S4 BONUS: Warm Hugs (with Todd Buonopane)

Beluga Sevruga! In this bonus episode, Conor and Caroline welcome Todd Buonopane from the cast of Disney's Frozen at Paper Mill Playhouse for a very special interview about the production that is taking the region by storm. Join your hosts as they chat with Todd about all things Frozen and get the inside scoop on how he brings to life everyone's favorite summer-loving snowman, Olaf! So cuddle close, let it all go, and get ready for a conversation worth melting for!

SPECIAL GUEST: Todd Buonapane
Website: www.toddbuonopane.com | YouTube: @tmbuonop

Disney's Frozen at Paper Mill Playhouse
www.papermill.org/frozen

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Transcript

Caroline Aimetti 0:43

Hello, and welcome to Poor Unfortunate Podcast, where Disney is what we do... it's what we live for! We're the two besties you never knew you needed. I'm Caroline Aimetti.

Conor Perkins 0:54

And I'm Conor Perkins. This is a Disney podcast for grown ups because we believe magic gets better with age. Listener discretion is advised. Welcome to all of our returning listeners and viewers. Thank you so much for coming back and joining us once again. And to any new listeners or viewers, thank you so much for hitting play. Please also remember to hit follow or subscribe wherever you're getting the podcast. And if you're watching on YouTube, opt in for notifications, ring the little bell. We'd love doing that. And then everybody, once we get to the end of the episode, or right now, if you're feeling it, hit five stars, leave a written review or a comment wherever you're listening or watching the podcast. It's one of the best things you can do to help us get seen search results. Push the podcast to some other people, all that good algorithm stuff. We would really, really appreciate it.

Caroline Aimetti 1:39

Thank you. Thank you.

Conor Perkins 1:40

Thank you. So today we have something really special for you. This happened very, very quickly and was kind of a surprise. And you know, sometimes surprises are the best. Actually, usually surprises are the best. And this one is kind of the best. So, Caroline, why don't you tell everybody what happened?

Caroline Aimetti 1:58

I would love to. So last night we were lucky enough to be invited to see Frozen that is currently playing at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. And we had such a wonderful time. It is a beautiful, beautiful production. It is playing through January 11th at Paper Mill Playhouse. So if you can make the time, you should totally get there and see it. We loved every moment of it. And we just like love seeing Frozen on stage.

Conor Perkins 2:27

It's so good.

Caroline Aimetti 2:28

It's so good on stage. It's so good on stage.

Conor Perkins 2:30

What season is that? Season three?

Caroline Aimetti 2:32

Yes, we have a perfect episode to pair with this. Option up. It's a two-part episode where we talk about the original Broadway cast recordings of Frozen and The Little Mermaid. So that would be a great pairing with this episode.

Conor Perkins 2:44

Which is super ironic because Paper Mill literally has produced both The Little Mermaid and Frozen this year.

Caroline Aimetti 2:49

So yes, and I got to see that beautiful Little Mermaid as well. Yeah, Paper Mill. Um, what should they do next? We have requests. We'll we'll be in touch. Um, but then to make it even better, today we are welcoming Todd Buonopane to the podcast. Todd plays Olaf in this production. And I think you're gonna be so delighted by this interview. He was an absolute joy and delight as Olaf. I just get all the warm, fuzzy feelings just thinking about his performance. And so he came on and chatted about the show, about Disney as we do, and we're gonna bring all of that to you. But before we jump into the interview, we want to give you his bio because he is booked and busy.

Conor Perkins 3:27

He's done, he's done some stuff. He's done some stuff. So Todd is currently playing Olaf in Disney's Frozen at Paper Mill Playhouse through January 11th. Todd has appeared on Broadway as Jean-Michel in Cinderella. Which we love. We love Roger in Grease, which hey, I've done Roger in Grease as well.

Caroline Aimetti 3:44

Hell yeah.

Conor Perkins 3:44

Amos in Chicago, and many characters in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Caroline Aimetti 3:49

He has also toured the United States in the play that goes wrong, Godspell, and Chicago, which he has also done in Dubai, Seoul, and Tokyo. Hello. His off-Broadway credits include Tartuffe, which actually just wrapped up, starring André De Shields, that looked incredible. Uh, The Butter and Egg Man, Henry and Mudge, and the New Yorkers at City Center Encores. His TV credits include The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Braindead, Grey's Anatomy, Law and Order, Criminal Intent, and 30 Rock.

Conor Perkins 4:18

So, Todd, welcome to Poor Unfortunate Podcast. It's great having you here with us.

Caroline Aimetti 4:23

Thanks for having me. Oh, we're so happy you're here. So, Todd, we actually, before we jump into like all the questions we have for you about Olaf, we'd wanted to tell you that we saw the show last night and you were so wonderful. Oh good. I'm glad you were there. So great. It was so magical. Like we just loved it.

Conor Perkins 4:41

I was like crying within the first like three minutes of it. I was just like, Oh my god, those two little girls. Those little girls are so good.

Caroline Aimetti 4:49

They're unbelievable.

Conor Perkins 4:51

I have mutual friends with Hazel, I think her name is, who's young Elsa, because she's from Maryland. And so like there's the Maryland community, it's like very, very tight. So like we've got people who were like, Oh my god, Conor, you saw it? I was like, Yes, she was amazing.

Caroline Aimetti 5:04

They were incredible.

Conor Perkins 5:05

Great. She was Annie.

Caroline Aimetti 5:07

Oh, that makes sense. Oh, oh my gosh, I thought she looked familiar. Okay, that makes so much sense.

Todd Buonopane 5:13

She started opposite Whoopi Goldberg in Madison Square Garden.

Caroline Aimetti 5:16

So she's like, I can do anything now. Whatever. It's amazing.

Todd Buonopane 5:21

And the other one, uh, Anjali is from like a little Broadway dynasty family, I guess. Because one day I said, Oh, what are you doing on your day off? And she goes, I'm gonna drop off my brother. And I said, Where? And she goes, Broadway. He's in MJ. Just like a little Michael Jackson in MJ. Oh my god.

Caroline Aimetti 5:39

So cute.

Todd Buonopane 5:40

Incredible.

Caroline Aimetti 5:41

Oh gosh, to have that life. I love that so much. Um, so we so we just wanted to tell you like you were absolutely beaming during the bows, and it just was like, it's just so wonderful to watch you up there. And so we wanted to know, um, just as a little intro, how has it been for you jumping into the world of Frozen after just having wrapped up your run in André De Shields's Tartuffe, which I'm sure was a very different thing. How has that been for you?

Todd Buonopane 6:07

Yeah, I mean, I was playing the mean grandmother in that show. Um only play things very close to me. Um, it has been such a joy because I mean the show is beautiful and the people are the most fun ever. And the second day we had learned all the music and we sat down to do our read through, and I was so excited because I was like, oh, everybody here wants to have fun. And I feel like Frozen is one of those shows you see that you want to walk out thinking, oh, that cast was having the time of their lives. And we are honestly having so much fun. My mic is not on in so many like dance numbers where I am just talking up a story. I mean, Olaf is just talking to all the dancers, encouraging them to kick higher. I there's one girl that I'm always like, look me in the eyes and kick, you know, and she oh my god. Joy and fun is just spilling out to the audience, it's making it more fun, I think.

Conor Perkins 7:12

They need to do one performance where they put your mic on. Just one mic on performance. One mic on performance. Oh, and I'll come back for that one.

