Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine

Tracy Spiridakos was born in Canada and spent a portion of her childhood in her native Greece. Her family returned to Winnipeg but Tracy knew she wouldn't stay there long, eventually leaving solid employment at her parents Greek restaurant to move to Vancouver and pursue her dreams of acting.    She found success early on television series such as Supernatural and Being Human, but her breakout role was playing the lead role of Charlie Matheson on JJ Abrams' Revolution on NBC.    Since then she has shown her comedic side in Showtime's Episodes with Matt LeBlanc, as a femme fatale on A&E’s Bates Motel and has the mysterious ex-girlfriend of Lucas Till’s “MacGyver.”   Tracy currently stars as “Det. Hailey Upton” on the NBC hit show “Chicago PD”.  She lives in Chicago with her beloved Rottweiler, Nala. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shoshana Bean can be seen on Broadway this summer in the role of Jenna in the hit musical Waitress. Bean'slatest album Spectrum landed her at #1 on the Billboard Jazz Charts. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of Hairspray and starred as the first replacement for Elphaba in Wicked. Most recently, she appeared as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl and as Cee-Cee Bloom in the new musical adaptation of Beaches, for which she earned a Jeff Award Nomination for best lead actress in a musical.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On an early Sunday morning Tommy Kail and Ilana met in the quiet of the podcast booth to catch up about all the things!! From Hamilton to hair products Ilana and Tommy cover a lot of territory. Other topics discussed include Tommy's childhood  in the D.C. area, the pain of no longer being able to play sports, and of course his deep friendship and creative partnership with Lin Manuel Miranda. Thomas Kail won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Hamilton. Kail's Broadway credits include In the Heights (Tony nom.), Lombardi, Magic/Bird. Off-Broadway: Hamilton (the Public; Drama Desk, Lortel and Obie Awards), In the Heights (Callaway Award, Drama Desk/OCC noms), Randy Newman's Faust and The Wiz (City Center), Broke-ology and When I Come to Die (LCT), Family Furniture (The Flea, Drama Desk nom), The Tutors (2ST Uptown).  Other credits: Broke-ology (Williamstown), Once on This Island (Paper Mill) and In the Heights (national tour). Co-creator/director of hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Suprem

Maddie Corman joins Ilana this week on the podcast. Maddie’s career began when she appeared in the seminal 80's movies Seven Minutes in Heaven and Some Kind of Wonderful. Maddie was a series regular on “Mr. President”, “All American Girl” and “Almost There.” Guest /recurring roles include all 3 “Law & Orders”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Damages”, “The Good Wife”, “Person of Interest”, “Nurse Jackie”, “Girls”, “Divorce”, “Odd Mom Out”, “When We Rise”, “High Maintenance”, “Younger” and “Madame Secretary”. Films include: Wonderwheel, 5 Flights Up, Peace Love & Misunderstanding, Morning Glory, Ira & Abby, What Happens in Vegas, I Think I Do, Ford Fairlane and Swingers.  Upcoming: Maddie will play Lady Aberlin to Tom Hanks’ Mr. Rogers in A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood. Broadway: Next Fall, Picnic. Off-Broadway: The Babylon Line, Appropriate, Love Loss, etc. She wrote, co-directed and stars in How Was Your Day (Tribeca Film Fest “Watch this short” series). Maddie was a Playwright in Residence at NY Stage and Fil

Ilana interviews the three child actresses who star in The Ferryman on Broadway. MATILDA LAWLER -Broadway debut! Last fall, she starred opposite Richard Masur in The Net Will Appear at MST. Matilda plays Michaela McManus’ daughter in the upcoming The Block Island Sound by the McManus Brothers. Matilda also enjoys writing, design and cupcakes. Special thanks to David Doan, CESD, Mom, Lily, Richard and Dad. WILLOW MCCARTHY- made her professional and Broadway debut in the title role of Matilda. Last season she appeared on Broadway in 1984. She is in 6th grade. Much love and gratitude to her friends and family for their love and support, with a special shout out to her cousins, Amy and Lydia. Brian, Rachel, Ellen, and Jillian, thank you. BROOKLYN SHUCK - is originally from Lexington, KY. Broadway: Annie, Matilda, Tuck Everlasting, Les Misérables, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Regional: Randy Newman’s Faust, Beaches (Signature/Drury Lane). TV: “Rise,” “Instinct.” Thanks and love to my family, Nancy Carson and

