Broadway SiriusXM Radio Host Seth Rudetsky and Friends Insist “The Show Must Go On” With Entertaining New Series “Stars in the House”
While many of us are baking bread, and cooking hearty stews and soups, and filling our homes with the aroma of these home-made delicacies, two creative guys are producing new “comfort TV” programs.
In an attempt to help all of us who are craving live performances on Broadway and other fresh entertainment content, the creative team of Sirius XM radio host Seth Rudetsky and his Broadway producer-husband James Wesley created Stars in the House.
The new YouTube streaming show is keeping us highly entertained during this global health pandemic. Stars in the House, which launched shortly after Broadway theaters closed due to COVID-19, is a twice-daily dose of sheer delight, (2 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET), that brings fresh new entertainment content right to our computers, phones, and tablets.
As the creators and executive producers of Stars in the House, they bring a masterful combination of music, storytelling, and community to each episode, ensuring that “the show must go on” in their viewers’ homes around the globe, even while performance venues across the nation are closed.
Since kicking off the show on March 16, this creative team has hosted 100 entertaining programs, offering a daily series that features stars of stage and screen, singing or performing plays live (from home!). Viewers from around the globe are so engaged that many are working their home schedules around these highly entertaining shows.
Since its inception, the creators are proud to report that Stars in the House has raised more than $300,000 to benefit The Actors Fund and other charities to help those most vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus. Often Rudetsky and Wesley remind their guests how important it is to keep in touch with loved ones during this social distancing.
Dr. Jon LaPook, the chief medical correspondent for CBS News, frequently joins Rudetsky and Wesley for the shows, as an added bonus.
What started with one performance has blossomed into programs that viewers look forward to each week. The programs include current favorite TV shows, One Day at a Time, Barry, Young Sheldon, This is Us, and Hollywood, along with reunions featuring the casts of Melrose Place, White Collar, Frasier, Glee, Desperate Housewives, SCTV, and Taxi.
The list of celebrity guests includes, among many others, Jason Alexander, Sean Hayes, Chita Rivera, Kristin Chenoweth, Tina Fey and her music-producer husband Jeff Richmond, Jeremy Jordan, Randy Rainbow, Rachel Brosnahan, Judith Light, Audra McDonald, and Will Swenson, Peyton List, Patrick Wilson, Billy Porter, and Annette Bening.
Among the surprise guests that have popped are: Jon Hamm, Eric McCormack, John Lithgow, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Jessie Mueller, Iain Armitage, Rosie O’Donnell, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
What life lessons can we learn from the coronavirus pandemic?
Seth Rudetsky: There are lessons about what is truly valuable, how tenuous everything is, and, for sure, how we should live in the moment.
What does it mean to you that so many performers have given their time to not only entertain your viewers but to help raise money for such a worthy cause?
SR: I have to say that I’m not surprised because I’ve always found artists to be incredibly generous with their time and talents! A few years ago, after the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting, James, (my co-producer, co-host, and husband), came up with the idea of getting a bunch of Broadway singers together to record What The World Needs Now Is Love to raise money for the victims and their families.
James came up with the idea on Monday morning and by Wednesday we were recording with more than 50 Broadway stars. My point is that artists are very willing to help whenever there is a need and this is certainly no exception!
Who had the idea to launch Stars in the House, and how difficult was it to launch?
SR: Basically, as soon as the shutdown happened, I saw tweets from Jennifer Cody, a friend of mine, basically saying, “Can anyone do anything?” And she tagged a couple of people. She did not tag me, but I saw it and I said to James, “We should do something where maybe I could call my singer friends and they could sing a couple of songs every day.” I was thinking that we could do these10-minute concerts. And James was like, “Well, it should be more like a Concert for America, where we interview people, also, and we give updates on donations for the Actor’s Fund.”
That conversation happened on a Saturday, and so, we kind of combined our ideas. And then we called the Actors Fund and they said yes to the idea. A lot of people like to do this whole lot of planning to make sure things are perfect. We are not those people. So, that Monday, (March 16), we moved forward with this.
How many shows have you done so far?
James Wesley: Our mighty team, staff members and volunteers, just told us tonight with Yeardley Smith and Jennifer Simard, performing our (Broadway) production of Disaster!, is show number 100.
