Jack: What better title for a new Broadway musical than New York, New York.

Inspired by the iconic song by composers John Cantor from the 1977 Martin Scorsese film of the same name, this new musical with 9 nominations brings together two generations of Broadway legends.

It features a score and additional lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

♪ >> Fortune cookie?

>> No, my daddy.

>> Oh, smart daddy.

♪ [Applause] ♪ >> Don't bet against New York.

[Applause] Jack: Joining us now to talk about this marvelous musical are the stars.

Welcome to all of you, so glad to have you with us.

>> Thank you for having us.

Jack: We were talking before we started, my wife and I saw the show, it was spectacular.

You were also good.

I mentioned nine Tony nominations, all well deserved.

This is a project based very loosely on the 1977 film New York, New York.

Robert Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli.

As an actor, when someone presents you with a new project, and they say this is all new, but it is kind of connected to something that was out there and got a lot of attention.

Is that a daunting prospect for you in any way?

We will work our way through the boxes here.

>> Surprisingly not, it is only daunting if there is an expectation to fill the shoes.

With this project there was not.

I would be missing out if I did not experience the magic that Liza brought us.

I went to the movie to see what she did and gave.

But she was fully herself, and she allowed me to be that as well.

There has been no expectation for me to be her or inhabit her shoes in any capacity.

But only to bring myself to the project.

It only helped, I think.

Jack: How about you?

Robert De Niro, the legendary character.

Your first thought about it?

>> It is not bad company to be included with.

It is the best case scenario.

We are talking about people who have the bona fides.

Proving that time and time again.

And yet they had their own point of entry.

They had inspiration with this piece that we had carte blanche range over what we wanted to accomplish with it.

If the starting point is De Niro...and the rest is open campus, it is a good situation to be in.

>> I knew that Susan Stroman was going to be smart enough not to try the stick the movie onstage stage.

She was going to reimagine the kernel of the movie and theatricalize from there.

Her plan was to expand and make the story more about New York then just to central characters.

Jack: How about the idea, being a part of a project that has a legendary names.

Emily, you brought me to my other question, which is Susan Stroman directing and choreographing.

How about that idea of walking onto a stage and saying this is who I am working with.

>> I grew up in Delaware, in the same hometown.

We grew up looking to her as the legend that came from Wilmington, Delaware in the hope that one day you might be able to meet her.

It was a fun reunion for two Delaware girls to get together.

It is easy, because you trust her, you trust her wholeheartedly.

Her vision is one you can't help but get on board with.

>> Colton, what do you think?

>> I love her.

She is a Titan of this industry.

You already have your own pretense when you come in, thinking, "I know what she is going to do."

She is... our tour of stage.

She has her own vernacular, her own signature.

You think, I think I know how I slot into that.

The beautiful thing about getting to know her was the long leash that she gave us.

I think it is one of the beautiful deft hands of directing where you can make your signature happen and allow your actors to find their own signature within it.

She is supreme, she is top of the list.

Jack: As someone who has never been an actor, what you just described, would be the ideal scenario for you to find.

Emily, the idea of making the show about New York.

I saw in one of the reviews, they described it as a love letter to New York City and all of its possibilities.

Talk about that notion of making this a love letter to New York.

>> I would say that is a very accurate statement.

It is sort of centering on the idea of people coming to New York with an agenda, with a dream, and even if you are from New York, you are living here with a purpose.

Our show feels so much about people who hold our hands out to each other.

In particular, it is set in 1946, at the end of World War II.

When the city was putting itself back together.

And we are living that right now, post-pandemic.

I think the show is resonating on multiple levels for people when they see it because of that.

And the fact that, the world that we put it in is a small town.

It is a big city, but it is also a small town.

It is about people holding their hands out to each other.

Jack: You didn't get that small town feel.

It is interesting you mention that.

The stories are so intricately interwoven, with the backdrop of New York City as a small town.

But I have to ask you about two things, the first is the sets.

Somebody jump in, give a description.

It is hard for me, people deed to go to the theater to see the show.

One is to see the set design.

>> It is its own standing achievement, this set.

I will put it this way, it somehow hits every single major landmark in the city and sometimes it does so within the same number.

It is a very cinematic, very sweeping set.

It is very artful.

Jack: I saw it described as a travel log.

Is that accurate?

>> Yeah, and the first number we have a handful of hand-painted drops within 30 seconds that all fall an outfit or the other.

You are taken through the entire city.

It is a visual smorgasbord.

Jack: If you are someone who is fascinated by old photo grass of New York City, and there is an iconic one of ironworkers building a high-rise.

They are sitting there having their lunch on the steel beams.

And Emily, I know you are not dancing in the scene, but I will let you describe it.

That scene shows up in this show.

>> That scene turns into a musical number in our show.

Jack: Who would have thought that would lend itself to a musical number?

The music we talked about, this stage we talked about, the dancing is fabulous.

Why would you expect anything less than that from Susan Stroman?

Talk a little bit about the dancing and how it is so significant in this show.

>> When I got the call that I was going to be a part of New York, New York, I asked how much I was going to dance.

She said, don't worry, you will do a twirl here and there.

Her choreography is so rooted in storytelling and truth, that someone who is daunted by dancing, I watched these answers every night.

I tell them every night, I want to sing better from watching you.

Thank you for what you bring.

It is tremendous what she has brought and what she can tell the story through bodies.

Jack: We could talk for hours about this.

We are up against the time.

Once again, New York, New York, a magnificent show.

Talk about nine Tony nominations , including Best Musical.

Great theater is supposed to entertain us and make us think.

That is what this dozen a lot of ways.

Congratulations to all of you for the work that you have done and looking for to seeing this run for a long, long time.

Thank you so much for joining us.

To all take care now.

>> Thank you.

♪