Mandy Gonzalez possesses one of the most powerful and versatile contemporary voices of our time. She is currently starring in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton”. She is best known for her emotional portrayal of Nina Rosario in the Tony Award winning, Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway musical “In the Heights”, a role she originally created Off Broadway at 37 Arts and which received a Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble. She starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of “Wicked”, blowing the roof off of New York’s Gershwin Theatre each night as she belted out signature song “Defying Gravity” and for which she was rewarded with a Broadway.com Award for Best Replacement. Other Broadway roles include Princess Amneris in the Elton John and Tim Rice musical “Aida” and the Broadway show “Lennon” where she portrayed multiple roles including that of Beatles’ icon John Lennon. Mandy made her Broadway debut in Jim Steinman’s “Dance of the Vampires” starring opposite Michael Crawford.Mandy received an OBIE Award and overwhel

Marc Kudisch – Three-time Tony Award Nominee, Drama Desk Award winner and two-time Outer Critics Circle Award Nominee.  Film and Television: LATE NIGHT (Billy Kastner), THE TICK (Commander Ty Rathbone, Amazon), BILLIONS (Dr Gus, Showtime), MINDHUNTER (Roger Wade, Netflix), LIMITLESS, HOUSE OF CARDS (Senator Henry Mitchell, Netflix), UNFORGETTABLE, PERSON OF INTEREST, 27 EAST (Pilot); GOSSIP GIRL , BLUE BLOODS, SMASH, SEX AND THE CITY, BYE BYE BIRDIE (Conrad) for ABC TV, BREAK IN (Val) for Lifetime, ALL MY CHILDREN (ABC). Broadway: FINDING NEVERLAND (Charles Froman/Hook), HAND TO GOD (Pastor Greg), 9 TO 5 (Franklin Hart), CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (Baron Bomburst), THE APPLE TREE (Roundabout Theatre), ASSASSINS (The Proprietor, Roundabout Theatre), THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (Trevor Graydon), BELLS ARE RINGING (Jeff Moss), LaChiusa’s THE WILD PARTY (Jackie – Public Theater), THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (Chauvelin), HIGH SOCIETY (George Kittredge), DISNEY’S BEAUTY & THE BEAST (Gaston) and JOSEPH & THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR

ISABELLE HUPPERT is a multi-award winning screen and stage actress. Throughout her career Isabelle Huppert has worked with many French and international directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Haneke, Maurice Pialat, Patrice Chéreau, Olivier Assayas, Claire Denis, the Taviani brothers, David O’Russell, Marco Ferreri, Michael Cimino, Harl Hartley, Neil Jordan, Hong Sang Soo and more. Awards won include: a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Feature Films for her work in The Lacemaker, two Venice Film Festival Best Actress Awards for Claude Chabrol’s Story of Women and The Ceremony, Venice Film Festival’s Special Jury Lion d’Or for her performance in Patrice Chéreau’s Gabrielle and for her entire body of work; two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards for Claude Chabrol’s Violette and for Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher; in France she received the César (Best Actress Award) for Claude Chabrol’s The Ceremony and Paul Verhoeven’s Elle – a film for which she also received a Gotham Award, a Golden

