texture. You know, the things that we could look, you and I could look at the same piece and get something completely different from it. I think maybe that’s why.

Alex Miller: Yeah, I think so. You know, I also think it’s maybe some of the same vibe that people get from enjoying sports. You know, they’re watching athletes do things that they couldn’t hope to do. You know, most of us are blobs on the couch, you know, watching, you know athletes or dancers. It’s that same thing. It’s like, wow, you know, but I think the kind of stuff, those big numbers that you do, the choreography, the precision you know, so many people working in unison to make it happen is really a kind of dazzling, you know because, you know, I in some of the theater that I used to do, I was I never did any musicals. I auditioned once for a musical, and I was so bad at the dance, I was just like, oh my God. It’s like some people just. It just means, you know, it just doesn’t work, you know? But. So that’s why I love I love watching dance because it’s just it’s so far beyond anything I could do. So so I wanted to close up just by asking about. So you as as we well know that you choreographed you know, the the eras tour dancers for Taylor Swift. That tour is still going on. And I know that you you have to occasionally go in and like, if they have new dancers or things like that, how often do you have to do that? How involved are you that right now?

Mandy Moore: I mean, funny enough, not much because that’s part of my job is to like get it up, get it going and let it survive on its own, you know? And I have a really great dance captain who was also my associate, Amanda Baylin. And she’s on the road and she dances with everybody. And her job is to make sure that we continue to facilitate and do every night the show that was made. So you know, they just got back from Singapore and we’re going to go back into some cleaning rehearsals and things and before they head out to Europe. But it’s it’s a very strange thing, Alex, because it’s like you make you work really hard to make this thing, and then it just kind of, like, goes away, like a traveling circus and it just never see it again. And you know, it was really fun. Obviously they shot it for the eras movie. Right. So we did that in LA. So I got to go back and, you know, again, do some cleanup rehearsals and work with the director and the cameraman and all that and Taylor to just make sure it was shot the way that we wanted it. But, yeah, I mean, I haven’t seen it since August. I think, you know, they’ve been gone. They’ve been just forever away. So but it’ll be fun to get kind of dive back into that world with them and get them ready for Europe because then, yeah, then they go off again, like for a half a year or something. They just go away forever. Yeah. Crazy.

Alex Miller: I don’t know how. I don’t know how she does it. Yeah. You know, that’s that’s the way for a long time. But do you have any other any other, you know, jobs like that coming up where you’d choreograph a big concert like that?

Mandy Moore: No, I mean, well, it’s so weird. My life is such a like. I mean, it’s similar to probably the acting world, like, it’s like I’m just do my next job, whatever my next job is that comes up, you know? And I’m an independent contractor like everybody else. So, you know, it’s like some days I think, like, how am I ever going to get a job again? And then all of a sudden the phone rings. So you just never know. I mean, I never thought he’d get Taylor. Never thought I’d be doing the Oscars. And so just you kind of wait for the next thing because, you know, or you make your next thing, you know? That’s also the thing is, you know, having meetings and developing and doing all of that, that a lot of people do out here. So that’s kind of where I’m at. I don’t know what I’m doing next week. Actually.

Alex Miller: I was going to ask what’s next coming up that you can talk about, but

Mandy Moore: Yeah, I mean, just going into Taylor stuff right now and then you know, getting that ready for Europe and then after that, I don’t, I really don’t know. We might be doing some stuff for Snow White’s again. But yeah, I don’t know. And then in a month we’ll talk and I’ll be like, oh my gosh, I’m so crazy and busy.

Alex Miller: I know. Well, I, you know, at your mom’s memorial, I asked you the same question and you were like, well, I’m going to do this Taylor Swift tour and starting tomorrow. And I was like, what? Yeah.

Mandy Moore: I did, I started it literally that next morning. It was crazy. Yeah.

Alex Miller: Yeah. So yeah, you never know what’s going to come up. And especially after this, this Oscar buzz, I. Guess you could say you’re going to be you’re going to be even more in demand. So.

Mandy Moore: Who knew Alex? Who knew?

Alex Miller: I know, I know, I’ve known you since you’re a kid. And starting there at Summit School of Dance in Frisco. And so you get back to Colorado. Much to see. So your your dad and your sister are in the Carbondale area?

Mandy Moore: Yeah, I try, but I it’s been so crazy. Like I have not had a second to do anything. So, you know, hopefully this summer if I’ve got a little bit of time off, I mean, I’d love to try and get up there for the fourth or something because it’s just so beautiful in Colorado during the summer. So yeah, I’ll try. Who knows? We’ll see where it goes.

Alex Miller: All right. Well, Mandy Moore, thank you so much for taking the time. I know you’re busy busy doing all kinds of stuff. But I appreciate you hopping on with the OnStage Colorado podcast. It’s great to have you.

Mandy Moore: Thanks for having me, Alex.

Alex Miller: All right, that’s it for this week’s episode of the OnStage Colorado podcast. Thanks so much to Mandy Moore for for making time in her super busy schedule to talk to us. And hopefully, yes, someday they will have a choreographer award of some sort at the at the at the Oscars. We’ll be back next week with another interview that I think is still TBD. But you were working on one, right, Tony?

Toni Tresca: Yes. It’ll either it’ll either be with Kate Hamill of Emma at the Denver Center, or it’ll be Blue Diamond Cabaret. Who is a group who who is producing shows over in the Boulder area. Both of those are coming down the pipeline. Just TBD on exact scheduling.

Alex Miller: Okay, so stick around. We’ll have something interesting no matter what. So if you haven’t already, please subscribe to the OnStage Colorado podcast wherever you get your audio stuff. And, you know, give us a review or a couple of stars if you’re enjoying this. And definitely forward it to other theater lovers in your life. So because people really enjoy hearing this this roundup of shows going on around Colorado, as well as the cool interviews that we do. So also be sure to check out all of the reviews, news, other podcast episodes, and our full statewide theater calendar on the website at OnStage Colorado dot com. I’m Alex Miller.

Toni Tresca: I’m Tony Tresca, and we’ll see you at the show.

Alex Miller: Indeed we shall.