#227 - Singing With Hugh Jackman at 36 Weeks Pregnant

There are moments in life where you are just trying to get through it.

You have a plan. You have a goal. You are focused on the outcome.

And then something unexpected happens that reminds you to slow down and actually experience what is unfolding in front of you.

Salisha shares one of those moments today.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:
• Traveling at 36 weeks pregnant and the decision that almost didn’t happen
• The unexpected yes from her doctor that changed everything
• Flying across the country while navigating fear, trust, and intuition
• What it felt like to perform while being fully present in a completely new way
• The moment her husband unexpectedly became part of the show
• Singing “A Million Dreams” while carrying her child and what that meant
• The realization that some of the most meaningful moments are never planned
• Trusting that everything will work out, even when you don’t know how

This episode is a reminder that sometimes you are so focused on getting through a moment that you almost miss the magic inside of it.

Life does not always wait for the perfect timing. and sometimes, the most meaningful experiences happen when you say yes, trust yourself, and stay open to what unfolds.

CHAPTERS
[00:32] 37 weeks pregnant and still in New York City
[01:45] The unexpected trip to Oklahoma
[02:05] Getting the green light from her doctor
[03:12] Traveling while pregnant and what it actually felt like
[05:21] Bringing Andrew along and what changed
[07:14] The moment he met Hugh Jackman
[08:48] When Andrew walked onto the stage
[10:15] Singing “A Million Dreams” and taking it all in
[11:26] The moment that wasn’t planned but meant everything
[12:41] Making it back home and trusting what’s next

@salishathomas @thesalishashow, www.thesalishashow.com

Many thanks to Gotham Network in NYC, TyNia Brandon for writing and laying vocals down for the updated theme song and Big Red Studios for the intro video wherever you watch the latest season of The Salisha Show!

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:23

And we're rolling, rollin', rolling, yay, rolling, rolling on the rib.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Rollin' on the Hello and welcome or welcome back to the Salicia show. I'm your host, Alicia Thomas, and I'm here at the beautiful Gotham Production Studios in Midtown Manhattan on the Gotham Podcast Network. Let's freaking go. Love it here. Thank you so much, you guys. And I okay, so I don't know if you can see, I'm sure. If you're listening to this episode, let me give you a visual.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

I am 37 weeks pregnant in these streets in New York City. I am big as a house.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

I walked down the sidewalk and people are like, is she going to give birth right here, right now? Well, let me tell you a little bit something else. I just got back from Oklahoma and it was a wild trip. We did a benefit concert at Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and with Hugh Jackman. It's the same show that we've been doing at the Radio City Music Hall for his residency, except it was one night only in Oklahoma. Like we're talking like an hour and a half away from the airport. Like we're deep. Okay. I don't know where, like, we're somewhere. And I was, they asked, they're like, can you sing backup? I'm like, well, I'll be 36 weeks pregnant. Uh let me ask my doctor. And I I went to Dr. Camila Phillips thinking she was gonna be like, girl, no. And you know what she said? She said, It's for you, Jackman. Girl, get on that plane. I was like, what? She said, You're gonna let this baby rule your life before he even gets here? Girl, live your life. This is your career. I was like, I'm okay. So then I told them I went back to work. I'm like, my doctor said I'm good to go. And she really didn't mean it. I was like, are you sure I'll be okay? She says, like, well, just go and come back. You're not there for like two weeks, right? I was like, no, I'm there for like two days. We were there for less than 48 hours. She's like, okay, yeah, you can do this. Just don't get stuck there. But if you do, the worst case scenario is that you will have the baby in Oklahoma. I was like, that's literally the worst case scenario. I don't want that. All of our stuff is here. We'll be stuck there. So long story long, I was I told them I was like, listen, the only way I can go is if Andrew comes with me. So Andrew comes to Oklahoma with me. He's sitting next to me on the flight. We are getting tons of looks in the airport. People can't look away. But nobody said anything. And for all of those people who are wondering, or who have actually asked me personally, like, are you sure you can fly at that point? The answer, my friends, is yes. It is yes. It is yes. Not a single person questioned me at the airport. Now, if I looked like I was going into labor, there might have been some actual questions asked, but there I don't think they're allowed to ask. Especially since when I was five months pregnant, people were already asking, are you due any day now? Guess what? That hurts my feelings. That is offensive. So I would think it would be a similar thing. Like if you're at the airport and somebody asks you, like a like kind of basically saying, like, you look huge, that could be kind of offensive to some people if they aren't ready to pop.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

I am ready to pop, so that's a little different.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

