Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine

Hannah Bos is a Peabody Award winning writer who is co-creator and executive producer of HBO’s critically acclaimed comedy series Somebody Somewhere. Along with writing partner Paul Thureen, she received a Humanitas Prize nomination for the Somebody Somewhere pilot and with Paul and Bridget Everett was nominated for a WGA Award for Episodic Comedy. The series has received nominations from the GLAAD Media Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, Gotham Awards, Spirit Awards, TCA & HCA Awards, Dorian TV Awards, and was honored by AFI amongst their Television Programs of the Year in 2022. Hannah and Paul received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for "Best First Screenplay" for their feature Driveways (dir. Andrew Ahn) which premiered at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival (North American premiere at Tribeca Film Festival). Together they have also written for HBO’s High Maintenance and Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle. Hannah was a co-founder/co-Artistic Director of The Debate Society, a multiple Obie award winning theater c

Jenny Anderson is a New York based freelance photographer. She has a degree from the University of Mississippi in journalism, served as the photo editor for Broadway.com for six years, was senior contributing editor and photographer for The X Magazine at Today Tix and regularly shoots for Disney Television, Getty Images and The New York Times.   She is skilled in a wide range of photography including theatre, live music, events, portraits and street photography. She has been featured in Vanity Fair, InStyle, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The X Magazine, The Observer, Time Out New York and on Broadway.com, PureWow, People, USWeekly, EW, Broadway Style Guide and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mike Isaacson is the Artistic Director and Executive Producer of The Muny, the third person to hold this position in The Muny’s 106 -year history. During his 14 seasons, he has produced 89 Muny shows, 37 new to The Muny stage. He is also a 9 Time Tony Award winning Broadway producer. After his first season at The Muny, The Riverfront Times wrote, “Under the leadership of executive producer Mike Isaacson the quality of Muny productions rose like the proverbial phoenix.” During his tenure, Isaacson has changed the look and feel of The Muny, overseeing a transformation in every aspect of production that culminated in 2019 with the arrival of the theatre’s extraordinary James S. McDonnell stage, a state-of-the art stage house that includes revolutionary LED technology, automated sets, and a host of other innovations. In 2016, The Muny embarked on an unprecedented $100 million capital campaign, raising within 5 years a record amount for any theater in the U.S. During the COVID lock-down summer of 2020, Mike

Burke Swanson currently stars on Broadway as James Hooper, Jr. in  the most Tony Award winning play of 2025 - Stranger Things The First Shadow. He  made his Broadway debut, immediately following his graduation from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), when he originated the role of “Jack” in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo,  He  recently wrapped up a the First National Tour of Back to the Future: The Musical where he starred as “George McFly”. On television he can be seen in Harlem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kimberly Belflower is a playwright and educator originally from a small town in Appalachian Georgia. This is her Broadway debut, and she’s probably crying about it right now. Plays include JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN (2024 Huntington Theatre, 2022 Studio Theatre, 2019 Kilroys List, published by Broadway Licensing, Farm Theatre College Collaboration Project); LOST GIRL (2018 Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Kennedy Center Darrell Ayers National Playwriting Award, published by Concord Theatricals); and SAINT PIGTAIL (commissioned and developed by Studio Theatre, 2023 O’Neill Finalist). Kimberly has worked with South Coast Rep, Manhattan Theatre Club, Alliance Theatre, Ojai Playwrights Conference, among others. She was also a narrative lead at Meow Wolf, where she wrote a short film with original music by Beach House. Kimberly proudly holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and teaches playwriting at Emory University in Atlanta. Gabriel Eber - Broadway: Matilda The Musical (Tony Winner, Featured Actor)

