Before Wicked the movie. Before Ariana Grande. I interviewed Broadway actor Ethan Slater, Tony nominated for his starring role in SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical.

At the time this interview took place, Ethan was getting ready to release Edge of the World, a concept album he wrote with Drama Desk nominee Nick Blaemire (tick, tick...BOOM!, Glory Days).

The recording stars Ethan, Nick, Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz (My Fair Lady, Big Fish), and Tony nominee Lilli Cooper (Tootsie, Spring Awakening).

In this interview Ethan is Baring It All about:

• Starring on & Auditioning for Broadway
• The inspiration behind Edge of the World
• Childhood Memories
• Fan Questions

Edge of the World is available on Broadway Records.

Ethan Slater as SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway

More on Ethan Slater:

Ethan Slater is an actor, writer and musician (mostly) based in New York. He was nominated for a Tony Award, and won the Drama Desk Award for playing SpongeBob in The SpongeBob Musical, which also happened to be his Broadway debut!

As a writer, some upcoming projects include the films Intervenors and Silent Mode, both of which he co-wrote and co-stars in. 

He’s released two EPs of original music, available on Spotify (or wherever you listen to stuff).

As an actor, other theater includes: Who’s Your Baghdaddy..., PEMDAS, Camelot (Lincoln Center), and when theater returns this fall (!), he will be playing Lee Harvey Oswald/The Balladeer in Assassins at Classic Stage Company.

Some TV/film credits: Fosse/Verdon (FX), Law and Order (NBC), Murphy Brown (CBS), SpongeBob: Live On Stage (Nickelodeon), Evol, Untitled Vanessa Del Rio Biopic (upcoming), Kurt. (upcoming).

Connect with Ethan: 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: My name is Adam Rothenberg and I host the entertainment platform Call Me Adam and its podcast Baring It All with Call Me Adam. I am so excited to be talking with Ethan Slater.

For those of you who don't know Ethan, he starred on Broadway as SpongeBob in SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway. He was Tony nominated for his role. He has also starred as the legendary Joel Grey on FX's Fosse/Verdon. And he starred on one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Law Order SVU. So... What brought us here today, is that Ethan and his friend, Nick Blaemire released a concept album together for a new musical they're working on called Edge of the World.

And I'm so excited to introduce Ethan Slater to everybody. Welcome.

Ethan Slater: Thanks for having me.

Adam Rothenberg: You're welcome. I know one of the things that really brought people here is Spongebob Squarepants. Actually, Spongebob, The Musical, I should say.

That was in 2017 to 2018. So, I have to know first, what was it like to, portray one of the biggest cartoon characters of our time?

Ethan Slater: Oh man. It was, really nerve wracking.

It was scary at first because I grew up surrounded by Spongebob. All of my friend's sense of humor, came from Spongebob. I would watch it at friends' houses. We would go over after school and that was the thing that we watched. And so, it felt like a lot of responsibility.

But then, once you push that aside, or compartmentalize it and put it off, then it was so fun. Because Spongebob is this incredible character, but it's this incredible world. "Bikini Bottom" is this just beautiful world to live in, that doesn't deny reality, but it has its own reality.

It's a beautiful place to be. So, it was just the most fun thing in the world.

Adam Rothenberg: What was the most challenging part of either playing Spongebob or the production in general?

Ethan Slater: The hardest part was probably the physicality of it. It was just so physical for two and a half hours, non-stop, which I loved. It was also my favorite part of it. I guess the other hard part was just finding the balance between being Ethan and being Spongebob and how to take this character and be three dimensional and really human, but also be quintessentially Spongebob, that was a balancing act that, was most of the work.

Adam Rothenberg: Now Spongebob, it only ran a year on Broadway.

Ethan Slater: Yeah. That's right.

Adam Rothenberg: Before it got on Broadway, how long were you with, the show and how much time did you put in to the pre-Broadway run?

Ethan Slater: We started working on it in 2012, so that's five years before we got to Broadway. And then, we ran for a year, which was really great. We had this incredible fan base. The theater was closing, so we had to close the show. And that was really heartbreaking. It's always heartbreaking when you can't keep on sharing the story that you love and doing this thing that you love and it truly was the best, best job ever.

The one thing that I'll add to that is we got to film it for Paramount Plus originally for Nickelodeon. And it's now on Paramount Plus and, that is. God, I just feel so, so lucky that that happened, so grateful that Nickelodeon was like, let's, let's capture this in this way.

We reached so many more people, and you can still watch it, and I hope, people keep on finding it forever.

