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From the cast on stage and cruise behind the curtain to community partners supporting efforts to bring professional Broadway performances to West Michigan.
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Plus, all things in between, this is BGR's Backstage Buzz.
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Hey friends, I'm Jennifer Pasqua, VP of Marketing and Community Engagement at Broadway Grand Rapids.
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And I'm Steve Stecketty, producer, Broadway fan, and proud BGR ambassador.
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So today, Steve, you and I are doing a little something different.
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Something a little bit different.
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I don't know if any of our locals are uh aware of what's going on, but we've got quite a bit of uh snowfall around us right now, making road travel and uh all that a little bit difficult.
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So, Jen, where are you today?
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Well, I'm on the lakeshore, which is kind of fun in the fact that I'm working from home, yet we can still do this.
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We can still have our little chit-chat with these Broadway stars.
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Modern problems require modern solutions.
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And I'm glad we can get this done.
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So, what are we doing today, Jen?
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Well, we're talking about Kimberly Akimbo.
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Now, this is the five-time Tony Award-winning musical, including Best Musical.
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It's a funny, heartfelt, and deeply human story about Kimberly, a 16-year-old who has just moved to suburban New Jersey and is determined to find joy and adventure against all odds.
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Yeah, so she's not only navigating a new school, she's got her first love and a really complicated family life, and also lives with a rare medical condition.
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But Kimberly reminds us what it means to grow up and grow old, sometimes at the same time.
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Intriguing, huh?
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Yes.
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However, it is a show full of humor, hope, and heart.
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Kimberly Akimbo is a beautiful reminder to live fully, love boldly, and enjoy the ride because no one gets a second time around.
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So here with us today, we have Sarah Lynn Marion, who is the understudy for Patty at Deborah, who's on our first national tour.
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Congratulations.
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Thank you so much.
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It's been quite an journey, honestly.
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It's awesome.
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We've looked a little bit back over your history, and I'm an ex-theater student.
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You never really become an ex-theater student.
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I'm a theater student who now does other things with their life, right?
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Right.
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Once once a theater kid, always a theater kid.
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Always a theater kid.
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And you've got a pretty storied past.
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I mean, you have gone from winning uh the Jimmy Award.
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Uh this is in high school, correct?
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Yes.
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Okay, you're winning the Jimmy Award, but then moving all the way into this national tour here, but you've you've made some stops along the way with television as well as a lot of other uh a lot of other performances.
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We've seen Ursula in there.
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You've moved fluidly between these off-Broadway shows, regional theater and television.
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You know, what muscle did theater give you that television might not?
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And do you see a difference between when you're acting for one versus the other?
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Wow, what a great question.
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I mean, you know, uh musical theater and performing live is is in my blood.
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I would say that that is my true passion and calling.
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Um my parents actually met doing a production of The Wizard of Oz.
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And my mom was Dorothy, and my dad was the Tin Man.
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So, like that is, you know, I would say that's my bread and butter through and through.
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Um, and working in television was kind of a happy accident.
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Um, I really, you know, of course I wanted to be a movie star, TV star as a little kid, but I I didn't really know that that was a real possibility for me.
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And it wasn't until I moved to New York after I graduated college and got connected with my agents that I really saw that there was a real potential there.
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And actually, my first TV episode that I did, I played a musical theater actor.
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So my audition for it was a typical musical theater, you know, sing a song and do a musical theater scene.
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And they were like, okay, great, let's do that.
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But now with cameras.
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So it was, it was kind of funny that that was my first TV spot that was on the show, uh, high maintenance.
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So it's, you know, they're very, they're very different, you know, with with stage, you're very, you I mean, there's so much nuance to to anything, but with the stage, I feel like you're more animated, things are a bit bigger, and that's you know, very general take on it.
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But with television, things can be much smaller and more intimate.
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So, you know, really exercising subtlety versus, you know, big Broadway, you know, playing to the back of the house, you know.
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Yeah, exactly.
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They're just they're just different.
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And and I'm I feel really lucky to have worked in both mediums, and I hope I continue to do to do so.
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Um, it really, you know, pushes my skills as an actor and you know, tests my abilities, and it's it's really exciting.
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So uh concerning this show, you're playing understudy for Patty and Deborah.
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And uh you've understudied some other roles before, correct?
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I've been in understudy before, but this is my first time being an off-stage understudy.
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So the times where I've done it before, I played an a smaller part in the show every night.
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And then when the person who is playing the bigger part was out, then I would step up to that role.
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Whereas in this show, I'm not playing a role in the show every night.
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This is my first time being a completely off-stage understudy.
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So I'm only in the show when one of the two actors that I cover has to miss for whatever reason.
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Do you find it harder or difficult to either honor somebody else's like blueprint when they're out on that stage, if you're understudying them, or to bring your own reality to reality to the show?
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And I imagine you bring your own spin on it, but right if you're watching somebody else doing it sometimes, you know, I have to imagine you and incorporate some of that into your performance.
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Definitely.
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I mean, you know, the the important thing is that the show continues to function how it normally does every night.
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So when I come in to do my job, I can't do anything that's crazy outside the walls, you know, to make a joke where there isn't one or say something that's, you know, with a different intention.
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But from the beginning, even in rehearsals, I was always encouraged to do the characters as me, how I interpret them.
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So I really wasn't, you know, forced to just mimic what the other actors are doing.
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I was really encouraged to just like make it my own.
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And as long as the beats remain the same, as long as the show can run smoothly and as long as I'm, you know, standing on my mark and making sure that, you know, the integrity of a scene um remains true.
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I've been I've been given quite quite a bit of creative freedom.
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And uh, I don't think that's always the case.
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So I'm very grateful for that with this show in particular.
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Yeah, like the architecture of the house has to remain the same, but you're adding your own coats of paint in the rooms for your own.
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Yeah.
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Absolutely.
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Awesome.
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Yeah, you know, what I'd love to focus on, we enjoy when we get to talk to people who are coming through that have that Michigan connection.
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And it still blows my mind how many of the stars we see do have a Michigan connection.
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So tell us a little bit about yours.
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Yeah, uh, so I went to the University of Michigan.
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Uh, I graduated in 2018.
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And it's actually funny because when I was a student at the school, I saw several national tours come through Grand Rapids.
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We would take a car and drive over.
