"Hamilton" Star Jared Dixon and Top 5 Movie Musicals

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0:43 If you're ever checking out, docks line up and see a white label is a really good chance that that's the only time you'll see that bottle. So, make sure you snatch it up. Doc Swensons has been offering just phenomenal finished and Blended whiskies for quite some time. Now, you can find them online at Doc's, whisky.com. That's the OCS whisky.com. Hey, everybody. Welcome into the film and whiskey podcast. I'm Bob book, I'm Brad G Brad. We are coming at you with another special bonus episode, bonus episode, man. I have been super excited for today's bonus episode Brad because a couple weeks ago, I took a trip up to lovely Cleveland, Ohio and Playhouse Square.

1:25 The second largest Performing, Arts District in the country behind good old Broadway. And I saw a show called Hamilton. I've never heard of it, Bob, right? I know it's a, it's a little little Off-Broadway Productions, making the rounds right now. Nice. So, a couple years ago when Disney plus released their filmed version of Hamilton, we did an episode about Hamilton and starting. Then I have become obsessed with this show, Brad? Like, I don't usually get into Fanboy territory. I don't usually go down the rabbit hole with the things that we watch on this show. Hamilton is one of those things that every decade or so, there is a piece of art that comes out and it's in different mediums, it could be a movie, it could be an album and it is so dense and there is so much to unpack and there are so many references that you just can't help but almost get obsessed with it and with lin-manuel.

2:20 Miranda's Hamilton, I think that's kind of, the defining piece of art that came out of the 2010s. Yeah, it seems like it just Richard, a cultural moment of America, exploring, its history and asking questions about where we've come from and what that says about where we're going and on top of, you know, all of those deep important questions. It's asking it's just really, really incredibly well-written. Like it might be one of the sharpest musicals that anyone has ever put pen to paper for. I was gonna say yeah. We can talk all day about like, doing criticism on the text and everything, but End of the day. It's like 50 bangers.

3:02 All strung together for three hours. It's just incredible piece of entertainment. And today, we are joined by performer Jared. Dixon, who is currently on tour with Hamilton in the Philip cast performing as Aaron Burr. Jared, thank you so much for sitting down with us today or is. Thank you. Thank you for having me now Jared. I will just start off by saying, I have. You know, Bob went and saw you a few weeks ago I have Some of my best friends in the world that saw you literally a few nights ago and the reviews are in you are a killer Arenberg pun intended right? Yeah. Right.

3:45 You know let's just start there let's talk about the role of Aaron Berger a little bit. I mean you're coming in in a performance in a role that you know Leslie Odom originated and has become, I don't know, probably the most sought-after role on Broadway right now like it He wins a Tony for the thing, like it's an incredible role. It is so nuanced and so layered and I feel like the more you watch Leslie, Odom in that performance especially now that we have like the movie version to watch. It's it's got to be so hard to pull off that character because there's so much more going on internally with Burr than there is with somebody like Hamilton. Who's just expressing himself out loud all the time.

4:25 Yeah what's it like to try to dig into this role that you know you have To express so much, internal to someone that's sitting in the back row of the theater. One of my favorite quotes about the difference between theater acting and like, TV acting as from Denzel. And he basically said that there's no difference. You either tell the truth or you don't hmmm, and it's funny like, well, you know, will I've seen, like, reviews or and stuff like that. I don't try not to bother too much with with critics opinions, and stuff like that, but I'll see reviews sometimes I do stay like, you know, did You know, like level of expression wasn't big enough for you.

5:08 No, it didn't. It didn't feel like the energy was as big as it should be and I don't think, you know, not to criticize critics or anything like that, but if you watch the whole show and you got through room, where it happens and wait for it, and satisfied, and all of the bangers. And you think that the show is not big enough, you just weren't dialed in, you know. So it, you know, it feeds the actors don't Much, you know, not not that. I try to rely on the text or anything like that, but it's there's so much meat on the bone and one of those like a runaway train, if you if you blink you you've missed, you know, a huge chunk sometimes. And I just try to do my best to, to stay on my toes and be as present as possible with my classmates and bring real like joy and I love to the stage.

6:04 You know because people only like to watch people who are enjoying themselves do anything. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah I wonder though like I'm thinking about what you said about how if you blink in the middle of Hamilton if you yawn for like three or four seconds you've missed like at least 800 words worth of content right. And so like what you know you've been performing this for a little while now. What still surprises you in the text itself? Like as you work through the material night after night, is there anything that that like recently has hit you? Where you're like, man, this line is just hitting me in a different way than it had, you know, the the past few months of performing it. You know, there's so many ways that Hamilton can change. It is so adaptable to the times, any one thing happens happens in our political space, in the show, takes on a new color. Something happens in our personal lives in the show, takes on the new color, I don't know. Like A whole pandemic happens and it shows, you know, changes and it's it's really easy to just keep your ears and your eyes and your heart open to the, to the, to the show. So you know, I'll find new things to kind of point at as as the narrator and new things to to emphasize in my text and stuff.

7:29 Like the one thing that I found really interesting is I'm probably like Like somewhere around 400 performances or three, 300 and change or something like that. And The the line is I know you don't. Yes, I do. Now be sensible from what I hear you made yourself indispensable and then two nights ago I just leaned into the pain and indispensable. Hmm. And you've been using your pen. Yeah. You know like a little bitty thing I don't know if anybody caught it but I just like you know, one of those I guess like, kind of dad joke. Yeah, it's good for me. I hope somebody else got it.