That is amazing! I see there is a lot of laughter, so obviously you are having fun, in spite of some technical difficulties.
JW: Well, the hard part has actually gotten easier thanks to getting more people involved and giving them very specific tasks. After 100 shows we know a lot more than what we did when we began on March 16 with Kelli O’Hara. And it’s hard not to have fun when you’re surrounded by so many talented people who are donating their time to come on and talk with us, to sing, and to laugh. I’m in awe that so many people have said yes, and continue to say yes. I’m also in awe that people are still donating. People email questions every day and make comments that we get from YouTube, and Facebook, and Twitter. So, it’s evolved and it’s continuing to evolve.
Do you think about and plan the shows most of your waking hours, or are you spending some time on your own guilty — or not-guilty, pleasures?
SR: Good question! I would say that besides working at our home gym (ugh!) and doing my SiriusXM radio show and SiriusXM podcast, the rest of the day is dedicated to the live streams (we do two a day!). But after the 8 p.m. show, we relax with some TV shows! We watched every episode of Friends from the first season and now we have just started with Dead To Me.
I know that you love all of the guests, but do you have a few favorites, and why?
SR: Gosh! We’ve had more than 100 episodes so far and there are multiple guests on each one, so my head is spinning trying to think of my faves. I am loving the TV reunions….definitely, my favorite was the time we had stars from SCTV. So, I can’t tell you how obsessed I was with SCTV growing up and getting to talk directly to Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, and Eugene Levy about some of my favorite moments was something I never dreamed I would get to experience.
As far as music, it was pretty incredible to have Keala Settle sing This Is Me from The Greatest Showman, which she sang on the Oscars…and she sang it for us while she wearing the actual gown she wore on the Oscars!!!
How do you even arrange all of these A-list guests? I’m sure you don’t know everybody in the Broadway community; although I know you know a lot of them.
JW: With the TV reunions, it’s definitely expanded beyond Broadway. I would say in regards to Broadway, Seth probably knows 99 percent of people, and 100 percent of the people on the show are one degree removed. But the TV and film aspect, you’re right, we don’t know everyone. But literally I would say when it comes to all of the reunions, it’s all been one person who spearheaded it. So, it’s been David Hyde Pierce getting the Frasier reunion together. He’s obviously a Broadway guy who just happened to be on a hit, multi Emmy-award-wining show, and he knew all of his co-stars. Marilu Henner is the one who got Taxi together.
We know Chris Sullivan because he did an Actor’s Fund benefit with us last year, and Chris got the This Is Us people together. Matt Bomer, who is married to Simon Halls, offered to get the White Collar reunion together. We know (TV producer) Marco Pennette, so we got Caroline in the City on the air the other night. That’s kind of how it’s been.
We know Marcia Cross, she’s the one who got Desperate Housewives together. And then after the show, when we were off the air, Dana Delany was like, “How about I try to get China Beach together?” And Marcia was like, “I can get the Melrose Place people together.” So, that’s how we’ve exponentially multiplied the number of people we know. Another reason why we’re able to do so much is that people have been willing to volunteer their time to do this.
How did Dr. La Pook join the show as a frequent guest?
SR: We were talking to Dr. Jon LaPook, who had interviewed us after we did a show, Broadway for Orlando, and he’d asked us to write a handwashing song for CBS. And when he called that Monday morning we explained, “Oh, we can’t really work on it right now, because we have to do this Livestream to raise money for the Actors Fund.” And he said, “Oh, I’ll join you guys.”
That is awesome.
SR: So, we thought he would just come on for that one day, but then he was so amazing we asked him if he could just do every single show. So, now he’s on like 80 percent of the shows. It’s kind of turned into this thing where it’s interviews with live performances and medical updates. And we began 10 weeks ago, and we’re just doing it every day, twice a day. Dr. LaPook adds a unique element to the show that I think is needed and will continue to be needed. He is so valuable because of the way that he kind of cuts through all of the various different pieces of information that come flying at all of us every day from different sources. What’s true and what isn’t true. He often answers people’s emails. He’s fantastic!
We just love talented people and having them on. The most unexpected part has been the people that have watched it from around the world, and continue to watch it all around the world. And we know that the 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. time periods has been important to our regular viewers. It gives a sense of normalcy and schedules to people, where it’s like appointment TV to them.