Adam Rothenberg: Now I do want to know so here you spent five years working on the show.

It gets to Broadway and unfortunately, because the theater was going under this renovation, it only allowed you to run for that year. But you still, you still get that notice that the show is closing.

Ethan Slater: Yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: So, what is that? What is it like to get that news here? I mean, you've spent so much time on it. And then what do you do the day after the show closes? Did you get up the same way or,

Ethan Slater: Oh, it's, it was really heartbreaking. We had a little bit of lead time because it had to do with the theater. It wasn't like a ticket sales thing. Then you realize like you still get to do the show and, and that final performance was really emotional. The show itself is, is all about being with your community and, and appreciating the time you have. And, that final song, just six more minutes left, we've done all we can do we're singing the song and whatever happens next, I'm glad I'm here with you and it was just like, oh, So that is really how we felt.

The next day though I had a bunch of mail that came to the theatre and so they called me they were like, "Hey, you've got like a couple deliveries that are here, do you want to come pick it up?" I was like, yeah, all right, so I went back to the theatre.

Adam Rothenberg: I love it. I love it. Cindy here says she took her family to your final performance And Curtis saw it four times, Chicago, once on Broadway and once on tour.

Ethan Slater: Oh, that's incredible. I love the differences between Chicago, then when we brought it to Broadway, and it was probably even different on tour, but doing it in Chicago was this craze, like we had to do it so fast and then we only ran for like, you know, these out-of-town trials just like a month or two and it's just like, ah, um, and it was, it was such a blast though.

But yeah, I love that. I love people who got to see it in all its different iterations.

Adam Rothenberg: Let's take a quick break, and we'll be right back after this word from our sponsors.

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And now we're back.

Now let's talk about the reason that we, that we came together today to talk about Edge of the World, which you and Nick wrote together.

Ethan Slater: So, Edge of the World is a musical that I wrote with Nick Blaemire and it's about, this father and son who moved to rural, isolated Alaska, sort of in the Arctic Circle, where this boy is raised using his imagination to cope with the sort of loneliness of the surroundings.

So, it's this sort of imaginative world, and, and as he grows up, the world that's been built around him starts to have cracks in it, and he starts to see, what his life really is outside of it. So, it's this sort of, folk-spun, like, hand-spun musical, Where, hopefully on stage, actors will be playing musicians kind of vibe, small cast.

So yeah, there is like a stage version of it, but the concept album is something that's really exciting. Because, as we were working on this show, we did as an exercise, we just stripped the book scenes away. And we just went from song to song. And we were like, wow, this is the story.

This is the core of the story. This is how we tell it. And then the pandemic hit. And the world was shut down for a little bit and we were trying to figure out how we could keep on developing the show that we've been working on without getting in a room together which was the next step.

And, we, we decided to go ahead and make this concept album. It was a few months in, about three months in, we decided to start putting things together. We reached out to Norbert, who has been one of my favorite actors and is just one of the best singing actors ever. Best actors ever, but his voice, so, we reached out being like, "Hey, I know that we've met a couple of times, but here are the demos and we think you would be the absolute best person to play this role, we would love for you to do it." And he listened and he was like, "Yeah, I'm in. Let's do this." So that was awesome. And he was also like super collaborative about it. He was really into this idea of it really feeling like, we were all in the same room, even though we were all over the place.

And then Lily Cooper, who's been a good friend from Spongebob, she played Sandy Cheeks in Spongebob. We went to school together; I've known Lily forever. Nick and Lily did, Tick, Tick...Boom! together. And we just sort of knew that she would, be the best to do this. So, we just got this crack team together and, it's been the best.

Adam Rothenberg: Is the musical, is the, is the whole book finished already?

Ethan Slater: Yeah, so we've written it, we're still working on it, we're trying to bring it to the stage and all of that. I think one of the things that was cool about doing a concept album is, there's more to the story, right? There's more to the plot and there's a lot of visual elements to this, stage play. It's theatre, but when you're singing, when you're going song to song, we found that we can really tell the core, the emotional core of the story.

And so, this concept album is Edge of the World and there's also more to it. So, I can't wait for you all to see that too.

Adam Rothenberg: Well, we can't wait to see it now. I did come up with a few questions, based on what I know of the, of the album and the show already. In the press release, it says you go to this rural part of Alaska and, you use your imagination to cope with your real world.

And there's a line between a lie and reality. So, I want to know, when have you crossed that line between lie and reality?

