Video: Amber Iman is Telling Her Story with Audible Originals

Welcome to Backstage with Richard Ridge

We are once again at the legendary drama bookshop on West 39th Street

And my guest is performer, activist, and filmmaker Amber Iman. You know her from such musicals as Hamilton, Soul Doctor, and Shuffle Along

And her latest project is an evening with Amber Iman, which is currently streaming on Audible Originals

I'm so excited to be sitting with you here at the drama bookshop

Thank you for having me. This is lovely. How excited are you about your new project that you have in evening with Amberie Bond

You know, it was a labor of love, but it was a labor. I think we, when did we record this

This was back in April. So it was, and I think I didn't find out about it until maybe January

I had a very short amount of time to kind of decide what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say

I've done one woman shows for years, but an opportunity like this, like for the Audible

audience, you know, which is like around the world, was kind of crazy to be honest

Like, I honestly couldn't think about the fact that it was for Audible. I was like, this is just every other time I do a One Woman show

I'm just telling my story, sharing where I am in my life at this point, but knowing that

millions of people could hear it was kind of crazy. But I was so excited for the opportunity, just to share

share. I'm always, always trying to, the work I do is for black women. And it's to let black

women know that you belong in this space and you should take up as much space as possible. And

you know, I am not there yet in my career. I don't have all the Tonys and accolades and things

but I'm still here and I'm still taking your space and my voice still matters. And so that's honestly

why I did the audible show was just to be like, I want a young black girl who looks like me

who's in my age range, who is still hustling and climbing, to be like, oh, I can do what Amber's doing

because she's out here doing it. So the Audible show was a love letter to Black women

Yeah, because how did this all come about? I mean, everybody wants to do one of these. I know

I literally the phone rang. My agents are wonderful people. And I think because I have done these before

I've done it at 54 below, and I've done it at the triad. I've done it in California

I've done it in Philly. And I try to do something new every time

because I'm in a different place in my life every time. I don't want to talk about stuff from 2004 in 2022

And so I think people enjoy my shows. They come and they have a good time. They feel seen

And they know that there will be foolishness along with good songs and good stories

And I think I was just on the radar at the right time. Let's talk about some of the songs that you do in the show

Tell our audience. So I always say I'm slightly allergic to musical theater

Yes, I have a degree in it. But I just believe there are so many wonderful, amazingly beautiful songs that are soul and R&B and funk and jazz, the music that I grew up on

So I have to do a little Anita Baker because, I mean, she's home for me. I have to do sweet love because that's my favorite karaoke song

I do a black girl mashup of songs by some of my favorite black women

There's Erica Bidoo and Jill Scott and Solange in there because that's the music that speaks to me

What else do I sing? I have to do I want to dance with somebody if I went to Houston

That's become like my trick. It's like I pull it out of my back pocket at this point, but it brings me so much joy

So, yeah, just songs that I love, songs that bring me joy that I hope audiences love and add to their, like

catalog of songs that bring them joy to. And I do a little bit of musical theater just because, you know, you have to

You love that a little bit. Why not? Give them what they want, I guess

Yeah. But you know, it's so beautifully structured, and they're hard to do one person shows unless, but there's some people who just grasp that right away and they're like, wow, I just do it

Yeah, I never, I always joke, I never love it. And it's only because, like, it's a great undertaking. And it's just you. And, you know, I write them myself. I put everything together myself. I usually see my band the weekend before. And we kind of do one big rehearsal because, you know, I play with, like, jam music

who just, they know how to do it. I'm gonna put it in this key, y'all. I might take it around

I might go back to the bridge. They follow me, I follow them. We're having a great communication on the stage

Michael O. Mitchell is my MD of all MDs. He and I speak the same musical language

We come from the church and R&B and jazz, and it just makes sense to me to work with him

So it's a lot of work. And this show, honestly, Audible was the first time

that I could kind of take a breath, because Audible handled so much of the like marketing and social media

And like, that was a blessing as an artist to have a machine behind you being like

don't worry about photos. Don't worry about social. I was like, oh, my God

It was, the audible really, like, allowed me to just be the artists

And that's the first time I've been able to say that in the five, six years I've been doing these shows

So while it was a huge undertaking, I did have such a great and amazing support system

to help me get this baby off the page and onto the stage

You were like, just let me put the show together and do it, right? And I love that they trusted me and they didn't try to censor me or ask me

You know, like, I still had to let them know what songs because we had to get things clear

