-You interned at "SNL."
You got your start doing a lot of sketch-comedy stuff
here in New York.
I did not realize you also performed on a cruise ship.
Like, cruise ships here in New York?
-Yeah, so, there's a boat that goes around Manhattan
on both the rivers called the Spirit of New York.
-Mm-hmm. -And it's -- I think,
unbeknownst to the people who just think they're getting,
like, a simple cruise around Manhattan,
it's also a musical cruise.
Um, and so we'd open up every cruise to, like,
let people know it was kind of a musical cruise
by singing a boat-themed parody
of The Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling."
-Uh-huh. -And, like, you'd slowly see it
dawn in people's eyes.
Like, "Oh, no! This is a musical cruise?!"
[ Laughter ]
"What have I done?!"
Um, and it was like -- Yeah.
Like, I can't hear that song now without just being, like,
transplanted back to that place.
-Do you remember the parody lyrics to it?
-I was trying to think of this. Okay, I think this was --
Okay, this is the one part I remember,
'cause we had choreo, too.
And keep in mind, like, we're trying to pump people up
as they're, like, trying to get off the boat.
'Cause they're like,
"I don't want to be on this boat anymore."
But I think it was like...
♪♪ Tonight's the night ♪♪
♪♪ Let's live it up ♪♪
♪♪ Take off your coat ♪♪
♪♪ And rock the ♪♪
♪♪ Boat ♪♪
[ Cheers and applause ]
That's what I remember.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Not good. It's not okay.
-It's -- It was fun.
There was one -- I worked there the Fourth of July one year,
and I had two songs, 'cause the waiters --
We'd all get up and sing songs.
And we'd have, like, boas on for no reason.
I don't know.
And sparkly vests just to be, like, "Look at me!
Not at the skyline, which you paid to look at."
Um, and there was one --
My song was "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters.
And on Fourth of July, I decided to do,
like, a Founding Fathers-themed one.
So, I was like, ♪♪ I'm so excited ♪♪
Thomas Jefferson.
♪♪ I just can't hide it ♪♪
Ben Franklin.
It wasn't well-thought-out.
-[ Laughs ] -But I got, um...
Yeah.
-I do think of those guys as being really excited.
-[ Laughs ] Yeah.
Oh! Sick!
Yeah.
-Uh, you've had a lot of wonderful guest stars
on your show. -Yeah.
-Any favorites? Any personal favorites?
-Okay, well, actually -- So, we had --
First season, we had Dr. Phil on.
-Uh-huh.
-Yeah, and he plays
a figment of my character, Rebecca's, imagination,
'cause she has some problems.
Um, and we'd written him all this dialogue
that was, like, him talking about, like,
"Well, the reason that you do this
is because of your mother and your father's abandonment."
And Dr. Phil came on, and he was like, "I'm sorry.
I'll say whatever lines you want, but I'm --
I can't say this [bleep]
Like, this is not what I -- I don't believe in this.
Like, I don't think you should have an excuse
for why you act like you do."
He goes, "Can I just -- Can I say what I would say?"
And we were like, "Let's do a take
of you just being you, Dr. Phil."
And he looks me dead in the eyes,
and he's like -- My character's obsessed
with a person named Josh on the show.
He goes, "Josh does not want you.
[ Laughter ]
He does not love you.
He will never love you.
You need to move on."
And I, like -- I almost started crying.
'Cause it was so real and so true
and, like, so much better than what we had had.
It was great.
But I-I had to go back into therapy after that day.
-Yeah.
-And then we had Josh Groban on, too, recently, who was amazing.
-He just seems like the gamest guy.
-He's so -- We made him sing his own name.
-Yeah.
-At one point, he literally goes,
♪♪ Like me, Josh Groban ♪♪
And I was like, "Is that the first time
you've been made to sing your own name?"
And he went, "No."
[ Laughter ]
That's just what people -- people just do to him.
They're like, "You have the best voice.
Sing your name!"
"Okay. Fine."
-Uh, the show is so funny.
The songs are so funny and also beautifully written.
But also, I do want to take a second and talk about --
You guys really address some serious issues.
You know, you talked about it when you talked about Dr. Phil,
but you have a character who has issues,
and you talk about mental health issues
and, you know, issues like
suicide and borderline personality disorder.
Have you found it -- like, the writing of songs
a nice way to deal with that on television?
Because I feel like it's stuff
that isn't talked about that often.
-Yeah, I mean, I think it's a nice way -- I think --
Songs are not only amazing joke-delivery devices,
but they're also great devices to deliver an idea, right?
'Cause songs are kind of like musical essays.
You have your thesis statement,
which is in the form of the chorus.
And then you have your supporting paragraphs,
which are the verses and the bridge.
And so, it's a great way to distill something down
and be like, "This is what we are trying to say."
And then, likewise, when you're dealing with
a serious subject matter, it's a good way to,
I don't know, get underneath it
and appeal to everyone's sense of humor.
Because sense of humor, to me -- A lot of people say,
"Oh, it's a musical comedy show about mental illness."
You know, "How do you joke about mental illness?"
But to me, sense of humor feels so emotional and personal
that laughing about dark issues feels emotional
in a way that it doesn't if we were just talking about them.
If that makes any sense. -It does make sense.
And it certainly comes through
when you see it executed on the show.
I just think you guys do an incredible job,
and I'm so constantly overwhelmed
by how many incredible songs you write
over the course of the season.
So, congratulations on the show,
and thank you so much for being back here.
It's always so good to see you. -Thank you.