I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes

elbito322

I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes is a podcast that explores the journeys of successful individuals and how they’ve built and sustained their careers. Host Elbi Cespedes sits down with accomplished guests to discuss their beginnings, the challenges they’ve faced, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Through engaging and insightful conversations, this podcast offers inspiration, practical advice, and a deeper look into what it really takes to achieve long-term success.

Listen in PodNod RSS feed Show website

20 episodes
Updated Monday

Episodes20

Newest first

Monday · 1 hr 37 min
Donna Lynne Champlin's I Wanna Be Like You!
Donna Lynne Champlin is currently starring in The Loved Ones as Cheryl-Ann at Irish Rep open now until August 2nd! Her most notable stage work includes playing Pirelli in the 2005 Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd (directed by John Doyle featuring Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone as Sweeney and Mrs Lovett respectively), playing Older Helen in Hollywood Arms (a semi-autobiographical role created by Carol Burnett and directed by Hal Prince), and James Joyce's The Dead starring opposite Alice Ripley, Marni Nixon and Christopher Walken! Many may know her as Paula Proctor in the hit CW musical comedy TV series Crazy Ex Girlfriend! We get to talking about her greatest Hal Prince stories, meeting Carol Burnett for the first time and much more!
July 23 · 1 hr 3 min
Joomin Hwang's I Wanna Be Like You!
Joomin Hwang is a Broadway performer turned author currently in & Juliet (alongside Joey Fatone & Chrissy Metz!) which he's been in since it originally opened on Broadway in 2022! He made his Broadway debut in The Prom in 2018 after immigrating from South Korea where he was a competitive breakdancer! He's now written a self help book titled The Rule of Five Journal which is OUT NOW helping those struggling to balance negativity in their lives with positivity!
July 16 · 2 hr 39 min
Joel Blum's I Wanna Be Like You!
Joel Blum is a 2 time Tony Award nominated actor with multiple Broadway, Off Broadway and National Tour credits! He received his Tony Award nominations for his performances as Frank in the 1994 Revival of Show Boat (directed by Hal Prince and choreographed by Susan Stroman) and Buddy in Kander & Ebb’s Steel Pier respectively! Some of his earlier credits include being a part of the original ensemble of 42nd Street on Broadway and Debbie Reynolds’ Vegas act! In 2000, he starred as Marcellus in a Broadway revival of The Music Man alongside Craig Bierko, Eric McCormack, and Robert Sean Leonard! We get to talking about his parents’ history in vaudeville, working with Robert Morse & Elaine Stritch on Show Boat and the numerous lessons he’s learned over the course of his multi-decade long career!
July 7 · 2 hr 27 min
Ken Jennings' I Wanna Be Like You!
Ken Jennings is a Broadway star best known for originating the role of Tobias in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! His other Broadway credits include the original Broadway casts of Grand Hotel, Side Show, and Urinetown (originating the role of Hot Blades Harry)! Disney Parks fans will know him as a hologram in the short lived EPCOT attraction The Astuter Computer Revue! His one man show The Gospel of John which he performed off Broadway was nominated for the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Solo Performance and he continues to tour the show across the country!
June 30 · 1 hr 46 min
Jack O'Brien’s I Wanna Be Like You!
Jack O’Brien is a theater legend whose work spans genres and across the globe. He’s directed classic Shakespearean plays (incuding Henry IV, MacBeth starring Ethan Hawke and more on Broadway), original Tom Stoppard epics (The Coast of Utopia, The Invention of Love and more on Broadway) and some of the greatest musical comedies of the contemporary era (Hairspray, Shucked and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)! Having directed more than 50 Broadway productions and 4 Tony Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award he received in 2024), Jack has become one of the most prolific directors to ever work onstage. His work in the regional theater has not gone unnoticed either, having served as the Artistic Director of The Old Globe for 25 years overseeing the world premieres of Sondheim & Lapine’s Into the Woods, and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson! Now, he’s making his acting debut alongside Lisa Kudrow in the final season of the HBO comedy The Comeback! We get to talking all about that, his podcast with screenwriter Alan Fox, Notes With Jack, and his upcoming projects! A very special episode - Jack O’Brien’s I Wanna Be Like You!
June 25 · 1 hr 5 min
Stephanie Klemons' I Wanna Be Like You!
