Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

Jordan Firstman is an Actor and writer, known for The Disgustings (2014) and Sold (2014). He is a man of personality that has over 198,000 followers on Instagram. He, along with Charles Rogers (director) Charles Rogers, co-wrote and co-starred in the short film Men Don't Whisper, which was an official selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival as well as the 2018 South by Southwest Film Festival. The film follows a gay Couple with masculinity issues who attempt to sleep with women. It is produced by JASH and also stars Fort Tilden and Search Party actors Bridey Elliott and Clare McNulty, as well as a guest appearance by SNL alum Cheri Oteri. Rogers is also one of the filmmakers behind the multi-director feature film Black Dog (film), Red Dog, produced by James Franco and Rabbit Bandini Productions, starring Logan Marshall-Green, Chloë Sevigny, and Whoopi Goldberg, which premiered at the 2015 International Film Festival of Guanajuato. The film was a class project at the NYU Graduate Film program, taught by James Franco, wherein ten student filmmakers adapted the poetry of Stephen Dobyns. Jordan is best known for his celebrated darkly comedic works The Disgustings, Sold and most recently Call Your Father, which he is adapting into a television series. He is a writer on the TBS series Search Party, which Charles co-created and executive produces Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NICOLETTE ROBINSON starred in Waitress on Broadway. Nicolette holds the distinction of being the first African American woman to play the musical's leading lady, "Jenna." On television, Robinson played ‘Jane’ on Showtime’s Golden Globe Award-winning drama series, The Affair. She has also appeared on Hart of Dixie, Unforgettable, Perfect Couples, and Cold Case, among others. Most recent and upcoming roles include "Sade" in Freeform's limited series, Love in the Time of Corona, and "Barbara Cooke" in Regina King's One Night in Miami. Robinson is a graduate of UCLA's School of Theater, Film, & Television. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jennifer Ashley Tepper is producer of the musicals Be More Chill, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and Love In Hate Nation. She is also the Creative and Programming Director at Feinstein's/54 Below, and the author of The Untold Stories of Broadway book series. She is the creator of The Jonathan Larson Project and historian consultant on the upcoming film version of tick, tick...BOOM! Tepper was recently named recipient of a 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. As the leader of Feinstein's/54 Below's creative programming team, Tepper is responsible for programming every show at the Broadway supper club and concert venue. She has curated and overseen the production of over 3500 shows, ranging from musicals in concert, to original solo acts, to theatrical reunions, to songwriter celebrations, and beyond. Feinstein's/54 Below has become notable for being the only venue of its kind: presenting over a dozen shows every week, specializing in Broadway acts, and welcoming both traditional cabaret and innovative new work. Tepper's leadership has been instrumental in making the locale "Broadway's Living Room", where on any given night one can find Broadway's biggest stars and emerging talents side by side, creating and sharing new work in an intimate theatrical environment. Tepper's producing work on original ventures at the venue has gained praise from publications including The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Buzzfeed, Playbill, Newsday, the New York Post, and more. From Hit List (the live concert version of the fictional musical from NBC's Smash) to Smile: A Broadway Reunion Concert to her collaborations with musical theatre writers both established and emerging, Tepper has, according to Theatermania, "brought her encyclopedic knowledge and typical gusto to the venue, knowing just what musical theatre enthusiasts are looking for." Tepper is the co-creator of the Bistro Award-winning concert series, If It Only Even Runs A Minute, now in its 7th year. ...Runs A Minute celebrates short-lived Broadway and off-Broadway musicals in concerts that feature photos and research as well as songs. Each concert also boasts original cast members and writers telling stories, as well as songs that have never been recorded. The series thus far has comprised over 250 performers and over 200 'under-appreciated' shows. AM New York has called the series: "Artistically compelling... displays the blood, guts, sweat and tears that go into making Broadway shows." As a writer, Tepper has authored three volumes of The Untold Stories of Broadway series, published by Dress Circle. For these books, Tepper interviewed 250 theatre professionals about the Broadway