Caroline Aimetti 7:23

Yes, Olaf unedited. Absolutely. Oh my god. Well, it's so obvious. Like, you can't do that.

Conor Perkins 7:27

Yeah, no, you can tell every single person up there is just having the time of their life. It's great. Beautiful.

Caroline Aimetti 7:32

And obviously, you know, we're a Disney podcast, so we'll get more into like the Disney of it all. But we also wanted to take this moment before we really get into the Frozen stuff too. Conor and I are both actors, we're both equity members, and we also want to thank you for your work as a counselor on Actors' Equity. So no, thank you. And we we've like watched your videos, like like breaking down just like healthcare. So before I get too, you know, into it, our audience has a fair amount of theater people in it. Um, but we also just, you know, you know, a lot of people listening are just Disney fans. So I was wondering if for a moment you could talk a bit about your work in Actors' Equity for folks listening who might not be as familiar with, you know, the actors union and and the work that you do.

Todd Buonopane 8:14

Yeah, sure. I actually just before this, I ran, I was the chair of a two-hour meeting on touring. Um, you know, the actor's life, living my life all day.

Caroline Aimetti 8:25

Thank you for being here today. Oh my gosh.

Todd Buonopane 8:28

What are you? Um I'm gonna go back in time. Yeah before actors' unions, the way that actors were treated was shocking. So, like the a show would be trying out out of town and it would fail. It wasn't going well, and then the actors would go to work the next day and the set would be gone. They suddenly their hotels weren't paid for anymore, they couldn't get home because the producers would cut and run. There used to be a time when we had to buy our own costumes if we wanted things to wear on stage. So I like to say if it wasn't human nature for the big guy to F with the little guy, we wouldn't need unions, but it is and we do. And I've worked for wonderful people. The people at Paper Mill are so lovely to us, but like Actors' Equity has really set the standard of how to treat actors and stage managers, and it's still a fight, you know, there's still a lot that we're fighting for, and um, you know, health care in this time we're in is really important. And I actually right before I got on here, I just uh paid my $300 to start my six months of health care on January 1st with the Actors' Equity Health Congress.

Caroline Aimetti 9:46

Yes, honestly, congrats. Yep, yep.

Todd Buonopane 9:48

But it's hard to achieve because health insurance is an evil. Um, but I'm really proud of the work I've done. I'm proud of working with the people that want to volunteer for their fellow members. And, you know, if you're in a union and you're unhappy with what's going on with the union, then get involved because you are the union. A union is only the people that are in the union, right? And there's always things to be frustrated with at work. But if you ever stop to think how they would treat us if someone wasn't creating rules for them to abide by, yeah, you start to feel a little better about it. But thanks for asking about that.

Conor Perkins 10:26

Yeah, yeah. No, it's just such an important part, I feel like, of you and your story and like how we know you. So we wanted to make sure that it was included in here. Yeah. Okay. So now we'll move on to some of the Disney stuff because that's what we do. Um, first off, what level of Disney fan are you? Like how, how, how extreme are we going here?

Todd Buonopane 10:45

Okay, so I will never turn down a trip to Disney. Great. And I know how to get in free at any park because I just know people that work there. The problem is when you get in for free, you can't do any fast pass stuff. Right. Because you can't, it's not on the app. But I I can always usually find someone to walk me into a park because you know it is indeed an investment.

Caroline Aimetti 11:09

Indeed.

Todd Buonopane 11:11

Very much so. But like, you know, the Disney Renaissance starting with like The Little Mermaid, like I was the right age for being like, oh, this is what a musical is, right? And yeah, I mean, my favorite Disney movie as a kid, though, was The Fox and the Hound.

Caroline Aimetti 11:28

Who hurt you?

Todd Buonopane 11:29

What a good choice. Who hurt you? It's so sad, but the fox's name is Todd. And so You know, when you're a little, if something has the same name as you, you're like, my favorite. You're like, that's me. Oh, that's it. Yes. But I've tried to watch it recently and I'm like, this is so sad.

Caroline Aimetti 11:44

Oh, I can't get through it at this age, I can't get through it anymore. That's on the shelf now. Yeah. Yeah.

Conor Perkins 11:49

No, when you're the best of friends, like if that ever comes up in like a shuffle, I'm like, nope, we're skipping, we're skipping, can't do that one today.

Todd Buonopane 11:55

There's so much death in Disney movies.

Caroline Aimetti 11:58

So much. But I think it's made Disney fans like, I like to think like the very like empathetic and like sensitive people we are, maybe, right? Sure, sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Conor Perkins 12:08

Are well adjusted.

Todd Buonopane 12:09

Uh slightly. I don't know.

Conor Perkins 12:11

No. Okay.

Todd Buonopane 12:12

But I'm a good, I mean, I've already seen Zootopia 2. I'm a good Disney fan.

Conor Perkins 12:16

Oh, you're better than two of us. You're the head of the two of us. So we we were too busy seeing Wicked five times.

Todd Buonopane 12:21

Well, I'm AMC A-list, so I see movies for free.

Caroline Aimetti 12:24

Oh. Yeah. Great. Great. Oh, we're we're gonna get along just fine. I miss my AMC A-list so much, so much.

Conor Perkins 12:33

Okay. Um, so what were some of your first connections to both Frozen and Olaf? Like, do you remember the Frozen craze of it all?

Todd Buonopane 12:41

Yeah, I mean, I remember seeing that movie, and well, Josh Gad and I worked together um in Spelling Bee. And he was such a love. We enjoyed each other so much, and he was really, really kind. And to this day, he's always we don't talk all the time, but if I when I text him or when he texts me, we like you know, we can like catch up with each other. And I think he's honest to God a good person, and I think he is so funny and weird. And what's funny is he had a hard time in Spelling Bee. The director gave him a really hard time, and I thought he was so great, but like you know, it's so fun to watch someone that's like pulling their hair out in kind of I mean, I don't want to say smaller because it's Broadway, but then suddenly get to Hollywood and be huge. And I mean the what he did with Olaf is just unmatched, right? And and once I I knew I was doing this, I was like, I'm not gonna watch him do it. I know Josh, I know what he did. I don't want to try to sound like him, but I don't want to try to not sound like him because kids have an attachment to Olaf, so you can't really invent reinvent the wheel, right? So I was just I can only be my version of what it already is. I actually think it's kind of when they try to like do anything with Olaf, I think it's tough for kids because they like Olaf is their favorite. The amount of Olaf dolls in that audience on a nightly basis. Oh my god.

Conor Perkins 14:20

I mean, it the the string and the merch stand of just Olaf, Olaf, Olaf, Olaf, Olaf. I was like, they are prepared, but you can totally see that in your performance. Like you can you can see the moments of like, how do I honor, you know, the legacy of Olaf, but also like have a have make it your own. So it's it's very, very apparent in all of that. And you know, the way that Olaf has been realized in most productions of Frozen, including at Paper Mill, he's a puppet, uh, and a full body puppet at that. Like it attaches to your feet. It has like the I from looking at it, it was like there's a center support that goes like down your back and like between your legs. Oh, yeah, and that like holds the middle part, and then there's the arms, and then there's the head. So like it's pretty involved. It hurts so bad.

Caroline Aimetti 15:08

Oh, I was hoping that wasn't the case.

Conor Perkins 15:10

When I saw the metal rod like down the back between your legs, I was like, No, that doesn't hurt.

Todd Buonopane 15:15

What hurts is manipulating the head because puppets are usually this action. Yes, and this is this. So, like, um, this is great for a podcast, acting things out like that. But it's my we have video too.