Stephanie Klemons is currently the Associate Choreographer for Hamilton (Broadway, National Tours and UK) as well as Heathers Off Broadway. She also appeared in the original Broadway casts of Hamilton, In The Heights (for which she also served as the Dance Captain) and If/Then! As a choreographer she worked on Rock & Roll Man, In the Heights (Kennedy Center), and numerous commercials and music videos. We get to talking about what it was like being in the room where it happened helping create the movement of Hamilton and In the Heights, working with Andy Blankenbuehler, the extent of an Associate Choreographer's job---- especially on a long running, international Broadway hit and much more!
June 22 · 1 hr 14 min
Grace Yurchuk's I Wanna Be Like You
Grace Yurchuk is a singer/songwriter and musical theater composer, and a 2024 graduate of NYU Steinhardt (B.M., Classical Vocal Performance). She is best known for Caesar: The Musical, as well as her self-produced theater-pop songs like “30 Seconds” and “Mixed Messages.” Grace built her audience for Caesar by sharing each draft for the show online as it was written, as well as other peeks into her creative process. She funded the show’s studio cast EP through a Kickstarter campaign which was selected as a Kickstarter “Project We Love,” ultimately surpassing its goal and raising over $36,000. In addition to her work as a composer, she runs a private songwriting studio, mentoring artists as they develop and release original music. Across all of her projects, she is driven by a commitment to storytelling and bringing original work to life. Instagram: @graceyurchuk, TikTok: @itsthegraceplace
June 16 · 1 hr 32 min
Alejo Vietti's I Wanna Be Like You!
Alejo Vietti is our first costume designer on the show! His work is currently represented on Broadway in the Tony Award nominated Titanique which he's been a part of since it's premiere in NYC. Other Broadway credits include SMASH, Holiday Inn, Allegiance and Beautiful: the Carole King Musical! Originally from Argentina, Alejo has worked with some of the most prominent costume designers to ever work in the industry including Ann Roth and Bob Crowley! He also worked as an associate to Jess Goldstein on the original Broadway production of Jersey Boys! We get to talking about what it means to tell a story through costumes, the most challenging style to design, and wokring with Meryl Streep, John Goodman, and Christopher Walken on The Seagull!
June 11 · 1 hr 21 min
Jim Borstelmann's I Wanna Be Like You!
Jim Borstelmann is a Broadway veteran having been in the original casts of The Producers, The Addams Family and many more. Jim was in the ensemble of the 1996 revival of Chicago starring Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth and Joel Grey which is still on Broadway holding the record for the longest running Broadway revival. A self taught dancer, Jim made his Broadway debut working under the legendary Jerome Robbins having been a swing in Jerome Robbins' Broadway. His most recent Broadway appearance was in 2023 in New York, New York, marking his 4th Broadway collaboration with former guest and Broadway icon Susan Stroman. We get to discussing all of those credits, Mel Brooks stories, the keys to being a successful Broadway swing, and more!
June 6 · 2 hr 13 min
Kevin Adams' I Wanna Be Like You!
Kevin Adams is a 4 time Tony Award winning lighting designer who's currently nominated for his 9th Tony Award for his lighting design on the 2025 Broadway revival of Chess! His previous credits include the Off Broadway and Broadway productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Spring Awakening (for which he won his first Tony Award for). He's also worked on the original productions of Next to Normal, American Idiot, SpongeBob Squarepants, and The Cher Show! His work transcends musicals having worked on operas, Broadway plays, and one person shows including John Leguizamo's Sexaholix! Upcoming, he's working on a new book charting his career to be released plus lighting designing the Broadway musical Galileo starring Raul Esparza coming this fall to the Shubert Theatre. As our first lighting designer on the podcast, we get to talking not only about his career in the theater but also how lighting has evolved moving from the incandescent era to the more energy efficient era we're in now!
June 2 · 56 min
Maulik Pancholy's I Wanna Be Like You!
Maulik Pancholy is currently starring as Reverend Howard Layton/The Leprechaun in Schmigadoon on Broadway! Onscreen he's best known as the voice of Baljeet in the Disney Channel sensation Phineas and Ferb and Sanjay in Sanjay and Craig on Nickelodeon. He's also well known as Jack Donaughy's assistant Jonathan on the hit NBC comedy 30 Rock! His former Broadway credits include It's Only A Play and Grand Horizons! Coming up, he'll be starring alongside Paul Giamatti, Julianne Moore, Bernadette Peters and more in Jesse Eisenberg's new untitled movie musical from A24. His new novel Will They, Won't They? will be released in January 2027 but right now you can catch him eight times a week at the Nederlander Theater in the musical tied for the most Tony Award nominations of the season, Schmigadoon!
