Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine

Kelsie Watts’s musical journey began in Lubbock, Texas, where she found her voice at two years old in a family of musicians. From early performances in church and school to studying opera and commercial music at Belmont University in Nashville, she developed her craft and gained recognition. Her self-released music led to a feature on AJ McLean’s 2020 single “Hurts to Love You,” while her viral rendition of Kelly Clarkson’s “I Dare You” on The Voice Season 19 earned her a spot on Team Kelly and millions of views. Now an independent pop artist, Kelsie continues to inspire with her music and advocacy. Her single “Live Out Loud” became the anthem for the Tokyo Sky Tree Global Campaign during the 2021 Olympics, followed by empowering tracks like “Look What You Missed” and the poignant ballad “I Can’t Say Goodbye,” honoring her late brother who she lost to mental health struggles. In 2024, she released “After Midnight” and “Forgetful,” a Diane Warren-penned duet with Nate Amor. Beyond music, Kelsie is a dedicated

Adam Platt is a contributing editor at New York Magazine and was chief restaurant critic between 2000 & 2022. He won the James Beard Foundation Journalism Award for Restaurant Reviews in 2010. During the course of nearly twenty-five years in the magazine business, Platt has written for a variety of publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Observer, Esquire, and Condé Nast Traveler. He is the author of The Book of Eating and is currently writing another book. He lives in New York City. He can be found on social media platforms as @plattypants Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ERIC BOGOSIAN (Playwright) is the author of plays, solos, and novels, including TALK RADIO, subUrbia, and PERFORATED HEART. He received a Drama Desk award, three Obie awards, and a Guggenheim fellowship. He has also been nominated for the Pulitzer and a Tony award. Bogosian earned the Berlin Silver Bear for writing and starring in the film adaptation of his play TALK RADIO. His historical account of "Operation Nemesis," the death squad that avenged the Armenian Genocide, was published by Little, Brown in 2015. As an actor, Bogosian has starred in LAW & ORDER: CI (NBC), BILLIONS (Showtime), SUCCESSION (HBO), the Safdie brothers' UNCUT GEMS, and most recently INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (AMC) as the interviewer, Daniel Molloy. He produces a website, 100monologues.com, featuring dozens of New York's most vibrant actors. Bogosian is married to director Jo Bonney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NATALIE MARGOLIN (Playwright) is a Brooklyn-based playwright. Her plays have been developed with Broadway Video, The WP, The Hearth, Colt Coeur, and Fault Line Theatre. Her play The Party Hop, written for Zoom, was published by Dramatist Play Service and produced in high schools and colleges across the country during the pandemic. Currently, she is developing projects with Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video and Mark Gordon Pictures. JAKI BRADLEY (Director) is a director for theater and film. She has directed at Berkeley Repertory, NYTW, Ars Nova, NYSAF, CTG, Denver Center and Arena Stage, among others. In film, she has written for Netflix, Paramount, AGBO and FX, directed music videos and the short films Spa Day, The Big Ask, and Chow, and is preparing her feature directorial debut, The One. Jaki is a Fulbright Scholar and a proud member of SDC and WGA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Initially an actress ('Les Miserables', 'Aspects of Love', et al.), Merri found herself out West some years back where she quickly made a name for herself at Liberman/Hirschfeld Casting, then Liberman/Patton Casting, working on such shows as Seinfeld, Party of Five, HBO’s Band of Brothers, the feature film My Big Fat Greek Wedding and the Miramax feature film "Playing By Heart", starring Sean Connery and Angelina Jolie.  In 2000, Merri moved to Dreamworks Studios as the Casting Executive in charge of TV Pilots and Series- including "Spin City", “Freaks and Geeks” and the critically acclaimed "The Job", starring Denis Leary. She was then offered a position as the Director of Casting for Dramas and Movies at ABC Television, overseeing the casting of the series "Alias", "NYPD Blue", "The Practice" and the made for television movies "Gilda Radner - It's Always Something" and "The Music Man", starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth, to name just a few.  Merri then returned to the East Coast to teach and

