Exclusive Podcast: BROADWAY'S BACKBONE with Hair Designer Mitchell Beck

BroadwayWorld will be bringing you new episodes of Broadway's Backbone- a podcast dedicated to the men and woman of the ensemble: the chorus of dancers, singers, and actors that are the foundation of every Broadway musical. These often-unsung gypsies are the hardest working people on the boards and are Broadway's backbone. Each episode features an interview with a Broadway vet, in which they speak about their life, career and dreams, and the topics that aren't always shared. The life of a gypsy maybe full of passion, but not always filled with glamour. Each guest shares intimate details about their journey. There is no mud slinging, but expect a little dirt. The podcast is in honor of the folks of the ensemble and the people who plan to be them.

In this episode: ROMAN HOLIDAY's associate Hair Designer Mitchell Beck talks about how the hair department is the first to arrive at the theatre, the last to leave, and they are usually kept in the basement. He wasn't ready for New York City, but after 14 years of touring, realized it was NYC or back to Indiana. He shares that hair in theatre, TV, and film are all the same language, just a different dialect; that creating wigs is similar to sculpting; and that the hair room is like the kitchen of the party... the best place to be.

Broadway Backbone is hosted by Brad Bradley, who made his Broadway debut in the original cast of "Steel Pier" and followed that with "Annie Get Your Gun", "Thou Shalt Not" "Spamalot", "People in the Picture", "Billy Elliot", and "Chita: A Legendary Celebration." Brad got the idea for the podcast during a conversation he had with Chita Rivera as they were sitting on the dock in Cherry Grove, Fire Island talking shop. She told him that everyone should go through the chorus. It's where dues are paid, the craft is refined, and discipline is born. The seed was planted.

Past podcast guests have included: Ryan Steele (Newsies, Peter Pan LIVE), Neil Haskell (Hamilton, So You Think You Can Dance), Lisa Gajda (Tuck Everlasting), Peter Gregus (Jersey Boys), Angie Schworer (Something Rotten), Charlie Sutton (An American in Paris), Dennis Stowe (Aladdin), Cleve and Donna Marie Asbury (Chicago), Jeremy Davis(Hail, Caesar), Jen Cody (Urinetown), and Tara Rubin (Tara Rubin Casting). The podcast can be found at www.Broadwaysbackbone.com, and soon on iTunes.