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

Today, I’m thrilled to be reconnecting with the legendary Jodi Benson, for the first time since 2018, when she honored composer Alan Menken at NYC’s historic Carnegie Hall.

You know Jodi as the iconic voice of Ariel in Disney’s Oscar winning movie, The Little Mermaid, and most recently as Iris Maddox (Cal’s mom), on Season 4 of Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias.

Now, I’m diving back into Jodi’s world as she returns to the New York stage, in her Off Broadway debut, to star in & close out, one of my favorite plays, Pen Pals, by Michael Griffo.

In this interview, Jodi is once again Baring It All with Call Me Adam, but this around he shares:

• Landing her role in Pen Pals
• What the show reveals about friendship
• Why Bernie is the ideal role for Jodi at this moment
• How her real-life friendship with co-star Marcia Mitzman Gaven beautifully mirrors their characters’ bond
• The enduring legacy of The Little Mermaid
• Ariel’s lasting impact on fans
• And much more
  
  

Click Here to WATCH this interview in video format

More Jodi Benson Interviews:

2018 (Read Here): Singing with Ariel, The Little Mermaid at Carnegie Hall 

Pen Pals is a remarkable story of friendship told across a lifetime. Featuring a rotating cast of acclaimed actors, each performance is entirely unique—no two nights are ever the same.

Bernie and Mags live an ocean apart. They’ve never met. And yet, they are best friends. For more than fifty years, these two women have sustained an extraordinary bond through letters, beginning as teenagers and continuing through every stage of their lives.

They share the small, everyday moments alongside their deepest secrets—the joy, the heartbreak, and everything in between. They confide in each other in ways they never could with anyone else.

Though Bernie lives in New Jersey and Mags in England, their connection is closer, richer, and more enduring than any other relationship in their lives.

Jodi Benson & her life long friend, Marcia Mitzman Gaven will be starring together & closing out (as Bernie & Mags, respectively) Pen Pals from March 4-15, 2026! Click Here for tickets!

Special Thanks:

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

More on Jodi Benson:

Jodi Benson is a Disney Legend Award recipient and a celebrated performer whose voice has defined generations. She is beloved worldwide as Ariel in the Academy Award®–winning The Little Mermaid and as Barbie in Disney/Pixar’s Oscar®-winning Toy Story films. Her extensive Disney legacy includes Enchanted, Flubber, Wreck-It Ralph 2, and numerous animated classics, along with a special cameo in Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid.

On Broadway, Jodi earned Tony and Helen Hayes nominations for originating Polly Baker in Crazy for You, with additional starring roles in Smile, Welcome to the Club, and Marilyn: An American Fable. A dynamic concert artist, she has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and with symphonies around the world. She recently appeared on Sweet Magnolias and continues to star as Ariel in Disney’s LEGO Princess films. A proud member of the Disney family for over 38 years, Jodi now serves as a D23 Fan Ambassador and shares her journey in her memoir, Part of My World.