Caroline Aimetti 15:30

This is great.

Todd Buonopane 15:31

Kind of make a claw, and then I lift my whole hand, and I now have like a superhero arm and a squiggly tot arm on the other side. I you can't believe the muscles I have in my right arm right now. And makes me sad because I always was like, I guess I'm just not prone to making muscles. It's just how my body was made, and I'm like, oh crap. And I actually were actually been in the gym every day. I might have grown muscles. Um what's your experience with puppetry? You know, not other than being maybe even more than a Disney fan, a Muppet fan.

Caroline Aimetti 16:05

Oh, okay, great.

Todd Buonopane 16:06

Yeah I mean, Fozzie Bear is my phone. My Scruff name is Wocka Wocka.

Caroline Aimetti 16:13

Oh my god, there you go.

Todd Buonopane 16:14

Yes, too much info, too much info.

Caroline Aimetti 16:18

On here? Never, never too much.

Todd Buonopane 16:20

Um yeah, I mean, I they they used to say when people would audition for Avenue Q, they wouldn't even have them learn a puppet. They would just come in and see if they could move their hands and do "Purpose. It's that little flame that lights a fire on..." that, like some people have that instinct and some people don't. And so I've always had the instinct. I knew how to do it. But uh it's it's a journey, and like the the other thing is you can't articulate your feet. You have to walk flat footed because you have these poles with snowball feet coming out. So like my ankles hurt all the time. I'm also just old, so that happens.

Caroline Aimetti 17:04

I was thinking about that too, even getting around backstage. It's like you've kind of got like you've got to have like a clearance around you because you've got the feet and everything. Yeah.

Todd Buonopane 17:12

Yeah. I mean, the the people have started to realize they gotta give me the right of way. Yeah. Like hide in a corner. I mean, Sven is worse Sven takes up-

Conor Perkins 17:20

You and you and Sven. Yeah, I was gonna say, you and Sven. Yeah, so where did you where did you start with your approach to Olaf? Like what I know you kind of talked about this with you know, honoring the Josh Gad, the idea of Olaf that kids have, but like in terms of putting yourself into it, where did you start?

Todd Buonopane 17:40

I mean, I think you have to think that these little kids invented this idea, right? And so while being like just bursting with love for these two sisters, which he is, he's also like has almost the humor of a child, right? And it's kind of the like because they invented him, they're he's gonna be the funniest thing a child could come up with, right? And so, like, that's just like it is a child's sense of humor, but it's weird because I feel like adults get that it's a child's sense of humor, so the adults laugh at it too. Yeah, you know, sometimes you see a kid's movie and it's just to make kids laugh, yes, but Olaf somehow isn't that. I I I get two very distinct kinds of laughs in the show. I get the kid laugh and the adult laugh. And the um, and I kind of sometimes I like one more than the other, you know. Sure. Sometimes when we do a matinee and there's a lot of kids, sometimes they tell them, be quiet, behave. And I'm like, no.

Caroline Aimetti 18:50

Yeah, we were talking about that yesterday. Yes, yes, I so agree. Well, when you said when you said Samantha yesterday, you got me good. I enjoyed the hell.

Todd Buonopane 19:01

I was so happy because we were like, we're gonna gamble on this, and 60% of the audience won't get it.

Caroline Aimetti 19:08

Oh my god, how could it? I'm kind of like, how can you be there and not know the Samantha joke? But I love it.

Todd Buonopane 19:12

My friend Courtney came the other night, who's like a big Broadway star, and she and I, this is way too old for you guys, but we have always loved the show Who's the Boss?

Caroline Aimetti 19:21

Uh-huh. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Todd Buonopane 19:22

During Tony Danza.

Caroline Aimetti 19:24

Yeah.

Todd Buonopane 19:24

And she thought I put that in there because Tony Danza would always go, Samantha. And I didn't say it like that. But she's like, I can't believe you made a Who's the Boss joke in the show? And I'm like, what are you talking about?

Caroline Aimetti 19:37

Incredible. I love that it works on so many different levels. Amazing. Oh my God.

Conor Perkins 19:42

So when you were talking about like Olaf at his root, he's coming from these the imaginations of these two little girls, these two children. So you've got the song, you know, um, "a little bit of you, a little bit of me," Olaf's a little bit of Anna, a little bit of Elsa. What do you think he took from each of them?

Todd Buonopane 20:00

Well, I mean, I think I think they they both have an enormous amount of love, but I think the Elsa that had to kind of go away was the sister that would do anything for her sister and just wanted to like make her sister happy. And and then the Anna without I mean Anna's the biggest kook, right? She gave me my big bouncy butt. And like I I I I mean, I think there's crossover there that they both start to find, but like it's weird that Else is the love and Anna's the kook, and then Anna's the one that like gives up her life for her sister. Oh my god, I'm gonna cry. Do you guys know how much you know it's I like cry during the show? Like Todd cries, and I'm like, oh, you can't wipe your tears when your hands in a puppet.

Caroline Aimetti 20:54

Oh my god, that's totally the pull quote from this. Yes, it's very moving. It gets me every time. Every time.

Conor Perkins 21:02

Um, and I honestly in the the stage version, the stage version has what I always wanted the the film version to have, which are those like moments with Elsa after the the freezing moment where Anna where Anna's frozen that being musicalized is just like so so so lovely to just like sit in that for a little bit. Yeah, and how good are our Anna and Elsa?

Caroline Aimetti 21:26

Oh my god. It is perfect, like perfection.

Conor Perkins 21:29

Yeah, it is wild.

Caroline Aimetti 21:31

We were like, we were like gripping each other so hard every time you and them opened your mouths.

Conor Perkins 21:35

It's just yeah, it was the whole cast, everyone is insane. Like I just have Daniel as Kristoff, and you have Sam Gravitte as Hans.

Todd Buonopane 21:46

It's perfect. First time he walked into rehearsal and looked at me, I was like, oh, I can't look him in the face. He's too pretty. He's too pretty. He's too pretty. Not fair. Your friend Mark that plays Weselton.

Caroline Aimetti 21:56

That like we talked about him so much after the show. Yeah, born for the role.

Conor Perkins 22:01

And then he has his little music moment, and I'm just like, sing, sing, sing, sing, go off.

Todd Buonopane 22:08

He has more probably credits than anybody in the show. Look at his look at his bio. Oh, we did. He was in the original Mamma Mia kids. Yeah, like whatever.

Conor Perkins 22:18

He uh just he just completely, I was like stealing every single scene he was in. I was like, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. But okay, last thing I'll say on this sort of like crafting Olaf thing. So he's got a little bit of Elsa, he's got a little bit of Anna. What's the little bit of Todd that's in there? Oh, jeez. Um besides a possible Tony Danza joke, but not actually.

Todd Buonopane 22:43

You know, I am very much a rule follower, except when I'm not. And he really brings out the naughty in me. And like, I think like I love that. And I think that's part of why I like talk through all the dances, and I'm just talking to the dancers. And there was one point where they do this, like in "Hygge," they do this dance with the cops, kind of like kind of like Gaston and yeah, yeah. And one of the dancers was like, Todd, this is really hard for me. Can you stop talking to me? I was like, oh sure, totally, totally. But like, I am like there's like a sense of naughty that it brings out to me. And like the way he's like, he picks on Kristoff a little bit. Yeah, he does because like his commitment is to Anna and he doesn't know about this guy yet. Um I don't know. It it feels like I am such a rule follower. I am always looking out for people's feelings, and I feel like I get to get out this other side of me with him.

