Show Notes
FIFTH DREAM GUEST! Susan Stroman is a 5 time Tony Award winning Broadway director and choreographer! Her most iconic work includes directing and choreographing The Producers (working alongside Mel Brooks), Contact (for which she won multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical), the 2000 Broadway revival of The Music Man, Bullets Over Broadway (alongside Woody Allen), New York, New York and many more! As a choreographer, she's responsible for the original choreography of the smash hit Crazy For You, the 1994 revival of Show Boat, Oklahoma starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Trevor Nunn, Liza at Radio City Music Hall, and Steel Pier to name a few! Her work on screen includes directing and choreographing the film adaptation of The Producers as well as choreographing numbers in Curb Your Enthusiasm! Upcoming, she'll be at the helm of the new Ahrens and Flaherty musical Little Dancer which will open in the West End in 2027 with many more projects in development! We get to talking about the biggest things she learned from Hal Prince , what she looks for in new work, why she's made a pointed effort to only work on new works and much more.
More from I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes
Steven Skybell has become most well known as Tevye in the Yiddish version of Fiddler on the Roof which has done multiple NYC runs since 2019. Next up he'll be starring Off Broadway in the new play Aftermath by David Zax which starts performances at A.R.T./NY’s Mezzanine Theatre with performances beginning October 19th! Most recently he was seen on Broadway alongide Bebe Neuwirth in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club as Herr Schultz! His other Broadway credits include The Full Monty, Wicked, Pal Joey and many more! He'll reprising the role of Tevye in the Yiddish version in 2027 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles!
Chad Beguelin is a Tony Award nominated lyricist whose work has been seen on stage and screen! Most notably him and writing partner composer Matthew Sklar wrote The Prom (which was adapted into a Ryan Murphy helmed Netflix film starring Meryl Streep), Elf the Musical and The Wedding Singer! He also wrote additional lyrics alongside Alan Menken for the Broadway adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin (still running on Broadway having recently celebrated 11 years) finishing the work of an inspiration of his, Howard Ashman! Most recently, he penned his first novel Showmance which was released in 2024! We get to discussing his entire career, the new musical he’s working on with the creative team of The Prom and more!
Larry Fuller is a Tony Award nominated choreographer who’s career in the theater spans decades on and offstage. His work as a choreographer includes the original Broadway productions of Evita, Sweeney Todd, and Merrily We Roll Along! As a performer himself, he was a swing in the original Broadway cast of West Side Story, the original production of The Music Man and Funny Girl starring Barbra Streisand! We get to discussing it all as well as his new book to be released in the spring of 2027!
Timothy Hughes is gearing up to star in the upcoming Broadway musical Wanted! Some previous Broadway credits include the original Broadway casts of Frozen and Hadestown, the latter earned him an article in The New York Times regarding his height (6'7"). Most recently on screen he was featured alongside Lisa Kudrow in the final season of HBO's The Comeback. Another major screen credit is The Greatest Showman, where he played Strong Man. You may have also heard his voice on Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis' concept album Warriors singing We Got You alongside Joshua Henry! Other Broadway credits include Chaplin, Sweeney Todd (2023) and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!
Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf is cellist with more than 20 Broadway credits. She currently plays in the pit of The Great Gatsby on Broadway! Some of her theater credits include the original Off Broadway production of The Last 5 Years, The Bridges of Madison County, A Little Night Music (2009 revival) and many others. In 2021, she released her debut album Music of Broadway For Cello and Piano which featured new orchestrations of music by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Alan Menken and many more! We discuss all of that, the quote Elaine Stritch gave her for her website, and even get a LIVE CELLO PERFORMANCE IN STUDIO!