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So we saw Pippin, we saw Newsies, I think, I think we saw Book of Mormon there as well.
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And it's it's just funny now on the other side of things, you know that I've been experiencing that on tour in general, like the the theater in my hometown where I saw national tours come through, then we played that theater.
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And um so so it's a very funny like experience to have uh as a professional adult, you know, now being on the other side of things and thinking that maybe in the audience there's a U of M student sitting there watching, hoping to be one of the actors in a couple of years after they graduate.
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And it's it's this wonderful cycle that I'm really grateful to be a part of.
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But as far as the rest of my Michigan connections, my fiance is born and raised from Michigan.
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So that's where all my in-laws are actually, or my future in-laws.
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Uh, so we're back in Michigan actually quite often uh in the in the greater Detroit Ann Arbor area.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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So do you think they're gonna make the drive to West Michigan to catch you on the uh tour?
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You know, I I hope they do, even if I don't get the chance to go on while I'm there in Grand Rapids.
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Um, I hope that they get to see the show because it's just it's quite wonderful.
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And obviously, if I get the call that I'll be going on, I'll be making several phone calls and being like, okay, get in your car.
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We have about two and a half hours.
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You can make it.
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Yep, absolutely.
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Absolutely.
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Steve.
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Sara Lynn, your bio ends with don't take yourself too seriously.
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I think my life bio is kind of like that as well.
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But that's easier said than done, though, in the business that you're in, though.
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So, you know, can you go into a moment on stage or off that completely humbled you, though, in the best possible way?
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I mean, I can think of a million circumstances where I've I've had my, you know, I've I've been put to the test.
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You know, I think being a professional actor and especially being an understudy, you always want to make sure that you're doing everything right and you don't want to mess up and you don't want to miss any lines.
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And oh my gosh, I I only have tonight to to do the show.
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And what am I gonna do if I make a mistake?
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And I think, you know, being an understudy is really put that to the test for me.
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Uh, there was one night I went on, and you know what?
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I'm not I'm not super proud of this, but I completely blanked on what lyric I was supposed to say.
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Um, in a scene where both Patty and Deborah were on stage at the same time.
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And I kind of fumbled it a little bit, but as soon as I picked up where we were, I just had to keep going.
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And in, you know, a previous version of myself would have torn myself apart after that, being like, oh, what was wrong with me?
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How could I do that?
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Why was I not perfect?
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But I think uh I've gotten to a place now in my professional career and in my personal life, honestly, where I don't have to hold, you know, so much weight on myself for being too perfect and too, you know, that that's the beauty to being a human being is that we're flawed and that we can make mistakes.
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And uh the first Broadway show I ever saw was Fan Love the Opera, and I was 16 years old.
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And I uh among many of my friends knew the score word perfect back to back.
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We'd watched the 25th anniversary of Fan of the Opera, you know, hundreds of times.
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And I went and saw the the Broadway production, and I think um friends of ours had gotten us tickets in the sixth row, and I could see the sweat on their faces.
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It was incredible.
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It was it was amazing.
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But there was one character who uh I happened to see that they were an understudy going on, and they uh made a very small line mistake, and it it didn't disrupt the show, it didn't, you know, it didn't ruin everything, but I knew and I was like, Oh, oh, oh, did you did they see it?
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But of course the show has moved on, and I'm sitting there, you know, having a 16-year-old panic being like, Did anyone else see that this person made a mistake?
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And um, I've you know, I've taken that with me is that like, you know, even at that level, you know, mistakes still happen.
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And of course, we always want to strive for perfection.
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But again, like that that's the beauty of being a human, especially in a in the performing arts and in a performing creative profession, is that like it's not going to be exactly how we want it every single time.
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It's not gonna be perfect, but the importance is that we continue doing it and not talking ourselves out of doing things for the fear of not being perfect, if that makes sense.
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It's kind of like a double-edged sword.
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You almost your professionalism is why the audience doesn't notice, but that creates your your more intentionality on your end to be better about it, creating more of an opportunity for them not to notice if you're really good if something goes wrong.
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You know, I love that kind of aspect of theater.
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Right, exactly.
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Exactly.
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So, my question to you it is a unique show.
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It's always how I kind of preface if I want to describe Kimberly Chimbo.
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In your words, Sara Lynn, how would you describe the show to somebody who's never seen it before, doesn't even know the storyline?
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Well, how I would describe it to someone who's never seen it before, if they were coming to see the show, I would say, great, don't look it up, don't look up the synopsis, come in with an open mind because, you know, there's something so special about the story that we're telling.
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It's about it's a coming-of-age story about growing up and growing old and not that order.
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And I wish I could take credit for that, but that's actually, you know, how it's been described by the author of the play and then the musical, David Lindsay Bear.
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And it's truly heartwarming and heart-wrenching.
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You'll be crying one moment, laughing the next, and you really know you never know which way it's gonna take you.
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Um, so I don't want to say too much about like the plot about what it's gonna be, because really you have to just experience it for yourself.
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And we'll be right back with Sarah Lynn Marion as we put her Broadway knowledge to the test in our new Broadway Backstage Blur Challenge.
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But first, a word from our sponsor, AARP.
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So, with a community challenge grant from AARP, a simple but brilliant idea came to life.
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Turning the sidewalk itself into a safety feature, making the sidewalks safer by making them colorful, playful, and fun.
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We have painted the crosswalks, we have been able to do this Candyland game.
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Kids are playing on it, they're drawing on the sidewalks.
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It really does start to slow the cars down.
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Thanks so much to AARP.
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This was such a great experience, and we can't wait to do so many more projects throughout the state of Michigan and beyond.
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We are thrilled to keep the conversation going with Sarah Lynn Marion, but first, let's have a little flood.
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It is time for our new Broadway backstage blur game, where we're going to take uh the remainder of our shows for this season and read our guests some very vague descriptions, Jen.
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All right, these are gonna be pretty high level here and maybe difficult to guess what show it is.
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But we want to know, Sarah, if you'll play along with us.
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If we read these five descriptions to you, would you be able to guess which show we're referring to through the remainder of our season?
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And we're not gonna leave you or the audience completely hanging in the wind.
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We will outline what our five shows are in case you didn't know or anybody doesn't, and then we'll jump in.
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Does that sound like something that works?
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Let's give it a go.
