DISCLAIMER:
The following output was transcribed from our audio recording.
Although the transcription is largely accurate, it may be incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.
It is posted to aid in understanding the interview but should not be treated as an authoritative record.
Mindy Cohn 00:00
Hi everyone, welcome back to Mondays with Mindy Christian. Say hi to everybody, everybody. Welcome back. I love helping you take direction so well and I take direction from you very well I might add to do. Today's episode features a conversation with one of my favorite voices to ever grace the stage on top of being an insane musician, and performer. He's also a prolific composer, lyricist, playwright and truly just one of the most talented human beings on the planet. I'm of course speaking of my dear pal, Todd almont. Todd was born and grew up in Nebraska but quickly made his way to New York. In fact, with his theater work girlfriend, Todd took an album from his youth and turned it into a magnificent show about young gay love. Todd grew up gay among the farms and ranches of the states Western plains, and while he had wonderful family and friends, he often felt very alone. He channeled his gifts into a passion for the Performing Arts, which led him to the esteemed Cincinnati Conservatory of Music to study classical music. Still, he wasn't sure if he chosen the right path, trying to decide between his interest in theatre and music eventually his love of theater one out and he turned to acting, performing and writing for the stage and headed to New York full time. But Todd is also music and music is Todd almond, a Todd's original theater works include doing the books, music and lyrics for the Odyssey, The Winter's Tale in the tempest, all done at the Public Theater in New York City, also girlfriend and Kansas City choirboy, which co starred with Courtney Love for the center theatre group in Los Angeles. Other original shows been put up at the Yale Repertory Lincoln Center and playwrights horizon as a performer and actor Todd cast himself in all three productions at the public, Kansas City choir boy of course, stage kiss, a piece of meat Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and even an episode of Law and Order. Of course course he's recorded a few solo albums and a couple of short films. And now you can understand why I use the word prolific. Todd is always creating and playing and composing And working on at least three or four projects at a time while arranging shows for his dear friends like Judy Kuhn and Laura Berlanti, who he performed with at Carnegie Hall last year, incredible show, and he also made his PBS debut with Andrew Reynolds live from Lincoln Center. Last year also finally saw Todd's Broadway debut of a show I first saw him in at the public girl from the North Country, which just opened at the Belasco theater as COVID hit I unabashedly have asserted that he would and still win a Tony for his outstanding performance. He's also happily married to the incredible force that is Mark dubious, and they and they're very close friends that are like family split their time between New York City and their housing main Christian, he's a star plain and simple, a musical genius. People need to know Todd almond.
Christian Brescia 02:48
Ladies and gentlemen, it is our pleasure to introduce And I should mention that he's out in one of his homes a little further from the city. So the internet is not as stellar as it typically is. We appreciate Your understanding and the technology there. But Ladies and gentlemen, the very multitalented talented Todd Almond! Welcome, welcome!
Mindy Cohn 03:15
you as well always, so if ever Christian and I wanted to talk to a creative of any kind, which we have had a variety of, yeah, you're always gonna make my top 10 list there. So we're going to start the podcast the way that we always do with my good trusty Johnny Adler secrets canister, Christian and I kind of came up with these like 20 questions, so I randomly pull five and we kind of just do a deep dive in. Okay, okay, so here we go.
Todd Almond 03:42
Should I be scared? Should I be scared?
Mindy Cohn 03:43
Yeah. Oh, no, that's me. And Christian. Okay, who is your favorite relative and why?
Todd Almond 03:54
Who is my favorite relative and why my favorite relative is my aunt Kay. I grew up Two blocks from my aunt Kay. And her husband, Dell, who's sadly very sick right now, but they had three daughters. Were about the exact same ages as my brothers and myself. And I don't know what it was and even what it continues to be, but my Okay, and I will, a lot of time will pass when we don't speak to each other. But when we do we fall, you know, some people you just fall into this eternal rhythm with and I don't know why. And it's very special. We don't really talk ever really, we don't talk that much. But when we do, we fall into this really comfortable space with each other. And I long for that space with her and I've had it since I was a child with her for whatever reason, she just like gets me on it on a deep level and we've never talked about it and if she's listening to this, I've never said this to her. It's amazing. Yeah, it's really amazing. I think of her and I want and I want to, you know Wish I could spend more time with her. She lives in a tiny town in Brazil. Go where I grew up and yeah, I love my kid.
Mindy Cohn 05:04
All right. Okay. Um, Todd, what assumptions do people make about you that are wrong?
05:12
That I'm up to speed on? Tiger King? I've never watched. Watch again. I don't know the characters. I have no idea.
Mindy Cohn 05:24
Man, Christian Brescia. I introduced me to Todd. My perfect question. We can't answer. No idea what I'm in the moment. It's perfect. This is so good for you out. Does your life have a theme song? If so, what is it? And you must sing it. I demand you sing it.
Todd Almond 05:51
Does my life have a theme song? Right now? Yeah, yeah. Yes, my life has the theme song. And for some reason today I kept singing it and I kept wishing all this like get out of my head Get out of my head You're driving me crazy and although I love this song and I guess it's to my sweetheart all I just keep singing that song they don't know about never heard. And I don't listen to her words. No, no the words but it's so catchy in my head. Yeah, I love it. Please, please get out of my head. I but I'm glad it's not No, no,
Mindy Cohn 06:40
that's so great. And a hug and a hug to mark for me, please. Yes. Um, what's your favorite place to travel to and why?
06:49
Well, I have two answers. Right now I'm at our house in Maine which is on a little island called Vinalhaven and it has been my friend favorite place for yours, Mark, and I've been coming up here for over, you know, like, a dozen years. And I think about it all year. And I know we're gonna go up for a week we're gonna go up for maybe two weeks if we're lucky three. I've been up here for one day and then had to go back to New York. And wait a year. There's just something about it's a very special place. And we're here. We've been here for four months
Mindy Cohn 07:24
in your new home,
07:26
and our new house, so we just got in November. I mean, our timing was perfect. Yeah. Wow. Other place is and I don't know what this means. I'm a big believer in dreams telling you things like just trying to communicate with you. And there's a place literally a place in my dreams that I go and I'm like, Oh, I'm going to that place again. I'm going. I know that when I go down this road, it's like right over this hill, and it's like a foreign country. It's like the most perfect magical place. I'm like, going there right now and then I wake up and I think where where is that place and I love trying to find it on a map but it's just like some some like magic dream special place. And I know when I go there in my dream that it is somehow telling me to be grateful for some sort of happiness that I'm feeling because I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude that I get to go to the place I get to go to that place over that little hill. And I don't know why I'm sharing that but,
Mindy Cohn 08:29
and it's reoccurring. Wow. That's amazing. I know. Yeah. That's magical in and of itself.
08:34
It really is. It is it is.
Mindy Cohn 08:36
Okay. Last one. Before we do the deep dive into creative process and all things Tony, like Tony not award Tony but all right. Oh my god, stop myself. Mindy. Todd, if you could have dinner with any three people, who would they be?
08:55
This is a question that I always feel like I'm supposed to. I should have thought of this beforehand, because I know it's No no no cuz
Mindy Cohn 09:00
we're asking them right now in this moment yes moment. Yeah, in this little bit of history. It's you're not Yeah, Holden do forever.
09:11
Um It's tricky because you want to do you want to have dinner with people that you admire? whose work that you admire? I mean, I find myself circling around certain artists and I wonder Wait, do I want to meet them because like when I go to the Art Museum, I don't necessarily like to read the bio or the inspiration of this painting was inspired by because I feel like artists sometimes don't know what they've made and when you know and like talking about it and kind of and you
Mindy Cohn 09:41
want your own experience Yeah,
09:43
don't be and you actually think like wait did the work of art is greater than you are artists like you were the you made it but it's somehow transcended that so I don't know if it's
09:54
I don't know if it's artists. Such a hard question.
Mindy Cohn 10:00
Okay, tonight, you and Mark I'm making dinner Who's coming?
10:03
Okay, tonight we're making dinner. You know, we actually play this game with each other. I will say like, Oh, I forgot to tell you I invited someone to come stay. And she's, she's, she's coming tomorrow which is gonna be here for two weeks. And he'll be like, Who is it? And I'm like it's Cassie battle or some person. Okay, B are having dinner. And well, Andrew Scott just because he so many cute boys. Maybe that's wrong with that. be cute boys. I saw I was watching. I was online today and I saw Trevor Noah and I was like, Trevor Noah is looking so cute in this moment.
Mindy Cohn 10:48
And having
10:50
a hair and having like, like, I never had eyes for Trevor Noah before today. Nice accent Trevor Noah. Yeah, yeah, right.
11:00
And
11:02
then and Bjork. So how about that? Ah, I love that. Andrew Scott. Trevor Noah in New York.
Mindy Cohn 11:08
Okay, that's a dinner table. I'd like to be a fly on the wall for sure. Yeah, I promised that one judge but obviously I'm judging. I like it. Yeah. Okay, so, um, you being so multi talented meaning I know that at times you have a story in your mind and you need to get it down and then you want to put music to it. But what is your creative process? As you want to define it? Do you sit down and play every day? Do you write every day? What if a student were to ask you and you were on some kind of panel? And and someone asked you about your creative process? How would you answer
11:47
I would say, my it's equal parts. It's equal parts, like just rolling up your sleeves and doing it and just like forcing yourself to to keep Writing but also letting a lot of time pass if you can, I have found for myself, I will know what I'm writing or what I'm working on is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong wrong, but I'll just keep doing it anyway, I need to just keep at it. And then if I can let it bake for as long as possible a month, yeah, a year. I mean, like, I find that that is an invaluable step. And luckily, I work in theater where time is problematically long, I mean, you really hit you really do have to wait a long time but
Mindy Cohn 12:36
but you also also tend to, you do also tend to have like, three or four things going at the same time. So that you can kind of have when inspiration or whatever, just this your work ethic at that moment. You can kind of change Yeah, I'm in an interesting place right now. During the during the A quarantine where
13:02
I had about four projects that I'm writing on. And one of them I'm the book writer for and one of them I'm writing music for and one of them I'm writing everything for and one of them, I'm writing something that I'm also going to be in. And so I have been able to divide up my days and say, Well, I can I'm pretty good to it like a sign of giving myself homework and saying, well, tomorrow, I need to get this done. So I'm going to work on that if you know, I might fail I may sit down and just completely blow it and get nothing right. It is really helpful to have several things to work on. That's another bit of advice. Like don't put all of your Don't try to get everything into one piece. Yeah, it's never gonna happen and you're gonna drive yourself crazy and you're gonna stop because you're gonna think that you're failing.
Mindy Cohn 13:44
Yeah. What, what inspires you and what is inspiring to you right in this moment, which is a very challenging time to actually be inspired. Maybe, I don't know.
13:57
It's such a beautiful moment to Listen to other people's very specific stories. And, you know, I think writers can get fixated on one topic and a lot of times that one topic is oneself. And sometimes it's not sometimes your mortgage and you write incessantly about the royal family, you know, it's like, I'm not gonna keep writing about the Queen of England or whatever, right? But it's really nice in this moment to force yourself to stop and listen, and just
14:33
let someone else's story. Movie.
Mindy Cohn 14:37
Yeah, well, I mean, I find for me in what I do other performances, inspire me watching other people do what they do, but they're even sometimes a sporting event, a live sporting event. I'm so moved.
14:50
You know, I love going to sporting events.
Mindy Cohn 14:53
Yeah, anything live, whatever that means. For me, it's very inspiring to me when someone you you actually See in the moment doing what they love doing and that they're super been doing it.
15:04
My friend Santina took me to the UFC fights which I thought wow way. No, that's like the hardcore like people getting bloody. I was actually there I was I was at UFC fights in great like right my friend present he knows in our world, the trainer, brilliant guy and he he invited me to come with him. We were right down amongst all the fighters and just like hanging out and we were there the night when we were gonna say his name when Donald Trump came in that you didn't remember that in the news maybe like seven or eight months ago when I came to UFC and, and there was a big debate whether people were booing more or cheering more, right when he walked
15:44
in my voice to one particular side of that,
Mindy Cohn 15:46
yes. Thank you for playing. Yes.
15:50
But anyway, the point was, it was a very moving experience watching UFC fights and I was surprised that I was not I mean, maybe not crying but that's it. sensation of crying watching people very moved because it is an intense skill that you know you know you could see the pain and the agony and the the humility building up
Mindy Cohn 16:14
how operations to
16:16
preparation to arrive at that moment and then whatever happens whether you win or you are so beaten and bloodied that you are knocked out that the next day you're going to do it again. You're going to just like go back to the gym.
Mindy Cohn 16:28
Yeah, it's like the current day Gladiator. Yeah,
16:32
yeah. Yeah. And and that it seemed even though it was so violent. There was respect for the other fighter even if even if there was a lot of bravado and performative ya know, all this like, posturing there was still restraint for the other side. And yeah,
Mindy Cohn 16:54
so I'm not to be tangential Trudy, but you know, that's part of who I am. Um, What week were you in performances at the Belasco with girl from the North Country? Because I know you had to have the open and I know that. I mean it was. It was not long before When was your last show? Do you remember?
17:13
Yeah, I remember. We. We opened we had a month of previews. Right. And then we we officially opened on a Thursday. Okay, then. That weekend, we made the cast recording. And then you did yeah. We went. Yeah. So Thursday show Friday, Saturday, recording Sunday, Monday. And then on Wednesday, that was the last day. So we did six official performances and then close. Wow. Lucky we. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we were lucky. Because six the musical six they were getting ready to perform their opening night performance were like, Oh, yeah, they're like putting their costumes on. I think
Mindy Cohn 18:00
now is you you may not know the answer to this and rumors at least here are you know that that you know not till January if that but everybody's shooting towards January but is there going to be a backup in theaters? I mean are you guys going to get to go right back or have as the theater contracted for a new show? Like how is that going to work? Do you even know anything? What do you do give it to me? I
18:27
know I know.
Mindy Cohn 18:29
I know don't don't break a confidence because I know you have inside scoop but but I just met Whitney can share to the audiences. What
18:37
I what our producers have told us as it has is that we're growth in the north country is coming back whenever Broadway. Again, it's coming back. I don't but nobody knows when that really is. I might I know people are saying January some people are saying not to the spring and in some I've heard through the rumor mills and not I don't actually have any information here. I've heard To rumor Mills, like some shows will open in March, but some won't open until the following fall or you know, and ultimately, I don't think anybody knows
Mindy Cohn 19:09
anything. No. And I think like television and film to a lot of things are just going to be scrapped or tabled for a while. Um, so I know I know it's gonna be different for every show, but I'm excited because as you know, when I was able to see your insane performance and the play at the public, I told you backstage that you will be winning a Tony and I'm sticking to that. And I'm allowed to say it and you're allowed to not have a reaction but I yeah, long time coming, but like this is it. This is a Tod without question. It's, it's, it's a showstopper and I encourage everyone once we are able to go back and sit in those seats to go catch girlfriend, country. Okay, that was an aside. So, um, yes, you have told me that you have all these other shows that you're doing. But do you? I know that you take days off, but what would be the hobby? What do you like to do to decompress or to unplug or just live your life as Todd?
20:10
Well, I'm a pretty introverted guy My husband is is a social butterfly. And he's sort of becomes the mayor of whatever space we
Mindy Cohn 20:20
inhabit, I understand.
20:24
And so
20:28
actually, you know, kind of being forced to stay at home is not my least favorite thing in the world. I I like to read. I don't know, I have like a stat. I carry giant stacks of books with me. And I'm like, I'm gonna read these books before the summer's over so I'm doing a lot of that. I'm gardening for the first time in my life. Oh, yeah. I'll send you a picture. We put we built these that we had somebody build these beautiful, raised garden boxes. Yeah, yeah. So I've been every day Wandering out and like cutting lettuce and making salads and watering the flowers. We planted some trees and yeah, so
Mindy Cohn 21:07
missing you know what people need to know too like I turned into a farm girl so I'm all for it. Yeah, I'm really impressed.
21:14
I need to FaceTime you more and say what do I do? Because I know you'll have the answer.
Mindy Cohn 21:18
I have a very black thumb so don't bother consulting me it will be dead. Yeah. I literally in your house? Well, yes, because my boyfriend is very, very good at cultivating things that grow and live. And I pretty much literally have a giant stick of Manzanita because I went to the store and finally was like, I'm spending so much money in they're all dying, like, have you considered a dead tree? I was like, Is that a thing? It's a thing. Interesting. And that's what I did.