Ethan Slater: Oh, that's such a good question. I mean, I feel like one of the big inspirations for this was like the me as a kid. I was sort of like a big liar as a kid. I lied a lot.

Just like in little ways and big ways and like way too big ways. There's this moment in middle school where I was like, oh yeah, yeah, lying is like not, I should not do that. I should not be telling things that aren't true because I think that I was sort of blending my love of storytelling with my, desire to escape and be more fantastical or my imagination to be my real life.

I used to tell people that I was, being followed by a CIA spy and that I was actually going to be recruited to be, an intelligence officer, at the wise and old age of nine years old. So, I, I, I have like, big things that I was lying about.

That's so way out there, but I did anyway. And then I would lie about little things, oh yeah, I did my homework, I just lost it. The classics.

Adam Rothenberg: Now, did anybody believe your CIA agent story?

Ethan Slater: I would like to think that everyone believed me. But I would also, I was also smart. And I was, I was wily. I only lied to, the people who I thought would, play along. Not that I thought necessarily that they believed me, but I thought that they would play along.

Adam Rothenberg: What was, growing up for you like in that, cause you'd mentioned that you used your imagination a lot. So, was there something you were trying to escape or were you just being like a theatre kid, you were just in that world?

Ethan Slater: It's a little bit of both. I, I, I had a really great childhood in some ways and I had some, uh, you know, you know, my, my mother died when I was very young and so that's sort of the inciting incident of this show to the, though our, our stories are not, exactly the same, but I think that that was, that was a big part of it.

You know, that was a big, formative moment for me. But then on the other hand, I have two older sisters who are wonderful and my, my family is wonderful. My dad's great, but there was, there were these things that I was sort of struggling with, I guess, as a kid. And so, the imagination part was definitely multifaceted. It was definitely all of these things.

Adam Rothenberg: I bet you didn't think we were getting that deep, right?

Ethan Slater: No, no, that's the thing, that's one of the like weird, vulnerable things about releasing an album, about a show that's like this kind of, story is, it is really personal and it is really vulnerable.

But it's also not exactly my story, and these characters aren't me, they're not my family. And yet there is the truth in it that you have to access, so it's sort of tough because as an artist, you're constantly sort of mining those, moments for it all and trying to find the truth in there, and then when you're going out and you're talking about it like this, and you're trying to talk about it as a sort of this product or whatever, it becomes weird again, I think that's just because it's more public again, and so it's a little weird to talk about it not just to Nick, who's my dear friend and collaborator, but to everyone.

Adam Rothenberg: I do have a few fan questions I just want to quickly go to, Shiplo does ask, what was the big inspiration behind Edge of the World? I mean, would you say it was your mother's passing or was there something else that was that inspiration?

Ethan Slater: Yeah, it was, it was a bunch of it. I mean, I think the biggest thing to start with was this idea of, using your imagination, to sort of, cope with your surroundings, but to build a world for yourself. That was the first thing that I started with. I think that was maybe, maybe the biggest inspiration, but then, the rest of it was probably more influential on the story.

Adam Rothenberg: Yes. Yes. So now Kenley asked, this, isn't about Edge of the World, but I do want to get this question what made you want to audition for Broadway?

Ethan Slater: Oh yeah. I mean, I've, I've loved theatre. I've loved, acting and writing my, my whole life. And so, I just wanted to be doing that and when I was in college, I was, doing a lot of theatre and whatever. And I, I had realized, okay, let me take it back.

When I was a junior in high school, I was in a production of The Producers and it was awesome. I was playing Leo Bloom and Max Bialystock was my good friend Noah Robbins, who is still one of the best actors I've ever worked with, ever. And he was auditioning for this show in New York while we were doing our high school production of The Producers.

He's going back and forth. And he ended up booking the lead role in Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway. It was this, unbelievable moment, this, huge celebratory moment, and I remember having a moment there where I was like, okay, well, he's way better than I am, but I have seen him do this thing, I have seen that he can do it and maybe I can try to do it.

And so, I was doing a lot of theatre in college. I was doing many, many student productions in addition to taking some classes and, and all of that stuff. And I was just trying to do theatre. It wasn't about Broadway. I wanted to, move to Chicago and do storefront theatre and whatever. And I, I happened to audition for an apprenticeship program, that led me to, auditioning for Broadway.

Adam Rothenberg: Wow.

Ethan Slater: So, it wasn't like I was going and auditioning for a bunch of Broadway shows. I, I really luckily, got my way in, to the ground floor of this thing and working on a workshop. So, the, the point being, I wanted to do theatre and I wanted to be acting and I wanted to be writing and Broadway was always sort of the goal, but that's sort of how it, it just sort of happened that way.