8:10 Now, that's incredible, man. I can't imagine you know, what you do it. So often that you probably have to have something on stage to keep yourself from just getting wrote with it but finding something like that where you're just, you know, I'm going to put emphasis on this word a little bit different. It you have to find something to spice it up a little bit, but I imagine, it has to be a huge challenge with something like Hamilton, where everything depends on the meter. Everything depends on the Rhythm and hitting certain beats. This the exact same way, every time, I'm because otherwise the songs don't work. Like it's there's so much intricacy to how these songs are fit together. That I mean, it's got to be as much a verbal and mental workout as it is a physical one on stage. Oh, yeah, I mean, the only there's only a few composers who write this really, in this really dense way you got like, fine, Hime Roald Dahl lin-manuel jrb gets into the pad. Stuff sometimes e and but in this show it really is all of the devices of theater and and live performance kind of coming together and each moment is like like Rich layered. Take if you bite off too much, you know, you're not really enjoying it.

9:30 So I think I when I'm in the show, it's more about just like I said, keeping my eyes and heart open. Being open to the moment. I don't really have any Grand like design that I'm trying to effect in every show that I, you know, that I go on for. I'm really just trying to stay as present as possible to allow the job to do what it wants to do that night. And really be, you know, be a vessel in a sense. Injured. I'm like fascinated at this idea of like three, four, five hundred performances, you know, with the same cast and crew for the most part, you know, people kind of come and go. But like I think about the fact that you played Simba on The Lion King in the past and your co-star here, turia Campbell she played Nala in Lion King, I don't believe it was at the same time. But like how, how tight-knit is the the Broadway Community? You know that you guys all work?

10:29 Is same musicals and you are with each other for, you know, month after month and sometimes year after year, like how special is it to be able to perform in these Arts with these people who you're around all the time? I mean, I'll tell you I'll tell you the most recent experience that I've had that's mind-boggling three of my castmates. I knew since they were like 16. Hmm. Oh my gosh, I was a little bit older And one of them who just debuted last week, I've known since he was nine. Wow, so the not the guy who I knew since he was nine. I was his day, count day camp, counselor. And the other two went, a one went to my high school and then the other one I performed with when he was 16 hours 25 and so for us to all to be onstage at the same time, it really is just as a testament to, you know, how small the Community is but also how tighten it is.

11:32 We're able to see excellence and other people and continue to like encourage and feed people. And that was probably like the biggest, the best gift that I could have received this year, was to be able to see some of the younger guys who came up behind, are coming up behind me, just we're in the same generation but there are few years behind me. For them to have a level of success of success that they've had. Yeah. And when we have like my classmate and Keisha Williams, who I did call the purple with and a couple of my Dino turia did Lion King. And I have so many connections with different cast, mates and cast members across the Hamill verse and across the theater, the theater world.

12:15 You know, you never quite alone in theater world. Yeah, honestly the way you're talking about seeing these guys come up that you've known since they they were 916. It kind of made me think about how like in the NBA there's so many Young Guns who are like young stars who are like yeah I remember when LeBron like came to our a you games and like he was the greatest player, the universe and now I'm playing against him. Right? And I guess I just bring that up to say you'd like must be the LeBron James of the musical Universe. I mean, I'm not quite ready yet but Your hairlines not receding like his compared to go one. A all right call him.

13:01 Yeah I'm a Michael Jordan fan but being compared to him I'll take it. Well you're talking to to Cleveland boy. Wow. Actually I'm the Cleveland boy. Bob is an Akron guy so you might get we might get into it. Yeah like I can practically see LeBrons house from here. I'm like you know you gotta come like it's walk on eggshells a little bit. When you're talking about whose The goat around us. Hey, I'm accepting them all. All, viable, goat Converse. There you go. Listen. As long as you can make a case. I'll entertain it right. All right. Let's talk a little bit about your history Jared because you're you know you're acting like you're the Elder Statesman here but you're still a young buck like you just I mean I've seen you talk about the role of Simba in The Lion King as quite possibly the most prominent and most challenging role. That's a young person can play.

13:50 How did you get here? Came from Queens. You've liked you, you're the son of Broadway royalty in a number of ways, like it's an incredible journey and I just I want our audience to be able to hear a little bit about it. Yeah, I mean, the long story short is, I grew up being near the theater because my dad was a performer as well. And he's a classical, classical singer and also made his Broadway debut and Ragtime the musical in the 90s, and I grew up knowing knowing that knowing that I wanted to do something different, but not knowing exactly what it was and I found performance later. And my young adult years.

14:34 After I graduated college College, I started auditioning. I got my first job in Boston as well at fiddlehead theater. I did Ragtime the completely full circle moment and I played the role of Booker T Washington, which my dad understudy on Broadway as well. And I really just dedicated the past 10 years of my life, since I, you know, started performing professionally to getting better at every turn and making sure that every opportunity I take is a step up, not just in in profile but just in an internal and fulfillment and personal fulfillment. And that's, that's guided me really well, I'd really Only care about being one of the best to ever do it. Or, you know, I'm that's up to other people to decide. You know.

15:29 I'm going to attempt and try my best and give all that. I got to be as good as I possibly can at this thing. Yeah, yeah. I mean I think that's a great point because there's a lot of people out there that that have the ambition to play a role like Burr or a row like Simba and probably have the energy and maybe have the stamina. Anna. But there's so much that goes into I don't know like having the experience the life experience and also honing your craft. Like I can't imagine that, you know, if this musical had existed 10 years ago and you look at where you were 10 years ago, that you would think that you'd be as effective as I remember as you are today. And, you know, I guess my question then is like, how do you see yourself growing as an actor and how do you see your life experiences in?

