-I'm looking for a friend. -Come on, buddy!
-I have a friend here today who was in the live taping.
-You have a friend here? -At the taping.
And I didn't -- I think it was just by coincidence.
-Oh, really? -Stand up and wave right now.
-Here. -Hey, buddy! I miss you!
-Hi. -Yay!
We did "Dear Evan Hansen" together.
-Oh, my God. Not too shabby.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Welcome. Welcome to the show. -That's Mateo Lizcano.
He was one of our brilliant Evans
and he's a stunning performer and awesome friend.
-But here's one of the things that I love about you,
'cause I know your act and we all know you from
"Stranger Things" and you're great on the show
and a good actor and you're funny.
-Thanks, buddy. -You can sing, buddy.
You can real-- -Eh! Thank you.
-You're a Broadway-trained actor and you can sing.
You're phenomenal. [ Cheers and applause ]
-Thank you. -I mean, it is insane.
-That's very nice. -It always blows me away.
I love it. -Thank you.
Thank you so much. -You're very, very talented.
-Thank you.
-We have to talk about "Stranger Things."
-Please!
-Last time we were on the show, it was about to --
second part was about to come out.
-That's right. -Couldn't say anything.
And then you and our buddy Joseph Quinn
just kind of won the Internet there.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I love that guy.
-Well, what do you like about, like, when people come up to you
and talk about "Stranger Things"?
Do you just go, "Oh, yeah, it's cool" or do you --
-Oh, of course it's cool.
I think it's just -- It's interesting to
constantly just be reminded how much
people have resonated with it.
I mean, it's something that's so important to all of us
and has just been essential to, like,
the growth that I've had over the past --
over all of my teenage years into my 20s.
And it's like -- It's the defining aspect
of the past 10 years of my life, practically, the past decade.
-So when people get moved, you go,
"Yeah, I'm also moved, too, because it's part of my life."
-Exactly, exactly.
It's the fact that at least something I've been a part of
can do that for people.
It's kind of still sinking in, I think, and it's wonderful.
-Yeah, well, this the -- They're wrapping it up.
-One more, yeah. -One more.
Like, they're -- Is it -- It's got to be bittersweet.
-Of course it is, you know?
I mean, there's kind of like a --
There's an excitement there, 'cause you always want to
wrap it up and you want to see how these characters
are going to finally develop one last time
and how they're going to finish their journeys.
But, also, it's just -- There's, like, a deep fear
that's been, like -- Not only has it been amazing,
but it's been, like, pretty great job security
for the past --
[ Laughter ]
-Yeah, exactly.
You're like, "What am I gonna do?"
-Back to freelance.
-Oh, I'm going to bawl my brains out.
-Me too. -I'm going to be so sad.
But what are your hopes for Dustin?
What happens? -I don't know.
I think it's in the best hands it can be.
Matt and Ross know these characters
better than I think we might.
And it's really interesting, 'cause they trust us
all very much to make our own decisions
and go about the scenes the way
we've always instinctually wanted to.
And I've never really given myself an opportunity
to think of what they might want to do,
and now's the best time to start.
You know what I mean?
Just really thinking about what can happen.
I'd just -- I'd love to see a good launchpad for growth
and I'd love to see these characters thrive
and move on from the trauma they've endured
over the past few years.
-You think? Yeah, yeah. A little, yeah.
But, gosh, those Duffer brothers,
yeah, they know what they're doing.
-Yeah, they're -- they're -- They ain't shabby.
-Yeah! They're not too shabby. No, they're not too shabby.
-That's for sure.
-Could I talk about something, too, also?
We've mentioned a couple times on our show,
but you work closely with an organization
called CCD Smiles.
-Yeah! Thank you so much for the plug.
-No, but you do so much for that organization,
and I just wanted to say that's cool that you do that.
-Thank you. -I noticed that.
You know, even when you're not on our show --
[ Cheers and applause ] -Well, thank you.
Yeah, I love it.
-Can you maybe explain what that is,
if anyone doesn't know what it is?
-Yeah. I think I've talked about it on the show before,
-CCD Smiles.
CCD is short for cleidocranial dysplasia.
It's a condition I have myself, as well as many other
wonderful people who I've gotten to meet.
And my main goal -- Of course, we're there to
raise money for the people can get the treatments they need,
which can range from dental surgeries
and implants and things like that and can also --
There's a whole array of things that we're just figuring out
that are associated with CCD.
That's my biggest goal is to let this organization
be a beacon for people and for medical professionals
so people can learn from those who are experiencing it.
-Start the conversation. -Exactly.
That's what's great is, you can't expect
medical professionals and doctors to know all the answers.
