well michael reiddle a great uh radio host you hear him every morning with len burman but a brilliant

author he's written the best books on broadway razzle dazzle singular sensation you should get these books

takes you through the whole history of broadway uh and it's great to have him with us michael reedle

how you doing hey i'm fine mark and i'm going to be seeing you tomorrow at the New York Athletic Club, where I'm speaking with my friend Rick Ellis, who wrote Jersey Boys, and I believe you're introducing us. So I'm looking forward to that. Oh, yeah, it's a major event tomorrow, the New York Athletic Club. No, it's one of the finest private clubs in New York City. And in the big ballroom there, which is sold out, it's you.

And it's Rick Ellis, I didn't realize it was, apparently it's just you on the poster, but

Rick Ellis is.

I decided to bring Rick along.

He's a great guy and he has a terrific story about how Jersey Boys came into being,

which is one of the more interesting stories I've ever heard on Broadway, so people will be regaled by Rick. Terrific guy. You'll love them. Oh, and they ask me to – so all I have to do is introduce you? I don't have to do that where I sit there and ask you questions. Nope, nope, no, we'll take it from there. Oh, good. Oh, good. Perfect. Just remember Michael Riddle, bestselling author, brilliant journalist, one of the greatest television actors of all time on Smash the TV series, you know. Just puff me up a little bit for the crowd. Yeah, no, no. And it's quite a prestigious audience there. But it's private. It's a private club. You've got to be a member to go there. so, but we'll report back on how it goes. Hey, look at this article here.

Patty Lepone. You've got to be a member to go there. So, but we'll report back on how it goes.

Hey, look at this article here. Patty Lepone, I'm not crazy about it. She's in the current version of company, and the audience member doesn't have the mask on properly, and apparently the Miller Show starts cursing at this. Get the blank out if you don't know how to wear a mask. What the hell is going on here? Well, Patty's a little

salty, shall we say, and she stands her ground. You know, she famously said when she was doing

Gypsy on Broadway and somebody was taking pictures of her on the iPhone, and she stopped the show,

and she said, no pictures, no pictures, get him out of here. And the a show's had to run down and eject this poor guy from the theater. So she's pretty tough when it comes to that stuff. And, you know, she's a nice, good little liberal. She's said some choice things about Donald Trump on her Twitter feed over the years. But she is, I've known her a long time. And she can be great fun. The only time I ever had an issue with her, I interviewed her from my book, Singular Sensation.

And you remember, she was famously fired by Andrew Lloyd Weber when she was in Sunset Boulevard.

And she sued Andrew and collected like $1.5 million, which she used to build a pool at her house in Connecticut.

She always called it the Andrew Lloyd-Weber Memorial Pool.

But she was replaced in Sunset Boulevard by Glenn Close, who went on to win the Tony in the role.

And when the people at Sunset Boulevard told Patty that Glenn Close was taking over her part.

She said, icily over the phone.

Glenn Close?

She brazed like a donkey.

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