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Okay, I'll just say real quick for the audience and for you at home, the remainder of our shows this year are and Juliet, the Lion King, The Outsiders, of course, Kimberly Akimbo, and the Great Gatsby.
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I am good.
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Okay, you are good.
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All right.
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Well then, Jen, why don't you take it away?
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All right.
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So the first blurb is going to be young people discover that loyalty, class, and identity can become dangerous when the world insists on drawing hard lines.
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What show is it?
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Ooh, I have a couple ideas.
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That is not Outsiders?
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Ding ding ding ding ding.
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Nice job.
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Number two, an absence creates a vacuum, and something young must grow large enough to fill it.
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That sounds like Lion King to me.
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You are correct, sir.
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That is the Lion King.
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All right, Jin.
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A familiar tragedy gets interrupted by a very loud argument with fake pop music and the idea that the ending might not be done yet.
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Well, that one's definitely gotta be Anne Juliet.
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Boy, you are too good here.
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Alright.
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Yeah.
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And Juliet.
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Okay, and number four.
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Obsession dresses itself as hope and insists the past is negotiable.
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Well, I'm down to two options, and I don't think that's my show, so I'm gonna go with Great Gatsby.
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You would be correct, but it'd be amusing to see if you could apply that to Kimberly Akimbo in some kind of way or something.
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Yeah, I'm trying to think.
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I'm trying to think.
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That is correct, and then hey Jen, let's give her this last tough one then.
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You bet, you bet.
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A teenager faces adulthood faster than expected while everyone around her pretends time is behaving normally.
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Well, that's gotta be Kimberly Akimbo.
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Exactly.
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And I can't think of a better way to describe that to somebody to keep it vague.
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You you are absolutely correct.
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Sara Lynn, thank you so much.
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We cannot wait.
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And hopefully, better weather circumstances when you arrive here in Grand Rapids.
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Yes, but you know what?
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Rain or shine, we will be there, and we hope the audience comes too.
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The performance will go on, and we shall be there as well.
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Have a safe trip on in here, and we'll see you on the stage.
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All right.
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:48.399
Well, sounds good.
00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.039
Thanks so much.
00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:50.080
Hi, take care.
00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.159
I like the way you see the world.
00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.080
I like your point of view.
00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:58.080
A little sly, a little strange, a little bit askew.
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.080
I like the way you look at life and think outside the box.
00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.240
A little odd, a little off, a bit unworth the dock.
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:12.640
Full of hope, humor, and heart, Kimberly shows us all how to live life fully and unapologetically.
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.000
Just enjoy the ride because no one gets a second time around.
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:21.119
Today we're speaking with Ellie Wilcox, the senior director of Impact Giving at Make a Wish.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.559
Good afternoon, Ellie.
00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:23.359
How are you today?
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:23.920
I'm good.
00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.119
How are you guys?
00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:26.880
We're great, we're great.
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.799
You know, uh, Steve just kind of gave a little synopsis of the show.
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:35.519
You, you being Make a Wish Michigan, are our partners for this show.
00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.079
And I think it's really it makes sense.
00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:46.319
It makes sense because the whole idea of hope and living in the moment, that's a lot of what make a wish is all about.
00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.160
That's exactly what we do.
00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:51.200
We provide hope when kids they need it the most.
00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:58.720
Uh, we grant wishes for kids who are facing critical illness and we help to restore childhood and allow them to dream and have distraction.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:07.440
So being on site the night of the show, what are people our patrons going to be able to learn about make a wish that maybe they didn't realize before?
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:17.839
You know, one of the things that I I think people don't understand is that it doesn't take a physician to make a referral to make a wish, Michigan.
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:25.359
That if you know a child who is battling a critical illness in the state of Michigan, we're gonna provide tools to make that referral.
00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:31.759
And then also, um, a big misconception that we have is that we don't pay anything for our wishes.
00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:38.400
And so we're always looking for ways to donate and be able to help fund wishes because they're definitely not free.
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:39.039
Yeah.
00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:39.519
Yeah.
00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:44.640
So locally, how many wishes are still in need of being granted?
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:45.279
Yeah.
00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:50.400
So we have a goal this year of granting over 500 wishes in the state of Michigan.
00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:56.640
And we see on an annual basis that more than 800 kids in our state are diagnosed with a critical illness.
00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:58.000
So the need is great.
00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:06.079
And as we speak right now, just in West Michigan, we have 99 kids who are in our program who are waiting for their wishes to come true.
00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:07.200
Um, just today.
00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:14.240
So we, you know, we definitely have a lot of work ahead of us and we don't stop until we reach every eligible child.
00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:15.519
And that is our North Star.
00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:25.920
And of course, anecdotally, you see how these make a wish, you know, wishes kind of end up somewhere in the zeitgeist where, you know, somebody goes to on a trip they've never been able to do or they get to experience something they haven't done before.
00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.319
I want to ask this in the most respectful, you know, kind of way.
00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:37.599
Is there not a preferred way, but something that really gets to the heart of you personally that matters when a wish comes in, like a style of wish to meet somebody or to go do something?
00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:39.440
That really like pulls at your heartstrings.
00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:44.160
I would say, you know, all of the wishes you know are super amazing.
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:48.480
And what I love about them is that they're never two are the same, you know, even Disney wishes.
00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:58.480
We have a lot of Disney wishes, but kids are wishing to do different things when they're there and meeting different people when they're there and their favorite um, you know, princess or their superhero.
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:06.319
Um, but personally for me, and um, you know, I'm I'm involved with make a wish as an employee, but before that, I was a wish recipient myself.
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.720
I'm a wish alumni and very proud of that.
00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:15.200
But I would say that in all my years being part of it, um, some of the wishes that have spoken to me are the wishes to be.
00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:18.799
So being a princess for a day, a dinosaur.
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.480
Um, we actually did that.
00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:24.000
Um, and so just some of those are so innocent and so sweet.
00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:30.319
It's wonderful to see the youths' minds expand and consider and think things like that and then you know actuate.
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.480
Can you walk through a little bit about becoming a dinosaur?
00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.400
What kind of like approach you would have taken for that?
00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:35.359
Well, it was interesting.
00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:43.759
We sat down and we we talked with the wish kid, and what I loved and applauded the parents for is allowing this kid to ask for it.
00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:49.680
He wanted to hatch out of an egg, he wanted to eat meat, and he wanted to attack T-Rex.
