Today I’ll be talking with James A. Rocco, who began his career as the youngest member of the (Art) Linkletter Totten Tots. Since then he has worked around the world, from Broadway to Tokyo, garnering accolades and awards from critics and audiences alike.

Most recently, he was the Vice President of Programming and Producing Artistic Director at The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, where he booked distinctive Broadway tours like August, Osage County and Next To Normal; participated as a producing partner on the Broadway productions of The Color Purple and Fun Home; and produced Ordway’s Award Winning productions of Love, Janis, Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story, In The Heights and Grey Gardens. His Broadway Songbook Series was one of the Ordway’s most anticipated yearly events.

He is a Broadway actor and director who has sung with Frank Sinatra and Herbie Hancock, and we spoke at my studio in North Minneapolis.

PART ONE: The Interview
PART TWO: A Song
PART THREE: James gets to ask the Music Director!

You can find James on the web at jamesrocco.com and broadwaysongbook.com.

Thanks for listening. Do you have any comments? Questions? Suggestions? You can always reach me on Facebook, @askthemdpodcast, or on the web page askthemdpodcast.com. Remember to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, the iTunes Store, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts—and if you get a chance, leave us a review! It’ll help others find their way to us. Thank you!

EPISODE NOTES
Episode duration: 50:07
At 37:36 James Rocco sings “Lullaby of Broadway” from Forty-Second Street (duration: 3:22). Dennis Curley accompanies on the piano.
Composers: Al Dubin and Harry Warren
Publisher: Warner Bros. Music, a division of Warner Bros. Inc.
Licensed through Harry Fox Agency.
This recording ©2018 by Dennis Curley. All Rights Reserved.
Theme music: “Let’s Start Where We’re At” — music ©2010 by Dennis Curley, lyrics ©2010 by James Arthur Robinson. All Rights Reserved.
James’ headshot by Bruce Alan Johnson