Caroline Aimetti 23:49

I love that.

Todd Buonopane 23:50

I love that. That's fantastic.

Caroline Aimetti 23:52

Well, speaking of what you were talking about earlier as well, I your performance was was kind of the first time I started thinking about Olaf's age because of that, like very childlike. There was this one line, the way you delivered, Oh, you're hugging, that made me kind of go, like, oh yeah, like what where is Olaf's mind when it comes to love? Like, obviously, he he understands love very deeply, but is also very childlike about it in other ways that you made so evident in that line. I thought it was hilarious.

Todd Buonopane 24:21

I mean, I think that's the only way to deliver that, right? Right? Like, because you hear the kids go, they hear the kids giggle because, like, like two people that aren't related hugging, what? Like, that's a big oh yeah. Um, by the way, when you said I started thinking about Olaf's age, I'm like, what? Cause I'm old.

Caroline Aimetti 24:41

No, not at all, not at all. We were gonna be friends. No, we're still gonna be. I swear you're gonna come out of this and we're gonna be friends. Um, I promise. Um, no, you because he lived in this very because the why the wise part of him was obvious too, and that I kind of always put Olaf in like the more childlike land, but there is like a wisdom to him telling Anna what love really is that made him be like this almost like otherworldly, like ageless kind of thing that I don't know, something about the way that you were playing it really brought out to me.

Todd Buonopane 25:16

Thanks. I think he doesn't have the complications of a human life, right? Like he doesn't have a lot of experience, so he is young, but like of course I know what love is.

Caroline Aimetti 25:31

Right?

Todd Buonopane 25:32

Because and it he's kind of born out of what was in these kids' heads when they were little kids, and none none of the junk that has happened since then. Yeah, yeah. So, like, yeah, I feel like as human beings, it's good to grow up and learn. But like, I I mean, as actors, do you ever think about like how fearless you were when you were a kid? I would just like get up and make my fourth grade class, and I'm like, we're gonna sing this song. And I just didn't know to be scared. Yeah, you know, and as we get older, there's so much inside of us that tells us we that we should be scared. This isn't gonna work, this isn't, you know. And so I think the the bravery of being a kid also is is in him too.

Caroline Aimetti 26:21

Yeah. Wow, you're kind of touching on, we'll have a question for you about it later, but like the deeper themes of why we wanted to do this podcast. This is it's going too well. It's going too well.

Todd Buonopane 26:31

Oh no.

Conor Perkins 26:32

Am I a host now?

Caroline Aimetti 26:33

I think this is it.

Conor Perkins 26:34

We're just you love the Muppets, you've got, you've got the knowledge.

Caroline Aimetti 26:39

We're good. Um, I wanted to say too, speaking of the kid, the, you know, the kids' reactions to Olaf, I think one of my favorite character entrances in any musical is Olaf's because it's like everyone's kind of you forget that you're waiting for him because the show is so entertaining and so fun. But then there's that sense of like somebody's missing and it's Olaf. And there is always, every time I've seen it, and it happened last night too, there's always this like coup that goes through the audience when Olaf finally walks on of just like delight. Um, and I want to know, first of all, if you can hear, if you can hear that when you come on. Um, but if there are any other moments where you've really heard something from the audience that like of them responding to Olaf, probably children. But I want I reacted as an adult too, so you never know.

Todd Buonopane 27:21

I mean, my first performance of it, and like sometimes I'll get like entrance applause, and sometimes I just get cooing too. But um, that first performance, they like lost their minds. And I had to stand there and like Anna and Kristoff had to hold, and I literally had to say, Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Because like it's just like, because it's not about me. I'm not like, they're not like Todd's here, but they're like to hear like an unadulterated like love for a sweet character is just really beautiful. I was so moved by it. Yeah. I mean, the other stuff I love, and it happens rarely because people are told to behave, is uh winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle, put me in summer in Albia. And it's really fun when they talk back, when the kids, you know, and like there was one, like someone a little older went like uh happy snowman so loud that I almost went, That's right. I have but I couldn't from like the balcony didn't hear him, so I'm like, I can't really address it.

Caroline Aimetti 28:30

So oh my god.

Todd Buonopane 28:32

Oh it that stuff really gets me.

Caroline Aimetti 28:35

And what a perfect time of year to kind of be having those moments too.

Todd Buonopane 28:39

Just like everybody at a point in my career where I just want to have fun. Let me just be in the show, a fun show with fun people and make people smile.

Caroline Aimetti 28:48

Yeah, speaking of going back, I that's probably why we all started doing it in the first place, right?

Conor Perkins 28:52

Yeah, you know, but no, like I I had that moment sitting there, and with the Christmas trees that are on lit up on the side, like before the show started, I'm like, oh, it is so right to see Frozen right around Christmas time. I'm like, this just feels it just feels correct.

Todd Buonopane 29:06

Yeah, everybody's doing it right now, and I'm so happy because it wasn't a success on Broadway, it didn't sell well. I think they just spent too much money on it.

Caroline Aimetti 29:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Todd Buonopane 29:22

I don't know the ins and outs. I I don't want any show to close. Yeah, but um but I'm I'm happy that it's turned into this thing that's playing everywhere, and like people from the Rawway team have come to see us, and it's been lovely. Oh, that's fantastic.

Conor Perkins 29:40

So thinking about that original production of Frozen and now this version that you have here at Paper Mill, so what what do you find that is unique to this production of Frozen?

Todd Buonopane 29:52

You know, well, it's also a half an hour shorter. You know, I I have a lot of friends that were in that Broadway production, and it was stressful. You know, like Disney hadn't had a hit since Aladdin, and they were putting a lot of eggs in this basket, and I think it was, I don't, I don't think anybody acted poorly, but I think it wasn't fun. I have a lot of friends that were in it that and we from day one were just like if we're laughing, they're laughing. Right? If you found out that like Tom Hanks was not having fun in the studio while recording the Toy Story movies, you'd be so upset.

Conor Perkins 30:28

Mortified.

Todd Buonopane 30:29

Yeah. So it's just I I mean, I know it's so it's all I keep saying, but like we get excited to do the show every night. Like Sammie, who plays Anna, we did the matinee yesterday, and I didn't see her before she started. I didn't see her until I came on, and she's like, I don't like this. We gotta we gotta talk, we gotta hug before the show. You can't just come on stage and that's the first time I see you. It's just I get really excited to see the people in the building. And and I I I just think it makes a big difference. And I think the people that did it on Broadway were lovely. I just think it wasn't, and I'm speaking completely out of turn, but I think it wasn't allowed to be joyful because it was so stressful.

Conor Perkins 31:14

Yeah, there's a lot of pressure on it. Yeah. So what about the story of Frozen? Kind of thinking more big picture. Do you think resonates with audiences specifically now? Like, why do you think this is getting produced so much? And why do you think it should be getting produced?

Todd Buonopane 31:32

I mean, the basic theme that we are we turn the true love on its head, you know, with the love of the sisters. No woman needs to be rescued, and like Anna finds love, and Elsa learns to love herself, and then they both are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other, and I I just think we're in a tricky time of the world, and to just see people that are just willing to give of themselves for someone else they love, and it's not romantic love, it's just family love of a person, and I don't think there's a lot of stories like that, and uh I'm especially in kids' stories which tend to be simplistic, and um I mean, even seeing Zootopia 2, not to give it away, but I'm like, those two main characters are I think a man and a woman, a rabbit and a fox, but they're there's no attempt to make them romantic counterparts. Yeah, they're they're just friends, they're good to each other, and it's I don't know, I just think that's really low. It's people that a lot of the story is them struggling to learn how to be good to each other in both these stories, so yeah, and the songs rock, they're so good.