May 29 · 2 hr 35 min
Beowulf Boritt's I Wanna Be Like You!
Beowulf Boritt is a 2 time Tony Award winning scenic designer! His charity The 1/52 Project which focuses on amplifying marginalized designers has won the 2026 Tony Award Honor For Excellence In Theatre! Some of his work on Broadway includes Act One, New York, New York, On The Town, A Bronx Tale, Flying Over Sunset, The Scottsboro Boys, Sunday in the Park with George (2017), Prince Of Broadway and many more! His book Transforming Space Over Time released in 2022 and features a detailed look to the scenic design process as well as featuring interviews with legendary theater directors including Hal Prince, Susan Stroman, James Lapine, Jerry Zaks and Kenny Leon! Upcoming, he’ll be scenic designing the new musical Wanted and The Imaginary Invalid both transferring to Broadway this fall!!
May 20 · 2 hr 44 min
Susan Stroman's I Wanna Be Like You!
FIFTH DREAM GUEST! Susan Stroman is a 5 time Tony Award winning Broadway director and choreographer! Her most iconic work includes directing and choreographing The Producers (working alongside Mel Brooks), Contact (for which she won multiple Tony Awards including Best Musical), the 2000 Broadway revival of The Music Man, Bullets Over Broadway (alongside Woody Allen), New York, New York and many more! As a choreographer, she's responsible for the original choreography of the smash hit Crazy For You, the 1994 revival of Show Boat, Oklahoma starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Trevor Nunn, Liza at Radio City Music Hall, and Steel Pier to name a few! Her work on screen includes directing and choreographing the film adaptation of The Producers as well as choreographing numbers in Curb Your Enthusiasm! Upcoming, she'll be at the helm of the new Ahrens and Flaherty musical Little Dancer which will open in the West End in 2027 with many more projects in development! We get to talking about the biggest things she learned from Hal Prince , what she looks for in new work, why she's made a pointed effort to only work on new works and much more.
May 13 · 2 hr 5 min
Lisa Lampanelli's I Wanna Be Like You!
Two-time Grammy Award nominee Lisa Lampanelli was known for more than 30 years as “Comedy’s Lovable Queen of Mean.” A constant on the comedy scene, with countless tours, 13 NBC “Tonight Show” appearances, and sold-out performances at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall under her belt, she became well-known for her roasting skills, publicly lambasting everyone from David Hasselhoff to Flavor Flav to Pamela Anderson on Comedy Central. In 2016, Lisa decided to do something a little different. She wrote “Stuffed,” a four-person play about food and body-image issues, which enjoyed two off-Broadway runs! Her charitable efforts -- she raised $130,000 for the Gay Men’s Health Crisis during season 5 of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” and won $50,000 for the same organization on Fox’s “Celebrity Weakest Link” – are among her proudest achievements. She is currently serving as Associate Producer of “The People Versus Lenny Bruce," which has begun performances Off Broadway at Theatre Row now until June 28th!
May 5 · 2 hr 34 min
Stephen Kramer Glickman's I Wanna Be Like You!
Stephen Kramer Glickman is most well known for the beloved role Gustavo Rocque on the hit Nickelodeon series which created the boy band of the same name, Big Time Rush, a band and TV show Elbi was absolutely obsessed with growing up! His theater history is also vast having originated the role of Shrek in the pre Broadway developmental workshops of the musical rendition for YEARS as well as helping develop the role of Frankenstein's Monster along with Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman for Young Frankenstein! His voice can be heard as Pigeon Toady alongside Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Aniston and Andy Sandberg in the animated film Storks! He also has a long time history as a stand up comedian having came up with Gilbert Godfrey and Dave Chapelle to name a few! Most recently, he reunited with the Big Time Rush guys to join them on their international tour, In Real Life where he toured multiple continents performing some of his hit renditions of songs like Crazy, Bad Guy and Pink Pony Club! We get to talking all about his theater history, his stand up career and of course all things Gutavo Rocque and BIG TIME RUSH!
April 30 · 53 min
Jeffrey Seller's I Wanna Be Like You!