But other than that, like, they were like, you do you. Like, we invited you here because we trust you and your brand and your messaging

And that was really, really a breath of fresh year. Okay, what I think is really exciting about this is this will now reach millions of fans around the world

It's crazy. Like, sometimes I look at, like, the comments of people in, like, Switzerland

And I'm like, that's lovely that they're listening to me in Paris, eating croissant

I love that. Eating a croissant or is there a place called croissant

There's both. It really excites me just to know that, like, something I came up with in my living room

is literally in someone else's living room in Switzerland. Like, that just blows my mind

The power of, like, social media and technology. It really is amazing to me

Yeah. Yeah. You talk about so many incredible things in the show, too

but I want to focus on two things right away. You're a founding member of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition

and Black Women on Broadway. Talk about how important those two organizations mean to you

All of my work, it's always my goal, is to help those who are underserved

who feel like their voices aren't being heard, who aren't seen heard and affirmed. I just want to provide space for us to come together

and change some stuff, shake the tables. BAC, how we started, I think, in 2016, while I was doing Shuffle Along with Adrian Warren

and Britton Smith. And it just, it was born out of frustration at a time

We just felt like people were being killed and there was, we didn't hear enough from the

Broadway community. And I think we were really invested in being the change that we wanted to see

And that's the same thing that happened with Black women on Broadway. It's like the number of times I get calls from casting directors who need to cast black women

and don't know any blows my mind. because that's your job, not mine

And I said, you know, well, let's put a digital platform. It was just supposed to be like a digital platform

in the beginning so that people could come to a place and be like oh there are black scenic designers they black female lining design I didn know any before I started this platform and now I can run down a list So that work is important because representation matters because I can know where I going if I don know where I coming from

so it is important to me to know those whose shoulders I stand on

And with BAC, it's just like, we are fighting for radical change, for justice

for our faces and our voices to be seen and heard. And I mean, it's just time to do things a little bit differently

little bit differently. Yeah. The old way, it's been, we've done that

Why not try something new, like, in all areas? I love that. You know, debuts are really important because there are so many people trying to find

their way into the business. Absolutely. And I want to start with your off-Broadway debut, which, of course, was in rent

You were at Seasons of Love soloist. Is that her character name

Yes, it is. Seasons of Love Solo. I called it the Keeper of the High Seed because I had to sing that thing many, many times

My goodness. Wow. Favorite memories of doing that and singing that song

Oh, wow. Favorite memories of rent. Just, I moved to New York in January of 2012

and I believe I started Rent in, like, May. So just still getting lost on the A train trying to get to work

Like, I just remember being just so young and so green, but blessed to do a show that, like, change the face of Broadway

Like, it was crazy to me that Rent was my first show. And to sing that song every night, I have so many fine memories of being in the shower at New World stages

Because at every intermission, I was like, Lord, I got to see if the sea is there. I would sing the sea and then the D above, just to make sure I had all the notes around the sea

just in case I needed to go left or right. Just that show, the cast, Nicholas Christopher, there were so many people in that show who now, Ephraim Sykes

Everyone who did that show went on to do amazing brilliant things

That's how I met Brandon Victor Dixon. That's how I met Tamika Sonia Lawrence. Like, it was an amazing cast, and it was an amazing time in my life

And I just think of young Amber with $5 trying to get a slice of pizza and get to work

Wow, that was a crazy time. That was 10 years ago. Wow. Sheesh

So you warmed up in the showers at New World Stations. Sure did. I'm sure a lot of people have done that since then

Or they're going to do it now when they're playing them, like, I'm running to the shower. just need a place to hear yourself and then have some peace and quiet. Perfect. Showers

Bathroom showers great. Awesome. Okay, you made your Broadway debut. On the same street. On the same

street. Soul Doctor. Nina Simone. I mean, I'm not going to give a lot of way because your stories

in your concert at Audible. I mean, how many callbacks did you have auditions for Soul Doctor

My agent said it was whatever the number is where we have to pay you, it was one less than that. So if it was eight or nine, I was like, I think

have to bring me lunch at this point. Like this, we're on a first name basis. Like, I know these

people's children. Like, this has been a lot of face time. It was crazy. It was crazy how many

times I went in for that show. But I guess it worked. My favorite memory about that is my director

told me that he saw 217 women. And something about that just blew my mind because that was a year

and a half after moving to New York. So my career, you know, for me, I felt like it took forever

but it was fairly quickly to be starring in a Broadway show that soon after moving to New York

