"It's always fun": Hear from the kids in the cast of Broadway's "The Music Man," who act alongside Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman
NEW YORK -- Sunday night's Tony Awards will feature performances from nominated musicals, including "The Music Man."
Three child actors making their Broadway debuts spoke to CBS2's John Elliott about sharing the stage with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.
"How cool is it to make your Broadway debut in 'The Music Man'?" Elliott asked the young cast members.
"My favorite part is just seeing the audience feel so happy, you know laugh and smile," Emily Jewel Hoder replied.
"It's incredible, especially because I'm making my Broadway debut with stars like Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Like, how many people get to do that?" said Kayla Teruel, who plays "Amaryllis."
"It's definitely mind blowing to play Sutton Foster's younger brother and Hugh's 'right-hand man,' in ways," Benjamin Pajak, who plays "Winthrop Paroo," said. "But it's an honor to be working with such amazing talented people that we get to work with every single day and share happy moments with every day we come to this theater."
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"I got this role the day before the pandemic started," Pajak went on to say. "This was the thing that gave me hope. At some points, I didn't think it was going to happen and I felt so sad because of how many people were waiting to see this... The anticipation was so high for this show."
Elliott: "How hard is the work?"
Hoder: "It's hard work, but it's always fun. You're never doing anything you don't want to do, you know what I mean?"
Teruel: "A lot of people, especially a lot of people in my family, they're like, 'Oh my gosh, it must be so hard for you to do school and keep up with dance classes and on top of that do another job,' and I'm like, it's actually just really fun."
Pajak: "It's not as hard as some people think, and our wonderful guardians make it easy. They always look after us... So many people behind the scenes just help us and make it so easy."
Elliott: "Is Sutton Foster kind of like a big mom or a big babysitter?"
Teruel: "Yeah, totally!"
"I have little rituals and little handshakes and little things that I do with each kid and make sure to make eye contact with every single person," Foster told CBS2 in an earlier interview.
Elliott: "What's your favorite number in the show?"
Teruel: "Shipoopi!"
Hoder: "76, Marian the Librarian and Shipoopi."
Pajak: "Finale, Shipoopi and 76."
Elliott: "What's it like to be on that stage when they just keep applauding and screaming for every single star?"
Teruel: "Well, it makes me really like over-the-top happy."
Hoder: "It's really exciting and it's just like fun, because it's the last number and it just gets you so pepped up."