This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today, I am catching up with My Entertainment Idol Actress, Author & 5-Time Golden Globe Nominee Marilu Henner who is getting to ready to return to the New York stage to star in Michael Griffo's smash hit Off Broadway play, Pen Pals, alongside her lifelong friend, Actress Brooke Adams.

In this NEW interview, Marilu is once again Baring It All with Call Me Adam, but this time around, she talks about:

1. How Pen Pals came into her life
2. The moments that shaped her view of Bernie
3. A Pen Pals date challenge that put her superhero memory to the test
4. And so much more you won’t want to miss

Marilu (and Brooke) will be in Pen Pals, for 2 WEEKS ONLY, from February 4-15, 2026 at the Daryl Roth DR2 Theatre in NYC. Click Here for tickets!

Click Here to watch this live interview in video format!

1. Joe Trentacosta, JT Public Relations
2. Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
3. Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
4. Edited by Adam Rothenberg

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Marilu Henner is a 5 time Golden Globe nominee whose career spans Broadway, Film & Television. Some of her Broadway credits include Chicago, Grease & The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.

On screen, Marilu has appeared in such films as L.A. Story & Noises Off.

She is well known to television audiences for her role on the Emmy winning series Taxi, with additional appearances on Grey’s Anatomy & Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

A New York Times bestselling author, Marilu is also widely recognized for her work in memory & health. She tours the nation with her one woman show, Memory Girl!

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Promo

Do you remember watching your favorite celebrity being interviewed, but you could tell there was more to that interview than what was being shown? My name is Adam Rothenberg and in the past 16 years I have interviewed over 2,200 artists & celebrities and I am here to tell you that YES, there is definitely more to the interviews you have watched, read or listened to. In my debut book, Behind The Curtain: The Mistakes, Lessons Learned & Triumphs of Interviewing Celebrities, I take you behind the scenes of what really happens during an interview, sharing the joys, the pitfalls & the OMG moments. You can get your copy on Amazon or through my entertainment platform, https://callmeadam.com/books, you can get

In this special BONUS episode of my podcast, I am sharing my recent LIVE interview with Rachel Potter (Broadway Actress, Recording Artist, Producer & X-Factor Season 3 Top 12 Finalist) about her upcoming concert, An Evening of Magic, in Nashville, TN.

If you didn't get to watch my LIVE interview, listen to the replay below here!

Wait until you hear Rachel's jaw-dropping story about her audition for the Ricky Martin/Michael Cerveris led Broadway revival of Evita!

An Evening of Magic will feature Rachel & her talented friends singing music from Broadway & Disney Movies.

Scheduled to perform: Susan Egan (Broadway's original Belle in Beauty & The Beast), Morgxn (Singer/Songwriter), Caroline Bowman (Originated the role of Elsa in the National Tour of Frozen) & many more!

An Evening of Magic will take place at the Analog at Hutton Hotel in Nashville, TN this Friday, January 23, 2026 at 8pm CST. Click Here for tickets!

Rachel Potter is an acclaimed Broadway Actress & accomplished Nashville Recording artist who was the “pop-u-lar” Glinda u/s on the National Tour of Wicked. She made her Broadway debut as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family & went on to originate the role of The Mistress in the Ricky Martin/Michael Cerveris led Broadway revival of Evita. Her standout performance of singing "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," further solidified her place in the Broadway community.

Transitioning from Broadway to Nashville, Rachel achieved success as a Top 12 finalist on season 3 of FOX's The X Factor. She auditioned by singing Queen's "Somebody to Love" which earned international praise & continues to amass millions of views since the season aired in 2013. Rachel's version of "Somebody to Love" is featured on her solo album, Not So Black and White.

Rachel's journey in entertainment began at Walt Disney World, where she portrayed iconic characters such as Ariel, Belle, and Nemo. Most recently, Rachel was the featured soloist on Journey to Fantasy Springs, the theme song for Tokyo Disney Sea's new land Fantasy Springs, further expanding her global reach.

Rachel has been featured as a guest soloist with many symphony orchestras all over the world, including the Dallas Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Utah Symphony & many others. Rachel & fellow country artist, Patrick Thomas, celebrate past icons of country music in their Pops symphony show, Country Legends.

Residing in Nashville, TN, Rachel remains focused on recording and writing music, as well as enjoying a successful career in real estate.

Mentioned in this episode:

Book Promo

Do you remember watching your favorite celebrity being interviewed, but you could tell there was more to that interview than what was being shown? My name is Adam Rothenberg and in the past 16 years I have interviewed over 2,200 artists & celebrities and I am here to tell you that YES, there is definitely more to the interviews you have watched, read or listened to. In my debut book, Behind The Curtain: The Mistakes, Lessons Learned & Triumphs of Interviewing Celebrities, I take you behind the scenes of what really happens during an interview, sharing the joys, the pitfalls & the OMG moments. You can get your copy on Amazon or through my entertainment platform, https://callmeadam.com/books, you can get your very own personalized autographed copy!

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today, in this LIVE Interview Replay, I am catching up with My Entertainment Idol Alt Pop Singer Songwriter Rachael Sage who is getting to ready to drop her latest album, Canopy!

In this NEW interview, Rachael is once again Baring It All with Call Me Adam, but this time around, she talks about:

• The making of her new album, Canopy
• How she would describe her latest record to audiences
• Why you should come see her live in concert
• Overcoming adversity
• Her personal side inspired by the track listing of her latest album, Canopy.
• So much more

Rachael Sage's new record, Canopy, drops on Friday, October 24, 2025. Rachael will be celebrating the release of Canopy with a concert at The Cutting Room in NYC on Thursday, October 23, 2025.

Click here to watch this live interview in video format!

• Jill Richmond Johnson, MPress Records PR
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg
• Underscore Music by Cutique

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Rachael Sage is a 6x Independent Music Award Winner & John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize recipient. She has released over 20 albums and EPs since bursting onto the music scene via Lilith Fair.

Rachael is an outspoken activist on LGBTQ+ rights, anti-gun violence & women’s health issues. Rachael is a cancer thriver with multiple top-charting singles & hopeful anthems including "Blue Sky Days," "Bravery On Fire" and her feminist anthem “Sistersong.”

Rachael has shared the concert stage such musical luminaries as Ani DiFranco, Rufus Wainwright, A Great Big World, Beth Hart and Howard Jones.

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today I am catching up with Actress Jennifer Bassey, who you know for her over 30-year run as man-hungry nymphomaniac Marian Colby on ABC's hit soap opera, All My Children.

In 2017, Jennifer & I did an interview together where she briefly spoke about putting together a cabaret show. Now, 8 years later, that cabaret show is coming to life at 54 Below!

In this interview, Jennifer is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:

• Why she wanted to create a cabaret show
• What will amaze fans about her upcoming cabaret show
• How Bobby Short changed the trajectory of her career
• Some OMG moments from her time on All My Children
• Walking through fear
• So much more

Jennifer Bassey's cabaret show, From Sexy Soaps to Classy Cabaret will be at 54 Below for TWO NIGHTS ONLY, Tuesday, October 14, 2025 & Wednesday, October 15, 2025 both shows are at 7pm EST. There is a livestream option on Wednesday, October 15.

In From Sexy Soaps to Classy Cabaret, Jennifer shares memories of her humble beginnings as a singing Playboy Bunny, to starring on Broadway, Off-Broadway & her on and off-screen exploits as TV’s first nymphomanic-cougar daytime diva, in this autobiographical romp featuring songs from Broadway & The Great American Songbook.

Click here to watch this interview in video format!

• Candi Adams & Adelina Correa - 54 Below PR
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg
• Underscore Music by Cutique

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Jennifer Bassey is a two-time Emmy nominated actress whose first job in entertainment was as a singing Playboy bunny. After a chance encounter, Jennifer left her bunny ears behind & auditioned for a spot in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Jennifer got accepted while earning the lowest entrance marks in the history of the academy. She graduated from the RADA with honors, finishing just below classmate and future Academy Award winner, Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Upon moving to New York City, Jennifer appeared in several Broadway and Off Broadway productions including Neil Simon's California Suite, Not Now Darling directed by George Abbott, In Praise of Love with Rex Harrison and The Homecoming (The Original Royal Shakespeare Production), Moliere's Tartuffe, Wendy Wasserstein's Isn't It Romantic &The Taming of the Shrew at the Roundabout Theatre.

In 1983, Jennifer won the role of Marian Colby on ABC's Daytime Soap Opera All My Children, playing the borderline nymphomaniac for over 30 years.

Jennifer has been seen in such feature films as Waxwork, Twogether & Dunston Checks In, where in a scene-stealing, skin revealing moment, she received an orgasmic massage from an orangutan!

Jennifer's prime-time work has...