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:52.480
And we we were able to accomplish all those things.
00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:52.880
Oh, yeah.
00:20:53.359 --> 00:21:05.519
We brought in our community, and that is what's important is we we looked at um several different community members came forward with making an egg out of a shell of a bean bag for um for research.
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:17.920
And um, we had the hospital helping us, and and we just had a lot of our community partners helping us with sightings, and John Bell's zoo and the Gran Up Police and Fire were helping to investigate the suspicious egg that he hatched out of.
00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:28.880
So it was innocent, it was sweet, and um my favorite little side note, you guys, of that is when we would transport him from the zoo to the blue bridge where he was chasing T-Rex.
00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:35.279
We couldn't keep his suit on that he he made for himself because he he figured he was too big to ride in a vehicle.
00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:36.160
Love that.
00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:40.079
Oh, yeah, fully investing in the uh fully investing in the moment.
00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:46.400
And that that is certainly that is something I I guess I didn't realize the parameters around, right?
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.240
The scope of the community that you're talking about.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:22:11.599
You you know, you see the output sometimes when they're doing or having moments online and whatnot, and but you don't really realize what it takes to do that, nor do you realize, as you just pointed out, how a fascinating type of wish can be supported by the family, and then the community creatively bounces all out to really put those pieces together, creating a real moment, a real living, breathing series of moments for somebody.
00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:12.720
That that's fantastic.
00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:19.359
So we can't do this work without our community and without community partners like yourselves, you know, being able to draw attention to us.
00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:29.759
And, you know, one of the things we're gonna do with you at um the show is be able to um introduce the show to uh for Kimberly Akimbo to our alumni.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:39.680
And we're really, you know, hoping that we can engage our alumni uh to be part of the night and to be part of it because um when your wish is done, we you're you're not done with us.
00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.039
We we keep tabs and keep track and keep up with you.
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:43.759
So yeah.
00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:56.079
Well, speaking of which, I think for me, I mean that number that's still sticking in my head of the need here in West Michigan, but the hope it brings when you hear the number of alumni that has been blessed with a wish.
00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:56.960
Do you have that?
00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:58.240
How many here in West Michigan?
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.119
How many percent we get them on the spot?
00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:07.839
But yeah, no, I mean, we have granted over uh 12,500 wishes just in the state of Michigan.
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:23.680
And I don't have in front of me the breakdown of West Michigan, but yeah, you know, and what I love about make a wish, it's not just the wish kit, it's the siblings, it's the parents, it's the school, it's the community, it's it's everybody around um that is taking part and and is moved by this wish.
00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:29.119
And, you know, restor, you know, the restoration of childhood for these kids who are dealing with things that they didn't get to choose.
00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.680
But at Make a Wish, they get to choose what that wish is.
00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:32.799
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:33.599
Love it.
00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.440
Well, Ellie Wilcox, senior director of impact, giving at Make a Wish, Michigan.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:38.799
Thank you so much for chatting with this.
00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:39.200
Thank you.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.519
Thanks for what you guys do in our community.
00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.119
You guys are amazing you.
00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:43.839
We appreciate you.
00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:50.880
And you know, make sure you stop at the table that's gonna be right there, front and center, in that outer lobby during the show.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:51.839
You got it.
00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:52.559
Thank you.
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:53.359
Absolutely.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:55.200
Thank you much, and we'll see you there.
00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.160
And a big thanks to you, our listeners, for tuning in.
00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:04.960
Don't miss Kimberly Akimbo coming to DeVos Performance Hall January 27th for eight unforgettable performances.
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:12.319
Don't forget student rush tickets are$30, first come, first serve at the DeVos Performance Hall box office an hour before each performance.
00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:19.519
And uh, we also want to give a shout out to our season sponsor Meyer and our title sponsor, Fifth Third Bank, for making it all possible.
00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:25.519
And next time, Steve, when we join everybody, we're gonna be celebrating the big reveal.
00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:27.920
Uh I am very excited that's coming up.
00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.799
Uh, we're gonna be there actually recording that evening as well, I think, correct?
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:31.519
True, that's true.
00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:38.319
So this is when we reveal the 2627 Broadway Grand Rapids lineup, and I promise you it's going to be worth the wait.
00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:42.960
So look for the reveal on Monday, February 16th on all of our social platforms.
00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:43.599
Uh huh.
00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:47.279
And shortly thereafter, the new episode with all the highlights will drop.
00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:48.720
Thanks again for joining us.
00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.640
We'll see you at the show.
00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:10.240
From the cast on stage and cruise behind the curtain to community partners supporting efforts to bring professional Broadway performances to West Michigan.
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:14.960
Plus, all things in between, this is BGR's Backstage Buzz.
00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:23.760
Hey friends, I'm Jennifer Pasqua, VP of Marketing and Community Engagement at Broadway Grand Rapids.
00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:28.879
And I'm Steve Stecketty, producer, Broadway fan, and proud BGR ambassador.
00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:32.640
So today, Steve, you and I are doing a little something different.
00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:34.159
Something a little bit different.
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:42.159
I don't know if any of our locals are uh aware of what's going on, but we've got quite a bit of uh snowfall around us right now, making road travel and uh all that a little bit difficult.
00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:43.679
So, Jen, where are you today?
00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:50.159
Well, I'm on the lakeshore, which is kind of fun in the fact that I'm working from home, yet we can still do this.
00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:53.439
We can still have our little chit-chat with these Broadway stars.
00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:55.920
Modern problems require modern solutions.
00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:57.520
And I'm glad we can get this done.
00:00:57.600 --> 00:00:58.640
So, what are we doing today, Jen?
00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.880
Well, we're talking about Kimberly Akimbo.
00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:05.840
Now, this is the five-time Tony Award-winning musical, including Best Musical.
00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:16.959
It's a funny, heartfelt, and deeply human story about Kimberly, a 16-year-old who has just moved to suburban New Jersey and is determined to find joy and adventure against all odds.
00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:26.079
Yeah, so she's not only navigating a new school, she's got her first love and a really complicated family life, and also lives with a rare medical condition.
00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:32.079
But Kimberly reminds us what it means to grow up and grow old, sometimes at the same time.
00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:33.120
Intriguing, huh?
00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:33.439
Yes.
00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.799
However, it is a show full of humor, hope, and heart.