Caroline Aaron is known to theatre, film and television audiences, as well as a published author and playwright.She made her Broadway debut in Robert Altman's "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean,Jimmy Dean" and later appeared in the film. The following Broadway season, she starred in the revival of "The Iceman Cometh". She next starred in Mike Nichols's Broadway smash comedy "Social Security". She returned to Broadway starring in "I Hate Hamlet." She headlined the west coast premiere of Wendy Wasserstein's "The Sisters Rosensweig" and was acknowledged with both a Helen Hayes and Dramalogue Award. Next on Broadway she starred in Woody Allen's comedy "Honeymoon Hotel". She headlined Lincoln Center's award winning play "A Kid Like Jake." She played the title role in "All The Days" at the McCarter Theatre and was named best actress by several newspapers in the New York/New Jersey area. She headlined "Call Waiting" at The. Odyssey theatre which became a hit and was later made into a film available on Amazo

Taylor Polidore Williams Currently leading the cast of Netflix’s BEAUTY IN BLACK, Taylor stars as Kimmie, a stripper whose fate takes a turn when she crosses paths with the wealthy, dysfunctional family behind a cosmetics dynasty and a devious trafficking scheme. This past summer, Taylor was seen starring opposite Meagan Good in Tyler Perry and Amazon Prime Video’s fan favorite film DIVORCE IN THE BLACK, which topped the Amazon charts for several weeks after its debut. Taylor is perhaps best known for heavily recurring in FX’s critically acclaimed SNOWFALL as well as The CW’s ALL AMERICAN: HOMECOMING. She is also an accomplished voice over artist, having voiced characters for Nickelodeon, Disney, and Peacock, among others. Taylor is a proud alumna of HBCU Clark Atlanta University and is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is extremely passionate about the rights and welfare of young people and is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for youth in foster care. Learn more about your ad choices. V

Abubakr Ali starred in Anything’s Possible (MGM/Orion Pictures) dir. Billy Porter, and was the titular lead in Netflix/Dark Horse’s series “Grendel.” He recently finished working on Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming untitled Netflix feature film. Other credits include “Law & Order: Organized Crime” (NBC), “Walking Dead: World Beyond” (AMC), “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz) and “Katy Keene” (CW). Theatre credits include Toros (Second Stage), Inherit the Wind (Pasadena Playhouse), We Live in Cairo (A.R.T.), Kiss (Yale Rep), Twelfth Night (Yale Rep) and work with The 24 Hour Plays, Roundabout Theatre Company, NYTW, Atlantic Theater Com­ pany, The Public and others. MFA: Yale School of Drama. @theabubakrali Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katie O’Brien is a writer, actor, producer, and showrunner. She, along with her comedy group, The Katydids, co-created, wrote, produced, and starred in the hit comedy, Teachers, which ran for three seasons and fifty episodes on TV Land. She worked as the co-executive producer for Disney + The Santa Clauses starring Tim Allen. Currently, she is the creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner for Tubi’s first original scripted series, “The Z-Suite,” starring Lauren Graham which premiered on February 6, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Award-winning director Michael Mayer has worked in a broad spectrum of media from theatre and opera to television and film. Current theatre: Swept Away, a new musical featuring songs of The Avett Brothers which opened November 19, 2024 on Broadway, the hit revival of Little Shop of Horrors now playing at the Westside Theatre, the national tour of his hit Broadway revival of Funny Girl (which starred Lea Michele) and the national tour of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, which recently ended its Broadway run.  Recent opera:  Jeanine Tesori and George Brant’s new opera Grounded which opened the Metropolitan Opera season on September 23, 2024 with performances running until October 19. Upcoming opera: a new production of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera this season opening on December 31, 2024. Other Broadway credits include Adam Driver and Keri Russell in Burn This, Head Over Heels (featuring the songs of The Go-Go’s), Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Tony Award, best musical revival,