Conor Perkins 33:07

The music is great, and honestly, I'm like the music in the musical, I the added stuff is so good. "Dangerous to Dream" gets me every single time. Oh, yeah, "Monster."

Caroline Aimetti 33:18

I everything the ensemble gets is just so good too. That's what we were gonna ask you next. It's really going, it's perfect. We were gonna ask you what's the song? I mean, maybe it changes. What are you like bopping along to backstage? Like, what can what song can you not resist?

Todd Buonopane 33:31

I to be honest, I love colder by the minute. When they're like when like the also our "Colder by the Minute" is so good that like it's so good, it dance, they are dancing their face.

Caroline Aimetti 33:44

That's what I was saying. I said I was like, everybody is pointing their damn toe.

Todd Buonopane 33:49

Abby Lee Miller would be prowed, like but like, and then the the the like uh Anna and Elsa and Kristoff and um and Hans have all those interjections, and Elsa has that one, "Iiiiiiii caaaan't" and it's I'm like, we are making children gay when she sings that episode. Yes, so good.

Conor Perkins 34:10

Yes, I was hearing I was hearing things in your "Colder by the Minute" that I haven't heard when I've seen it done other places. Yes. I was really hearing, and maybe this is also because I low-key kind of missed the song, but I was really hearing Anna's "True Love" parts. Oh, yeah for the the little bits because that's all we have left of that song now.

Todd Buonopane 34:28

Yeah, we know I miss it, but like they had to make it shorter, yes, they did. Make I mean somehow Lion King is a bit of the exception of like turning something into what two and a half, three hour musical. And I think that just because there's so much artistry thrown at that, and it's kind of its own thing, but I don't I think the kids start to get bored if we go too long. Sure, sure, sure.

Caroline Aimetti 34:56

They were all like locked this, this did feel like the right amount of time for them. They were all like very locked in to like the flow. I felt it. Yeah.

Conor Perkins 35:03

All right. So thinking of Todd career now, do you have any bucket list Disney characters that you would like to play, whether they're existing or not yet written for the stage?

Todd Buonopane 35:14

Oh, I don't do you know what part has eluded me like crazy? And it's not even that I'm dying to play it, but I was like offered Cogsworth at the Cogsworth. I knew you were gonna say that.

Caroline Aimetti 35:26

I was gonna say it. I was like, tell me it's Cogsworth.

Todd Buonopane 35:28

I was offered Cogsworth at the Muny, and then I couldn't do it. I wasn't free. And the Muny is the best job ever, if you've ever heard of the Muny and St. Louis. It's the best job ever. And I can't believe I had to turn it down. Um, and since then, I cannot book Cogsworth. It's the Cogsworth course.

Caroline Aimetti 35:47

Okay, we have to break that for you.

Todd Buonopane 35:49

We're gonna break that for you. But like, I'm not even, I'm like, I don't need another heavy costume.

Caroline Aimetti 35:54

Fair enough.

Todd Buonopane 35:56

Fair enough. I mean, my dream, my ultimate dream would be to do something with the Muppets. I think I I don't know if I would be able to control myself. I think I would like I have friends that like got to do appearances on Sesame Street, and they're like, it's really hard to just not start crying.

Caroline Aimetti 36:16

Oh my god.

Todd Buonopane 36:17

But when it's attached so hard to your childhood in that way, it like it like digs down deeper than anything you know. Like, I feel like I can talk to Meryl Streep, but if I run into someone that I was a fan of when I was a kid, I'm like, I can't do anything.

Caroline Aimetti 36:34

That happened to me last week. We did, I was in a Muppet Christmas Carol concert, and Bear from Bear in the Big Blue House was in it. And I just was like looking up at Bear, like I couldn't, I could not even handle myself. All the pictures on the colour.

Conor Perkins 36:47

There are pictures of Caroline. Yeah, she you look like a child. I could not believe it. It was unbelievable.

Caroline Aimetti 36:52

I totally agree. Yeah, I I mean, and and ever since you know Rob Lake closed, I think everybody's talking about like the Muppets need to be like the stars of the show.

Todd Buonopane 37:00

Yeah. Yeah, they yeah, I heard that the mistake.

Caroline Aimetti 37:04

We need them to be the star of the show.

Todd Buonopane 37:05

Yeah, they weren't yeah, well, they they've like tried things before, they did developmental things with the Muppets, but yeah, I'm just looking forward to the Cole Escola Miss Piggy movie.

Caroline Aimetti 37:15

Oh my god.

Todd Buonopane 37:17

Gonna be unreal. Yeah, it's so incredible. I don't know how to live up to what I want it to be, but I think it will.

Caroline Aimetti 37:24

I think it cut. Oh my god.

Conor Perkins 37:25

It truly will. Oh my gosh. Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti 37:27

Um, we have another overall career question for you, kind of zooming out a little bit. Do you think there is any, you know, speaking of your character you just played in in Tartuffe as well, do you think there's any kind of through line connecting the characters you've played? Or if they like, you know, if they all sat down and had dinner together, what do you think they would be talking about? What would that be like? Jeez, wow.

Todd Buonopane 37:47

Um, I will say most of what I play are amiable people. You know, I'll play like a Nicely Nicely in Guys and Dolls, uh done that a ton, and his name's Nicely Nicely. I'll do like a Marcellus in The Music Man. I do a lot of people that maybe not always the sharpest tools, but like they are there's a certain joy they carry with them. What was fun about Tartuffe is I never get to play mean. I'm and when I lived in LA, I would go in for like gay assistant, snarky gay assistant, and they're like, you're too nice for that. And you put a tiara on me and call me grandma, and suddenly I'm a real bitch.

Conor Perkins 38:29

Um, okay, we have an explicit rating.

Todd Buonopane 38:34

And um, I don't know. I mean, that was really fun. I mean, but even this summer, I played someone who was a murderer, but he was the nicest guy in town. And so, like, I have the kind of face that everybody walks up to me and asks me for directions.

Conor Perkins 38:50

Yeah.

Todd Buonopane 38:51

I'm the safest looking person to them, and they will just I'll be in another country and people will push by to ask me. And I'm like, I don't speak this language. Um, so I don't know. I think I I think I've played a lot of like amiable people in people that like to make jokes or people that are the butt of the joke. You know, um, yeah. I don't know.

Caroline Aimetti 39:17

No, no, that's a great answer. That's a question. No, you were cooking there. No, I like that. That's a great answer. What a question.

Todd Buonopane 39:23

Right.

Caroline Aimetti 39:23

I love that tonight. You can come back and you can give us your final answer if you think of something else.

Conor Perkins 39:30

Uh, so one of the things that we talk about a lot on our podcast is uh the sort of like grown up magic and connecting back to the things that brought us joy when we were younger, uh, or anything that just makes us feel like magic is real. So, like we just did a whole episode about wicked for good and how much that just was I felt like so much magic was happening there. Both of us really did. And so I'm I'm wondering for you, like what. Where do you find grown-up magic now? Where do you find places that hearken back to something that where you were younger or something that is just like special and beyond words?