00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:45.519
Kimberly Akimbo is a beautiful reminder to live fully, love boldly, and enjoy the ride because no one gets a second time around.
00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:53.200
So here with us today, we have Sarah Lynn Marion, who is the understudy for Patty at Deborah, who's on our first national tour.
00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:54.239
Congratulations.
00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:55.840
Thank you so much.
00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:58.640
It's been quite an journey, honestly.
00:01:58.879 --> 00:01:59.280
It's awesome.
00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:02.799
We've looked a little bit back over your history, and I'm an ex-theater student.
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.200
You never really become an ex-theater student.
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.400
I'm a theater student who now does other things with their life, right?
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:09.120
Right.
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.360
Once once a theater kid, always a theater kid.
00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:12.400
Always a theater kid.
00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:14.319
And you've got a pretty storied past.
00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:18.000
I mean, you have gone from winning uh the Jimmy Award.
00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:19.599
Uh this is in high school, correct?
00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:20.000
Yes.
00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:29.280
Okay, you're winning the Jimmy Award, but then moving all the way into this national tour here, but you've you've made some stops along the way with television as well as a lot of other uh a lot of other performances.
00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:30.560
We've seen Ursula in there.
00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:35.360
You've moved fluidly between these off-Broadway shows, regional theater and television.
00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:39.520
You know, what muscle did theater give you that television might not?
00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:42.639
And do you see a difference between when you're acting for one versus the other?
00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:44.319
Wow, what a great question.
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:49.520
I mean, you know, uh musical theater and performing live is is in my blood.
00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.719
I would say that that is my true passion and calling.
00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:58.240
Um my parents actually met doing a production of The Wizard of Oz.
00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.039
And my mom was Dorothy, and my dad was the Tin Man.
00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:05.680
So, like that is, you know, I would say that's my bread and butter through and through.
00:03:05.840 --> 00:03:09.919
Um, and working in television was kind of a happy accident.
00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:18.719
Um, I really, you know, of course I wanted to be a movie star, TV star as a little kid, but I I didn't really know that that was a real possibility for me.
00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:28.879
And it wasn't until I moved to New York after I graduated college and got connected with my agents that I really saw that there was a real potential there.
00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:35.039
And actually, my first TV episode that I did, I played a musical theater actor.
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:42.879
So my audition for it was a typical musical theater, you know, sing a song and do a musical theater scene.
00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:45.039
And they were like, okay, great, let's do that.
00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:46.240
But now with cameras.
00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:51.520
So it was, it was kind of funny that that was my first TV spot that was on the show, uh, high maintenance.
00:03:51.759 --> 00:04:06.800
So it's, you know, they're very, they're very different, you know, with with stage, you're very, you I mean, there's so much nuance to to anything, but with the stage, I feel like you're more animated, things are a bit bigger, and that's you know, very general take on it.
00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.840
But with television, things can be much smaller and more intimate.
00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:20.319
So, you know, really exercising subtlety versus, you know, big Broadway, you know, playing to the back of the house, you know.
00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:21.360
Yeah, exactly.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:22.720
They're just they're just different.
00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:30.160
And and I'm I feel really lucky to have worked in both mediums, and I hope I continue to do to do so.
00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:38.000
Um, it really, you know, pushes my skills as an actor and you know, tests my abilities, and it's it's really exciting.
00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:41.600
So uh concerning this show, you're playing understudy for Patty and Deborah.
00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:44.319
And uh you've understudied some other roles before, correct?
00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.720
I've been in understudy before, but this is my first time being an off-stage understudy.
00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:54.800
So the times where I've done it before, I played an a smaller part in the show every night.
00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:01.040
And then when the person who is playing the bigger part was out, then I would step up to that role.
00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:05.439
Whereas in this show, I'm not playing a role in the show every night.
00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.240
This is my first time being a completely off-stage understudy.
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:13.600
So I'm only in the show when one of the two actors that I cover has to miss for whatever reason.
00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:24.800
Do you find it harder or difficult to either honor somebody else's like blueprint when they're out on that stage, if you're understudying them, or to bring your own reality to reality to the show?
00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:32.879
And I imagine you bring your own spin on it, but right if you're watching somebody else doing it sometimes, you know, I have to imagine you and incorporate some of that into your performance.
00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:33.680
Definitely.
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:40.879
I mean, you know, the the important thing is that the show continues to function how it normally does every night.
00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:53.439
So when I come in to do my job, I can't do anything that's crazy outside the walls, you know, to make a joke where there isn't one or say something that's, you know, with a different intention.
00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:02.000
But from the beginning, even in rehearsals, I was always encouraged to do the characters as me, how I interpret them.
00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:08.800
So I really wasn't, you know, forced to just mimic what the other actors are doing.
00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.360
I was really encouraged to just like make it my own.
00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:25.040
And as long as the beats remain the same, as long as the show can run smoothly and as long as I'm, you know, standing on my mark and making sure that, you know, the integrity of a scene um remains true.
00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:28.399
I've been I've been given quite quite a bit of creative freedom.
00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.480
And uh, I don't think that's always the case.
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:33.040
So I'm very grateful for that with this show in particular.
00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:38.480
Yeah, like the architecture of the house has to remain the same, but you're adding your own coats of paint in the rooms for your own.
00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:38.800
Yeah.
00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:39.519
Absolutely.
00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:40.160
Awesome.
00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:47.600
Yeah, you know, what I'd love to focus on, we enjoy when we get to talk to people who are coming through that have that Michigan connection.
00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:54.079
And it still blows my mind how many of the stars we see do have a Michigan connection.
00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:56.240
So tell us a little bit about yours.
00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.160
Yeah, uh, so I went to the University of Michigan.
00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.560
Uh, I graduated in 2018.
00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:11.120
And it's actually funny because when I was a student at the school, I saw several national tours come through Grand Rapids.
00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:12.879
We would take a car and drive over.
00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:18.160
So we saw Pippin, we saw Newsies, I think, I think we saw Book of Mormon there as well.
00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:33.120
And it's it's just funny now on the other side of things, you know that I've been experiencing that on tour in general, like the the theater in my hometown where I saw national tours come through, then we played that theater.
00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:50.399
And um so so it's a very funny like experience to have uh as a professional adult, you know, now being on the other side of things and thinking that maybe in the audience there's a U of M student sitting there watching, hoping to be one of the actors in a couple of years after they graduate.
