Behind the Awards with Eila Mell & Bruce Gotlieb Broadway Podcast Network

A pair of high heels and jumping over Jesse L. Martin’s head helped win Wilson Jermaine Heredia the Tony for playing Angel in Rent. His journey with the show started Off-Broadway and led him to eventually starring in the film version. He gives Behind the Awards a deep dive into the creation of this iconic show. Who would have thought this Tony winner would have to be convinced to even audition for this show?!

We also discuss a medical emergency at a performance of The Outsiders, as well as the show's chances of getting a Tony nomination for Best Musical. 
Also included is a throwback to Elaine’s Stritch’s Emmy win in 2004 for Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Wilson J Heredia was always surrounded by music. His mother was a seamstress and his father was a super. But they were both very musical. He studied medicine, and thought about advertising, but he realized he had to express himself, so he got into acting. He worked at a railway station in NY before he auditioned for the musical, RENT. He said he needed the $300 a week. Unbeknownst to him, his stint with the hit-musical would bring him popularity as a singer, dancer and actor, fans from all over the world and both the 1996 Tony award and Drama Desk award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He has appeared in several films, including his portrayal of Cha-Cha, the drag queen, in 1999's Flawless, where he worked opposite former Rent castmate Daphne Rubin-Vega. The film also stars Robert De Niro and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Heredia also appeared in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode “Nocturne".
Along with five other principal members of the original Broadway cast, Heredia appeared in the film release of Rent, directed by Chris Columbus.

On January 9, 2006, he presented an a\ward at the Critics' Choice Awards with Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, and Tracie Thoms, his costars from the Rent motion picture. He appeared along with Dawson and Thoms on the 2007 film Descent, playing the character of Diego. Heredia has also guest starred on Medium and Without a Trace, and in 2009 he filmed a pilot called Three Chris’s. He made his return to Broadway in La Cage aux Folles on February 15, 2011, in the role of Jacob (replacing Robin de Jesús). He starred alongside Harvey Fierstein (who won a Tony Award for writing the Book of the musical) as Albin/Zaza and Broadway veteran Christopher Sieber as Georges. As of 2013, Heredia lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. He starred in San Francisco Playhouse's production of Camelot, as Sir Lancelot, and Berkeley Playhouse's production of A Little Princess as Pasko. He made an appearance in the 2021 film Tick, Tick ...BOOM!, which was based on the musical of the same name by Rent creator Jonathan Larson. In 2022, Heredia was cast as the lead in Syracuse Stage's world premiere of the musical How to Dance in Ohio, based on the award winning documentary of the same name by Alexandra Shiva.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

Instagram @behind_the_awards


Eila @eilamell


Bruce @cominghomewithbruce

From Blue Jeans to corsets to Smash…and is there really a Cassie curse. Robyn Hurder opens her heart and gives us the scoop on career highs such as sharing the stage Donna McKechnie to recreate The Music and the Mirror from A Chorus Line, being nominated for a Tony, and the dancer’s dream of winning the Chita Rivera Award. Robyn discusses the joy and demands of stepping into the role of Velma in Chicago and a very special full circle moment with Bebe Neuwirth.
Eila and Bruce also discuss Billy Porter’s Tony win for Kinky Boots as well as a probing discussion on this years Tony Award race. There’s nominations and Tony Award predictions galore…
Robyn Hurder created the roles of Marcia in A Beautiful Noise and Nini in Moulin Rouge on Broadway,. She was nominated for the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for Moulin Rouge. She has performed in the Broadway shows Nice Work If You Can Get It. Grease, The Wedding Singer and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She has taken part in a number of regional productions and encore stages and the national tours of A Chorus Line, Spamalot and Starlight Express.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

Instagram @behind_the_awards


Eila @eilamell


Bruce @cominghomewithbruce

What’s your diner order? Ours is a full dish of awards! Hosts Eila Mell & Bruce Gotlieb bring you behind the scene stories with guests who have won; Tony Awards, Oscars, Emmys, Grammy Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards and more. Listen to this first episode to learn how they met and why we're even here today!
Eila Mell is the author of Designing Broadway, as well as the official guide to the hit television series Project Runway, titled Project Runway: The Show That Changed Fashion. She has been featured in the New York Times, Marie Claire, Glamour, and CBS’s The Insider, as well as in the documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s. Her latest book, The Tony Awards: A Celebration of Excellence, drops on April 16, 2024. Bruce Gotlieb is a NY based realtor and actor who has never met an awards show he didn’t like.

Make sure to check out Eila's book, "The Tony Awards", and all her other amazing books: https://amzn.to/43WMu5Y.

Connect with Eila and Bruce:

Instagram @behind_the_awards


Eila @eilamell


Bruce @cominghomewithbruce