Transcription of interview

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Live from The Gospel According To Heather press event, where members of the media were given a sneak peak of this new Off-Broadway Musical, I caught up with my friend & actress, Lauren Elder (Mary & Max, A New Musical, Hair, Side Show).

In this interview, Lauren pulled back the curtain to reveal:

• What made her want to be part of The Gospel According To Heather
• What she related to most about the show & her character Grace Krebs
• One rule she lives by

Behind-The-Curtain:

Lauren & I have known each other for almost a decade. We met through our mutual friend Bobby Cronin (the writer of Call Me Adam's theme song). 

In 2018, I was developing a live monthly interview series, Baring It All with Call Me Adam (the precursor to my podcast), Lauren & Bobby were amongst the first people I thought of to be part of my debut show.

Lauren had just become a world champion whistler & I thought it would be so much fun to have a whistle-off. Of course, Lauren won 🤣

She was also getting ready to star in the world-premiere of Bobby & Crystal Skillman's show Mary & Max, A New Musical.

I feel so fortunate to know Lauren & be able to call her a friend.

As you can hopefully hear in this interview, Lauren & I had a blast catching up.

In The Gospel According To Heather, Heather Krebs just wants a boyfriend. But how can she even navigate her way through high school if she might be the New Messiah?  A small town in Ohio grapples with politics, religion and teenage romance in this eclectic pop musical.

The Gospel According To Heather plays at Theater 555 in NYC through the newly extended date of July 16, 2023. Click here for tickets!

Connect with The Gospel According To Heather: Facebook and Instagram

More on Lauren Elder:

Lauren Elder is an actress, singer-songwriter, and world champion whistler living in New York City. Most recently, Lauren played Mary in the world premiere production of Mary and Max, A New Musical, by Bobby Cronin and Crystal Skillman, at Theatre Calgary, directed by Stafford Arima. She was nominated for a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance By An Actress for her portrayal of Mary.

Lauren has been seen on Broadway in Side Show and Hair and in the West End in Hair.

Other NYC Theater: Hair (Shakespeare in the Park/NY Public Theater), The Village of Vale (Lincoln Center), Orange Star Smasharoo;

Regional: Side Show (Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse), Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival.

TV: Law & Order SVU, Louie, Boardwalk Empire, The Tonight Show, The 83rd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, The 63rd Annual Tony Awards.

Lauren is also a children's performer, director, internationally respected performance coach, and on faculty at NY Film Academy and A Class Act NY.

She performs regularly in nightclubs around NYC, including 54 Below, Joe's Pub, Birdland, and Club Cumming. Her debut album can be found on iTunes and Spotify!

Connect with Lauren: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Transcription of Interview

Bobby Cronin: Hey everybody, it's Adam, Adam, live and in person for you. Hey everybody, it's Adam. Wonder who he'll interview?  

Adam Rothenberg: I am so excited to be at The Gospel According To Heather press event, and today I get to speak to my friend Lauren Elder. Hi Lauren.

Lauren Elder: Hi, Adam.

Adam Rothenberg: It's so good to see you.

Lauren Elder: It's so good to see you.

Adam Rothenberg: Oh my gosh. So I have to ask you, first of all, what made you want to be in The Gospel According To Heather?

Lauren Elder: Well, this all kind of happened because of my friend Jim Kierstead, who is one of the producers. He found this show and he was developing it last summer, and he didn't think that I was going to be in town, and he had actually asked someone else to play Grace in their developmental workshop, and that actress ended up getting C O V I D during the workshop and Jim called me and said, what are the chances you can get on a plane tomorrow fly to New York, learn this role in three days and then do a couple of presentations? And I said, I'll do it. Of course, of course. I'll do it.

Adam Rothenberg: [Lauren Laughs] Oh my God.

Lauren Elder: I joined the cast in that way, which was a whirlwind, but I immediately fell in love with the show. I've been a fan of Paul's work for many years, and this was just immediate connection with this piece. So I'm overjoyed to be back with it.

Adam Rothenberg: And what do you relate to most about your character and the show in general?

Lauren Elder: Oh, that's a really good question. I think with the show is really the overall message, which is spreading love, not getting bogged down in all of the crap everywhere else and just spreading love, focusing on that. And that is something I try to do in my life. My character is fairly different from me. She is a single mom. I play Grace Krebs, who is Heather's mom, and she is a little overwhelmed. The world moves a lot faster than she does, and she's just trying to keep hold of being the best mom she can and raising these kids in this ever-changing world, and now this daughter, who is all of a sudden performing miracles and Grace doesn't really understand it. I empathize with her a lot, but we are very different people.

Song excerpt from The Gospel According To Heather

I gathered by his response that he was not into Ki Guard. We live in a middle class neighborhood. We thrive in a middle class neighborhood. Why is her life so misunderstood? Sharonville, Ohio. Sharonville, Ohio. Sharonville, Ohio. Culture and Tradition. No one is below us or above suspicion. Sharonville, Ohio, where life is but a dream..

Or specifically nightmare. Or a girl who's 17. Sharonville, Ohio. Everyone is welcome. Sharon, Sharon, Sharonville, Ohio.

Adam Rothenberg: And my last question of the day, so the show is called The Gospel According To Heather, but what is The Gospel According To Lauren?

Lauren Elder: Ooh. Well, sing songs and be happy and accept everyone as they are.

Adam Rothenberg: I love that. I love that. And that is so you.

Lauren Elder: Thank you.

Adam Rothenberg: It was so good to see you today.

Lauren Elder: So good to see you.

Adam Rothenberg: You're welcome. And everybody listening, come see The Gospel According To Heather at Theater 5 55.

Bobby Cronin: He'll get the dirt and the scoop and the story for he happens to be in the know, just ask anybody whose had him, Adam, lives for the business of show. Call Me Adam dot com