16:21 Are those two things intertwine does your ability to convey these deeper emotions come from, just the fact that you've seen more of the world since then, you know what I mean? It's a part of a necessary self-awareness that I think I've always had. I've always had the ability to look around and be honest with myself, not for the sake of comparison to other people, but just to stay. When I see somebody do something that's incredible. Well, I'll look Within Myself and say, oh, I can't do that when I'm I can get there. Mhm, I'll look and say, I don't have that whatever they just did, right. Like, you know, I remember the first time I saw Joshua Henry on Broadway, in a poor game best. Hmm.

17:08 He was the person who I looked at it and said, that is what I want to do. I'm not quite there yet, but I need to figure out how to do that. And I didn't, you know, now I'm at the point where I am doing it in my own and my own Way in figuring things out for myself. But like I said, it's just a necessary self-awareness that I think I picked up doing other things. Playing basketball running track. You know, I'm naturally competitive by Nature. I really just want to be the best and I'm I wouldn't say I'm like, Kobe Bryant obsessive with may be wrong. I don't know. Jose not many people are in the mom, right? Right.

17:49 You know, 3:00 4:00 in the morning. But I can be when necessary when I when I find something like when I find a need to go that far to do things, that's where I go. Yeah. And and I take that approach with everything in my life, even about being a husband without being a future dead and being a dog owner. Yeah, so it's, you know, how you do anything is kind of how you do everything with me. And I've always just been about following my passion and and making sure that I express my passion. And through, you know, through my work and I think it shows, you know, it started to show better on stage with experience, you know, because I'm more, I trust myself more than I ever had Jared. That might be the best quote to come out of our podcast. How you do, anything is how you do, everything Taya. Take that home filming whiskey Nation. That's, that's a, that's a good one to think on absolutely Jared.

18:49 I don't mean to make you, you know, no. Speak it into existence here or name it, and claim it or anything. But you know, everyone has like a bucket list of man. I'd really like to get on stage and sing that song Someday, or I'd really like to be in that show some day and I imagine that some of them you're keeping you know, locked up and you're not going to speak it out loud. But like, what are some of the ones on your, on your bucket list? Yeah, yeah. I'll say it in case some producer, somewhere, some ideas. So number one, Was Burr. Hmm, let's go. That's off the list. Bobby and Company.

19:30 Nice. I was just going to say, so everyone's Gotta Sing being alive at some point. Right. Are some point? Yeah, it's like, you know, like a theater party trick. For, if you're very tender, I was gonna say like an Adam Driver can do it in marriage story. Like, you can do it, good luck. Yeah, say Bobby and Company is probably up there really identified with that show. It's weird to say, you know, to say, I identify with That show at like 2019 but I really did hopefully at some point I'll get that opportunity for that. I would also say above that would be a role to originate something I want to originate something that's just as deep and nuanced as Burr whether it be a villain or a you know a tragic hero or something like that. Trying to think of other theater Cannon things that I would love to touch I like, I like Hermes and Hades town about nice. Yeah, type that as well.

20:34 I know, they kind of, they cast older actors in that role but I think it'd be fun to do. Yeah, there's not many that I'm really like, I don't know. Berber really was like, kind of bird, was it? Yeah, for me. And so, I have to, once I'm done putting on the details, I have to re-evaluate and see what's next. I mean, Bobby's fell out there, of course, what's the song with Birth that made you want to chase it like this. Wait for it usually. Yeah. Wait for it is maybe the most slept on song in the whole show like it I know in any other show we'd say that is the showstopper but because this show has room where it happens and one last time and satisfied every like I feel like wait for it, gets buried in people's mind sometimes and it is, you know, we talk all the time Brad when we talk about movie musicals and the way that shows are structured about a character, having a song that's called like I want song and that's Burrs I want song but it's so much deeper than just an I won because he expresses that kind of thing later on in room where it happens to. But it's his whole motivation, it's I'm doing everything methodically because everything around me falls apart and I want to be able to control my destiny and it I feel like it makes Burr even more of a tragic figure.

21:51 Like there's just there's so much in that song aside from just the vocals that that really drive that ER forward. Yeah, I had a friend who we had a debate about whether that is and I want song or not, and I did believe that. But then I came to the realization performing it that it's an it's more of an identity song. Hmm, everyone else in the show gets introduced Burr, introduces himself. Yeah. And the first thing he says, is on the damn fool that shot him, but we don't get to really know who he is, as a, as a stone. Soul as a human being with a soul until wait for it.

22:33 And I think the things that he's staying about himself in that song are things that we all questioned our wide. Why do I do anything out here like why do I go to this job? Why do I am I love with this person. Why did I get this dog? You know and What he's really questioning is the very nature and fabric of what, he's been taught in what he's, come from and whether that's enough to sustain him and at that point in his life, he decides that it isn't that it's enough, the way that he's doing things is enough, but you just see the chink in the armor because it's through the lens of comparison. Mmm, that's what makes it so tragic, because he says all these beautiful things about this Legacy that he's, he's Come from the the second verse.