00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:54.800
And it's it's this wonderful cycle that I'm really grateful to be a part of.
00:07:54.959 --> 00:08:01.600
But as far as the rest of my Michigan connections, my fiance is born and raised from Michigan.
00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:06.160
So that's where all my in-laws are actually, or my future in-laws.
00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:14.160
Uh, so we're back in Michigan actually quite often uh in the in the greater Detroit Ann Arbor area.
00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:14.800
Okay.
00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:15.120
Okay.
00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:19.920
So do you think they're gonna make the drive to West Michigan to catch you on the uh tour?
00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:27.040
You know, I I hope they do, even if I don't get the chance to go on while I'm there in Grand Rapids.
00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:31.680
Um, I hope that they get to see the show because it's just it's quite wonderful.
00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:37.759
And obviously, if I get the call that I'll be going on, I'll be making several phone calls and being like, okay, get in your car.
00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.519
We have about two and a half hours.
00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:40.399
You can make it.
00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:41.840
Yep, absolutely.
00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:42.399
Absolutely.
00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:42.879
Steve.
00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:47.519
Sara Lynn, your bio ends with don't take yourself too seriously.
00:08:47.679 --> 00:08:49.759
I think my life bio is kind of like that as well.
00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:52.480
But that's easier said than done, though, in the business that you're in, though.
00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:58.399
So, you know, can you go into a moment on stage or off that completely humbled you, though, in the best possible way?
00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:07.039
I mean, I can think of a million circumstances where I've I've had my, you know, I've I've been put to the test.
00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:16.879
You know, I think being a professional actor and especially being an understudy, you always want to make sure that you're doing everything right and you don't want to mess up and you don't want to miss any lines.
00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:21.600
And oh my gosh, I I only have tonight to to do the show.
00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:23.679
And what am I gonna do if I make a mistake?
00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:28.799
And I think, you know, being an understudy is really put that to the test for me.
00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.759
Uh, there was one night I went on, and you know what?
00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:39.039
I'm not I'm not super proud of this, but I completely blanked on what lyric I was supposed to say.
00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:44.559
Um, in a scene where both Patty and Deborah were on stage at the same time.
00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:50.559
And I kind of fumbled it a little bit, but as soon as I picked up where we were, I just had to keep going.
00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:58.399
And in, you know, a previous version of myself would have torn myself apart after that, being like, oh, what was wrong with me?
00:09:58.480 --> 00:09:59.200
How could I do that?
00:09:59.360 --> 00:10:00.559
Why was I not perfect?
00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:19.519
But I think uh I've gotten to a place now in my professional career and in my personal life, honestly, where I don't have to hold, you know, so much weight on myself for being too perfect and too, you know, that that's the beauty to being a human being is that we're flawed and that we can make mistakes.
00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:25.200
And uh the first Broadway show I ever saw was Fan Love the Opera, and I was 16 years old.
00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:32.879
And I uh among many of my friends knew the score word perfect back to back.
00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:38.320
We'd watched the 25th anniversary of Fan of the Opera, you know, hundreds of times.
00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:47.600
And I went and saw the the Broadway production, and I think um friends of ours had gotten us tickets in the sixth row, and I could see the sweat on their faces.
00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:48.639
It was incredible.
00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:49.840
It was it was amazing.
00:10:50.320 --> 00:11:09.600
But there was one character who uh I happened to see that they were an understudy going on, and they uh made a very small line mistake, and it it didn't disrupt the show, it didn't, you know, it didn't ruin everything, but I knew and I was like, Oh, oh, oh, did you did they see it?
00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:16.399
But of course the show has moved on, and I'm sitting there, you know, having a 16-year-old panic being like, Did anyone else see that this person made a mistake?
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:23.440
And um, I've you know, I've taken that with me is that like, you know, even at that level, you know, mistakes still happen.
00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.720
And of course, we always want to strive for perfection.
00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:40.159
But again, like that that's the beauty of being a human, especially in a in the performing arts and in a performing creative profession, is that like it's not going to be exactly how we want it every single time.
00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:51.200
It's not gonna be perfect, but the importance is that we continue doing it and not talking ourselves out of doing things for the fear of not being perfect, if that makes sense.
00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:52.879
It's kind of like a double-edged sword.
00:11:52.960 --> 00:12:05.200
You almost your professionalism is why the audience doesn't notice, but that creates your your more intentionality on your end to be better about it, creating more of an opportunity for them not to notice if you're really good if something goes wrong.
00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:07.039
You know, I love that kind of aspect of theater.
00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:08.240
Right, exactly.
00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:09.120
Exactly.
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.480
So, my question to you it is a unique show.
00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:16.320
It's always how I kind of preface if I want to describe Kimberly Chimbo.
00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:23.279
In your words, Sara Lynn, how would you describe the show to somebody who's never seen it before, doesn't even know the storyline?
00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:40.320
Well, how I would describe it to someone who's never seen it before, if they were coming to see the show, I would say, great, don't look it up, don't look up the synopsis, come in with an open mind because, you know, there's something so special about the story that we're telling.
00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:46.240
It's about it's a coming-of-age story about growing up and growing old and not that order.
00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:56.080
And I wish I could take credit for that, but that's actually, you know, how it's been described by the author of the play and then the musical, David Lindsay Bear.
00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:00.879
And it's truly heartwarming and heart-wrenching.
00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:07.440
You'll be crying one moment, laughing the next, and you really know you never know which way it's gonna take you.
00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:14.000
Um, so I don't want to say too much about like the plot about what it's gonna be, because really you have to just experience it for yourself.
00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:21.360
And we'll be right back with Sarah Lynn Marion as we put her Broadway knowledge to the test in our new Broadway Backstage Blur Challenge.
00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:24.320
But first, a word from our sponsor, AARP.
00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:30.480
So, with a community challenge grant from AARP, a simple but brilliant idea came to life.
00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:37.919
Turning the sidewalk itself into a safety feature, making the sidewalks safer by making them colorful, playful, and fun.
00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.759
We have painted the crosswalks, we have been able to do this Candyland game.
00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:44.639
Kids are playing on it, they're drawing on the sidewalks.
00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:46.559
It really does start to slow the cars down.
00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:48.159
Thanks so much to AARP.