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today I am catching up with Marissa Jaret Winokur, who you know for winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for starring as Tracy Turnblad in the Tony Award winning musical Hairspray.

In 2023, Marissa was a featured guest performer in the Off-Broadway musical Exorcistic: The Rock Musical. Now, two years later, Marissa has been invited back as a mystery guest! The mystery is NOT that she will in the show, the mystery is WHEN?

In this NEW interview, Marissa is once again Baring It All with Call Me Adam, but this time she reveals:

• What made her want to return to Exorcistic: The Rock Musical
• How she gets possessed by her characters
• The important role theatre plays in her life
• Finding her spark
• Some jaw-dropping stories about her time in Hairspray
• So much more

Exorcistic: The Rock Musical follows a theatre company planning to put on a parody of The Exorcist. The audience will follow this theatre company from stage reading to Broadway as their quest for fame and money supersedes their art and humanity, ensuring that their lead actress, Emma Hunton, actually becomes possessed in the process.

The musical is a self-aware parody that creates a chaotic, over-the-top rock musical. In true Rock and Roll fashion, Exorcistic: The Rock Musical features a rotating cast of Celebrity Guests each week, creating an incentive for audiences to return again and again. This unique aspect sets the musical apart in the crowded horror-comedy genre, promising fresh surprises at every performance.

Special guest stars include: Lance Bass, Garrett Clayton, Orfeh, Frankie Grande, Lena Hall, Lindsay Heather Pearce, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Evan Rachel Wood, Ryann Redmond, Nick Cearly and MORE! (Scheduling pending)

Exorcistic: The Rock Musical is currently playing at The Asylum in NYC.

Click here to watch this interview in video format!

• Elizabeth Skollar, Skollar PR
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg
• Underscore Music by Cutique

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Marissa Jaret Winokur is a Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner best known for her iconic role as “Tracy Turnblad” in Hairspray. She went on to win Celebrity Big Brother and placed in the final four on Dancing with the Stars.

Currently, Marissa is touring in the Drama Desk-nominated Off-Broadway musical Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now, which she co-created, wrote, and directed alongside Kerry Butler and Laura Bell Bundy.

Marissa will also be directing 5 Star Theatricals production of Hairspray this October in California.

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today I am catching up with Actress Michelle Clunie, who you know for portraying Melanie Marcus on Showtime's hit Television Series Queer As Folk.

The last time Michelle Clunie was on the New York Stage was in 2012 when she starred in her Off Broadway play US.

In this NEW interview, Michelle is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:

• How Pen Pals made her want to return to the New York Stage
• What she hopes audiences come away with after seeing Pen Pals
• What she would tell Melanie from Queer As Folk today
• Something she's never shared before
• So much more

Pen Pals is the extraordinary story of two friends that unfolds over decades. With a rotating cast of renowned actors, no two performances will ever be the same.

Bernie and Mags live in two different countries, they’ve never met, and yet they’re best friends. Because they’ve been pen pals for over fifty years. Since they were teenagers, they’ve shared every aspect of their lives with each other. The trivial bits, the most intimate details, all the happiness, all the heartache. They’ve told each other things they wouldn’t dare tell another soul. Even though Bernie lives in New Jersey and Mags is from England, the women are closer to each other than anyone else in the world.

Come witness the journey of their lifetime. In their own words.

Pen Pals will run at the Daryl Roth DR2 Theater, with a rotating cast of stars, from August 15, 2025-December 21, 2025.

Michelle Clunie will be playing Bernie from September 3-14, 2025.

Click here to watch this interview in video format!

• Joe Trentacosta, JT Public Relations
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg
• Underscore Music by Cutique

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Michelle Clunie is an award-winning veteran actress, born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Michelle stepped foot on stage at seven years old, first appearing in plays, operas and ballets.

She made her stage debut in Los Angeles at 23, in A Comedy of Eros, earning her a Drama-Logue award. She went on to star in numerous television, film and theatre productions earning awards in all three mediums, including a Backstage Readers’ Choice Award for her performance in The West Coast premiere of Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat.

In 2012 she wrote, produced, and starred in the Off-Broadway play US earning rave reviews, as an actress as well as writer, with critics comparing her style to Aaron Sorkin and Thornton Wilder.

Michelle is most often recognized as ‘Melanie Marcus’ in the groundbreaking series QUEER AS FOLK. The popular series was based on the original British series, but the American remake for Showtime, remains incredibly popular to this day, with a passionate, continually building fan-base.

Most...