Jeffrey Seller has impacted the theater industry forever. Best known as the lead producer of Hamilton, Rent, In The Heights, and Avenue Q (all of which won him the Tony Award for Best Musical), Jeffrey is the only person to have produced two Pulitzer Prize winning musicals. On top of this, Jeffrey alongside his former producing partner Kevin McCollum created the rush and lottery discount ticket options 30 years ago with Rent! He's now written a memoir titled Theatre Kid which is available on paperback beginning May 6th! In this very special episode, we get to talking about the state of the industry, the job of a producer and how it's evolved over the years and what shows he's interested in producing.
April 28 · 51 min
Carey Renee Sharpe's I Wanna Be Like You!
Carey Renee Sharpe is currently starring in the Off Broadway show which she also co-wrote, Blood/Love at Theater 555! A former nurse from Wisconsin, Carey decided to pivot her career after renovating a venue in her hometown. Alongside her writing partner Dru Decaro (Grammy nominated producer for Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Sabrina Carpenter and many more) the two have spent the last 6 years developing and writing the world premiere vampire pop opera Blood/Love which is open now to May 10th!
April 21 · 1 hr 36 min
Claybourne Elder's I Wanna Be Like You!
Claybourne Elder is a Broadway star whose work spans decades on stage and screen. His new album If The Stars Were Mine is streaming everywhere now and you could also look out for his solo shows where he performs songs from the album, sharing their relation to his journey to Broadway, his childhood, current fatherhood and beyond! He originated the role of Hollis in one of Stephen Sondheim's final musicals, Road Show. Aside from Road Show, his work on Sondheim projects includes the most recent Broadway revival of Company (Andy), Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, Sondheim on Sondheim at The Hollywood Bowl and more! He was also a part of the original cast of Bonnie and Clyde having seen it through from the very beginning. Most recently, you may have seen him as John Adams on all three seasons of The Gilded Age on HBO. We get to talking about his entire career, his relationship with Sondheim personally and professionally and why this new album is one of the most creatively fulfilling projects he's ever worked on.
April 14 · 1 hr 49 min
Mark Evans' I Wanna Be Like You!
Mark Evans is an actor whose stage work spans multiple continents having starred in multiple West End AND Broadway shows! His Broadway debut was The Play That Goes Wrong which he's now the Associate Director of Off Broadway at New World Stages. Some of his other Broadway credits, include Waitress, Mrs Doubtfire, and Tammy Faye! His West End credits include originating Troy Bolton in High School Musical, Sam in Ghost, Fiyero in Wicked, and swing in the Original London Cast of Spamalot amongst many more! He currently runs his own acting studio, Mark Evans Studio which holds weekly classes as well as workshops and masterclasses with industry professionals! We discuss the many differences between West End and Broadway, the biggest lessons in comedy from Jerry Zaks, and the key to The Play That Goes Wrong's success!
April 7 · 1 hr 36 min
Simon Leary's I Wanna Be Like You!
Simon Leary is a New Zealand based actor who's making in his NYC debut off Broadway in a new play titled Heartbreak Hotel at the DR2 Theatre running now until April 19th! Originally from Timaru, NZ, Simon has since moved to Wellington where he's performed in numerous productions at the Circa Theatre including The Glass Menagerie, A Servant to Two Masters and more! On top of all this, he's written and starred in many pantos which are family friendly productions based on fairytales that are especially prominent in the UK as well as New Zealand. We get to talking about all that, the time Sir Ian McKellen saw him perform, his time working as an Orc on The Hobbit: The Demolition of Smaug, and the biggest differences between New Zealand and New York theater! GO SEE HEARTBREAK HOTEL AT THE DR2 THEATRE NOW THRU APRIL 19!

I Wanna Be Like You with Elbi Cespedes

Donna Lynne Champlin's I Wanna Be Like You!

Joomin Hwang's I Wanna Be Like You!

Joel Blum's I Wanna Be Like You!

Ken Jennings' I Wanna Be Like You!

Jack O'Brien’s I Wanna Be Like You!

Stephanie Klemons' I Wanna Be Like You!

Grace Yurchuk's I Wanna Be Like You

Alejo Vietti's I Wanna Be Like You!

Jim Borstelmann's I Wanna Be Like You!

Kevin Adams' I Wanna Be Like You!

Maulik Pancholy's I Wanna Be Like You!

Beowulf Boritt's I Wanna Be Like You!

Susan Stroman's I Wanna Be Like You!

Lisa Lampanelli's I Wanna Be Like You!

Stephen Kramer Glickman's I Wanna Be Like You!

Jeffrey Seller's I Wanna Be Like You!

Carey Renee Sharpe's I Wanna Be Like You!

Claybourne Elder's I Wanna Be Like You!

Mark Evans' I Wanna Be Like You!

Simon Leary's I Wanna Be Like You!