Todd Buonopane 40:13

I mean it's what I do for a living, right? I I think I I dress up and I play pretend. And I think that's why I do that. I always say that like the when I figured out I couldn't catch a ball, my mom let me audition for like the children's theater performing troupe. And you walk in and you're like, oh, these are my people. I went to um theater camp growing up, Stage Door Manor in the Catskills.

Caroline Aimetti 40:43

Oh yeah, baby.

Todd Buonopane 40:44

Seven summers, baby.

Caroline Aimetti 40:45

Oh yes.

Todd Buonopane 40:46

Back then the owners used to say that they would have the staff like raid the costume storage and like dress up like people and stand around pianos and just do sing-alongs the day all of the campers were arriving. Because this is to give away my age a little bit, before the internet. And the we theater dorks didn't know how to find each other. And they said when we got to like walk into like the main area and people were just like standing around singing all these musical theater songs, they would say you could see kids really take their first breath, you know, because they just feel safe and they're amongst people that get them. And so I I mean, it's one of the greatest joys of being of doing what I do is all of my best friends are people I met doing this. You know, even if they're not actors, you know, my best friend's a company manager, my best friend's a stage manager, and we're all just kind of in this world of making silly little plays. And uh, you know, it means we don't totally ever have to grow up.

Conor Perkins 42:00

Yeah.

Todd Buonopane 42:02

But we still need insurance.

Caroline Aimetti 42:03

Yeah, that always puts a damper on it a little. But that that made me really emotional. I love thank you for sharing that story.

Conor Perkins 42:10

Yeah, I definitely felt like there were a lot of I don't know. I felt like there were some kids who like, you know, took that breath last night, like when we were there. There was this little girl who was behind us, and God bless her, she was all decked out in her outfit, and "Let it Go" started, and she began to sing completely on pitch the whole time. On pitch the whole time. She had it, she was confident, and she sang the whole thing, and it was just like such a surreal experience where I'm just like, this is incredible to see Mary Kate Morrissey, who is like technique for days, and this this little girl behind us, and she's just they're just vibing. Something unlocked, and this girl little girl is just no inhibitions whatsoever. She is just here in the moment. Like it was really, really special.

Todd Buonopane 43:03

Can I tell you something special about "Let It Go?" Um, the ensemble has these backup vocals that they sing backstage, and we very quickly they all have to like stand around like uh a conductor's monitor where they can see the conductor and it's off stage left, and none of the principals sing. But we all come out at that moment and do what we call the "Let it Go" rave, where they all we all just like dance around while the and like I'm in my 40s, right? So I'm like, but I'm like, it's just because we want to have fun. And like I'm like, I keep saying to myself, I'm like, every every once in a while, I'm like, I'm tired, I'm gonna stay in my dressing room. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Keeping something fun is a choice. So that's another pool quote.

Conor Perkins 43:53

That's another pull quote.

Caroline Aimetti 43:55

Yes, oh my god, my God, we're gonna have to turn these into t-shirts. Also, yeah, you're like, oh, I'm bopping to "Colder by the Minute." Meanwhile, there's a "Let it Go" rave happening every night. Oh my God. I'm so glad I know that now.

Conor Perkins 44:08

Yeah, at my funeral, there needs to be a "Let it Go" rave.

Caroline Aimetti 44:10

"Let it Go" rave.

Conor Perkins 44:12

It's required.

Caroline Aimetti 44:14

Um, so we're going to wrap up this little interview portion of this. We're gonna play a little game with you after. Don't worry, it's a simple, you can't get the game wrong. Um, but we always like to ask everybody a few rapid fire basic Disney questions. You already told us your favorite movie. Are you submitting The Fox and the Hound as your favorite Disney movie? And that can be the answer for today. This is these are today's answers. Great. Yes, yeah, yeah. Okay, excellent choice. Favorite Disney princess.

Todd Buonopane 44:42

I'm gonna say Rapunzel because I think Tangled does not get it does not. We're all about crazy deserved, it does not. And and I think she's like, I love that the princesses got weirder in recent years, and I think she's a bit of a weirdo. And I'm sorry, when she cuts that hair short, I'm like, oh, you figured it out. Yeah, it's your look. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Caroline Aimetti 45:07

You know how much I wanted to chop my hair after I saw that movie? I was like, this has gotta be my look too. Absolutely. That's a great I love the weirdo princesses too. Okay, favorite today, Disney song.

Todd Buonopane 45:19

Oh I think it has to be something that Howard Ashman wrote with Alan Mencken. Um I'm just gonna say "Belle," the opening of Beauty and the Beast. Can't go wrong with it. I mean can't go wrong with that. I just think that like they they gave us Little Mermaid, and then they were like, we're gonna give you a sophisticated Broadway opening. Yeah, a Broadway musical. Yeah, yeah. Where we meet a bunch of the characters, we know how how everyone feels about the main character. It is sophisticated and thrilling. And "Marie, the Baguettes, hurry up," you know.

Conor Perkins 46:00

"I need six eggs, too expensive." "Those fish, they smell."

Caroline Aimetti 46:05

Oh my god. The what the line that nobody ever realizes is there is "those fish, they smell" "those fish, they smell."

Conor Perkins 46:10

That's one of my favorite ones.

Caroline Aimetti 46:11

What's that?

Conor Perkins 46:12

It's it's almost it's at the very, very, very end where all of the layers are happening. So, like when Gaston's singing and Belle's there, there's there's like "those fish, they smell." It's fantastic.

Todd Buonopane 46:24

I want to be that I want to be those fish they smell.

Conor Perkins 46:27

I want to be, I want to be those fish they smell, and I want to be the little nightstand that has the baseball bat in the fight scene uh in the film.

Caroline Aimetti 46:38

They do feel like they would be all one track. Speaking through lines, like, yeah, those are all one track, yeah. Great. Okay, favorite Disney villain. Ursula, correct. Yeah, great. You passed the episode.

Todd Buonopane 46:56

Well, she is the gayest, and like you want your villains to be fun and not too, too scary. I I take a I don't quite like how scary she gets at the end of the movie, but like but like, you know, like Scar gets too scary for me, and like Maleficent gets too scary for me, you know. But there is a little bit of a a drag to Ursula that I'm like, okay, I'm more comfortable with it.

Conor Perkins 47:28

Yeah, there's a level of fabulousness where you're just like kind of like I wonder if she did get her way. Would the world really be so bad?

Caroline Aimetti 47:34

Yes, yeah. So she's having so much fun that like how bad could it really go, right? Bad.

Todd Buonopane 47:40

I mean, but let's be honest, the best villain song in terms of musical theater, which was completely inappropriate for us as children, was "Hellfire" in Hunchback.

Caroline Aimetti 47:50

I basically done an entire episode on that.

Todd Buonopane 47:54

How dare they put that in a cartoon?

Caroline Aimetti 47:57

With some of those visuals hopping out of the fire, I don't know what was going on, but I mean I love it. Yeah, yes.

Todd Buonopane 48:04

We grew up fast, watching that.

Caroline Aimetti 48:06

Absolutely. Absolutely. And great. Our final, our final of this rapid fire, now that we know that you are experienced with the parks, what's your favorite parks attraction?

Todd Buonopane 48:16

Oh. I I'm just gonna say what I always loved as a kid was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Go straight to the water. Speaking of hell, yeah, speaking of hell. You go to hell.

Caroline Aimetti 48:28

You go to hell, baby.

Todd Buonopane 48:31

But like I, you know, my sister would be like, let's go here. I'm like, we gotta do Mr. Toad's. But the first time I ever went to Disney, I was eight years old, and we walked in just at the beginning of the day, and I said, Well, we gotta see a show. And they're like, Well, there's no show for a while. And I um and I said, Well, where's the show gonna be? And they're like, It's behind the castle. And I sat on the ground for three hours until the show started. Because I was like, I've gotta see a show.

Caroline Aimetti 49:02

Oh, we all would have understood each other as children, and we all would have understood each other so well as kids.

Todd Buonopane 49:09

The other thing I must tell you is that back in the day, I sat in the audience of the new Mickey Mouse Club.

Caroline Aimetti 49:18

Oh my gosh.

Todd Buonopane 49:19

You know, like Britney and Justin. Justin? Yeah. And it was when it was the MGM Studios, you could like, it was connected to there, and you could like there was no like online. You had literally had to go and say, like, are there tickets? And there were. And I found out I got tickets, and I made my mom tech take me back, I think I was 12, take me back to the hotel because I wanted to wear my stage door t-shirt on.

Caroline Aimetti 49:46

Because I was gonna ask you, did you want, were you watching, like, why am I not up there? Why am I not in the Mickey Mouse Club?

Todd Buonopane 49:52

I mean, I never thought I was cool, and those people are cool. But um, but the the and part of it is I was such a good laughter, and the camera caught me laughing so many times that they would play me in episodes for the rest of the run, laughing, and all the kids in school would be like, How many times you go to the Mickey Mouse Club? I'm like, I was just there once.

Conor Perkins 50:19

That's iconic.

Todd Buonopane 50:20

That is funny for me. Yeah.

Conor Perkins 50:26

Honestly, they should have like done sort of like the Friends situation with uh with what's his name? The the Barista. What's his name? Oh, where um all of a sudden he became like a featured thing. Gunther, yes, Gunther. Yes. Like you were you're the Gunther of Gunther of Mickey Mouse Club Mickey Mouse Club.

Caroline Aimetti 50:43

Oh my god.

Conor Perkins 50:44

That's goals.

Caroline Aimetti 50:45

Featured laugher. That should be on your resume. Yes.

Conor Perkins 50:48

Is that that's that should be in special skills.

Caroline Aimetti 50:50

Featured laugher.

Todd Buonopane 50:51

Yeah, there you go. I mean, meanwhile, also invite me when you're in a show because I'm the best audience member.

Caroline Aimetti 50:55

Oh my god, great to know. Oh my god.

Conor Perkins 50:58

I do laugh. All right. So in our last couple minutes that we have you, we're gonna play a quick little game, and this is a little superlative game. So it's who's most likely to blank. Okay.

Caroline Aimetti 51:09

So we will give you who's most likely to do this, and you tell us which character from Frozen would be the most likely to do this thing. Okay.

Conor Perkins 51:15

There's no wrong answers on this one either. So like no pressure. Okay, I'm still nervous.

Caroline Aimetti 51:18

It's whatever your soul tells you. Yep.

Conor Perkins 51:20

Here, we can take a group breath real quick, ready?

Caroline Aimetti 51:24

We're here to have fun. Yeah.

Conor Perkins 51:26

Fun is a choice. Having fun is a choice.

Caroline Aimetti 51:29

Having fun is a choice. Thank you.

Conor Perkins 51:31

I'm literally putting that on a wisdom I have injected into your pocket.

Caroline Aimetti 51:35

I'm I'm telling the oh my god, we don't we're gonna be like, we don't even have to look for anything to pull. Thank God. This is gonna be so easy.

Conor Perkins 51:42

All right. So which character from Frozen is most likely to clap when the plane lands?

Caroline Aimetti 51:51

The things we make people do on this podcast. I think Anna.

Conor Perkins 51:56

Yeah. Yeah, that's a clapper.

Caroline Aimetti 51:58

That feels right. Yes.

Todd Buonopane 52:00

And I think she cheers people on.

Caroline Aimetti 52:02

Absolutely. Yes.

Todd Buonopane 52:03

Yes, yes, supportive.

Caroline Aimetti 52:05

Excellent. Which Frozen character is most likely to be late for their own birthday party?

Todd Buonopane 52:11

Anna.

Caroline Aimetti 52:12

Yeah, I kind of had that thought too.

Todd Buonopane 52:14

I kind of had that thought too. She's late for the coronation. Right, right, right.

Conor Perkins 52:20

Which character from Frozen is most likely to write a memoir?

Todd Buonopane 52:25

Oh. I'm gonna say, I think that like in an attempt to like redeem himself, he would write a like what I've learned that Hans would like write like how he became the person he was, and now how he's better.

Caroline Aimetti 52:42

Oh, yeah. The cover would totally be him, like it would be him, like you know, like.

Conor Perkins 52:46

I almost thought you were gonna say Olaf, and I was like, Olaf writing a memoir would be wild.

Caroline Aimetti 52:51

Yeah, it would be wild.

Conor Perkins 52:53

Best selling.

Caroline Aimetti 52:54

I don't remember much, and then I was here basically. Like I was disappeared.

Todd Buonopane 52:57

There's no way I could operate the hands to have him hold the pen anywhere. There you go.

Caroline Aimetti 53:01

Right. Okay, which character from Frozen is most likely to have the highest screen time? Who's scrolling?

Todd Buonopane 53:09

Oh. Oh. Well, I mean, let's be honest. If you gave Olaf a screen, he would never look away. Yeah. He'd be one of the things that I'm gonna do. He could be an iPad kid.

Caroline Aimetti 53:21

Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yeah. That's right. Yeah.

Conor Perkins 53:25

Which character from Frozen is most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse? Elsa. Yeah. Yeah. That's true.

Todd Buonopane 53:34

She'd freeze him.

Caroline Aimetti 53:35

Yeah, yeah. I know we said there are no correct answers, but some of these there are.

Todd Buonopane 53:38

Yeah, that's correct.

Caroline Aimetti 53:39

Yep. Okay. Which character from Frozen would be most active in the group chat? Oh. Yes. Yep. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Conor Perkins 53:52

Which character from Frozen is most likely to forget to mute themselves in a Zoom meeting?

Todd Buonopane 54:00

Um okay. I'm gonna throw in, I'll throw in a I'll throw in a weird one. Weselton.

Caroline Aimetti 54:08

Yes.

Todd Buonopane 54:09

Yes. Because I think he'd be in the meeting and then he'd be like, I hate this guy. And oh, and not realize he didn't mute him when he was talking to him.

Caroline Aimetti 54:16

Yes. And I feel like he usually would have somebody to do that for him. So he wouldn't really know. Yeah, he would know how to do it. Yep. It's great. And this is the last one. Okay. I promise. This is the end. Uh, which character from Frozen would be the most awkward gift opener? What does that mean? Like, you know what? Everybody's watching you open your gift. That's hilarious. You know what? It's maybe it's a me thing. I think it might be a good one. You know, everybody's watching you open your gift, and you're like, you have to react and like be like, oh, I loved it. And who is just so uncomfortable with everybody watching them?

Todd Buonopane 54:46

Oh, right. Okay. Okay. Well, then I think it's I think, and we haven't said him yet. Let's say Kristoff. Yes.

Conor Perkins 54:52

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Todd Buonopane 54:53

Yes. Because he's like a bit of a like he's a like strapping, lovely, wonderful man, but he's like a socially a little bit off.

Caroline Aimetti 55:02

Absolutely.

Todd Buonopane 55:03

He has a little bit more trouble than some.

Caroline Aimetti 55:05

Yes, that's so true.

Conor Perkins 55:06

That's very true.

Caroline Aimetti 55:07

Yeah. Wow. Thank you for indulging us with that. Yeah, thank you.

Conor Perkins 55:10

We we we love doing like little games and things like that.

Todd Buonopane 55:12

So have you ever heard the the cut song uh from Kristoff in Frozen 2? "Gotta Get This Right?"

Caroline Aimetti 55:19

Yes. Yes. That's so good. Why did they that should have been it? A lot of the cuts. I'm very into the cut stuff from Frozen 2. Very into that. Yes.

Conor Perkins 55:28

I'm also just generally into Frozen 2 so so much. Yeah. So so much. Okay. Like that's also like why we love the Samantha call out. That's one of the reasons why I loved like I grabbed Caroline when we saw Elsa's "Let it Go" costume. I was like, oh my gosh, I love how much white is in this as opposed to like the teal because it's it feels like it gives a little bit of the the fifth spirit in Frozen 2 moment. I was like, I'm like, this is this is feeling super fun. So I any anything Frozen two, I'm like, I'm there for it. I'm there for it. What about Frozen 3 coming?

Caroline Aimetti 56:00

Oh my god. Frozen four. Yeah.

Conor Perkins 56:02

Oh, really? There's gonna be two more at least.

Caroline Aimetti 56:04

They said okay, good. Yeah, yeah.

Conor Perkins 56:07

Look out, James Cameron. This is gonna be the new Avatar.

Caroline Aimetti 56:10

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's another thing. Todd, thank you so much. Especially knowing you're in the middle of the show, but knowing everything else you're doing with Equity, thank you so much for taking the time during this holiday season and all of this run to do this with us. We loved the show so much. We loved you in the show so much. To everybody watching and listening, you can see Frozen at Paper Mill Playhouse through January 11th. And we really hope that you do, because it is a delight.

Conor Perkins 56:39

And Todd, how should people stay in touch with you or find you or find what you have going on? Oh, what a question.

Todd Buonopane 56:46

I had a wonderful Instagram, and then Meta decided I did something wrong and wouldn't tell me what it was, and took my Instagram and Facebook away, and I filed an appeal, and they said it would take 24 hours, and that was six months ago. And so I don't know how to get my social media back.

Conor Perkins 57:05

Okay, listeners, this is what we're gonna do. We are going to at Adam Mosseri, we're gonna at all of these people, and we are going to get Todd's Instagram back.

Caroline Aimetti 57:14

Oh my God. Do you feel free in any way? Do you feel good because of social media?

Todd Buonopane 57:19

Yes. Like I pick up my phone and I'm like, oh, I guess I'll just do a New York Times game instead.

Caroline Aimetti 57:25

Wow. Um better for my brain.

Todd Buonopane 57:30

Or I just look at Scruff. There you go. There you go.

Caroline Aimetti 57:34

Absolutely freaking Lulley. Well, we we also we found your website. So we'll also link your website for everybody if they want to. Yep, yep, yep. So we'll do that. And we will um, whatever we do to the Meta gods, which I don't even want to call them that, but yeah, crazy. It's crazy, right? Oh my gosh.

Todd Buonopane 57:49

Yeah, and I I'm way off Twitter, so we ain't doing anything.

Caroline Aimetti 57:52

Yeah, yep, us as well. Fabulous.

Todd Buonopane 57:55

Yeah, you guys are such a joy. This was really fun. Thank you. So glad you for doing it.

Caroline Aimetti 58:00

Oh, yes, you're the best. Thank you.

Conor Perkins 58:02

All right, take care.

Caroline Aimetti 58:03

Have a good rest of the day. Have a good show.

Conor Perkins 58:05

Thanks.

Caroline Aimetti 58:06

Bye.

Conor Perkins 58:06

Alrighty. Well, that's gonna do it for us for this episode. Thank you so much for joining us, and thank you once again, Todd. Thank you, Todd.

Caroline Aimetti 58:13

That was so much fun. What a delay.

Conor Perkins 58:16

If you liked what you heard, please make sure that you hit follow or subscribe wherever you're listening to the podcast or watching it. Opt in for notifications on YouTube. And then this is that moment. Leave a written review, leave a comment, hit five stars, do whatever you need to do to help someone else find the podcast. And that could also be just hitting the share button and sending it to a friend. Go send this episode to somebody who you think should buy tickets for you to go see Frozen at Paper Mill for. That would be a great gift. Yeah.

Caroline Aimetti 58:45

That would be a great holiday gift.

Conor Perkins 58:46

Listen, last minute holiday gift, like just that no one would know as last minute.

Caroline Aimetti 58:50

And it's a gift of an experience, which I think is the best gift.

Conor Perkins 58:53

Agreed. Agreed. And this production is Broadway quality. Oh, soak so good. So good. So thank you for doing what you're doing to help spread the joy of Poor Unfortunate Podcast. Fun is a choice.

Caroline Aimetti 59:07

Having fun is a choice.

Conor Perkins 59:08

So choose to share Poor Unfortunate Podcast with some.

Caroline Aimetti 59:11

It's fun, right? Yeah.

Conor Perkins 59:12

It's fun.

Caroline Aimetti 59:13

We're having fun. Um, we're also having a lot of fun over on our social media. You can follow us everywhere. We're @poorunfortunatepodcast on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, Bluesky, all of those. Um, obviously, we are going to share more about our experience seeing the show because you need to see how they have absolutely decked out Paper Mill Playhouse. You need to see like the themed, like beverages, the merch, we're gonna show it all to you.

Conor Perkins 59:41

The like Cocoa Shack outside.

Caroline Aimetti 59:43

Cocoa Shack, I bought merch. Surprising nobody. Um, but yeah, we're gonna show all of that to you. So you should definitely catch that on our social media. And if you want even more Poor Unfortunate Podcast in your life, if this is maybe your first time listening or watching and you feel like we might be your people. People, we would love to meet you. So you can join either our private Facebook group or our Discord server, The Poor Unfortunate Fam. So that is where our listeners go to talk about the episodes, talk about Disney, connect about all of these other things that we're finding out we all have in common, whether it's theater, whether it's Bath and Body Works, reading, video games, we talk about all of it. And it's a great way for Conor and I to find out who's out there listening so that we can tailor the podcast to what you love. So please join. We would love, love, love to meet you.

Conor Perkins 1:00:29

If you're looking for merch, we do have that available in the Poor Unfortunate Shop, poorunfortunate podcast.com/shop. And as I always say, it does take us a little bit of money to keep the podcast up and running and coming to you. We have a PayPal account linked in the episode description and in our website links. Truly, anything you have to spare goes a long way for us. It could be $1, $5, $10, it could be more than that. It could be a one-time donation, it could be a monthly donation. It all just goes right back into the podcast, helping us keep it free. And to all of our monthly donors, thank you. We would not be able to do this without you. Sending you all of the warm hugs.

Caroline Aimetti 1:01:04

Yes.

Conor Perkins 1:01:05

Alrighty. So we will be back soon with another episode. I'm not saying what it is because every single time I say what it is, it's the holidays, right?

Caroline Aimetti 1:01:13

The next one's a grab bag. You'll just have to stay tuned and follow us to find out.

Conor Perkins 1:01:17

Exactly. Exactly. So until then, Beluga Sevruga!