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April 21, 2025 • 16 mins
Inside Broadway host Christine Nagy chats with Kelsie Watts, the dynamic singer making her Broadway debut in Six the Musical. Watts shares her inspiring journey from pop artist to Broadway star, the challenges she faced along the way, and the excitement of performing on one of the world's most iconic stages. Discover the behind-the-scenes stories of her role as Jane Seymour, her life in New York City, and how she balances her Broadway career with her thriving social media presence.
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:02):
iHeartRadio Broadway presents Inside Broadway, the podcast about everything theater.
It's where you hear what happens from the ticket window
to the stage door, with the stars and creative forces
that make it all come alive. Here's your host, Light
FM's Christine Neeggy.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, we are talking to a superstar singer today, huge
following all over social media. You've done a lot of touring,
You've been on the voice because I'm looking at her
and now congratulations, you are a true queen making your
Broadway debut in sixth the musical Kelsey Watts joins Inside Broadway.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Welcome Kelsey, thank you so much. I'm so excited to
be here.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Oh we're so happy to have you. And you know,
for the record, we tried this a few times. We
did recently. It's been a little bit of a rough
winter in New York City.

Speaker 4 (00:52):
I know, we keep getting sick and being down, I know,
but we finally made it.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
My God did it.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
So I'm so happy to meet you in person, Fame.
How are you feeling great?

Speaker 3 (01:01):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (01:02):
Yes, life is finally slowed down to a blur, he
feels like, so, you know, we're making it day by day,
but I'm loving New York, loving the show, Like, I'm
just having a blast being.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Here, and YouTube are now and I'm looking to Brandon.
YouTube are now settled in in an apartment here in New.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
York finally, Yeah, yes, yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:19):
The first month that I was here, I was in
an airbnb with a friend of mine, and then once
I got out of the airbnb, where we were still
in rehearsals. But Brandon finally came up with me after
he got everything settled in Nashville, and we have an
apartment and our dogs are no longer freaking out that
they now live in a city, and having asked to us, yes,
our mattress is no longer on the floor. So we're

(01:40):
finally settled, which.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Is niching progress. These are big, big steps. So how
does it feel being on Broadway?

Speaker 4 (01:46):
Wow? Being on Broadway is an indescribable feeling, especially when
I didn't think it was ever going to be in
the cards for me. I just didn't think it was
ever going to happen, and so I'm just still in
a state of shock. Every time I do interviews like this,
or every time I step on that stage, I'm like,
wait a second.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
When I say I have to go to work.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
I get to go perform on a Broadway stage like
this is insane.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
And of all shows, it's six the musical. I mean, yeah,
we love, love, love the show. I think it's so
powerful for women. Yeah, and you've got to face the audience.
I mean you've got to be really brave in all
different kinds of ways they're on stage.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
Yeah, I mean to be honest.

Speaker 4 (02:26):
Thankfully, for me, it's really a comfort zone of mine
because being a pop artist, I'm so used to performing
for people and connecting with the audience that I think
it may have thrown me off a bit if I
was if my first musical ever to be in was
one where I like completely ignore them.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Yeah and break the fourth one. I know.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
So really for me, it's like the perfect blend because
I get to bring my experience just being an artist
and doing touring and concerts and working with en ears
and microphones into a musical theater setting where I also
get to play a really cool character and you know,
work with other people and be kind of this different
person for a second.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
Yeah, So tell us about Jane Seymore. That's that's your queen.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yes, I need to play Jane Seymore. You know I
love her.

Speaker 4 (03:10):
At the beginning, whenever I was first introduced to the character,
I didn't really know how to feel about her, because
you know, I'm like, I don't have a kid, how
do I relate to this?

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Like?

Speaker 3 (03:18):
And once I actually dug.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
Into who she was, she has such like a controlled
strength and really that gives her like so much power
and she kind of flies under the radar a little bit.
But she's really quirky and awkward, and I'm pretty awkward.
I'm not gonna lie, and so I was like, yeah,
I get to.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Lean into that.