What are you enjoying about having all of this time at home with your 19-year-old daughter, Juli? How are you able to help her through this time of unrest?
SR: It’s really nice being together with her and our doggies! James and I think this lockdown has been hardest on kids in their late teens and early 20s. They expected to be starting their adult lives and then suddenly everything stopped.
James and I started Plays In The House on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. (ET) with Broadway stars doing plays live. Now, we just started Plays In The House Jr. so that young people can perform in plays and young people can watch live theater. And we asked Juli to host! Both James and I know that focusing on these live streams has helped us not sink into anxiety and depression. So, by giving Juli this assignment every week, we think we’re helping keep her from down sliding. She loves raising money for charity!
Please talk about the fact that you have a devoted audience around the nation and around the world. Do you feel that you are filling a hole for so many of us who are hoping that Broadway will re-open soon?
JW: Oh, well, I hear what you’re saying about it filling a hole. I guess for us it’s a matter of going to talented people, like Caissie Levy and Patti Murin, from Broadway’s Frozen, and just asking them to come on, and sing and talk with us. So, it’s been really touching to hearing the young people from Beetlejuice and Jagged Little Pill talk about those issues.
It seems like the high points of this endeavor are the talented guests and your loyal viewers.
SR: We just love talented people and having them on. The most unexpected part has been that there are people watching from around the world. And we know that the 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. time periods has been important to our regular viewers. It gives a sense of normalcy and schedules to people, where it’s like appointment TV. Some people have written to us and said they structure their days around the two shows. This is another reason why it’s so important to us and why we keep those times consistent.
Seth, if had met you many moons ago when you were beginning your career, and I had foretold that you would have this big, beautiful, and brilliant career what would you have said to me?
SR: I wouldn’t say I’m shocked that all these things are happening, but I would say it’s what I really wanted. I feel very lucky. Oftentimes I’ll go, “Oh my God, I can’t believe Chita Rivera is doing our show.” I was so obsessed with her when I was a little kid. Just to see her live was beyond my expectations. I had only seen her in one show, Chicago when I was a little boy. To think like, “Oh, we can just call her and have her on the show, is nothing short of awesome.”
I feel very lucky about doing it, so I can’t tell you what I would think back then. But I can say that I definitely appreciate how this is my dream come true; that I can just talk to people on Broadway and have them perform songs from the past, like having Andrea McArdle sings Tomorrow [from the musical Annie] for me.” I never thought the dream was out of reach, but it was definitely my dream, and the fact that it did happen makes me feel very lucky.
We have a lot of stuff mapped out for the next month. So no, I don’t think there is a limit. I think we’re sticking to our guns that we’re going to keep doing this until Broadway re-opens, whenever that may be.
Are you still doing your show on SiriusXM Radio?
SR: Yes, I do it from home. I have this cool setup that goes right up to the radio station. If anything, they really want us to keep it consistent through SiriusXM because people like steady things in their life, so they like the fact that we’ve all kept our SiriusXM hours exactly the way they’ve always been.
What do you want to say to long-time listeners of your radio show and new viewers in terms of appreciation for following and enjoying your work?
SR: I am very thankful for them and SiriusXM. I’m able to come into people’s cars and homes and talk about how fantastic Broadway is. And because I’m such a part of their daily life, it’s allowed me to be able to tour the U.S. and Canada and to have fans everywhere! And I hope it’s made people love Broadway more than they already do.
The channel producer, Julie James, told us (Rudetsky, Christine Pedi, and John Tartaglia) that it’s really important for us to remain on. There’s so much inconsistency in the world right now, and people are looking for things that make them feel like they’re living their regular lives. I’m happy to be a part of that!
I assume you don’t have any end date for this show, and that you are just going to keep going as long as you have material?
JW: The answer is yes, and it’s funny that you say that about the material, because I think early on, like a month ago, Seth had said, “Oh, should we not ask this person? Or are we having too many theater reunions because we’re going to run out?” And the reality is that I don’t think that we will run out.
We have a lot of material mapped out for the next month. So, no, I don’t think there is a limit. I think we’re sticking to our guns that we’re going to keep doing this until Broadway re-opens; whenever that may be.