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today I am catching up with Actress Nancy McKeon, who you know as Jo Polniaczek, from the beloved & long running 1980s series The Facts of Life.

Nancy is kicking off the return of Michael Griffo's play Pen Pals, when she steps back into the role of Bernie, beginning August 15, 2025.

In this NEW interview, Nancy is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:

• Why she wanted to come back to Pen Pals
• Who she would write a Pen Pal letter to
• How she met her husband of 25 years
• Some behind the scenes info from The Facts of Life
• So much more

Pen Pals is the extraordinary story of two friends that unfolds over decades. With a rotating cast of renowned actors, no two performances will ever be the same.

Bernie and Mags live in two different countries, they’ve never met, and yet they’re best friends. Because they’ve been pen pals for over fifty years. Since they were teenagers, they’ve shared every aspect of their lives with each other. The trivial bits, the most intimate details, all the happiness, all the heartache. They’ve told each other things they wouldn’t dare tell another soul. Even though Bernie lives in New Jersey and Mags is from England, the women are closer to each other than anyone else in the world.

Come witness the journey of their lifetime. In their own words.

Pen Pals will run at the Daryl Roth DR2 Theater, with a rotating cast of stars, from August 15, 2025-December 21, 2025.

Nancy McKeon will be playing Bernie from August 15-31, 2025.

Click here to watch this interview in video format!

• Joe Trentacosta, JT Public Relations
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg
• Underscore Music by Cutique

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

An actress, director, and producer best known for playing the role of Jo Polniaczek on the beloved long-running 1980s sitcom, The Facts of Life. She starred in and produced the sitcom Can’t Hurry Love and starred with Jean Smart in the sitcom Style & Substance. She portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004. She also directed two episodes.

Nancy starred in numerous made-for-TV movies in the 1980s and 1990s, some including A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and Firefighter portraying the first female firefighter in Los Angeles County. Strange Voices, she portrayed a woman with schizophrenia. Love, Honor and Obey; The Last Mafia Marriage, mini series with Eric Roberts.

She produced many of these movies through her film company, Forest Hills Entertainment. In 1999, she wrote and directed her own short film, A Wakening. The film won two film festival awards.

This season on my podcast, Baring It All with Call Me Adam, I am spotlighting My Entertainment Idols.

Today I am catching up with Motown Singer & Songwriter Charlene Oliver, who you know as the songstress behind the #1 song, "I've Never Been To Me," written by Ron Miller & featured in one of my favorite movies, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Charlene & I last spoke in 2020 and now I am thrilled to be speaking with Charlene once again!

In this NEW interview, Charlene is Baring It All with Call Me Adam about:

• How she came to record the global hit song, I've Never Been To Me
• Getting out of her abusive marriage
• Finding tranquility amongst the chaos of the world
• The sweetness of candy
• So much more

"I've Never Been To Me" is available to stream on all music platforms!

• Adam White & Jeff Oliver
• Theme Song by Bobby Cronin
• Podcast Logo by Liam O'Donnell
• Edited by Adam Rothenberg
• Underscore Music by Cutique

Website: www.callmeadam.com

Facebook: @CallMeAdamNYC

Instagram: @CallMeAdamNYC

Charlene Oliver always knew she wanted to be a singer, from her childhood in Hollywood in the late 1950s, one of two sisters in a loving family of Italian/American origin.

Charlene's first break came with the offer to join Petula Clark's backing singers at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Before long, she was auditioning in front of legendary Motown boss Berry Gordy and to her joy, being signed, the first ever white female singer to be signed to the label.

Her first song, "All That Love Went To Waste," came out in 1974, followed by two albums on the Motown label. Then writer Ron Miller persuaded Charlene to record his song, "I've Never Been To Me," in 1977, but the single only just scraped into the Top 100.

By the early 1980s, Charlene's career seemed to be stalling and she had left the US to move to her second husband Jeff's home in Essex, England, where she found work in the local sweetshop.

It was there that she heard, in 1982, that a Florida DJ had been pushing her song so much that it had been re-released, and was finally hitting the charts. Within a few weeks, the singer found herself back at the top, as the song hit #1 in country after country all over the world, and she left her Essex sweetshop to fly on the Concorde to perform internationally.

The growing international success of the musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert has confirmed her as a hugely popular singer amongst the gay community, and recently she released a new club version of her iconic song in association with Eye Witness.

Charlene's story has it all: the stars, the fame, the struggle, the pain.