Speaker 4 (03:39):
But you know, during her song, she finally like finds
her voice and I get to tell people every single
day it's okay to be vulnerable, it's okay to finally
let these feelings out and to be strong and to
be who you want to be. And so I love
that the character I get to play starts off in
one place and really like ARCS and has like this
development where at the end at the show, she's like, Yep,

(04:01):
here I am. I'm gonna be me. You can like
me or hate me, it doesn't matter. Like she's just
I love her.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
She's great, she's wonderful, and she she gave uh, she
gave the.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
King his only his only son.

Speaker 4 (04:12):
Yes, yes, right, yes, so even like historically yeah, speaking,
I love that the show is actually really accurate and
so she is the only one he truly loved. That's
what she's known for, and she gave him a son
like and he actually whenever he died, he was buried
next to Jane Seymour and their family portrait.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
She's the one that's next to him. So that was
his true love. Yes, yeah, wow, for sure. I know.
I was like, hey, because he did have some choices there.
He had a couple of choices to say the least.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, he did. So can you tell us about your
journey coming from singing as you know as an incredible
powerful singer to landing on Broadway.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
I know you've shared this story before, but it really
is cool. No, no, I love sharing this story. It's
my favorite.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
I was doing a gig and roberta Check, who I
did not know at the time, came up to me
at a meet and greet and handed me her card
and was like, Hey, I'm casting for this new Broadway show.
I would love to chat with you. And I was like, wait, what,
Like you want to what and so me, not knowing
who she was, I texted her immediately and was like,
hey girl, yeah, this sounds like so much fun, and

(05:20):
you know, obviously a pandemic happen. Things got crazy, but
she walked with me through the voice. We built up
a relationship and they invited me to come to a
callback and I think twenty twenty one and went to Chicago,
made it through, went to New York and I got
cut and I was like, wait, why you called me

(05:41):
the billion up? Yeah, but you know, as a person
that like, I've never done musical theater professionally, Like it's
not a process I'm familiar with. So I just emailed
the casting director and was like, hey, you know, I
would love to know what can I do better?

Speaker 3 (05:53):
And he was like have you ever acted before?

Speaker 4 (05:56):
I said nope, I have not, And so he was like,
if you could work on that, that'd be amazing, And
so he gave me the name of a coach, Benji Shaw,
who I still work with, and went back. The next year,
they called me again and I was in for a
different character. I hadn't been called for Seymour yet and
it was for another tour. I made it to the
very end and just never got cast.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
By this time, it's twenty twenty three, they call me
again for a boot camp and so they fly me
out to New York and I get to spend a
week with these amazing professionals that are like at the
top of this elite industry. And I still at that
point didn't expect anything to happen. By this time, I
was like, oh, you know, I don't know if it's
ever going to be a thing. But they called me

(06:39):
for Seymour that time, and that's the only part that
they had called me for, so I really worked with
that character. I mean, God, Still, fast forward a year later,
I haven't heard anything. By this time, I've already started
pursuing social media, like full time. Everything's just blown up
on TikTok and Instagram, and I'm pursuing my own music.
So Broadway's not even on my mind at this point

(07:00):
because I was like, oh, never called, but how amazing.

Speaker 3 (07:02):
I love these people and got a really amazing training, and.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
Sure enough, end of like I don't know, August, I
get a call and they were like, hey, we have
an opening on Broadway.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
Is it something you would ever be interested in? And
I was like, duh, what do you mean would I?

Speaker 4 (07:19):
And so I got a call a few months later
with an offer to be Jane Seymour in sixty musical.
So and all this time, you know, I mean, I'm
bartending until four o'clock in the morning, you know, paying
for living, trying to pay for my own music and
for lessons and dancing and acting and singing. And people
often don't see the grind that's actually underneath it.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
You know.