Jeb Brown has had a decades long career on stage and in film and televsion. Jeb appeared in productions on and off-Broadway including Grease, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, in which he originated the role of Don Kirshner. For his performance in Dead Outlaw, Brown was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CHRIS BAUER has appeared in over 300 episodes of television, 40 feature films, and several theater productions on Broadway and Off. His multiple  long running television credits  include Frank Sobotka in ‘THE WIRE’, Andy Bellefleur in ‘TRUE BLOOD’, and Bobby Dwyer in ‘THE DEUCE’ for HBO. Most recently he starred as pro wrestler Wild Bill Hancock on ‘HEELS’ for Starz, where he also appeared in ‘GASLIT’ with Julia Roberts and Sean Penn, and ‘SURVIVORS REMORSE’, produced by LeBron James, and played Joe McCarthy in the Peabody Award winning ‘FELLOW TRAVELERS’ for Showtime. On Apple TV Plus, he played Deke Slayton in the inaugural season of ‘FOR ALL MANKIND’, and appeared as  Det. Tom Lange in ‘PEOPLE VS OJ’ for FX. Recent feature credits include co-starring with Denzel Washington in the Warner Brothers film ‘THE LITTLE THINGS’, ‘MONEY MONSTER’, and ‘SULLY’. He received an Outer Critic’s nomination for playing Mitch in ‘STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE’ on Broadway, and has originated roles in plays by David Mamet, Jez Butt

GEORGIA STITT is an award-winning composer, lyricist, music producer, pianist, and activist. Her original musicals include Snow Child (commissioned by and premiered at Arena Stage, directed by Molly Smith), Big Red Sun (11th Hour Theater in Philadelphia, NAMT 2010), and a children’s musical, Samantha Spade, Ace Detective (TADA Youth Theater), which won “Outstanding New Musical” from the National Youth Theatre in 2014 and is now licensed by Concord Theatricals. Other shows include The Danger Year, The Big Boom, The Water (winner of the 2008 ANMT Search for New Voices in American Musical Theater), Common Ground, and Mosaic.  Georgia has released four albums of her music: A Quiet Revolution (2020), My Lifelong Love (2014), This Ordinary Thursday (2007), and Alphabet City Cycle (featuring Tony-nominated actress Kate Baldwin, 2009). She is currently at work on a new album of theatrical art songs and an oratorio called The Circling Universe. Her choral piece with hope and virtue (using text from President Obama's

Jeffrey Seller is an Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer best known for his work on Rent, Avenue Q, In the Heights, and Hamilton, as well as inventing Broadway’s first rush ticket and lottery ticket policies. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1986, Jeffrey moved to New York City where he worked, as a publicist, booking agent, and producer. With his business partner Kevin McCollum he produced three Best Musical Tony Award-winning Broadway shows; Rent, Avenue Q, and In the Heights. With increasingly expensive Broadway ticket prices, Seller and McCollum invented Broadway’s first rush ticket policy early on in the production of Rent. The idea was to keep the show accessible for people “in their 20s and 30s, artists, Bohemians-the people for whom Jonathan Larson wrote the show.” A select number of front row tickets would be sold for $20 on a first come per-serve basis. Rush tickets became so popular that people began to sleep on the streets outside the theater to get a spot at the fro

Julia Knitel - Broadway: Dead Outlaw ( Tony award nominee), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Carole King, first national tour), Bye Bye Birdie. Off-Broadway: A Letter to Harvey Milk (Lucille Lortel nomination). Select New York/Regional: Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Portland Stage Co.), Ingrid in Volleygirls (NY Musical Festival: Best of Fest). Film: Miles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Julie Halston is one of New York's busiest actresses and was the recipient of the 2021 Isabelle Stevenson TONY AWARD for her advocacy on behalf of The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. Her Broadway credits are numerous, including Tootsie, Hairspray, Gypsy, Anything Goes, and The Twentieth Century, and most recently Our Town. She received the Richard Seff Award for her acclaimed performance in You Can't Take it with You and has garnered four Drama Desk nominations for her Broadway and off-Broadway work.  Miss Halston was a founding member of Charles Busch's legendary theatre company and co-starred with Mr. Busch in many productions including The Divine Sister, Red Scare on Sunset, and The Lady in Question. They starred together in the independent feature film, The Sixth Reel. In addition, Miss Halston recently completed the independent feature films, Intermedium and Simchas and Sorrows and Chosen Family with Heather Graham Television credits include a recurring role on the latest Gossip Girl, guest roles on The G