But they saw a lot. I don't know why they chose me, but I'm so grateful

It was a crazy process. You had a little more than $5 in a slice of pizza

Just a little, $12 at that point. And you knew how to maneuver the A train, right

I didn't know how to get into the A train then. I did. And you knew that street. You're like, I can get up a new world stage

Oh, she's home for me. She's home. I love 50s. I can move from New World Stages

She's circle in the square, right, and Soul Doctor. That was crazy for me. But you tell an incredible story about your dance audition

which I don't want to give anything away, but that is hilarious. Just having a fabulous French choreographer

who did not believe in eight counts. Like, he didn't believe in like

okay, so we're starting Gleesada, something like, he just spoke in dance

But I had also never been in a solo dance call. I didn't know that was a thing

And to walk into a room and it's a whole creative team and just you, you can't mark

You can't breathe. You can't drink water, you can't wipe sweat because... You can't go to the back of the line

When I walked out of that room, I looked like Michael Phelps in the pool. Like, sweat-drenched

And it was funny to look at all the faces of all the other women because they didn't know what the heck I had just been through

And I walked out and I was like, break legs, everyone. And they were like, what do they do to her in there

And, like, naturally, you show up to a call, like, faces or be..

I just saw all these women throwing dresses, trying to find shorts and sports bras because it was not like any

anything we'd ever experienced. What a crazy story. And get a water bottle to explain themselves to that

I've already explained, I've been working on this in the whole way. Oh my God, that was one of my favorite moments

It's just, you never know what's going to happen in these rooms, and you just have to be prepared and willing to just throw yourself out there and try. Yeah

And it pays off. And you got it. I booked it so much

And then I always laugh because when I think about so doctor I'm not, I don't even think I did any choreography

Like, I don't think I even dance. God help us. But you know those French steps in your head, right

I can do chum-p-p-p-p-cuh-cuh-k-a- in any day. Never doesn't matter. Sleep away upside down

I can do it. I love that. It's crazy. Okay, shuffle along is one of my favorite shows

I loved everything about that show. I mean, your director, George C. Wolf

I mean, talk about the company you were performing on stage with. Someone called it the Black Legends Ball

My friend Griffin Matthews, because it was. It was everyone who I ever wanted to work with at the same time

Brandon, Victor, Dixon, Joshua, Joshua, Billy Porter, Adrian Warren, Felicia Boswell. It was an embarrassment of riches

Like, it was actually kind of crazy being in that room. And what I love most about George C. Wolf is that man is a historian

He is an educator. Like, I used to get so upset because he would do scene work

on a scene that I wasn't in and I'd still be called. And I'm like, I'm not in this scene

But George wanted you to know everything about the world you were in. He wanted you to know the temperature that it was

He wanted you to know what was going on in the news. And this year he would bring newspaper articles

Like if it was August 1st, he would bring a newspaper from August 1st, 1921

so that you would know on this day, 80-some odd years ago, 100 years ago

this is what was happening in the world. So it was like it was school

It felt like we were in college. It felt like we were, every day was a masterclass

I mean, Xavier, Glover, and Jorsi Wolf at the same time, you just would have a migraine just from all the knowledge that was getting

poured into you, but I was also aware of how precious that moment was. And I knew that I would

probably never get another moment like shuffle along in my life. Like that was in a bottle. That was a

very precious moment in time to be in that room with those legends learning and growing and

pushing myself. Like I was like, I have to prove that I could be in this room because it was, I'm just

the amount of knowledge, the amount of experience and the amount of love. Like I learned how to be a leading

lady watching Audra and Adrian, you know, I'm working on a show Now Goddess and it's like

I remember what I learned from those women, how to lead, how to listen, how to advocate

how to speak up and use my voice So Shuffle Along was really just I mean it was like it was college all over again Do you remember that first the invited dress for Sheple Along Blackout I have no recollection I remember terror and fear

Because there was a song in that show that got added, like, the day

Like, I mean, we were, we were, that show was changing and changing and moving and changing

And there were just things that I would step on that stage, like, y'all, I don't know what's about to happen

I don't know what's about to come out of my mouth on Broadway. Like, that's crazy

It's a different level of like intensity and just the stakes are very high

But you also feel just so blessed to have that kind of opportunity to like do something brand new on Broadway with that cast, with that support system