Speaker 4 (07:38):
Often they'll just assume, oh, she's a following this are
on Instagram, she got cast, and that just isn't the
case at all. So it takes a lot underneath to
actually make it.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
Yes to where I'm at, Yeah, the talent you worked for,
it works hard, Yes, break place at the right time
exactly all that time. Took a while to get there.
How was it for you emotionally? Because it feels like
a roller coaster ride.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
The first time I was devastated, I was like wait,
because I also saw it as like some financial stability,
you know, for anybody else that's an artist or that's
just in entertainment at all, Like we have to just
work to live to financially pay for a career that
we want to have, you know. So the first time
that I went in, I was like, oh my gosh,

(08:21):
this would be not only Broadway, but it would be
a job doing what I love. And this was before
all of my social media had taken off and anything
like that. So I was really really sad, but I
gave myself a little bit to be sad, and then
I was like, Okay, nope, I just have to get
better and figure out how to get better at something
that I've never done before. And I was like, even

(08:43):
if Broadway isn't in the cards for me, I now
can say hey, yes I'm an actor, Yes I'm a dancer,
Yes I'm all like I'm also a singer, you know,
to where if I didn't go into Broadway, fine, but
I could still do it like.

Speaker 3 (08:54):
You've got that, yep, exactly.

Speaker 2 (08:56):
And for you to stand out in Nashville, where there
are so many wonderful, talented people that like, that's amazing,
especially to pop in that city. Thank you, Yeah, thank you,
that's incredible. And also the social media, you know, for
did you ever imagine it would take off like this
for you?

Speaker 3 (09:13):
No, I really didn't think it would take off like this.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
I was actually really discouraged and almost quit social media
completely and I.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Was like, okay, I'll just I guess I'll try again.

Speaker 4 (09:24):
And honestly, it was my husband Brandon who said, Kelsey,
just just sing, and I was like, people don't want
to hear me just sing. People want to see, you know,
cool things or cool videos or people that are like
all put together and already look like they're making it.
And he was like, no, no, no, no, they just want
to see you. They just want to see you sing.
And so I kid you not when I say I
put forth the least amount of effort, and I put

(09:47):
his phone on a karaoke track, and then I put
my phone up in the kitchen and was like, well,
I'm just going to record what I'm doing, and literally
I just recorded like I want to Dance with Somebody
by Whitney Houston and had decided I was going to
post every single day for a month, and literally the
second day it was just like exploded, incredible, and so
I was like, wow, wait, I think I can actually

(10:08):
do this and went from about like one hundred k
on TikTok to one point eight million in about a year.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
So what's it like for you just walking down the street.
Are people recognizing you or.

Speaker 3 (10:18):
They Yes, it's weird. It's the coolest thing ever. But
it's so weird.

Speaker 4 (10:21):
Because I expect people to recognize me from the show,
because I'm here in the show, right, But people don't
recognize me from the show. They recognize me from TikTok
from Instagram, and so it's it's really cool. I love
getting to meet people and take pictures and make new friends.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
So people are going to absolutely love you in this show.
So you're in sixth the Musical on Broadway. Tickets available
at six on Broadway dot com. And this is playing
at the Lena Horn Theater. How long are you with
the show?

Speaker 3 (10:47):
I'm with the show through the end of the year.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Thank you. Yes, that gives us an opportunity to get
in there. So, Kelsey Watts, can you do us a favor?
Can you hang around for a bit because we like
to go behind the scenes with our Broadway for stars.

Speaker 3 (11:00):
Oh my gosh, duh, of course, let's do it.

Speaker 1 (11:02):
Okay, don't go away. Let's spend a little extra time
with our guest. Christine Nagy takes you behind the scenes
on Inside Broadway.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
Welcome to behind the scenes on Inside Broadway, where we
like to get up close and personal with our Broadway
stars and ask some questions what goes on behind the scenes.
We're talking with Kelsey Watts, who is Jane Seymour and
Sixth the Musical on Broadway and Kelsey again, congratulations, it's
so wonderful to see you in this show.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
When did you realize that maybe being a theater performer
is not quite what people realize what's a little different
about it?

Speaker 3 (11:41):
I think I realized it the first day of rehearsal.

Speaker 4 (11:44):
I mean, being someone who hasn't done musical theater professionally,
I had to.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
Learn how to learn the show.

Speaker 4 (11:52):
I mean, I you know, yes I can yes, I
can dance, Yes I can act, Yes I can sing.
But putting that all together, and in the context of
work with only five other people in the show, you're
on the stage the entire time, you have like five
different types of dance styles, and then the amount of
formations on top of the micography is very specific. So

(12:14):
the first day I was like, oh my gosh, what
are you sure.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
You want me to be here? Like okay, cool?