Adam Rothenberg: Amazing. I did see a question. I can't find the exact username, but I saw somebody say, what was the first song you wrote for Edge of the World? Oh, here. Deanna.

Ethan Slater: I think the first song that I wrote was actually "Rocks and Things." I had written this little lick, which was "Alaska, Here We Come", and I was like, oh, that's sort of cool and fun. And I was doing this driving folk thing. And then I started working on this song from the father's perspective, "Rocks and Things," and that was the first one that I fully wrote out and finished. I think I was just really interested in Henry's perspective in all of this. So yeah, that was the first song I fully wrote.

Adam Rothenberg: Love it. Love it. And, wait, I think there was one more I just saw. Oh, here, Lee says, what encourages and strengthens you when you are feeling discouraged?

Ethan Slater: That's a, that's a really awesome question. There's so many things that are discouraging.

I don't know how good an answer this is going to be, but I'm just going to start telling you what I do, which is that on the one hand, I feel like it's really important to, let myself feel discouraged and feel frustrated and, recognize, A, that I have felt this way in the past, and B, that I will feel this way in the future again, but that those feelings are, can be temporary.

And I'm, sort of a firm believer in a couple of things. One is the get back on the horse kind of thing and if you feel like you really can't get back on the horse, then maybe you have to try another direction. But I, I am a firm believer in okay, well, I'm going to feel really discouraged and really frustrated right now.

And then in a couple of hours, I'm going to start trying to do the thing again and that usually gets me through it. The other thing that I'll say is, I'm also a very big proponent of therapy. And I think that sometimes having a therapist to talk to, is really helpful. In terms of getting to externalize it and talk through it. So those are my two things.

Adam Rothenberg: That's incredible. And yes, therapy is definitely very, very helpful. I've gone to therapists throughout the years here and there when I needed some help. But now during the pandemic, did you do any virtual therapy?

Ethan Slater: Yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: Yeah?

Ethan Slater: I did.

Adam Rothenberg: And how did you find virtual therapy as compared to in person therapy?

Ethan Slater: I mean, different, like took some getting used to, but in the same way that, virtual recording an album is different than doing it in person. I knew that it was the best option, and then I ended up, forming a really good relationship with a therapist, who was a new therapist for me, actually.

I had to find someone new, because I'd moved, I'd moved across the country. For me, doing the Zoom therapy was actually very, very helpful, albeit a little different.

Adam Rothenberg: Yes, yes. Well, I'm glad you were able to get the help you needed it when you wanted it. And it's great that you are able to talk about it because I know I'm sure a lot of people appreciate the honesty and the vulnerability of it. So

Ethan Slater: Yeah, for sure. I think it's a, it's a really wonderful thing.

Adam Rothenberg: It is. Yes. Agreed. Agreed. Um, so I'm a huge Joel Gray fan and you got to play him in Fosse/Verdon. I mean, did you get to meet him at all? Or how did you, how did you base, base your performance?

Ethan Slater: Oh yeah. Well, mainly watching videos of him, but I had gotten to meet him, sort of coincidentally, not not related to this. I got to meet him because he came to see Spongebob.

Adam Rothenberg: Oh my God.

Ethan Slater: I had been warned that that Joel Grey was gonna be coming backstage and so I was unbelievably excited and he came backstage and he walks in, he's got his hands in his pockets, and he walks into the room and goes, "What year is it?" And I said "2018." "50 years ago today, I opened George M. in this dressing room."

Adam Rothenberg: Oh my God.

Ethan Slater: I know, it was unbelievable. It was perfect. It was like the perfect entrance. That was the first thing he said to me and then I, I obviously, I had his memoir that I'd been reading, or I'd read a few months before. And, I asked him to sign it and he did. We had a nice little chat. It was awesome. And now I have seen him around a couple times and that's super cool too. He's just a sweet, sweet person.

Adam Rothenberg: Do you know if he got to see your, your portrayal of him at all?

Ethan Slater: I don't know. I don't know. I actually have seen him since then, but we have not talked about it.

Adam Rothenberg: Okay. After, after you had that interaction with him at SpongeBob, like the next day that you went into the dressing room, did you start thinking, "Oh my God, I wonder what Joel Gray did 50 years ago or what was happening."

Ethan Slater: Oh, yeah. I mean, there was this, this door frame, into my bathroom and you could see layers of paint chipped away, 15, 20 layers of paint.