Ilana sat down with the hosts of the podcast "Having A Night" - actresses Sophie von Haselberg and Ariana Venturi.Having A Night is a podcast dedicated to reviving the lost art of the dinner party. Sophie and Ari are obsessed with the art of throwing the "remember-it-forever-dinner party" and Ilana is terrified of having dinner parties so this was a perfect opportunity for Ilana to sit down with these two wonderful actresses who also are food lovers and expert entertainers and together they are going to help Ilana get over her fear of things not being "perfect" and to lean in to the real point of a dinner party which is to be with people you love! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Caitlin Kinnunen is currently starring on Broadway in The Prom. Born and raised in Washington State, she moved to New York when she was 16 to make her Broadway debut in Spring Awakening. She later appeared on Broadway in The Bridges of Madison County, on the first national tour of Next to Normal, and in numerous film and television projects including The Intern, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Sweet Little Lies, Younger, American Vandal, The Knick, and Law & Order: SVU. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How To Be More Chill explores how the extraordinary musical “Be More Chill” arrived on Broadway in Spring 2019 with unprecedented momentum. Hosted by Ilana Levine of Little Known Facts and Sam Maher YesBroadway, the podcast centers around deep-dive interviews with the show’s creators and cast members as they give you the behind-the-scenes scoop on how the show entered the international pop culture  zeitgeist on such a massive scale and how the impact of the show’s fandom brought the show to Broadway. Good luck being chill about this podcast - Sam and Ilana definitely weren’t! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mario Cantone, the celebrated New York stage actor and stand-up comedian gained critical acclaim with his Tony-nominated one-man show Laugh Whore, from its appearance at the Cort Theatre on Broadway to the Showtime Network special. He also starred on Broadway as SAM BYCK in the Tony-winning Assassins,by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, BUZZ in Terrence McNally's Tony award-winning dramatic comedy, Love! Valor! Compassion! All three of these hit shows were directed by four-time Tony-winner Joe Mantello.  His other Broadway credits include GIDGER, in The Violet Hour(original Broadway cast), and STEPHANO (opposite Patrick Stewart), in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Off-Broadway Cantone also originated the roles of TERRY in The Crumple Zone,directed by Jason Moore, and MATT inSteve, for the New Group, directed by Cynthia Nixon. He is currently starring in A Room Of My Own(opposite Ralph Macchio), at the Abingdon Theatre. The feature film from work, from Cantone, include “Quiz Show”, directed by Robert Redford, Son

In this episode Ilana sat down with her friend and the producer of the first play Ilana ever did in New York, Tony Award winner - Daryl Roth. Roth is an award-winning theatre producer and President of Daryl Roth Productions. She is honored to hold the singular distinction of producing seven Pulitzer Prize-winning plays: Anna in the Tropics; August: Osage County (2008 Tony Award); Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award); How I Learned to Drive; Proof (2001 Tony Award); Edward Albee’sThree Tall Women; and Wit. The proud recipient of ten Tony Awards and London’s Olivier Award, highlights of her over 100 award winning productions both on and off Broadway include: The Tony and Olivier Award winning musical Kinky Boots (Broadway, U.S. Tour, London, Toronto, Australia, Korea, Japan); Bea Arthur on Broadway; Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change; Closer Than Ever; Curtains; Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002 Tony Award); The Humans (2016 Tony Award); Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron’s Love, Loss, a

This weeks episode was recorded live at BroadwayCon 2019. In honor of Women's History Month, Ilana is joined by some other members of BroadwayMakers - all women- to share stories of how they took their passion for Broadway and turned it  into a successful business. Alisa Hurwitz, PsyD - a/k/a Dr. Drama is in private practice at The Counseling Center of Nashua where she has been a clinical psychologist for the past 7 years, specializing in working with individuals on the autism spectrum, providing structural family therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and therapy for LGBT individuals.  Jennifer Kahn is the founder and CEO of Scenery Bags, which uses retired  show backdrops to make fashionable clutches. Part of the proceeds go to the Theater Development Fund to take kids to the theater. Gillian Pensavalle - Gillian is the creator and host of The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast, the first Hamilton podcast to hit the airwaves in January of 2016, which has since earned the title of "The Official Hami

Amy was last seen onstage in Mike Bartlett’s play LOVE LOVE LOVE at the Roundabout theatre directed by Michael Mayer, for which she earned an Obie award. She made her Broadway debut in Wendy Wasserstein’s THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG.  Amy was nominated for two TONY awards as  best featured actress for her performances in UNCLE VANYA and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE. Other theatre credits include DETROIT by Lisa D’Amour’s Detroit,  at Playwrights Horizons, Amy is perhaps best known for her acclaimed performance in Ben Affleck’s GONE BABY GONE, for which she was earned an Academy Award nomination. She can be seen in the upcoming films, STRANGE BUT TRUE and LOST GIRLS. Other film credits include: BEAUTIFUL BOY,BIRDMAN, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, BRIDGE OF SPIES, GOOSEBUMPS, ABUNDANT ACREAGE AVAILABLE, LOUDER THAN BOMBS, DON VERDEAN, BREATHE IN,  CLEAR HISTORY, DEVIL’S KNOT ,WIN WIN, GREEN ZONE, JACK GOES BOATING, CHANGELING; BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, CAPOTE, DAN IN REAL LIFE, WAR OF THE WORLDS, and KEANE. Amy’s tele