Speaker 4 (12:22):
So I think The hardest part was learning how to
learn the show, and the second half of rehearsals I
kind of had it more under my feet because I
was like, Okay, I understand these formations typically go into this,
or this can go into this.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
So it was a lot, but I learned a ton.

Speaker 4 (12:39):
I was able to be in a really safe environment
to lean on the creative team and the other queens
that I'm performing with. And then I also didn't realize
how much eight shows a week actually is. On top
of rehearsals, on top of press and photo shoots and
things like that. It's a lot of work. So I
think it's often a misconception. They're like, oh my gosh,
well you just get to sing like I have fun,

(13:01):
and I'm like, well, yeah, Like it is a lot
of fun obviously, but it is also it's a lot
of work, a whole lot of works. I have mad
respect for people that do this. It's like the Olympics
of performing. I think you've got to be really disciplined
right now. How you take care of yourself? Oh yes,
I'm I'm quite boring to most paintball. I mean, like,

(13:22):
I love to sleep and I love to work out
and lift and I steam my voice, and I drink
a lot of water and I don't drink and I
am home early. Like you know, I'm just very particular
because you do have to be in such good shape
both physically, mentally and emotionally to do this long term.
And on top of doing the show, I'm also working
on my own music still, so I have writing sessions

(13:44):
and recording during the day. So it's a very rigorous
schedule where I'm blessed to do what I get, what
I love to do, but it still takes a lot
of discipline to to really make sure that you're healthy
to do it.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
You're doing it. What songs from the musical theater would
we find on your playlist?

Speaker 4 (14:00):
Oh my gosh, I'm like a lay mis person forever,
like through and through. It's the first musical that I
ever listened to whenever I was little.

Speaker 3 (14:11):
It's the first musical I ever saw.

Speaker 4 (14:13):
So I would say that one for sure, and then
rent I could sing that entire show from top to
bottom all day long and not ever get tired of it.

Speaker 3 (14:22):
Have you guys ever done that?

Speaker 2 (14:23):
I say you guys because Brandon is with you on
your social Have you done any of those.

Speaker 4 (14:28):
We know we haven't. We've done some from Phantom of
the Opera. We've done a couple of duets like that,
a lot of Disney like Beating the Beast. Oh yes, yep,
honestly we should. Yeah, on the list.

Speaker 2 (14:40):
Something to think about, right, put it on the list.
Best advice you've received in your career.

Speaker 4 (14:46):
I would say the best advice I've received in my
career is that your personality and work ethic will get
you much further than your talent ever will. You can
be insanely talented, but if you're difficult to work with,
there's somebody else just as good as you waiting.

Speaker 3 (15:04):
To be to be on right right next, like right
after you.

Speaker 4 (15:08):
So I would say that's probably the best advice I've
ever been given.

Speaker 2 (15:12):
And that's powerful. It is, yeah, very practical, powerful advice.

Speaker 4 (15:16):
Yeah. Well, I mean it's it's a business of people.
You know, yes we're performing, but you're you're a people person.
You're in the business of making people happy, and you
want to be easy to work with and work hard
and and have the longevity of that, and your reputation
goes a long way.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well, we're glad you here, you're here, and it's your
chance to see Kelsey Watts in Six the Musical on Broadway.
You're with the show until the end of the year,
which is wonderful, wonderful news. Yes, because we definitely want
to see you in that, And can you tell us
where to find you on Instagram, TikTok YouTube if we
haven't founder.

Speaker 4 (15:48):
Yes, yes, please please please. Instagram is the only one
where I'm Kelsey Watts music. Everything else is Kelsey Watts,
so TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, all of the things on Google.
That's fine, but let's be friends. Let's be friends. And
then you can also stream my music because I have

(16:08):
music out now and I have another song coming out
in about two months. So but I have tons of
stuff on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, like all of the things.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
So that is wonderful. Yeah, well, thank you so much
for taking the time. Again. Kelsey Watts is Jane Seymour,
Six the Musical on Broadway. Tickets at six on Broadway
dot Com. Thank you for being a part of Inside Broadway.

Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
Thank you. I'm Christine Nagy. So please follow us Inside
Broadway on iHeartRadio Broadway and we'll see you next time.
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