21:48
Apparently, I looked apart because I was out there one day, breaking things and offering people kale if they wanted. We had a friend Tommy, he grew up on a farm in Nebraska. Mark was oh Knowing
Mindy Cohn 22:03
that you are an actor and we perpetrate the fraud like nobody's business, not even fraud. We, we live it. It's it's And so yeah,
22:12
yeah, exactly. I put the right hat on, you put the right hat on and you're a gardener.
Mindy Cohn 22:17
Board job is key. Um, you brought up growing up in Nebraska. Yes. But does your you know where you grew up and in whom you grew up around? Did that help create your aesthetic or it has nothing to do with your aesthetic at all?
22:32
I was thinking of this the other day. I had a very good friend who's still a very good friend. In fact, you met her in Cincinnati. You met my friend Shannon, she now lives in Cincinnati.
Mindy Cohn 22:46
Where you're doing hedvig Sorry, I have to travel mug. Yeah. Right.
22:51
And she and I were, I mean, kind of like almost cliche. We were kind of like the nerdy out ciders and Tiny little town or I don't know, like I was the gay kid and she was the, like, smart Speech and Debate girl and we were painting sets for the theater, you know, like this that you get? Yeah. I would say the way that my hometown influenced me is that everybody's really nice and kind. I mean, it's kind of like sweet. And so the good side of that is like, I sort of wrap around. Right? But yeah, people being very nice, which I feel like is a quality I tried to pick up at the bad side of that is, there's a lot of passive aggression around that to like that, you know, the flip side of that is like, not asking for what you want, but then sort of assuming that people are just going to pick up on what you want. You never said what you wanted. Right? Then you have no reason to be resentful, but it's your own. The whole thing we should ask my therapist, but
Mindy Cohn 23:53
no, it's ringing your chin in my life. Yes. I know. That's gone. Yeah.
23:58
Yeah. But I would say Say, but I would say what's really carried through is the kind of bond that Shannon and I created with each other and feeling like we can be creative in spite of a lot of adversity we were facing or you know, I saw I I do I feel like I'm grateful where I came from. And definitely, I feel Midwestern. I'd be like, I can't shake it. I can't shake Midwestern.
Mindy Cohn 24:24
No, but you are also so such intrinsically a New Yorker. I just have to say, yeah, I mean, you. Yeah. When I think of you, I know where you're from. And I know your background, but you're a New Yorker. But shower. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Um, are you guys planning on heading back into the city anytime soon now that la has taken the place of the number one place that we're all where we were in March, I mean, but New York has finally opened up. Um, are you guys planning on going back to the city or have you sort of just said, you know, tell what tell we're needed.
24:57
Well, it's until we're needed. I mean, we we been talking about staying up here for as long as we need. But there's something that might be taking me back to the city, which I can't say what it is because it hasn't been accounts, but I'm going to, I'm going to text it to you. I'm going to text you right now. Oh my god. You have your phone on
Mindy Cohn 25:18
that I think I know. But while you're doing that, I'll just give our audience a little business and remind them to head to Monday's with monday.com. To check out the podcast. You can connect to it on every major podcast player, even major network, as well as see show notes about our guests. Todd, you'll also be able to find a connection to our YouTube if you'd like to watch the episode. If you do watch it, please subscribe, hit the thumbs up. Give us a comment. We're always reading those and we're always appreciative of those. And I also wanted to say that and Christian yes now Yes, will you We surprise Todd with our surprise. Yeah, yes. Today's episode is actually sponsored by Todd allman.com where you will be able to listen to numerous songs. And perhaps understand why we both believe Todd songs and voice are simply the best. We need everyone to listen to the magnificent stylings and the sublime composer, lyricist and performers we encourage you to head to Todd almonds.com we'll also have that link on the website under the show notes so you can connect there if you can't remember it or just want to quickly
26:20
Oh, my God, thank you Christian, of course, and we just keep
Mindy Cohn 26:23
giving we just keep giving. Oh my god. Okay, so I you just texted me that and i'm i'm gonna poop in my pants. Okay.