23:28 My grandfather was a fire and brimstone preacher. My mother was a genius. My father commanded respect, but he's talking about the Legacy that he comes from, and his deep love that he has for Theodosia, and it seems so beautiful to audience. It's like the color yellow and Van. Gogh, you know, if you watch, if you read, if you see any Van Gogh painting, you say, oh, that's a beautiful yellow flower and you find out that yellow Is the color that he used to signify the darkness in his soul. Wow. And then the depth of his pain and it changes the way you see anything? And so that's kind of what wait for it is. It's that beautiful painting.

24:09 But then you find out the secret meaning behind it. At the end, you realize this guy's got some things to work on my behalf, you know, as we all do. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's what I love most about Hamilton is that it takes These characters from history that if we're being really honest, I would guess without the musical Hamilton seventy to eighty percent of Americans, wouldn't even know who these people were beyond. The fact that they were American history figures, right? And yet it takes them and it reminds us that, you know, we get so caught up in our own lives and our own day-to-day things.

24:50 And assuming that all, you know, politicians have are evil or they're perfectly good. You know, we do all this and yet something like Hamilton takes all of that. And says, hey all throughout history, people are just people. They want to be known and loved and understood and safe and they want to be able to provide those things for the people that they love. And whether you're a politician in the, you know, Seventeen eighteen hundreds. Or you're just an average citizen trying to live through a pandemic, like those are things that we can all relate. 82 and I think that's what Hamilton does. Well it's a it's a cautionary Tale. It's an old to the beautiful Florida, beautifully flawed experiment that is America and it's kind of a testament to humanity.

25:44 It's a plea for Humanity in some ways because the truth is at the end of this show, you know, Burr is able to say, if I had just Weighted hem. If I had listened to myself, I've had trusted myself enough. I might have seen that there was space enough for both of us and that is that's the most beautiful walk-off home run, you know, but I don't think I've ever seen in a museum was for him to drop his ego. At the end. Right? And just say, you know, Yeah, I'm trash and we all are, but that's that's like the most beautiful thing for me about the way that show ends is you finally understand the link between Burr and Hamilton, is that in their own ways.

26:33 They both tried to be the masters of their fate. They both tried to write their own Legend and I don't think either of them realized until it was too late. And that's when, you know, Washington comes back on at the end and starts starts, you have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story? Like the final reminder of this musical is like, you can try as much as you want to be the master of your fate. But the way your story gets told is not up to you and it shifts in those final moments to talking about Eliza this person who we don't know anything about really and who had no chance to tell her own story and like that's what Lynn's doing at the end of the story is he's like, I'm going to, I'm going to tell the legend of this person now and I think it says a lot about like what you guys are saying, it's really instructive to How much are you going to waste your energy? Trying to construct your own Legend and narrative? And how much are you going to accept the fact that like you have no control over that at all? Yeah, I mean if you're if you're reading a lot of Eckhart Tolle right now and birds I think he would categorize Burr as someone who's egotistical e steeped in his past and future. Hmm never quite in the present because he's always waiting Hamilton's never quite in the present because he's always planning, you know, and that ends up being the foil of both of them Bert in the story, at least that, you know, I can't, I've read enough, but I I've

28:05 read enough to know that I know nothing about burned. You know about anyone will not accept vision is histories that thing. And, you know, I wasn't there. So I'll never know the truth, right? I know that in the story. He's so um, seemingly concerned with upholding this Legacy and being right? And being a part of the thing that he doesn't necessarily you know the most beautiful parts of his show are non-stop to me when he's you know he's at home & Hamilton's like hey come kick up. Dirt with me.

28:46 He's like no I think I'm good. I think that's a good. If the show ends their bird probably goes off and lives a great happy life somewhere. Right? You know by the end of the song, He's like questioning again, for whatever reason. Yeah so it's I guess like we said so much meat on the bone. Yeah well and we could honestly go on talking about it for another three hours but I think what we need to do now is Bob and I are going to go. We're going to review the Beverly High rye whiskey. And then we're going to come back and talk with Jared about our top five movie musicals, so get ready for that Whiskey Review. And then we'll be back with our top five movie musicals. All right, so today we are checking out the Beverly high-rise II American whiskey Brad. This is called an American whiskey not just a ride because it's not technically a bourbon.

29:48 It's not technically a rye. It is a blend of straight rye and straight bourbon. So you know, it probably works out that there is still more corn in the overall Mash bill here than there is anything else, but it can't be called a bourbon legally because it's Blended. So you know what, I'm okay with it since it's a Melting Pot, Bob Just like America. That's right. Yeah, man. This one is coming out of Cedar Ridge. Winery & distillery in Cedar, Rapids, Iowa. Fun fact where my family is from. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, man. We've had a couple of their products on the show before I love Cedar Ridge so I'm very excited about it. Yeah, this is a blend of Whiskey's that come from Cedar Ridge and from Indiana.

30:30 So if you can guess where the whiskey and Indiana is coming from, you'd probably be right. I'm super excited about this, man. I've seen this It'll all over Instagram. It is a very picturesque bottle, like it's a really nice one to have on your bar, really draws attention to itself. I'm hoping that the whiskey inside the bottle is every bit as good as the packaging on the outside. Brad, you actually did a little bit more research on this than I have. So, why don't you walk us through? What you've found out about this whiskey? Yeah, so this this whiskey is coming in at 96 proof and they have already won a few Metals Bob. They've won a gold medal. At the San Francisco World Spirits competition as well as the New York.

31:11 We World Spirits competition, so the Beverly knows how to blend some whiskey Coast-to-Coast, awards for the Beverly. That's right. All right. Let's jump in, man. But, do you picking up on the nose here? Oh man. You know what? I just realized it reminds me. A little bit of the outlands scotch that you got us a while back, really. It literally just hit me. I like, I've already taken. Taking my notes but yeah, it has like this, this sweet cherry licorice knows that's mixed with like a cream of wheat, some caramel, some black pepper. It's a really really nice knows Bob.