Florencia Cuenca is a Mexican actress, singer, writer, and director currently starring on broadway in Real Women Have Curves. She entered the artistic world at the age of 3 acting alongside her father in stadiums and theaters throughout Mexico and the United States. In Mexico, she is known for telenovelas such as “De que te Quiero te Quiero, Muchachitas Como Tú, and for being part of the successful Mexican musical Si Nos Dejan, the Mexican premiere of Shrek the Musical and Selena the Musical. Her first album Aquí – The New Standards led to a tour around Mexico, Latin America, and New York City and being awarded the Hot House Jazz Award 2016 for Best New Jazz Artist. She has performed Off-Broadway in shows such as Children of Salt and A Never-Ending Line. She was recently seen playing the role of Estela in the world premiere of the musical Real Women Have Curves at A.R.T. As a singer-songwriter, she has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Feinstein’s/54 Below, and others. Direct

Broadway: Jacob Jankowski in Water for Elephants, Originated the role of Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls, Elder Price in The Book of Mormon on Broadway. National Tour/Regional: The Book of Mormon, October Sky, Joan of Arc: Into the Fire by David Byrne, West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl. Film/ television: “Welcome to Flatch”, “Monster High”, “FBI: International”, “Cat Person”, “The Housewives of the North Pole”, “Mulligan”, “Christmas in Tahoe” for Hallmark Channel, “Madame Secretary”, “Evil”. 2010 Jimmy Award winner and proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Instagram: @kaselig Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shannon began her career as a performer and has appeared in 10 Broadway musicals over a 25 year career. She is most known for her performance of “I Gotcha” in the Tony Award winning original Broadway cast of FOSSE. As a choreographer, Shannon has extensive experience creating for film and television as the choreographer of Saturday Night Live’s Film Units, creating dances and movement for viral videos such as “I’m Just Pete”, “Gladiator Twosical”, “Shrimp Tower”, ”Big Boys” and many more. She has also choreographed multiple pre-taped and live projects for NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon and HBO's “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver. Shannon is the Creative Director and Choreographer of the NBC/ Universal Upfront at Radio City Music Hall. She has also created, directed and choreographed many theatrical and dance projects at such respected venues as Carnegie Hall, Ballet Jazz Montreal, Roundabout Theatre Company, Signature Theatre NYC, Town Hall, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Alvin Ailey Citicorp

Julie Tucker is a highly acclaimed casting director with a remarkable career spanning over two decades. Recognized for her outstanding contributions to the industry, she boasts an impressive tally of nine Emmy nominations and two Emmy Awards. Additionally, Julie has been honored with five Artois awards from her peers for her excellence in casting. Her journey began in the theater at The Public, and her introduction to Television started with the casting of the first three seasons of Law and Order: SVU, after which she founded her own casting company. Julie’s current projects include Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer, the upcoming Limited Series for Netflix “The Beast in Me,” starring Claire Danes, Mathew Rhys and Brittany Snow and the hits series "Doc," for Fox. Her extensive portfolio includes a diverse range of projects with her former partner Ross Meyerson, such as The Oscar nominated short “Red White & Blue, "The Expanse," "The Americans." “The Affair,” "Nurse Jackie," “Fallout,” the Jennifer Lopez feat

Currently starring in Broadway’s BOOP! The Musical, Erich Bergen is best known for his performance as Blake Moran on television's Madam Secretary, and for his portrayal of Bob Gaudio in the Clint Eastwood film, Jersey Boys, reprising his performance from the stage production of the hit musical. On Broadway, Erich also starred in Waitress and Chicago, and has also been seen on television in Bull, The Good Fight, Gossip Girl, and more. As a Producer and Director, Erich has spearheaded many live, virtual, and television events including work with NBC, CNN, President Obama, Clive Davis, Glenn Close, Michael Kors, and other high-profile icons and outlets. IG: @erichbergen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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