PODCAST: Ariana DeBose Talks Donna Summer Musical, Zetna Fuentes on Becoming a Latina TV Director

This week we speak with triple threat star and freshly minted Tony nominee Ariana DeBose who is currently one of the three stars of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway. We discuss the intense vocal preparation in becoming The Queen of Disco, why the show cast women in male roles, equal pay, pansexuality and Hispanic identity on Broadway. Then I chat with Zetna Fuentes, a Latina TV director who has directed some of the biggest shows currently on television – Marvel’s “Jessica Jones,” NBC’s “This Is Us,” ABC’s “Scandal” and Amazon’s “BOSCH” to mention just a few. We discuss why there are so few Latina directors in tv and film and what can be done to fix it, plus, how she uses her Hispanic heritage to influence her tv work.

Episode Summary

Ariana DeBose interview: 1:29

Zetna Fuentes: 31:45

JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment: 29:42

Musical weekend playlist: 55:33

Accelerate – Christina Aguilera

Positivo – J Balvin

Simples Corazones – Fonseca

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