00:13:48.240 --> 00:13:53.120
This was such a great experience, and we can't wait to do so many more projects throughout the state of Michigan and beyond.
00:13:55.120 --> 00:14:00.879
We are thrilled to keep the conversation going with Sarah Lynn Marion, but first, let's have a little flood.
00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:12.240
It is time for our new Broadway backstage blur game, where we're going to take uh the remainder of our shows for this season and read our guests some very vague descriptions, Jen.
00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:17.039
All right, these are gonna be pretty high level here and maybe difficult to guess what show it is.
00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:19.440
But we want to know, Sarah, if you'll play along with us.
00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:26.240
If we read these five descriptions to you, would you be able to guess which show we're referring to through the remainder of our season?
00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:29.200
And we're not gonna leave you or the audience completely hanging in the wind.
00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:33.600
We will outline what our five shows are in case you didn't know or anybody doesn't, and then we'll jump in.
00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:35.039
Does that sound like something that works?
00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:36.000
Let's give it a go.
00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:48.320
Okay, I'll just say real quick for the audience and for you at home, the remainder of our shows this year are and Juliet, the Lion King, The Outsiders, of course, Kimberly Akimbo, and the Great Gatsby.
00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:49.440
I am good.
00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:50.720
Okay, you are good.
00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:51.120
All right.
00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.519
Well then, Jen, why don't you take it away?
00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:54.159
All right.
00:14:54.240 --> 00:15:03.919
So the first blurb is going to be young people discover that loyalty, class, and identity can become dangerous when the world insists on drawing hard lines.
00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:05.120
What show is it?
00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.720
Ooh, I have a couple ideas.
00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.360
That is not Outsiders?
00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:10.960
Ding ding ding ding ding.
00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:12.000
Nice job.
00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:19.279
Number two, an absence creates a vacuum, and something young must grow large enough to fill it.
00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.720
That sounds like Lion King to me.
00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:23.919
You are correct, sir.
00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:24.960
That is the Lion King.
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:25.840
All right, Jin.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:34.080
A familiar tragedy gets interrupted by a very loud argument with fake pop music and the idea that the ending might not be done yet.
00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:37.600
Well, that one's definitely gotta be Anne Juliet.
00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:40.399
Boy, you are too good here.
00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:40.879
Alright.
00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:41.279
Yeah.
00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:42.399
And Juliet.
00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:44.960
Okay, and number four.
00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:50.320
Obsession dresses itself as hope and insists the past is negotiable.
00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:56.879
Well, I'm down to two options, and I don't think that's my show, so I'm gonna go with Great Gatsby.
00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:01.759
You would be correct, but it'd be amusing to see if you could apply that to Kimberly Akimbo in some kind of way or something.
00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:02.799
Yeah, I'm trying to think.
00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:04.000
I'm trying to think.
00:16:04.960 --> 00:16:07.919
That is correct, and then hey Jen, let's give her this last tough one then.
00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:09.200
You bet, you bet.
00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:15.759
A teenager faces adulthood faster than expected while everyone around her pretends time is behaving normally.
00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:19.120
Well, that's gotta be Kimberly Akimbo.
00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:21.120
Exactly.
00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:26.480
And I can't think of a better way to describe that to somebody to keep it vague.
00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:28.720
You you are absolutely correct.
00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:30.399
Sara Lynn, thank you so much.
00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:31.360
We cannot wait.
00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:36.240
And hopefully, better weather circumstances when you arrive here in Grand Rapids.
00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:37.600
Yes, but you know what?
00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:41.360
Rain or shine, we will be there, and we hope the audience comes too.
00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:44.480
The performance will go on, and we shall be there as well.
00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:47.120
Have a safe trip on in here, and we'll see you on the stage.
00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:47.600
All right.
00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:48.399
Well, sounds good.
00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.039
Thanks so much.
00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:50.080
Hi, take care.
00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.159
I like the way you see the world.
00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.080
I like your point of view.
00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:58.080
A little sly, a little strange, a little bit askew.
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.080
I like the way you look at life and think outside the box.
00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.240
A little odd, a little off, a bit unworth the dock.
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:12.640
Full of hope, humor, and heart, Kimberly shows us all how to live life fully and unapologetically.
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.000
Just enjoy the ride because no one gets a second time around.
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:21.119
Today we're speaking with Ellie Wilcox, the senior director of Impact Giving at Make a Wish.
00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.559
Good afternoon, Ellie.
00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:23.359
How are you today?
00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:23.920
I'm good.
00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:25.119
How are you guys?
00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:26.880
We're great, we're great.
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.799
You know, uh, Steve just kind of gave a little synopsis of the show.
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:35.519
You, you being Make a Wish Michigan, are our partners for this show.
00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.079
And I think it's really it makes sense.
00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:46.319
It makes sense because the whole idea of hope and living in the moment, that's a lot of what make a wish is all about.
00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.160
That's exactly what we do.
00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:51.200
We provide hope when kids they need it the most.
00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:58.720
Uh, we grant wishes for kids who are facing critical illness and we help to restore childhood and allow them to dream and have distraction.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:07.440
So being on site the night of the show, what are people our patrons going to be able to learn about make a wish that maybe they didn't realize before?
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:17.839
You know, one of the things that I I think people don't understand is that it doesn't take a physician to make a referral to make a wish, Michigan.
00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:25.359
That if you know a child who is battling a critical illness in the state of Michigan, we're gonna provide tools to make that referral.
00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:31.759
And then also, um, a big misconception that we have is that we don't pay anything for our wishes.
00:18:31.839 --> 00:18:38.400
And so we're always looking for ways to donate and be able to help fund wishes because they're definitely not free.
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:39.039
Yeah.
00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:39.519
Yeah.
00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:44.640
So locally, how many wishes are still in need of being granted?
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:45.279
Yeah.
00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:50.400
So we have a goal this year of granting over 500 wishes in the state of Michigan.
00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:56.640
And we see on an annual basis that more than 800 kids in our state are diagnosed with a critical illness.
00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:58.000
So the need is great.
00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:06.079
And as we speak right now, just in West Michigan, we have 99 kids who are in our program who are waiting for their wishes to come true.
00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:07.200
Um, just today.
00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:14.240
So we, you know, we definitely have a lot of work ahead of us and we don't stop until we reach every eligible child.
00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:15.519
And that is our North Star.