And I know that it doesn't actually go back, to 1918 when that theater was built, 1914 when that theater was built. But I like, I like to imagine that Judy's layer of paint is there, and Liza's layer of paint is there, and Joel's layer of paint is there.

Adam Rothenberg: Yes. Yes. I know there's been a few more fan questions, and I want to get to as many as you can.

Tina says, Ethan, your performance as Joel Grey was spot on.

Ethan Slater: Oh, thank you so much.

Adam Rothenberg: And Cassie says, yes, I love Fosse/Verdon. Shiplo wants to know if you could collaborate with someone, who would it be?

Ethan Slater: That's a good question. I have a couple of amazing collaborators that I love, love working with. I feel really great. I love my collaborators. I feel like if, if there were, oh, I, you know what? I don't know. I'm going to think about it because I feel like the answer that I want to go is in a music direction. There's musical collaborators I want to work with.

Adam Rothenberg: Um, I have like, like, like Dolly Parton music, something like that or

Ethan Slater: Collaborate with Dolly Parton. Are you kidding me? Yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: I can't wait to see what you guys would create.

Ethan Slater: Oh, yeah. We've, we've been texting. So

Adam Rothenberg: Oh, okay.

Ethan Slater: Yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: Uh, could you get me? Could you get me her number then? Because I want to have her for Instagram live.

Ethan Slater: Let me just ask.

Adam Rothenberg: Okay. That would be great. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. But what were you going to say? I didn't mean to cut you off there.

Ethan Slater: No, no. I just don't, I don't know off the top of my head. I feel like one of the things that I've loved about my career so far is that everything I've done has felt incredibly collaborative. It's my favorite thing to do whether it's working with a collaborator that's a writer, or working as an actor with an awesome director, working with Tina was just the absolute best.

I love getting in situations that feel collaborative like that. Which is why when people ask me what my dream role is, I always really struggle because, truth be told, my dream role is finding a writer with whom to collaborate. To create something new together. So yeah, I'm not sure.

Adam Rothenberg: Or maybe you'll write yourself your dream role.

Ethan Slater: I'll try to do that too.

Adam Rothenberg: Yes, yes, maybe with Edge of the World. That's, that will happen. Oh, here's a fun question. Um, I'm never going to be able to pronounce this username, to do my best. Monts, Montserrat Cruz. I can get the last part of it. Anyway, do you like waffles?

Ethan Slater: Waffles are great.

Adam Rothenberg: They sure are.

Ethan Slater: Waffles are wonderful. One of my great childhood memories is going to the diner near my grandma's house and my sister ordering massive Belgian waffles. And I would steal a slice. I would steal a piece of that. I never ordered them, but I always would steal it from her. That was her thing.

Adam Rothenberg: Well, that's good to know, that if we ever go out to eat and I order waffles, I better keep my eye on them.

Ethan Slater: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: Yeah.

Ethan Slater: I've got a wandering fork.

Adam Rothenberg: Yes, yes. Did you ever get a fork to the hand for, like, don't steal my waffle from your sister?

Ethan Slater: No, I didn't, but I'm worried that now she will.

Adam Rothenberg: Well, if I can give her any ideas, I'm happy to help. Um, okay. I do you want to talk a little bit more about life during, the pandemic and, and after, so how did you stay in shape during the pandemic aside from, from therapy, like physically, how did you stay in shape?

Ethan Slater: I started running. during the pandemic. I was never really a big runner. I would go on runs every once in a while, but I started running and I ran, an average of five, four to five days a week and it was really, really awesome. I'm still doing it a little bit. I am still doing it. I've taken two weeks off just recently and I've been getting back into it this week, which has been an interesting adventure. Yeah. I don't know why I'm filling you in so much on my fitness journey, but...

Adam Rothenberg: No, I love it. I love it. I love talking about fitness. I mean...

Ethan Slater: I started running, about three to four miles each time I would go out and that felt like a, a good amount.

And the place where I was, I was running, running about, for 35 miles a week, which was really amazing and it would just be I would go out in the morning first thing in the morning and for an hour I would just run and it was this wonderful thing for my, for my mental health.

Adam Rothenberg: Yeah. How did it help? How did, how do you feel like it helped your mental health?

Ethan Slater: I just always felt clearer and more energized. I slept better, there was a time when I, I actually injured my ankle at one point during it, so I had to take a few weeks off, and that was like, I, I was just really having a lot of trouble and I realized that it was because I wasn't running.

