Speaker 1: You're listening to Comedy Central. I'm so happy for you.
Speaker 1: This is so cool and you're just nailing it. You're
Speaker 1: so good. Thank you, thank you. I went how many
Speaker 1: people here have seen Funny Girl? Okay, well not enough.
Speaker 1: You all need to see this play. I went to
Speaker 1: your play last night, and I have to say it
Speaker 1: was one of those classic Broadway experiences that I haven't
Speaker 1: had in a few years. You are incredible, and there
Speaker 1: are a lot of people who are famous, but you
Speaker 1: are really really talented. Because I really appreciate that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I was hard work. Well obviously it's hard work, but
Speaker 1: it takes a lot of talent to even execute that.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's dancing, they're singing, You're funny, it's a comedy.
Speaker 1: I was so nervous because I I heard you might
Speaker 1: be there, and then I saw you, and I was like,
Speaker 1: anybody who's just like you know, and so funny and
Speaker 1: so gifted in the way that you are Like you
Speaker 1: and Chris Rock are the two people I was the
Speaker 1: most nervous having in the audience. Oh well, that's sweet,
Speaker 1: I guess. I mean, I have to tell you. When
Speaker 1: I got out during intermission, I went to go get
Speaker 1: a diet coke, and and everyone was coming up to me,
Speaker 1: like every gay person in the theater was coming up
Speaker 1: to me to tell me how amazing, Like I love that,
Speaker 1: so like can you believe it? How amazing is she?
Speaker 1: And I'm like, I'm not her mother. Everyone send all
Speaker 1: of your comments and concerns and everything to Chelsea. She
Speaker 1: speaks for me. Now, yes, a DM me at Ellen
Speaker 1: degenerate bit. So you came into this play while it
Speaker 1: was already up and running, So I have to know,
Speaker 1: like how long it took you to prepare for this
Speaker 1: and what what I mean the schedule must be. It's
Speaker 1: a it's an unbelievable schedule. And and anybody working, I
Speaker 1: mean anybody on Broadway is working so incredibly hard. It's
Speaker 1: h shows a week. I do seven shows a week. Um,
Speaker 1: I had I think something like six weeks to learn everything.
Speaker 1: It's about fifteen songs, twenty two costume changes, something like
Speaker 1: seven to ten league changes. It's it's a lot. And
Speaker 1: mid my rehearsal process, um, I was told that I
Speaker 1: had to start sooner than I than I thought, and
Speaker 1: so it was a really intense experience. But I did
Speaker 1: feel as prepared as I could for my first night,
Speaker 1: I just wanted to make all the quick changes happen
Speaker 1: and not walk on stage naked. That was like my
Speaker 1: biggest thing. Yeah. Yeah, it's just so much fun to watch.
Speaker 1: I was sitting there and I was with my niece
Speaker 1: on one side and a friend of mine on the
Speaker 1: other side, and I was just smiling so hard, like
Speaker 1: my cheet sir, like I was on ecstasy or something,
Speaker 1: and I was like, oh my god, this is so
Speaker 1: joyous and everyone and you've got so many standing ovations
Speaker 1: in the middle of your songs, like that's so beautiful
Speaker 1: to see for a performer, it's it's by far the
Speaker 1: most incredible experience I've had as performer on stage in
Speaker 1: a work environment. I'm having truly the time of my life.
Speaker 1: That's nice because last time I saw you, I haven't
Speaker 1: seen you in a few years. And the last time
Speaker 1: since I've seen you last you've got married and had
Speaker 1: a baby. Yes I know, I have a husband and
Speaker 1: a baby, and it does it's, you know, leaving my son.
Speaker 1: He was just two when I started the show, and
Speaker 1: it's hard. It's hard for any parent going to work. Um,
Speaker 1: but I literally went from being home every single day
Speaker 1: to then going to work and being at work all
Speaker 1: the time, and it's tough, but there is something also
Speaker 1: so amazing about coming home and like having that family
Speaker 1: life that I never had while I was working. It's
Speaker 1: grounding and I'm so grateful for it. Well that's great
Speaker 1: because I'll never know what that feeling. I mean, choice
Speaker 1: moved to. You know, we were talking about it into
Speaker 1: the city. I've never lived in New York City. I've here.
Speaker 1: Is good. It is good. Maybe that's the great you know,
Speaker 1: that's the so's like, how has it changed because you've
Speaker 1: done so many Broadway plays when you were younger, right,
Speaker 1: I mean that's kind of how you got discovered first
Speaker 1: that I did my first Broadway show when I was
Speaker 1: eight years old, totally unplanned. I just kind of walked
Speaker 1: into it. And then I continued working until I was
Speaker 1: twenty three, and then I left to go to l
Speaker 1: A and I did you know, Glee out there and
Speaker 1: other TV shows and never really planned on coming back
Speaker 1: to New York. And then it was the pandemic that
Speaker 1: brought us home because this is where our families are.
Speaker 1: And yeah, I'm back on Broadway after fifteen years, and
Speaker 1: it's it's wild having been gone for so long and
Speaker 1: jumping back into this schedule. And you know, when you're
Speaker 1: doing television, you're doing new material every day. It's a
Speaker 1: new script, it's a new storyline. This is the same
Speaker 1: thing every day, and there's something as an artist that's
Speaker 1: really exciting about that. It's like, how do you make
Speaker 1: that new? And how do you how do you bring
Speaker 1: your own excitement to it every night? How do you?
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it really depends on how I'm feeling.
Speaker 1: I'll have a day where I'm in a really up
Speaker 1: the mood and I lean into the humor and that
Speaker 1: really is what gives me the energy. And then there
Speaker 1: are days when I need to kind of work some
Speaker 1: stuff out and and that's what I lean into, more
Speaker 1: of the the emotion and the drama. And what are
Speaker 1: you saying to yourself? Like what does a person say
Speaker 1: before you walk out into a theater like that big
Speaker 1: having to perform for that Dear God, please God, you
Speaker 1: should see me before the show. I'm like praying, I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my god. But I also think, like, if there
Speaker 1: is a show, can you say that? I don't why
Speaker 1: not if there is a show to mess up? Like
Speaker 1: this is the one, because it's like, I feel so
Speaker 1: comfortable turning to the audience and just being like, well,
Speaker 1: here we go. That didn't work out. Let's try it
Speaker 1: again from the top. But it's it's there's nothing like
Speaker 1: there's nothing like live theater. And I love it so much,
Speaker 1: this honest dream come true. That so many people have
Speaker 1: known that I've really waited so long to play this part,
Speaker 1: and the fact that I'm doing it, it's I still
Speaker 1: every single night I'm like, I cannot believe I'm doing
Speaker 1: this and that people are enjoying it. And it's the
Speaker 1: most incredible cast of incredible, hard working actors and performers,
Speaker 1: and we really have fun in the midst of doing
Speaker 1: what is a very challenging job and making an album
Speaker 1: in the midst of also doing all of our shows
Speaker 1: and having it do so well. Is is just another
Speaker 1: great gift. Yeah, well, good for you. Everybody needs to
Speaker 1: go see Funny Girl. It's playing now on Broadway at
Speaker 1: the Augustin here. Explore more shows from the Daily Show
Speaker 1: podcast universe by searching The Daily Show wherever you get
Speaker 1: your podcast. What's the Daily Show weeknights at eleven tenth
Speaker 1: Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount.
Speaker 1: Plus this has been a Comedy Central podcast.