Pop Culturalist Chats with Samantha Massell

You may have seen Samantha Massell as Hodel in the recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Just a one-time listen to her beautiful voice on the cast album will show you why her lovely rendition of “Far from the Home I Love” (one of my personal favorites from the musical) garnered well-deserved praise.

Since completing a 400+ show run of Fiddler, she’s kept herself busy with a new and exciting project.  Samantha has created a solo show—unofficially titled “In Praise of Women”—that she will debut at New York City’s Feinstein’s/54 Below on January 12 (and perform again on January 21). We were able to chat with her for a bit about what went into creating the show, what her experiences working on Broadway were like, and how important it is for women to lift each other up.

PC: Tell us a little bit about your upcoming 54 Below show.
Samantha: I’m the only child of a single mom, and female relationships have always been a deep core part of what makes me, me. So, when i signed up for this show—I signed up right when I found out Fiddler was closing—I sort of thought it would be a great way to jump into something when we all had to leave the town of Anatevka for good. I thought, “What could I do the show about? What could possibly mean enough to make people sit here for 75 minutes and listen to me sing?”, and I sort of fell upon this idea of female empowerment, female relationships and celebrating women who have inspired me. I’ve dedicated my show to that. I’m unofficially calling it “In Praise of Women”…which is a Sondheim lyric reference for any nerds out there!

PC: You mentioned that there were particular women who inspired you to do this show. Who were they?
Samantha: Obviously my mom is a huge part of that for me; I’m dedicating part of it to her. Then, I’m doing a section on mentors. Liz Callaway is coming in to sing with me which is really exciting. She and I actually have an incredible story. Her father and my mom both worked in the news business in Chicago, and he was my mom’s mentor. So, what a “story goes on”  type of moment to have her act as a mentor figure to me as well. So, she’s coming in to do that, and then I’m doing a section on female friendship. I’ve got two of my close friends coming in—Alex Finke and Jen Damiano—and we’re doing a little trio of a pop song arrangement. I’m really excited about it.

PC: What has been the hardest thing so far about putting together a solo show?
Samantha: Everything! It’s been really hard. I’ve known about this since Fiddler was closing—and I found out it was closing in July. I booked these dates before [the closing] had been announced. So, I’ve been writing it for a long time. To be honest, the hardest thing is really the logistics. It’s the stuff that you wouldn’t think about, like, “I’m getting a dress,” or “Which numbers am I sitting down on?,” or “Let me get the charts to that person.” It’s a lot of that tricky stuff…and the rehearsals! Finding time when we can all meet has been the biggest challenge. I’m doing it all myself which has been exciting and really hard at the same time. So, it’s all just the organizational aspect of it because I feel like the piece we’ve put together writing-wise is really special. It’s a great tribute to women (we even have a little bit of Hillary Clinton). To me, this feels more topical than ever: celebrate women and what women can do.

PC: What are you hoping audiences take away from your two shows?
Samantha: You know, speaking of [women]…one of the most special parts of the evening is actually going to be a song that I’m writing with my friend Madeline Myers, a recent Dramatist Guild fellow. She’s a composer and lyricist. To kick off the show proper, we’ve written a contemporary musical theater song based on this 1970s children’s book called Girls Can Be Anything by Norma Klein. It’s totally out of print, but it’s this great story. It’s a picture book about a little girl and her misogynist classmate, Gelder, who keeps telling her all the things she can’t be. She keeps responding, “Well, I can, well I can.” We’ve written this amazing song, and I hope that audiences come away–especially women–feeling empowered and like they can do anything. I hope we focus on women raising each other up instead of tearing each other down and celebrating that.

PC: What is the best best advice that you’ve received from a female mentor in your life?
Samantha: I think that the Liz Callaway story is a special one. A choice to help empower someone as opposed to not is such a powerful one. The fact that her father chose to do that with my mom and that she’s chosen to do that with me is just a great reminder—both on stage and off—to make the choice to support others and raise them up. I think that whether it was a specific piece of advice or not, I think that story has just been really powerful. You know, I was just on the phone today with Laura Osnes because she’s done a ton of [54 Below shows] so she was giving me pointers. She was like, “Just have fun!” and “Sing to the audience.” It is different than doing a show on stage—like doing Fiddler and singing into a black pit. Here, I’m going to see everyone and sing to them, and things will have special meaning because I’ll be able to see all their faces.