And, and I think that it's just, especially when I was inside all day writing, just always inside, always on my computer to, be outside, get my heart rate up, breathe in fresh air and also see things and, and expand my neighborhood. I was able to expand my understanding of my neighborhood and that that was really important for me.

Adam Rothenberg: I think that's really great. I, I don't wanna, I, I, I feel like for a brief second, as you were giving your answer, I started scrolling through some of the other fan questions. So, there was like a brief moment where I was like, I hear what he's saying about how it's helping him. And yet I'm half not listening because I'm starting to scroll through because I don't want to miss any.

I'm trying to get it through as many fan questions to as possible. There are a few fun ones. Do you like eggs? Alex wants to know.

Ethan Slater: I love eggs.

Adam Rothenberg: And Cassie wants to know, what's, who's your favorite Disney princess?

Ethan Slater: Oh, that's such a good question. I was just with my nephew, the other day, talking about Ariel a bunch, and how much we love Ariel. So that's gonna be, my answer.

Adam Rothenberg: I love Ariel. Have you ever, um...Oh my God, I just forgot my question. When I think of it, I'll let you know. Um, uh, let's see. I can't pronounce this username and I apologize. But what's your favorite musical?

Ethan Slater: It has to be Jesus Christ Superstar. Another concept album.

Adam Rothenberg: Shiplo says last question from me. Do you like Coldplay?

Ethan Slater: Yeah, I wouldn't say that I'm like a massive Coldplay fan, but I, I am a casual Coldplay fan and I do like them.

Adam Rothenberg: Oh, this is a great question. A Jackson says, besides writing and fitness, how else did you spend your time during the pandemic?

Ethan Slater: I played a lot of guitar. I recorded this album. I wrote every day and I watched TV and those were pretty much my entire thing.

Adam Rothenberg: I love it. I love it.

Ethan Slater: Oh, and I cooked a lot. I was doing a lot of cooking. Yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: Oh, yeah. What'd you cook?

Ethan Slater: Three meals a day. I don't know. Whatever.

Adam Rothenberg: I think that's probably the best answer to that question. Deb's wants to know favorite cover song?

Ethan Slater: Favorite cover that I've heard of favorite cover song. Yeah.

Adam Rothenberg: Favorite cover song from current artists?

Ethan Slater: Good question. I'm not, I'm not totally sure. I will say that I'm, I was staying in a place with a piano and, all I could do was sit down and play one of my favorite piano songs, which is You've Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story. So that's not a cover, but that's me doing a cover of an older song. But that's definitely one of my happy places on, on piano kind of things. Um, I'm not sure what my favorite cover is. There's a really great, Lucy Dacus does an incredible La Vie En Rose.

Adam Rothenberg: Oh, okay.

Ethan Slater: That's, that's my, that's my weird answer.

Adam Rothenberg: And Andrea has a great question. What makes you stay passionate in your career?

Ethan Slater: Oh, I mean, just being able to work on different sides of stories, being able to write and try to tell the stories that are that feel really important to me, but also being able to go in and and help tell other people's stories and be be a part of that. So, I think that being able to approach it from a bunch of different angles is something that really keeps me going.

Adam Rothenberg: You have great energy, so it's great to hear what keeps you going. You're very, you're very upbeat. I mean, it's very, you're very fun to talk to.

Ethan Slater: Oh, thank you. You too.

Adam Rothenberg: I know we have to wrap up, and actually Tina had a great question, so I want to end with her question. What's the best advice you ever received, and who was it from?

Ethan Slater: I feel like there's so many, pieces of advice. I'm gonna pick the one that, I've called on the most, which is, from my friend Noah Robbins, who was Max Bialystock in, The Producers. And I said to him, as a junior in high school, he was a senior in high school, I said, "What, what's the key to acting? Why are you so good?" And he said, " I feel like acting is just like making everyone else on stage seem funnier than you." And I was like, oh, okay, I guess. And the more I thought about that, I realized, like, oh, acting is all about being a part of telling the story and throwing things to people, to collaborating. It's all about collaborating with people on stage with you. And, I guess a rising tide floats all boats kind of thing.

He insists he doesn't remember saying that. Just by, for the record. I've mentioned this to him many times. He's like, yeah, "I don't think that was me." I'm 100% sure it was him. But that's probably the best advice I've gotten.

Adam Rothenberg: Well, that is terrific. That is terrific. So we unfortunately do have to end for today.

I have really loved talking to you. Thank you so much for, for being here. Loved having you and definitely download, Edge of the World. Purchase it on Broadway Records. Stream it on your favorite music platform.

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