theaters themselves and their stories of working in each house. The books cover over 70 years of our theatrical history, shared through first-hand interviews with Broadway professionals who were there. The Untold Stories of Broadway books comprise stories with actors, producers, directors, writers, designers, stagehands, door men and women, musicians, house managers, press agents, ushers, and many more. Interspersed with interviewees' stories are Tepper's own tales and discoveries about each historic building. The Untold Stories of Broadway partners with a charitable organization that receives proceeds from each volume, and is currently partnered with Broadway Impact, the Theatre Development Fund, and the Broadway Green Alliance. Published in 2013, 2014, and 2016, each book has occupied the #1 spot on Amazon.com's Best Sellers List in Broadway & Musicals. NBC New York has called the books an 'inspiring Must-Read'. Tepper was recently named one of the 10 professionals on Backstage Magazine's "1st Annual Broadway Future Power List", alongside Alex Timbers and Leigh Silverman. According to the article: "Proving herself both a zeitgeist predictor and theatrical historian with her eclectic programming, Tepper is leading the conversation on contemporary musical theatre." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ is a writer, producer, and director who has won numerous awards for his work in television and film.  Born in Philadelphia, he attended Brandeis University, then moved to Los Angeles in 1975, where he attended the American Film Institute.  One of his classmates was Edward Zwick, and there the two created what is currently the longest-surviving creative partnership in Hollywood: The Bedford Falls Company, named for the town in Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life.  In the ensuing decades they created such TV series as thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, and Once and Again; and Herskovitz variously produced and/or wrote many films with Zwick, including Legends of the Fall, Traffic, The Last Samurai, and Blood Diamond.  Herskovitz also directed Jack the Bear and the cult-favorite Dangerous Beauty. In 2007, Herskovitz created the groundbreaking online series and social network quarterlife, which at the time was the internet’s most successful scripted series, and the first online series to transition to network television. A longtime environmentalist, Herskovitz has served on the board of several organizations dedicated to fighting climate change.  He is a past president of the Producers Guild of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sasha Hutchings is an actress, foodie, lover of manatees, and collector of too many house plants. She was most recently seen as Laurey Williams in Oklahoma!, winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Revival. Sasha is notably an original cast member of Hamilton. Additional Broadway credits include My Fair Lady, Rocky, Motown, and Memphis. TV credits include Paula Kelly on Fosse/Verdon, The Bold Type, Jessica Jones, Master of None, Blue Bloods, and The Dangerous Book for Boys. Sasha is a teaching artist with the Arthur Miller Foundation, Epic Theatre Ensemble, and New York City public school theatre programs. She holds a BPA in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly AuCoin is currently shooting season 5 of Showtime’s Billions, on which he plays ‘Dollar’ Bill Stearn. He also currently plays Warren Sloan on Freeform/HULU’s The Bold Type. Recent other recurring TV roles includes Pastor Tim on FX’s The Americans, Hercules Mulligan on AMC’s TURN, and Gary Stamper on House of Cards. Other TV includes Blacklist, The Slap, Madam Secretary, Person of Interest, The Following, The Good Wife, Elementary, Blue Bloods, Unforgettable, Body of Proof, Gossip Girl, White Collar, The Sopranos, Without A Trace, and many Law & Order episodes of various suffixes. His film credits include the upcoming The Good House (Amblin), False Positive (A24) and A Shot Through The Wall, as well as previous apperances in, among others, The Post, The Wizard of Lies, Julie & Julia, The Kingdom, All That I Am (SXSW Award; Ensemble Acting), Drunk Parents, Benji The Dove, Police State, The Music Never Stopped, and The Word. Theatre credits include Octavius Caesar in Julius Caesar on Broadway opposite Denzel Washington, The 24 Hour Plays Broadway, and the first national touring company of Copenhagen. He was part of the Drama Desk Award-winning ensemble cast of The Wayside Motor Inn (Signature Theatre), and his other Off-Broadway credits include Long Lost and Of Good Stock (Manhattan Theatre Club), The Call (Playwrights Horizons), Some Men (Second Stage), Boy (Primary Stages), Happy Now? (Primary Stages), Jailbait (Cherry Lane), The Ladies Of The Corridor (Peccadillo), and The Fifth Column (Mint Theater). Regional appearances include Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Williamstown, Syracuse Stage, Folger, Hartford Stage, TheatreVirginia, Virginia Stage, and New York Stage & Film. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare festival acting company.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raúl Esparza is a Cuban-American stage and television actor, singer, and voice artist, best known for his role as New York Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Rafael Barba in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit where he had a recurring role in season 14 and was promoted to a series regular in seasons 15 to 19. He has received Tony nominations for his role as Philip Salon in the Boy George musical Taboo in 2004; Robert in the musical comedy Company in 2006; a lazy and snarky man in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming; and an aggressive volatile movie producer in David Mamet's Speed the Plow. He played the role of Riff Raff on Broadway in the revival of The Rocky Horror Show and the role of Caractacus Potts in the Broadway musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Esparza has been nominated in all Tony categories for which an actor is eligible. He is widely regarded for his versatility on stage, having performed musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, Boy George, and the Sherman Brothers and plays by Mamet, Pinter, William Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard, and more. His film work includes Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty and Wes Craven's My Soul to Take and his television credits include roles on The Path, Medium, Hannibal, and Pushing Daisies. He narrated the audiobook for Stephen King's Under the Dome, as well as several others, and sings in concerts all over the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jelani Alladin is an artist and activist, mostly known for his stage work including Disney’s Frozen on Broadway and Hercules at the Public Theater. Upcoming TV/ Film: The Walking Dead: The World Beyond (AMC) and Respect (MGM). In addition, Jelani also writes and produces; having recently founded Dumont Millennial Productions. Jelani has a BFA in Drama from Tisch School of the Arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lauren is an acclaimed singer-songwriter who reaches over 90,000 listeners monthly. As an actor, she recently made her Broadway debut as Brooke Lohst in the viral sensation Be More Chill while enjoying her first month-long residency at the legendary Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. As an actor, select regional and New York credits also include: Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors (Pittsburgh Public Theater), Brooke Lohst in Be More Chill (Two River Theater and Signature Theatre), Brigid in The Humans (St. Louis Rep), Amy in Company (Barrington Stage), Beatsville (Asolo Rep), The Jonathan Larson Project (Feinstein’s/54 Below), Mary Flynn in Merrily We Roll Along (Sharon Playhouse), Pregnancy Pact (Weston Playhouse), and Miss Asp in Love in Hate Nation (Two River Theater). Lauren is an alumnus of the Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriters Project, and released her debut EP, Never Really Done With You, in July 2016. In 2015, her children’s musical, The Meanest Birthday Girl (book/lyrics), was part of the New York Children’s Theatre Festival and played the Player’s Theatre in Greenwich Village. Love Letter (co-written by husband Joe Iconis), an original cabaret show exploring the lives and music of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, played sold out runs at both Don’t Tell Mama’s and Feinstein’s 54 Below. Lauren is a current writer for GoNoodle Inc.’s new girl group, The Best Tees. She holds a Bachelor of Music from NYU and a Master of Arts from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marisa Tomei continues to bridge the gap between rich, dramatic performances and smart, comedic turns. Marisa won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny. Tomei subsequently earned Academy Awards nominations for her performances in In the Bedroomand The Wrestler.  