You just feel like I'll never get another of the moment like this in my life. Like I'll forever remember being a shuffle along

Wow. Crazy. One of my favorite nights in a theater. You know, we have to talk about you did the first national tour of a little musical called. Hamilton

I sure did. That was right after Shovela Long, 2017. Oh, you went from that into Hamilton? Immediately

Yes, I did. It was crazy. My first audition. What kind of angel sits on your shoulder

A good one, the Lord. I literally, my first audition for Hamilton was a week after we closed

A week after Shuffle Along closed. Who was your audition for? It was for Angelica

But I mean, was Lynn in the room or who were the people? I love that you think I remember the house

I don't believe. Do you black that out? Absolutely. Honestly, you're just trying to remember all the words

Like, I, I remember my final callback. I do remember that Kail was in there, and I do remember, I think, was the music department in there

I want to say, I'm going to say everyone was in there, but I might be lying. Just say everybody was there

Everybody was there. Everyone was there. Yeah. Okay, so talk about that callback, that final audition

So, you know, fun fact for me is I was auditioning for Angelica up until my final callback

and then it got switched to Peggy Marrtle. the night before. I had less than 10 hours. And you have to understand, coming from Shuffle

along, I didn't know anything about Hamilton. They were the show down the street. So I, and this is at a time

when I don't like to, I like to create from scratch. So I don't want to go get the cast album. I

don't want to watch a bootleg somewhere. Like, I just want to look at what's on the page and I want

to cite read. Exactly. But when you have 10 hours to learn a lot of music, it's crazy. Because you

want to be off book, you want to be comfortable in the room. So I, I remember that I did my

Peggy audition with the Lisp. With a Lisp? I did. I did say, Daddy said to me home by shun down

I did. I made choices. And I booked it. So, that is crazy. Little known fact

You made a choice. And you made a different choice. And they loved it. But you literally had all

these auditions for Angelica and you were like, I'm going back for a callback for her. And I

know, we're switching you out. At the last, like, I mean, the call. I mean, the call. came in probably seven o'clock that night

That is crazy stuff. It was outrageous. So where was your sit down for Hamilton

Where were you? We did five months in San Fran and five months in L.A. So your first performance in San Francisco, like on those turntables, I love to ask

Well, the great thing about it is we had the turntable at New 42

So I had been on a turntable for two months. What I do remember is it felt like a Justin Bieber concert

The first, I have never heard people scream like that. Like, you didn't know if they were being trampled

They were in danger. And we felt our clothes vibrate off of us

That's how loud the screams are. I had never experienced anything like that in my life

It was crazy. Because it was the first time that Hamilton had been west of Chicago

Yeah. Like, at that time, it was only Broadway and Chicago were the only company. So everyone in California was coming to see us

The perks were out of control. The people, like, we were getting, people were coming to show bringing pies, cakes

people to the stage doors. It was a great time. That was a great time

Just to be out there with that big of a show, I had never been a part of a show that large

that had taken the world by storm. It was insane. Okay, I've spoken to so many people from Hamilton

on Broadway and on the road. Always ask him his question. Did you ever go to the white room

Yeah, I did. Tell people what the white room is. The white room is when you're in the middle of a song

and you go to say that next lyric and you have no

clue. You don't know what the song is. You don't know where you are. You don't know what comes

after the line you've forgotten. You're just out on space floating and you are

on the turntable. And you just hope someone's going to come and save you and they don't

And the thing about Hamilton is it's all tracked. Like, you got to go

And I just remember, I think it was a Mariah moment. It was in the middle

of say no to this. And I just was like a shimma and I just ama-dun. And then I

can't write. It's crazy that we all have that story, but it happens

It happens and you just have to keep moving. But it's sort of a badge of honor because..

Oh, it is. I forget who didn't have it. I think I was talking to Brandon Victor Dixon one day

Oh, get out of here. And he never had them. Oh, Brandon Victor Dixon

But then he got one. Okay. Knock on one. See, that's how you can't talk about it because then you have..

My track record is really good. I don't have a white room moment. Then all of a sudden, like, but next night he had a white room moment

He deserves... I love Brandon. But the audience loves it too. Oh, of course

Because the people who know the show, like, oh my God, she just went up. And then they go and write articles about it and call you crazy

It's funny to be. It's funny because they feel like they're part of something special and something that is different and fun, and we're back there losing our minds

Because people literally, like, I kept riding around on the turntable, which you tried out. You just got to keep riding

That's like a life thing. You know what? When life gets out, you just got to keep riding the turn table

Eventually, you'll get back to where you started. We'll catch up. You'll catch up

You know, you also made history as the first woman in person of color. to perform on Broadway after the pandemic shutdown

as part of the NY Pops Up Festival. And I was there

Oh, I didn't know that. At the Broadway theater. Wow. And you welcomed audiences back to the Broadway theaters

How magical was that day? What do you remember about that morning? Terror

Okay. I remember this is such a clear memory for me. I'm sitting in the tent

I've just taken my COVID test. And I went, if I have COVID, all of this stops

And for those, 12 minutes I thought a panic attack cardiac arrest because I had it was like my first

COVID anything yeah and they were telling me the numbers like it's 250 people coming

it's 200 people in front of house like I'm watching ushers like hugging each other they

haven't seen each other in a year it was the most beautiful moment but in that moment I was

like wait a minute if I have COVID there will be no show and just the moment that my test

came back negative I was like oh holy Jesus because I hadn't like I'm

thinking about the songs. I'm thinking about the fact that I haven't sung in months. I'm thinking

do I have the stamina to do this. I'm thinking about the fact that I am doing my one woman's

show on Broadway. I'm thinking about Whoopi Goldberg and all the other black women who have done this

and how the opportunity, like when that call came, I thought it was a joke. I thought I was being

pumped. What do you mean you want me to do something I wrote on Broadway by myself? It was

I honestly, I don't think I've ever fully processed what it meant to do that. And taking Michael

Mitchell, my favorite MD, and Crystal Monet Hall and Mark is Paul James, who I met doing rent, who were my introduction to Broadway

Because if I get to go to Broadway, I'm bringing my people with me. It was one of the most life terrifying It kind of just proved to me that I can do anything But my goodness it was I just wanted to do something good Like I just wanted to see all those artists with the mask only seeing their eyebrows

Like, that was my first time seeing people mass in a theater. And I knew that I knew them, but I couldn't see their faces

Just eyes. Just eyes. And at that time, everyone was, like, spaced apart

Like, we were all spaced out. It was, like, rose apart from me. And I just wanted to hug everyone

And so I hope that my music and my story was hug. them and then it could feel love

It just felt like the hugest undertaking, but a blessing. Like I was so grateful that I had that opportunity and scared

What's next for you? You have some projects coming up. I am

La Jolla. La Jolla was, we did La Jolla. La Jolla was Lampica

And then I did goddess at Berkeley. I did two out of town tryouts back to back that overlaps

I don't know how I survived that. Your angel said, now we're going to give you two out of town

We're not giving you 50 a stream. We're going to give you out of towns. You have to start being specific in your prayers because I pray for this, but I didn't pray for it all that happened at the same time

So to be a part of two amazing original musicals with teams that I love, it's an embarrassment of riches

Like I realized how fortunate, how favorite, how blessed I am to be in this position, goddess, a role that Jocelyn Beal was like, this is for you

And Limpia, which Matt Gould was like, I'm writing these songs for you. I just, I'm very fortunate

And I'm very grateful to be, after being in New York for 10 years

it's keeper of the sea from warming up in the showers, to finally be in this position

It's wonderful. Okay, it's holiday season. What are the holidays like for you

Holidays for me as an only child. Like, if I get home on the 23rd, my mom picks me up from the airport

she's like, great, so we're going to get the tree. And I'm like, y'all didn't get a tree. Should be decorated by now

So holidays for me is work. clocking in. I am building the Christmas village. Everyone

if you follow me on Instagram, you know my parents have a Christmas village that they make me put up

with the trees and I have to go find the fake snow and I, it's

I gripe about it, but I do love it. I do love that. They can't do anything unless I'm there

So, and it's also just going home. I'm Atlanta, baby. I'm from the south and I just love to go

back home rolling the grass with my family. And just, that's what it's about. It's eating all the

being with your family and just like I like to look back at the year and be like

who that was a year like this year I did goddess I did Lumpika I did the

audible show like it's you've accomplished so much and then you get to look ahead

at the next year and see all the things that you want to do in the new year like

it's a crazy time it's a time for reflection and reevaluation and like I have a

gratitude jar that I keep I like to take all I every time I do something I'm I'm grateful for this moment and I'm

I put it in a jar and at the end of the year, I take it out and I look at all the things

that moved me, that touched me that I'm grateful for. And then I keep a jar of like things I want to manifest and I take out the things that