Peter Gallagher has delivered critically acclaimed performances in film, television and theatre. He has starred in many films, including: sex, lies and videotape, American Beauty (SAG Award), The Player, Short Cuts (Golden Globe), The Idolmaker, Dreamchild, While You Were Sleeping, The Underneath, To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, Center Stage, Mr. Deeds, Palm Springs and the upcoming Humane. Gallagher’s recent television work includes: “Truth Be Told,” “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” as Mitch, “Grace and Frankie” as Nick, “Grey’s Anatomy” as Dr. Hamilton, “Law & Order SVU” as Chief Dodds, “Covert Affairs” as Arthur Campbell and Schmidt’s dad on “New Girl,” “Togetherness,” “Californication,” “Rescue Me” and “The OC” as Sandy Cohen. His Broadway credits include: Guys and Dolls (Drama Desk nomination), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (with Jack Lemmon, receiving a Tony Award Nomination), The Real Thing (The Clarence Derwent Award), The Corn Is Green (Theatre World Award), A Doll’s Life, Noises Off , The Country Gi

Grey most recently played Buddy in Elf the musical on Broadway. He received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for his performance as Damian in the original Broadway cast of Mean Girls. He was recently seen playing Michael in tick, tick… BOOM! at the Kennedy Center and Storyteller 2 in the Tony nominated musical Shucked on Broadway. He played the role of Elder McKinley in The Book of Mormon on Broadway after originating the role on the first national tour. Grey recurred as Tate in Girls5Eva on Netflix and can be seen in the Sony Pictures film A Journal for Jordan directed by Denzel Washington. Carnegie Mellon University Drama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony Nominee Ethan Slater can most recently be seen in the feature film Wicked, where he portrays the role of Boq. The film will be followed up by Wicked: Part 2, where Slater will reprise his role, and will be released by Universal Pictures in November of 2025. In another recent film, Slater also stars in the drama film Lost on a Mountain in Maine, based on the novel. He is currently in production on the indie feature The Designer, alongside Gina Gershon and Katherine Waddell. Slater is best known for his Broadway debut as SpongeBob in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, and won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theatre World and Broadway Beacon Award. He recently starred in Spamalot on Broadway as The Historian / Not Dead Fred / Prince Herbert. His additional theater credits include an Off-Broadway revival of Assassins, and a Williamstown Theatre Festival performance of Marcel on the Train. In televi

Spencer Garrett is a third-generation actor whose career spans 30 years in film, television and theatre. The son of former SAG President and multi-hyphenate actor/activist Kathleen Nolan ('The Real Mc Coys, 'Peter Pan' on Broadway) and grandson of actors Clara Kennedy and Stephen Ellsworth - all of whom plied their trades on the famed Goldenrod Showboat Theatre on the Mississippi River in St Louis - Spencer has had acting in his bones since childhood. The choice to follow in his family's footsteps Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Broadway: Festen. Stage: Ten Unknowns (Lucille Lortel Award), The Vagina Monologues, Intrigue With Faye, The Substance of Fire, Fefu and Her Friends. Television: “The Morning Show,” “Billions,” “The Hot Zone,” “Dietland,” “The Good Wife” (two time Emmy and SAG Award winner, Golden Globe, Critics Choice awards), “The Sopranos,” “The Grid” (Golden Globe nomination), “The Mists of Avalon” (Golden Globe nomination), “ER” (Emmy and six-time SAG award winner). Film: Millers in Marriage (upcoming), Three Christs, The Upside, Stand Up Guys, City Island, Snakes on a Plane, The Darwin Awards, Slingshot, Ghost Ship, Evelyn, The Man From Elysian Fields, What’s Cooking?, The Newton Boys, A Price Above Rubies, Paradise Road and Traveller. Author: Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A conversation with my father.  Robert (Bob) Levine was born on December 16th, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Julius, was a Certified Public Accountant by profession, his mother, Tess, was a homemaker and president of the P.T.A and both my grandparents were constantly volunteering for the many organizations  that supported the causes they believed in. Their commitment to social activism was passed down to my father and his siblings and then to me and it is my hope that my children will continue that legacy to be activists for the things they believe in and to use their voices even when others wish it to  be silenced. During the Covid-19 pandemic my visits with my parents were limited to good weather days when we could be outside with each other and talk from a distance. This conversation was recorded during one of those visits in December of 2020 at their home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maria Dizzia was last seen in the Broadway Revival of Macbeth and starred in the national tour of Heidi Schreck's acclaimed play What the Constitution Means to Me. Other Theatre: If I Forget, The Layover, Belleville (2013 Drama Desk Nomination), Uncle Vanya, In the Next Room (2010 Tony Award nomination); Eurydice and many more. She made her directorial debut with the Amios Theater Company production of The Loneliest Number (2018 NY Innovative Theater nomination) and most recently directed Marin Ireland's Pre-Existing Condition at the Connelly Theater. In 2019 she starred in the Academy Award winning short The Neighbors' Window directed by Marshall Curry for which she also earned the Best Actress Award at the Short Shorts Festival. Maria portrayed Polly on three seasons of Orange is the New Black and had recurring roles on The Staircase, The First Lady, The Undoing, 13 Reasons Why, Horace and Pete, Louie, Emergence, Red Oaks and Royal Pains. Other select television and film credits include: The Good Nurse