26:36
I wish
Mindy Cohn 26:37
you know, it's fine. You understand, like set visit will be happening like I'm coming in more ways than one. Okay. My pants if I was wearing them, I literally haven't put pants on in days. Maybe TMI. But anyway, um, yeah. Looking back,
26:57
so we might go back for them. You might Yeah, that would be
Mindy Cohn 26:59
that Wouldn't be worth going back for I I have fingers crossed and rubbing a Buddha belly and lighting a candle and everything I need to do for you. What if and I know there's many because we all have failures or whatever you disappointments, it doesn't have to be failing, but what is one that sticks out to you that after you came out of it? which most of them are you sort of got a different brass ring or something but is there one that you can share? To sort of motivate all of us
27:27
there was this there was a year you know, things can line up in a really exciting way or in a not so exciting way but sometimes they line up and you think oh my god this is happening and this and then this and it's going to be the greatest year of my life infinite change every Yeah, um, I had actually thinking of two different examples maybe I'll tell you about but there was this one year this was maybe a decade ago where I had like three big shows that I had written and for whatever reason, they all lined up and they were all happening and and two of them Were one was in New York City and one was in at Yale Rep. And so they were near enough to New York City where it was going to be reviewed by big papers. And both of those shows in New York for like, trashed, like, we got the worst possible reviews, people hated them. And after the first one, I was really disappointed. And then I was excited about the second show and that it was even worse. running outside. Oh my god, I remember walking outside into Tompkins Square Park, it was living in East Village, and just I needed to breathe. And it just started pouring rain. And I thought it was so over the top. I was crying in Tompkins Square Park and pouring rain because my name was mud in the New York Times No, my second time for the second time in like two months. And that was a very low point. But that I actually learned so much and actually I don't actually think that the they were wrong is the is the beautiful thing that I learned. I mean It was, it wasn't like I. Now when I look back, I don't think, Oh, it was so just those shows were brilliant and they should have been praised. Right. But I, I don't think they were wrong. I think they were flawed and problematic. But it forced me to really look at those pieces and figure out where I'd gone wrong. And in both instances, it was like, I didn't work hard enough. I didn't push myself. I wasn't true to what I've set out to do. I compromised a million times. I didn't stand my ground. I didn't push myself. I didn't you know, there was like, there were a lot of things I learned from each of them. But at the time, it was really depressing, yeah, and imagined, know what to do. And then they both died. And you know what, in the theater in the theater world, you really rely on the next chance. Yeah, like a film when it's done. Or it's not like a novel where it's done, like, theater is a living thing and you realize, okay, I've made all these mistakes, but in the next production, it's gonna I'm going to change it and then both, both of those shows really died. I mean, they were never seen again. So that was tough. And then another moment where I feel like I did stand up for myself as I was dating this guy. And I'd been working on shows with his Theatre Company and, and we did a big show and I thought again, I was gonna change everything. This is the launching moment. And of course it was that show was really good, but it didn't really nothing happened. And this guy was dating said, you know, this theater thing isn't really working out for you. Do you ever think about trying something else? Ouch. And it was was really painful. And I went broke and I didn't have anything on the horizon. I you know, and I could have said, I could have said yes, you're correct. I'm going to change, but I didn't. And I broke up with them. And yes, I you No, I, a little tiny crumb came my way. And I took it. And that led to a bunch of changes.
Mindy Cohn 31:06
I mean, I love that story, because while I relate to all of them, but that specifically, I've been asked numerous times, and it's one of those things where my answer has always been, I don't want to do anything else. You know, I'm not the kind of actor that I can't do anything else. That's not how I was raised. And that's not in my DNA. But I don't want to do anything else. And I just think if you start to tell the universe, that you're into something else, that's what will be given to you and I have just been very steadfast to, by the way to the painful observation of people. Right, it's very hard to be a relative or friend of an artist who has, you know, breaks whatever you want to call them, right? It's much easier to say to them, do you want to do something else? So I really identify with that, Todd.
31:54
It's a it is a kind of business where people who aren't in it don't appreciate a doubt. Don't sympathize with that feeling because they don't write or they don't empathize with it because they don't experience it. But it is a painful Yes, it is a painful feeling of people saying so what do you what are you working on? And your answer is nothing. Right and like that hurt
Mindy Cohn 32:14
myself. So I mean, you are a creator of your but something my family has always had an incredibly hard time emotionally with is the fact that working and and you and I both share and most people we know share a work ethic healthy, you know that it's so subjective. It's not up to us. There's so many tears of first trying to get in and then this person says yes, and this person has to say yes. And then ultimately this person has to say yes. And then maybe you get it, you know, it's like to try and have the temperament and for me to keep my nature of optimism and creativity which I know we share. I think it's one of the reasons I fell madly in love with you is the it's I'm excited by life even in this moment. There is A sense of what's next that I find very exciting and optimistic
33:06
when you're so good at you then produce or you help people really like you're so good at Yeah. At channeling your positive creative impulses into actual work and so like, you know, your a lot of academics sit still and sit on their hands or you know, not know what to do but you are like, always working, always making things and
Mindy Cohn 33:26
always. I love that about you. Thank you ditto. Ditto. Am I allowed? Are you allowed to talk about just since the documentary aired? Are you allowed to talk about that project that you know what I'm saying about?
33:42
I can say I can say that. I think it's okay for me to say that David Foster and I are working on.
Mindy Cohn 33:49
I exhaled Yes. Yeah.
33:52
Yeah. We haven't. He's talked about it. He's talked about it in the press. Yes.
Mindy Cohn 33:56
Many times by the way. Yeah. Yeah, like Like, like everything else be damned. This is on my list of number one thing I want to put my energy towards he's made that incredibly clear.
34:08
Yeah, yeah. And so obviously it's theater and which is Yeah, we just kind of hit this when we're supposed to do a huge workshop this summer it was on the books it was going to be our big big big big like, invite everyone we're doing it but the good news about that is we feel like we're in a place where we can we can share it and we're ready to ready to share it. Oh god. I don't know what that looks like now.
Mindy Cohn 34:33
Sure. I am always kind of wowed by you know, as introverted as you are and very what's what's interesting is your world is huge and tiny at the same time. You have a very close group of friends and family, you you know, you live that way. It's your comfort zone, but you're also obviously part of a huge, huge community, how many incredible people you get to work with you know it, I get green with envy except that I know you so all I am is thrilled for you. The envy kind of goes out the window because I'm not a six foot five tall white man, but you know, that has your talent. But um, it is kind of amazing. Do you ever step back, Todd in moments of reflection and pinch yourself? Yeah. And I know the best is yet to come. We all know this. We live in that. But I mean, really, it's do you do that? I really
35:24
do. I do. I mean, I think of all like moving to New York. And this, this. There's a group of us in my mind who arrived in New York on the same day, and we obviously didn't, but it just like,
Mindy Cohn 35:39
it's like, romantic.
35:42
And every once in a while, I will look to my left and I'll look to my right and I'll see them or I'm like working with them. And I do feel this sense of like camaraderie with this group of people that are all my age and we all kind of like got off the bus. And we lost one. Michael Friedman. You know, when he passed a couple of years ago, he's one of the guys that I feel like, Oh, we got off the bus on the same day. Yes. And I do feel incredibly grateful and I let I like this image of kind of arms linked with this group of people that we're all just like holding on and still doing it and still trying and then it's really great to watch. watch them succeed and like open the newspaper and like, there he is. There she is. Oh, my God. Right. And like, then I'll have a turn at that. And someone will all gather because we lost Michael or will, you know, be at the party for that person? Yeah, the community in New York is it's so special. And I feel lucky. And it's accidental. I mean, I didn't know who my classmates would be. Here we are.
Mindy Cohn 36:50
Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, it's my dream. We talk about it all the time. That eight shows a week. I'm I'm dying to age into the Geraldine page. Next up myself or the Ruth Gordon of myself, I'm just, you know, I'm so ready. And my friends around me are like, Hey, you got a couple decades. Just relax. Um, but yeah. I, uh, I still adore you to happen, but yeah, oh, well, it's happening. Yeah, yeah, um, I adore you so Todd and i, you inspire me and you're truly one of the most talented human beings on this planet. And I know I'm just so excited that I'll be sitting like definitely loesche maybe not for throngs of fans Christian but I will definitely be Lowe's
37:40
or can't wait for you to see it on Broadway it's it's even gets the show has grown so much and Connors done these rewrites. Yeah,
Mindy Cohn 37:48
and a couple new cast members. So and I'm of course so ready for you and Mayor to get your deserved everything and more and I just want to thank you so much for taking the time and It has done me well so I know it will do our listeners well to see and hear you like crazy. Thank you for joining us so much. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, very talented taught all month. Oh yeah
