So
I come here and chill, take naps.
I sit in this really fun chair. Oh, God. It's not...
[ Clattering ]
And I make a mess of everything.
That's a really important thing about me.
I am extremely clumsy.
Well, it looked good for a minute.
♪♪
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 an 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 musical about a high-school rite of passage.
I was wondering, if you weren't busy with other stuff
and you weren't already going with somebody else,
will you go to the prom with me?
♪ One means universal ♪
-In "The Prom," hilarity ensues when a bunch of Broadway stars
who could really use some good press
find out about a girl in Indiana
who's being forced out of her own prom
just because she wants to bring her girlfriend.
"Prom" was nominated for seven Tony Awards,
including Best Musical.
You can see it in a city near you
when the national tour launches in 2021.
-♪ But till that day comes I say cue the drums ♪
♪ It's time to dance ♪
-The Longacre Theatre was built in 1913 by Harry Frazee,
who is better known as the Boston Red Sox owner
who sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
Whoops.
Today, we're meeting up with the incredibly talented
Isabelle McCalla.
Isabelle plays Alyssa Greene,
who has an immense amount of pressure
from her mom to be perfect.
She also has pressure from her girlfriend
to come out of the closet.
Hey!
Hi.
I just saw you in the show.
Oh, thanks so much!
You're one of my favorite new performers on Broadway.
Aw, thank you.
I'm so happy to spend time with you.
So we just have a few hours
before we have to be back here to do your second show.
What's the plan for today?
Same.
And I have recently got into cooking,
so why don't we go back to my apartment and cook something?
Sounds good. You're uptown, right?
Let's go to 8th.
Okay. Perfect.
Let's go.
You're starring on Broadway in your second show.
Yeah.
It must be hard to maintain a sense of balance
when all this stuff is going on.
A little bit,
but I kind of just take it day by day
because if I think about everything in the abstract,
Right.
I can imagine.
...focus on get up, shower, go to the show,
do this press event, read your book, you know?
Do life.
Right. So... And then explain how
it worked when you came to do "Aladdin,"
which is the first thing you starred in on Broadway.
My debut, I don't remember what happened.
I was just kind of, like...
It did happen, though, and I heard you were great.
It did. I'm glad people thought that.
It's really cool that we can go back
to your place between shows, and that must be nice,
to kind of, like, separate work from home...
Yeah.
...have, like, a line in the sand.
Yeah, I find that's very therapeutic for me
to just be able to compartmentalize
and turn my job off because it helps keep me
sane as an individual.
Cool. I can't wait to see your house.
♪♪
Aw, it's so cute.
[ Sniffs ] Oh, smells good.
Thank you. My roommate is very good
about making everything smell nice.
Use essential oils, sage,
get all the spirits cleansed, everything?
Oh, my God. That is so important.
Let me tell you.
I'm going to take my shoes off.
-Love the French door. -I know.
Welcome to my bedroom.
Pretty cool.
I love it.
It has a great energy.
Ooh, you went to
I did!
That's my friend, James Whiteside.
Hey!
You're amazing, James Whiteside.
That's my boo. I love -- So you go to ballet?
I do when I can because I used to --
That was, like, where I started.
I got classical ballet training
and then moved into musical theater but...
Sometimes, yeah.
Let's cook.
All right. Let's go to the kitchen.
Yeah, sounds good.
-Let's do this! -I'll follow you.
Mm-hmm.
Very cute.
We got to eat.
Okay, so what are we making today?
Okay. We're going to make some scallops
with some late-summer vegetables
Sounds good.
...and green tahini sauce.
Ooh, delicious.
Yeah. I have no -- I've never made it before,
so it's going to be exciting.
Let's do it. All right.
The first thing always in the kitchen --
wash your hands, everybody.
When I see people cooking without washing their hands,
it makes me crazy.
-I know. -I mean, honestly, the subway.
I mean, this city is kind of grimy, but it's, like...
part of its charm, you know?
Okay, so and this is one of those pre-sorted food things
because you don't have time to do your own recipes, right?
No, I can prepare it earlier.
Also, we have to talk about you fan-girling as a child
and how you got into theater in the first place.
So the first Broadway show I saw was "Cats."
And it...
Feel like that's a lot of first people's Broadway show.
Yeah, it's really good because it's, you know...
