AI Summary
5 min readSam Regal was the boy who did two dinner-theater shows a night, forty minutes apart, for years. He would finish the first act of Pippin at one venue, get driven across Northern Virginia, perform the second act of Camelot at another, then drive back for curtain call. He made ten dollars per show. He did his homework in the car. He loved it.
This episode of Weird Kids (hosted by Taliesin Jaffe and Ashley Johnson) sits down with Regal, a fellow child actor and longtime friend, to trace his path from dinner theater to Broadway to college acapella. The conversation is less a formal interview than a rambling, affectionate excavation of a shared strange childhood. The key takeaway: for Regal, performing was never a burden. It was the only world that made sense, and the "normal" world of school and peers was the real problem.
The Dinner Theater Gauntlet
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:11) **Introducing Sam Riegel** - The hosts welcome their guest, fellow child actor Sam Riegel, and the conversation begins with a playful bit about a fake tradition.
- 2 (10:00) **The Les Misérables Audition and a Director's Unorthodox Methods** - Sam recounts his big break auditioning for the national tour of *Les Misérables*, including a memorable and physical directing technique.
- 3 (13:15) **The Allure of Theater and the Shock of Public School** - Sam explains why he fell in love with performing as a kid and the jarring experience of returning to a normal school environment.
- 4 (18:18) **The Professional Children's School and a Yearbook of Stars** - Sam discusses his time at the Professional Children's School (PCS) in New York and shares a photo from his yearbook.
- 5 (21:36) **A Soap Opera Career and the "Zoom-In" Trick** - Sam talks about his work on daytime soap operas like *Guiding Light*, describing the fast-paced production.
- 6 (23:50) **The Family Cabaret Act: "Stuck With Each Other"** - Sam describes a cabaret act he wrote and performed with his sister, Eden, called "Stuck With Each Other."
- 7 (29:05) **The Trials of Dinner Theater** - Sam shares vivid memories of performing at the Lazy Susan Dinner Theater, highlighting its unique challenges.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
New Episodes of Weird Kids are now releasing on Beacon every Tuesday! Watch all available episode on Beacon now: https://Beacon.tv/WeirdKids
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Emmy Award-winning (™) actor Sam Riegel joins Ashley Johnson and Taliesin Jaffe to share his unique upbringing as a fellow Weird Kid! With a national tour of Les Misérables, high paying Pizza Hut commercials, and a ride or die college a cappella group, Sam's childhood was anything but ordinary!
Also in this episode:
• Whose celebrity crush was also a classmate
• A wrestling team vs a cappella group showdown worthy of West Side Story
• Dinner theater so good you’ll pass out!
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Ashley Johnson and Taliesin Jaffe deep dive into their lives as the Weird Kids! This is a formal invitation to all the misfits, outcasts, and weirdos to take a seat at our table and join these former child actors as they embrace their unique upbringings and celebrate all things weird and wonderful.
Learn more at https://critrole.com/weirdkids/
Produced by Maxwell James and Will Lamborn
Theme Song by Dave Heatwave
Animation by Max Schapiro
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