Marisa recently wrapped her run as “Serafina Delle Rose” in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of the acclaimed Tennessee Williams play The Rose Tattoo, which marked Marisa’s return to the Broadway stage. She also recently wrapped production on Netflix’s action film, Sweet Girl, where she will appear alongside Jason Mamoa. Next, she will star alongside Pete Davidson in Universal Pictures’ The King of Staten Island, a comedy film from Judd Apatow. The film will premiere as the opening night film at 2020 SXSW, before releasing nationwide on June 19, 2020. Recently, Marisa returned to the silver screen for ABC’s live special of Live In Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All In The Family & The Jeffersons, where she starred as ‘Edith Bunker’ alongside Woody Harrelson, Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes. The one-night only events aired live on ABC on May 22 and December 18, 2019, and garnered three Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live). Last year, Marisa reunited with Ira Sachs for independent drama, Frankie, which had its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. She also reprised her role of “Aunt May” in Sony Entertainment and Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Far From Home. The film released in theaters on July 2, 2019, dominating the box office weekend. Her other notable film credits include: The Big Short, Love is Strange, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Ides of March, Loitering with Intent, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, What Women Want, Happy Accidents, and Slums of Beverly Hills. She also recently appeared on television in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and FOX’s “Empire,” among others. A veteran of the theater, Marisa starred as ‘George’ in Sarah Ruhl’s “How To Transcend a Happy Marriage” at Lincoln Center in 2017. Her previous Broadway credits include: Will Eno’s “The Realistic Joneses” (2014 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance), Caryl Churchill's “Top Girls” (Drama Desk Award nomination), “Oh! The Humanity” and “Other Good Intentions,” “Marie and Bruce,” “Design for Living,” “We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!,” “Waiting for Lefty,” “Rocket to the Moon,” “Demonology,” “Dark Rapture,” “Slavs!,” “The Comedy of Errors,” and “The Summer Winds,” among others. Tomei is a founding member of the Naked Angels Theater Company in New York City. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ariana DeBose is a Tony-nominated actress known for her varying roles on stage as well as on screen. DeBose is perhaps best known for her role as “Disco Donna” in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. For the same role, she was nominated for a Drama League Award for “Distinguished Performance” and won a Chita Rivera Award for “Outstanding Female Dancer in a Broadway Show.”  DeBose recently wrapped production on Ryan Murphy's Netflix adaptation of the hit-Broadway musical THE PROM, where she stars as Alyssa alongside Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and James Corden. In December, DeBose will be seen in Steven Spielberg’s highly anticipated reimagining of the Academy Award-winning musical WEST SIDE STORY. DeBose was chosen from thousands of actresses to portray the iconic role of Anita, which earned Rita Moreno an Oscar in 1962.  In 2015, DeBose appeared alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda in the groundbreaking, Tony-winning musical Hamilton as a member of the original cast in both the Broadway and off-Broadway productions. A film version of the production will be released on Disney+ in July. After her departure from Hamilton in 2016, DeBose completed a run as Jane in the original Broadway cast of A Bronx Tale. Her additional theater credits include: Leading Player in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin​, Mary Wilson of the Supremes in ​Motown The Musical, ​Nautica in Andy Blankenbuehler’s ​Bring It On: The Musical and ensemble in Stephen Sondheim's ​Company.​ Other credits include: ​The Breaks ​(VH1), ​Blue Bloods (CBS), OLTL’s Star Crossed Lovers Series and Season 6 of ​So You Think You Can Dance (FOX), where she was a top-20 finalist.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Annie Golden considers herself the illegitimate child of the legitimate theatre, having been discovered on the Bowery fronting a rock band, and cast by Milos Forman as Jeannie in Hair, the 1978 film. Annie was an original cast member for five seasons of the award-winning Netflix series ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK; silence is golden, and so is Annie’s character, Norma Romano! She will also be seen on Season Three of HBO’s HIGH MAINTENANCE in Spring 2019 as “Bambie,” which was written for her by the show’s creators. She can also be seen in the upcoming feature film BITE ME. On Broadway and off, she was last seen in Violet, and created the role of Georgie Bukatinsky in The Full Monty; Sondheim’s original Squeaky Fromme in Assassins, the off-Broadway production at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Jerry Zaks; Ah! Wilderness with Colleen Dewhurst and Jason Robards; On The Town; and Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey.  