HTDE: Broadway Musicals And Best In Show

Summary

Main Topic: The main topic of this podcast episode is a mix of various questions and discussions, including a Broadway star's experience running the New York City Marathon and performing in two shows, a question about shaving one's chest, and a mystery surrounding the lyrics of the song "Bye Bye Birdie."

Participants:

Ian Chillag
Mike Danforth
Jordan Litz (Broadway star)
Crystal Murray (professional dog handler)
Ann-Margaret (singer and actress)

Key Points:

Jordan Litz, a Broadway star, shares his experience running the New York City Marathon and then performing in two shows, including "Wicked."
A listener, Sarah, asks for advice on how to shave her husband's hairy chest, and the hosts discuss the best way to do so.
A mystery surrounding the lyrics of the song "Bye Bye Birdie" is discussed, with Ann-Margaret confirming that she sings "Bye Bye Bur He" instead of "Bye Bye Birdie" in the song.
Crystal Murray, a professional dog handler, shares her expertise on poodle grooming and provides advice on how to trim Jacob's (Sarah's husband) hair.

Takeaways:

The hosts discuss the importance of taking care of oneself after a marathon, with Jordan Litz sharing his experience of performing in two shows after running the marathon.
The hosts provide advice on how to shave one's chest, with Crystal Murray suggesting using a short blade to create a sculpted look.
The mystery surrounding the lyrics of "Bye Bye Birdie" is solved, with Ann-Margaret confirming that she sings "Bye Bye Bur He" instead of "Bye Bye Birdie."
The hosts discuss the competitive nature of dog shows, with Crystal Murray sharing her experience of grooming dogs for competitions.

Host: So I was playing the song Bye Bye Birdie for my kid, you know the song from the musical Bye Bye Birdie. And I was playing the original cast recording with Ann-Margaret.

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Host: Okay so my daughter, uh, she got really into it, she wanted to hear it again and again. And then I heard her singing it to herself, and she was singing Bye Bye Bur He.

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Host: Okay, okay, and I was like, what, why are you singing Bye Bye Bur He? And she's like, that's what the song says.

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Host: So we listen back, listen to this, right? Sure enough, she sings through the whole song, right? The song called Bye Bye Birdie, she sings Bye Bye Bur He for the whole song.

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Host: How has that gotten unnoticed before? Is it just the power of the title, like overwhelms the sub, you're like, oh, I guess, yeah, I hear it, that's right, birdie.

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Host: I don't like it, I don't get it. I feel like maybe it's like a thing where it's like easier to sing that way. So uh, really there's no choice but to call Ann-Margaret who sang the song 60 years ago.

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Host: Hello, hello, Ann-Margaret, yes, that's me. How are you?

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Ann-Margaret: I feel great.

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Host: What do you guys have to? Your neck? That's right. That's about right.

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Host: Well, Ann-Margaret, we wanted to ask you, my daughter discovered that in Bye Bye Birdie, you sing Bye Bye Bur He instead of Birdie.

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Ann-Margaret: And I was just wondering, where does that come from?

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Ann-Margaret: From me? That's interesting that she would get it.

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Host: Yeah, so why why that choice? It's it's interesting, was it does it make it easier to sing or or or what?

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Ann-Margaret: It's just my my quirk, that's just the way I hear it.

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Host: Oh, funny, did anyone else ever ask you about it?

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Ann-Margaret: No, never, after all these years, what a mystery we've got, we've uncovered and solved all in one conversation.

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Host: I know. Birdie. Actually, I say the D, but I say it with he. Birdie. With he behind it.

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Ann-Margaret: Birdie. With he behind it.

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Host: Anne-Marie, you still got it. You still got it. We can hear it right there. Good. I'm so glad.

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Host: This is How to Do Everything. I'm Ian. And I'm Mike.

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Host: On today's show, How to Shave Your Chest. But first...

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Host: Almost 60,000 people completed the New York City Marathon last weekend. And on the line with us now is one of those runners, Jordan Litz.

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Jordan Litz: So, Jordan, why don't you tell us what you did after the race?

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Jordan Litz: Well, I ran the New York City Marathon, and then I proceeded to perform Eero and Wicked on Broadway twice.

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Host: Twice? Yes. I finished the race about 12, 1250. Um, and then our half hour call for the show was one 30.

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Jordan Litz: So I did a little press at the finish line and then walked straight to the theater, got into my, uh, shower, tried to loosen up as best I could.

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Jordan Litz: And then, and then walked on and did wicked.

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Host: Wow. That is amazing. I, it was wild. I've run a marathon and the thing I wanted to do after running a marathon is absolutely nothing.

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Jordan Litz: Like I couldn't imagine moving, let alone moving in front of people.

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Host: And you were, I guess, you were dancing, right?

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Jordan Litz: Yeah. I mean, yeah, Fiero, his title song is Dancing Through Life.

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Host: So, you know, you're dancing around, you're leading the students and teaching them dance moves, climbing on statues, jumping off the statues.

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Jordan Litz: What was the point in the either performance where you were most aware of the marathon in your body?

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Jordan Litz: There are two pretty big moments for me where I become hyper aware of any residual effects from running or just how my body feeling that day.

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Jordan Litz: Not from running, one is kneeling and singing as long as your mind for five six minutes.

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Jordan Litz: Just for some reason having the compression on your knees and your ankles and your quads for that long and then having to try and stand up.

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Jordan Litz: Yeah, after you've been kneeling for so long is uh is all always a gut check that moment.

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Host: It was that one when I was like, okay, am I going to be able to be able to stand up?

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Jordan Litz: And fortunately, it was totally fine. I didn't even think about it.

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Jordan Litz: And then the other one was swinging in on the rope because that was the only super high impact moment of the show.

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Jordan Litz: A lot of, you know, there's a lot of dance steps. There's a lot of running up and down stairs. There's a lot of jumping and things like that.

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Jordan Litz: But that one was the one that I was thinking, if I'm going to get injured and I'm going to snap an Achilles tendon right now, it's going to be this moment.

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Host: So, you know, I just tried to swing in and land as gently as I could and absorb the landing.

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Jordan Litz: And I think even the guards were watching me come in and, and hoping and praying that I was going to be just fine.

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Host: And, and, uh, fortunately it worked out just fine.

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Jordan Litz: Is it, is it possible, Jordan, that if you, uh, if you'd been kneeling for five minutes or whatever and you couldn't get up, that you could have figured out how to make it make sense that your character just sits down on the ground from that point on?

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Jordan Litz: There's absolutely no way because I mean the rest of the scene is me like trying to get Elphaba to safety, you know, I'm telling her like you gotta go to my castle in Kiamako, you'll be safe there.

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Jordan Litz: And and then at the end of the scene this cyclone comes and and whips me up um and it goes into a blackout.

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Host: So I mean there's I can't even imagine how embarrassing that would be I don't know what I would do.

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Jordan Litz: There's no way.

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Host: Is it, I can imagine that it's hard to get excited for a Sunday where you're doing two shows, like for a Sunday matinee.

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Jordan Litz: What's it like then for that second show after you've kind of come off the post-marathon high, then you still have to do a whole nother run?

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Jordan Litz: Yeah. I mean, I've always said that Sunday matinee is my least favorite show of the week.

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Jordan Litz: You're just kind of, you're almost at the finish line, but you're not quite there and you're feeling really fatigued.

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Jordan Litz: It's the seventh show of the week. You just did a double the day before.

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Jordan Litz: So it's already a tough show anyway. And then you throw 26.2 miles on top of that.

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Host: And that just makes it really pretty grueling.

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Jordan Litz: But yeah, you're right. The adrenaline had completely worn off at that point.

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Jordan Litz: My wife and daughter came to hang out with me in between shows.

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Jordan Litz: And we just chilled in the dressing room.

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Jordan Litz: I played with my daughter, put my legs up on the wall, tried to drain the blood out of them.

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Jordan Litz: To kind of reset the system.