31:51 Yeah, I think pepper is a really great note to bring out on this one. It does smell like a bourbon. It smells like a high ride bourbon, which I expected when it's called the Beverly, High Rye. So there's a lot of that Rice spice on the front. There's a lot of that pepperiness. I get a little bit of like a Coca-Cola kind of Essence on this one. I like it a lot, not super complex on the nose but it tells me that it's going to be sweet but with a little bit of a kick from that pepperiness when I get into the taste here Brad, I'm a little bit surprised that it's not quite as sweet on the palate. As I was expecting it to be and it almost has a little maltiness to it and I don't know if there's any malt in any of the mash bills that they're blending here but when you said it reminded you of a scotch, that's where my mind went.

32:35 Is that on the Latt. It's a little multi-year than it is. Sweet. Yeah, it definitely came across his creamy. For me, there is still some of that cherry lingering from the nose. Then it got kind of minty at the back end and I thought it was a really really nice palette, mmm. And when you get into the finish here, it gets into a really beautiful toasted Oak. There's some marshmallow flavor going on and for me, it almost left a little bit of like an angostura bitters flavor that Almost got sour, like, my first sip. It almost got sour at the back end, but the more I sat with it and drank it, the more, it kind of evened out into just that, that angostura feel there's quite a bit of smokiness on this, and I wouldn't call it like Pete, but it reminds me of non peated scotches and how they still have that kind of like, a wisp of campfire.

33:30 Smoke about them. This has that, it's like minty and Smoky. At the same time, it definitely turns. A little bitter not sour but a little bit on the more Bitter End of things on the finish. I liked your note of angostura bitters for me. It doesn't quite have that level of complexity to it, but everything seems to be consistent like that black pepper E&R. I note that I got on the nose, really did a good job of preparing me for where this was going to go because otherwise I would have thought this was going to be way sweeter than it is on the palate. Yeah. Bob this I mean the balance I think that this is like Above average complexity that has really nice flavors throughout. This is a really good whiskey, man. Alright, let's talk a little bit about the price point on this because you told me that you're seeing at retailing for about what $59.

34:22 Yeah, 60 bucks. All right. So again I don't want to call it a craft whiskey, but it is coming from a smaller craft, Distillery, at least some of what they're sourcing is in Cedar Ridge. And I like Cedar Ridge is stuff. They're putting it in a really nice bottle. The packaging is Is like Stellar, you know? Just for $60 man. It's like I would probably recommend some other whiskies that I like better than this but I also want to say that I don't think this is overpriced like I think it's a it's a fair value for what you're getting. Could it be a little bit cheaper and get a little bit of a higher score on my my metric definitely. But I also don't think that this is like astronomically overpriced.

35:05 No I think if I was Giving it a value score. I'd probably give it like a seven. I think it should be, man. If this was like, $42. I think it'd be like a 9 out of 10 value. Yeah. But then you're asking them to get their price know, 100%? I think maybe 50 to 55 dollars, might be a better price point, but you know, 60 bucks it's fine. If I was scoring this out of 50 and, you know, including the value score, I think I'd probably sit at like a 38 out of 50. Like, I really nice experience that I would probably recommend buying a bottle. Yeah, honestly, that the the know what you're getting into. Yeah, the packaging on this.

35:47 Definitely takes it up a notch for me and usually, we're not swayed by packaging but when I'm on the fence about whether or not to recommend the whiskey itself, if you can have something that's going to be a conversation piece and going to be eye-catching and it's only going to cost you a couple more dollars. I'm all in on that and they clearly put thought and effort into the packaging here it's a custom-made bottle. The labels really beautiful. I love the color scheme on it. So like absolutely, I'm going to go ahead and give this one a stamp of approval. Brad. I don't know about you. Yeah. 100% if you find some Beverly high-rise out there in the wild I would snag it immediately. All right man, let's get back into talking with Jared, Dixon from Hamilton. What do you say? Let's get to it. Alright, so that was the Beverly, High, Rye American whiskey.

36:34 We want to say thank you again for this bottle. We are getting back into our conversation with Jared Dixon, who's currently on tour with Hamilton as Aaron Burr and we're talking about our top five movie musicals now, Brad. I don't know how you made your list up, but I tried to stick with mine to like, Broadway to movie adaptations because there's so many musicals, we could just do. Yeah, you know, like Singing in the Rain existed as a movie musical? Well, before it was ever a show on Broadway. So, like, for the most part, I did sneak one in here. That's just a movie, but I tried to go the Broadway route. I don't know, guys. Did you have trouble picking just five, or is it like a pretty clear-cut list for you? I mean, I don't even know if Jarrod would be able to pick five.

37:20 No. Because it doesn't seem like a guy that's really steeped in history of musical. Now, Bob honestly, I am not like the biggest musical guy in the world as far as like history and knowing them all, but I have some that I've really enjoyed. I think two of mine actually. No, I'm pretty sure that to of mine are Broadway to movie and three are not. Okay. So, Mine are all over the place. I got some Disney in. There you go. As something Broadway to movie and I don't think I do. I have any movie too bright? I don't think I have any movie to Broadway in there.