But um, I got on the plane, my experience was fine. It was a three-hour flight, there was some turbulence, um, but it was very peaceful, and it was pretty smooth. And I'm just saying that as an encouragement. If there's anybody out there who is like, oh, I really have this thing to do all I'm really pregnant. I gotta visit a family member or whatever that thing is for you. Everyone is different, everyone's pregnancy is different. But I actually had a pretty smooth trip at 36 weeks. So we get to Oklahoma and I'm working. So I have my work brain on. We're they pick us up in a car, they take us to the venue. I get there, and the tour director's like, Where's Andrew? I'm like, what do you mean, where's Andrew? He's at the hotel or he's out for a walk right now. He's like, he's just gonna hang out at the hotel all day. I'm like, well, yeah. I mean, like, I'm at work. He works remote. He can, he'll be fine. And he was like, bring him here. There's a green room here. We got AC. Tell him to like come out and work out here or whatever. And then during the show, he can hang out with me backstage, stage right. I was like, for real? Like, I don't think I've ever been in a situation where it was just so open and so welcome to like my well, I guess I've never been in a really serious relationship to where I would want somebody backstage with me, or like I haven't had a child yet. Like, I I've never needed that. So this was the first time that was offered, and I was really shocked. So I texted Andrew, I was like, Do you want to come? He was like, No, I'm good. I was like, Well, you're welcome to hang out in the green room. There's free catering, and during the show, you can be backstage because like tickets were like a thousand to like four or five thousand dollars. Something crazy. So I wasn't thinking, like, let me buy him a ticket. I'm like, you're gonna stay at the hotel and we'll get room service when I get back. Like, that's what I was thinking. But no, he came and it was so fun. He got to watch the show from the stage, and it was actually the first time that he got to meet Hugh Jackman. Like, I feel like Hugh and I have talked about Andrew for the last eight and a half months. I'm eight and a half months pregnant right now. And he has talked to him from the stage as to somebody in the audience, and but he's never gotten to like meet him or shake his hand, and he finally did in Oklahoma, of all places. Like, we did our circle up, and he stood right next to him without realizing, like, oh, you're Andrew. And so he was like, Hey man, like, welcome. It was it was really cool. And knowing that Andrew was like so jazzed, he was so like he kept his cool because Andrew doesn't always keep his cool when he sees somebody that he's like, Oh my god! But he kept his cool, but he I could look at him and he was so happy.

SPEAKER_02 7:26

And during the show, we get to the part where Hugh introduces the singers and uh he gets to meet and he's like, This is Salicia plus one.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

What do you do? I'm like, October 8th. I'm like, he's like, okay, our last show is October 4th. What could possibly go wrong? And she's like, and he said, uh, and her husband is here tonight, and he looks off to the wings and sees Andrew in the wings, and he's like, hey Andrew, you want to say hi or something like that? And Andrew, like, we are all thinking Andrew is probably gonna like pop his head out and be like, hello, and then go away.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

My freaking husband walks onto the stage and keeps walking towards zero.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

I'm like, are you joking right now? He's waving, he's acting like he's coming out on letter on the Letterman show or something. I'm like, and literally both Hugh Jackman and myself were like, oh, oh, okay. The audience is laughing. Hugh is like, he's the least shy person that I've ever met. So what does Hugh do? He gets him a chair. I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. So now Andrew is sitting on the stage in the corner and filming with his phone, like proud husband on the stage, front row seat with his phone. I'm like, and we start singing. I close my eyes and I can see a world that's waiting for me that I call my own. And it's hard for me to sing because I'm super pregnant. But I keep going and gosh, there's so much love in this cast and in this show, and it really is so special to me. Hugh gets up from sitting next to me and brings Andrew to sing, to sit next to me and move the stool closer to me. And now Andrew is like sitting with the four, like there's the three backup singers. I don't know where Hugh's gonna go, but he's sitting here next to me, and it was it was really a sweet moment. It was like it went from like, wait, I've never even brought a significant other to work. And now he's not just at my place of work, he is on the stage, he is part of the story, and I look over at him and he's just a kid in a candy shop. He's just so happy, and I finally was able to take a moment and to take it all in and to take him in, and to remember that I am almost nine months pregnant with with Andrew's child, and we're singing about a million dreams, and it was just a really beautiful moment. And then Hugh comes and stands in the middle of the four of us to sing his part. It just worked out perfectly. It worked out perfectly, and it was a moment that I just didn't even like imagine. I did not imagine that that would have ever happened coming to Oklahoma. I was just trying to not give birth there. That's it. Like, that is all I had in my brain. Go. You need to save up as much money as you can before Baby Weiss comes. So go and get back. That was like my objective. I had no idea that it was gonna be a magical moment, but I shouldn't have been surprised because Hugh creates these magical moments every single month. We do one weekend a month of shows, and something always happens to where he just like it just feels so out of this world magical. I I don't know how else to describe it. He's just like so effervescent and so generous on stage and so giving and so genuinely kind. It's just a really beautiful thing to watch him like create these moments. And yeah, it's just really great. So we got through the show, it was so fun. We go home, and I'm just like, okay, we're almost there. Just don't let your water break, Salish. If your water breaks, it might be game over. So just hold on a few more hours, and um, and I did. The baby did, baby's still inside. We're back in New York City, and he's still in me as of right now, as of now of this recording. So we got on the plane and we made it back to New York and Hallelujah. Just so grateful. So now we just as of today, 37 weeks, we know he can come at any time. And I'm just on the journey. I have a little sinus pressure. My first time like having any sinus anything during this pregnancy, so that's new, but I think it's okay. And I just feel a lot of gratitude right now, and I feel like everything's gonna be okay, and I I don't know how I don't know how everything's gonna play out or the details, but I believe it's gonna work out. I really do. We'll have answers by the time this episode airs. Oh, we will have answers. So thank you for coming on this journey with me, and uh until next time.