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Jordan Litz: Um, and then I think maybe because the adrenaline had worn off and I knew that it was the last show of the week and the last little hurdle that I had to get over.

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Jordan Litz: It was one of the best shows I've had in weeks to be honest.

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Jordan Litz: Um, yeah, I, I was just, I was free to, to just give whatever I had left in the tank.

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Jordan Litz: Um, I finished, I finished dancing through life and I was like, that's a darn good performance. I'm so happy with that.

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Host: So yeah, I mean, maybe I need to run a marathon before every two-show day.

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Host: There you go, folks. Yeah. You got to PR and wick it.

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Host: Exactly.

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Host: I feel like your tone there insulted my daughter's childlike curiosity.

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Host: I don't like it. Not at all. Not at all.

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Host: To you and your family, I have nothing but respect.

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Host: Hey, Sarah and Jacob, what can we help you with?

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Sarah: My question is, when I'm shaving my chest, I've got, I'm pretty hairy.

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Sarah: I want to make sure I get everything. But then I just don't know really when to stop, right?

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Sarah: You got the abs and up through the pecs and stuff.

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Sarah: But how far do I need to go over my shoulders?

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Sarah: I'm not going to shave all the way down my arm.

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Sarah: I mean, there was just something I was thinking about.

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Host: Huh. Yeah, I guess if someone did have abs and pecs, that would be a concern.

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Sarah: Yeah, so Jacob is very fit. He's very in shape and he works hard.

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Sarah: And I think I kind of tactfully suggested to him a few years ago that he might consider shaving his test to just show off all his hard work and effort.

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Sarah: But now it's a part of the routine, but he's just not sure.

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Host: Where do you stop when shaving? Is there a proper protocol?

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Sarah: I feel that this feels like a very personal question.

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Sarah: But so are we, if you are, Jacob, unshaven, are we talking about a pretty thick coat from over the shoulders and down the back?

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Host: Roughly for me, it's not all the way down the back, but definitely my entire front is a thick coat.

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Host: Entire front.

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Sarah: Do you have a beard?

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Sarah: I don't maintain a beard.

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Sarah: I try to shave my face and my stomach regularly, chest area.

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Host: Okay. So if we visualize you now when you've shaved your chest, shoulders, abs, does it look like you're wearing a flesh-colored sweater?

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Host: A sweater vest.

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Host: A flesh sweater vest.

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Sarah: Yeah. That is not something that I ever imagined previously.

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Sarah: But yeah, my arms are still hairy.

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Sarah: There's also quite a process, too, for the hair cleanup because you can't put it down a drain or a sink.

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Sarah: So it has to like flop onto a towel on the floor and then get thrown out.

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Sarah: It's a whole process I just don't think we're doing it correctly.

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Host: Yeah, it's like maybe a a pet spa would be oh that's interesting yeah that's a great idea like a dog groomer.

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Host: Yeah they have all the equipment

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Crystal Murray: Hi, my name is Crystal Murray, hyphenate class, and I am a professional dog handler.

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Crystal Murray: And so we go to dog shows every weekend, and we have the fortunate job of showing beautiful standard poodles.

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Crystal Murray: We showed a very exceptional standard poodle named Siba, and she won the very prestigious Westminster Kennel Club.

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Crystal Murray: And you groomed Siba for that win, for that performance.

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Crystal Murray: Absolutely, yep.

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Crystal Murray: Could you describe, Siba, what Siba looks like?

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Crystal Murray: Is Siba a she?

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Crystal Murray: Yes, Siba is a she.

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Crystal Murray: She is a black standard poodle female.

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Crystal Murray: And this is, for someone who isn't maybe that versed in how showing dogs works, This is the sort of poodle that we imagine when we imagine kind of the fancy poodle with the kind of balls at the feet and the big kind of pompadour.

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Crystal Murray: So actually what I used to, what I like to tell people is so Germany kind of developed the breed, but then the French got them.

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Crystal Murray: That's why we have what we have today.

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Host: So wait, what did they look like before France got involved?