00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:25.920
And of course, anecdotally, you see how these make a wish, you know, wishes kind of end up somewhere in the zeitgeist where, you know, somebody goes to on a trip they've never been able to do or they get to experience something they haven't done before.
00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:28.319
I want to ask this in the most respectful, you know, kind of way.
00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:37.599
Is there not a preferred way, but something that really gets to the heart of you personally that matters when a wish comes in, like a style of wish to meet somebody or to go do something?
00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:39.440
That really like pulls at your heartstrings.
00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:44.160
I would say, you know, all of the wishes you know are super amazing.
00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:48.480
And what I love about them is that they're never two are the same, you know, even Disney wishes.
00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:58.480
We have a lot of Disney wishes, but kids are wishing to do different things when they're there and meeting different people when they're there and their favorite um, you know, princess or their superhero.
00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:06.319
Um, but personally for me, and um, you know, I'm I'm involved with make a wish as an employee, but before that, I was a wish recipient myself.
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:08.720
I'm a wish alumni and very proud of that.
00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:15.200
But I would say that in all my years being part of it, um, some of the wishes that have spoken to me are the wishes to be.
00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:18.799
So being a princess for a day, a dinosaur.
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.480
Um, we actually did that.
00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:24.000
Um, and so just some of those are so innocent and so sweet.
00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:30.319
It's wonderful to see the youths' minds expand and consider and think things like that and then you know actuate.
00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:32.480
Can you walk through a little bit about becoming a dinosaur?
00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:34.400
What kind of like approach you would have taken for that?
00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:35.359
Well, it was interesting.
00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:43.759
We sat down and we we talked with the wish kid, and what I loved and applauded the parents for is allowing this kid to ask for it.
00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:49.680
He wanted to hatch out of an egg, he wanted to eat meat, and he wanted to attack T-Rex.
00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:52.480
And we we were able to accomplish all those things.
00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:52.880
Oh, yeah.
00:20:53.359 --> 00:21:05.519
We brought in our community, and that is what's important is we we looked at um several different community members came forward with making an egg out of a shell of a bean bag for um for research.
00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:17.920
And um, we had the hospital helping us, and and we just had a lot of our community partners helping us with sightings, and John Bell's zoo and the Gran Up Police and Fire were helping to investigate the suspicious egg that he hatched out of.
00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:28.880
So it was innocent, it was sweet, and um my favorite little side note, you guys, of that is when we would transport him from the zoo to the blue bridge where he was chasing T-Rex.
00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:35.279
We couldn't keep his suit on that he he made for himself because he he figured he was too big to ride in a vehicle.
00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:36.160
Love that.
00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:40.079
Oh, yeah, fully investing in the uh fully investing in the moment.
00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:46.400
And that that is certainly that is something I I guess I didn't realize the parameters around, right?
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:48.240
The scope of the community that you're talking about.
00:21:48.319 --> 00:22:11.599
You you know, you see the output sometimes when they're doing or having moments online and whatnot, and but you don't really realize what it takes to do that, nor do you realize, as you just pointed out, how a fascinating type of wish can be supported by the family, and then the community creatively bounces all out to really put those pieces together, creating a real moment, a real living, breathing series of moments for somebody.
00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:12.720
That that's fantastic.
00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:19.359
So we can't do this work without our community and without community partners like yourselves, you know, being able to draw attention to us.
00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:29.759
And, you know, one of the things we're gonna do with you at um the show is be able to um introduce the show to uh for Kimberly Akimbo to our alumni.
00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:39.680
And we're really, you know, hoping that we can engage our alumni uh to be part of the night and to be part of it because um when your wish is done, we you're you're not done with us.
00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:43.039
We we keep tabs and keep track and keep up with you.
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:43.759
So yeah.
00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:56.079
Well, speaking of which, I think for me, I mean that number that's still sticking in my head of the need here in West Michigan, but the hope it brings when you hear the number of alumni that has been blessed with a wish.
00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:56.960
Do you have that?
00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:58.240
How many here in West Michigan?
00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.119
How many percent we get them on the spot?
00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:07.839
But yeah, no, I mean, we have granted over uh 12,500 wishes just in the state of Michigan.
00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:23.680
And I don't have in front of me the breakdown of West Michigan, but yeah, you know, and what I love about make a wish, it's not just the wish kit, it's the siblings, it's the parents, it's the school, it's the community, it's it's everybody around um that is taking part and and is moved by this wish.
00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:29.119
And, you know, restor, you know, the restoration of childhood for these kids who are dealing with things that they didn't get to choose.
00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.680
But at Make a Wish, they get to choose what that wish is.
00:23:31.839 --> 00:23:32.799
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:33.599
Love it.
00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:37.440
Well, Ellie Wilcox, senior director of impact, giving at Make a Wish, Michigan.
00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:38.799
Thank you so much for chatting with this.
00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:39.200
Thank you.
00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.519
Thanks for what you guys do in our community.
00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.119
You guys are amazing you.
00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:43.839
We appreciate you.
00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:50.880
And you know, make sure you stop at the table that's gonna be right there, front and center, in that outer lobby during the show.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:51.839
You got it.
00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:52.559
Thank you.
00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:53.359
Absolutely.
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:55.200
Thank you much, and we'll see you there.
00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.160
And a big thanks to you, our listeners, for tuning in.
00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:04.960
Don't miss Kimberly Akimbo coming to DeVos Performance Hall January 27th for eight unforgettable performances.
00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:12.319
Don't forget student rush tickets are$30, first come, first serve at the DeVos Performance Hall box office an hour before each performance.
00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:19.519
And uh, we also want to give a shout out to our season sponsor Meyer and our title sponsor, Fifth Third Bank, for making it all possible.
00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:25.519
And next time, Steve, when we join everybody, we're gonna be celebrating the big reveal.
00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:27.920
Uh I am very excited that's coming up.
00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.799
Uh, we're gonna be there actually recording that evening as well, I think, correct?
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:31.519
True, that's true.
00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:38.319
So this is when we reveal the 2627 Broadway Grand Rapids lineup, and I promise you it's going to be worth the wait.
00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:42.960
So look for the reveal on Monday, February 16th on all of our social platforms.
00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:43.599
Uh huh.
00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:47.279
And shortly thereafter, the new episode with all the highlights will drop.
00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:48.720
Thanks again for joining us.
00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.640
We'll see you at the show.