So it's really quite a cool feeling
when you can teach somebody who's been -- who's an expert
in so many fields and help them learn
and help them treat patients better based on
the experiences you've had, and that's what's really cool.
Like, my family has a bakery,
and we're doing this thing where --
on ccdsmiles.org and on our bakery's website,
Joe's Bake Shop -- you can buy, like, cookies,
and a lot of the proceeds will go to CCD Smiles.
-There you go. So check it out, please.
-If you like food -- -We love food.
I've had them before. They're delicious.
-Yes, indeed. I brought them last time.
-Yeah, I know. I love it. Yeah.
Let's talk about "Sweeney Todd." -Yeah, sure.
-People are excited about this, buddy.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Me too!
-This is a big deal. -It is! It's cool!
-Back on Broadway, and you've been doing Broadway
most of your life.
-Yeah, since I was 9 years old.
-9. -Yeah.
-I found a photo of you signing autographs
backstage at Broadway.
-This is -- Yeah. -Look at this little guy.
-The Palace Theatre.
Yeah! [ Audience "Awws" ]
Oh, boy.
-What's it like being a kid -- a Broadway kid?
I mean, just -- I mean, I know there's a lot --
But you just --
-Bananas. -Yeah.
-It's great. It's so cool.
-What are you like, say, at karaoke?
Like, what if I -- Are you fun or are you too good,
where I just go, "I got to leave"?
-No, theater kids are never fun at karaoke,
because, like, everyone's there to, like, be drunk
and have a good time, but, like, Broadway kids --
they're, like, in the bathroom.
They're like...
They're, like, getting tea beforehand.
-You're warming your throat up?
-They're, like, warming up and they're like,
"Ah, I can't mess this up."
-Yeah, and some of them are going like...
♪ I'm a Barbie girl ♪
♪ In a Barbie world ♪
And you're like, "Me, me, me, me, me."
-But we always, like, put the biggest damper on
the night by doing, like, some, like, really sad ballad.
And they're like, "Great. Who's this guy?"
-Like, what would you do?
-I sang -- There were a good number of them.
My first song I ever sang was
"Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra.
That was really fun. -At 9 years old?
-At 6 years old at this point.
I remember, I did -- I had a fedora and everything.
I did this little hat trick where I did, like, a flip,
and people just loved it.
-Yeah. That thing.
-But I did -- There was one time I sang "Bring Him Home"
from "Les Mis," which is, like, a beautiful song,
but at karaoke night...
Like, read the room, dude.
-We want "Don't --" Yeah, we want "Don't Stop Believin'."
-Exactly.
-"Sweeney Todd" -- what do people --
What should people think about -- know going into this?
-I love when people know nothing about a show going in,
but what I love about this production specifically is that
lovers of this show,
lovers of Stephen Sondheim will absolutely adore it,
'cause it's Sweeney bigger than ever.
You know what I mean?
It's back on Broadway, but it's a huge cast, 26-piece orchestra,
wonderful group of people that are just --
It's at this incredible size that it once was in '79,
when it opened -- or 1980,
when it opened originally on Broadway,
and we're back to that scale.
And to just hear it ring out in the Lunt-Fontanne,
which is a beautiful theater, big house, and --
-And directed by Thomas Kail. -Tommy Kail.
-Who did -- No big deal. He directed "Hamilton."
Yeah, no, not a big deal.
I mean, people are excited about this.
-Alex Lacamoire supervising our music,
who is just an absolute genius.
-He is actually a genius.
-Absolute genius, worked on "Hamilton" with Tommy
and "Dear Evan Hansen,"
which I got to work on him with, as well.
-But if you haven't seen the play
or know anything about this, how do you --
You describe it as a barber. -Yeah.
I think it's quite interesting.
The pitch was probably really interesting.
-Yeah, how would you even ever pitch this?
-It's like -- It's a classic, brilliant, powerful,
booming musical that also combines, like,
a slasher comedy.
And that's pretty wild to describe,
but it's just quintessential Sondheim.
When you talk about his best works,
this is always talked about as one of the top three,
if not, like, the show.
-A barber who murders everyone. -A lot of people.
-If you sit down in his barber chair, he kills you.
-And it's not even, like, a spoiler.
It's called "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
Like, he's probably not the coolest.
-But he -- Then he works with a pie shop...
-Yes, indeed.
-...to kind of help dispose of the bodies.
-It's fun.
-Yeah, it's fun for the whole family.
-It's great! They sing songs. -Everyone check it out.
[ Cheers and applause ] It's going to be so much fun.
Opening this weekend. We love you, buddy.
Break a leg. Gaten Matarazzo.
"Sweeney Todd" is now playing on Broadway
at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
More "Tonight Show" after the break.
Stick around.