ROSS MEYERSON is best known for his work as an award-winning television and film casting director. He won an Emmy for his work on ‘Damages’ in 2007 as well as having received seven additional nominations. The short film “Red, White and Blue” his last casting project has been nominated for a 2024 Oscar. He has been nominated sixteen times for CSA’s prestigious Artios Award and was fortunate enough to have won twice for ‘Homeland’ and ‘Rescue Me’. Other notable shows Ross has cast include ‘The Affair’, ‘The Americans’. ‘Nurse Jackie’, ‘’Dexter : New Blood’, “The Equalizer’, ‘The Expanse’, ’The Big C’, ‘The Following’, ‘Seven Seconds’, ‘Hunters’, ‘In Treatment’, ‘Sneaky Pete’, ‘True Blood’(pilot) and many others. The list of showrunners, writers and directors he has had the privilege of working with include Alan Ball, David Milch, Denis Leary, Peter Tolan, Paul Feig, Kevin Williamson, Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg, Brett Ratner, Bryan Cranston, George Nolfi, Dan Futterman, Clyde Phillips, Sarah Treem and Veena Sud. 

ROBERT GREENBLATT is one of television’s most prolific executives and producers, with a career spanning broadcast television, cable, streaming, and the Broadway stage. As Chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment until 2020, he ran HBO, TNT, and oversaw the launch of HBO Max which — as Max — now has over 100 million subscribers.  As Chairman of NBC Entertainment from 2011 to 2018, he brought NBC back to #1 after a decade in last place with acclaimed series such as The Voice, the Chicago trilogy, This Is Us, The Blacklist, Smash, Superstore, and The Good Place. His passion for theatre resulted in reviving the lost art of live musicals on television and NBC became the proud home of The Sound of Music Live! (seen by 20 million people), Peter Pan Live!, The Wiz Live!, Hairspray Live!, the Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert!, and Annie Live! (for which he was also executive producer). Greenblatt is a Peabody and Golden Globe-winning producer in television with credits that range broadly from The Gilde

ALYSE ALAN LOUIS - Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Teeth (Playwrights Horizons/OCR). Since 2011, she’s been part of Teeth’s development. Broadway: Amélie (OCR), Disaster, Mamma Mia! Off-Broadway: Drama Desk nomination for Soft Power (Hillary/The Public/Grammy nominated OCR); White Girl in Danger (Second Stage/OCR); A New Brain (Encores!/ OCR); The Civilians’ Pretty Filthy (Abrons/ OCR). @alyselouis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices