You know the inside. I mean, like...
Scribner: What does it smell like?
I'm not going to tell you what it smells like.
[ Laughs ] I mean, you -- Would you like to smell?
[ Laughter ]
Old wood. Let's go with that.
[ Upbeat music plays ]
♪♪
Scribner: The lives of Broadway performers are busy.
They only have a few short hours
between their matinee and evening performances,
and they're giving us the inside look,
from grabbing a bite to unwinding,
plus a backstage tour.
Have you ever wanted to see what we do
in the time sandwiched between performances?
Follow along and find out.
This is "Broadway Sandwich."
♪♪
Today, we're at a show this has been viewed
by over 19 million people on Broadway alone
and 145 million people worldwide.
It's the longest-running show in Broadway history.
"The Phantom of the Opera" is here.
[ "The Phantom of the Opera" plays ]
♪♪
♪ The Phantom of the Opera is here ♪
The impact this show has had on the theater community is huge.
The New York production alone has employed over 6,500 people.
Through one of the most iconic musical scores
in Broadway history,
the show tells the story of a phantom
who haunts the Paris Opera
and falls in love with a young soprano.
The Majestic has been "The Phantom's" home
since it premiered here in 1988,
but it's not the first musical heavy-hitter to play here.
Other shows like "Carousel," "The Music Man,"
"South Pacific," and it even eased on down the road
in "The Wiz."
Today, we're hanging out with one of my favorite people
in the world, Sara Esty.
Sara plays Meg Giry,
the confidante and best friend of Christine,
the soprano at the center of the story.
Sara is an amazing dancer, singer, actor --
a real triple threat -- and she played Lise,
my partner in "An American in Paris" on Broadway.
Sara: [ Squeals ] My love!
Hey, Sara. Hello.
Oh! Mm.
How was your first show? Hi.
It was great. It's so good to see you.
So good to see you. I love you.
[ Laughs ]
Okay, so you just had your first show? Yes.
You have a second one later tonight? I do.
We don't have much time before you have to get back,
so what are we doing in the time sandwiched between today?
I thought, first and foremost, we would go get some food.
Ooh, I'm hungry. A little --
A little nourishment, you know, a salad.
And then maybe some self care, a little ballet...
Oh, my God, I haven't done ballet in so long. ...last, a little warm up.
That'll be great. Yeah, you could do that with me,
and then we're going to do it all again.
Sounds perfect. Let's go.
Let's do it. Come on. Alright, cutie.
Ooh, that's you. Yeah!
♪♪
Look at this cute for us. Aww.
Okay. Here we are.
Alright, so were in a ballet company for ten years
before Broadway. Mm-hmm.
I was in the ballet company for ten years before Broadway.
At the same time. Isn't that kind of crazy?
Yeah. Did you always know you'd end up in New York?
I think...
I mean, yeah.
Every time I visited New York throughout high school
and just any time I would watch,
you know, a movie musical or go to see a live show,
dance or theater, I would cry
and I wouldn't really understand what that was about.
And I knew. I didn't know what capacity,
but I really hoped it would be theater.
Yeah. So.
I had the same thing. Like, whenever I would see
a show, Broadway show -- which, by the way,
"Phantom of the Opera" was the first show
I ever saw on Broadway. I was seven years old. Really?
Yeah. Aww.
I got this feeling, watching a performer under a spotlight,
having an experience, and I'm getting it right now --
just it kind of chills that currency
that goes through your body of like, "Ooh!" Yeah, yeah, yeah.
They're connecting with something transcendent.
And so I have the same feeling you did when you were a kid.
Yeah. Like, I knew I'd be in New York.
I didn't know what would bring me here. Yeah.
But for us, it was the exact same show,
which was "An American in Paris."
Yeah.
♪♪
I went from doing "West Side Story Suite"
onstage in a ballet company. In a ballet company.
First time since high school, singing on stage,
and being like, "Whoa, this is something."
And then getting an offer to go do "American in Paris."
Wow. And knowing that that was the time.
That was the time to go.
How did you get to "Phantom of the Opera?"
So it was my first Broadway audition ever, just for fun.
Like I wanted to see what the experience was like.
And so fast forward.
My agent called me a few years ago now,
saying they're looking for a Meg.
And I was like, "Let's --- let's do it. Let's try."
They had me come in and dance and sing and -- and I think,
like, a week or two later, my agent called me and he said,
"Hi, is this Meg Giry? Am I speaking to Meg Giry?"
And I was like, [shouts].
"No, she's not here."
"No, I'm not here at the moment." Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah. "Hold on, let me get her."
I was like, "Who? Wrong number."
You know, whatever. So it was kind of this amazing,
beautiful, full circle moment.
♪♪
I got so lucky because after the shutdown,
they decided to put the entire company back into rehearsal,
which hasn't happened in 30 years.
Wow. I mean, I got all the history.
Andrew Lloyd Webber was there for a lot of the process.
What a cool welcome for you, too.
It's like you kind of got to do a new show, ish. I cannot believe --
It was the perfect way to enter this show.
Well, this was so good.
We don't have that much time before your second show,
and we're going to go to ballet class.
It's been a while for me since I've done ballet
because I've been in grad school.
Are you gonna...
Let's go. Let's put -- Let's get a dance belt on
and let's do this. I'm ready.
Okay. Yes. Shall we? Okay.
♪♪
One of the things I always found hard
about being in the ballet company is,
you know, you rehearse and rehearse and rehearse,
then you only go on stage a few times,
so you don't really get to sink your teeth into the role.
Right. But on Broadway,
you rehearse, rehearse, rehearse and then you perform,
perform, perform forever almost.
[ Laughs ] Forever. If you're lucky, yeah. Like, almost --
You know, ad nauseam, but at the same time,
you do get to dive into the character...
Yes. ...and, like, let it sink into your body
in a way that feels good. Yes. Absolutely.
Do you find that? I will say that re-investing
in the same story night after night after night
can be really challenging.
The thing for me that is really helpful is to know
that there's always someone in the audience
who's never seen this before. Yeah.
And in the case of "Phantom of the Opera,"
that is millions and millions and millions of people.
I've heard 145 million people worldwide. A lot of people.
Yeah, and some of them come back multiple times.
Multiple times, they love it. I mean, it's just such a classic.
No, it's a total rock show. You know, so.
Yeah. Yeah. It's a vibe.
It is. We like it. Phantom.
We do like it.
So that's -- oops, I messed up the combination already.
Outside of doing ballet class,
what else do you do to keep your body, like, in check?
Lots of sleeping, lots of eating the right foods.
Water. Water, hydration,
and just listening to my body.
♪♪
Okay. Can you show me that bit of choreography that I liked?
I sure can. The one with the uh-uh.
This is from the "Hannibal" section,
in the beginning. Alright. This is good.
One, [laughs] two. This is real Phantom-y.
Three, and then push up to fourth position. I'm having phantom back pains.
Yeah. To be honest.
And then you squeeze down this way.
And then the other way.
Yes. And you kneel.
And then up and then bow. Whoa!
[ Both singing indistinctly ]
Three.
And four, and then...
Yeah. Yes!
Gorgeous. Oh, sorry. Oh! [ Laughs ]
♪♪
Okay, Let's talk pointe shoes. Brand new,
right after I've sewn them, ready to be broken in.
And then these ones are pretty what we call dead.
Like, they're -- they're -- They've seen some action.
The satin is wearing away.
It's just seen a bunch of wear and tear.
For "Phantom," because the stage is so slippery,
we have rubber put on to all the parts
that kind of touch the stage. Scribner: Whoa.
And these are my special-ordered custom shoes,
so they're built right to my foot.
Just across this way.
I do like a little knot.
Then you tuck them in.
Then you're ready to go.
♪♪
Okay. Are you ready for your 60 Second Sandwich?
Sure. I'm going to put 60 seconds on the clock
and you answer as many... Oh, jeez.
...questions as you can in the time given.
Okay. Yes. You good with that?
Let's do it. And they're user-submitted,
social-media submitted for the most part, okay? Oh, jeez Louise.
Okay, great. You ready?
Yeah. 60 seconds.
Ooh. Go. Alright.
All time favorite Broadway show?
[ Gasps ] Oh! That's an easy one.
Um. Um. Um. No, I can't do that.
The one that made me want to be here was "Moving Out."
There you go. "Moving Out." Okay, great.
Are you superstitious?
A little bit. [ Laughs ]
From past guest Rebecca Eichenberger,
"Who is your favorite Madame Giry?"
Rebecca Eichenberger.
I have to say her because... That's right.
I'd say so. How long does it take
for you to do your makeup for the show?
Uh, uh, uh, 20 minutes.
Oh, that's not bad. What are you really bad at?
Oh, I'm really bad at...
Oh, no. Isn't it nice when you have to really think
about what you're bad at? Oh, God!
No, I'm -- I'm -- I'm -- I'm -- I'm --
Answering speed rounds. There you go.
Yeah. Most embarrassing onstage moment.
Uh, falling flat on my face.
That hurts. More than once, yeah.
Instagram's Kate Penner -- Do you nervous poop
between shows? Oh, yes.
All the time. [ Laughs ] Favorite dance partner ever.
Say me. Garen Scribner.
Aww! I'm so -- of all the dance partner's you've had!
Out of everyone. That's it.
That's it. 60 seconds. [ Screams ]
You did great. You were wonderful.
Okay.
We have to go now. Let's go this way.
Okay, great. Okay, let's go. Okay.
♪♪
Okay, so we're going to go backstage. Yes.
We're going to see your costumes. Yes.
We're going to see your dressing room. Yes.
We're going to meet the chandelier, which I've heard
that it -- they named the chandelier...
They did. ...here and in London.
Is it true? They did.
Okay. And you're going to get to meet her.
Are we going to get to ride the boat?
Uh, I don't know. Meet the Phantom?
Play poker with the Phantom? I don't know.
I don't know. I don't know. Let's see. Okay, cool.
I can't wait. This is going to be good.
It's such an iconic show.
What does it feel like to be a part of this now?
It's very emotional. It's humbling.
It's incredible to -- to put my stamp on that, you know.
Yeah. And the show itself is the star.
So it's kind of like all in service to that
and just, it feels really amazing,
like you're really a part of Broadway history.
Do you think we can go on the stage?
Would you like to go on the stage?
You know I want to go on the stage.
Let's go on the stage. I want to meet the chandelier.
Let's go meet the chandelier. Alright, cool.
[ Laughs ]
Try your moves. I knew I would make it on the "Phantom of the Opera"
stage one day, I just didn't know what it would look like.
And now I'm trying to remember how you move. It looks like this.
And then, and then down. Oh, yeah.
Yes. That feels good.
Look, this is Ruthie II.
Where's Ruthie I? Ruthie I is in London.
Ah. It's like Audrey and Audrey II
from "Little Shop of Horrors." Exactly. She's a little older.
How many beads do you think Ruthie II has?
It's like guessing the beans in the jar at school.
Kind of. [ Laughs ] I don't know...
3,000. 6,000. She weighs a ton.
Like an actual ton? Like an actual ton.
But she's pretty amazing. This scared the crap out of me when I was 7 years old.
Oh, yeah.
Look.
♪♪
The floor is gorgeous, but I'm also thinking about you
in pointe shoes dancing on it. In a pointe shoe.
I know. And it looks kind of slick.
So as you'll see -- Yes. A little dark.
And a little treacherous. Yeah, a little bit.
There's booby traps everywhere. I mean, the whole stage,
there's just things moving in and out from the wings.
There's tracks, there's trap doors,
there's flames everywhere.
So you do have to be careful where you step.
Have you ever fallen?
Shh. Not yet.
Shh! [ Laughs ]
♪♪
Yes. Beautiful.
Okay, here we are in the stage right quick change room.
A lot of people get changed in this room
throughout the show. Oh, really?
Is this where you come, wipe of all your sweat,
take a break. Run.
Do a super quick change. Change.
I have several quick changes in act one especially. Many. Yeah.
My favorite costume is my masquerade costume.
I feel a little bit like Captain Hook.
Yeah, I love that outfit. It's a vibe. Or like Willy Wonka.
Yeah. "Pirates of the Caribbean."
Yeah. And with the -- Yeah.
So this is where a lot of the --
a lot of the magic happens.
♪♪
Have a good show, Ruthie.
♪♪
Esty: Knock knock!
Can we come in?
Scribner: Oh, cute! There we are. Yay.
This is the dressing room.
This is my lovely Madame Giry,
who plays my mother in the show,
Maree Johnson. Hi.
[ Laughter ]
When did you start with "Phantom of the Opera?"
Uh, it was in the nineties.
I was a Christine in Sydney, in Australia.
Wow. And then I came here in 2017
-Here in.
for Madame Giry. I aged into Madame Giry.
[ Laughs ] I mean...
Esty: This is the dance that you learned downstairs.
This is what -- Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
This is what would be wearing, these. "Hannibal."
Always have champagne. [ Laughs ]
You always have champagne ready to go.
Always have champagne ready to go.
So I feel like I have, like, 30 more questions. It's time.
I know. So, we just...
But it's time. I have to do the actual show now.
No, no show. It's time.
No show. It's time.
Okay. I love you.
I love you. [ Laughs ]
Thank you. Thank you for spending time with us today.
Of course. It was so good to meet you.
Maree: You, too. Have a wonderful show.
Take care. Bye! I love you.
I love you. See you.
Bye, "Broadway Sandwich." [ Blows kisses ]
♪♪