38:01 Yeah. See, I will say, I literally didn't even think about like the 90s Disney movies as musicals, and yet, like, Bob. And I were talking and he mentioned those. And I was like, oh, I didn't even think of putting those in like Beauty. And the Beast would be, it might make my top 5 because I just freaking love that movie, right? We've had this conversation so many times. Brad about like, what makes Some musical a musical is it? Yeah. Does the music have to be diegetic? Does a movie? What was the one that we watched Walk? The Line, you know, where they stop the movie 43 minutes or the Johnny Cash can sing a song like? Yep. Does that make it a musical? Just because there's a performance in it, you know. And so I think yeah the lines get blurred and it's up to interpretation.

38:46 But that's what makes these top five list so good. So, I don't know, without further Ado, let's just we'll go one by one and we'll go from five to one so Brad, and then Jared, What are your number five picks? My number five pick is my yearly Christmas tradition. I watch this and I watch It's a Wonderful Life for sure like no other movies, come and go some years. I watch Elf the Santa Claus but every single year I will watch, It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas. Mmm, I just absolutely love white Christmas. I love all the performances. I think it's got that. Like when you actually sit down and watch Shit.

39:26 It's got so many weird, just little scenes in the middle of it, that only makes sense to people who lived in the 40s and 50s and I still don't understand. And I just love that, it makes it feel nostalgic to me. So I'm a big fan of White. Christmas number 5, I'm going to stay Coco. Oh yes, I knew. I knew I liked this guy for a reason. Yeah, I was about to say Jared you just want a best friend for life and Bob. Ha ha Coco go so hard, and no one gets it, like, local ghost, oh, fuck. It's I turn that movie on and like, I'm entertained.

40:06 I'm weeping. All of the emotional roller coaster that you could possibly have comes from cocoa. Like Jared. You thought you were going to get to talk about coconut. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. No, no, you're right. I'm sorry Jared. Yeah, why why do you choose Coco? Oh, I actually had this conversation with a producer of Lion King. If we were talking about the future of Disney on Broadway, I was telling him I was like I don't even know if you guys know what device has really made Lion King the phenomenon that it is. I believe that all of the musicals that are attached to a culture that we know but don't have full access and understanding of are the ones that are fully expect that become the most popular.

40:53 So like Lion King. Is attached to Africa. The Lion King, musical is attached, deep in a deeper way to Africa, but the movie is attached to Africa. And, and the, you know, that culture, I think that's what made it to Broadway success. That it is and cocoa, has that same element with the thing Mexican culture and all of the history, round, Dia, de los Muertos and, you know, the food in the then being shoemakers and The Mariachis and all that stuff and then on top of that, it's just written, like it's written. So, so, so so, so what? Yeah, The Melodies are brilliant. I love how it like, just How It Ends when she did the, The Motif, remember, me?

41:43 It's like, it's mostly the remember me, singing, the one line and remember me is like, saying, Bing, Bong to anyone who sees the inside out. Yeah, this guy gets it, Brad. Yeah. Yeah, 100% gets it. We listen to a Disney piano playlist to put my daughter to bed and remember me comes on right after a. What's the song from Toy Story? 2 jazz is Sarah Mclaughlin one. Yeah, yes. It literally is the Sarah McLachlan song and then remember me and I'm like, trying to read a book to my child and like, trying not to weep. Well, I'll wreck the moment here because my number five is not something that makes Me weep at least but Brad, it's probably like one of the only Tim Burton movies that I've ever actually enjoyed it. Like he just doesn't do it for me as a director, but I love his adaptation of Sweeney Todd.

42:37 Like, dude, it is it's really good and that I mean again like it's a, you know, when you talk about Sondheim, like you could pick a number of different shows but Sweeney Todd, like the the show is amazing. And then the movie itself is also really, really good and it's really rare to find move. These that successfully that succeed as movies, in addition to just like, hey, here's a Broadway show. Like they did something unique with it. I thought it held up artistically. I really enjoyed Sweeney Todd. I will, I will actually agree with any type of definitely on my list. Oh, there you go. Part of all right.

43:17 Brad. Why don't you hit us with your number four? Yeah, my number 4. We're going back a little bit in time. I'm going to put up my fair. R lady. Oh nice. Now I will say this is one. I have not watched an in quite some time. I think the last time I watched it was probably high school but I remember just being so drawn in by the chemistry between Audrey Hepburn, and I can't think of the name of the main. The main male character Harrison, I mean, yeah. Movie. It's Professor hickey. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Professor Higgins. Yeah, Rex Harrison and Audrey. Hepburn are just incredible together. In that movie. There was a there was a production that I want to say it was like Lincoln Square a couple years ago and some yeah the guy that sang on the street where you live.

44:06 I wish I remembered his name. He was incredible. Like there's just so many great numbers in that show. You know what Jared I'm gonna let you give your number 4 and I'm going to Google real quick who it was that saying that's awesome. My number four is very, very recent, I'm gonna go with the new Matilda. Oh, I haven't seen it yet. It is astounding really. Yes, it is. A one of the best things that I've seen I was not say this year but this business is too short year as one of the best musicals I've seen in a while. I'm definitely say that. Wow, Matt Bob stumped by a guess. Yeah.

44:49 Yeah, this is a rare occurrence, man. Yeah, I have Jared I am so thankful that you have come on this show, so tell us just really quickly one sentence. Like what made you love Matilda so much to put it in your top five. I mean, just the, the way that the music flows with the, with raw doll story and the words it's really, really smart. It's just, it's really The dents and Brilliant and for I mean in those kids are just giving every ounce of Excellence that they can possibly muster in that thing. It also it just it feels really good and it's not like It's not very it's not very cookie cutter and kitschy it. Yeah, it it allows itself to be as dark as I think Matilda should be, they made a flip on the character and she's not so sweet and innocent with the sneaky attitude. She's like, she's a big shit like stepper. Like she's definitely worth our weight in gold and that shot and then show.