It's about cats.
There's not really much of a plot to follow...
...just really awesome
dancing, and I would pretend to be a different cat every day.
I was already training to be a swing.
I was ready.
I was like, "Put me in, Coach."
♪♪
It'll be good.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm good.
♪♪
Yoo.
♪♪
-Yeah. -Yeah.
McCalla: That actually looks good.
Scribner: You saw these shows and thought like,
"I'm going to do that one day,"
and now you're doing that for kids
and anybody who comes to see your show.
It's insane.
So what does that feel like?
I don't take it for granted, and the best part
of my job is, like, are the interactions
I have at the stage door with those kids...
...who feel like they see
themselves represented onstage for the first time.
What are some specific examples of people
who've come up to you and told you their stories?
One girl came out at the stage door to her family
when I was there, which was...
...crazy.
So it was kind of like
she was thanking me, and she was like,
"Thank you for the show. I mean, it's -- Alyssa is...
You're telling my story because I'm not out to my mom,"
and her mom was right there, and she was like,
"So I guess this is me..." Like, she turned around.
She was like, "This is me saying I'm gay,"
and, like, it was, like, this...
We were all kind of quiet for a moment, and then they --
Her mom, like, automatically burst into tears
and just grabbed her and hugged her,
and everybody was just crying and hugging each other
and it was, like, this really intense, powerful moment.
I'm just, like, squishing these scallops
and, like, crying on the inside.
I think they're done.
This has been really beautiful.
I know, but it's a special moment.
[ Sniffs ]
We did it.
I think this is pretty good.
I'm really excited.
Well, I think it turned out really well.
I know. It's pretty cool.
Gorge.
You seem like such a confident person in life,
but then on your social-media accounts,
I feel like you post stuff that's really
glamorous and cool, and you post stuff that's silly
and maybe where you don't feel like you look great
or that you made a mistake, and that's a great mix,
and it seems very authentic.
If I have a following, if I'm starting to,
you know, become a role model for some kids,
I want to make sure that it's a truthful one
and one that says that you can have it all.
Women are complex people.
You don't have to be glamorous and perfect all the time.
Mm-hmm.
...it's groundbreaking for many reasons.
But you're playing characters
that haven't been portrayed before in this way,
and you're playing lesbian.
You're playing a woman of color.
This is important.
How do you feel about the responsibility?
Is that weight on you substantial?
Yeah. There... Absolutely.
I think what I love about
how our show is written is that you have two young lesbians
who are very different from each other.
You know, there is no one specific mold
for how a lesbian is,
or, you know, there are no markers that you can find.
It's like a fingerprint. Every single one is different.
Exactly, everybody is different...
...which is why it was
important to just share that humanity
and that fear of being othered.
When I auditioned, you know, there are times
when I'm typecast as a certain ethnicity
Yeah.
It's like, why do we have these stereotypes
Mm-hmm.
The reason I love getting to play Alyssa,
one of the reasons, is that there's nothing in her character
about what race she is.
Right?
So it's not indicative of how I behave.
Well, speaking of your community and your cast,
we have to go because you actually have to go perform now.
I do.
So let's get you back to the theater.
That was great.
Sounds like a plan. Yeah.
I was really impressed that we made that.
Let's get out of here.
All right, Izzy. This is a really fun part of our show.
It's the "60 Second Sandwich," S, S, S.
Are you ready?
Okay.
I'm going to put one minute on the clock.
And you have one minute
to answer as many questions as you can in the time given.
Okay. As long as I beat Ellyn Marsh,
Okay. Here we go.
Ready? Time now!
Did you go to college for theater?
Which one?
Eli loves Broadway.
Besides "The Prom," what's your favorite Broadway show?
"The Drowsy Chaperone."
Broadway Hacks 101 asks, "You're so talented."
Thank you.
"How do you keep a healthy diet and stay fit?"
I try to eat clean.
Four -- YouTuber Marina Eisen asks,
"Any advice applying to musical-theater college?"
Be yourself!
Five -- HackStack on Insta asks,
"Do you have jokes with the cast onstage?"
"Backstage?"
Six -- Quinn Warden asks,
"Do you brush your teeth before you kiss onstage?"
Seven -- Do you have time
to buy your own makeup for the show?
Is it the same every time,
You can change it.