Jason Moore most recently directed the Broadway musical The Cher Show, which showcases Cher's life story brought to the stage featuring her beloved chart-topping hits. Starring Stephanie J. Block, Teal Wicks, Micaela Diamond and Jarrod Spector, with costumes by designer Bob Mackie, The Cher Show will began previews in November 2018 at the Neil Simon Theatre prior to the opening night on December 3, 2018. In addition, he’s currently directing Superhero at the Second Stage theatre which is set to begin on January 31, 2019. Starring Kate Baldwin, Kyle Mcarthur and Bryce Pinkham, Superhero is a deeply human new musical about a fractured family, the mysterious stranger in apartment 4-B, and the unexpected hero who just might save the day. Moore’s feature directorial debut, Pitch Perfect, starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow, was both a critical and commercial success. Written by Kay Cannon, the film premiered in 2012 and follows Beca, a freshman at Barden University, who is cajoled into joining T

At BroadwayCon 2019 Ilana Levine (LUCY), Anthony Rapp ( CHARLIE BROWN),  Kristin Chenoweth (SALLY), BD Wong (LINUS), Roger Bart (SNOOPY) and director, Michael Mayer, reunited on stage at the Ziegfeld Ballroom to talk all things "You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown." Here is that event, recorded live, for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At BroadwayCon 2019, Ilana led a fascinating and illuminating panel on "The Making Of A Cast Recording" with the star of Head Over Heels, Bonnie Milligan and Kurt Deutsch, Senior VP at Warner/ Chappell Music. Bonnie Milligan recently made her broadway debut to critical acclaim starring in Head Over Heels. Previous to HOH, Bonnie was seen playing the original role of Pat in the first national tour of Kinky Boots and off broadway in God Bless You, Mr Rosewater (Encores!), Gigantic (Vineyard), Jasper in Deadland (Prospect). Television credits include the recurring role of Kathryn on Search Party (TBS), Happy! (Sci Fi) and the upcoming new series from Ben Stiller. Twitter: @beltingbonnie Instagram @beltingbons Kurt Deutsch is an actor, director, record producer and film producer. He is the Senior Vice President for Theatrical & Catalog Development for Warner/Chappell Music, and President of Sh-K-Boom Records, a division of Warner Arts Music. Upon his joining Warner/Chappell Music, CEO Jon Platt stated that “Kurt

Harry Hadden-Paton is a British actor renown for his work in the U.K. and recently in the U.S. on stage and screen, some of his credits include; LCT -  My Fair Lady (Theatre World Award; Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League nominations). West End includes The Importance of Being Earnest (Ian Charleson Award nom.), Flare Path and The Pride. Off-West End includes She Stoops to Conquer (National Theatre), Posh (Royal Court), The Changeling (Young Vic) and The Prince of Homburg (Donmar Warehouse). Film: The Little Stranger, About Time, The Hollow Crown, The Deep Blue Sea, In the Loop, La Vie en Rose. TV includes Bertie Pelham on “Downton Abbey,” Martin Charteris on “The Crown,” Gaston de Foix on “Versailles” and Hans von Enke on “Wallander.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patti Murin is an accomplished stage and television actress. Known for her acclaimed Broadway performances, Murin currently stars as ‘Anna’ in the Broadway production of Disney’s "Frozen." With lyrics written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Frozen is the timeless tale of a fearless princess who sets off on a journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer, and a naive snowman to find her estranged sister. Murin made her Broadway debut in 2007’s "Xanadu," in which she played the roles of Euterpe, Siren, and Thetis. Based on the film of the same name, "Xanadu" centers on a Greek muse who is sent to Earth to inspire Californians during the 1980s. Four years later, Murin played the lead of ‘Lysistrata Jones’ in 2011’s "Lysistrata Jones," a modern day adaptation of Aristophanes’ "Lysistrata." Soon after, Patti starred as ‘Glinda’ in the national tour of Broadway’s renowned play "Wicked." In addition to her performances on Broadway, Patti Murin has also starred in a wide range of off-Broadway theatrical produc