46:03 So I really appreciate it. Maybe it's on my list right now. Because it's, you know, recency bias? Sure but her it really think it stands up against any of the like kid musicals that are that are out there. I would say so far we have two musicals prominently featuring kids for you Jared. Yeah yeah I think that's something that maybe that has something to do with the fact that I got one coming on the way you do. Your adulation is not the way Brad relations, man. Thank you. Thank you. All right, I'll go with my number 40. I found the guy from My Fair Lady. His name is Jordan Danica. He He killed. Yeah kill the song. Like look at all the waiter about the Broadway. Okay um yeah. I don't know why he was able to another show.

46:44 Okay, one of my guys, oh yeah, well, tell him, I said that he absolutely annihilated that song. Like it was this incredible. All right. My number four. I'm gonna go with a movie, that really has fallen, like, by the wayside, but it's from a show that still performed a lot. And that is the, the movie adaptation of Brigadoon. This is a Rodgers and Hammerstein. Musical. I don't know why Brigadoon has always had just a really special place in my heart, like it is, it's cheesy as hell and I love it. Like it's just, there's something about a musical that is completely Earnest with its own cheesiness that like, it's endearing and, and like, it Gene Kelly in the movie and Leslie, Caron and like are not Leslie.

47:28 Caron said, Cherise in that movie directed by Vincente Minnelli, so it looks gorgeous. I love that movie. Gene Kelly and I'm in love with those songs. So Brigadoon is number four. If I am correct, Brigadoon is a Scottish themed movies and your name is Robert the Bruce book. That's that that's true actually, yeah. Okay. I'm just, I don't know if I'm making a correlation here, so I'm just asking questions up with it in my bones that resonates with that musical. All right, Brad. Let's go through these a little quicker here, man. We're Dragon. We got to get this guy to bed so he can perform tomorrow. Row number three for you. Brad number three, I'm going more recent as well. I'm gonna go with lala land.

48:12 Oh interesting. Okay, I just, I love the story that is told by it. I think that as a musical it is not necessarily the greatest pure musical of all time. But I just love what, what she's L did with the story and I think that the cinematography of the film was beautiful the way he uses lighting throughout is incredible. So, I'm I was just really a big fan of LOL and when it came out, all right, Jared number three. I'm gonna go with Cinderella. Oh nice. Brandy version. Okay. All right. Yeah. Just buddy you got to specify the bread with Whitney as the the Godmother, right?

48:53 Yeah. That that movie was just so Monumental in so many of my friends is lives. It's kind of like to me, it's the Jake Johnson of Movie music, let's go. But you got to give you got to give credit where credit is due. Its the firt, you know, is one of the first I think it's the only time that I've ever seen a black and white Mom and Dad produce an Asian son break, breaking the laws of physics and we love them for it. Like and again that's it that's a Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation actually I did that show in high school Brad.

49:35 And like, it's the kind of show that if I can be frank, like it needed something to spice it up a little bit and like, make it fresh and adding, those Dynamics to it, bringing in Whitney as the Fairy Godmother. Like it, it's so, so good. I haven't seen that version of forever. I got to check that one out again. Yeah. All right, my number three. I'm gonna go with Les Miserables. This is a movie that a lot of people are iffy on as a movie, especially, like, with some of the vocalist, in the movie. I don't know, man. It worked for me, and I'll Les Mis is another one of those shows that if it resonates with you, then it resonates at a really, really deep level and, you know, the character of algae on the themes of redemption and salvation in that movie, or just, they hit me every single time. I can't watch that movie and not be moved by that final scene of the barricade after Valjean passes on into the Afterlife. It's, it's an incredible visual.

50:28 Lame is my number three, Yeah, all right, whatever. Dude Jared, why are you being so rude to pacis? All right, Brad number two. Number two has already been mentioned, dude. I freaking love Sweeney Todd. No. Wow, you hang onto that. I I remember like watching it in high school. Our choir saying we didn't do the musical, but our choir saying, You know, the lot of the song sure it is just one of the most fun like Darkly fun musicals ever created.

51:11 And I just think that Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman like it's just such an incredible cast and they have so much chemistry in this film. That just brings this world. This you know, ugly gross British world to life. Like dark and dirty and I just man, it's so good dude, I'm right there with you. Sweeney Todd's. Number two for me. Come on, how come on, dear me? You just talking about some of the the most grimy dark dirty text that we've ever gotten from the man himself. Hmm. And like you said Johnny, Johnny Depp that whole cast is stellar and it's what it's actually one of the first musicals by sign.

52:00 Hi. I'm, that made me really see the range of what theater is possible capable of because company was probably the first one that made me go. Okay, I think I can do this. And then I saw and then I started digging a little bit more into Sondheim and found Sweeney Todd and some of his others and it's just it holds a special place in my heart. Jose Jared real quick. What's like a go-to song for you from Sweeney Todd? Because for me, I love poor thing I had. And I just think that as they move through the story of Sweeney Todd's former life where she clearly kind of knows what's going on. Yeah.