Her other numerous film credits include Touched With Fire opposite Katie Holmes; Twelve Monkeys; Baby Boom; Brooklyn Rules; Suddenly Seeking Susan; I Love You, Phillip Morris; and Miles. Her television credits include “Difficult People,” “The 2-2,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Cheers,” “Miami Vice,” and “Third Watch”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nik Walker is an actor, cinephile, theme park nerd and collector of talented frenemies. Currently leading the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud (after 3 years as Aaron Burr in the Broadway and touring companies of Hamilton), he’s also been seen in Motown the Musical, Peter and the Starcatcher, on TV in Law and Order SVU, and regionally at La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe and The Denver Center, to name a few. A playwright, he is the co-writer of Company One’s ARTiculation, and the creator of The Bloody Boston Trilogy. He is cohost of the talk show The Chaos Twins, hosted by BroadwayWorld, and his movie podcast, Little Justice, is streaming with the Broadway Podcast Network. @nikkywalks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mira Katherine Sorvino was born in Manhattan. She is the daughter of Lorraine Davis, an actress turned drama therapist, and veteran character actor Paul Sorvino. Her father's family were Italian immigrants. The young Sorvino was intelligent, an avid reader and an exceptional scholar. Her father discouraged her from becoming an actor, as he knew how the industry often chews up young stars. She attended Harvard, majoring in Chinese, graduating magna cum laude in 1989, largely on the strength of her thesis, a Hoopes Prize-winning thesis on racial conflict in China, written and researched during the year spent in Beijing, which helped her fluency in Mandarin Chinese. However, she showed interest in a career in acting from an early age, and moved to New York City to try her hand in the City's film industry, waitressing, auditioning and working at the Tribeca production company of Robert De Niro. She succeeded in getting a little television work in the early 1990s, but got her first film job in the independent gangster movie Amongst Friends (1993), on which she worked her way up the ladder behind the camera to eventually associate-produce the film, and, more importantly, was eventually cast as the female lead. The indie production was well-received, and Sorvino's performance attracted enough buzz to get her cast in two more movies, one a more prominent indie, Barcelona (1994), the other her first Hollywood feature, Quiz Show(1994), and her skillful performances brought her yet more attention. An exceptionally poised and articulate young woman, she may have seemed inappropriate to play a crazy hooker, but Woody Allen took the chance, and her magnificent performance as the female lead in his Mighty Aphrodite (1995) proved her range as a performer and earned her an Oscar (at the tender age of 29) for Best Supporting Actress. Since winning the Oscar, Sorvino has continued to take a wide range of roles, including another stretch as Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), co-starring with another very intelligent and skilled young actress, Ashley Judd. Forays into action and horror, such as Mimic (1997) and The Replacement Killers (1998) show that Sorvino is not above being playful in the film roles she chooses. However, what forever cemented her role in popular culture was her performance as charmingly silly California beach girl Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), in which she and co-star Lisa Kudrow utter one hilarious absurdity after another. She is most recently featured in Ryan Murphy's Hollywood on Netflix. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nicole Blaine’s first stand-up special with Comedy Dynamics, Life's A Bit, is available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and a variety of cable outlets. She is thrilled to embark on a midwest tour this summer for Scary Mommy Live, and you can catch her on the upcoming season 3 of Laugh After Dark on Amazon Prime. Nicole has been seen on NBC’s The Today Show, E’s That Morning Show, SFSketchfest, Big Sky Comedy Festival, The International FringeNYC Festival, Laughing Skull Comedy Festival and HBO’s Women in Comedy Festival. Nicole and her producing partner/husband/assistant, Mickey Blaine, executive produced and directed the stand-up special, Burning the Light, which debuted on HBO in 2016. You can see Nicole perform every Monday night at the Kibitz Comedy Show at Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles. LA Weekly describes her as “a remarkable performer with brains, beauty and rich comic delivery,” and her honest (and crass) observations showcase her “humor, passion, dazzling charm and a naturalness that many performers, or even civilians, would kill for." (Backstage West) She lives in Santa Monica with her husband and two kids. They all suck so she has great material. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices