Mamas Talkin' Loud

Continuing our “Journey to Motherhood” series, star of Moulin Rouge and Tony Award winner, Karen Olivo shares with us how marrying into motherhood has been the greatest gift: how seeing herself through her children’s eyes has forced her to be kinder to herself, how listening to her gut has always guided her life in and out of the business, and how embodying the sparkling diamond every night shows the next generation that diversity can not be the exception but the rule.

Star of Hamilton and breast cancer survivor, Mandy Gonzalez shares her journey through a diagnosis, the decision to go public with the news, and enduring chemotherapy during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown.

One of the very first guests on Mamas Talkin' Loud rejoined Cara and Jess a month ago to talk about her unexpected return to Broadway. From resuming 8 shows a week after spending more time than she ever has with her son Max, to her anxiety about moving through the city as an Asian American, her emotions run the gamut. However, she is looking toward the reopening of Come From Away with more hope than hesitation and most importantly compassion for herself and others.

About a month ago, Khori Petinaud joined us again as part of our 'Returning Reborn' series, sharing her ongoing journey of discovery as a new mom and her overwhelming anticipation of returning work in Moulin Rouge. When Broadway shuttered, she wasn’t even pregnant and when she walked back on stage at the Al Hirschfeld theater, she had a 9 month old...

Seven years ago co-hosts Cara Cooper & Jessica Rush started a support group for mothers in the New York theater community, Broadway Baby Mamas, and about a month ago they invited them to join in a group “scream”. Like The NY Times did earlier this year, the Mamas wanted to provide a space where the women could just let go of everything they'd been holding onto...

Seven years ago we started a support group for mothers in the New York theater community, and about a month ago we invited them to join us in a group “scream”. Like the NYTimes did earlier this year, we wanted to provide a space where we could just let go of everything we have been holding onto. This is a raw and emotional glimpse into what we’ve all been grappling with these past 18 months and how we are moving forward one step, one breath at a time.

When their next guest went into labor the day they were set to record, Cara and Jess decided instead to check in with each other and with you. Join them for a true “dressing room“ chat; from back to school and back to Broadway to the mom guilt that never seems to go away, the mamas are intent on giving themselves grace one step at a time.

Joining us just weeks before giving birth to her baby girl, Tony Nominee (Jagged Little Pill) Elizabeth Stanley shares with us her journey to having a #pandemicbaby. While motherhood was not always a path she saw in her future, she is mindfully navigating this new territory with a sense of purpose and curiosity, advocating for herself and her new life as a mother in ways to which we can all relate and aspire.

Just five weeks postpartum, Khori Michelle Petinaud joins us to share her amazing home birth story.

Two months into quarantine, we talked to new mothers Kara Lindsay and Jennifer Rias about what it’s like to isolate with a young baby. From finding out you’re pregnant on your first day of rehearsal to wearing a thong onstage while carrying a baby, these Broadway Baby Mamas are now traveling the path of new motherhood during a pandemic. Without work to define or distract them, Kara and Jenn are meeting their new roles as mothers with joy and wonder even during the most trying of times.