52:44 What's happening in the story as well as the actual lyricism and the music that's going on? I man it's just think it's incredible. Honestly any Time Purell. He's on, it's on. The screen. Was like my favorite part of that? Sweet spot is so good. Go ahead. Sorry. When you just when he goes, finally my arm is complete. Like there's like two of my favorite has the feel of like the Beatles. What's, I'll shoot my brain to the the song that they made that's completely based off the circus poster? Oh yeah, for the benefit of mr. Kite, Yes, yeah.

53:26 Pirelli just has that Vibe about it and it's perfect. I was gonna say Sweeney Todd is so good that they made a whole episode of The Office where Andy is in Sweeney Todd and and it still holds up even after that, like that's - eat. All right. Brad. My number two is the only one on this list that didn't start as a Broadway musical, but you know, that of all the old MGM musicals, it's my very favorite and it is Judy Garland in Meet Me in st. Louis. This is just, it's one of those movies. That's like kind of on the border of even being a musical because there's only like, four or five songs, but there's something. So, again, like Earnest about it and it's about a family and it's about persevering through the hard times as a tight-knit family that movie speaks to me, I watch it every year at Christmas, like you do white Christmas. So that is my number two and that brings us to all of our number one picks Brad.

54:17 What's your number one? My number one, it is probably this might be a little cliche but hopefully the rest of my list took care of that West Side Story, man. Yeah, okay. It's a are you guys? There is Westside your guys is number one. It's my number one. I didn't put it there for the purpose of just like, trying to move the needle forward. Yeah. Yeah. Is it? Is it, is it like a cliche in the musical theater community? That that is like like the, you know, it's like, you know, if you don't know basketball, you know, Michael Jordan. You just say yeah mine.

55:00 We're gonna have the goat, but you don't know why. Yeah, yeah and it I guess the same thing could be said about LeBron so, you know. Yeah. It's just a, for me. If we're saying like top five, I wouldn't I try to stay away from the like, the suggested top five. Sure. Yeah, but you're not about to say Singing in the Rain. No, no. I'm gonna put. I'm gonna put West Side Story as my honorable mention, as the like, Mount Rushmore. Yeah. Maybe all, by itself. Yeah, of movie musicals, and I'm gonna go, I'm gonna throw you guys a curve. I think this is a hot take. I really dig in the Heights.

55:44 Oh, okay. Now you you were in in the Heights, right? I was in Boston, actually. Okay, for for the purpose of what we're it came to us like the timing timing that I came to us during the pandemic. Also, I'm a New Yorker. I'm in Hamilton Lynn's my boss, so I gotta write, right? And just just for the purpose of like, what in the Heights means for I think this is the converse of like a, you know, when you were saying a musical that was made better as a movie or vice versa, even though the musical is great, the movie, I don't know the movie just did something for me. That was that was really special. I think it was very Monumental and very extremely underappreciated.

56:40 Absolutely. In my opinion both that movie and the you know, the new Spielberg version of West Side Story. Like both of those movies deserve better and yeah. You know, Anthony was so good in the Heights and I thought he was going to get some more recognition than he did, but man, it was just a great movie. And again, like when you're talking about lin-manuel Miranda, like it's a great text, but I think you're right. I think the movie elevated the show to a New Height there. Yeah, the show, the show was, I think, partly conflicted by the task that it had. It had to be. It had to be digestible enough for Broadway audiences to get it because I mean, maybe this is another hot take, but, you know, I think if you can get rich dense Sondheim, like you can get hip hop. And so, I don't think that we should ever dumb down hip-hop for musical theater sake, absolute Hamilton, prove that. But the fact that it was new, I think that the, the, the, the stage show just did so much to advance the ears of Senora of musical, theater listeners.

57:49 And without it, we wouldn't have gotten Hamilton. So, you know, I think the movie musical is a bit of the same and then it just just a director of the direct direct oral choices by John and chew having them on the side of the building during Sunrise is shots of the gwb, just a bustling neighborhood that they created Anthony's performance. I mean there was just so We need the cameos and a bunch of my friends are in it to that's the reason it's up there for me. Alright everybody. There you have it. Those are our top 5 movie musicals but we would like to know what you think. So as always, you can hit us up on our social media accounts, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at film whiskey, or you can jump onto our Discord.

58:39 We are on there every single day. Talking with you guys fans of the film whiskey podcast about movies, whiskey' music, Chuckles Trucking. You know all the different things that come up on the Discord can be pretty crazy so you need to jump on their join the conversation, you can find a link to our Discord at the end of every single one of our shows. Once again, this has been Jarred Dixon, he is currently on tour with the Philip cast in the North American tour of Hamilton as Aaron Burr. You guys are camping out in Boston for a couple weeks, right? Yeah, we'll be there for you. I think two months unfortunately, by the time I think by the time this comes out, I may be out of the show. I'm actually leaving February 5th. Wow.

59:24 Well, I mean you for a good reason so like yeah, yeah we understand this guy is going to go on to incredible things. He's already reached the Mountaintop with Aaron Burr and I think that there's another mountain and view for him, it's been just an inspiration to talk to you today. I can't thank you enough for sitting down with us Jarrod Yeah, thank you guys for having me. I appreciate it. Alright everybody, we will be back on Monday with another regularly scheduled episode, but until then I'm Bob book, I'm Reggie and we'll see you next time. So, here's the deal everybody.

1:00:25 We just absolutely love producing as much content as possible for film and whiskey Nation. But if our regular episodes aren't enough for you, then you can head on over to patreon.com film whiskey sign up for one of our memberships and you will get a slew of extra content for your listening. Pleasure, check us out on patreon.com film whiskey.