I've done. I'm like, oh, I forgot that I accomplished that. And I put new things in that jar for the new year

So it's really a time to like recalibrate, reevaluate, and then make my list of things

that I want to accomplish in 2023. Oh, I'm getting two jars for the new year

To gratitude jar and your manifestation jar. It's the best thing. And then like anything that I accomplish, I take them out and I frame them

So in my house, I just have every year, like, look at all the things I accomplished. Look at all the things that I was grateful for

It's a really great way to just kind of like, I like, I'm a visual person

So if I can see it, then I can know what I'm working towards. I love it. That's great. Well, like I told you, we're sitting here at the drama bookshop

Yes, we are. There is an incredible vocal selection. The drama bookshop has every vocal score that is available to buy on here on the wall

I'd love to take you over there and see if there is a classic role. or some roles you would like to take on

I'm excited. You want to head over to the wall? Let's do it. We're heading over to the vocal score wall

That's fun. So here we are at the songbook section and libretti here at Drama Bookshop

They have every vocal score and vocal selection that is available to get

So my question for you was, if you could pick anything from this wall, a role or two that you'd like to do

what are some of the roles you'd pick? So like in college, I picked one classical and one contemporary

So I thought we'd start here. with the Hello Dolly because one of my favorite women

in the world is Pearl Bailey and her turn as Dolly I mean the gowns

her star power a chocolate statuesque woman I just I mean you fall in love

I fell in love with Pearl Bailey during Hello Dolly so I'd have to do it just so I could try to just have an ounce

of her charisma uniqueness and talent and then Oh okay fabulous If I pick my

contemporary I just Jason Robert Brown and this show, I mean, we all sang every song in college

But to do it now in like as a grown woman who really has an understanding

Like there's some songs that I get now that, you know, I thought I understood in college, but now I'm still hurting

Ooh, yeah. That's a go to. That's on my street. This is one of my favorite scores, too, Jason Robert Brown's the last five years

But we have to go back to Pearl Bailey because, of course, I was brought up on the Carol Channing album

But my neighbors, they're great, but my neighbor had the Pearl Bailey album because David Merrick

back to record that and it's brilliant. And the tempos are a little faster

and it's much brighter and Pearl Bailey is genius on that, right

She's Pearl Bailey. It's iconic. If you don't know that, you have to go listen to it right now

Find it. It's everywhere. Or go to YouTube because she did before the parade passes

by on Ed Sullivan, which is pretty fabulous. Then you can fall into

the Pearl Bailey on YouTube because there's some really, really incredible stuff. That rabbit hole

is long. You will just be there for hours. Well, people have a lot of time during the holidays

So you'll be cooking during the holidays. You'll be cooking during the holidays, you're building a Christmas village, you're getting the Christmas tree

I'm doing all the things. So, are there a family, like, heirloom things

that go on the tree? Are they like... Oh, yes. There's one that's like my first handprint

Like, it's my first Christmas. You know, I'm the only child, so everything is about me, of course, logically

But I love pulling those ornaments out and just seeing that my family has that stuff, like

from 30 years ago. It's so great. I love parents. I love that they keep all our

crazy thumb prints and macaroni things. Hang them on a tree every year, right? That's so sweet

God bless parents out there who do that. I love that. Okay, finally, like I said, you're an evening with Amber Iman is on Audible

It can just be, we used to call it downloading. Now it's called streaming, right? It's streaming on the Audible. Yes, it is

What do you hope audiences take away? Because they can watch this anywhere in the world. Like you said, there's a person in Croissant, France

that watch you eating croissants. I love this. I love this. There are people all around the world watching it is what it means to you

Well, one of the, the theme of my show was Joy. It was Amber's Joy

And I think that especially the holidays, but year round, that we could all use a little bit more joy

And so I hope when you finish listening to the show that you go and find something, do something, call someone who brings you joy

If it's just taking a walk, if it's someone you haven't spoken to in years, if it's a hobby that you've been meaning to start

It's just, I feel like the world will be a much better place if we all center joy a little bit more

So I hope that you listen to it and then just go find something, do something that brings you a little bit of joy

It'll change your day. It could change your life. It's incredible. Thank you for dropping by with me

for Broadway World here at the Drop of the Bookshop. Thank you for having me, Richard. What a pleasure

This has been so much fun. Take care, everyone, and we'll see you at Broadway World