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Crystal Murray: A little shaggy, a little less pretty, more working, less pampered pet kind of thing.

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Host: Can I ask, actually, I just said the little balls at their feet.

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Crystal Murray: What is the term for that when you actually know what you're talking about?

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Crystal Murray: Yeah. So actually, I can give you a super quick rundown on it.

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Crystal Murray: Those little balls are called their bracelets.

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Crystal Murray: The ones that they have over their hips are called their hip rosettes.

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Crystal Murray: Um and then the tail is usually just a tail pom-pom type thing.

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Crystal Murray: So they've got their four bracelets the hip rosettes the body we usually call a pack and then they literally have a top knot a top knot.

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Crystal Murray: Yeah so like obviously back in the day they would have just tied the hair on top of their head into a knot so it didn't get into their eyes.

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Crystal Murray: And now we do it with elastics and hairspray, and it quite a deal

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Host: So as you heard we got this call from Sarah and Jacob.

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Host: Jacob I think is to men what Siba is to poodles.

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Host: He is, as we understand, a perfect specimen.

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Host: But he is, he's very hairy.

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Host: So he's not able to fully show off the definition that he has worked so hard to achieve.

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Crystal Murray: Using your expertise from the world of poodle grooming, what would your advice for Jacob be?

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Crystal Murray: Well, there's a couple different things you can do.

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Crystal Murray: I mean, if you really want to see any of the sculpting, chiseling, contours kind of like that, you would want a really short blade.

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Crystal Murray: You know, with the poodles, we can clipper them at different lengths.

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Crystal Murray: So you get that different effect there.

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Host: So wait, if I understand, it could be possible to sort of not do a complete hair removal, but actually use some hair remaining to do a little contouring, maybe add some shadow to the abs and pecs and actually enhance what Jacob is working with their muscle-wise.

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Crystal Murray: Yes, absolutely.

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Host: Oh, wait, does Siba have abs?

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Crystal Murray: Um well not really she had a litter of puppies so she's got she's got a mom's body now good for her so yeah

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Host: You can you can almost create kind of like some shadowing or whatever

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Crystal Murray: Can I ask so when you're um when you're at a a competition a show um are you like backstage doing it right before they go on or is it

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Crystal Murray: Yep yep there's a whole grooming area for all the different competitors and their dogs.

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Crystal Murray: Are you nervous back there in that kind of final groom?

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Crystal Murray: Sometimes.

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Crystal Murray: I mean, the regular shows, it's just kind of a routine thing.

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Crystal Murray: For the show like Westminster that we did, I was a wreck.

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Host: What's the vibe like back there? Is it pretty competitive?

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Crystal Murray: Like, do you see all the other dogs?

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Crystal Murray: Yeah, you can see all the other dogs.

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Crystal Murray: It's competitive because, you know, you're competing against people from really all over the world.

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Crystal Murray: And it's nerve-wracking because if you screw up, it's like you have no one to blame but yourself, right?

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Crystal Murray: So it's a lot.

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Host: But do you see another dog back there and you're like, oh, that top knot is phenomenal.

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Crystal Murray: Oh, absolutely.

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Crystal Murray: Yeah, we totally do that.

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Host: Really? We're like, oh, did you see?

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Crystal Murray: She must have been really nervous.

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Crystal Murray: She just trimmed all the hair off.

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Host: Yeah, okay.

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Host: So you can tell like, oh, they're not going to make it.

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Host: Well, that does it for this week's show.

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Host: What'd you learn, Ian?

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Ian: It's weird how much Broadway we ended up with in today's show.

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Ian: Oh, yeah.

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Host: I did. I had no intention of this happening, but we started with Ann-Margaret and Bye Bye Birdie, one of the classics.

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Ian: Talked to Jordan, who's currently starring in Wicked on Broadway.

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Ian: And Jacob was super hairy, which is like the musical hair.

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Host: I learned that maybe the best way to recover from a marathon is to dance for three hours, take a short break, and then dance for another three hours.

Summary

Show Notes

Transcript