#69 - Robbie Rozelle: Broadway Adjacent: Sopranos Need Jokes

“You have to choose yourself and other people will choose you.” –
Robbie Rozelle on what he learned from the late Jan Maxwell. 
There’s a lot of musical theatre references in this episode, folks.
Proceed with caution!  Robbie Rozelle is a beloved performer,
director, writer, graphic designer, and record producer who is
responsible for some of the funniest and touching moments in the
cabaret space of recent. Rozelle does shows all over the city… even
across the pond in London. So how does he dominate the cabaret and
concert scene?  “For me, I am very much a self starter. If I
want to do something, I sort of will it into existence. A lot of
that is a lot of cold emails. There are so many cold emails that
I’ll send out, 'Hi, I am beloved, fully ignored, cabaret sensation,
Robbie Rozelle.’ I’ll send the album and I’ll say, here’s the
pitch. 9 times out of 10, I’ll never get an email back.” But don’t
worry, Robbie’s concerts sell out in 26 minutes. That isn’t an
exaggeration. How does he do it? How does he sell his shows? If
you’re interested in producing your own cabaret and concert, this
episode is loaded with goodies to help you. We also chat about
social media helping or hindering the industry, pushing through
performances even during a crumbling political environment,
understanding that what we bring to the table in the industry is
allowed to be specific, and the difference between a Renaissance
person and the multi-hyphenate.  Robbie infiltrates the
industry in such an interesting way, He has also directed and
written or co-written sold-out cabaret shows for Tony Award nominee
Melissa Errico (Amour), Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (Finian's
Rainbow), Elena Shaddow (The Visit), Nikka Graff Lanzarone (Women
on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown), Mauricio Martínez (On Your
Feet), Nathan Salstone (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child),
RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Mrs. Kasha Davis, and frequent
collaborator Jessica Vosk (15th Anniversary Elphaba in Wicked). In
2017, he sold out Feinstein's/54 Below twice with his debut cabaret
solo act, "Songs From Inside My Locker", which was nominated for a
BroadwayWorld Cabaret Award (in addition to nominations for Best
Director). He returned to Feinstein's/54 Below in 2018 to headline
Pride weekend with his new show "Bustin' Out", selling out and
earning rave reviews. He recorded his debut solo album of “Songs
From Inside My Locker” live in front of two sold-out audiences in
2019; the album was released to rave reviews in June 2020. He also
created and hosted “Tuesdays at 54… with Robbie Rozelle!,” which
ran for seven months at Feinstein’s/54 Below in 2019-2020. Robbie
is a Grammy voting member, and appears on the concert cast
recording of Mia Moravis’ Session Girls. For three years, Robbie
served as the graphic designer and creative director for Playbill,
culminating in the design of the branding of #PlaybillPride, a
30-day initiative of the LGBT movement in the theatre that included
a redesign of their historic logo for the month of June 2014, which
continues each June to this day. He currently serves as the A&R
Director and in-house designer for Grammy-winning record label
Broadway Records, where he designed the iconic "What the World
Needs Now is Love" in response to Pulse nightclub shooting in
Orlando. He also runs Ghostlight Design. When not designing, he can
usually be found tweeting jokes and random musings at @divarobbie.
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