PC: What was your biggest takeaway from being a part of Fiddler on Broadway?
Samantha: You learn a lot about how to keep things fresh, how to keep healthy, and to get yourself through it and the grueling schedule. That’s something you takeaway, and you can’t learn until you do it. I definitely didn’t learn it until I did it. That’s part of it, but to take it back to my solo show, I played an incredible female role [in Fiddler]. It’s so special to play women in shows that are strong. I mean, Fiddler was written in the 60s, so, for Hodel—who is a character from 1905—to still seem strong in 2016/2017 is remarkable. I think it’s a good reminder to go for what you want, and fight for what you believe. That’s what Hodel does. So, playing roles like that is always so special.

PC: What has been your favorite thing about working on a big Broadway production?
Samantha: There are all the typical answers I could give you: the cast album, performing on the Tonys and all that stuff, but the stuff that was really special [were] the memories that I’ll keep forever. [They’re] things outsiders really wouldn’t have seen. For example, our version of “Matchmaker” was very different than what has been done in the past. Creating that with Bart, our director, was such a special experience in the rehearsal room. And what was even more special was, afterward, we had a media day where press come in like two weeks into rehearsal, and they watch you do numbers….We had staged the number—you know, it’s a fun number and is traditionally done with girls dancing around with brooms—and we had realized that this is the number that sets in motion the entire plot of the show. These girls live in a world where their station is to be arranged into marriages, and that sucks. So, we created this version of the number that was really melancholy, and we saw that these girls had a struggle facing them. And that set up the entire piece. Sheldon Harnick, the only surviving writer—the lyricist—of Fiddler, was a big part of our process of putting together the show. He came up to us after the media day, and he was like, “You know what? That is the first time that I heard the word ‘terrified’.” We were like, “Wow. We made a writer—who has seen this show ten million times—see something new in his work.” To me, that is the most special. Moments like that I will remember for the rest of my life.

PC: What is your dream role?
Samantha: My dream role would be Louise in Gypsy or Julie Jordan in Carousel. I’ve heard rumors that Carousel is on it’s way back. It seems about time! I love Julie Jordan because, I think similar to Hodel but in a different way actually, she is such a strong woman. A lot of her choices and what she stands up for in the time of the piece probably wouldn’t be supported today, but her conviction in what she believes is empowering. I think she’s an incredible character that I would love to play. If anyone wants to revive it, I’m around! [laughs]

PC: Is there someone you dream of working with?
Samantha: Julie Andrews, Barbara Streisand…these people are my heroes. Patti LuPone. I know her on social media, but Laura Benanti is my idol. I saw her in Gypsy four times with Patti LuPone. She’s got an exquisite voice, she’s an incredible actress, and she’s so versatile. She’s so funny and real. I’m just such a fan girl for her. And if Hillary Clinton wants to be in a musical, I’d do that with her, too! She’s my number one hero.

PC: If you could have dinner with five people alive or dead who would they be?
Samantha: Stephen Sondheim, Hillary Clinton…this is going to be a hilarious dinner table…Neil deGrasse Tyson, and…then we’ll throw Julie Andrews and Laura Benanti in. That’s a fun group!

PC: Where do you see your career going?
Samantha: I love working on camera. I’ve done some indie films, and that’s a huge dream of mine to pursue other mediums and be very versatile. I hope I get to do it all!

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Favorite Play or Musical
A Little Night Music

Favorite Book
Marjorie Morningstar

Favorite Music
Johnnyswim….other than musical theater, obviously!

Guilty pleasure movie or TV show
Miss Congeniality. If they want to write that musical, I’m also available! [laughs]

Hidden Talent
I do a really good dog bark. My dog bark is lit!

Make sure to follow Samantha on Twitter and Instagram!

For more information on Samantha Massell’s show at 54 Below, click here.