Eight -- Have you ever sneezed onstage?
Why doesn't that
ever seem to happen?
Because people are not -- They're focused.
Nine --
Yeah.
10 -- If you stopped performing,
what would your normy job be?
Okay.
11 -- What time do you wake up every day?
11:00?
12 -- What's something most people don't know
It's hard!
Favorite place in New York City?
10 seconds.
What do you watch on YouTube for inspiration?
15 -- If you could be
a superpower, what would it be?
Uh, oh, telekinesis!
When you sneeze, how many do you do?
When you what?
When you sneeze, how many do you do?
Oh, amazing!
16, that's it, time up!
Two every time?
Me too.
I love it. All right.
We got to get you back to the theater.
Let's go.
Okay.
♪♪
Here we go.
I love these theaters that have...
-I know. -...a breezeway.
-Is that what you call it? -I guess.
-An alley? -I'm not exactly sure
what you were --
Sit out and chill on the stairs
between shows, too.
Hello.
Hi there.
This way.
Hey, guys. How you doing, baby?
Good. Good to see you.
When people are watching you from these seats,
and they're reacting to the show.
Let's talk about the reaction to the show.
So many positive reviews and great feedback
about what the show is.
-Yeah. -What's that like?
I feel so lucky that I am a part of a show
that is a piece of social activism,
you know, that it stands for something important,
and it's very relevant to today.
You know, in this current political and social climate,
there are scary, you know,
moments when it feels like we're going backwards,
and if this is one way to get people
thinking in a different way or push people forward,
then I'm happy to be a part of that.
So Ryan Murphy is making a movie...
...of "The Prom."
Do you know anything about it?
All I know is that they are going to release it
in September of 2020 on Netflix in time for the election
to change hearts, minds, and votes.
I love that.
I'm so glad you're going to be in it, also.
I'm so happy that we're casting...
...Izzy...
right now in "The Prom" movie.
Ryan, it's pretty easy.
Please!
Just saying, just saying.
♪♪
It's good for the glutes, though, you know?
Really lifted.
-Hey, Amanda. -Hey.
Our awesome dresser here Mikey has designed the wall.
We just got these lights in today.
Ugh, now, you know, Mikey I tried to steal
and take on tour in "American in Paris"
as my dresser, but he didn't want to.
Yeah.
You lucked out. He's the best.
So welcome to dressing room four.
Oh, hi!
-Hi! -Here's Caitlin!
-Hey, I'm Garen. -Nice to meet you.
Everybody, this is Caitlin Kinnunen.
Tony nominee...
So nice to meet you.
Tony-nominated Caitlin Kinnunen, she is incredible.
You're wonderful in the show.
We love you, love you, love you.
And thank you for letting us come in and see
Yeah.
We'll try not
to get in your way while you get ready for your show.
-Do your thing. -But welcome to our
dressing room.
-Look at this. -This is my station.
Guys, this is really a magical little wonderland in here.
You got the plants.
She's got plants.
It's really cool.
And this is a picture of me and Caitlin
on first preview day.
So you guys have been in this since
the beginning together.
That's great.
That's so special.
Yeah, I've got a little Alyssa Funko doll...
...something a fan made,
which is, like, fun.
Cat Post-Its?
Oh, yeah, those are -- Caitlin is obsessed with cats.
This is really important.
Are you also a cat person or a dog person?
No, I'm a dog person. She loves cats.
I'm a dog person.
And then, like, over there, we have a lot of art
the fans have sent us.
-Oh, yeah. -Some letters, too, which is
really nice to just,
you know, remember who we're doing it for.
And what do you say to people who might have,
you know, a negative perception of the show or would
have something to say.
I would say, "You have to watch it."
Okay, so I could stay here all night,
but I think you have to do a second show.
Yeah, I got to put a face on,
put my hair up, become Alyssa Greene.
It's been so awesome spending time with you.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Thanks.
See you next time. Have a great show.
Alright, bye.
Bye.
♪♪
I had so much fun with Izzy.
I did not want to come out that stage door.
Speaking of coming out,
something that's really not easy for a lot of people.
And how cool is it that there are shows like "The Prom"
that inspire people to be their most authentic selves?
Now that's the kind of prom that I want to go to.
Thanks for watching.
See you next time for another "Broadway Sandwich."
♪♪